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(for more pictures, click here)
LIFT 16 Nigeria Mission Trip Report
 From November 24 through December 8, 2006, LIFT 16 went on the first-ever LIFT missions trip to Nigeria, West Africa. God truly used this time to teach all nine students and two leaders valuable lessons in an area of the world that is unlike anything we had ever  experienced. While our stories could fill up volumes, here is a (somewhat) brief look at our life-changing time in Nigeria.
After spending an entire day traveling, we arrived in Nigeria's capital city, Abuja, early Saturday morning. We were picked up by our hosts, Dr. Iko Ibanga and Peter Sorensen (pictured at left with LIFT Director David Sonju and two of Peter's team members), and driven about three hours to the city of Jos. Our eyes were wide at the sights that greeted us - women walking with huge bundles of firewood or baskets of food on their heads, streets filled with cars and vans overflowing with people, mo-peds zooming around the crowded roads, countless shops lining every street, goats and chickens wandering everywhere. There were all kinds of Christian churches down the street from big mosques, which issued the Muslim call to prayer every few hours, and followers of both  religions (easily identifiable from their type of clothes) intermingled on the red dust sidewalks.
On Sunday, our team split up and attended several different worship services at area churches - with some of us even getting to preach! It was amazing to take part in such vibrant, colorful, heartfelt worship of the same God we had met back home. Those Nigerian Christians really know how to dance and sing! We all came together after lunch to enter Jos Central Prison and take part in their evening chapel service. We never expected to see such ardent love for Christ as we saw in the eyes of the dozens of prisoners who were joyfully praising our Lord. God's power to change lives was undeniable. 
The next four days were spent with Dr. Iko's organization, Pro-Health International, providing free healthcare in a small, rural village called Jengre. Together with a team of volunteers from Pro-Health, we were able to do hands-on work with eye care, dentistry, pharmacy, counseling, and even surgery! Though none  of us had much experience to begin with, we were happy to learn new skills and were grateful for the opportunity to help so many people. Hundreds of men, women and children were lined up each morning when we arrived, and they were ministered to not only in the treatment of their bodies, but also in the healing of their souls. Even Muslims listened to the good news of Jesus Christ and were eager to enter into a relationship with Him.
 Following the Jengre outreach, we joined with Peter Sorensen's team from South Africa and spent another day in the Jos prison. We began with a celebration for the prisoners who had completed a Restorative Justice course led by Peter's group. Even men on Death Row had decided to finally take responsibility for their crimes and seek reconciliation with the victims' families. We also helped serve a meal to everyone in the prison, provide more free healthcare, and praise the Lord's faithfulness with our brothers who have spent years inside the prison's concrete and barbed wire walls. 
Our final days in Jos were spent touring many different facilities that are run by Nigerian Christians, including a shelter for former street boys, a boarding school for children of Nigerian missionaries who work with the Muslim population, a training center for young widows to learn a trade, and an organization that teaches HIV+ women how to quilt and thus have a means of supporting their families. Many of these ministries were started by CAMP missionaries Bill and Dorothy Ardill, who have had an enormous role in the development of these outreaches. Everywhere we went, we could see God's  hand at work in numerous lives through the diligent toil of His faithful servants.
We are praising God for opening our eyes to so many new and wondrous things during our time in Nigeria, and most of us are hoping to return someday. The hearts of every team member were changed through our incredible experiences, and we trust that God will use those two weeks to create lasting change.
For more pictures of our trip, click here.
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