Bobi Update, Schools Reopened!

Bobi Grazing Reserve Schools Reopened

On Bobi Grazing Reserve, our schools were recently attacked by bandits! They stole valuables, beat anyone who stood up to them, and kidnapped a teacher! Praise God, the teacher was released, and the reserve has been peaceful since then. All of our schools have resumed classes, and learning is going smoothly. Minor repairs are needed from the ransacking by bandits. More pictures of teachers and students hiding in the bush have come in, which are absolutely terrifying. Please pray with us that these bandit attacks will cease. Below are some pictures of the families on Bobi Grazing Reserve. They are real people, with beautiful children who are hoping for an education. By God's grace, we will continue to provide it! Lord Jesus, keep these precious ones safe!

Want to purchase soccer balls?

In travels coming soon, we will have the opportunity to purchase and distribute sports equipment, specifically soccer balls to schools! You should SEE the look on childrens' faces when we pull out soccer balls - it is an absolute delight!

Nigerian boys play soccer as a popular sport, in school, at the grassroots level and at the professional level. Nigeria has a strong football culture, with many players achieving international success.

Would you like to bless our school kiddos with a soccer ball? Send in $10 with the note 'SOCCER BALLS', in the next two weeks, and we'll be sure to take some great pictures!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

Bobi ATTACKED Again!

Bandits attack on Bobi Grazing Reserve, AGAIN!

On May 6th, Phyllis received this terrifying message from one of our teachers on Bobi Grazing Reserve: Good evening Ma. Ma, Bobi Grazing Reserve is under attack by bandits! They came this afternoon in mass, but thank God l have informed the headmasters to shut down the schools before their arrival. Staff has no access to leave the grazing reserve. Ma, as l am writing to you now a bandit went away with the motorcycle I was using for supervision. They also kidnapped one of our teachers, Musa -------. They broke all the keys and scattered all our belongings and also went away with valuable things. We also heard that they are coming out again so we went back to the bush to stay till tomorrow morning. What next ma? Thanks. F

Can you IMAGINE the terror of teachers and children alike! Our own Phyllis knows exactly how that feels.

From Phyllis: Well, we are thanking and blessing God over here, for the safe release of our kidnapped teacher, Musa. 400 bandits on motorbikes, according to our Bobi schools supervisor, F------, smashed their way into the reserve, shooting guns, breaking into homes, stealing anything of value, including F-----'s motorcycle. Some residents were killed; F------ did not tell me more than that. Our dear teacher Musa was kidnapped.

People ran and hid in the bush throughout the attack. F-------- took pictures of herself and some children hiding with her. Later she took a picture of Musa, after his release. Faith said when the bandits drove into the reserve, police and army turned tail and ran. Not good. All I can say is, thank you, Lord, that all of our teachers and pupils are safe and unharmed. Praise God. Phyllis

We are sharing pictures of F----- and children hiding in the bush, below. They are terrifying pictures, but this is what really happened, and we want you to please PRAY for them, and the Bobi Grazing Reserve! Pray for peace, for the government to step back up and protect this community! Pray for the Lord to protect this community!

You can see poor Musa in a picture below, as well. He is the man with no shirt on. He was badly beaten, and is in the hospital now. As you can imagine, he is suffering from PTSD from his kidnapping and attack. This is one of OUR TEACHERS! We feel so angry that evil has again attacked our dear ones on Bobi Grazing Reserve!

Bobi Grazing Reserve has been a volatile place at times. Bandits have wreaked havoc so much in the area that the Nigerian Army finally came in 2022 and intervened. We have enjoyed safer conditions since then, until NOW. Please join us in praying against this evil, for the safety of our children, teachers, and friends on Bobi Grazing Reserve.

Bobi Grazing Reserve, in Niger State, is over 75,000 acres large. It has SEVEN schools, educating over 700 children! We are so blessed to have TWO healthcare clinics on Bobi Grazing Reserve! We have drilled FIVE water boreholes there, and repaired two others. There is also a lovely church there, our FIRST Free Methodist Church! Area chiefs are absolutely thrilled to have schools for their children there. One chief named Kiri Bauchi told Missionary Phyllis Sortor that they were going to hold on to Schools For Africa and our schools with BOTH HANDS! Phyllis has a beautiful friendship and partnership with the people there.

Our SEVEN Bobi Grazing Reserve schools currently do not have any churches here in the states to prayerfully support them. We could use some individuals and churches to commit to support them in prayer! We also will need to replace F------'s motorcycle immediately, if you would like to help with that. The cost will be $2,000.

