Sawyers in Nigeria and at Home: New Season!

June-July 2012

Spring, summer… many changes since we wrote in February and not just with the weather.


Our Home in Jos... Looking Peaceful

A Season of Increased Peace.

Fewer bombings, more quiet. Increased security especially on Sundays and around our targeted church compounds here in Jos. We enjoyed three weekends away from our house on a quieter SIM compound, only about a ten minute drive from home. Very refreshing after the trials of the bomb attack just three weeks prior.

A Season of Special Guests. Talk about answered prayer!

A Weekend Getaway!

The Kallows. This U.K. couple came to Jos expressly for City Ministries. Brenda demonstrated enthusiasm specifically for our sponsoring program. She joined us with visits to different centers, interviewing and picture taking. The Kallows were here until April and plan to make repeated trips each year, Lord willing.

Mrs. Alison Ajayi. This is a new worker in Nigeria from the U.K. and skilled in office management. Alison agreed to take up the SIM narrative reporting that John has been doing.

Visitors from our home church. Not often does our home church mission’s pastor visit Nigeria. We were very blessed to have Pastor Tom Keppeler and Brandon Verbrugge come from Elmbrook Chruch. They made the most of their few days: meeting many of our CARE kids and being an encouragement everywhere.

Jen Shares a Photo. January 2012

Melissa and Jennifer. Our older daughter, Jennifer, with friend, Scott, visited during dry season (Dec-Jan). Melissa came during May-June for the mango/rainy season. Both visits included work, fun and a warm up for the “big transition” (below).

A Season of Ministry Catch-up and Handover

Sponsoring, finances and recordkeeping tasks do not let up. But our usual routine will soon take a turn. Like many others at our age, it’s time for us to transition back to the home front. Retire? Actually, we will carry on parts of our work during the coming months along with our home assignment. But we are in the process of handing our work over to others as we relocate to the U.S. and enter this new season of life. The Kallows and Alison are already involved in this process.

Melissa Helps Interview. May 2012

How can we carry on some parts of our work after leaving the field? The internet makes this possible. Email is already a basic tool for all of us, and we will continue to take advantage of it.

A Season of Transition.

We will leave Nigeria in early September and begin being regular U.S. residents rather than “visitors.” We have a small place where we will live in Wisconsin, and we have wonderful family members and friends to help us. This should be an adventure! Please pray for us and the home (our new mission field) that we will transition into.

Thanks for standing with us in prayer and with finances. Thanks, too, for continuing to support us through SIM. Our membership does not suddenly “quit,” nor does SIM’s service to us (some medical, administrative and other help.) For this we trust God and his further enabling.