May 28, 2010
Jos, Plateau State , Nigeria
Hi or Sannu abokinmu, Lafiya?
Have you ever cried in a library? Perhaps it was a sad story or article you
were reading, or maybe as a child you got lost in such a huge place!? Imagine
this completely different scene. We are approaching an old appearing building
badly in need of a paint job, entering into a large room, also begging for new
paint, with the bright, hot, tropical sunshine streaming in through broken,
dirty louver windows. There are several long wooden tables with wooden chairs
around them and along the walls are wooden bookshelves, with few books on them.
“This is our seminary library,” the provost, Rev. Mathias K., was saying sadly,
“It is in shambles.” He introduced us to the Librarian, and to the Academic
Dean, Rev. Sunday Congo, and started taking us on a tour of the library at ECWA
Theological Seminary, Kufai, Biliri.
We had been talking with our long time friend, Rev. Dr. Siman Ibrahim, and our
host, Danladi Bako, the evening before, and the subject of the Seminary at
Kufai came up. They told us that the new provost at the seminary is such a
humble, Godly man, and he has been given an impossible job of improving and
updating the school within three years. It fell into disrepair over the last 8
years with poor management of funds and staff. The library is only one item in
a six page “to do” list that the staff and board have crafted. There is little
to work with, except the beautiful hills, valleys, and wooded areas where the
school is located, the present staff houses, student housing, many of which
need extensive repair– and that incredible sunshine!
Back to the tour of the library…The “Periodicals” section, the librarian was
saying, has only one updated magazine there and that was a “Decision” magazine
from Billy Graham Assoc. dated July 2009! The rest were ragged, various
magazines and papers as far back as 1972! The “Reference” section, where
instructors had chosen books for their students to read was very sparsely
populated with ragged, tattered and torn pieces of paper that perhaps once were
books. Most of the bookshelves in the “library” were empty, with a few antique
theology books and some interesting thesis books on various topics written by
long ago students. The encyclopedia set was from 1972, I believe, and there
were a few good old classic theology books. Upstairs in the gallery, the same
story, dusty, old, tattered books in the fiction, history, and biography
shelves.
I cry tears of sadness for what others have lost because of lack of resources,
I cry tears of apprehension, that the present students may never have the
opportunity of expanding their knowledge beyond a few outdated, worn out scraps
of paper still respectably called books, I cry for joy, when I see the
possibilities of how much it would mean for them to receive books, many books,
railroad containers full of books to stock their library with Bibles,
commentaries, Bible study books, books on Christian living, Biographies of
great men and women of God, Geography, Theology books, World History,
dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and the list could go on, including a regular
supply of current, relevant periodicals.
Rev. Mathias was so grateful when we said we would see what we could do to get
books to him for the library. We told him that many of our friends would give
books, give money for books, and look for churches, schools, libraries,
publishers, etc. that throw away books because they are a few years outdated,
but still perfectly good to use.
We are overwhelmed with the opportunities, needs, and the desire of so many
Christian leaders to promote a culture of reading in this great country facing
so many challenges.
OUR REQUESTS FOR PRAYER:
- For the Billiri, Kufai Theological Seminary Book Drive
.
- Improvement in the shaky “peace” in Jos area. We were
stopped in a long traffic line Saturday evening as soldiers were checking
all cars for missing weapons. People are fearful, and incidents are still
reported frequently. The 9 pm curfew has been lifted.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRAYING!
LOVE FROM SENN’S
