Honoring Their Sacrifice

Gainesboro, Tennessee is a quiet little town located in the rolling hills north of Cookeville, about eighty miles east of Nashville. In 1940, my parents, Ralph and Ruby Snell, moved with their three young daughters to this small town of 672 residents.

This young father had been called as the new preacher for the Church of Christ in Gainesboro. In his early thirties, he might have joined his family on their farm in Middle Tennessee, but a severe injury he had suffered as a teenager left him with a deformed hip and a right leg that was four or five inches shorter than his left. This injury meant he could not farm so he had gone to school and studied to be a minister and teacher.  But this injury meant something else. When it came time to sign up for the military draft, he received a 4F deferment and was exempt from military service.

As this young family was settling into life in this quiet town, the rest of the world was careening out of control. Though the town was the largest in Jackson County, it was quite rural and primarily a place where farmers came in from the countryside to purchase seed and feed and sell livestock and vegetables. However, there was one unique fact about the geography of this county and this part of Tennessee. The terrain around Gainesboro mimicked the terrain in Europe where WWII was well underway. In those first years of a new decade, this little town and the surrounding area was chosen by the U.S. Army as good place to train soldiers for the European theater. Army maneuvers began around Gainesboro shortly after America was jerked into the war by the events at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Hundreds of troops on their way overseas set up camp around the town and held training exercises before they loaded onto trains and headed out to war.

Ralph Snell and his young family and his church played host to many of these young men every Sunday for several weeks. Many of these soldier boys would come into town on the weekends and quite a few attended church.  After Sunday services, the church people would invite them home for dinner of fried chicken or pot roast, complete with all the trimmings one might expect from great southern cooks. My mother would tell, with amusement, the story of one of these boys from up north who had never had biscuits and butter and jam. After being invited home for one of these meals he came back to church the next Sunday. When the church lady invited him again for dinner he asked, are we going to have those "hot ones." It took her a while to figure out that he was referring to her biscuits. The week before she had returned again and again to the oven bringing more biscuits to the table and asking, "Would you like a hot one?"

In addition to these expressions of hospitality, there would be another way my dad would serve during the war. As the war began to gather young men from around the country, a number of young men from Gainesboro and Jackson County were enlisted into service. And, as the war began to require the ultimate sacrifice from these young men, my father was called to minister to a number of families who received their soldiers home in pine boxes. As the only located preacher in the county, my dad travelled to all parts of the county to conduct funerals and minister to grieving families. In one terrible year he conducted more than fifty funerals.

On this Memorial Day, 2014, I do not have a close family member that I remember who served and died for my freedoms. But, without fail, on every Memorial Day, I think about those young men and those families from Jackson County, Tennessee.  And, I pause to thank God for their service and their sacrifice.

What's in a (Nigerian) Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet

This familiar statement by Juliet (in Shakespeare's Play, Romeo and Juliet) suggests that names are artificial and meaningless and that a person retains the essential essence of their personage - no matter what name they may wear. While Juliet may be right, I believe that names can be vitally important and that, sometimes we live up to the names we are given. (Actually, we can also live down to the names we are called. One only has to endure "name-calling" as a child to begin to understand the consequences of negative names on the human psyche).

Ken 

In America, parents choose their children's names - usually with some reference to a family name or some special meaning. But sometimes names can be chosen just because parents like the sound of it or even because the initials make for a good monogram. In Nigeria, it is quickly obvious that parents choose names for their children with an entirely different mind-set. Sure - there are familiar Igbo tribal names like Ihechi (pronounced: ee-heh-chee) and Obioma (pronounced: oh-bee-ah-muh, which means "kind"). And, sometimes, children are named for relatives or given the name of some other significant person in the life of the parents. At an orphanage like Susana Homes, babies are often named for Americans who have visited the home, or have in some way offered their support to the success of the ministry. It is a high honor when Mama Chi gives one of her babies your name. This little boy in the Braves shirt was named "Ken" in my honor. I felt so honored, I took him a Braves t-shirt. (He seemed to like the shirt but I wondered if he was really thinking,  "I have given this man the honor of wearing his name in Nigeria and all he brought me was this t-shirt.) 

