EYN Devotions April 19-25, 2015

DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Apr 19-25 2015

EYN Devotions April 12-18, 2015

DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Apr 12-18 2015

EYN Devotions April 5-11, 2015

DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Apr 5-11 2015

Report from Nigeria: Continuing to Hope and Pray

By Peggy Gish, volunteer reporting from Nigeria

According to leaders of the Nigerian Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, as reported by Markus Gamache, Director of the Lifeline Compassionate Global Initiatives (LCGI), the 2015 Nigerian General Elections were more peaceful, and more people were able to vote than ever expected. Yes, there were sporadic incidents of violence around the country, but not the massive violence many had feared. The three states in northeastern Nigeria, Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, were able to participate in the election, except for a few local areas which the Nigerian military had not taken back from Boko Haram. Most of the internally displaced persons (IDP’s) that are still in the state they reside in and have permanent voters card (PVC) were able to vote. But others, who have fled to other states, were not, because of the dangers and difficulties of travel. Few displaced people currently living in Jos, and only ten out of the 724 people in the Gurku Interfaith Camp, and were able to travel to Yola to cast their ballots.

Reports of sporadic violence around the country include the following: In northeastern Nigeria, a pastor from the Mararaba area reported Sunday night, sporadic gun shots at Mararaba, Mubi, and Kwarhi. People in Benue, reported some threats and attacks at some polling sites, and in Borno and Gombe states, some people killed. In some other areas the party agents forced people, by threat of violence, to vote for specific candidates. Officials in the Plateau State reported some houses burned in the Quan Pan local government area and a house in In Jos North.  In the Rivers State, from which the wife of the Nigerian president came, people reported serious challenges between the security personnel and civilians, including a gun battle with some people killed and many injured. In Kano a special aid to the Nigerian president escaped death from political thugs preventing him to cast his vote.

In Jos, where I am located, there was strict security on the streets both Saturday, the day of the election, and Sunday. Security guards blocked certain streets, checking the cars before allowing them to pass. Generally the streets have been empty, shops closed, and people cautious about going out. Many Christians did not attend Sunday worship services because of uncertainty of the situation.

In spite of these incidents, people here I talk to, see this as a peaceful election and call the current situation “peaceful, positive, and calm.” They just hope and pray that it remains so until and after the election results are announced in the next couple days.

EYN Devotions March 29 – April 4, 2015

DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Mar 29- Apr 4 2015

EYN Devotions March 22-28, 2015

DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Mar 22-28 2015

Stories from Nigeria: An Island in the Desert

Rev. Yohanna Budwara & Carl

Rev. Yohanna just after he arrived in Jos from Maiduguri

By Carl and Roxane Hill, co-directors of the Nigeria Crisis Response currently in Nigeria

Maiduguri is the Capitol city of Borno State located in northeast Nigeria. It has many distinctions. One is that it is credited as the birthplace of the Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram. It is the largest city in all of northeast Nigeria with a population of over 2 million. During the violence that has been gripping this part of Nigeria many people have sought refuge in this heavily fortified city, swelling the population by some 50 to 100 thousand. The marketplace in Maiduguri has been closed for some weeks to protect its citizens from suicide bombings.

We met Reverend Yohanna when we were teaching at EYN’s Kulp Bible College. He was not only a lecturer there but served as the campus chaplain. His children were all well versed in English and found us to be welcoming to them and people they could talk to. We really enjoyed this family. However, last December the Chaplain (as we called him) was transferred to become the DCC Secretary of Maiduguri. Besides being a very dangerous assignment the temperatures can get as high as 115 degrees.

As Boko Haram violence escalated throughout 2014 Maiduguri became a bastion of safety for Christians and moderate Muslims. The military also decided that Maiduguri would be protected and additional forces were stationed there. The offensive conducted by the Boko Haram surrounded Maiduguri and became an important target for the terrorists to capture. Fighting rages all around this city in the desert. But it has held out against the radical Islamist sect. As supplies were brought into the city Rev. Yohanna served as the Chairman of the Distribution Committee and provided relief materials for over 50,000 people. He organized peaceful distributions and was one of the only ones to keep accurate records. Based on his documentation the government was able to gauge the amount of supplies to be delivered.

