What God is teaching us

John and Fittokka model a call to set an appointment

One of the things I have asked the most for is prayer that God will teach us what he wants during this month.  One day I jotted down a few things that were shared.  I was really encouraged that God is answering this prayer!

Every morning, each of us shares what God has been teaching us recently.

What God is teaching some of our new colleagues in their own words:

• Yesterday some of us struggled to book an appointment.  Yet, you can see hope, courage, trust in the Lord.  Jer 17:5.  “Cursed is the one who trusts in man… who trusts in mere flesh… they will not see prosperity when it comes.  Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the waters.  He does not fear when the heat comes... And never fails to bear fruit.” I was encouraged by my colleagues’ courage.
•  Maybe I never noticed this Scripture on the wall before.  Ps 46:10.  “Be still and know that I am Lord.  I will be exalted among the nations.  I will be exalted in the earth.”  It is a privilege for God to use us to create awareness. Also to be used by God to translate Scriptures for the nations.
• If you have the right attitude, no matter how intense the thing is, you will succeed.  When practicing the photo album, I was about to give up.  Praise God for our coach, she will still say, “You are really doing well!”  But I said to myself “No, even I, I know what I am doing is not right!”  We need to humble ourselves to learn under any other person. 
•  My brother was determined that somehow God will use him, so he kept on making calls, even though none were agreeing to a 5:30pm appointment.  I was encouraged that no matter what we should try our best!

New Ministry Partners!

The elder (left; he's an elder in his church)

It is hard to believe that the month of Discipleship Ministry Partner Development is almost over.  At the end of the first week I asked you to pray for the people we met on our first appointment, an elder and a seminary student.  God answered our prayers, and they agreed to be monthly financial ministry partners!  Not only that, on the same day we had a third person join our ministry team unexpectedly!  We had arranged to meet him the next day, but when he saw us on Thursday he joined for the appointment as well and also joined the team!

Our surprise ministry partner and his wife (middle)

Since then we have met with about 250 people, and many of them have agreed to be ministry partners as well.  Thank God!  Everyone we met seemed thrilled to meet us, and many said things like “your visit is an answer to prayer” or “I really appreciate you coming by!”  Many have given us the names and numbers of those we can meet, so we still have many in Jos who we can share with about the great need right here in Nigeria for language development and Bible translation.

The seminary student (by my left) and some of his family

Please pray with us on Friday and Monday, the last two days we will go for appointments before the end of the training.  Each of our new missionary colleagues has booked two appointments on Friday and three appointments on Monday.  This means in just two days, we hope to still meet another 55 people!  Please pray for each of these people, that they also will appreciate our visits, that they will be bold to commit to monthly financial partnership, that they will feel free to give us the contact information for others we can meet, and that they will be faithful in their commitments!

The big day--Our colleagues' first appointments!

Monday, May 29

Hubert preparing his photo album

Today some of our eleven new Nigerian missionaries went for their first appointments to meet potential ministry partners.  Thank God for encouraging first appointments, and for lessons learned.  Hubert, the new missionary colleague that I (Zach) went with did an excellent job of presenting and answering questions.  Praise God!

We will continue to go daily for these appointments from Wednesday this week, through June 20. Please pray that they learn what God wants them to learn. Please pray their appointments hold. Please pray that the people we meet see our coming as an opportunity to invest in things that last for eternity. Finally, please pray that some of these relationships will last for many years as the Nigerians we meet today join our Nigerian colleagues in ministry both through finances and in faithful prayer.

First appointments today and tomorrow... and a special program on Saturday

May 25-26:  Today and tomorrow each of the four coaches (including Zach) will go for our first appointments with potential ministry partners along with our small groups of new missionaries. Please pray that the sixteen appointments (four each) will hold and that God teaches us what he wants to through these appointments. Thank God for each of the people who agreed to meet with us.  Please pray that our visit is a blessing to them.

May 27: On Saturday, Christy and four other women will host the "Beautiful Me" program for mothers and daughters. Thank God for the faithfulness of some of the mothers to come and fully participate. Please pray that all the mothers prioritize coming with their daughters. Please pray for good understanding as they talk about purity--mind, body, and spirit.