God's Power

Many of the names you hear in Nigeria are memorable because they seem to express the beliefs of the parents or tell you something about the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and the birth. Can you imagine what the mother went through before giving birth to a baby girl and naming her "Miracle"? Or, can you begin to understand what might have motivated a mother to give her son the name, "God's Power"?  A few of the other great names I heard: Favor, Wisdom, God's Will, Happiness, Confidence, and Blessing.

Praise

For me though, one of the names that fit its wearer the best was "Praise." Praise was our cook at Susana Homes. She is a beautiful young lady, 22 years old. She is from Port Harcourt - a city of over 2 million people and has only been working at Susana Homes for a couple of months. Her ambition is to have her own catering shop - catering parties and making cakes for weddings. Praise finished cooking school and was on her way to apply for a job at a fast food restaurant when she met Chi and got the job at Susana Homes. Praise's father is a minister and she has grown up singing in church. She has a servant-heart and is very humble and hard-working. She cooked our meals, washed the dishes, cleaned our quarters, and served as our hostess. She always had a pleasant disposition and she quietly went about her tasks with dedication and care. If she was busy with her chores and did not know we were listening, she would sing hymns and praises as she worked. I think her favorite song must be "One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus" because many times we heard Praise sing:

One day at a time sweet Jesus 

That's all I'm asking from you. 

Just give me the strength 

To do everyday what I have to do. 

Praise. A perfect name for Praise. Her voice - constantly singing his praise. Her hands - serving for the praise of his glory. Her heart - devoted to his praise. Her life - inspiring praise in me.

Santa Visits Susana Homes

Alan Moore Made a Great Santa

 I bet you think that in late February Santa is hibernating at the North Pole - freezing his toes off while his elves are busy trying to anticipate what the next big fad will be for Christmas 2013. Well, you could not be more wrong!!! Santa - in late February - is visiting warmer climates and blessing children in places like Susana Homes in Nigeria. I know. I saw him there!
We had heard rumors of the kindly old man's appearance so, on Tuesday evening the staff of Susana Homes gathered all of the children and boarding students (this was the night before the students headed home for a week-long mid-term holiday) - about 150 children in all - out under the trees to wait and see if he would show up. And he did! He came with gifts for every child and every staff member - things like pencils and t-shirts and "sweets" - just the kinds of things that add a touch of joy to a steamy hot night in a place like Susana Homes!
It was such a blessing to see the joy on the faces of the children and the staff and to be treated to a display of talent by the children. We heard singing and saw dances and even enjoyed a comedy routine by one of the boarding students. Then, after the show, the gifts were given and the children were treated to a party that included a meal of one of their favorite things - noodles!  The children went to bed happy. The students left for home the next day with gifts. And, we - from North America - brought home with us a new knowledge about Santa's year-round work and many wonderful memories!

Each Child Greeted Santa and Received a Gift Bag 

Andra (Tweet) Displayed Her Talent for Ballet

Worship - To the Glory of God!

Note: We made it home to Atlanta safely on Wednesday, March 6 but I will continue to chronicle our trip and add pictures.

Sunday, March 3 - Worship to the Glory of God in Aba

Sunday, March 3, we made the one-hour trip to Aba, a city of about 2.5 million people, to worship with the church at No. 5 Ndoki Rd. WOW!  The auditorium is a two-floor building with seating for about 300-400 on each floor and the pulpit located to one end of the center aisle at the "mezzanine" level. 

Ken - Preaching in Aba

Listening to 700-800 people singing exuberant praise in Igbo and English at the same time was truly an experience of a lifetime.

The Men Seated on the Left Side of the Balcony 

Listening to the tender prayers for the concerns of the church was memorable as we prayed with joy for a new baby that was born and even sang a song requested by the parents, but we also prayer for a father who lost his daughter and a mother who lost her baby. We prayed for a man who has begun a new business and we welcomed a young lady who has come from another city to be a member and a young man  who was baptized this week.

