The Christian Mission, Vol. 14, No.

2, February 1970
Page 9
WEST AFRICA CHRISTIAN MISSION
The rainy season this year was a re
cord-breaker. The roads have been next
to impassable. One wall of the mud buil
ding in which the Iwaya church meets has
collapsed. Many private homes have suf
fered the same fate and other people have
been forced to leave their homes because
of high water. The farmers were unable
to get out their crops and there will likely
be a food shortage later on. Due to the
rains, we have not begun the building of
our house as soon as we hoped. That will
begin shortly.
Since Nigeria is a land of more than
250 different languages, preaching with a
translator is not imusual. In one areawhich
we recently visited, the people of two vil
lages less than 20 miles apart could not
speak to one another except through an in
termediate language. The people in Ap-
piapmn could not understand Yankur and
the people of Ekuri could not understand
Mbembe, but several of them spoke Efik
and could communicate in this common
language. A few people in both villages
could also speak English. The language
situation in Nigeria is quite a contrast to
America where English is universal and
few people are bilingual, much less tri
lingual.
On August 28 Don Baughman, Hussien
Momodu and I made a trip to the recently
war liberated Cross River area. We did
not know how the people had fared, but we
wanted to find out and help in any way we
could. For months we had prayed for the
safety of the people while they were in the
midst of war. We also did not know if we
could complete the trip into the area.
What we found gave us cause for re
joicing. To be sure, war had left its mark.
One church building had been burned by re
treating Biafran soldiers. Medical aid and
drugs were non-existent. Two evangelists
had abandoned their work to enlist in the
army. But even with these things, the sit
uation could have been much worse.
There was an abundance of food and
the people were in fairly good health. While
there was some damage as a result of the
war, most homes were not damaged. The
Christians were in good spirits and were
looking forward to making progress for the
Lord now that the fighting has ceased. The
churches had met regularly, except for two
months when the actual fighting had taken
place in the villages. When the soldiers
came, the people went into the bush for
safety. Many Christians continued to
meet for worship in the bush. Two of
the Nigerian evangelists, Bro. Ebak and
Erim, were busy preparing for a leader
ship retreat to take place later in the
year. The feeling among these people is
that for the time of Biafran occupation
and immediately following, because of
the turmoil, the work of the church did
not advance. Now it is time to make pro
gress for Christ.
Hussien Momodu, the evangelist of
the Bariga church, Lagos, is the evange
list who accompanied us on the trip. Hus
sien was a valuable asset to our journey
because he speaks Hausa fluently, and
important factor because of the universal
nature of the Hausa language, and the fact
that many of the soldiers are Hausa.
Hussien also speaks Yoruba, Ishan, and
some other mid-western languages.
Hussien helped with the preaching as
we met with the churches in the area. On
the final Sunday of our visit to the Cross
River area, we were invited by the chief
to eat some meat (pouch rat) from a very
ancient ceremonial serving dish. Hussien,
who is the son of a chief, advised that we
should not eat because of the fetish signi
ficance of the serving dish. The chief was
not offended and realized the reason why
Hussien had advised us not to eat. This
encounter provided an opportunity to witness
for Christ to a man who was an idol wor
shiper.
In other parts of Nigeria the war con
tinues and the suffering is much greater
than for the people in the Cross River.
For these people the war has ended and
their peaceful village life has resumed.
We rejoice for them in this.
Pray for an end to Nigeria's civil war
and the healing of the wounds it has caused.
Pray for the people of the churches as
they prepare for a revival.
Pray for strength and wisdom for us.
Walter Smith
Box 76
Otta, Nigeria, Africa
LISTEN J
February No. 81
"'frrAft'"Ts'""^btish*d monthly by
(he Gospel Broadcasting Mission, Box
199, LaCrosse, Wis. 54601. Publication
address; 17 359 7 1st Court, Tinley Park,
111. 60477. Second Class postage paid,
Tinley Park, 111.
THE GOSPEL
BROADCASTING MISSION
Box 199, LaCrosse, Wis. 54601
Cloyd and Helen Christman
Burdett and Elaine Wakeman
Walter and Ardis Leeper
NOW BROADCASTING OVER
RADIO LUXEMBOURG
RADIO MONACO
IBADAN-LAGOS, NIGERIA
TAIPEI. TAIWAN
SEOUL, KOREA
MANX. ENGLAND
MANILA. PHILIPPINES
KTW, SEATTLE, WASH.
DIRECTOR'S DOIN'S
annual
;V;1 of the Charles Street
main speaker. It will
be my privilege to share in thi.s rally
and represent the Gospel Broadcasting
.Mission. The elders of thi.s congrega
tion are the advisors of GMB, and the
congregation is a strong supporter of
the work.
On January II, I spoke to the First
Christian Church in Racine, Wis. during
the morning service and to the First
Christian Church in Kenosha, Wis.
during the evening service. Thank you,
Christian friends, for giving me the
opportunity to share the work of GB.M
with you. Also, I want to thank you for
your interest and love offering.