Some GOOD NEWS!

Salihu, university student, polio survivor, and dear friend is the proud daddy of a bouncing baby girl!! WooHoo! It's not cold outside, but this is how newborns are traditionally dressed!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

Bright Hope Christian Academy High School Enugu is NEARLY FINISHED! The Church FINISHED, and A NEW BOARD MEMBER!

Bright Hope Christian Academy High School in Enugu is NEARLY FINISHED!

Greetings, FRIENDS!

Trusting all is well with you and yours? We're fine - not only we at Peace Village, but all our staff around the country. It's truly only God, who could keep us and our work going forward so successfully!

The Bright Hope Christian Academy High School project in Enugu is NEARLY finished - well, Lawal estimates about 2 more weeks till the work is completed. Yesterday I paid for all the doors, windows and hand rails; waiting now to pay for the roofing.  In the picture below, the roof is going on!! We're almost there!!

This job has proven to be very costly! We're up to $32,500 now, not counting the upcoming costs of roofing and final labor costs. I'm praying that some donors will come forward to help!

Have a great day! Phyllis

Mountain of Light Gospel Church

for Pastor Elijah

Just sayin', God is GOOD!!

Check out the difference a little helping hand can make!

Before, Pastor Elijah's church had only a few crumbling blocks for walls. NOW they have a safe church building! Before, Pastor Elijah slept on a bench behind the pulpit! NOW he sleeps on a mattress, in his own room! Before, he had nowhere to store anything safely. NOW he has a storage room to secure supplies!

This church was funded by a private donor, and it was easy for our builders to accomplish. Praise God for the direction and resources He gives us, for His kingdom and for HIS GLORY!!

Introducing Judy Hildebrandt

NEW SFA Board Member!

Judy Hildebrant is a valley farm girl, a wife of 58 years, and educated at Seattle Pacific College and Western Oregon University. Raising their six children, she homeschooled, and was a private and public school teacher. In teacher workshops, she and two others brought a phonics system to SFA teachers 2018-2020. A follower of our Good Shepherd, reading God’s whole word, she wants to help others learn to read.

We are SO THANKFUL to have you join us, Judy! We are looking forward to working with you!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

Introducing Pastor Elijah, and Enugu Update!

Introducing Pastor Elijah

and Mountain Of Light Gospel Church!

What would Jesus do? Another INCREDIBLE life story from Missionary Phyllis:

On our way to church on Sunday, as we passed this compound (above), I noticed rows of people's heads showing above the walls of this distant pile of bricks. Upon our return, we stopped to investigate. We discovered that this building was both mission house and sanctuary for a wonderful Man of God, Pastor Elijah, and his small group of believers.

I was so touched. What would I do about this? I could only immediately tell the Pastor that we would help him! We would complete the building of his church. He began to weep. One woman in his congregation fell to her knees, arms lifted up, praising God.

What would Jesus do? I believe He would build this church.

This is Pastor Elijah, although he calls himself Prophet Elijah. We all immediately fell in love with him! Pastor Elijah, a warm, kind, humble Man of God. He has pastored here for 13 years.

This is where Pastor Elijah sleeps. On a bench. No roof over his head. We immediately went to town, buying a mattress and having a bed made for him. Can you imagine sleeping on a narrow wooden bench for 13 years? We're also buying a pillow, supplying sheets and pillowcase, and building a small cupboard. We're setting all this up in a Friends and Neighbors classroom where Pastor will stay while his church is being built!

Here is Pastor Elijah, meeting a mattress for the first time in 13 years! The carpenter had his bed frame ready by that afternoon!

This is the original sanctuary. Pastor Elijah told us that this is where God meets them every time they gather for worship.

We took Pastor Elijah over to Friends and Neighbors High School, where he'll have an empty classroom to store his things and a place to sleep while we work on his little church. We will raise the walls, put a roof on his church building, INCLUDING doors, windows and floors! He and his congregation can use our church facilities here at the high school or join us in our services! Praise God! We are all so, so thankful for this opportunity to get to know Pastor Elijah and his people, and to build this church for them!!

Pastor Elijah gave his testimony today in our combined service. But before he did, he walked over to the guard house and invited our security guard to join us in church. I love this man!

