Adieu Madiba... RIP. 1918 -2013.

South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died......... Boyd Varty: What I learned from Nelson Mandela. "In the cathedral of the wild, we get to see the best parts of ourselves reflected back to us." Boyd Varty, a wildlife activist, shares stories of animals, humans and their interrelatedness, or "ubuntu" -- defined as, "I am, because of you." And he dedicates the talk to South African leader Nelson Mandela, the human embodiment of that same great-hearted, generous spirit.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY NIGERIA ! Joyeuse fête d’indépendance à toute la communauté nigériane !

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY NIGERIA! Joyeuse fête d’indépendance à toute la communauté nigériane dans le monde entier ! Nigerian National Anthem - "Arise, Oh Compatriots" National Anthem of Nigeria (1960-1978) National anthem of Nigeria. Hymne national du Nigeria "Arise, O Compatriots" is the national anthem of Nigeria. It was adopted in 1978, and replaced the previous anthem, Nigeria, We Hail Thee.[1] The lyrics are a combination of words and phrases taken from five of the best entries in a national contest. The words were put to music by the Nigerian Police Band under the directorship of Benedict E. Odiase. "Arise, O Compatriots" (1978–present) Stanza 1: Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria's call obey To serve our Fatherland With love and strength and faith. The labor of our heroes past Shall never be in vain, To serve with heart and might One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. Stanza 2: O God of creation Direct our noble cause Guide our leaders’ right Help our youth the truth to know In love and honesty to grow And living just and true Great lofty heights attain To build a nation where peace And justice shall reign. "Nigeria, We Hail Thee" (1960-1978) Nigeria, we hail thee, Our own dear native land, Though tribe and tongue may differ, In brotherhood we stand, Nigerians all are proud to serve Our sovereign Motherland. Our flag shall be a symbol That truth and justice reign, In peace or battle honour'd, And this we count as gain, To hand on to our children A banner without stain. O God of all creation, Grant this our one request, Help us to build a nation Where no man is oppressed, And so with peace and plenty Nigeria may be blessed. Nigeria's National Pledge The National Pledge of Nigeria is recited immediately after the Anthem I pledge to Nigeria my country, To be faithful, loyal and honest, To serve Nigeria with all my strength, To defend her unity, And uphold her honor and glory, So help me God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arise,_O_Compatriots Visit Nigeria

The Miracle of Forgiveness

The Miracle of Forgiveness 

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." These are simple, powerful, and even poetic words that I've said so many times without fully grasping their meanings. On July 15th, my family was given a chance to live them. An ordinary day transformed into an extraordinary test of faith.

While traveling north on I-35, we were suddenly rear ended by an 18-wheeler. We were stopped in traffic when it hit, crumbling our van like an accordion. My wife, Nikki, and I were in the front and our children were in the back, where they bore the brunt of the impact. When the truck hit, I sustained a head injury and lay bleeding in a bed of glass. My wife turned to see our oldest son, Cadyn, slumped over, limp, and lifeless. For a moment, she thought he was gone. By a great miracle of God, he was still alive... but gravely injured. 

Nikki pulled our children from their car seats and handed them to strangers outside the van. In the midst of the chaos, she saw that everyone was being tended to long before the ambulance arrived. Cadyn was in critical condition and barely breathing, but Nikki had a peace that surpassed understanding that God was there. That's when she noticed the truck driver, Roger.  He was curled up into a fetal position, leaning against the concrete divider, weeping into his cell phone. My wife felt an overwhelming sense of love and compassion for him. It was an accident. She walked over to Roger to embrace him and began to pray. At first he refused, but Nikki insisted and said, "This is what grace is for." While praying with him, she realized by his words that he was our brother in Christ.

Cadyn was immediately sent to the ICU, where our trial continued. We received news that his brain had sustained shear injury, a type of brain damage that either kills or severely impairs for life. We sat at his bedside, begging for him to open his eyes. In the darkness and overwhelming anxiety, the Lord gave us His strength to believe for a miracle.

 It was during that time that Nikki reached out to Roger. He had to know that Cadyn was alive and that he was, indeed, forgiven. As I prayed about this, I felt a love for him as well. God brought to my mind numerous verses of His command to love radically and forgive freely. As our son laid there hooked up to a ventilator, we were not helpless. We could love. The enemy was to have no foothold. After leaving a phone message with the trucking company, we went back to praying and waiting. Doctors told us that Cadyn would be in the ICU for many weeks with a tracheotomy and a feeding tube, followed by many months in the hospital. They said we would never have the same son again. Even still, we had an unexplainable joy and peace. We were not alone and none of this was a shock to our Savior. He wasn't finished yet.