Rev. Yohanna told us that it was a big job to be responsible for so many needy people. He said not all were grateful but most of the people praised God for his fair and honest work. “I really saw the hand of God in this work.”

Nigeria Crisis Response Announcement

We are happy to announce that Cliff Kindy recently returned safely to his home in the US! Thank you for all your prayers and best wishes during his time spent walking with our EYN brothers and sisters during this crisis and reporting back. Some of his material will be still be shared in the future but he is no longer in Nigeria right now.

We do ask for your prayers for Carl and Roxane Hill, the co-directors of our Nigeria Crisis Response, who have safely arrived in Nigeria this month. They are meeting with EYN leaders and congregation members and will be reporting back on the Response while they are there. Watch for reports on this blogsite and thank you for your continued support.

Reports from Nigeria: Returning Home

By Cliff Kindy, Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteer who wrote this while in Nigeria. He has since returned home safely.

The dynamics of the violence in Nigeria are changing dramatically in the recent weeks. Boko Haram has lost the momentum that they previously had in waging battles where they chose and usually overcoming any opposition. They have been unable to hold the initiative in any recent conflicts. They have sustained heavy losses, had hundreds of fighters arrested by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Their camps and headquarters have been overrun by Nigerian troops supported by heavy air bombardment.

Boko Haram fighters are scattered but in their frustration are striking out at any soft targets. So places like Chibok are again facing attacks from those groups. An EYN member from Chibok reported that Boko Haram had gone door to door in that community killing inhabitants and burning houses. Suicide bombings are scattered across the north of Nigeria. Individuals carry out those bombings – one seven year old girl was strapped with a bomb and the other recent suicide attack was a man boarding a long distance bus when his explosives detonated. But Boko Haram is no longer able to rally large forces for any major attacks. There are even reports that Nigeria has arrested the Boko Haram leadership.

With these changing dynamics and some communities protected by Nigerian security for a couple months already, individuals and families are anxious to return home. But what does that mean on the ground?

They return with nothing in most cases. Where do they start? What do they eat? Where will there be protection from the rains that have arrived in Jos? What about tools? Seeds? Animals? Electricity? Community infrastructure?

Homes have been burned. Churches are leveled, clinics bombed. Belongings have been looted and carried off. There are no longer stores or shops in most communities. Bridges are destroyed. Cars were stolen. Tools are missing or unusable. Wells in some communities have dead bodies in them. Maybe the departing Boko Haram raiders left explosives to greet returnees. Energy is sapped by the original trauma and there is new trauma facing those returning home.

Government is not likely to generate the massive aid needed in this kind of situation. Relief aid will only make a small dent in the total rebuilding of society that will be required. How does a community gather the united energy required to begin the process of starting over from scratch?

Churches thrive on hope. The love of the church provides encouragement and support when everything is at the bottom. Just as the early church in Acts lived an alternative reality from the Roman political system, so that will be true today with a church like EYN in Nigeria. The woman who told me about Chibok under attack again will be among the leaders of the trauma healing group that crisscrosses EYN in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Returning home will start with little steps from NGOs like Women and Youth Empowerment for Advancement and Health Initiative supplying families with machines to generate income, animals and seeds for providing food. Other NGOs like Lifeline Compassionate Global Initiatives through their interfaith efforts with displaced families are building the relationships for healed societies that will be required if communities will succeed in overcoming enormous obstacles. Both of these NGOs are among others that are funded by the Church of the Brethren through Brethren Disaster Ministries.

The Crisis Management Team of EYN is still doing emergency feeding, is just starting on building temporary housing for displaced families and is ready to begin the training of a large cadre of trauma trainers who face an enormously daunting task. At the same time the Team is helping EYN itself recover from the total displacement of its organization. But what lies ahead is larger by far than all they have tackled thus far. Re-establishing devastated communities from scratch is nearly impossible for strong organizations that have done the work previously, but for a group like EYN which has no experience in disaster response, can it even be imagined?!?

Yes, the hard work of thinking ahead is started in EYN. Church of the Brethren volunteers are walking alongside EYN. The experience of EYN-related NGOs can pave the way for larger responses. EYN is a strong church with creative leaders. EYN’s reliance on God’s care and leading will cover many stumbles in the months and years ahead. The future is rising from the ashes. People are returning home.

EYN Devotions March 15-21, 2015

DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Mar 15-21 2015