Then the Pastor told his story. I want to share just one part of it. A family came to him one memorable day, carrying the body of their child who had died during the night. The family had already shaven the child's head, as is the custom, and dressed him in a white gown. They wanted Pastor Elijah to bury him.

But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Pastor Elijah, and falling on his knees, he began asking God to return this child, alive and well, to his family. He prayed and prayed, and God heard him. God answered his prayers, and raised this little boy from the dead. It happened right here, in front of many witnesses, in the small sanctuary of this little church.

And today, noticing that our security guard walked with great difficulty, Pastor Elijah laid hands on him and prayed for his healing. I believe the man will walk again! Praise God!

Exactly ONE WEEK after God led us to this church, we had already made some progress on the building! On Sunday, we held a wonderful combined service, with Pastor Elijah and his congregation AND our own, at the Free Methodist Church at Friends and Neighbors School. Both Pastor Elijah and Pastor Ojo conducted the service.

Afterwards, we trekked over to the church under construction and prayed for God's special favor and blessing to rest on this church, the Prophet and the congregation. What a wonderful day!

We are now raising the roof of Mountain of Light Gospel Church! We are all so very happy to do this, and we know that God is happy, too!!

Enugu UPDATE!

You may recall that work has started on the unfinished secondary school at Bright Hope Christian Academy, Enugu. Things are going well! The ground floor building and retaining wall are nearly completed. We are starting now on second floor! Please continue to pray for the project, for safety, and for God's blessing over our wonderful workers there!

BIG GIVERS, UNITE!

SEND CHECKS!

Our mailing address is:

Schools For Africa

c/o Don Standley, Treasurer

1010 Silver Springs Way

Stanwood, WA 98292

Did you know that when you send in a donation online, we pay a percentage for the processing fee!? This is just a friendly reminder that it helps us when you send CHECKS, especially when you are sending BIG GIFTS, to avoid paying those fees.

Your bank can set up an automatic draft check each month for you! Most banks that have billing services will send the check out for you, from the account you choose! Have you tried that yet?

Easy Peasy!

 Is your stock gaining TOO MUCH VALUE?

Direct transfer some to us!

Do you have appreciated assets that need distributing?

We can help with that, too!

Email our SFA Treasurer, Don Standley for more information!

Email SFA Treasurer

Save The Date!

Plan on joining Schools For Africa at Missions Fest Seattle!

We would LOVE to see you there!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

Our Current Work At Enugu!

Our Current Work At ENUGU SCHOOL!

Work has started on the unfinished secondary school at Bright Hope Christian Academy, Enugu. Enugu is the capital of Enugu State, in the center of Nigeria. It is a safe, stable part of the country, Praise God! The school is run by Rev. Mathias, who is also a Free Methodist Church Conference Superintendent, and his wife, Nse. They are faithful Christians and trusted friends!

The school was built thinking it would be a primary school only, but Rev. Mathias and his wife Nse introduced a secondary school using the 2nd and 3rd floors of their building. When they tried to register the secondary school, they were denied based on their use of those upper floors as secondary. So they began building the unfinished school below, five years ago. The building was abandoned when costs proved too much for the school administration. SFA was not involved at the time, but we are happy to come alongside, NOW! The secondary school is greatly needed as children progress in their educations!

We have had builders and engineers carefully study the existing foundation and partial building. With safety as our first priority, we will be able to use what was started to build a two-story school! This saves on costs considerably, instead of tearing down what was already begun!

We will finish this school together!

The first thing we have to do is bring down an old retaining wall, which would eventually fall in and damage the NEW work we will do!

The school is a former International Childcare Ministries School, as well as a Free Methodist Church AND Middle Belt Conference Headquarters!

BIG GIVERS, UNITE! SEND CHECKS!

Did you know that when you send in a donation online, we pay a percentage for the processing fee!? This is just a friendly reminder that it helps us when you send CHECKS, especially when you are sending BIG GIFTS, to avoid paying those fees.

Your bank can set up an automatic draft check each month for you! Most banks that have billing services will send the check out for you, from the account you choose! Have you tried that yet? Easy Peasy!

Our mailing address is:

Schools For Africa, c/o Don Standley, Treasurer, 1010 Silver Springs Way, Stanwood, WA 98292

Port Harcourt UPDATE!

Mission Accomplished in Port Harcourt! We now have ninety-nine hectares (245 ACRES!) total, bought and paid for, for the Port Harcourt Fulani! Mogodi has already staked his claim by moving his large herd of cattle onto the land. We will go back soon to build a school there! Praise God!

