Here is a bumper sticker that I found in the Unity Archives last month (October 2016). I was up there preparing for the Metaphysical Bible Gathering, but I had two free days, so I spent the days rummaging through a box of materials that had stuff from Nigeria.
The bumper sticker reminded me just how difficult it can be to lead a Truth ministry in a troubled country. It showed me how we can keep a high state of consciousness in the process. And it reminded me that the ministries we spawn throughout the world can return to bless us when we are in need of inspiration and encouragement. I want to share with you the story.
A few months earlier, in June, I had met a group of Nigerians at the Unity People's Conference. They inspired me. A dozen or so had flown over for the conference. They were teeming with enthusiasm. Here is a picture I got with four of the well-known ministers: Agbai, Okon, Helen and Amos. Okun attended the INTA conference a few weeks later and we got to visit some more. So I made some friends this summer. And I am grateful. That is the one of the reasons I do TruthUnity — nothing is more precious than a friend in Unity.
Not only did I learn how the Internet can keep us connected, I also learned how the connections we make bless us in unexpected ways, which I'll share with you in a minute.
When I got back to the village in October and had a few days, I wanted to see what Nigerian materials were in the Archives. There was a treasure trove. I found out that Amos had received the Charles Fillmore Award in 2005. I discovered two wonderfully written books by Agbai on Unity teachings. I learned that Dr. Helen is an ambassador for Nigeria Unity in USA. There were hundreds of photographs. There was a 22-page booklet on The Founding of Unity Movement in Nigeria. I found a 2009 booklet that had a profile of Senior Reverend Awa Njoku, who is credited as the founder of Unity in Nigeria.
So I've been putting these treasures out on TruthUnity in the Nigeria Gallery.
But what about that unexpected blessing? As I write this, today is the second Wednesday in November, 2016. We had a presidential election in the United States yesterday. I and many others were deeply saddened by the outcome. I know that many are happy, but we have a bit of a civil war going on in our national consciousness.
But you know, when I read about all the difficulties that Awa Njoku had in founding Unity in Nigeria, I came to understand how complex and difficult it can be to carry on a Truth ministry in a troubled country. If you open the link shown above, you'll learn that after founding Unity in Nigeria in the 1930's and leading it for forty years, Rev. Njoku was lost in the Nigerian Civil War of the 1970s. He is, as the profile says, with God.
And if you read the news of today, you will know about the many problems Nigerians are facing each day. Boko Haram. Ebola. Corruption. But the Nigerians I met this summer were at a very high state of consciousness. Who can forget the opening prayers they offered at many of the meetings? At least, in consciousness, their civil war is over. They are one with God.
So this morning, flipping through the files, I found this bumper sticker. It reads:
Jesus Christ is now here restoring PEACE in me and in this state — My peace I give unto you — Unity Church of Practical Christianity Nigeria — A Positive Path for Spiritual Living
What an affirmation! It feeds my soul! The bumper sticker picked me up by the scruff of the neck, shook me a bit, and said to me WE ARE NOT ALONE. Jesus Christ is here, raising us up to that place where peace is restored in you and me and in our troubled country. And the Nigerians have come to remind us of this Truth!
Thank you, Amos, Okon, Helen and Agbai. Thank you visitors from Nigeria who came to the Unity conference. Thank you Unity family in Nigeria who have sent back to us the message that Charles and Myrtle sent to you ninety years ago — Jesus Christ is now here restoring peace in me and in this state. Whatever our problems may be in the United States, we are reminded by our Nigerian Unity family that we are not alone.
