Post 82 / The Next Language

From the Land of Nod

The book of Genesis reports that Cain dwelt in the land of Nod. He was a fugitive.

Last week, for the first time in my life I found myself without a passport and without legal status. My sin was that I had arrived in Nigeria without a visa. Here’s how it happened: with all the covid complications you must have proof of a negative covid test to enter Nigeria, and after arriving you also have to show proof of having prepaid and preregistered for tests on days two and seven. With that payment confirmation from Nigeria’s department of health and the assurance on the Nigerian web site that I could “get a visa on arrival,” I set off a week ago. In hindsight, that may sound stupid, but it also fooled the Royal Morocco Airline that took me there.

So on arrival my passport was seized and I was detained in immigration over 24 hours until the next Royal Air Morocco flight out. When necessary I was escorted to the toilet and for food. I was escorted onto the return flight to Morocco where my passport was held by the steward. After 30 hours in Morocco I was again escorted onto a flight to Geneva – so I ended up where I had started. At Geneva the passport was returned to me and I was once again a man with a passport and a country.

Today I try again to get a new covid test and registration with the department of health and an official invitation from the department of immigration in Nigeria.

The quest of course is 458 unrecorded languages in Nigeria. I will meet with center leader Kish and his staff to work on a plan to record many of those languages. Kish has been very supportive through this process and promises that according to a Nigerian proverb, “the most patient dog will get the fattest bone.”

One of my guards in Lagos where I had first arrived was a young Muslim from the northern city of Kano. He shared with me what life was like in the North where there is a lot of violence. He assured me that he did not agree with the Boko Haram Muslims who were killing innocent people. But he did indicate that at least in the city of Kano, it was safe to live and work with languages.

God willing, I will spend a couple of weeks with Kish in the city of Jos which is further south in the northern region and therefore less violent than Kano. Pray that God will guide us into His plan for reaching every language. You can also pray that I will get a flight from Lagos to Jos because that is impossible until you actually get to the country.

One Nigerian told me proudly that Nigeria was the largest and blackest country in all of Africa. Total population is pretty close to that of the United States.

It might be of interest who my travel companions have been on this journey. On the leg from US to Europe the seats were filled with young men going to war in Ukraine. That was on Feb. 27. With me to Africa were nearly zero tourists and the majority of non blacks were Chinese. These observations form a significant commentary on what is going on in the world.

God Bless,

Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director

Global Recordings Network USA

If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net

Previous “The Next Language” posts
Tribute to Mexico – 1967 – 2022
Miniaturization – Post 80
Knowing The Times – Post 79
God Comes to a Dirty World – Post 78
Corn in Mexico – Post 77
When the Church Says No – Post 76
War – Post 75
Theirs Is the Kingdom – Post 74
The Hippie Era Lives On – Post 73
Genesis of a Recording Set – Post 72
Back Tracking – Post 71
Witnesses- Post 70
Who Is Your Owner? – Post 69
An Unsolicited Endorsement – Post 68
Oral Tradition – Post 67
Works of  Man – Post 66
Deliverance – Post 65
New Discoveries – Post 64
The Wall of Pain – Post 63
Is There a Place for the Gospel in Your Story – Post 62
The Love Pyramid – Post 61
Obsession – Post 60
Verb Tenses in Hebrews – Post 59
The Unseen Weapon – Post 58
The Gospel Arrives in Zapoteco:Elotepec – Post 57
Fishing – GRN Style – Post 56
A New Day in Mexico – Post 55
Seeking – Post 54
Pick Your Battles – Post 53
How Big Is Your God? – Post 52
A Muted Gospel? – Post 51
Dedication Service for Marcos – Post 50
Two Weeks, Two Months, Two Years – Post 49
What Will You Give to Jesus – Post 48
Special Assignment – Post 47
The Good and the Best – Post 46
How Many Languages Are There? – Post 45
Verifying Speech Varieties – Post 44
Those God Things – Post 43
Meet Notch, the Desert Cottontail – Post 42
The Lost Languages – Post 41
The Rest of the Yoke – Post 40
What About Those Last Languages – Post 39
A Yoke That Fits – Post 38
The Other Side – Post 37
It Is Finished – Post 36
On the Ground in Culiacan – Post 35
I Will Go With Thee – Post 34
Unseen Warfare – Post 33
God of the Gaps – Post 32
The Father of Faith Missions – Post 31
WAIT – Post 30
Our Ultimate Weapon – Post 29
What Are You Doing Here – Post 28
Recordist Training Course Update – Post 27
Still Shameful – Post 26
Numbers Update – Post 25
The Gospel and Idolatry – Post 24
Could Ye Not Pray – Post 23
John the Baptist and the New Normal – Post 22
Genesis of a Script – Post 21
Embena Experiences – Post 20
An Easter Like No Other – Post 19
Go Or Stay Home – Post 18
The Next Language – Post 17
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