Family Radio Mission to Lagos, Nigeria
April 24th - May 7, 2006
Click Here to read a special request from one of the mission workers in Lagos.
LETTER #1
"Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in they courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." (Psalms 65:54)
Tuesday, April 25, 2006. By God’s wonderful grace, our group of 24 “Ambassadors for Christ” (16 men and 8 women) has arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, from various parts of the US and Holland.
We plan to proclaim the True Gospel of Christ to the people here during the next ten days by distributing over 40,000 “Does God Love You?” tracts in the English language, over 2,000 King James Bibles, and many booklets and CD’s of Family Radio Bible-teaching materials that many members of the group brought as checked baggage. The tracts have been printed here and contain the current Family Radio Short-Wave broadcasting schedules, School of the Bible information, and a reference to the multilingual website. English is the official language here, and many African dialects are spoken throughout the country.
Nigeria is a developing democratic republic located on the Gulf of the Guinea in West Africa. It is one-third larger in area than Texas and is the most populous country in Africa with about 132 million people. It’s neighbors are Benin, Niger, Cameroon and Chad. The lower course of the Niger River flows South through the Western part of the country into the Gulf of Guinea. Lagos is the largest city, the principal seaport, and the commercial and industrial center of the country. It covers a group of islands separated by numerous creeks and a lagoon. The population of the city and it’s environs is estimated at nearly 20 million people and has grown over 20-fold during the last 25 years. As such, it is considered to be one of the world’s five largest cities. The country’s literacy rate is estimated 68%, and it’s religious make up is as follows: Islam (50%), Christian (40%), and various indigenous religions (10%).
Our hotel is located near the center of the city and is surrounded by many busy markets. The Family Radio School of the Bible currently has about 1,600 active students in Nigeria, and the majority live in the Lagos area. Family Radio has advised them of our visit and has invited them to join us for Bible studies at our hotel. In addition, we will be distributing thousands of invitation cards to those we meet on the streets who show an interest in learning more about the True Gospel of salvation. We will have use of a large meeting room in the hotel with a seating capacity of nearly 1,000 people, and additional large rooms can be used if needed.
We were grateful for the privilege of serving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in this country; and we are praying that God will use our service for His glory and honor here. Could it be that God will grant repentance unto salvation to many of the people in Nigeria?
Wednesday, April 26, 2006. After breakfast and a meeting to organize the work, we went out as six teams of four to various market areas that were packed with people. Three teams went in a large van to separate locations in one huge market area, and two other teams worked in the markets near our hotel. In general, the acceptance of the tracts was excellent (over 90%), and the discard rate was very low. We met several Family Radio listeners who were eager to attend our Bible studies, and we handed out many of the invitation cards to those who expressed some interest in the Gospel message on the tract. The people are polite and friendly to us even though many have never encountered the True Gospel before.
Since the weather is very hot (high 90's F) and humid, we have to make a conscious effort to stay hydrated and find some shade from the tropical sun wherever possible. We also have to be extra careful to the traffic because of the amazing traffic congestion and the walking obstacles around and in the market areas. In most places it is extremely difficult to walk through the crowds with many people carrying all manner of goods in baskets and bundles on their heads and many others selling their wares right on the sidewalks and streets.
We had about 250 visitors at the Bible study this evening, and the people were very orderly, attentive and appreciative of the Bibles and study materials they received. There were about 20 Family Radio School of the Bible students in attendance, and several people filled out applications to take the courses. Since it is dangerous and difficult for many of them to attend in the evenings, some expressed an interest in attending Bible studies in the afternoons; and we decided to have one study everyday at 2:00 pm and another at 7:30 pm to accommodate as many people as possible.
We praise and thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for making it possible for us to bring the light of God’s Word to these dear people, and we pray for a great harvest of souls in this city, this country, and this part of Africa.
"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die we are the Lord’s" (Romans 14:8)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Nigeria
LETTER #2
Thursday, April 27, 2006. Our teams took taxis to their assigned locations at busy markets in Lagos today, and they experienced the same excellent distribution results everywhere. Our group leader and a Nigerian man, who is enrolled in the School of the Bible, were able to obtain permission for us to visit two prisons next Wednesday. While waiting for the paperwork to be processed, they were allowed to distribute tracts throughout the administration offices of the prison system.
