Professor Continues Missionary Efforts in Nigeria

Going into her third year here at Washington Adventist University (WAU), as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education, Enoh Nkana continues to serve her community and country. For the past three years, during the summer months when all the students go back home for vacation and WAU reaches a period of reflection and preparation for the coming fall semester, Nkana and her family make the annual trip to her home country of Nigeria, Africa. Of what started as family vacations, blossomed into a mission of service and giving back to her country.

According to Nkana, this annual trip did not start as a planned mission trip. Her family likes to make yearly trips back home to Nigeria, but she has always wanted to do more to help her country. While preparing to go on a trip over the summer of 2018, her father told her to start praying because he felt that this trip was going to be different from all the others. She remarked that it was like God impressed the thought on her dad’s heart and the outcome of that first year showcased that, as God’s hand moved throughout the trip.

“I have an aunt who lives there and a lot of people make contact with her, and so we were able to work through her, and our ministry and the need just kept growing and growing.”
More and more people came into contact with them, asking them to go to their schools and churches. They were honored by all these requests as her family is very much dedicated to education and helping others. As mentioned before, Ikana is an assistant professor at WAU, her dad is a professor at Southern University teaching public speaking and communication, and this year specifically her mom, who is a physician came, so they also had the opportunity to go to several hospitals in the area. “Everything has been Spirit-led. We didn’t really have a plan, and God just opened up doors for us.”

In May this year, Nkana and her family traveled to Uyo, Nigeria, which is within the state of Akwa Ibom. In the previous two years, they have gone to various schools, where they greet and talk to hundreds of students. To the younger children, they go from class to class, reading stories and bringing them small gifts like coloring books and candy. Overall, to the schools they can get to, they bring food and other much-needed resources. Typically, they go to several different schools in the area each year. However, this year they narrowed it down to three schools – her dad’s former primary school, and two other high schools or secondary schools in the area. At the secondary schools there, they do more motivational speaking and talking about education and the importance of it. “I tell them a little bit about my story – how I got into education – [and] they’re always kind of surprised to hear the American accent,” she remarked.

Nkana also loves talking to them about her school, WAU. She feels that working there has become a significant part of her and wants to share with the students more about the university. Being based near the Washington, D.C. area – The United States of America’s capital – also helped to give more context as to where she was from and provided a clear way to connect with them; the students were excited to hear more about the nation’s capital. So, she made sure to wear her WAU T-shirt and even had some other T-shirts that the WAU Office of Ministry gave her, to which she used as prizes to questions she would ask the students.

Still, the most significant part of their ministry is not going to the hospitals and the schools; it is the route Nkana and her father walk and run every morning that goes around the city. Last year, they were able to meet several of the people who greeted them and cheered them on along the way. They had gone back to see if those people needed anything, provided if they did, and as a result, made many connections there. One time, while they were on the route, they saw a little boy whose sandal was broken and in need or repairs.
They took him to a local shoemaker who started working on fixing the sandals right away. Thinking that he might need another pair, they placed another order for him to be picked up later. When they returned to the shoemaker’s shop, they discovered that they had missed the little boy who had waited around to thank them.

While visiting a lady they met on this route a year before, they heard a little boy call out to thank them. When they inquired why he was thanking them, he replied that it was for the sandals they had repaired. Nkana and her father thought they would never see him again because the road where they met him was a busy route with many children going back and forth to school. This story is dear to Nkana because it shows how God has to power to connect different people through others that they would never expect.

These mission trips to Nigeria have become a staple with Nkana’s family, and they have been approached about starting a non-profit organization in the area. As for her, the mission will never stop because there is just so much more that can be done. For future efforts, they want to bring in more resources – like school supplies for the classroom. They are also working on updating the uniforms and presenting the students with newer uniforms. One other location that they were also able to look into this year was a teacher training school in their home state. They met with the provost of the school, and they hope to be able to observe these students, and put together workshops and seminars to help them grow.

“In narrowing the focus, God just opens up doors for us, and everywhere we go, we meet someone whom God impresses us to help. So, even though we are working on a smaller scale, it just keeps growing. We will see where God takes it next.”