Dear Family and Friends,
February-March 2012
Still Standing
Christians and many Muslims in Jos struggle for peace. But overpowering headlines tell how badly these efforts have fallen short. Especially in recent days. You see, we had a suicide bomber show up about a block from our compound. His target was a large church on Sunday morning, February 26th. Worshippers were all inside when a deafening blast went off. The reverberations blew out two glass window louvers in our house and gave us a serious jolt.
The bomber wanted to terrorize or kill as many Christians as possible. Later, the extremist Islamic group “Boko Haram” took credit for the job, their latest attempt to push their particular brand of religion.
The people in the church were a target but God intervened, only a very few were killed. The bomber planned to run his carload of explosives up a wide approach to the door, but God provided a motorcycle to be in the way. While the cyclist fled on foot to safety, his fallen cycle stopped the vehicle. The explosion that followed did not reach the building interior. Some inside said they saw a mysterious “giant” (angel?) protecting them. The building (which was under construction) didn’t fall, only cracked. As the dust swirled in the air, most worshippers did not panic. And the church leadership remained confident, proceeding to hold the other services scheduled for that morning!! These and other amazing things were told after the attack, real testimonies of the power of our great God.
The intended targets became testimonies and they are still standing.
Another strange thing happened about a week later. At two in the morning (according to my neighbor who awoke) some reckless speedster drove into the wall that surrounds our house. We didn’t wake up and didn’t see anything until the next day, surprised that we could view passing traffic through a 3’x4’ hole. Along with the new opening came some serious top-to-bottom cracks, but the wall was still standing. I spent the afternoon making a patch with old roofing sheets and blocks so that uninvited wanderers would not find their way in. Our work includes “bringing people in,” but this didn’t seem like a very good method.
After this second “shot,” with a car practically aimed at our house, I was challenged to think about our commitments. Testimony? Target? The worshippers near our house on the 26th were both, but they stood tall and were not deterred. We all want to follow Christ with the same resolve. Even in spite of our personal “cracks,” our heart’s desire is to be still standing even while tested.
Please pray
1. Give thanks for many who emailed us with reassuring verses and expressions of care.
2. Give thanks for our experience of God’s protection at this time. Our loss during the explosion was small, a couple pieces of glass and a piece of ceiling. Meanwhile, not far away, lives were taken.
3. Pray for those whose church was targeted on the 26th. Pray as they put in new security measures and continue construction.
4. Pray for those in Boko Haram and others who resort to violence. Pray that they would learn what Christianity really means and respond to Christ’s invitation. A few already have!
5. Give thanks for God’s protection over our orphans and needy children. None of our centers were close to these acts of terrorism.
6. Give thanks for God’s protection the night that our wall took a hit. The mystery driver never showed his face afterward, leaving only his front “Honda” license frame and other broken pieces. Workers repaired the wall five days later, including the entire section with cracks. We were able to continue regular work and other activities and have lost very little sleep.
7. Pray for clear leading from God, to be confident in Him alone and to take our stand when called upon.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God
so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes.”
Ephesians 6:10-11
Love in Christ,
John (and Nancy) Sawyer
nsawyer_cmjos@yahoo.com
Please note: Three photos were courtesy of our neighbor, Carmen McCain.