We conducted our first afternoon Bible study with about 250 visitors, but the situation became somewhat unruly when we began to hand out the Bibles. Later, we had the same problem in the evening session with about 400 people in attendance. Everyone coming to the meeting is expecting to receive a free Bible, and we are praying for wisdom as to the best way to handle Bible distribution at the meetings.
Once things got settled down in both meetings, the people were attentive and showed a genuine interest in learning more about the True Gospel of grace and many filled out applications for the School of the Bible and made requests to have Family Radio books sent to them by mail. There seems to be a great hunger for the Word of God in this city, and we greatly thank the Lord for that.
Friday, April 28, 2006. We went out in two large vans to busy markets, and the tract-distribution rate continued to be high due, in part, to assistance from five Nigerian students of the School of the Bible.
We decided to allocate a certain number of Bibles to be given out at each session on a first-come-first-serve basis, and we tried to limit them to one per family. They are very nice, large-print KJV Bibles and are greatly prized by the recipients. The problem we always have with handing out Bibles is that we never have enough to fill the demand, and we would like to encourage Family Radio listeners to donate additional funds to buy Bibles for these trips. Some people may just want them for the monetary value in this poor country, but many have shown profound spiritual hunger and gratitude for the precious Word of Life.
We had about 250 people at the afternoon Bible study again today. The evening session packed the large conference room to capacity with about 800 visitors, so we conducted another study in a smaller room for the overflow of about 300 people. People were still wanting to get in, but the hotel management had to turn them away after both meeting rooms were filled.
Since our Bible supply is dwindling quickly, we decided to stop handing out the invitation cards mentioning the free Bibles, and we placed an order for 1,000 smaller Bibles of which about 400 will be aside for the prison visit next week. The rest will be allocated to the Bible-study sessions. We are rejoicing that God has provided this great opportunity for the people of Nigeria to hear the True Gospel of Christ proclaimed and to receive His Precious Word by means of the Bible and tract distribution work we are doing here. Please pray that God will do a mighty work of grace in the hearts of many of these dear people.
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Nigeria
LETTER #3
"O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." (Psalms 119:97)
Saturday, April 29, 2006. Because this was the last Saturday of the month, many of the roads were closed to normal vehicular traffic for street-cleaning and trash-removal operations until 10:00 a.m. We used that extra time to have a meeting to read some Bible passages and share some of our experiences.
One of our group told of a young man who was excited when he read about the end of the Church Age on the tract. He had never heard of Family Radio before, but he studies the Bible and came to that conclusion on his own several years ago. Now, when tries to speak about it, everyone scoffs and vilifies him. We do not know how he arrived at his conclusion, but he asked for several more tracts to give to his family and friends and was happy to hear there were some free books he can get from Family Radio to learn more about the matter.
The teams again went out in two large vans to continue distributing tracts in a few of the busy markets within the city of Lagos. We are concentrating our efforts on the markets because a cross-section of people from all over flow through them and because they provide very high distribution rates. There are steady streams of people going in all directions, and the tracts seem to fly out of our hands in those places.
People keep flocking into our daily meetings despite the fact that we are handing out a fixed portion of the remaining Bibles in each session; and, by God's mercy, we are learning how to keep a little better order as we go along. We had about 600 people in the afternoon session and about the same number in the evening. Many are returning to the Bible studies to learn more about the True Gospel of Christ.
Sunday, April 30, 2006. Many churchgoers received tracts today, and at one mega church location there was an announcement over the outside loudspeakers for the people not to take the tracts. However, that seemed to increase their curiosity, and they just kept taking the tracts. One of our group was working in a very squalid area near our hotel and came upon a group of about 30 Muslim men sitting under a canopy holding some kind of meeting. He walked up and said he had some important information from the Bible about God's salvation plan for anyone interested. He told them it was the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and he was pleased to give every man there a tract. Could it be that God will open the spiritual eyes of some of those men to the truth? We a total of about 1,000 people attending the Bible studies today, and near the end of the evening session the teacher asked the closing question on the "Does God Love You?" tract that says "Are you ready to meet God?" and was puzzled by the cheer that went up from the crowd. Later, one of our group, who is originally from Nigeria, explained the reason they cheered is because they think the question means "Are you ready to be saved?" instead of "Are you ready to die?"
