The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1a with the following:
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.”
Notice Paul’s choice of words as he begins, “urge” and “first of all.” According to Webster definition of the word urge means, “To try to persuade in a serious way to do something.” Paul here is persuading us in a serious way to make prayer a “first of all” priority. Our call as a ministry to make to all our partners and well-wishers is to develop the urge, first of all, to pray, petition heaven and intercede ceaselessly for nations around the world! We pray that God would increase a movement of prayer in our churches that would usher in an unprecedented work of exponential church growth, spiritual renewal and revival.
Pray specifically for the Nigeria forth coming 2023 federal election, that God would guide the masses to vote for men and women of proven integrity, competence, character, capacity, a heart for the people and desire for good governance. Leaders who are not nepotistic, tribalistic, but servant leaders.
COLLABORATION WITH CHURCHES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS:
We have continued to collaborate with many churches and community developers across Nigeria having in mind the following Scriptural admonition that says,
“But you, beloved, build yourselves up on [the foundation of] your most holy faith [continually progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], pray in the Holy Spirit, and keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously and looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ [which will bring you] to eternal life” (Jude 20-21, AMP).
Foursquare Church – Abuja One day seminar on Principles of Handling Conflicts
A Sunday morning church service in Umuahia, Abia State
Worship Service at Eziama Ngor Okpala, Imo State, Nigeria
OLD UMUAHIA MINISTERS FELLOWSHIP:
We plan conferences, church growth and community development projects with Old Umuahia Ministers Fellowship. This past fall of 2022, we held 2 days conference from December 26th- 27th, 2022 with ministers from different ministries in Old Umuahia present. The conference was held in our Mission Center in Umuahia, Abia State Nigeria.
Day 1 of the program was marked with a prayer walk across the seven villages in Old Umuahia. It started at 9:00 A.M. and ended 12 noon at our mission Center. This was followed by a brief encouraging word by Rev Paul Ndukwe and also a light refreshment.
Day 2 featured; prayer, praise, worship, discussion sessions on politics and politicking anchored by Rev Paul Ndukwe. and the sermon was delivered by Rev Chidi Okorafor. A total of about 40 ministers were present with others joining virtually from other locations across the world.
Why do we do we desire to build up other ministers in our most holy faith according to Jude 20-12?
We believe no leader should lead alone:
It is our desire that no leader’s community, church or civic, private or public should lead alone. One of the significant ways we lead together is through mentorship. We seek to encourage every leader and community developers to be in the mentoring arena. That means all are learning, growing and being sharpened together. We desire to see every leader to be mentoring another leader who may be a step or two behind them in development, and we want every leader to be mentored by someone who may be a step or two ahead of them in development.
Leading should be from Your own Strengths:
Our survey all through the years have shown that no two people lead the same way. Just as God has uniquely wired us in our personalities, He has also uniquely wired us in terms of how we lead. The problem is, we are often caught in a trap of leading in ways we weren’t wired to lead.
We encourage leaders to work in their strength area, passion area, professional areas and their growth areas as they take into consideration their areas of drainage of weakness.
INTERCESSORS PRAYER CAMP INTERNATIONAL (IPCI):
IPCI was a 4-day fasting and prayer program which commenced on January 1st and ended January 4th, 2023 at Obehie, Abia State, Nigeria with approximately 5000 people in attendance.
Features of the program included; the Word of God, prayer, praise, worship, drama, special song renditions, deliverance, and seminars for pastors, single adults, married couples, etc . Amongst the invited guest speakers who ministered during the program was Paul Ndukwe (Rev./Amb.).
Rev. Ndukwe are some members of the staff of Link International Ministries were also in attendance at the meeting. We during the conference, we provided book packs that included a Bible to over 50 participants. We witnessed many who gave their lives and rededicated their lives to follow Jesus Christ and serve Him. We thank God that started the new Year with Him and He revealed more of Himself to us.
THE GATHERING OF UPPER ROOM FELLOWSHIP:
This was a day meeting (January, 7th. 2023) with the theme Sufficient Grace for Exploits and the Scripture emphasized was John 14 :12. The gathering was held at Shalom Worship Center, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. This was the second gathering of the members of the Upper Room Fellowship that started in Ajegunle, Lagos, Nigeria in the 70s. We had attendance from the United State, Canada, and across Nigeria. Anointed ministers from the United States and Canada, and Nigeria spoke and encouraged the participants. Highlights of the meeting were; prayer, praise, worship, and panel discussion. It was a grand celebration. A total of about 80 persons were in attendance physically and a few others participated virtually from across the globe. A project to sponsor a Pastor who is a widow, working in a rural area was initiated.
During the sponsorship segment the potential participant was introduced as Link International Ministries was announced as the organization to train the Pastor. The training will commence during the first quarter of 2023.
Rev. Paul Ndukwe spoke at the branch of Shalom Worship Center located at Oshodi on January 8th. Bishop Nkiru Ogamba and Rev. Ndukwe held Leadership seminars on January 9th at Shalom Worship Center, Yaba, Book packed that included a Bible was also made available to most of the leaders who participated at the seminars.
