Updates from Ibadan, Nigeria

Updates from Ibadan, Nigeria

Psalms 107:1 (NIV) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

This is just to keep everyone abreast of the happenings in my life lately. On Friday, October 14, I flew from Kaduna to Lagos. It was the first time in 22 years that I flew on a Nigerian commercial airline. I flew on ArikAir which is very reliable and great. God showed me his favor that day. Some people scared me ahead of time that I am going to pay so much for excess luggage because Nigerian domestic airlines charge money on any luggage weighing more than 20KG. But, to God’s glory, I spent less than I earlier envisioned.

On Arrival at the Domestic airport, Lagos, my younger brother, Dele, met me and took me to a private Christian guesthouse where I rested for the night. The following morning the delegation of 3 from First Baptist Church Idikan, Ibadan came to pick me. It rained heavily as we travelled to Ibadan. But we arrived in Ibadan without any incident. To God be the glory.

The reason why I have not provided any updates since I came to Ibadan is because the hotel facility where I am staying now does not have any WIFI access at all. It is like I am disconnected from the rest of the world. We don’t know how much we relied on the internet until we don’t have access to it. We are privileged in the US because of the unlimited access to the internet. I know that Nigeria is moving along that direction also. But in the meantime, one has to manage. I am able to send this update through a limited internet access on my mobile phone.

The revival at First Baptist Church Idikan, Ibadan started this morning. Their church revival is slightly different in that its theme is on stewardship. This morning, I preached at their English and the Yoruba services. I am guessing that the attendance at the English service may be around 150 people while the attendance at the Yoruba service will be about 3000 people. These are my guess estimates. If I get other figure I will give an update later.

The title of the message this morning is: The Unchanging Truths about Stewardship. The passage used include: Genesis 1:1, 26-31; Psalm 24:1-2. The main points of the message are: God is the originator of everything. God gave everything to mankind as a steward. God owns everything.

For the first time in a long time, I preached in Yoruba today. The pastor of the church, Rev. Dr. Steve Ogunbode thought that I should preach without an interpreter. And the experience is exciting and enriching.

I had one surprise today. Immediately after the morning service, a couple came around to hug me. When I looked at them, they were old members of First Baptist Church, Kano where I served before traveling to the US in 1988. The last time that I saw them was in 1988. They attended the service when they became aware that I am the guest speaker for the revival at that church.  They are Mr. & Mrs. Adeleke Adeyi. They were so happy to see me and I was thrilled to see them. This is how you know the solidity of true friendship.

This evening revival service is also fantastic. The praise worship led by the Pastor’s son and another Lady, was so inspiring. There is something that I noticed about the music at this church. They have excellent musical instruments and the songs are fantastic. This evening, I preached on the topic: When You are Tired of Trying taking from Luke 5:1-11. During the invitation, many people came out for prayers.

There is something that we need to praise God for. It is the turnout at this evening revival service. Earlier in the service, the pastor of the church had warned me that we may not have good attendance this evening because church members have never come out in large number on a Sunday evening like this. But after a while, he told me that history is not going to repeat itself today because we have more attendance than he expected. I am assuming that the attendance tonight may be around 2000 people, at least.

On the whole, I don’t have anything to give my Lord than to thank him. He is an awesome God.

Until the next update, stay blessed in Jesus name. (I will send you pictures when I have access to the internet.)

John

Ibadan, Oyo State,

Nigeria

Please excuse my grammar. I typed this on my cell phone.