In early April, our family participated in the Ball
State University PAYLP (Pan African Youth Leadership Program) as a host
family. There were 24 high school students
participating in the program from 8 sub-Saharan African countries. The students we hosted, Ruth and Joseph, were
from Nigeria and Zimbabwe respectively.
They were both chosen because they are future leaders in their countries. They spent time in Washington D.C. and Chicago
along with the two weeks in Muncie.
During the two weeks that they lived with us, Ruth
and Joseph were able to experience living in America firsthand. They quickly became part of our
drop-off/pick-up schedule. They had
seats at the dinner table, watched movies and went bowling with us like they were
a part of our family. From the minute
that we met them until the time we dropped them off they called Staci and me “Mom”
and “Dad.” They’re both great kids.
Joseph described his time in America as “powerful”
(this word has become our family’s favorite new adjective by the way). I asked him one morning as I was taking him
to Ball State what he thought Americans took for granted. His answer was simple – running water and
electricity. Joseph explained that his
school day didn’t start until Noon because he spent each morning walking to get
water for his family. He loads empty
containers each morning and walks 15 minutes to a Mormon Church to get them
filled and another 15 minutes to return home.
Ruth lives in a part of Africa where there is a
great deal of violence with Boko Haram, an Islamist extremist group. Boko Haram means “Western education is
sinful.” On Monday of her second week
with us, there were 60 people killed in Nigeria after homes were set on fire
and people were shot trying to escape. Wow. I couldn’t
believe this and I started reading more about Boko Haram. I was saddened at what I found.
Since January ‘14, there have been 250,000 people in
northern Nigeria have been displaced from their homes because of the
violence. Over 1000 have died so far
this year. Since 2009, over 6000 people
have been killed in the violence in Nigeria in Boko Haram’s quest to form a
separate, strict Islamic state.
On April 14th (the day before Ruth left
us), over 230 girls from a secondary school in the Nigerian town of Chibok were
abducted while they were at a secondary school by members of Boko Haram. These girls are Ruth’s age. They’re still missing. According to community leaders in Nigeria,
these girls will be displaced by being sold and forced to marry the Islamic
extremists that kidnapped them. One
source that I read this morning said that they were being sold off for $12
apiece.
 |
| Over 230 Girls Kidnapped from their School are Still Missing in Nigeria |
On April 19th, Ruth and Joseph headed
back to Nigeria and Zimbabwe. As you can
imagine, they have been on our hearts ever since.
It’s very easy to get caught up in routine news in
the US – celebrity drama, political scandal, weather, traffic, etc. What we view as important has everything to
do with what is made important to us by the media. I challenge each of you reading this to begin
following the story about the missing girls in Nigeria. Pray for them. Pray for their poor families that must be
completely terrified. (#BringBackOurGirls)
Joseph’s story of walking to a Mormon church to get
water reminded me that the Latter Day Saints have a very effective mission
program. Joseph’s family is Mormon. They rely on their church to meet the most
basic needs. Ruth’s story reminded me
that radical Islam is not isolated to parts of the Middle East. It’s spreading.
Two weeks with Ruth and Joseph added motivation,
passion and validation in my effort to spread the news of Jesus Christ to the
people of Mekelle, Ethiopia by building our first Bible Training Center in
northern Ethiopia. Is one Bible Training
Center going to change the world? I pray
that it will alter the course of at least one African city. This week, we eclipsed the $50,000 mark with a
couple months of fundraising on the way to our goal of $200,000. To learn more about how you can get involved
and help spread God’s Word visit www.harvestinethiopia.com.