GLOBAL CHILDREN AND YOUTH RESCUE MISSION (GLOCYRM) TRAINING:
The Global Children and Youth Rescue Mission in partnership with Link International Ministries held a 3-day seminar/ workshop for Primary School Teachers and Children Workers drawn from the various Local Government Areas of Abia State, on the Structural Repositioning of the Academic and Moral Performance of the pupils in Abia state. This was the third phase of the program. The seminar/workshop commenced on Wednesday, January 11 and ended Friday, 13th, 2023 saw a total of about 70 persons in attendance and topics such as; Managing Dyslexic pupils, Child Restiveness, Teacher and Child Relationship, and Teacher’s Personal Development were among those treated. Participants who successfully completed the training session were issued certificates of participation.
WHY YOUTH ENGAGEMENT?
When those most impacted by a challenge become part of solution-building, solutions are more likely to meet urgent needs in a sustainable way. In the context of youth development, projects and programs benefit from young people’s involvement in all phases of the program cycle.
Young people possess the greatest understanding of their own needs and the creativity and energy to see old problems in new ways. Youth participation in program design and delivery can drive innovation, increase retention of program participants, lead to longer-lasting program outcomes, and positively impact surrounding systems.
Impactful youth engagement begins with the positive youth development philosophy that sees young people as assets rather than “problems to be solved.” When we recognize that young people must be the primary drivers of their own development, with adults and systems playing a supporting role, and develop policies along such philosophy, failure will be kept far way. We must understand that anything done for youth without youth runs the risk of failure.
Effective youth engagement requires sufficient supports, opportunities, and services to ensure that young people from diverse backgrounds can participate meaningfully and equitably in decision-making processes and leadership roles.
HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE YOUTH?
We have integrated a variety of constantly evolving youth engagement strategies throughout our programming and operations. Some of these key strategies include:
Youth-directed problem identification:
For years, we have worked to understand communities and systems by actively researching, consulting, listening to young people’s self-reported needs and surrounding constraints. We invite young people to participate in stakeholder mapping, surveys, and listening tours into diverse communities and use their input to guide our problem and solution identifying process.
Youth perspectives in program design, planning, and implementation:
We have collected input from target audiences using surveys, key informant interviews, and focus groups, as well as user testing for new products. In some programs, we have established Youth Advisory & Consultative Committees (YACC) to provide ongoing guidance and direction through multiple levels of our programs. This forum led to the establishing of our present Youth entrepreneurial initiatives such as soft and hard skills projects we now run at our training center in Old Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria. (Please see the report from two of our staff).
Youth-driven communications:
We have created channels—both online and in person—for young people to drive conversations. Youth voices have remained front and center of our conferences and workshops, videos and webinars, and annual reports.
Youth-centered learning environments:
We have taken the needs and perspectives of young people seriously in every curriculum we create, using pedagogical approaches that center on the learner. In our capacity strengthening of education systems and training of trainers, we highlight young people’s assets and emphasize the creation of safe spaces where youth may learn from each other while developing healthy relationships with supportive adults. This is the concept developed from Jude 20-21 and 2 Tim.2:2.
ENTREPRENEURIAL YOUTH INITIATIVES:
I am excited about the potential we have to influence new community leaders and strengthen existing leaders. Part of the strategy we have started and will continue is to initiate more entrepreneurial skills in three major areas for youth empowerment. The three areas are, soft skills such as interpersonal skills, empathy, negotiation, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management, critical thinking, stress management, adaptability, conflict management, creativity, Resourcefulness; Hard skills such as technical skills, computer skills, Microsoft Office skills, analytical skills, marketing skills, project management skills. and Physical skills such as hairdressing, fashion design; catering, bakery, shoe making; awareness and enlightenment programs.
REPORT FOR THE FIELD:
The Shoe Making Class:
The shoemaking section of the six-month skill acquisition training organized by the LINK INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES began on 1 May 2022. Total number of 8 students registered for the Shoe making training.
As the instructor, I taught my students the basic and complex shoemaking skill during the training sessions. I also taught them the entrepreneurial business aspects of the skill. This training helped in bringing out their potentials and creative and innovative skills and abilities.
At the end of the first four months of the training 85% of my students were able to make basic sandals and slides (Unisex) perfectly well with little or no supervision.
The initiative of this skill training brought by the LINK INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES is one of the best things that happened in Old Umuahia community of Abia State where we are located.
After this training a lot of other people from the community were making enquiries on when the next training would start. Parents were willing to register their children for the skill acquisition training of their choices. I need to emphasize here that the training was provided free to all the students by Link International Ministries, Canada.
It been few months now since the conclusion of the training and I’ve been in touch with most of my students and I am proud and happy to say most of them are now self independent shoemakers making money from the skill learnt. While some others who are University students, have returned to their various Universities to finish up their degrees programs while working entrepreneur part-time shoemaker.
In conclusion, I’m saying a big thank you to LINK INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES for the initiative of this program, I pray the organization would continue grow in the light of Christ who is its foundation, Amen.
Fawekun Aanuoluwapo Susan
The shoemaking making instructor.
The Bakery and Pastry Arts Class:
The baking and pastry training which lasted 6 months ended with the graduation ceremony of 7 students. They each received a certificate and were also certified.
During the training, the students had the basics in bakery such as: Making sure room temperature is adequate. We emphasized that this was the key of baking; always have the correct butter consistency, read the recipe before beginning, always have your ingredients prepped, learn how to measure, weigh your ingredients, get an oven thermometer and make sure you keep your oven door closed during baking. Safety measures were continuously emphasized during the training.