The Lord willing, the 25th of
January, I will present the GBM Story
to the congregation which meets at
Eighth and Cass in I.aC.rosse, Wis.
We here at GBM are expecting
great things from God a.s we look into
the future and plan to be used by Him
for the growth of His kingdom. May we
be so yielded to Him that His Spirit
will find a "clear channel" through
which He can flow unto others. We pray
your heart may rejoice as you think of
your fellowship in spreading the Gospel
around the world. Thank you for your
sincere and cheerful giving to the
Ruthie Carol Baughman
prepare
the material for this
issue for press, we
have just received a
JBl \ letter from the Don
Baughman s (dated
January 21). giving
some of the circura-
\ ; stances surrounding
the passing of their 15-year-oId daugh
ter, Ruthie on November 28.
Ruthie was stricken while away at
school at Ihadan. By the time her
parents reached her bedside at the
University College Hospital in Ihadan,
paralysis of the chest muscles was
making her breathing difficult and that
dav a tracheotomy was performed to
insert the respirator.
No clear diagnosis of what struck
Ruthie down has been given. The
doctors did everything in their power
and several times "saved" her life; but
they were stymied. They treated her
for polio, though she had been inocu
lated, and for food poisoning, though
all their tests proved negative. For a
while she rallied and became fully
conscious, though she could not speak.
She talked with her eyes and answered
questions by moving her feet. For four
days she suffered with all the instru
ments and physical therapy to keep
her alive; but at 3^30 a.m. on the morn
ing of November 28, she suffered a
serious collapse and "God lifted
Ruthie up to be with Him in His eternal
home."
May we relay this message from
the Baughmans to all of you who have
kept them in your prayers in this time
of their great sorrow: "We want to
thank all of you for the many beautiful
cards, letters, and for your constant
prayers at the passing over of our
daughter, Ruthie. We arc thankful to
our Heavenly Father for your love and
concern for us.
"Our liearts are full of sorrow; but
full of joy, too, because wc know that
Ruthie loved God and trusted Him for
she gave her life to Him. Jesus said,
T am the resurrection and the life; he
that hclicveth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live.' (Jolin 11:25)-
"Ruthie believed that; and wc do
too."
Ardis LeefJcr
M < M M M M M M t M M H M
ministry of GBM. We hope you will
intensify your prayer life and giving
, . . the saving of the lost depends
on it.
With Christian Love and Concern
That Millions More May Hear,
C/o^r/ Cbrislmrin
MANX RADIO
(continued from page 1)
allow Brother Walter to cariA- the burden
alone, others took up the task but the
goal is unchanged: reaching the millions
by speaking to them individually. Ilie
radio is especially suited to the fulfillment
of this goal.
Radio is IN! The incredible number of
hours amassed by our fellow-Americans in
viewing television may cau.se some to
think that radio is out. But far from being
out, radio Is more "in" than ever before.
In Europe, a radio is heard in almost every
shop, ever)' store one may .step into. The
little transistor is everywhere. The barber
has It on the shelf next to the hair tonic
the cashier, by the cash register at the
dry cleaners, it's on the counter, blasting
away teenagers (and others!) hold the
radio to their cars as they tvalk down the
street. All this, not to mention homes,
automobiles, restaurants, and all the /cst!
Radio fits the times. It is a well-known
fact that radio waves travel with the speed
of light. In one single second, the sound
of the radio makes more than seven trips
around the world in distance! The combina
tion of instantaneous communication and
the universality of the radio itself, make
a great team in the service of the King.
Good news ought to travel as fast as we
can make it, and radio docs just that. Good
news ought to reach as many people as it
can, and radio gives it the chance to do
exactly that!
Radio works for yo. It Ictsyou be your
own boss - and suggests changes you
might want to make, sounds and ideas you
might enjoy. It does not make slaves of
your eyes, a pea.sant of your mind and a
prisoner of your initiative. It does not
commandeer your resources of time,
engineer your personal plans, domineer
your family activities. To radio, you bend
your ear - not your day's schedule, not
your life.
Radio is great for the Gospel. It speaks
loud and clear. It reaches a "congregation"
of thousands, hundreds of thousands,
millions. It makes "calls" in thou.sands
of homes instantaneously and simultan
eously. It is the cheapest form of trans
portation known, carrying the preacher
across national borders, into countless
cities and towns and country places. It
is the only regularly operating international
device known rn modern science that makes
it possible to locate instantly the people
who speak a given language. For instance,
"Search the Scriptures" is broadcast in
English by Charles; and instantly, all
kinds of people, in many nations, of various
languages but who know English are
located by radio and hear the Gospel. This
unique service comes at no extra cost.
(Conlini/.-d on page 4)
wr -
Four hour voyage ahead for the Isle
of >'an.