Monday, May 1, 2006. Today is a holiday here. Most businesses were closed, but the markets remained open and were as busy as usual. Each ambassador has dozens of interesting encounters during the day, and here are a couple one of the men in our group provided:
I was giving out tracts in front of the "Rock of Ages Prayer and Miracle Center" near our hotel where they sell prayer candles, incense, and potions that are supposed to bring healing through the power of Christ. After receiving the tracts, several women street vendors in the area started singing and waving the tracts with the True Gospel of Christ in the air with great joy, which served to call attention to the tract. At another time I wandered into a back area where a local gang of youths approached to see what I was giving away. The group leader took a tract and mockingly read the first question asking "why is there so much suffering and sorrow in the world?" to the gang. Then I told the young man to read the answer that says "our sins are the cause for all the suffering and sorrow," and as he read it his countenance and manner immediately changed and it seemed as if he was speechless for the first time in his life. I asked him if that was the answer he expected. He said, "No," and from that point on he was very friendly and insisted that all of his gang take a tract, and he wanted me to give tracts to everyone around that area.
We are making very good progress in getting out the tracts and plan to finish distributing all 400,000 of them by the end of the week, as the Lord allows. The weather has been hot, but we have had no rain to hamper our work.
The large meeting room was nearly filled to capacity during both Bible-study sessions today, and people are still filling out application forms for the School of the Bible. However, there seems to be some misunderstanding of just what the School is all about.
Most of the people have no concept of what personal Bible study really is, even though we mention it in our lessons. Some people may think that it is a way to sign up to have a free Bible sent to them. Others may think that the correspondence courses will qualify them to get some kind of job "serving the Lord" (whatever that means to them) or even a job with Family Radio doing what our group members are doing here. We decided to try to explain this subject in a little more detail in future meetings.
We are continually thanking and praising our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His wisdom, guidance, and protection as we seek to proclaim the True Gospel of grace to the people of Nigeria.
"Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him." (Proverbs 30:5)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Nigeria
LETTER #4
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Tuesday, May 2, 2006. By God's wonderful grace, our work continued safely and at a rapid rate again today. Two van loads of our people and our Nigerian helpers went to large markets farther away from our hotel. We are always working in different areas and are traveling longer distances each day to spread the "Does God Love You?" tracts out over a larger and larger area. We also concentrate on the busy street markets because that is a way to use a van load of a dozen or so people in the most effective manner.
Some of our group members have come down with colds and other ailments and are staying closer to the hotel, but we are all serving the Lord to the best of our ability with joy in our hearts and are thankful for God's protection from any serious illness or injury.
Attendance at the two Bible-study sessions has been over 1,000 for the past few days. We have tried various ways of handing out a specific number of Bibles to the people, but it is difficult to control the crowds no matter what we do. Every method tried has had its problems; but when the allocated number has been distributed, we thank God that the people settle down quickly with no further commotion and are very attentive during the Bible studies. Please pray that the Bibles will get into the right hands at the right time according to God's perfect will.
The tract and Bible distribution work here is serving to emphasize the importance of God's Word and has generated an eagerness in many of the people to learn more about God's magnificent salvation program. The large attendance at the meetings has given us more personal interaction with the people than we normally have on these trips, and we thank the Lord for that.
Please continue to pray that God will use this work for His glory and honor in this spiritually hungry land.
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Nigeria
LETTER #5
"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Colossians 3:17)
Wednesday, May 3, 2006. Tract distribution in the busy markets continued with the usual excellent results.
One team visited a large prison complex called Kirikiri. The men's and women's sections have about 2,000 and 200 inmates, respectively; and we gave a Gospel presentation and distributed Bibles and tracts to large groups in each section. The people were very attentive and respectful to us there. One man said he used to listen to Family Radio before he went to prison and said he was going to pay more attention to the Bible teaching there when he gets out. We were able to witness to the Chief of Prisons and other security personnel, and one woman employee rode back to the hotel with us to get a Bible, which was about a one-hour ride.
We took delivery of 800 more small Bibles today, and we experienced some major problems with crowd control at both Bible-study sessions. The initial crush of people to get Bibles overpowered the hotel security personnel and our own people, and we decided to suspend further distribution until security improvements can be made for safety purposes. In the clamor for Bibles, it is impossible to be selective with the distribution. We just put the Bibles in hands the best we can, and pray that God will get them to the right people according to His good pleasure.
