November 29th, 2008

HUGE PRAYERS NEEDED !!
For Tim & Kelly...............Hi Friends, Thank you all so much for your prayers concerning the crisis in Jos right now, PLEASE don't stop! I just spoke with Tim (8:30 Central time), and here is the latest: Yesterday evening, the military moved into the areas with the most concentrated rioting in Jos. They arrested many of the M*slims in those neighborhoods (one is directly behind our compound), and apparently they informed the "Christians" in the area that they could do whatever they wanted to do. So the Christians torched the homes of the M*slims, acting exactly as the M*slims had behaved earlier in the day. (This is a typical cycle of retaliation between the 2 warring religions.) Tim said that things were quiet in the night, but at 6a.m. this morning, they all awoke to machine gun fire, which continued until around noon. He estimates 500 "refugees" on our compound at present, mostly women and children. Our compound is surrounded by a 10 foot brick wall which is partially topped with razor wire and broken glass. We have 2 gated entrances which are guarded by several VERY old, unarmed guards. We have 7 families living on our compound and 13 children. When asked about how my children were handling the crisis, Tim told me that Schyler (our 11 year old daughter) was having a very difficult time, feeling very anxious and wanting her Mom. :( In 2001, there was a serious religious crisis in Jos, when an estimated 10,000 people were killed over a 2 week period. We do NOT want a repeat. Please pray that the military will be present and FAIR, not preferring one group over the other. There are stories of some soldiers giving fire arms to Christians to defend property against M*slims. As for my knee surgery, all went very well and I am recovering at my parents home in Texas. The pain is present, but the situation with my family in Nigeria puts my own discomfort into good perspective. Of course it is very hard to be away from them right now. Thanks again for your prayers, we love you all. KellyThe Lord your God is with you! He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing! Zephaniah 3:17