Paroikos

. . . you know there is a big disaster. I can’t remember the ever seeing my grandmother run anyway.

This is one of the Nigerian sayings that Pastor Bassey quoted as the introduction to his sermon this last week.

I spent the last week near the city of Badagari in Nigeria. Here most of the pastors from Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo gathered together for a joint West Africa pastoral conference. This was caused mainly by the political insecurity of Nigeria. Since it seemed abnormally unsafe for me to journey to Efa we brought all the pastors together near Lagos, Nigeria. (more…)

St. Stephen's Lutheran Church sign

I am no longer anywhere near Efa. On Tuesday I finished whatever business I could in Efa and on Wednessday flew to Lagos. Pastor Essien Michael picked me up from the airport and rode with me down to Badagry.  Badagry is west of Lagos settling snug against the border of Benin. We slept that night at the hotel and proceeded to seek out Pastor Eric and the church the following morning.

The church itself is apparently so close to the border with Benin that every time we returned from the church to the hotel, a distance of maybe two miles, we would pass through a customs checkpoint. The customs officers, however, apparently knew we were not coming from Benin and would let us pass through.

On Thursday Pastor Essien Michael and I meet with Pastor Eric as well as the president of the church in Badagry. We talked for a while about the church, its troubles and triumphs and plans. (more…)