Hopefully our meeting with the local king will help to smooth things over with the hostile local villagers. Please continue to pray for peace as we develop this space for the Fulani to live peacefully.

The Place Where Peace Reigns

From Phyllis: Today was my kind of day. An SFA kind of day. The girl in the first picture below, Hadizat, a Fulani girl, attended primary and secondary school at Bright Hope Christian Academy Enugu and is now in nursing school. I asked her if we could visit her camp, and today she took me, along with the principal and head teacher of Bright Hope (pictured below right), to her village high up in the hills outside of Enugu town. It was a long walk!

We talked with Hadizat's father, Alhaji Bello, about school. He is very much in support of education for his children. We discussed the modalities of a school in this particular location and agreed on a plan. Alhaji will build two large, open-sided huts (pictured below left) in the camp. We will send two teachers who will come and go daily using a school motorbike. When children are ready and able to attend Bright Hope Enugu, their fathers will provide transport for them.

And this is how a new school is born! You will not believe the name of this camp! 'Ebe udo na achi.' 'The place where peace reigns!'

Is your stock gaining TOO MUCH VALUE?

Direct transfer some to us!

Do you have appreciated assets that need distributing?

We can help with that, too!

Email our SFA Treasurer, Don Standley for more information at don@standleycpa.com!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him.

Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

In The Presence Of A King!

Lord Jesus, we pray over THESE precious children in Imala. We pray that as You relentlessly seek after them, they would find their way QUICKLY to You! We pray salvation over their precious souls!

Bless them and their WHOLE FAMILIES! In Jesus name, Amen!

BIG GIVERS, UNITE! SEND CHECKS!

Did you know that when you send in a donation online, we pay a percentage for the processing fee!? This is just a friendly reminder that it helps us when you send CHECKS, especially when you are sending BIG GIFTS, to avoid paying those fees.

Your bank can set up an automatic draft check each month for you! Most banks that have billing services will send the check out for you, from the account you choose! Have you tried that yet? Easy Peasy!

In The Presence Of A King In Port Harcourt!

Phyllis and team were invited to the palace of His Royal Highness, King Solomon - yes, that's his actual name! He wanted to hear about our plans for the Peaceful Village Primary School and other work on the new Port Harcourt land! He expressed full support and welcomed the new development! Phyllis was with Mogodi and Musa, and others too. We had stopped along the way, before going to the palace, to buy King Solomon a goat and bottle of wine! This is the cultural way of doing things. You don't visit the King empty handed!

SUCH FAVOR!

Please pray this will help the villagers to see us as a favorable addition in their neighborhood! Phyllis said, "If I'd know I was to sit at the right hand of King Solomon, I would have dressed up a bit!! Ha Ha!"

Our new signboard for the school in Port Harcourt is finished! We are facing quite a bit of resistance of the Fulani people settling permanently here. Please pray especially for peace over this project!

Land ACQUIRED IN Port Harcourt! MORE Discrimination!

Mogodi is the FIRST Fulani man that Phyllis met in Nigeria, and has become a very dear friend and partner in our ministry. Mogodi and his family had permission to use a complex of vacant buildings for their homes and our school, New Town Primary. Without warning, the Nigerian government came and evicted the families, tearing the buildings down! Mogodi and his family had nowhere to go! After many road blocks and much hateful discrimination of the Fulani people, Phyllis was able to purchase 128 acres just outside of Port Harcourt! Thank you to those of you who helped purchase this land! THEN, longtime friends and SFA supporters bought an ADDITIONAL 123 acres MORE! That is 251 acres TOTAL! It's a gorgeous place - fields, streams, access roads, and a very good paved road into town!

Mogodi has been well-trained in rotational cattle grazing. He visited the founder of rotational grazing in Zimbabwe to see the work first hand! Mogodi is going to divide that land into paddocks, gather together all his people's cattle, and practice rotational grazing there! Thank you God for this SAFE new home for Mogodi and his family, AND for this wonderful provision for rotational cattle grazing in Port Harcourt!!

Phyllis has been working from Ogun State to get our Port Harcourt school properties - desks, chairs, tables, zinc roofing sheets, etc. - from the destroyed school to the new land. She asked Mogodi to find a used container we could buy, to put on the land, to keep our furniture in and use later for building materials. Jacob reported to Phyllis that we cannot buy a container for now, as we cannot put it on our new land! "Why?!" Phyllis asked!! "It's our land!  We've paid for it!" The legal documents on the land are signed and sealed by both parties, recorded in court, and without question, the land belongs to SFA.

