Dear friends and family,
Greetings from warm Africa. As we marvel at the scenes of snow on the streets of New Orleans and on the beaches of Texas, we invite you to come visit us. Just bring your Bible, short sleeves and a fan.
“Turn out the lights, the party‘s over”. The festivities of the holidays are behind us as we’ve already close the first month of the year. Those who came to visit us have gone back to their respective homes, the children are back in school, everything is settling back into routine. What a blessing it was to see those cherished children who once sat on my knee, now come and visit their siblings in their own homes and bring grand children to sit on my knee. It was truly a blessing to see a life time of effort march before my eyes.
But for some the party I’m referring to is life itself. I can’t remember a time when so many around me passed to the next life. I mentioned last time my friend Carl Gaddy’s mother passing on the 29th of December. A few days later in early January, her sister-in-law Sister Weaver, also went to meet her Maker. Both were loyal members of the church. Then shortly after that another family member lost his battle to ALS, a preacher of the gospel during his shortened life. Some of my school mates, having reached that proverbial age of three score and ten, also left this earthly realm. One of them was Jo Robinson. Her family were close friends of ours. Her dad went to the school of preaching at Preston Road in Dallas and then served as missionaries in Montana.
Jo had a difficult life right from her premature birth. She was widowed the age of 22. She never remarried, but did the best that she could for her single child. I pray that someone who suffered so much in this life will be granted rest. Brother Allen Dulaney, a longtime friend and brother from Saucer Creek, the congregation where I grew up, also went to meet his reward in January. He and his family are always faithful in attending and supporting the congregation and us in particular. Please pray for his family to be comforted in this time of loss, as well as the many others who crossed over.
We also lost our beloved Uncle Dan on 2 February 2025. My mother died on that same day in 2002. Both of them died from pancreatic cancer, the ninth of thirteen siblings to have cancer. Always with a smile and a laugh and some outlandish story, he was the stuff of legends. Family reunions, which he never missed, will not be the same without him.
We are ready to travel today to Obudu town in northern Cross River state. An all day journey in Africa is not quite the same as an all day drive from Dallas to Nashville. Pray that our journey will meet success and that we will arrive safely and return safely. We are making this long and difficult journey to help Prince Ugbe and his prison ministry. At the prisons there he has had a number of baptisms for which we are very grateful. Prison officials have asked us to help repair a skills acquisition center. So we are going with a full crew of our older ones to do that plus other things that can help in the ministry. Brother and sister Ugbe are impactful in many areas of Nigeria and beyond. They, among many other things, manage a school of Biblical Studies and we look forward to this period of fellowship with them, the students, and members of their deaf ministry.
We’re happy to report that there were 20 baptisms this month at the growing congregation that meets at our house. Just like there were a record number of deaths around us, there was also a record number of new births. We are thankful for each person's decision to accept the grace of God, to be born into his family, and take up the challenge of living their lives in service to our Master. Some were young, some were old. Some were single and some were married. Some were with us for a long time and some fairly new acquaintances. Pray for us as we try to point these young Christians to the One who can sustain and cause them to grow. We pray that God‘s message will continue to be spread and that it will find root in the heart of all these sincere souls.
Part of the reason so many people are responding is our continued efforts to touch the lives of those who are in genuine need. January rents for the coming year often come due and many are left homeless. One such case is a widow with four children. She was thrown out of her house, because of not being able to pay. She had taken up at temporary spot in the church building where she had been attending until they told her that she would have to leave. She had farmed out her children to friends and was worried about how she was going to be able to keep the family together. Thanks to your kind contributions, we were able to pay one year rent for her and help reunite her children. This episode was repeated at different times, and different ways. What do you do? One such case was today when landlord said he would throw her things out on the ground, lock her out and she would have to find her way. This is a Sister who was recently baptized and has four small children. She also suffers from tuberculosis and is coughing up blood. Another such case is a young lady again, single mother has suffered from cleft palate, never having had money to have a life-changing surgery. All of these and more are destitute without much hope, few job skills or prospects, with almost no family or support. When they find a congregation of people who are willing to step in and do the hard work to help them, it is noted and appreciated. People come to where they feel loved. Yesterday's attendance was slightly over 300 persons and the majority of those were young people. The class that had the highest number was the age group between six years and 12. How they manage to crowd in one small room I don’t know. We are desperately hoping there will soon be money to build a larger accommodating building so that we can be able to serve even more.
We also asked for your continued prayers for my brother-in-law Brian, who is struggling from the effect of the stroke he suffered last year. May his heart be filled with peace as struggles with the uncertainties this sudden change has brought him. Please continue to pray for Jonathan. He had another surgery last Friday. They still have not dealt with the main tumor in his chest and are consulting this week to know what to do next. Please pray for the two small children your gifts have helped place on admission in the hospital. At present both of them are from families that are not eating well. This is the first time in a long time that we had to hospitalize children and give them blood transfusion because they’re not able to eat. One of the babies has been breast-feeding but there’s not enough milk for the child to do well. Thank you for helping to provide a good diet for our children, some of whom started off life in such conditions.
Once again we thank you for your love and support. We wish we could do more to show you how much this means to us, and of the impact you are having on the life of others. We love you all. Keep climbing.
Love,
Cliff, Nkiru and family

I have read about your work for many years. Please send me notice of your blogs! Thank you, and God bless you. You are an inspiration to me. Dale Ogren