Dr. Mercy's Mother Graduates to Glory

Our condolences go out to Dr. Mercy Isichei's mother who passed away earlier this month. I saw her last year during my visit to Nigeria; she had been staying with the Isicheis because of her ill health. Family and friends mourned her death and celebrated her life last week both in Jos and Maiduguri. Please join me in prayers for the Isicheis. Feel free to post a comment for their family on this blog.

(Dr. Mercy is married to Dr. Christian Isichei, Founder and Coordinator of Faith Alive Foundation-Nigeria. This photo of Mercy's beautiful mother was taken in the early 2000s.)

Hippo in the House

This post’s headline might be funny in theory but it's dreadful in reality. Major flooding in parts of Nigeria has wreaked havoc for hundreds of thousands of people, especially for those whose shanty housing is submerged in water. Overrun rivers pushed snakes, crocodiles and hippopotamuses into homes. One man, whose dwelling now hosts a hippo, told a BBC reporter, “I hope that when it is tired, it may leave my home.”

We thank God that the Faith Alive hospital in Jos, Nigeria is high and dry. Many of its patients, however, are not so fortunate. Please pray for their survival and return to dry homes with only the animals of their choosing.