The following are some of our most recent experiences, Gremar mostly. Some weeks are that kind of a week and what a week it was!

School is going well, students are getting anxious for the rains to start, we have had several good rains, and lots of wind and thunder and lightening storms, but everyone is looking forward to the big rain meaning about 4 inches of rain at once. Then students have one week off to plant their farms, return for the last few weeks before the school year ends.

We had our last TLTI session with all the pastors and evangelists and their wives, so now Thursdays will be a day off for both of us, more or less, probably less!

Maryamu, as you know from former conversations, has continued with school, even though her husband has dropped out. She lives at the school dorm during the week and is at home for the weekends. Well she has a son who is looking to marry this very young girl, about 15 if that, well she got pregnant and has been coming to me regularly for prenatal care along with another family member who is also pregnant, along with the young widow, Ester who lost her husband last year. We wrote about him, a new convert among traditional family members living near us. (Grief and Joy 1-10-13) Anyway this man’s brother married this widow, he already has a wife but traditionally there is a leveret marriage system. Ester has little choice if she wants to keep her two children. She is a new Christian and has been coming to church with her new husband and his wife and this young girl, and us ladies have had great talks about accepting Jesus as Lord of their lives! To make a long story short I was always worried about this young girl, could she deliver? Or in the middle of the night would we be driving to the hospital for a C/S? So I checked her pelvis and thought if she had a small baby we’d be OK, the Lord willing. She is very short, reaches up to my shoulder and has tiny feet! You may laugh but its true, small feet and small pelvis go hand in hand. Sorry you guys, this is girl talk. Anyway Thursday night 9 o’clock, sure enough, could I come? She is in labor! Others who come for antenatal care I tell them I do not do deliveries. But in this case, what could I do? Except of course go. It’s about a mile down a little path, past the dorms, past two other compounds, past sleeping cattle, sure enough all the women of the compound at the doorway of a little round grass roof house sitting, chatting, and inside alone this young girl in labor. I checked her; the head was nicely down, but only 3 cm, a long ways to go. Poor girl! So I told them it would probably be 5 or 6 in the morning before she’d deliver, and to call me at 5. Did I sleep? Of course not, might just as well stayed there for all the worry I did, anyway at 5 AM Maryamu called and away we went. Maryamu is the mother in law to be so there is a lot of “shame” for the young girl to see her so she couldn’t help me. Uma was now complete and pushed well, the mother of the young girl was there to hold my flashlight, and was very helpful. I explained everything I did and she let me do whatever I had to do, I broke the bag of water just before delivery, no meconium. The little baby girl delivered, but did not breath, was limp and blue. Prayers and mouth to mouth and after about 30 seconds, finally started to pink up and make feeble cries. I could have cried with thankfulness! I did when I got home, poor Case! He kept saying aren’t you happy, the baby lived! Yes of course, but emotions just get a hold of me too. Anyway, we all were very thankful, and we all prayed together. I went straight to bed when Case went to school to teach and I slept till noon. Then walked back to the compound to see how mom and baby were doing. I found the baby all nicely washed, powdered up and eye shadow and eyebrow liner on, lying all by herself on the mat on some cloth, bare naked and mother not in sight. The baby was cold but had nursed well, so Maryamu and I talked about how to keep newborns covered and warm, had some of the women of the compound feel her cold feet and hands! I gave them some soap and some outfits that I and Tina and Becky bought in California along with a little hat.

Gremar, Ester, Uma(new mom) and Uma’s mother.

So while marriage preparations may last up to a year or so, the young girl will stay in her parent’s compound but Maryamu is responsible for the little baby, and if for some reason they do not marry, then after the child is weaned the baby is hers to look after. Wow!

Then at 3PM a former student who graduated from the Hausa class, but knows English very well, who did not continue in the English sessions but moved on to Ibi and is enrolled in a health course there, came over. He recently returned here for his practical next month in the hospital about an hours drive from here. So in order to help him we are going through the “Where there is no Doctor ” book and we will see patients together. So there’s always something to keep us busy.

This AM I found a big dead scorpion on the front porch, Case was on the phone outside and killed a snake. Not only that we have these great big spiders, tan in color that are sooooo fast they must be about 3 inches long with long legs, (and I’m not exaggerating!) and every night we kill at least 3 or 4 of them as were are sitting relaxing, I tend to keep my feet up, I wonder why???? Anyway, this morning Case is putting a solar system in the Principals house so they can at least turn on a light at night. Hezron and Christy sure enjoy theirs!

