Security Musings

Jos has been in the news somewhat, especially at the end of December and beginning of January, but for the wrong reasons: more violence. You may have heard of the multiple bombs that exploded on Christmas Eve and of the communal violence that ensued. In our own neighborhood, as in most of the city, things have been completely quiet, to the point that it’s hard to believe that burning and killing is going on a few miles away.
That’s life in the city, I suppose: one part can be suffering while the rest goes on as usual. Well, not quite as usual in the case of Jos—there has been a great increase in tension and polarization even in areas not directly affected. A few weeks ago, we tried to go out for dinner at 6:30 PM but discovered that our three first choices were all shuttered up, and virtually no traffic was on the streets. A map has also been sent out showing us “no-go” areas of the city, which divided increasingly strictly.
The unrest has been controlled for the past two or three weeks, although some incident broke out today; we haven’t learned the details yet. Part of my role in such situations is to facilitate communication among the members and leaders of the various missions, which keeps me fairly busy when peace breaks down. Peacemaking efforts are all the more important, even as they become more difficult.

A New Reason for Variety

I took a different route home from the office yesterday. It only added a minute or two to the travel time, which is just six or seven minutes in the first place. It was the first time I had varied my routine for this purpose, though. Our mission’s security committee, including me, has for the past few years routinely included the advice to make one’s daily routines unpredictable by varying the time, route, mode of transportation, and so on. It’s one of the basic precautions against kidnapping and targeted robbery.
I had no particular reason to do this yesterday—no missionaries or other expatriates have been kidnapped in Jos—but I thought I might as well get into the habit, especially as unrest and lawlessness have been growing in the country over the past few years. My time of leaving the office is already unpredictable, so I’m fine on that count.

A New Reason for Bible Memorization

At our SIM office morning devotion yesterday, this week’s leader, a Nigerian brother, made each of us in turn quote a Bible verse from memory. He said he was going to continue that for the rest of the week. I don’t really like that because, though I know plenty of verses, I can never think of one on the spur of the moment. Still, I thought it was a good idea and would help us all to improve our focus on God’s word and hammer it a bit more solidly into our hearts.
The kicker, though, was when the leader said, “Do you know why I want you to practice your verses? You could get stopped by hooligans and have to prove that you’re a Christian, otherwise they could beat or kill you. With all that anxiety, you might have a hard time remembering, so you should practice. One of the guys on my street had that happen, but fortunately a neighbor came to his rescue.” That’s certainly a compelling reason for memorization, isn’t it?
This has made me think that we should really work with Luke on memorizing the Lord’s Prayer and 23rd Psalm, which are often used in this way by the gangs. We as Turawa (white people) would not be targeted, but Luke could be. I think I’ll also add a verse I read today, Psalm 71:4, “Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men.” Unfortunately, I think the irony would be lost on these evil and cruel young men, even if I could remember the verse at the right time.