What Do Babies Do in Heaven?

I spoke with Daniel this morning on the phone and heard a lot of voices in the background. At the busy market? No. At home? Yes. The tv? No. Just many friends and family there to cheer Rahila. What a joyful sound to hear little Chris playing with other children! As the only child in their apartment compound, he’s delighted to play with others his own size.

He still occasionally asks “where is my baby?” but it is becoming a little easier to answer him. “The baby is with Jesus.” It reminds me of a charming song by John VanDusen called “What Do Babies Do in Heaven?”

What do babies do in Heaven? Do the angels play coochi-coo?
Do the cherubim and seraphim line up to watch them too?
Well I’m sure whatever they do, Jesus is doing it too;
Yes, I’m sure whatever they do, our God is faithful and true.
Do babies grow up in Heaven?
Do they learn to stand on their own?
Do they run in fields, climb Mulberry trees?
Do they sing with the birds, or hum with the bees?
In the garden, I see Jesus counting while they hide.
There are thousands of Grandpas with knees on which a baby can ride.
What do babies do in Heaven?
Can they have a puppy or kitten?
I know somewhere it is written that babies play all day.
Well I’m sure whatever they do, Jesus is doing it too;
Yes, I’m sure whatever they do, our God is faithful and true, so true.
Yes, I’m sure whatever they do, our God is faithful and true.

Nigerian Art

My husband Mark and I took a much needed getaway to Denver, where we strolled downtown and visited the Denver Art Museum. We saw a beautiful patchwork painting called “Soliloquy: Life’s Fragile Fictions” (1997), by Nigerian artist Moyo Ogundipe. I was drawn to it because of its colors and intricate patterns. The artist’s explanation makes me think this is part of “animist” religious beliefs in Nigeria. “My art has been significantly influenced by the Egungun Festival in the Yoruba villages of my childhood in many ways. The Egungun Festival and its intricately carved masks of cubism is the invocation of supreme powers of the ancestors, the summoning of the known and unknown and unknowable powers of the universe for a communion of art and ritual. During this important festival, every day from morning till evening for about two weeks, these ancestral spirits emerge from the sacred groves at the outskirts of the town. Accompanied by a large retinue of drummers, and singers, the procession dances to the King’s courtyard in a total theatre of drama, acrobatics, poetry, mime and pantomime and black magic.” To view more of his beautiful artwork, visit https://maigida.com/index.php.

Meanwhile, Holly is blogging about her trip to Nigeria, at http://hollyhagena.blogspot.com/. She’s a Physical Therapist who went with me on our first trip there in January 2008 when we fell in love with the people and their faith. She’s a good friend of Daniel’s so it’s perfect that she’s there now to comfort his family.

(Reprints taken from the maigida website; only the second one was at the museum.)

"Where Is My Sister?"

This is the hardest question for Daniel to answer little Chris, because she did not survive. I’m weeping as I write this. Daniel’s wife Rahila delivered a baby girl about 5 am today at Faith Alive, with Dr. Ben, Nurse Lauretta and others. But there was a problem with the umbilical cord and the baby was not alive at birth.

The joy is that Rahila’s health is good, but she is still at the clinic recovering. How do you recover from this? As is the custom, Daniel and some others went to General Christian Cemetary this morning to bury the baby.

I’m so thankful that Holly is there now to comfort them. She was with Daniel before I called, and was on her way to visit Rahila.

Daniel says not to cry, but to appreciate God, because He works all things for good. “We can’t say ‘why, why, why’ to God.” Please keep their family in your prayers. They have had so much loss over the last month – two of Rahila’s older sisters have died, and then the crisis. Please God, let’s get little Chris the surgery he needs so they can experience joy.

"Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

(Photo from the Internet)

Holly Arrived Safely -- and with all her luggage

Praise God for safe travel. It may be a while before Holly gets Internet access, so I hope this blog post is reassuring for her friends and family who are checking here.

Because little Chris's sister hasn't arrived yet, that means Holly might be able to take that baby's first photos (and share them with us)!

And The New Baby Is...Not Here Yet

I talked on the phone twice today with Daniel. This morning (my time), he was on his way to find a doctor to check on the labor. This afternoon(again my time), he said that the labor is stalling and it's okay to hang on a few more days until the baby insists on seeing this world.

I met Holly at the Denver airport today, to wish her well on her journey to Jos, and give her some boxes of medicines to deliver. Her visit to Faith Alive will be an inspiration to those in Nigeria who will appreciate seeing a friendly face. Please pray for her safe travel.

Holly is in the front row of the photo (taken on our visit to Nigeria in January 2008). She's in the green dress.

Little Chris's Sister Is On Her Way!

This is the very best news I've heard out of Nigeria for a few weeks -- I can hardly contain my excitement!!! Daniel, little Chris's father, called just now to say that his wife has begun her labor. Please pray for a safe delivery that results in a healthy mom and baby. Right now it's during the curfew (8:30 pm there), but they are being checked on by dear friends Nurse Lauretta and Doctor Ben. We really want the baby to be born in a hospital in case a C-Section is needed (it was for little Chris's delivery), so hopefully the baby will hold on until 6 am.

Our dear friend Holly, from the U.S., is traveling to Nigeria at the end of this week so I hope very soon to have and share photos of this new family of four.

(Photos are of the Faith Alive birthing unit, complete with modern multi-head shower. The baby may or may not be born there.)

Back to Soccer Scores

It's a good sign that some of my facebook friends (at least the young men) are updating their status with soccer scores rather than talking about the crisis.

There's a good video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYJ9fsC54Rk that shows how life is returning to "normal." It includes people walking past military checkpoints with their hands in the air to signal that they aren’t a threat. They seem to appreciate the military's peacekeeping presence, but worry about more violence after the military leaves.

The curfew is now from 6 pm until 6 am.