Called Home.

Today I want to remember with you a missionary who impacted my life.  His name was Joshua Adah. 

I first met Joshua here at my office in the Daniel Centre in Abuja about 6 years ago.  He was training to be a missionary at the Missionary Training Partners International program that has its office and classes here in the Centre. In the years that followed, I learned that Joshua was working as a missionary in a remote village in Taraba state.  He was working with an organization called WayMaker Mission.   WayMaker has a vision for holistic ministry for unreached communities.  Joshua reached out to the Kona people, in a remote location outside of Taraba state’s capital of Jalingo.

Joshua always had a smile on his face.  He was encouraging.  He would come into my office and share with me his ongoing missional work.  I was particularly interested in the school his ministry had started.  This was the topic of many of our conversations. Joshua and his team had secured funds to start a school and offer free education.   A seed took, grew in leaps and bounds, and now the school has 400 students!

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to lead a training for MTPI on Christian Education.  Joshua was there, and I had the opportunity to catch up with him and talk about our shared passion for Christ-centered education.  Joshua helped to remind me that a village school of 400 children who wonder where their next meal is coming from is quite a different learning environment than a school in the city.  He sought ways to apply the biblical worldview I teach to the work he was doing for his school.  I also had the privilege of meeting his wife Ngozi, and they were able to come to Abuja to attend a leadership conference for teachers organized by ACSI Nigeria. 

I loved his passion for reaching for the unreached.  He was willing to sacrifice the world’s idea of a successful life to seek God's kingdom.  His actions followed his passion.  He moved forward in faith trusting that God would provide.  His life birthed amazing testimonies.  His passion brought people alongside his vision, brothers and sisters who support his vision and sustain it.

On January 23, God called Joshua home.  He was on his way from Jalingo to the village where he was living when his car broke down.  We don’t have details, but I understand that his body was found off of the roadside.  He had been attacked and killed.  A senseless act. 

I am deeply saddened.  I have many questions.  I must rest in the knowledge that God’s ways are higher than mine.  Please join me in praying for the Adah family – Ngozi and their two young daughters.  Pray for comfort in this difficult time.

Pray for the WayMaker Mission established among the Kona people.  The face of missions in Nigeria is changing.  Nigerian Christians are catching a vision and heart for missions.  Most of the front-line missionaries today are Nigerians themselves.  It is far more effective to have Nigerians with a heart for their fellow brothers and sisters serving in remote areas.  But it is not a call readily taken up by many.  Especially those who have graduated from university and have the potential for a successful career that promises wealth and comfort.  Pray that God’s vision that began in the Adah family’s heart would continue.  Pray for people who will rise up to continue the work.  Pray that more people would come to know God’s love for them – in word and in deed.

Pray that each of us will make the most of the time God has given us here on earth.  May we be seekers of His kingdom first.