A few days later, Cadyn woke up. This set into motion a recovery process that astonished the doctors and defied scientific explanation. That same day, Roger contacted us and we invited him to see God's miracle in action.

Our son couldn't talk right away, but he could write. He was coherent enough to understand the situation as my wife and I explained to him what happened. Nikki asked Cadyn if he wanted to forgive Roger. I saw my son think about it for a moment, then give an assertive thumbs up. With construction paper and a crayon, Cadyn wrote: "Roger, I forgive you. Love, Cadyn."

At that moment, my little 5-year-old son became my greatest hero. We were blessed to meet Roger and his family that day. Roger said he was framing Cadyn's note and putting it on his wall. I believe him. It was surreal to embrace the man who almost killed my son, but there was also such joy.  I remember the shocked look on his face when he told us that our forgiveness had rocked his faith to the core and that he could not understand how I, as a father, could forgive him. I told him that Jesus poured out His grace to me from the cross, and the only right response would be for me to pour that same grace out to others. Roger said he didn't know people followed Christ like this, but we assured him we're not super Christians. It's only by the power of the Holy Spirit. As the saying goes, we're not perfect, we're just forgiven.

http://austinstone.org/stories/written/item/501-the-miracle-of-forgiveness Jehovah Knows

Richie Parker: Drive -- SC Featured

Favorite line. . . There isn't anything I can't do, there are only things I haven't done yet. . . Beautiful.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie : Novelist

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature. In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape. Adichie's newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience. Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.” http://www.halfofayellowsun.com/ http://www.ted.com/speakers/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie.html ************************* As the first female Finance Minister in Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attacked corruption to make the country more desirable for foreign investment and job creation. Now as a director of the World Bank and head of the Makeda Fund, she works for change in all of Africa. ******************************** Journalist Andrew Mwenda has spent his career fighting for free speech and economic empowerment throughout Africa. He argues that aid makes objects of the poor -- they become passive recipients of charity rather than active participants in their own economic betterment. ******************************* http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/fr/chris_abani_on_the_stories_of_africa.html

One Decision (Child Safety Film - Vehicular Heatstroke)

Be an oasis in the midst of insanity !!!

Toby mac~made to love~lyrics

May God bless you Toby Mac for this blessed song that reminds us of God's love :)

Just stand, never give up even when you are alone!

NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH AT THE MOMENT, NEVER GIVE UP! JUST STAND !!! ---------------- Stand for Holiness Stand for Righteousness And be counted among them That shall reign with Him You stand When friends are gone Stand when you're all alone And believe He shall receive His own ********************************************************************************************************************************************** TD Jakes - Why did God choose me? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The touching story of Mary Gardner Mary Gardner who was killed in the Jerusalem bombing on Wednesday. She was studying Hebrew there for six months. Photograph: Wycliffe Bible Translators Mary Gardner, the British woman killed in the Jerusalem bus bombing, was an evangelical Christian who had been living in Togo, west Africa, translating the New Testament into the local Ifé language. She was on a six-month course in Jerusalem studying ancient and modern Hebrew at the Hebrew University prior to returning to Togo to begin work on a translation of the Old Testament. The 55-year-old had been staying in a dormitory in Yad Hasmona village, about six miles from Jerusalem, but had gone into the city on Wednesday to meet her oldest friend. She was fatally injured. Thirty others were wounded when a device weighing up to 2kg exploded near the busy central bus station. The eldest of five children, Gardner was born in Nairobi, Kenya, but moved to Aberdeenshire when she was 15. Her parents Jean, 81 and Tony, 82, who live there, said they were "devastated by the sudden loss of our daughter in this tragic and unexpected way". In a statement they said: "Mary was a very special person and we thought the world of her. She was devoted to her work and was well liked wherever she went. We are proud of her and all that she has achieved in her life and feel truly blessed to have had her in our lives." She had been working for Wycliffe Bible Translators in Togo, living among the Ifé people for the past 20 years, learning the language, translating the bible, and teaching literacy and maths. Eddie Arthur, executive director of Wycliffe, said: "I cannot tell you how highly regarded she was. She was an extremely gutsy person, highly intelligent, with huge drive and the ability to stick with the project for 20 years in far from comfortable conditions. It must have been incredibly isolating at times. But she was completely dedicated to her work, and to the Ifé people." "She will be sorely missed by her colleagues and all those she worked with in Togo". Gardner, who was not married, attended Albyn school for girls, in Aberdeen, then St Andrews University, where she studied for an MA in English and French before returning to Kenya as a volunteer teacher for two years. Returning to Britain she worked as an itinerant teacher of French, based in Orkney, travelling to island schools by plane and boat. She then studied at the Bible Training Institute, in Glasgow. She joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1988 and moved to Togo where she worked as part of a team. The Ifé translation of the New Testament was published in 2009 and she also joint-edited an Ifé-French dictionary. Gardner arrived in Jerusalem in January for the Home for Bible Translators course, and was staying at their dormitory near the Arab town of Abu Ghosh where on Thursday, her friends and fellow translators met to exchange memories. "Mary was really enjoying the camaraderie and fellowship she had found in Jerusalem. She told us that until she got here she did not realise how alone and isolated she had been living for years in a remote village in Togo, the only European for miles around," said Halvor Ronning, director of the Home for Bible Translators. "She had a fantastic love for nature. We are just looking at photographs of her on her knees trying to get the best photograph of a wild flower that interested her. She loved hiking, and her room-mate has just been recounting how, when they hiked in the Judean hills, she was always pushing to continue to the next hill even if there was no obvious path." Ronning added: "She was very frugal and she is the only person I know who bought the material to make her own tent. She used to take turns cooking with her room-mate and disapproved of extravagant desserts. She had just made nettle soup for all residents of the dormitory." Source (20/04/2013): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/24/jerusalem-victim-british-bible-translator/print