"Well, I am not too sure..."

"Actually, I will not be in Jos on Thursday."

 I was on my first call with a potential ministry partner (Jay*) and was trying to schedule an appointment for Thursday or Friday this week.  I have sat for hours observing my colleagues make these kinds of calls May 2015, but I had never had the opportunity to make this kind of call myself.

 "Would you be available on Friday at 1pm?"  I asked.

 "Sure, I think that would be okay," Jay* replied. Could it be possible I would make my first appointment on my first call, on the first call I ever made?

 "Thank you!  Where would it be convenient for us to meet?"

 "Well, why don't you call me that day and we can see where we can meet." 

With this response, I began to doubt the commitment of the potential ministry partner to be able to meet on Friday.  I was planning to go along with my small group of new Nigerian missionaries, and I knew that this appointment was key to their training, and didn't want us to be disappointed. So, I skipped a step and went on to read the next part of the "blurb" that guided me in the call.  "Jay*, I will be coming to this appointment with a few other missionaries.  They have a tight schedule and can be available only at certain times..."  then I asked "Are you sure you will be able to meet at that time?"

"Well, I am not too sure of when I will return to Jos," Jay* replied.  Relieved, I arranged to call him back later when he was more sure of his schedule.

Several minutes later, I still did not have a single appointment.  Some numbers rang, but no one answered.  Some numbers didn't even ring!  I had exhausted all of my contacts near to the office.

I wasn't discouraged though, I had set my goal to call four numbers of people near to the office and also four numbers of people who live on the road to the village where Christy used to work, just forty minutes outside of Jos.  I picked up the phone and kept calling. "Hello  Markus*?  My name is Zachariah Yoder, a Bible translation missionary, and a friend of yours, Kevin*, suggested that I call you.  Could we talk for a few minutes?"

In a few more minutes I had set two appointments.  One man was a gentle elder, and the other a young seminary student.  Both seemed interested in meeting and described to me exactly how I can find them on Thursday.  I was bouncing with joy as I came out of the office.  Can you join me in thanking God for these appointments?

On Thursday I will go along with Malgwi and Hubert, the Missionaries who are part of my small group of trainees.  I will explain to the elder and later to the young seminary student about the great need for language development and Bible translation in Nigeria, how the Lord is using us to help meet that need, and what they can do to help.  I will explain how they can become ministry partners both financially and through prayer.   

Can you join us in praying that both of these appointments will hold, that both the elder and the seminary student will value and accept the opportunity to becoming Ministry partners?  Will you pray that this will be a long term relationship with the Ministry partners in together seeing God's Word spread through all of Nigeria?  Finally, can you please pray that each of us (including me) learns what God wants to teach us through this process?

* Note: I am using fictional names for the people I called.

Discipleship Ministry Partner Development (DMPD) Starts today

May 22 is here.  The marathon has begun.

Today we gathered with eleven new SIL Nigeria staff, Nigerians coming from the north, the south and everywhere in between.   Over the past six weeks, I have enjoyed hearing their testimonies of God's calling and their insightful questions that reveal their shared passion for Bible translation.  God has answered your prayers and has called and sent us new people to join us in the harvest!

We have gathered together with the intention of meeting from 6:50am to 9:30pm Monday to Friday for a month (the last day is June 21).  Why are we gathered?  We are training these twelve new staff how to meet with potential Nigerian ministry partners.  We will train them practically how to explain the great need for language development and Bible translation in Nigeria, what SIL Nigeria is doing to help meet that need, and what the potential ministry partners can do to help.  Our new staff will sit with Nigerian bankers, bakers, teachers, lawyers, elders, shopkeepers, women with small market stalls and owners of large successful businesses.  They will explain with each person how they can become a ministry partner with SIL through prayers and financial support.



The first ten days (May 22-31) are the most intense.  It is a bit like a space shuttle going into orbit.  We expend the most energy without going very far in these ten days, but this is what will help us break away from the "gravity" of the earth (our old habits and attitudes).


Please pray with us!

