Dearly Beloved,
Easter greetings in
Jesus' name. We trust that the Lord is keeping you safe amidst this Coronavirus
pandemic. You have been in our prayer list consistently, and we believe God
that all that the word of God promised in Psalm 91 on your protection remains your
portion in Jesus' name. Thank you for your consistent partnership even at these odd times.
Before the pandemic
escalated, we had a very busy month in March 2020. Firstly our staff were all
in Jos for a short retreat, followed by the 25th African Mission Summit (AMS
2020) during which delegate from Nigeria, South African, Cameron, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Niger, Benin, etc. converged together at Jos. We had, among
others, Dr. Chuka Anude from Soteria Church, Maryland, USA, Rev. Govind
Ramachandra from Baptist Church, Dubai, UAE, Elsie Govender from South Africa,
etc. as guest speakers.
The participants were
encouraged, many sick people were healed, and some of the indigenous leaders
who were in attendance had the opportunity of meeting other leaders from within
and outside the country. The testimonies were mind-blowing, and we give God the
glory. Thank you for your prayer and financial contribution to the
Summit. Pray along with us that the impacts will remain indelible and advance
God’s kingdom in our various mission fields.
Pan
- African Leaders Summit
Similar to the African
Missions Summit, the Four Square Gospel Church had a Summit for their leaders
across Africa at Cotonou, the Benin Republic, where the International Director
served as one of the plenary speakers. He spoke on dealing with the scourge of
Islam in Africa at the leadership Summit, which was attended mainly by leaders,
including the General Overseers of some of the African nations and foreign
mission directors from Nigeria, Chad, Rwanda, Ghana Benin Republic, etc.
Latin
America Mission
 |
| Brazil missions trip |
Also, in March, we had
the privilege of ministering at Brazil across various cities and denominations
but predominantly at Assemblies of God’s denomination. Although it was mainly a
mission drive, we had testimonies of individuals who surrendered their lives to
Christ and others who got healed. Many persons responded to the call for
missions. Three of such persons are making a plan to enroll in the Grace
Foundation School of Cross-Cultural Missions and another five top leaders are
planning to attend The Missions Exposures and Training (MET) course at
Pretoria, South African. Again, we are extremely grateful to Evangelist Peter Ikechukwu for the incredibly amazing love and support he provided that ensured the success of this trip.
Field
Projects Update
Despite the lockdown, God
helped us to buy a motorcycle for the Bolu mission field this week. The
motorcycle was stolen two months ago when our missionary, Yohanna Ali, traveled
to Bauchi. It was stolen from the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) premises. Life has
been tough for them since then.
The Kamberi field under
the leadership of Sunday Musa has started work on a new church project at
Kubule with excavation, blending, and forming and are trust the Lord that in
the next one month, the church will be completed and dedicated. Please join us
to pray for God’s blessing on the donor (name withheld). Also, at Samunaka, we
are fixing doors and windows. Also, at Tibriri in the Niger Republic, we are at
the conclusive phase of the mission house project, which is the toilet soak
away. At Oma, we are fixing pillars, doors, and windows. We give God the glory
for the provision.
Home
of Grace (HOG).
Before the lockdown, the
kids were doing well with their studies. Blessing Garba wrote her JAMB
and met
the university cutoff point. She is currently studying for her WAEC and NECO
exam despite the lockdown, while Comfort Boubacar is preparing for her Junior
WAEC examination. For the period of the
isolation, we stopped all our secular staff including the NYSC Corp member
serving with the ministry from coming to the premises and insisted that the
missionary staff living in the mission base comply with the Federal
Government’s directive of Isolation/social distancing to avoid contact with the
kids. We have stored up foodstuffs and hope the Lord will provide more funds
for us to add to what we already have.
As the kids remain indoor, we engage them in learning a skill like
plaiting hair. We also enjoy increase bonding as we interact with each other
more and more and take time to pray together and study God’s word together.
 |
| HoG kids visit to IDP camp |
Local
Mission Field Update
 |
| Oma Mission field blessing widows |
Not all our mission
fields complied with the restriction/isolation order at the onset because of
their rural nature, so we had the opportunity to preach the word of God and met
the needs of the poor. We had over 20 converts from Oma, Bolu, and Zull. We
distributed 29 new wrappers to poor widows at Oma and neighboring Kogi State of
Nigeria. Pastor Bazin Maurice from the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Evangelist Okezie Omerua from Lagos were part of the team that visited the Oma
mission field. Films were projected and the responses were also heartwarming.
Elsie ministered at Masaka, and many responded to the gospel. At Furaka, there is full compliance with the
government order as the church was locked up, and converts/members were asked
to stay at home.
Missions
Training
The School of
Cross-Cultural Missions graduated our 24th set of students. Altogether, 22 students
were prayed for and
released to the mission field. The 25th set is on. Since they are not up to 50
in number, we ensure social distance and continue with lectures. It is hoped
that if the lockdown is lifted, they will proceed to the mission field for
their two months filed practical. Currently, Pastor Bazin Maurice concluded his
course, Biblical Counseling, and History, of Missions and Pastor James Ahmadu is
presently teaching Basic Health Education.
 |
| Set 24 Graduating students |
Staff
Matter
Simon Peter got married
last month. We are grateful to God for the provision, and we pray that their
home is fruitful, and they will advance God’s assignment committed to his hand.
God blessed our team with additional staff last month. They are:
- v Pastor
& Mrs. Adamu Ahmadu. They are Fulani by tribe and are to serve at Cameroon
among the Fulanis.
- v Pastor
& Mrs. Ibrahim Musa, who are Hausas
by the tribe. They will join the team in Bolu as the missionary couple at Bolu,
Pastor & Mrs. Yohana Ali prepare to relocate to Burkina Faso for pioneering
work.
- v Pastor
& Mrs. Kabiru Bashiru from Mambila Plateau are engaged to work among the
Zallawa people as Pastor Stephen Paul moves to Furaka in preparation for the
next phase of his ministry.
- v Also, we have Pastor Ezekiel Ayuba and Sunday Ibrahim. They are joining the team at the Kamberi field.
- We covet your prayers for God to connect us to more and more partners that will help in adopting these missionaries and provide their upkeep allowances.
Concern/Prayer
Points
Please join us to pray
for the release of eight of our colleagues serving with CAPRO that were
kidnapped on March 2, 2020, about midnight from
Maruba, Kamuku Mission Field. It
is more than one month that they were abducted. Only two persons have been
released since then. Pray that the rest of them will be released unharmed in
Jesus' name.
We are concern about the
other missionaries working in several fields across the nation. The fields are
porous, and only God will shield them from this new trend of evil attacks.
Please, pray for divine protection.
The lockdown may soon
begin to impair some of our team and Home of Grace if there is no divine
intervention. Several of our partners are impacted adversely by the lockdown
resulting from coronavirus and unable to remit their monthly support. Pray for
all our partners at this time – firstly for divine protection and secondly for
divine provisions. As the Lord bless you, we certainly need financial support
now than ever.
Also, the season of snake
is here again. Four snakes were sighted entering our Bolu mission house. Three
of the snakes were killed, but the fourth snake escaped. Pray for divine
protection for our missionaries and their families against snake bites and for
the fund to install doors in all our mission houses that are yet to be
completed.
We are praying for you.
Remember us in your prayers also. God bless you, richly.
His bondservant,
Andrew
Abah
International
Director
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