Nigeria workcampers experience microcosm of Kingdom of God.
By Janis Pyle

"The sense of oneness in Christ was our lasting impression of the 2006 Nigeria Workcamp," said coordinator David Whitten, pastor of Moscow Church of the Brethren in Mount Solon, Va. This was the 13th year for the annual workcamp sponsored by the Global Mission Partnerships of the Church of the Brethren General Board.

"Our group was made up of Swiss, German, American, and Nigerian workcampers," Whitten said. "For whatever personal reasons we might have had for going, the results were the same. We worked, worshiped, and fellowshiped together, and in the name of Jesus, bonded together. It was a microcosm of what the kingdom of God on earth is all about."

The US participants in the workcamp Jan. 16-Feb. 12 were Kyle and Kathleen Brinkmeier of Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren, Pearl City, Ill.; Rebecca Keister of Buffalo Valley Church of the Brethren, Mifflinburg, Pa.; and Whitten and Wesley Grove of the Moscow church. The other US participant was Joseph Wampler of Santa Cruz, Calif., whose parents had been Church of the Brethren missionaries in China.

This year's workcamp built block walls for a duplex staff quarters for the Comprehensive Secondary School. The school is located at the headquarters of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) near Mubi. The group also finished plastering and painting two other single-family staff quarters that were built in previous years.

"We tried to create a wide variety of experiences for the workcampers beyond the physical labors," Whitten said. "We visited the beginnings of the Brethren mission in Garkida and worshiped in the largest Church of the Brethren congregation in the world in Maiduguri. We shopped in local village markets and the large shopping district in Jos. We also spent two nights in Yankari National Park where we were able to see elephants and other African wildlife."

"In all of this, the highlight for me was to be with a joyful and spirit-filled people whose lives are filled with difficulty, but whose positive and hopeful attitude is inspiring," Whitten said.

Whitten was moved by the contrast between Nigerian and American worship services. "One service we attended had their harvest festival Sunday," he said. "The Nigerians take literally the phrase ‘tithes and offerings.' Offerings are the weekly monetary gifts. The tithe is, however, 10 percent of one's harvest. On this Sunday, the women lined up with huge bowls balanced on their heads filled with peanuts, corn, guinea corn, and cow peas. As the drums kept rhythm to the song sung in the Hausa language, the women danced down the aisles, singing and laughing their way to the altar. It was certainly a stark contrast to our rather droll and solemn time of offering."

On a personal level, Whitten felt a true homecoming. The workcamp trip was his fourth stay in Nigeria. His longest was as mission staff for the Rural Development Program 1991-94. "To reconnect with dear friends and to grieve with others who have shared their losses with me in the past 10 years was truly a time of spiritual joy and sorrow," he said. One of Whitten's Nigerian friends traveled two hours, spending close to a day's wages on public transportation, to meet him again. "It was humbling," Whitten said.

Wesley Grove, another workcamp participant, was moved by the faith of the Nigerian people. "They seem to rely on God more than we do," he said. "We rely on our bank accounts and our medical insurance and take our material blessings for granted. It is a challenge for us as North Americans to depend on God more."

"We journeyed to minister, and were ministered to," said Kathleen Brinkmeier, pastor at Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren. "I saw Jesus in the words and deeds of Nigeria's beautiful people. Jesus labored with us on the project. Jesus slaved over open fires to cook our food. Jesus laughed and ate `kuli kuli' (peanut cakes) with us and wept in sorrow when the time came for parting. My prayer is that Nigeria saw Jesus in us."

--Janis Pyle is coordinator of Mission Connections for the Global Mission Partnerships of the Church of the Brethren General Board.

Source: 3/3/2006 Newsline
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