• Thank God for each of the new staff!  He has answered our prayer and called and sent them!
• Thank God that each of these staff already have contact information for forty people in Jos!
  
• Pray for continued energy and wisdom especially if our energy goes down.
• Pray for continued health (last time we did this I had malaria for five weeks afterwards... I don't want a repeat! See In my weakness and Getting stronger)
• Pray for the Nigerians we will meet, that they will recognize the opportunity to invest in "treasures in Heaven" and become ministry partners.
• Pray for the new SIL Nigeria staff that they will remain optimistic and learn exactly what God wants to teach them each day about himself. (You can pray this for me, too!)
  

Strategic prayer 4--More people to join us!

We are thankful for our team

Our fourth "strategic prayer request" was for God to send more people to join us in this work.  Although we may be one of the largest Scripture engagement teams in the world, we also have a very large Scripture engagement task here in Nigeria.

We have learned from experience that God calls staff on to new roles and opportunities from time to time, so we need to be mentoring new missionaries in this work.  It has been four years since someone new has joined in the area of Scripture engagement!


Thank God with us that he has been answering this prayer.  We are expecting Helen Fisher, from the UK, to be joining us in February.  (You can find more about Helen Fisher on p. 24-25 of Wycliffe UK's Winter 2015 Words For Life).

Also thank God for a couple of great opportunities to share about our work at Nigerian missions conferences.  Although I (Zach) didn't get to go, it was exciting to help my colleagues prepare materials, such as existing Scriptures--including audio Scriptures--to show the work we do.  Please pray for God to bring Nigerians to join us in the work!  We plan to interview whomever God sends in February, and begin orientation in March.

Please pray for God to send more people from outside Nigeria.  Might God be calling you someone you know to join in the work over here? (You are already part of the work wherever you are reading this and praying!)

We are half way through the seven strategic prayer items!  Here are the ones from previous posts:

3) Thank God that we have identified "Focus Projects" around Jos. Pray for us to take the initiative to start developing relationships with the people from these projects.

2) Courage to step into new opportunities (right now, bringing on new staff is a great one to pray for!)

1) Clarity and direction for us as an organization as our Nigerian Missionaries look for new Ministry Partners to pray for and support them financially. (Pray for me for wisdom and "good hearing" as I have been given a special accountability role of meeting with three of my colleagues to reflect on how this process is going.)
Related to this, pray for each member of our team to have all the ministry partners and the full support level they need. (Click here to for more information on how to pray!)

Strategic prayer 1: Ministry Partners

Back in October last year (2015), our team of twelve was just coming together again after having been focusing on looking for ministry partners here in Nigeria since May.  I was reminded of the vision I had when we returned to Nigeria to start leading this team:  begin with prayer.  So on the first day I could get our team together, the only thing we discussed was what we needed to commit to pray about if we wanted to accomplish our goals.

We drafted a list of seven strategic prayer points and I posted this on the blog so that you all could join us in prayer.  Perhaps it felt too "boxy", or perhaps we just didn't meet often enough as a team (we only have met once since then) but I feel like we have never really come together in unity to consistently seek God with these prayer points.

With that in mind could you pray that our Scripture Engagement team will become united in prayer?  I believe that God likes this kind of prayer, and as we seek him persistently together with this request, I believe he will answer.

Also, until I have a new "Strategic prayer list" from our team, I am going to keep praying through our original seven items.  To help you pray with us, I want to comment on how God is answering these requests, and give you details so you can understand the requests better.

Today, I start with the first request: 

• Clarity and direction for us as an organization as our Nigerian Missionaries look for new Ministry Partners to pray for and support them financially.
  Related to this, pray for each member of our team to have all the ministry partners and the full support level they need.

Thank God with us that since I first wrote this request we have seen God guiding us as an organization.  Now each of our smaller teams which are composed of only Nigerians are making their own plans and schedules for when to go out looking for new ministry partners and when to do their exciting primary ministries (for example, recording and editing the New Testament).  Thank God that many of our Nigerian Missionary colleagues have started seeing even more encouraging responses, especially in the month of December.