Alan Moore Leading Prayer

 During this trip we have had several opportunities to help Susana Homes make deeper connections with surrounding churches and today was another of those opportunities. We took about a dozen of the children with us to church and they did a great job of sitting still through a service that lasted for three hours.

Beautiful Children in Aba

After the service we were warmly greeted by everyone, but were especially touched by many children, perhaps a hundred, who came to shake our hands and spoke to us so politely.

Our Susana Homes Children - Waiting Patiently for Lunch

We were then ushered upstairs for a wonderful home-cooked meal of rice and salad served by several of the ladies. The Susana Homes children sang for several of the church leaders who joined us for the meal, including one of their elders and their minister.

Minister - O.B. and Pleasure Akokwa at Church of Christ in Aba

And, as we loaded back onto the school bus after a great lunch, the generous church gave us three very large bags of rice and several other things which will be useful to Susana Homes. It is extremely valuable to make these connections and we are so thankful for the generosity of this faithful church.

We only have two more sleeps before we head for home. It is really going to be difficult to say goodbye to these children and the wonderful staff at Susana Homes and Right Steps Christian School. But, it will be good to get back to a cooler climate!

Thank you for your love and your prayers! Enjoy some of the other pictures we took of the day!

Our North American Ladies in Traditional Dress

The Igbo Hymnal

Church in Aba

Loading Bags of Rice

View of the Area Around the Church

Steve Watson Speaking

Give Me The Heart of a Servant

One impression I have of life in Nigeria is that it takes a lot of work and a tremendous amount of effort just to do life here. It seems to take all day to prepare a simple meal of soup. You must go to the market, collect the firewood, prepare the various ingredients, which could include chopping, peeling, pounding, boiling, and steaming – before the soup is ready to eat. Yes – life is hard. However, remarkably, people in Nigeria do not complain. When things are difficult they seem to simply roll with the punches and look for a better opportunity to arrive.

I described some of our work from our arrival through Monday in my last blog so I will try and bring you up to date. Getting an internet connection is not easy so I have not even tried to write for a few days.

On Tuesday we stayed at Susana Homes and I taught the secondary students two sessions on worship and music. They sing exceptionally well and always do so with great enthusiasm. It was a special joy to teach them several new songs and to hear them sing those new songs with such devotion.

On Wednesday we loaded up our team and headed to Port Harcourt to spend the afternoon with the church at Ameka. This church of about sixty hosted an area-wide gathering and invited me to share my sessions on music and worship. After our sessions, these wonderful people fed us a fabulous traditional meal.

Port Harcourt Training Session

Ken, Victoria, Kendra and Peace

We loaded back on the van and fought the traffic and dodged pedestrians and navigated our way back home. (I have decided that the streets in Nigeria adhere to the principle – no lines, no waiting. Every driver seems to make his own lane and seems to have perfected the technique of “edging” into whatever spot he thinks will get him through the jam faster. Horns blow constantly, The mirrors of vehicles brush daringly close to one another. And, pedestrians seem to dart in and out among the cars and buses and trucks and three-wheeled taxis – amazingly never getting run over.

Nigerian Christian Bible College

Thursday presented me with a tremendous blessing. I had always wanted to visit Nigerian Christian Bible College (NCBC) since my older sister, Joan, and her husband, Bob Dixon, and their family had moved there in 1965 to serve as missionaries. I was just 13 or 14 when they went and I was fascinated by the aerogram letters my older sister would write home describing in great detail what life was like in Nigeria. After having to flee Nigeria when civil war broke out in 1966, The Dixons moved to Cameroon to complete their mission term. Then, after raising their children, Bob and Joan, moved back to NCBC in the 1990’s and lived and worked there for ten years before coming home. My sister was the first person I ever knew personally who willingly sacrificed the comforts of home and family and country to share the love of Christ with people of a very different culture. She always inspired me and I just wanted to walk in the footsteps of that inspiration. So, early on Thursday, our group set out on the school bus for NCBC. What might have been a 45 minute drive on good roads was a three-hour trip down into and back up out of pot holes – some that had to be six feet deep. Our tour guides for the trip were two former students of Bob and Joan – M.C. and Friday.

