Susana Homes, Nigeria - For the Children!

In just a few days (five to be exact) I will leave Atlanta with six others to travel to Susana Homes, an orphanage and Christian school in southeastern Nigeria, directed by Dr. Chi Ekwenye Hendricks. We will spend two weeks at Susana Homes - observing, learning, leading, serving and encouraging Dr. Chi (or Mama Chi as she is known), the children of Susana Homes (about sixty), the children of Right Steps Christian School (about 300), and the women (and men) who attend the annual Ladies Bible Lectureship - March 1 and 2 - (about 3000 this year).

2008 Ladies Bible Lectureship

I was so blessed to travel to Susana Homes in 2008 and it has been my honor to serve on the board of directors for Right Steps, Inc (www.rightsteps.org) for the last four years. As you might imagine, I am looking forward to seeing the children - five years later - and witnessing first-hand the progress of this mission.



You may wonder why I have become so passionate about this work when there are many places in the world that would be easier to get to and easier to embrace. After all, isn't Nigeria the land of e-mail scams, bribes, corruption and violence? Isn't Nigeria the one country in the entire continent of Africa that possesses not one single tourist destination to attract the world to visit? And, isn't Nigeria dangerous - with kidnappings and muggings and ethnic and religious clashes? Yes - all this is true.

So why, you may ask, are you so passionate about Nigeria and Right Steps and Susana Homes?

Here's why - these smiling children!

These children are some of the 160 million Nigerians - the most populous nation on the African continent - who live in a crowded nation the size of Texas.

And, I happen to believe they deserve to have this kind of joy - not just as children - but throughout their lives. I think they deserve to get an education and even go to college. I think they deserve to have reasonably decent healthcare so that when the young girls in this picture grow up and become mothers - one in five of them will not have to die giving birth. I believe they deserve to know that God made them - each one with a unique personality, with talents and abilities, and that he loves each of them so much that he gave his son, Jesus to die on a cross - just for them.  And, I really believe they each deserve the opportunity to become a part of the mission to change Nigeria for good and to offer the peace of Christ to their fellow Nigerians.

Yes, I suppose there are easier, less dangerous places to get involved. And I'm sure there are countries where it is much more convenient to offer relief and to do good. I wish success to every effort around the world which seeks to provide hope and relief and a better life to children - wherever those missions exist. But, I am passionate about these kids and their future.



So, I have a question for you. Will you pray for us and for these children over the next few weeks? We'll be six hours ahead of you (Eastern) so - if you will - say a prayer for us if you are up at midnight - when we'll just be rising. And, say a prayer for us at 4 pm each afternoon - when we are headed to bed. Pray that we'll be safe, that we will be a blessing - accomplishing what God desires for each day, and that we will learn from these children what it will take to help them grow just like Jesus.