Ewere weds Terry 2013

Thoughts and memories of author Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe, literary icon and author of 'Things Fall Apart,' dies at 82. Chinua Achebe, literary icon and author of 'Things Fall Apart,' dies at 82 By Laura Smith-Spark and Faith Karimi, CNN March 22, 2013 -- Updated 1815 GMT (0215 HKT) CNN.com Send us your thoughts and memories of author Chinua Achebe on iReport. (CNN) -- Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, a literary icon whose 1958 novel "Things Fall Apart" captured the world's attention, has died, his publisher said. He was 82. An author of more than 20 books, he was celebrated worldwide for telling African stories to a captivated world audience. He was also accorded his country's highest award for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award. Achebe is a major part of African literature, and is popular all over the continent for his novels, especially "Anthills of the Savannah," which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987, and "Things Fall Apart." The latter was required reading in countless high schools and colleges in the continent, and has been translated into dozens of languages. Set in precolonial Nigeria, "Things Fall Apart" portrays the story of a farmer, Okonkwo, who struggles to preserve his customs despite pressure from British colonizers. The story resonated in post-independent Africa, and the character became a household name in the continent. Achebe's stories included proverbs and tackled complex issues of African identity, nationalism and decolonization, adding to his books' popularity. A critic of Conrad, poor governance Achebe once wrote an essay criticizing Joseph Conrad, author of "Heart of Darkness," as a racist for his depiction of Africans as savages. Conrad's popularity took a hit after the accusation -- a testament to Achebe's credibility. He also criticized corruption and poor governance in Africa, and had been known to reject awards by the Nigerian government to protest political problems. In a tweet, his publisher Penguin Books described him as a " brilliant writer and a giant of African literature. Nelson Mandela said he 'brought Africa to the rest of the world'." Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan paid tribute to Achebe, hailing him as a cultural icon, a nationalist and an artist. Achebe's "frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs will be greatly missed at home," Jonathan said. "While others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation." South African President Jacob Zuma said he was saddened by the loss of a "colossus of African writing" who had helped many define themselves. "It was in his famous novel "Things Fall Apart" that many Africans saw themselves in literature and arts at the time when most of the writing was about Africans but not by Africans," Zuma said. Biafran War Born in Nigeria in 1930, Achebe was raised in the large village of Ogidi, one of the first centers of Anglican missionary work in eastern Nigeria. He was an early graduate of University of Ibadan, established in Nigeria before the end of British colonial rule in 1960. He worked in radio, but in 1966, left his post during the national upheaval that led to the bloody Biafran War, in which Nigeria's southeastern provinces attempted to secede. Achebe joined the Biafran ministry of information and represented Biafra on diplomatic and fundraising missions before the civil war came to an end after two and a half years. His 2012 memoir, "There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra," draws on his recollections of that painful period in Nigeria's past. A review by Adam Nossiter for the New York Times talks of how the book gives "glimpses of this immense human tragedy in Achebe's characteristically plain-spoken narrative" but is also "tinged with odd nostalgia for the ephemeral moment when Biafra seemed to birth a national culture." Fellow Nigerian writer Ben Okri, whose novel "The Famished Road" won the 1991 Booker Prize, first met Achebe in the 1980s, when they did a radio interview together. It was "startling" how kind he was, he said, and how "generous toward a younger, somewhat angrier writer." "He was one of the most important writers to deal with the issue of the historical clash of civilizations, and the sometimes disastrous and sometimes benevolent consequences," Okri said. "He was without any doubt a very important figure, not only as a writer but as a guiding presence. He combined humility with forcefulness. He wrote clearly and truthfully, and was a touchstone for many African writers and many writers around the world." 