Oh by the way, after we found good flour, the bread is great, but my cookies tasted terrible and whether I made peanut butter cookies or sugar cookies or oatmeal cookies they all tasted the same and I couldn’t figure out why. So I vowed to buy the cookies in the market, at least they taste better. Case finally said, there is a certain ingredient that you put in the cookies but not in the bread, what is it????? Well about a month ago I put my “old” baking soda in the fridge and opened a new one that we had brought out with us. Well, I looked and saw that it was baking soda for refrigerator deodorizer, and the package said “not to be used for baking”, well…no wonder the cookies tasted funny. So out came my B/S from the fridge and in went my new B/S so I hope the old still works since we don’t have any more! That will teach me to read the labels more carefully! We ate them anyway, you don’t throw away good food and we didn’t have any side effects.

News in Nigeria is not encouraging; please keep Nigeria and all of us here at the school in your prayers as you are in ours. Blessing to you all, love to you all, Case and Gremar

Psalm.19 An Unlikely New Year’s Prayer

Psalm 19 was written and sung for the purpose of glorifying God in worship. There are three voices in the Psalm: Nature’s voice, God’s voice, and Man’s voice.

The first voice and first stanza glorifies God: The heavens, the skies proclaim the Works of His hands. Silent speech day and night, day after day, night after night, His Glory is proclaimed throughout the earth without sound. We cannot help being reminded of John 1:3 “Through Him (Jesus) all things are made: without Him nothing was made that has been made. The work of God’s hands in Jesus Christ glorifies God in nature all around us!

Only in the 4th verse is the sun brought into the picture that the Psalmist paints for us. Genesis 1 comes to mind: The first thing God says in creation. “Let there be light”, and it was so but the sun and moon come into the Creation story three days later, a little like this part of Psalm 19.

Revelation 21 tells us about the New Heaven and Earth and the Holy City; the New Jerusalem. In the city we will not need the sun or moon because God will light the city and the Lamb will be our lamp! What are we talking about? God’s Light, light for our eyes, yes but also and equally so justice, compassion, grace, forgiveness, salvation and the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We see God’s work and His glory in nature, including sun and moon as part of general revelation, it is all around us.

My neighbor Bill finally saw God in the natural beauty around him when I pointed out to him that all this beauty has a purpose and doesn’t just happen. By the power of the Holy Spirit Bill gave his life to Jesus some time later. Praise God!

We move to the second voice. The voice of God! That voice begins with God’s covenantal proclamation to Abraham: “I will be your God and to your descendents after you” Gen. 17 and “all nations of the earth will be blessed through Abraham” Gen.18 and “I will be your God and you will be my people “Ex. 6. That is now complete in Jesus Christ. The voice of God in Ps. 19 is given because we are the people of God. Obeying this voice does not establish us as his people but is given to keep us from damaging our relationship with God. We are his people before the law so to speak.

The law begins with the internal function of the covenant: “The law is perfect reviving the soul. The law is trustworthy making us wise. The precepts are right giving joy to the heart.” Here also, as in creation, and in nature’s voice physical light comes a little later. We move from the internal to the external: “The commands of the Lord are radiant giving light to the eyes, the law enduring forever, more precious than gold, sweeter than honey and in keeping them results is great reward.” Take note that God’s voice is described in five different ways: The law, the statutes, the precepts, the commands, and the ordinances.

Verse 11 “By them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward.” God’s blessings come to mind here. Take a moment to reflect on 2013, in your mind review the many blessings God has given us. So what is to be our response?

We see God’s glory every day and every night! Besides that we also have something what many people do not have and don’t hear, that is God’s voice. We hear it every week, perhaps for some every day, reading God’s Word. We hear it now and as his people God’s voice demands a response.

Man’s voice responds: Look at verse 12: It begins with repentance; we all have sins even sins that are hidden. The first response is asking God for forgiveness. The second response is asking for help! O Holy Spirit “keep us from willful sins, may they not rule our lives”, may they not damage our convental relationship with you O Lord my God! The third response is at the end of verse 13: the desire to be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Because we are God’s people, that is accomplished for us by believing in and responding to Jesus Christ. Amen! Praise be to God!

How do we go forward as God’s people, as His church into 2014? With the Psalmist we pray this prayer, it is vs. 14 of Ps 19: “May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer”. Father God, bless us in 2014! Amen.

A winter wonderland!