Greetings!
Hey friends! I want to give an update of these last couple months but also to share little bits of what is going on at APOH with kids and different ministries so you can get more of a whole picture with the ministry and have some specifics to pray for. If you're interested in getting email updates(which is more of a summary than my blog), send me your email address (you can email me at: Brittni.Poore@urmyhope.org). I'll try to be sending out those on a monthly basis.
Medical Missions Conference
Beverly Starling (founder/director with her husband of APOH), Susanna Daves (a long-time friend of the Starlings and recently called to go to Nigeria long-term!) and myself all met up in Louisville, KY for a 3 day conference put on by Global Missions. It was SO good! We got to choose 7 sessions to attend which was extremely difficult because there were so many good ones. We got to attend sessions including but not limited to: Diarrhea (ya, seriously), Nursing and HIV, Communicating with Muslims (which was taught by a Nigerian who receives weekly death threats for teaching the gospel to Muslims), Suturing for non-Surgeons, Infectious Diseases, Trafficking, etc. We also got to be in a discussion group about Community Health Evangelism, hear some great speaking, wonderful praise and worship, meet missionaries, students, and medical professionals from all over the world, and visit a ton of booths that represented everything you could imagine you would need living and ministering in a third world country.
Besides the conference itself, it was just SOSO good for all 3 of us to be together! Bev had just the day before got back from Nigeria so we had a lot to catch up on as well as it being a time to share ideas, fears, and encouragement with each other. I'm so thankful for the time!
We received free housing from the sweetest, cutest, most in-love elderly couple:) They attend the (massive) church where the conference was held and have been housing missionaries and the like for many years. It's obvious they get a lot of joy from it.
Ministry opportunities abound through APOH!
Although the reason APOH exists is to provide a loving and Godly home for kids who don't have another option, it has become so much more that that. Living life there and taking care of a group of kids that represent different groups and languages doesn't happen without people paying attention and being interested in what you're all about. Building relationships and trust with the community is a given and through that many more opportunities have come up. Just to share a few:
-Joey has given lectures at a nearby University and we have been able to build relationships with the University students. Recently many of them came to APOH. They visited with the kids and the Starlings and brought many gifts with them. There is definitely opportunity for an on-campus student ministry.
-The Starlings have opened up their home in Nigeria to many different people at different stages in their lives(needing a job, waiting to be excepted into the University, etc.) including several young men who are interested in going to Seminary School.
-Many of the children at APOH come from villages farther north. These villages are much more "in the bush" than where we are and have a different language and culture than our area. The area is very influenced by Islam and Animism and as the children understand more about salvation and what it means to not be a Christian, they are concerned for their people and their need for a Savior. Obviously, we have an "in" with these people because the kids are from there. We plan on visiting around March with a U.S. doctor(most of them have never been to a doctor), supplies to put on a V.B.S. and the older kids. I pray that one day, these people will know the peace and life of putting their faith in Jesus. I'm also praying that the kids that are from these villages will always have a burden in their heart and be able to share the Gospel in a way they will understand.
L'Chaim B'Yeshua
This is the name of the Messianic Jewish congregation I went to this past Friday. I was invited there by a customer-turned-friend who is a member. I got to share about APOH and what I am called to do in Nigeria. It was such a privilege to be able to talk to the sweet people there and I was blessed by their generosity...not to mention a cultural experience!
-Many of the children at APOH come from villages farther north. These villages are much more "in the bush" than where we are and have a different language and culture than our area. The area is very influenced by Islam and Animism and as the children understand more about salvation and what it means to not be a Christian, they are concerned for their people and their need for a Savior. Obviously, we have an "in" with these people because the kids are from there. We plan on visiting around March with a U.S. doctor(most of them have never been to a doctor), supplies to put on a V.B.S. and the older kids. I pray that one day, these people will know the peace and life of putting their faith in Jesus. I'm also praying that the kids that are from these villages will always have a burden in their heart and be able to share the Gospel in a way they will understand.
L'Chaim B'Yeshua
This is the name of the Messianic Jewish congregation I went to this past Friday. I was invited there by a customer-turned-friend who is a member. I got to share about APOH and what I am called to do in Nigeria. It was such a privilege to be able to talk to the sweet people there and I was blessed by their generosity...not to mention a cultural experience!
*TODAY I PURCHASED A ONE-WAY TICKET TO NIGERIA FOR FEBRUARY 11TH! Yay!*
Visa troubles
I am so thankful that I was able to purchase my ticket to go back with the Starlings, however, it's looking very doubtful that I will have my visa by then. I still haven't been able to send everything to Nigeria because I'm still waiting on the Nigerian organization that I'm being "invited" by to let me know what I need. Fru.stra.ting. Although it's not the "end of the world" if I have to postpone my departure date a little (it won't cost much if anything to change the date on my ticket thanks to ministrytravel.com *free advertising*), I would still love to be able to go back with everyone else. And because someone has to pick me up once I get into Lagos, Nigeria(it's still another plane and bus ride away to where we live), it would be a big inconvenience and expense to come back at a different time. And besides all of that, I'm so ready to be there! So it seems agonizing to have to wait even longer. But, God is in control. He's got me this far..a little visa trouble is nbd. :) Would you pray with me that everything would happen smoothly and quickly?
HUGE answer to prayer!
Many of you have probably "heard" me mention a prayer request that someone would provide a car for me for Dec-Feb. Well, surprise, surprise...He provided a vehicle! I'm so thankful and somehow still in awe at His provision and the generosity of people. I shouldn't be. Thank you everyone who prayed with me about this!
The End!
If you've stuck with me this far, I'm very impressed! Thank you all so much for your part in "my"(Thankfully it's God's, not mine) ministry in Nigeria. Your prayers, emails, words of encouragement, money, questions, love, and support mean more than I could adequately relay.
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| love family time on the holidays! |
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