Our NCBC Tour Guides - M.C. and Friday

We arrived at NCBC as the students were having chapel and we were invited to join them where I was asked to share a lesson.

Chapel at NCBC

Samuel Dan

Then, after group pictures we took a tour of the campus and I even got to see the house where Bob and Joan lived. I also saw the brushy area where, while cutting weeds one day, they came upon a highly poisonous,10 ft long, Black Mamba snake. And – more than that I met people who loved them – people like Samuel Dan, who put his arm around me and said, “Bob is my father.”

The Dixon's Front Door

Staff and Students at NCBC

We left NCBC and drove to Nigerian Christian Hospital – NCH - where more of my heroes, Dr. Henry and Grace Farrar, had lived and worked. As a teen I heard stories of Nigerian Christian Hospital and even dreamed of being a medical missionary because of those stories. It was such a blessing to walk the porches and meet the staff – some of who have worked there for as much as 25 years – and to see the outstanding work still being done there today. We met a little baby girl born just the day before and I shook the hand and grieved with a mother who had just lost her baby.

Entrance to Nigerian Christian Hospital

NCH

Our Canadian Nurse - Wanda Spiers

Beautiful Baby Girl - Just One Day Old

After seeing the hospital we trudged down a sandy road behind the hospital - about a quarter-mile - to see a school of excellence begun by Annette Whitaker. It was wonderful to see children so smart and dedicated and polite, and to meet the staff of the school. Brother Friday’s daughter, Cherry, is a student at the school, so of course, we got to meet her.

With Cherry and Friday Adima

 On our way home we had another unique experience – stopping for a meal at Crunchie’s Chicken – where no matter what we ordered we all got the very spicy “peppered chicken.”

Crunchies Reminds One of KFC

Today has begun a two-day conference for women at Susana Homes. This annual conference draws women from all over Nigeria. And, the ladies on our team have done an outstanding job. Wanda, Sondra, Sarah and Kendra have been all dressed up in their beautiful Nigerian outfits and have all been enjoying the sessions.

Ready for the Lectureship - Thanks to Praise - Our Head-Wrap Expert

Kendra taught a class of young women and, according to some of the attendees I have spoken with, did an outstanding job. Wanda (our nurse) had to step in an fill the time slot planned for a doctor to speak when she had an emergency and could not get here today. She did a great job with her session and had numerous questions and has been in the clinic treating sick or hurt women and children all day.  I have also heard of the outstanding job Sarah Oats did talking to about 50 elders and preacher’s wives about servant-hood. She even did a Q and A session afterward that was quite lively. Even now as I sit in my Susana Homes quarters trying to get a decent internet connection, I can hear Kendra Smith teaching the song “Give Me the Heart of a Servant” – the theme of this Lectureship - to about 200 women in a late-night session. I wish I could let you listen in!

We only have four more sleeps at Susana Homes. 

Thanks for sharing our journey in prayer and interest!

We love these people! We have never felt so honored and blessed!

Because of the cross,

Uncle Ken, For the Right Steps Mission Team

Arriving in Nigeria...

Arriving in Nigeria is still, and probably always will be, a supremely hectic experience.