Jacob told Phyllis that we must wait until we put up our school signboards on that land. As long as the local villagers think the land is just for school, there will be no problem. That the problem they will have is when the Fulani move in! Phyllis couldn't believe her ears. The locals must know that we wouldn't buy 128 acres and want another 123 acres for just one primary school!

Jacob reported that we need to be patient, that he is talking with the villagers. He said we should give them at least 2 weeks to get everything settled and agreed upon. Phyllis agreed, but only for 2 weeks. At the end of 2 weeks, if we cannot move our container out there and if the Fulani aren't allowed to move in, we will return to Port Harcourt with our lawyer. The chief and recent owner of the land agreed to sell us this land, knowing full well it's for this very unpopular tribe of people.

We're calling the new school Peaceful Village Primary School. Promoting peace between tribes is what we do, and in this particular situation, this new school will be in a Fulani village surrounded by Rivers State tribes. NAMING PEACE IS CLAIMING IT!! WE CLAIM PEACE FOR THE RIVERS STATE FULANI, IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN.

Please pray about this - it's very serious. It is not fair for the former owners to keep us and the Fulani out of that land. This is exactly the kind of discrimination that the Fulani people face throughout Nigeria! Please join us in praying that things will calm down.

Pray with us for PEACE IN NIGERIA!

This is the beautiful new land we just bought!

Remember Phyllis's friend, Doris Heritage?

Her film is NOW available!

Own LAST LAP on DVD and Blu-ray

Purchase your copy of the film HERE

Stream the film!

While they await approval for streaming on Amazon Prime, the first 25 people to stream LAST LAP on Vimeo get 1/2 OFF. Use the code HALFOFF to receive the discount. Rentals have a 72 hour streaming period.

Stream LAST LAP

WELCOME to new SFA board member, Mike Sparling!

I am 63 years old and father to 6 adult children. We also have two grandchildren. My wife's name is Gay. We have been married for 40.5 years. We and all of our children and grandchildren are bible believing Christians. Missions/service attitude has been taught in this house to the best of my ability. My faith journey began early in life, at 13 years of age, with the death of my grandfather. For the first time, I realized where I would spend eternity was important/real. I would call that time marker when I owned my faith, not just my obeying my parents' wishes.

My mission's interest began with viewing the effects of starvation/malnutrition on children. The images were shown in my first and last human nutrition class. Those images said to my simple mind: "This ain't right" and I want to be a part of the solution. I changed majors, quit trying to play varsity football, and transferred to an agriculture school. Six years later, I graduated from Veterinary School. This June will be my 37 years as a clinical veterinarian.

I will skip up to 1999, when I met Jim and Phyllis Sortor in Rwanda. I was there by invitation from Todd Stephens, MD. My task was to educate/encourage Huiti pastors to use their cattle (which they got from a program Phyllis started) to the best of their ability to improve the nutrition of their families. In short, make the cow make more milk and put more calves on the ground. 

A lot of life has happened since then, and I have always followed and supported Phyllis in her work in Nigeria. I have not been able to see it in person for various reasons. I will support her work as long as I am on this earth. My heart waits in expectation to see Fulani Christians in the great throne room singing in unison with me. HOLY HOLY is the Lamb that was slain!!!! If I can help you hasten the scene of the last sentence into reality, I am all in! If you need a more normal resume, I can send that also, but I wanted to express how crazy in love I am with Christ's Great Commission!

Mike Sparling DVM

Mike, we LOVE your enthusiasm! Welcome to the team!

Is your stock gaining TOO MUCH VALUE?

Direct transfer some to us!

Do you have appreciated assets that need distributing?

We can help with that, too!

Email our SFA Treasurer, Don Standley for more information!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

Feb 15th, Port Harcourt update

Port Harcourt - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Our primary school in Port Harcourt, New Town Primary, was reduced to rubble, along with all the surrounding buildings on this estate. We had permission to use this land and the buildings, but the government showed up unannounced and began to tear them down, to build army barracks here. Phyllis is looking now for land to purchase, enough for our friends to live, graze their cattle, and have a new school and clinic. It hasn't gone well, yet. We're looking for land, but any place near or around Port Harcourt is terribly expensive. Land owners have not been receptive to new Fulani neighbors, even blocking sales. Please join us in praying for God's direction and favor, and OPEN DOORS for our Fulani friends. We are trusting that the Lord is in the process of working it out!

