We are very excited to introduce Peter Nwufo as Nigeria Group’s first ethnoarts intern. Peter is a highly skilled musician and has worked as musical director for the Chapel of Faith at the University of Jos for several years. He was one of the participants on the ethnoarts course we ran in May, and was so excited by the material presented that he subsequently ran his own mini workshop for his colleagues at the Chapel of Faith. He started working with us formally on 1st July, on a half time basis, and is currently brushing up his computer skills before hopefully travelling to the U.K. in August for further training. This will be his first trip outside of Africa, and both he and Rachel have been discovering that applying for a U.K. visa is a far from straightforward procedure, and usually takes two or three applications over several months. We should hear whether his application has been successful within the next week or so.
And while Peter is away, Rachel will be going for further training herself, first in Nairobi for a Scripture Use workshop for participants from all over Africa, and then to All Nations (our former Bible College in the U.K.) in September for another course which will be introducing a new ethnoarts training manual. (Rachel was one of 90 participants to be selected for this from around the world). As the course is only a week, she will stay on for another 3 weeks to meet up with friends and family. I, meanwhile, will stay in Jos, as the new semester at TCNN starts again in mid-August, and we have a new Masters programme to run, with two of our key full-time staff currently on furlough for 7 months.
In June we took the chance to have a few days’ holiday with friends down in Obudu, in Cross River State (8 hours’ drive from Jos). As you can see, the scenery in that area is amazing, and what better way to view it all than by cable car (almost certainly the only one in Nigeria – made by an Austrian company, and looking very swish indeed).
  Wow! What a fortnight! The ineffably energetic Rob Baker came all the way from Bamako in Mali to help Rachel lead Nigeria’s first ethnoarts course! 17 participants from several language groups learnt about all kinds of creative ways of using the arts in worship, from storytelling to the doing the ‘snake’ dance. By the end they had composed 8 new Scripture songs, all in indigenous styles. More to follow soon…
 Recording new Srcipture songs 
There was a bit of a stir in church yesterday morning when a laughing dove flew in through the front door and did a few laps of the chapel, looking desperately for a place to perch. It eventually came to rest on the arm of the only stationary ceiling fan, which just happened to be directly above the pulpit. The thought of the pastor preaching an hour‘s sermon with the threat of little ‘gift‘ from above was obviously too much for some anxious church member, who decided to take swift action by switching the fan on. The dove did admirably well clutching on for the first few rotations, but with the fan accelerating to full speed, the poor creature was soon jettisoned into doing more laps of the church. With all 12 or so ceiling fans now in full throttle, it was only a matter of time….
Suffice it to say that the poor laughing dove isn‘t laughing any more.
I know, it’s been a ridiculously long time since our last update, after quite a promising start over the summer. Anyway now that the TCNN semester is over, there is a reasonable chance of improved communication over the Christmas break. So what are we doing for Christmas?
 Tom & Robyn Crabtree We’ll be celebrating with our lovely new neighbours, Tom & Robyn Crabtree, Wycliffe colleagues from the States. Tom is an army engineer and into everything electrical, and usually has a pair of pliers or a screwdriver in his hand whenever I see him. And Robyn, would you believe, is, like myself, from Liverpool. Okay, not Liverpool, U.K., but Liverpool, the district of Syracuse in New York. They moved into the apartment next door to us at the end of July, but had to return to the US for a month shortly afterwards, so we have really only been getting to know them since the end of October. We have invited several other friends over for our joint Christmas lunch (Rachel has just popped out now to buy the chickens – we got a tip off that Jos turkeys aren’t very tasty), and then will share some Christmas thoughts, songs, or stories with each other before having some fun and games. One of their family Christmas traditions is to watch the film ‘it’s a wonderful life’ on Christmas Eve, so we will join them for that as well.
After Christmas, we will probably have a couple of mini breaks away – one at Miango, and one up north near some wetlands at the edge of the desert near the border with Niger, a place I’ve wanted to go for ages.
 Skyscrapers and shopping malls  An orchid in the Botanic Gardens  A bustling street in China Town  Taking control of the 747! Here I am in the cockpit of a Boing 747 flying off for adventures in Singapore! What an amazing mixture of contrasts that country is; Shiny skyscrapers and cavernous shopping malls vs the culturally rich China Town where you can experience a traditional tea ceremony and visit the Buddhist Temple of the Golden Tooth full of smoking jos sticks and people chanting in unison. As you can see, I spent time thoroughly getting into the culture…
 Joining in with the night life down at the keyside  Getting some orientation from one of the locals  Filipino Dance Troupe, Kaloob
The conference itself was an extravaganza of the arts and worship. We were treated to an explosion of creativity from around the world. The Filipino dance troupe ‘Kaloob’ showed us how they had adapted a cultural dance, which used oil lamps, to celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. A Thai drama group used their dramatic folk art form ‘Ligay’ to enact the story of the prodigal daughter and a worship band from the US called ‘Izibongo’ meaning ‘worship the chief’ taught us songs from many continents. One of the most memorable songs was a Native American one ‘Do not Fear’ which sounded like an adaptation of a war song and took place around a powwow drum.
 Izibongo singing around the Powwow Drum ‘Do not fear! Do not fear, my child!
Hey ya hey
I am your loving Father. Hey ya, hey ya hey
I hold you in my arms. Hey ya, hey ya hey’
We were encouraged to create our own dances, use drama as a way of helping others to express their feelings and pray for our Nations through painting. In addition to this we heard many stories of how through the use of culturally appropriate art forms, many people around the world were coming to know and love the Lord.
Rachel flies out to Singapore tonight for 3 back-to-back conferences in mission and the creative arts. Most of the arts consultants working with Wycliffe in Africa will be there, so it will be a good chance to make good contacts, share stories and ideas, and see some inspirational presentations. She is away 1-12 July.
Watch out for Rachel’s new display in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. It will be up from this afternoon for the next three months to raise money for the King’s Kids school for orphans and street kids in Gyero, Nigeria.
This is our new blog and website. As you can see, it is still in its early stages, but bear with us – we hope to have a few things up and running within the next few days, so please check back in a little while.
Matthew and Rachel
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