Mission to Nigeria - September 2007
Hazel Bech travelled to the Jungle Mission HQ in Butatong in Cross River State, six hours inland by road from Calabar - which is down on the coast in south-eastern Nigeria.
She reported:
"Unfortunately I arrived in the middle of the rainy season and everything was permanently damp. Heavy rain was interspersed with storms and steady drizzle and I never felt dry the whole time!
The first week was the Jungle Mission Summer Bible School attended by 41 students. They all work in remote jungle villages, only accessible by trekking on foot and they come together a couple of times a year for teaching. I gave lectures on leadership, discipleship and preaching.
The second week we had a wonderful conference for jungle widows. They are a very neglected group of women and very badly treated in their communities. 256 women arrived and stayed for 3 days. They cooked their meals outside and those that had no relatives or friends in Butatong were accommodated in the local Assemblies of God church building in the village. By a miracle the rain stopped for these 3 days, which made it all much more bearable for the delegates.
The conference theme was Widowhood - Highly Favoured by God.
I did some teaching from the book of Ruth, other pastors preached as well and the women were blessed by the whole experience. They came from 14 communities and this was the first time they had experienced such an event put on in their honour."