We landed in Port Harcourt after dark with seven people and 30 suitcases to process through customs. Nerve-racking, to say the least. Customs officers were asking questions in English – but not a dialect of the English language very easy for southerners to decipher. There were forms to fill out, an officer asking to see proof of our yellow fever vaccinations, porters desperately seeking to carry luggage for a price, and “the man in charge” wanting me to come and sit with him on a bench. (I suspect he wanted a "gift" but I handed him a letter of reference for Right Steps and asked him to allow us to get all of our suitcases of clothes and supplies safely and freely through customs. It felt a bit like I imagine a good hazing would feel.)  But, even navigating this maze of outstretched hands brought amazing blessings from God. One Nigerian lady on our flight from Frankfurt inquired about our purpose for travel, and when she learned of our mission she opened her wallet and gave one of our members $100 for the cause. Two Nigerian engineers returning from a conference in Houston became so interested in our mission and the purpose of Susana Homes that, even with their families waiting for them at the airport, they stayed with us throughout the customs process, paid the necessary bribes from their own pockets, and shepherded us safely through the onslaught of “helpers” to the smiles and waving flags of Chi and her bus load of children waiting just outside the gate.

After a restful night in Port Harcourt to help us adjust to the jet lag and the heat and humidity, we left for Susana Homes around noon on Saturday. Our arrival at Susana Homes was just as glorious as I had remembered. As we turned off the highway and made our way through the village of Umuahala – it actually seemed like things were improved from five years ago. Just after 1 p.m. we turned right onto the new road the government is building – just for Susana Homes – and saw the children in the distance, dressed in their red and white school uniforms and lining both sides of the road. As we got closer we could hear – first the welcoming drum beats, and then the singing and cheering of the children of Susana Homes and the students of Right Steps Christian School.

A Royal Welcome to Susana Homes

There have been so many new additions to the project since I was here in 2008. Additional acreage has been added to the property. A fence surrounds the compound. And, numerous new buildings have been built. But Susana Homes still has the peaceful feel and, as Sarah Oats said, “You feel immediately at home.”

Worship at Susana Homes

Sunday was a busy day. We worshiped with the church at Susana Homes. Steve Watson, minister from the Campus View church in Athens, GA did an outstanding job preaching and several of us assisted with the worship or classes in various ways.

With the Widows Served by SH Church

Brother Friday Adima - Our Friend and "Chief Protocol Officer"

The afternoon brought with it the opportunity to meet with church leaders from eleven different congregations from the region around Susana Homes. Six of these churches have actually been planted or assisted by the church at Susana Homes. Several of them have had ministers serve them who were also supported as teachers or workers at Susana Homes and Right Steps Christian School. We heard reports from all of the churches and tried our best to advise and instruct and support these leaders in their needs and challenges.

Today got to spend the day with Junior High and Senior High students of Right Steps Christian School. We did an overview of the Bible and led them in creative learning experiences so that they are better equipped to go to their home churches and teach Bible classes for the children. Many of these students are boarding students and come from various religious backgrounds – but over forty were baptized during the last year and we wanted them to have some training to make the Bible come to life so that they can go home and teach in their own families and churches.

The highlight of my day, personally, was the privilege of sitting on a cement wall for about 45 minutes with children gathered around – and reading stories to them. I read Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Stellaluna, and The Sneetches, along with a few other famous children’s stories. (I actually found this compilation book of 44 stories at Goodwill for $7, and I’ve gotten my money’s worth already!)

Thank you for reading about our trip and for praying for us. We are all well and enjoying serving. Sondra Alexander spent the day today working with Wanda Spiers (our nurse from Sarnia) at the medical clinic. Alan Moore was our videographer. Steve Watson taught two sessions of an overview of the Bible as a story. Kendra Smith and Sarah Oats and I taught two sessions with the students helping them to think creatively about ways to teach the Bible to children in their home churches.

Scenes from the Beginning of the School Day at Right Steps Christian School

We will try to write more as we can get Internet connection. Till then – because of the cross,

Ken – for the Susana Homes Team.

We Made It!

We arrived in Port Harcourt and were greeted at the airport by a school bus load of beautiful children. We connected with our friend, Wanda, the nurse from Sarnia , Ontario in the Frankfurt airport and had good flights on into Port Harcourt. We made it with 23 checked bags - and seven or eight other carry-on bags. Whew!!!
We spent the night here in Port Harcourt and will head to Susana Homes soon!
We are glad to be here and thankful for your prayers! I will write more when I have the opportunity. God Bless!