Thursday, May 4, 2006. The tract distribution work proceeded smoothly and rapidly again today. The people continue to be very receptive and the discard rate is very low everywhere we worked. While working in a market about one hour away from our hotel, a poor lady vendor came to one of our group and thanked him for the Bible she received the night before. She said she had attended several of the meetings and was finally able to get one. We realized what an effort she had to make to attend both Bible studies each day, and she was extremely grateful for the precious gift she received. She said she had been taking notes at every meeting and was so happy to finally have a Bible to look up the verses that were cited.
One young man who received a tract took it home and read it to his father, who is blind and of the Islamic faith. He had to translate it into an African dialect because his father does not understand English. When he told his father there would be a study that evening, the father encouraged his son to attend it and gave him money for transportation. At the study the young man received an audio CD of the Open Forum and returned the next day with many questions for one of our men. While he showed the young man the answers in the Bible, the young man told the following story: The day after he took the CD home, several men from his neighborhood came to his house to take his father to the mosque, but his father sent them away. He told them that he and his wife wanted to become Christians. We gave the young man a Bible and more Family Radio materials. Could it be that God will do a mighty work of grace in the hearts of those dear people and give them much wisdom as they seek the True and Living God in the Scriptures?
The hotel management arranged for some police officers to maintain order at the meetings today, and we did not distribute any Bibles. Everything went very smoothly and peacefully, and we decided to resume distribution of the remaining Bibles tomorrow.
Friday, May 5, 2006. This is our last letter for this trip. We had a meeting after breakfast today to discuss travel plans for tomorrow and to talk about the next trip to Mexico in July. Over half of this group expressed an interest in going on that trip.
We finished distributing the remaining tracts this morning and gave our Nigerian helpers from the School of the Bible a few thousand to distribute in their own neighborhoods. They have been an extremely helpful, dedicated, and hard-working group of young men and have been a real asset to our work here.
By God's wonderful grace, we also finished distributing the remaining Bibles in a much more orderly manner at both Bible-study sessions today, thanks to the continued police assistance and more experience on our part.
A young woman from a neighboring state came to our hotel with her baby asking for a Bible. She had attended a previous Bible study, but did not get a Bible. She was willing to wait outside the hotel for five hours to attend the afternoon meeting in order to try to get a Bible. Needless to say, we were happy to give her one, some booklets to read, and a place to sit in the hotel lobby while she waited for the meeting.
Over and over, we see examples of the great spiritual hunger here for the Word of God, while in our own county people have a great many Bibles just gathering dust; and we thank the Family Radio listeners who donate funds to purchase Bibles for these trips. We can assure you that many of them will serve to fill a great need in these poor countries.
One first-time member of the group provided these comments:
"My impressions of my first Family Radio trip have been very positive. God has been so kind in protecting the group out on the busy streets and crowded markets and enabling us by His guidance to overcome whatever problems He allowed us to face. Among the members of the group, I observed a real sense of purpose, camaraderie, and encouragement, as only those who share a common experience can appreciate. The desire to serve the Lord in this way is contagious, and it drives many of these same individuals to keep going on future trips. It has been a great joy to see how well the tracts were received in by the people here. We also had the added blessing of inviting many to our two daily Bible studies and see how attentively the people listened and took notes as they heard the True Gospel of Christ being preached. Getting to know some of the Nigerian School of the Bible students who helped us was wonderful too. Their zeal and diligence to serve the Lord was a real blessing. I heartily encourage any interested Family Radio listener to participate in one of these trips. The work is hard, but the fellowship is sweet; and I can honestly say that this trip has been one of the highlights of my life. To God be the glory!"
We have placed a total of 400,000 "Does God Love You?" tracts and 2,800 Bibles in the hands of the friendly people of Lagos. Please pray that God will grant repentance unto salvation to many in this part of the world and will raise up faithful men and women here to continue the work of the Gospel through the use of the biblical resources that Family Radio freely provides and the programming on short-wave radio that reaches this country. We are praying that God will open the spiritual eyes and ears of many of those who received tracts and came to the Bible studies.
We thank God for His guidance and protection and give Him all the praise and glory for what He has done with us, for us, and through us on this trip. We also thank the listeners and supporters of Family Radio for their prayers and financial gifts that make these mission trips possible. We consider our being "Ambassadors for Christ" in this manner a great privilege and honor and highly recommend it to others.
May the Lord’s perfect will be done in the hearts of the people of Nigeria.
"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" (Colossians 3:23)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Nigeria