'Generosity of spirit' In the course of a long academic career, Achebe took up university posts in Nigeria and overseas, including teaching at Brown University in Rhode Island, where he was professor of Africana Studies, and Bard College in New York. Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, described him as "a brilliant novelist, storyteller, and eloquent voice from the opposite side of Joseph Conrad, with respect to the relationship of the West to Africa." He also highlighted Achebe's "extraordinary generosity of time and spirit" during more than 20 years as a member of the Bard College community, adding that he will be deeply missed. "For many, he was considered the father of African literature, and for many of his students, he introduced them to an extraordinary literary tradition," Botstein said. "His importance to literature, and to those he taught and knew personally, will never be forgotten." Corey D. B. Walker, an associate professor and chair of the department of Africana Studies at Brown University, said Achebe's loss was a great one. "He was more than just a colleague, faculty member, and teacher at Brown. He was a gift to the world," he said. "At a time like this we could draw many words of wisdom and comfort from the deep wells of various African cultures and traditions to honor him. The most fitting is the simple and elegant phrase, 'A great tree has fallen.' " In an interview for the Paris Review of Books in 1994, Achebe spoke of how his early love of stories made him realize that they only reflected the point of view of the white man. That spurred him to write himself. "There is that great proverb -- that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. ... Once I realized that, I had to be a writer. I had to be that historian," he said. "It's not one man's job. It's not one person's job. But it is something we have to do, so that the story of the hunt will also reflect the agony, the travail -- the bravery, even, of the lions." Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/22/world/obit-chinua-achebe CNN's Vlad Duthiers, Jo Shelley, Richard Allen Greene, Kim Norgaard and Joseph Netto contributed to this report.

Heyyyy... don't be quick to judge !!!

Moral: Remain focused even when no-one believes in you!!! Be determined to see your dreams come through (ignore the mockery, sarcastic comments etc because the same mouth that mocked will end up smiling and celebrating with you if you persevere! Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success. Persister dans une action, une résolution, une attitude, malgré les difficultés rencontrées. *****************************************************************************************************************Don't under-estimate what a kid can do....

You've Never Seen Elijah's Story Done Like This!

Get drawn into the story of Elijah's confrontation on Mount Carmel through powerful spoken word and choreography.

Baba - 4 years in mind...

Baba - Prince Joel Ero Obaigbona - 4 years in mind!!! Today makes it exactly 4 years that Baba passed on to glory. As I look back (reflect on his person/life) I can simply thank God for blessing us with a father like him and trust God as we move on in life with the legacies he left behind. One key word comes to mind whenever I remember Baba: contentment! ********************************************************************************* Integrity and contentment are riches of the soul that are available to all. God is pleased to give these treasures to everyone who asks! Dear father, I remember you today in a happy way........

Nigerian Pentecostalism

Benson Andrew Idahosa (1938-1998): Father of Nigerian Pentecostalism Today marks the 15th year since Archbishop Benson Andrew Idahosa’s death on the 12th of March 1998. Benson Andrew Idahosa has been described by many as the Father of Nigerian Pentecostalism and is truly one of the pioneers of Neo Pentecostalism in Africa. No price is indeed too high to pay. Papa, we remember you today in a happy way!

Wedding speech by a lovely father

Happy and Blessed 2013 to you and your loved ones!

Bonne et heureuse année 2013 à tous ! Look back and thank God, look forward and trust God!