Ogbomosho, Nigeria
Ogbomosho, Nigeria - March 2018
Ogbomosho, Nigeria
If anyone wants to get to know West Africa at its most typical, then they should visit the city of Ogbomosho in the Nigerian province of Oyo. Aside from a couple of churches, the town hall and a few mosques, there are hardly any tall buildings. Everywhere you look, you see tiny, simply-roofed homes stretching for kilometres in every direction, dusty streets, brightly-coloured markets, little shops and manufacturers, and open cooking fires … And yet, there are well over one million people living in this city and the surrounding areas.
Unlike Calabar, this city has a positive spiritual inheritance. It was founded over 350 years ago as an outpost of a kingdom that belonged to the Yoruba tribe. At the beginning of the 19th century, it withstood a massive onslaught from the Muslim Fulani tribes, and having successfully resisted them, the town grew quickly from the refugees that found shelter there. After the Muslim invasion had been thwarted, the first real Christian missionaries came to the area in 1855. They founded the first school there in the same year. From this foundation, the entire modern school system there arose, including a theological seminary (Baptist) and a technical university. The president of the theological seminary said once in his greeting address at a CfaN “Great Gospel Campaign”; “When I look out over this incredible crowd of people here at this campaign, I know there is hope for Nigeria!” And a pastor elaborated, “The unique thing about the CfaN campaigns is that they bring all the different denominations of a region together in unity, and that hundreds of churches and congregations who did almost nothing together before that, keep nurturing their fellowship when the campaign is long since over.”
The last CfaN campaign in this region took place in October 2010. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, we know that this is the time to return and build our platform here again. The cities of West Africa grow at an astonishing rate, and within one decade, a city like Ogbomosho grows by another hundred thousand people. The children from that time are now youths and young adults whose turn it is now to make a personal decision to follow Jesus. We are certain that the Lord will stir this city with a fresh move of God, and light a burning fire once again in the hearts of believers.
Africa shall be saved!
Please pray for Ogbomosho
Ogbomosho is in the southwestern state of Oyo, Nigeria and some 80 miles north of Lagos. Founded in the mid-17th century, it remained a minor outpost of the Yoruba Oyo empire until the beginning of the Muslim Fulani conquests of Oyo in the early 19th century. By surviving the Fulani onslaught, the walled town attracted many Oyo refugees and became one of the largest Yoruba settlements. Ogbomosho has about 257 surrounding villages and emerging towns which amalgamated to the rulership of Soun.
Ogbomosho is also home to the three institutions of higher learning, and the Bowen University Teaching Hospital Ogbomosho (BUTH) a first-class Christian Teaching Hospital marked by excellence and godliness for the training of doctors and other medical professionals founded in in 1907!
People
Most of the adults seem to spend their time living outside their houses, with their children playing around them among the goats and chickens that frequently try to “play with the traffic” that hurtles along the rather dilapidated roads. Now one of the nation’s largest urban centres, Ogbomosho is inhabited mainly by Yoruba farmers, traders, and artisans. The town is justifiably proud of its university, and also the impressive Medical Training Centre, hospital, schools and Theological Seminary.
Land and Climate
Ogbomosho lies on the plateau of Yorubaland (elevation 1,200 feet [366 m]) in an area of savanna and farmland and at the intersection of roads from Oyo, Ilorin, Oshogbo, and Ikoyi. The warmest time of year is generally early to mid-March with highs of 97F (36°C) and lows rarely dropping below 78°F (25.6°C) at night.
Economy
Yams, cassava (manioc), corn (maize), and sorghum are grown for export to the cacao-producing areas of Yorubaland to the south; teak is also exported, and tobacco is cultivated for the cigarette factory at Ibadan, 58 miles (93 km) south-southeast. Locally grown cotton is used for weaving aso oke, the traditional Yoruba cloth; Ogbomosho weavers also make sanyan, a cloth woven from silk brought from Ilorin (32 miles northeast). The indigo dyeing of the cloth is performed exclusively by women.
Although the craft of wood carving has declined, the town is known for its early wood artifacts and for its unique koso drums. Ogbomosho serves as a staging point and market for cattle, and it has a government livestock station. The town also has a shoe and rubber factory. Local trade is primarily in staple crops, palm oil, kola nuts, beans, fruits, and cotton.
If ever we needed your help in praying, it’s now!
Please pray with us for:
- the technical team: setting up the stage, sound system, generators, speakers, light masts, etc.
- that the giant LED Screens will function well and enable more people to not just hear, but see what God is doing
- protection from all attacks (including spiritual) and technical breakdowns
- good weather: no rain or strong wind, no extreme heat or dust, no weather that prevents people from attending the meetings
- many hundreds of thousands of real, life-changing conversions
- bountiful healing to follow the preaching of the Word, confirming the truth of the Gospel
- effective and engaging follow-up, quickly integrating new Christians into strong churches in their areas
- and please pray urgently for the release of the necessary financial resources.
A Historic Gospel Campaign
Dear Mission Partners,
Yours in the Harvest,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
and the whole CfaN Team
Pictures by O. Volyk
A Mighty Harvest
Dear Mission Partners,
Our final meeting has just come to a glorious conclusion here in Ogbomosho, Nigeria. The crowd tonight topped 350,000 and absolutely packed the field we were on. Since I haven’t given a report the last couple nights, allow me to bring you up to date.
On Friday night as we were heading to the crusade field, dark ominous clouds filled the sky as far as the eye could see. The weather forecast called for rain – and rain it did. As we were sitting on the field in the technical container, the rain started to pour. I could hear it growing louder and louder as it pounded on the roof of the container. It was a hard, cold, driving rain and I thought surely the people would run for cover. But I was told that they were still there. So, after about 15-minutes, realising that it was not going to relent, I went out to preach in the rain (as I have done many, many times before). But when I reached the platform, to my surprise, the field was full, the people were dancing and singing in the rain! The moment I stepped up to preach, the heavy downpour turned to a very light drizzle and continued that way for the rest of the night. I was able to preach the Gospel and pray for the sick without any difficulty.
On Saturday, we prayed for the people to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and there was a mighty outpouring with deliverance, healings, signs and wonders. Many testified of being healed of ulcers. A woman’s breast lump (that she had for 7-years) vanished. A woman’s large swollen leg instantly returned to normal, reducing its size by more than half! A woman whose leg had been severely injured in an animal trap 20-years ago was healed as well.
And my favourite – an old lady who had been unable to stand danced and walked with me on the platform. Afterwards they told me that she was a Muslim. So, I asked her if she wanted to become a Christian. She prayed with me on the platform and put her trust in Jesus!
Tonight, instead of pouring rain we had thick Harmattan (dust from the Sahara Desert that pollutes the atmosphere – it looks kind of like smog) it is very unusual to experience Harmattan and rain in the same place in the same time of year, but anything can happen. Many thousands were saved and healed tonight – crippled legs, hernias, ulcers, blindness, epilepsy and pain of all kinds vanished during prayer.
Now the decision cards are being counted. I am sure that it will be a huge number. I will send it to you as soon as I receive it.
Thank you again for your prayers and support. Now we head back to Orlando for the School of Evangelism in one week. Please continue to pray for us.
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
and the whole CfaN Team
Pictures by O. Volyk
Watch the Livestream from the Weekend