January/February 2023 Missions Update

Calvary greetings in Jesus’ name. Thank you for your consistent partnership and the sacrifices you make to ensure that the gospel is taken to places where Jesus is not known. God has been very gracious to us as we increasingly see God grant us tremendous and abiding harvests. As usual, we can only share reports that would not endanger our missionaries and the converts because of the nature of some of our workplaces. In some cases, we will share the information with pseudo-names. May the report fuels your prayer support and encourage your heart, knowing that your labors are not in vain.

MORE CONVERSION ACROSS THE MISSION FIELDS

Response to altar call.

In addition to the persons surrendering their lives to Christ across many mission fields, we enjoyed mass conversion to Christ in January 2023 across some of our mission fields where open-air crusades are still allowed. For example, hundreds of persons from several unreached people groups, such as Kamberis, Bokkos, Dukawas, etc., converged at Samunaka in Niger State. They surrendered their lives to Christ, while many others testified of healing and deliverance.

DISCIPLESHIP

Niger State Discipleship Campmeeting

We continued to step up our discipleship effort to get the converts to know more and become more like Christ. We had the Indigenous Believers Campmeeting (IBC), a discipleship initiative aimed at complementing the efforts of the missionaries on the field. We discussed spiritual growth, emphasizing the need to watch, pray, and serve Jesus. We engaged external speakers like Pastor Faith Mathias Akubo and Innocent Okelenyi. Some of our seasoned pioneer missionaries like Josephine Oumarou, Ladi Ekpa, and others also taught at plenary and syndicate sessions.

MORE KIDS RESCUED

Latest arrival

As the world grows heartless, more and more children are being abandoned. This situation has compelled us to add to our existing responsibilities by admitting more vulnerable kids at the Home of Grace. In one of the Sahel nations(name withheld) where we work, God rescued a day-old baby through one of our missionary couples. The mother of the baby is a young girl who is into prostitution and claims she does not know the father of the baby because she slept with many men. Neither is she interested in having the baby. To the glory of God, the baby tested HIV negative. The government of the country was formally alerted of the situation and signed a document permitting us to take custody of the baby and take care of her.

We also have more Missionary kids (MKs) at the Home of Grace in Jos. The latest is Lois, the daughter

MK Lois

of our missionaries, laboring in a very remote jungle without school. She has stayed out of school for a long time, and we felt the sacrifice is enormous. She has been enrolled in the primary school section of Trinity Academy. We are grateful to God for the financial provision and to one of our partners who sacrificially released all the money needed for her upkeep, school fees, uniforms, textbooks, and other needs. Pray for God’s blessings on the partner who provided the resources. Please also pray that God of heaven will help her to meet up with the years she has lost, particularly to fulfill her destiny.  

While we were praying for God’s provision for MK Lois, God surprised us with an additional miraculous provision of regular upkeep allowance for another MK. We cannot thank God enough for this miraculous provision.

MISSIONS TRAINING

Another set of the School of Cross-Cultural Missions (SOCM) have rounded up their one-year intensive mission training and are set to graduate on March 25, 2023, and move to the field. We are grateful to all our partners who financially contributed to making it possible. The graduating students are from different nationalities.

Another set of missionary trainees have resumed training. Again, so much funds will be needed to sponsor the student as none of them has thus far access any scholarship. Given the current inflation in the country, the school fees for students without children cost N200,000, while those with children will pay an additional N120,000 (N10,000 per month to augment their feeding cost), totalling N320,000 per student with a child. The fees cover tuition, accommodation, lecture handout, utilities, and two field trips.

Please pray with us for funding, as managing the training program without funds is impossible.

Pray for God’s blessings over Gospel Bankers (Inc.), the Anude Legacy, and some individuals/ families for their consistency over the years in providing scholarships.

MISSION HOUSE/ CHURCH BUILDING PROJECTS

We successfully paid for some of the lands we prayed about. They are located at

• Salkam in Niger Republic
• Kwala Gobirawa in Niger Republic 
• Samunaka in Niger state of Nigeria

Thank God with us for the breakthrough. It is usually taboo to sell lands in some of the locations not to talk of selling the lands for missionary purposes even if one has the money. We trust the Lord that we will begin a mission house project at Salkam soon. Pray along with us for the funds. The missionary is squatting with one of his converts.

We have sent N250,000 to commence work on plastering in some of the rooms at Bum, Bauchi state. The rooms at the Beru mission house in Bauchi state have been plastered. We also need to plaster the outside wall and work on the ceiling because of the harsh sun and reptiles/snakes.

WATER FOR ZARAZONG

One of the toughest challenges in most of the mission fields remains healthy drinking water. Our

mission base in Zarazong is also confronted with the same challenge, especially during winter. We had drilled a borehole in several places. We had almost given up when we were told there were new technologies in town that could locate water with scientific precision and a 2022 edition of drilling machine that could drill farther into the ground than previous ones.

We gave it a trial, but the cost was staggering. We drilled 250 meters, costing N1,750,000. The cost of casting and survey added to it, the total sum is N1,916,000.(with a discount of N125,000). The installation also cost over N1.2 million.

MOTORCYCLE TO COMPLEMENT THE STAFF STRENGTH

New motorcycle for Bolu field

While we continue to pray to the God of harvest to supply the much-needed missionaries, we will continue to explore the channels of equipping all our missionaries with motorcycle and where possible, get rugged cars to enable each missionary to cover more grounds.

We have thus far been able to provide over 20 motorcycles and three cars over the years. We trust God to add five more motorcycles and a car. In the past month, God has provided the first motorcycle for the year. Please, join us to thank the Lord for the provision and pray that the Lord will bless donors and replenish their source in Jesus’ name.

Pray with us for divine provision for the remaining four motorcycles and one car.

CRITICAL NEEDS FOR THE YEAR

While thanking the Lord for how He has helped us thus far, mainly by providing partners who adopted our missionaries and have consistently supported them monthly, the reality on ground now is that the economy is biting harder. The inflation across the country as well as the collapse in the value of the new currency, it is difficult to meet up with family needs. To augment their income, we have come up with a list of what either the missionaries or their wives could do to generate additional income. All the things listed would require some financial capital to kick-start. They are:

• Grinding machines in two fields in Benin Republic. The cost of each grinding machine is N250,000 each
• Barber’s saloons rent and kits N200,000.
• Poultry
• Sewing machines
• Provision shops.

Besides generating additional income for the missionaries, they will also serve as access

Grinding machine needed

ministries/bridges between the missionaries and the people they are reaching. 

Doing mission work in this part of Africa is quite demanding now as critical needs keep staring at us with very little coming in financially. In this regard, we will covet your prayers for divine intervention, as not much advancement can be achieved without money. 

 

APPRECIATION

Thank you so much for your selfless, sacrificial partnership in helping us and our missionaries live and work among the unreached people to illuminate the gospel where Christ has not been known.

We pray that the Lord will bless you and your family. We will continue to count on your prayers and financial support to advance the kingdom of God forcefully. We trust the Lord to conquer more nations for Jesus this year.

 

His bondservant,

Dr. Andrew Abah.