Lagos, Nigeria. In the coming days, we’ll be featuring multiple stories from our recent trip to Lagos, Nigeria to teach Catholics there how to evangelize. Our evangelists were inspired by the faith and dedication of the attendees, their fervent worship of Our Lord, and their desire to share the Gospel with others. It seems we have found more laborers for the vineyard here in this beautiful city.
The following report comes to us from team leader Randy (Dallas, TX) on assignment in Lagos, Nigeria:
Last year, Msgr. Paschal Nwaezeapu of Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Lagos, Nigeria contacted SPSE requesting training on Evangelization, healing prayer and hospitality. Sean and I (both SPSE team leaders) agreed to make the journey scheduled for the end of January 2020.
The time came, and we departed for Lagos from Atlanta on a 9.5 hour flight. When we landed, Msgr. Nwaezeapu’s assistant picked us up from the airport and gave us advice them about local cultural and spiritual needs. We then met with Monsignor, who informed us that he expected attendance to be as high as 400 people! This caused us to move from their hall to the church to accommodate everyone.
Day one began with Mass, then some Praise and Worship (very fervent!) As predicted, there were about 400 people in the church, and they were engaged and attentive. Monsignor filmed the whole presentation. He also jumped in between sessions to pull the crowd back together by singing praise hymns. He really is a pastor to his flock! After the day was over, Sean and I stayed to answer questions. We were both touched by how sincere and devout everyone is. We gathered at our very nice hotel nearby to debrief the day and plan for tomorrow. We are both relieved that the opening kickoff went so well. Obviously, it was the fruit of a massive amount of needed prayers.
Praised be Jesus Christ! Stay tuned in the coming days for more uplifting stories from Nigeria.