Saturday, November 5, 2022

Nigeria - 2022 Visit

I'm a few days delayed in getting this posted. The visit to Nigeria was short and hectic and didn't allow for much time to write. Overall, things went well. The headquarters of the Nigeria-CLC are located in Akwa Ibom State. This is a rural area located a fair distance away from the bigger cities with international airports. So, that means either several hours traveling by car or flying on a local airline to Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom. The past few times I have visited Nigeria, I have opted for the local airlines. I'm told that driving just isn't a safe option due to the frequency of roadside banditry (as the U.S. State Dept. calls it) and the potential for kidnapping that seems to be prevalent throughout the oil-rich states in the southern part of Nigeria. So, I flew into Lagos and was met at the international airport by Martin Essien, who serves as the chairman of the NCLC Board of Trustees. Martin had already arranged for a car and driver to take us from the international airport to the domestic airport so we could catch our flight from Lagos to Uyo. Unfortunately, the airline announced a flight schedule change, so we had several hours that changed our flight from an early afternoon flight to an evening flight. In the end, it all worked out. I was able to buy a sim card and get it loaded up with internet data for the week, and I was also able to take a much-needed nap. 

The flight from Lagos to Uyo is only about an hour long, so we arrived around 8pm, collected our luggage, and met the driver who Martin had arranged. We then drove about an hour to a home that Martin owns in Ikot Ekpene and got settled in for the night. The electricity in the house wasn't working, so that meant some hot nights without even a fan to keep us cool. But we managed and even had a neighbor lady bring us hot water in the mornings for coffee. Ikot Ekpene is about a 45-minute drive from the village of Efa Anyam, where the NCLC headquarters and seminary are located. For the next few days, we either made the trip to Efa or church leaders came to meet with us at the house. It worked out well. I had several meetings with the various boards and leaders to discuss and advise on some of the recent challenges they are facing. I also had the opportunity to visit the seminary a meet with the current faculty a couple of times. The good news is that they currently have six students (one will graduate in December), and they are expecting at least three new students to begin in January. The challenges they are facing are a current shortage of teachers and classroom space.  Currently, they only have one instructor. The NCLC Board met while I was there, and they will be meeting again soon to call another instructor before the new school year begins in January. The classroom space issue has been ongoing for some time. The current seminary campus has just three buildings. The building they have been using for classrooms has three small rooms that were originally intended for dormitory rooms. The other two small buildings are instructor housing so that the instructors don't need to travel back and forth from their home villages every day to teach. Since the intended dormitory rooms are being used for classrooms, the students have either had to travel back to their home villages every day or, in most cases, have stayed in the teacher's housing. This has not been the best situation, with cramped quarters and, perhaps, a little too much togetherness! The NCLC Board is planning to appoint a "Works Committee" to oversee all facility repairs and improvements going forward to take this work from the plate of the faculty. Over the next few months, they will be putting together plans and estimates to construct a new building with two large classrooms along with a library, study room, office, and computer lab. They will also begin fundraising among the NCLC congregations and submit a proposal and request to the CLC Bd of Missions for assistance with this project. Please pray for the necessary planning and resources to continue this work.

NCLC Seminary Classroom Building (originally built as a dormitory)
Seminary Students with Instructor Pastor Godwin Akpan


I also had the opportunity to worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Nya on Sunday morning. This is the first time I have been able to worship at this congregation. It was Reformation Sunday, so I also had the privilege of preaching a reformation-themed sermon as we were reminded of God's love in the three Solas of the Reformation...Sola Gratia-God's Love for Us, Sola Fides-God's Love In Us, and Sola Scriptura-God's Love To Us. It was such a blessing to be there gathered around God's saving word with brothers and sisters in Christ united in the truths of God's saving word!


Members of St. Stephen Church of the Lutheran Confession in Nya, Nigeria

On Monday, we visited the seminary again and ran a few errands around the area that Martin needed to attend to. In the afternoon, we flew back to Lagos, where I checked into a hotel near the airport for a morning flight that would take me to Kinshasa, D.R. Congo, where I am currently as I write this blog post.

The Lord continues to bless with health, safety, and the joy of being about our Heavenly Father's business! 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

God bless you with safe travels as you spread God’s word🙏

Anonymous said...

It was a blessing having you in Nigeria.

Anonymous said...

May the Lord continue to bless you with all that is needed to preach the word to other nations!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your update. May God continue to bless your work and keep you safe.