We still seek his guidance as the road is still so rough.  Some staff on our team are in financially tough places, and really would like to see more partners get on board and start giving financially--as soon as possible!  Please pray that today and every day God will continue to provide for each of the members of the Scripture Engagement team.  If you want to pray by name we are: Peter, Janet, John, Iliya, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Luka, Rachel, Rachel (yes two Rachels), Frank, Zach, and Christy.

Scripture Engagement Team--Still on hold

Upon our arrival in Nigeria we met our group in a time of transition.  Most notably, the team we were coming to lead includes seven Nigerians.  In May all the Nigerians began an intensive time of Ministry Partner Development.  I also have been involved as a mentor in the process.  We were hopeful that by this month we would be seeing most of these Nigerians reaching 100% of their needed support and coming back to focus on our work as a Scripture Engagement team.  However, it looks like there still is a long way to go for all of us.

This raises a number of prayer items that we would appreciate continued prayer:

• That we will have wisdom to know what to invest our energy into in this time of transition
• As we grow tired, that we will also grow in love and unity... not a natural progression!
• That God will continue to bring new Nigerian Ministry Partners to join us in this work

Also there are a few items of thanksgiving and praise:

• Perhaps more than a thousand people around Nigeria (mostly in Jos) have heard about Bible Translation, many for the first time
• Some Nigerians have eagerly seized the opportunity to become Ministry Partners.
• John Azomo and I were able to share Izere and Hausa audio Scriptures on Sunday, and people eagerly took them
• The Mwaghavul language project has continued to plan and host Scripture Listening and Reading Group training events--almost completely independent of our help

Getting "back to work"

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Getting “back to work” part 1.

When Discipleship Ministry Partnership Development (DMPD) training started we all knew it was going to be intense.  And we knew we were setting aside other very important work because this work was strategic, central. We were being trained in a sustainable model of Nigerian missionaries developing Nigerian ministry partners.   If, by God’s grace, were successful in this endeavor, we’ll have a way of bringing more and more Nigerian missionaries into this important ministry and keeping them longer.

However, still there are those moments, like when I receive a phone call from the pastor who desperately wants several megavoice players (small solar powered audio Bibles) there’s simply no one available who can load these audio Bibles with these Scriptures in his language.  If we make a little exception now, it could compromise the whole DMPD program.  What do you do? By God’s grace, Pastor was able to manage the training he was playing with fewer of the megavoice players, with the promise that as soon as possible, we’d get the rest to him.

It’s no wonder we find ourselves saying, when can we get “back to work?”  Janet, one of the members of our Scripture Engagement Team, has a new perspective on this after going through DMDP.  “Of course, we are eager to get back to our main ministry, she says, but this is ministry too.”  Here at DMPD each day we meet with several different people, have the opportunity to share with them the exciting things God’s doing through Bible translation, and then pray with them about any concerns they have in their lives.  It’s a very personal beginning to new relationships, bringing honour and glory to God.  This is important work too. 

Getting “Back to work” part 2

All this took a sudden twist for me when I found myself with a high fever.  I’m unable to go to work, that is to DMPD.  I couldn’t do anything except lie in bed, and try to get well. During the 30 day Blitz program (the intense training for DMPD) I missed five working days and some weekends, but it felt like a lot more than that.  I found myself wanting to get “back to work” but as God had me flat on my back, I found myself in a place where I could know greater intimacy with him, and learn more about faith than I would have in the official working place.

Praying for Us

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• Zach as he finishes this intensive month of helping with the Partnership Development training for our Nigerian colleagues.
• Christy, that she stays healthy (no malaria), and learns to rest a bit more.
• Baby, that she will grow strong inside of Christy, and that we have peace about a doctor and where to birth the baby. 
• For the Scripture engagement team as we prepare to jumpstart new strategies in September when our colleagues have reached their financial need quota.
• For our Nigerian Missionary Staff (NMS) that they will learn of God’s faithfulness in the next few months to provide their every need, and will be bold in sharing the vision and inviting others to join them financial and prayerfully in mission.
• That we will have wisdom in our anchor project in our community (read below).

