Nigeria: Day 3 Morning – Yakubu Pam Peace Meeting

    Judea and Samaria were polar opposite places in the ancient times; they were places that hated each other.  The division and animosity was derived from their differences, Judea was a place of strict religious piety and Samaria was known for their broken down religious practices.  Jesus however spoke that peace and reconciliation derived from these two places that would be an example to the “ends of the earth.â€� Just maybe the Christians and Muslims of Nigeria are called to be an example to the nations of peace and reconciliation just as Judea and Samaria were.

After meeting a few people and getting amazing susa for lunch, we went to meet a man with a God-given vision for Jos.  This mans name is Yakubu Pam.   He is a reverend at the Assemblies of God church in the Muslim neighborhood near the central mosque.  Pam is one of the heads of a peace committee that has been formed here.  Pam is a catalyst for change.  I think we have found our man; one who is willing to absorb this conflict to bring peace as mentioned in my blog from day one.  A man who embraces Christ, and will be an example of Christ to this nation!

    Pam stressed to us how important love is, love that comes only from Christ, love that takes no accounts of wrongs.   Pam’s vision is for complete peace in Nigeria.  He will stop at nothing until peace is reached.  There will be revival here, through the conflict.  A huge peace rally is in the making with over 20,000 expected to come.  Christians and Muslims alike will gather for a peace agreement.  The youth will declare to not fight one another any longer.  All the attendees will be wearing the same peace t-shirt.  Two Nigerian musicians (one Christian and one Muslim) will be performing songs about peace.  After there will be a soccer match for the Peace Cup.  Youth will be empowered at this rally to have a responsibility to keep peace, to be the generation that says enough is enough, lets work together.  And we are blessed to be a part of it, for this will occur at the end of May.

    A rally like this takes dreams.  Many steps have to occur in order to reach the end result.  Pam has taken every step to make his dreams a reality.  It all started with him making the decision to love Muslims and making giant efforts to get to know the Muslims in his community.  He sat down with 23 different youths who became ambassadors for peace in the community.  He met local Amam’s and a 100-year-old Muslim elder who were his neighbors.  These people became his friends and in turn Pam is respected as a Christian in the dominant Muslim area.  When the attacks happened in his neighborhood, the ambassador youth gathered to stop it and the 100-year-old man stood outside of Pam’s Christian church to protect it.  Not to much later that man died.  He died with a final statement to Pam saying, “I will see you again, we both serve the same Godâ€� They were brothers!  They protected one another.