Nigeria

Journey To Nigeria Snapshots Ten Days of Marathon Ministry

• Prayed up and filled with prophetic words, we board the plane with expectancy of what God was up to in Nigeria and meeting the warriors working and living in difficult circumstances.
• Long flights and a breath of refreshing in London at a Yotel (miniature Japanese style hotel rooms) in the Heathrow airport.
• Friday early arrival in Abuja - meeting Pastors David and Helen Ina along with others helping them.
• Insane driving on unmarked highways and roads. Zooming in and out of cars honking horns creating a car language of its own as one horn greeted another horn.
• Contrast of inner city Abuja look of modern to the rustic surrounding areas all wrapped in early morning soaring heat.
• Settling in, a welcome rest at the guest house. Then later in the day a journey zooming down a freeway again. Finally turning onto dirt roads, passing clusters of churches, vendors and homes that marked the road to the church in process of completion.
• Pastor David was speaking in Faith believing as he proudly showed off his soon to be completed vision for Glory Arena and the opening conference. The floors were just completed, windows ready to be inset and ceiling fans waiting to be installed. Backdrops being set in place. Gathering to pray over the coming days and completion of the work for Sunday’s opening conference at the Glory Arena. Stopping by Evangelist Miracle’s house, one of the conference speakers, to pray for her healing.

Saturday

• Morning: team prayer and preparation.
• Afternoon: driving into the church area we would see the cutest little miniature goats. Goats are to Nigeria what pigs are to Guatemala. To be out of the day’s heat or rain, we saw them actually hugging the side of the wall of the home leaning against it as hard as they could lean for protection.
• This was a brick making area … everywhere beds of hand formed bricks lying in the sun to cure until they could be added to the next phase of the waiting building. There seemed to be this type of construction going on all around the area. Tearing down the old structures and replacing it with the new.
• Evening: traveling to “The Garden” to Miracles’ Intercessory Women’s group. There we surprised Joyce for her Birthday.
• Adjustments: irregular meals, unavailable menu items, infrequent electricity, preparing and reading by flashlight, extreme heat, one towel to room, one small roll of toilet paper per day, hot spicy food, a bucket of warm water and a bowl to shower. Jerry and Rick, candlelight to shave by, a broken toilet flooding and room changing. Dry garbage littered land filled with plastic bags. Ignoring U.S. Consulate advisories not to travel to Nigeria as a dangerous country but one that felt so safe. Multiple wives accepted in non Christian communities.
• Sights: Women with creative head scarves piled high on their heads. Men and women in colorful clothing with some carrying loads of whatever on their heads. Everywhere little vending stands to sell something to anyone. Smiles and friendly faces. Strange looks and curiosity.
• Rewards: Salvations, moving with the Holy Spirit, meeting incredible people, the love and acceptance received, dedicating a church building and a baby. Praying for new ministries. Sharing with powerful men and women of God. Exuberant colorful worship. Gifts to missionaries (2 cars, megaphones, generators, books, clothes and other things shared to all). Spiritual armor bearers as we spoke. Stepping into great visions. Reports of multiple church plantings, ministry to orphans, ministry to widows.
• The widows are blamed for their husband’s deaths, his family takes her home and everything that she has away except the kids. She may be also dying of aids.

Sunday to Sunday (day and evening team ministry):

• Ministry in two Sunday morning services, 2 intercessory group meetings, MACON missions conference, Intercessory prayer conference and youth conference, COYMI ministers’ inauguration service and youth conference. Workshops, teaching, preaching, sharing, Joyce’s colorful worship, and prayer.
• Final night, dinner with Pastor Mou, a pastor of multiple churches and Nigeria Government official. God restored a marriage in the morning service along with numerous salvations as Pastor Rick and Joyce Ministered.

Unforgettable:

• Flora taking care of 90 orphaned children. Miracle’s heart for the widowed women and their children. Pastor John Firebrand (a divinely given name with a powerful healing anointing and pastoring 19 churches. A beautiful young lady badly burned on her body. The response of the young people at the youth conference. The intensity of the women in intercession. Pastors David and Helen Ina’s vision, all those that took such good care of us. So many faces that represent so many places. Responses in worship and the men dancing passionately with the flags. Everyone on the team stepping up in season and out of season putting aside personal discomfort to reap the joys of obedience and walk in the anointing.
• Off to the airport with quick goodbyes to lives that will forever be in our hearts. For this entire new road traveled revealed will be traveled again.

Thank you for your prayers and support….

Blessings,

Pastors Al & Helen Cambra and 2009 team Nigeria
Pastor Jerry McFarland, Pastor Rick Payton (Graingville), Minister Joyce LaBuda and Nurse Sue Newcombe