ABA, NIGERIA Sunday, November 16
By Marti Schneider, On location

The short distance of a road, maybe a kilometer, between our hotel and
the stadium passes up the hill to the corner where the policemen usually
stand, uniformed in their bright orange shirts. There are often three or
four policemen there with their little traffic-directing clubs. Most of
the time cars are going every direction at the intersection . . .
passing to the left or right of the imaginary center line, with
motorcycles edging into any empty "white space" of road. There is
absolutely no order to the traffic that I can see. We go one block
beyond the policemen/women and take a left. As we travel the several
blocks toward the stadium we pass little shops that line both sides of
the road. Affluence is not a major problem in the area . . . the
buildings and goods look dingy, dirty, and uninviting. It seems like
most of the shops have huge yams for sale, stacked like cord wood. As
we get closer to the stadium the roads are completely clogged with carts
being pushed, people walking, cars, buses, motorcycles. Our vehicle
comes within inches of almost everything it is passing.

But on Sunday, almost all of the shops are closed so people can go to
church. Only a few "sinners" keep their shops open. There are churches
everywhere! I don't think you understand that I mean that last sentence
. . . everywhere. Every block has two or three churches - - no
exaggeration.

Tonight I told the people what it was like to get ready for a satellite
meeting. We had created some video footage to go with my talk. Then I
told them we had a crisis when the pole was in the way of the stage. I
invited Kandus Thorp to come up to give a testimony to God's power in
helping us get it moved.

Don's sermon was on Salvation. His one liner was, "I am a sinner, I
need Jesus." He made a call for people to accept Jesus as their Saviour
and as their Lord . . . 1) for the first time, 2) because they had
received new understanding, 3) because they wanted to return to Jesus,
or 4) in recommitment. There were many, many people that came forward
to press around the platform and receive Jesus and prayer. When Don
came backstage after it was over, he was struggling to keep his
composure. Tears were near the surface. He really feels out of his
element doing this. "Let me run a committee," he says. "That's easy.
But preaching? Evangelistic sermons? That's outside my comfort."

We covet your prayers . . . keep them going up!

Good night,

Marti