In My Weakness

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Zach has testified that being sick for over a week was a powerful reminder that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.  Along with weakness comes worry that the reality of today, may become that of tomorrow.  Thoughts of cerebral malaria or an unknown sickness taking over his body, increased his dependence on the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 

He found himself awake one morning around 2am, enjoying God’s presence in a new way as he sensed God singing over him, “In the day I feel your love, and at night, you sing to me” from Psalm 42.   Also during this time God called him back into intimate relationship with himself that Zach had been longing for.  It has been precious to see how this has born fruit in our times with God together.  We don’t ask for sickness, but of all the outcomes of a sickness, this is surely the greatest one, a better understanding of God’s strength and presence with us.

Zach is now back to work with the Nigerian missionaries as they raise support to continue the work God has called him to do.  It is a fruitful and rewarding, though extremely intense time.  Please do continue to pray for them and their families.  For health, good communication, and much joy as they see that God is their Providing God!

God of contacts!

One of the major requirements all our Nigerian missionary colleagues had to prepare to participate in this training was to get contact information of people—potential ministry partners—they could call to set up appointments.  Imagine that you are in their shoes.  You are asked to get names and phone numbers of forty people that you don’t even know!  You have been calling people and talking to friends asking them to share some contact information for about six weeks and you have only been able to get numbers of about twenty or so people.  Then this morning (Thursday) you are told that if you haven’t yet reached the required forty by 6pm tonight you will not be allowed to continue to the next step of the program (making calls).  How would you feel?  Who would you call to get names and numbers of people you don’t know?  It can start to feel impossible.  But we serve the God of the impossible.  Abraham called God “Jehovah Jireh”, God who provides.  This week we call him “God of Contacts”. 

Here are just three testimonies:

Janet

[The following is Zach’s paraphrase of her testimony on Wednesday.  Understand that each night this week we have never gone home before 9pm, often later.] 

Last night I stayed up until about 2:30am.  So when it was time for break, I was feeling very tired.  I thought maybe I would just lie down on a couch and rest.  Then I remembered the lesson we had shared about how to ask for contacts.  I knew I had only about thirty contacts, so I just decided to try to go out and call one or two people for a few minutes.  By the end of the break, God had given me all my contacts!

Praise the God of Contacts with us!

John

[The following is Zach’s paraphrase of what he shared with me during the lunch break.  Understand again that each night this week we have never gone home before 9pm, often later.] 

Last night when I went home I met my wife.  I was feeling so tired.  Then my wife shared with me that she had found several contacts for me, so now my list of contacts was complete!  At that my tiredness left me and I was just rejoicing!

Praise the God of Contacts with us!

 

Jeremiah

Believe it or not, Jeremiah is getting married on tomorrow.  Perhaps that doesn’t seem so surprising until you realize that he agreed to still fully participate in this thirty-day training, taking only two days leave (today and Monday).  The rest of the thirty days he plans to be present from 7:45am until we close at 9pm.  Talk about a commitment to this ministry!

Yesterday while half of our colleagues were out on an appointment with a potential ministry partner, I asked those who were still here, “Does anyone still need to get more contacts?”  Jeremiah responded, and we went out and sat under a mango tree to make some calls together.

Jeremiah sketched a list of about ten people he knew.  Then he prayed for each of them by name.  Next, he started calling them, following some of the “calling blurbs” that we had received in the training.  One of the first people he called was an “uncle”, an elder in his church.  This uncle was willing to stop what he was doing and start thinking of contacts right then.  He told us to call him back in ten minutes.  We called back in ten minutes and he said we was still working on the list, so he told us to call back again.  Jeremiah finished calling all the other people on the list.  Some were willing to get together contacts, but suggested he call back that evening or the next day.  Finally, he called the other uncle back.

The uncle started listing names and phone numbers.  Jeremiah wrote them, carefully getting all the details we need to know (like what city they live in).  Line and after line the Uncle kept giving names and numbers.  When he was done Jeremiah had the names and numbers of sixteen people in front of him—and he only knew three of them.  After he hung up he smiled, and we started praising God.  Jeremiah just praised God with four simple words “The God of Contacts!”

 Praise the God of Contacts with us!