Meanwhile, check out these cute photos of the family there! There were 140 children displaced from school there! Incredible donors have raised $57,738 for the land so far. Follow the links below to help us fund this purchase, so that these families will NEVER be displaced again.

SPOILER ALERT - WE FOUND LAND!

Leaders Of Tomorrow New International High School Update! 

We had a great football match this week between our building team and the local Durgu men! Painting of the interior and exterior walls has begun, and the school signboard is ordered and almost ready! Carpenter Yahaya is building desks, tables, chairs and cupboards! Whew!! This is not a small project!!

Dr David Tsado, Director of the Bobi Reserve, is setting a date for the commissioning event - in early July!

WELCOME new SFA board member, Shane Verschelden!

Shane has been a dedicated supporter of SFA throughout the years. Working alongside Phyllis in Nigeria, he has made significant contributions to SFA’s initiatives by aiding in the planning and construction of multiple schools, clinics, dams, and boreholes. His work has been instrumental in the accommodations of project teams and hosting training sessions on rotational grazing. In addition, Shane has coordinated stateside donations and transport logistics, as well as assisting in grant writing, developing newsletters, blog content, and managing the organization’s website. Shane is committed to advancing SFA’s mission and values and looks forward to helping out where he can.

(AND he's Phyllis's grandson!!!)

SO glad to have you on the board, Shane!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY

So much good news to share!

Visiting churches was an absolute DELIGHT!

Phyllis and Team SFA visited many churches in January. It is always so special to reconnect with church families, seeing LOTS of familiar faces and old friends. Thank you all for joining us, greeting us, and saying hello! Phyllis shared a powerful testimony about what God has been doing in Nigeria. If you were not able to join us, you can watch Shoreline FMC's recording HERE! OR watch Northlake Christian Church's recording HERE! :)

Phyllis is home safe in Nigeria, with LOTS of plans for 2025!

  1. Secure land for Mogodi and family in Port Harcourt, rebuild school and settle family

  2. Hire teachers and open the Leaders Of Tomorrow High School near Bobi

  3. BUILD Idako School and Healthcare Clinic, where the villagers bought land, and a donor is funding the school!

  4. BUILD Enugu High School in Enugu State - build on existing foundation, drain soggy land for play yard, and hopefully build an admin/student exam building!

  5. BUILD Bauchi State School and Healthcare Clinic

SFA Secretary Carisa Haven supported Phyllis at churches we visited, setting up a table w/ books, DVDs, and sign-up sheets!

Friend Carol Schaper, Shoreline FMC, brought baby hats, knitted by a friend, for Phyllis to take home to Nigeria!

Look what happened in Nigeria while Phyllis was here in the US! Leaders Of Tomorrow High School near Bobi Grazing Reserve is almost complete, thanks to our experienced and competent building team! Phyllis will go there soon to hire teachers and they will open immediately! Thank you, God!

Introducing a sweet friend of Phyllis's, Doris Heritage! Phyllis and Doris both went to Seattle Pacific University! Doris and husband Ralph live in Stanwood, and we were able to squeeze in a quick hug with these beloved friends on our way out of town!

Andy Yardy (pictured above with Doris) is the same friend who made Phyllis's BEAUTIFUL film, Kidnapped Redemption, has completed an incredible film about Doris, called Last Lap! These two beautiful women sat on the couch together and argued about who was MORE FAMOUS! LOL! I (Carisa) was absolutely HUMBLED to sit on the couch with these two 'Pillars Of Faith'. I hope I can be like them when I grow up! Thank you Lord, for friendship and shared faith!

Our SFA Board of Directors met last week for a board meeting. It was very nice to be together! We celebrated all that was accomplished last year, and looked ahead to our hopes and dreams for this year. We approved the budget for projects this year. We have a strong board, and we are working on getting even stronger! We are building board health through culture and prayer. We built a Salary Committee to investigate teacher salaries, to ensure we are paying our teachers well. We enjoyed lunch together, and the whole board was in attendance, either in person or on Zoom. I WISH we would have taken pictures! We are SO THANKFUL to have such a supportive board to work with!

MANY THANKS to retiring SFA Board Member Betty Buzitis!

Betty did SO much to help Phyllis - she was instrumental in helping Phyllis build a new NGO called Schools For Africa! Her support here in the states, her work writing grants, and her service on the board has meant A LOT both to Phyllis and our US team, AND to the Fulani people in Nigeria.

