Eye Opening Experience

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 14^th (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 19^th, 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.