Ulric and Annabel Gerry - Nigeria |
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Prayer Letter August 2008
FAMILY.
The last year has been good. As a family as we feel we have really now settled into living in Abuja. The girls have all really enjoyed school. Meriel and Caitlin (5) are now reading, writing (ish!), swimming without armbands. Iona (3) can swing very high without help, and was very proud to be presented at the end of nursery school term with a certificate for knowing her shapes, and we all have made some good friends.
Iona, Caitlin and Meriel doing their radio checks…..
CHURCH.
Abuja Ark also feels much more established as a part of the community, and we now have a number of people preaching, leading worship and generally getting involved. Abuja can be a bit of a wilderness experience for many people, as there is little to do, and only a small community who are often quite stressed-out with work and living here. Many are on short term contracts, for only one or two years, and so never really make the effort to call Abuja home. Our vision as a church is to provide an 'Ark', a place of safety, support and encouragement, where people can deepen relationships with each other and God, and introduce others to Him.
VACATION, LOCATION.
Many of the church have left either for summer vacation or have finished their short contracts, so we are on a break now until September, when we hope to pick up the new arrivals when they come in. We are still looking for a new venue which is a concern, but we are sure the Lord will provide. Current possibilities include the a Lebanese restaurant or an International School. Please pray.
ALPHA.
After running our first Alpha Course early this year I advertised it to the Anglican diocesan clergy, with the result that Alpha is now being run by the State House chaplaincy. The Nigerian Vice President and a number of the Presidency staff have now taken part in Alpha which is very exciting. Please pray that it has an impact & that I might have opportunities to resource and encourage the local Anglican church here.
NIGERIA.
Generally in Nigeria things are not so good. Everyone was hopeful that the new government was going to make a difference, but other than exposing the money that the last administration wasted, little has yet changed. No one yet has been seriously prosecuted for corruption. The majority of Nigerians continue to suffer with electricity shortages, lack of clean water, inadequate medical care, poor education, insecurity and terrible roads. With the increase in oil prices, Nigeria has a windfall which if used well and not too quickly could make a huge difference to millions of lives, but nothing seems to be happening. To give you a taster of some of the problems in government and politics here:
"Ambassador Samuel Edem controlled an annual budget of close to a 100 billion naira (£430m) to provide infrastructure in the impoverished Niger Delta…… Edem had spent about 1 billion naira (£4.2m) on witchcraft and burnt another 270 million naira (£1.1m) in a fetish ritual he believed would help secure his position and attract more patronage from the authorities," - Daily Nation 12 Aug 08
Please pray for Nigeria and people and organisations involved in development here, that the Federal and State governments might have a heart for really making a difference.
FUTURE.
We are now considering what we should do when Annabel's contract expires next summer. We could extend here a couple of years, return to the UK, or go elsewhere. There are certainly lots of possibilities for ministry here both with the international and local community. Crosslinks are looking into developing a Bible Preaching School here in conjunction with NIFES - we have enjoyed Alan Purser's recent visit for a conference.
PARTNER CHURCHES.
We are very aware that we haven't visited our partner churches as we would have liked over the last few years, what with a young family and our UK base now being in Scotland. I will try and contact you all by phone at the end of August, when we will be in Scotland for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.
Ulric, Annabel and Caitlin, Iona and Meriel.