Thank you, Betty!

WELCOME to a new SFA board member, Phil Aronson!

Phil Aronson retired as the Vice President of Industry Relations at ADT Commercial in January 2022. Phil was President and CEO of Aronson Security Group (ASG) for 30 years before the company was acquired by ADT in 2018. During his time at ASG, Phil grew ASG from a small local integrator to one of the largest and most influential Security Risk Management Services (SRMS) companies in North America. Phil has been married over 40 years and the father of two daughters. He resides in the small community of Stanwood North of Seattle, WA. When he is not boating, fishing, hunting or playing with his grandchildren he is advising, coaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders.

Pictured above, from left to right: SFA Board Chair Larry Nyland, SFA Secretary Carisa Haven, Newest SFA Board Member Phil Aronson, long-time friends Martha Smelser, Brian Smelser, Art Smelser, SFA Director Phyllis Sortor, and SFA Board Member Steve King. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Aronson's home - many thanks to Phil and Susan Aronson!

PROJECT UPDATE onEnugu SCHOOL!

All great news! Phyllis and Carisa met with a team of builders in Arlington to talk about the current foundation. We shared blueprint plans and pictures, and the concensus was that if we build a ground floor and second floor only, we would be safe to use the current foundation! This is wonderful news, and does not waste the initial investment already in the ground. Our first priority is of course safety for the children and teachers. This plan will only cost about $20,000!

To register the high school with the government, the school will also need an admin building / student exam hall. This will cost an additional $20,000. If the Lord provides the funds, as He usually does, we will build it! Please pray that the funds will indeed come in, and we can help and support this wonderful Reverend/Principal and his school.

Rev. Mathias is very pleased with this plan, our help, and your prayers. They will be SO BLESSED to facilitate the further education of their primary students! Praise God!

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

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Phyllis visits more churches!

Phyllis is HOME in JANUARY, visiting Seattle-area churches!

Phyllis is home for the holidays, and got to spend some great time with family in December. In January, she will be visiting MANY Seattle-area churches. We would love to have you join us!

Please come to church with us, and stop by our table to say hello!

  • January 19th, Phyllis will be sharing at Northlake Christian Church in their 9:30am service, 19029 North Road Bothell, WA 98012. Join us after the service for a Meet & Greet, 11:15-12:15, upstairs in rooms 231/232. Watch LIVE HERE!

  • January 26th, Phyllis will be sharing at Warm Beach Church. She will share highlights for 15 minutes in both the 9:30am and 11:00am services. She will move to Soulcrafters Class at 9:45, to share more at length. Start at Soulcrafters at 9:30am (in the Wesley building), then join us for 2nd service, 20815 Marine Drive, Stanwood, WA 98292.

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!

ANOTHER SECONDARY SCHOOL in Enugu!

Enugu is the capital of Enugu State. There is currently an ICCM school there, run by Superintendent Reverend Mathias and his wife Nse. Also in Enugu is a wonderful Free Methodist Church, AND the Free Methodist Middle Belt Conference Headquarters. Reverend Mathias and Nse, a faithful Christian couple, have a very successful primary school. As their students got older, they tried to open a secondary school on the 2nd and 3rd floors of their building. Sadly, they were denied registration with the Nigerian government, because the primary and secondary schools are not allowed to be in the same building.

Instead, they began building the unfinished school below. They did their best, but ran out of money, and the project was canceled. NOW, the children are in desperate need of a GOOD, quality secondary school to continue their education! We hope to build a new secondary school for them in 2025. The cost is $80-100K, and we are waiting to see how the Lord will provide those funds! Our sweet Lord has continued to provide for our EVERY project, and for our EVERY need, we are certain this will be no different!

Enugu is in the middle of Nigeria, and the area is very safe. We hope to send a team of builders to Nigeria in September, to assist our Nigeria team in building! Wanna COME?

Here is what WE NEED:

  • A church to fund, partner with, and pray for this school

  • a team of builders to come over in September to build the school!

  • prayers for the existing ICCM school, and our wonderful leaders there

As the Lord pours Himself into Nigeria, it is an absolute delight to be His hands and feet there. We see the Lord moving mightily! God certainly doesn't NEED us, but He does INVITE us to join Him. Would you care to join us by supporting the work financially?

GIVE ONE TIME

GIVE MONTHLY