WHY We Do What We Do...

God showed Missionary Phyllis Sortor a PROBLEM. He also showed her the SOLUTION, gave her a PROMISE and a VISION! If you haven't seen last week's note from her, check it out on Facebook! Don't have Facebook? Check it out HERE!

Are We On Target?

The Schools For Africa Board of Directors recently got to discuss this question together. There is SO MUCH good work to do. Are we focusing on our mission, so as not to spread ourselves too thin? We simply CAN'T do everything!

Our mission is this: To restore life, health and peace to indigenous farmers and nomadic pastoralists in Nigeria through the settlement of pastoralists onto protected, ecologically sound grazing reserves with healthcare and schools provided for their families.

The board AGREED, YES, we are doing very well working towards our goals, staying focused on our targets, and letting God lead!

DARE TO DREAM!

In 2024, Schools For Africa will DARE TO DREAM for EVERY school and healthcare clinic on Bobi Grazing Reserve to receive monthly funding. There are MANY opportunities to support a school or healthcare clinic on Bobi Grazing Reserve. Teacher/nurse monthly salaries in Nigeria start at only $50/month. You can support them monthly! PLEASE talk to your church about joining you!

Bobi Healthcare Clinics: 2 nurses $50/month each, yearly cost of medicine/supplies, $5,000/yr ~ $415/mth = TOTAL $465/month

Bobi Grazing Reserve has TWO clinics on the 75,000 acre reserve. One clinic, Two Sisters Maternity Clinic, is halfway between local leader Sariki Bello's compound and the main road. There is a working borehole with solar pump and electricity, a small office, exam room, labor and delivery room, and recovery rooms. This clinic is incorporated into the state's healthcare system, which is an exciting start for community healthcare in Nigeria! Two Sisters Maternity Clinic was named after Sariki Bello's TWO daughters, who died in childbirth when the hospital outside the reserve wouldn't take them.

This healthcare clinic is saving lives, saving limbs, giving polio vaccines, and teaching the community how to care for themselves. What a blessing to that sweet community, and our dear friends. The clinic needs monthly support, and we would love to have you join us in this life-saving work, in Jesus' name!

Being PROACTIVE...

From a supporter in Illinois: We are impressed with the approach of Schools For Africa. Other ministries support the victims of the violence in Nigeria. Phyllis and Schools For Africa are being proactive, showing kindness to the Fulani. This approach seems to be winning hearts, as some are receiving Christ and becoming a part of His church. Amen!

Join us in what God is doing in Nigeria!

Your monthly gift goes directly to Nigeria, to support the salaries of our WONDERFUL teachers and nurses! One-time gifts are also welcome!

Prayer Requests:

  1. DARE TO DREAM - Yes we do, our God is ABLE! We are daring to dream for monthly support for the two Bobi healthcare clinics.

  2. Pray for the SFA Board of Directors, as they learn how to be a better team, supporting and guiding SFA!

  3. Pray for Lafiya 1 and 2, the grazing reserves that are actively changing the way Fulani herders raise cattle!

Get YOUR church involved!

Get involved!

Get YOUR church involved!

Do you LOVE being a part of our ministry in Nigeria?

Would you like to get MORE involved?

Here are some ways that we might partner with you or your church!

  1. Follow Schools For Africa AND Phyllis Sortor on Facebook! You'll see funny stories about what Phyllis is up to (like pictures of lizards on her windows!) and get all the latest updates!

  2. Our Kidnapped Redemption film - You can watch the film for free HERE (but with commercials). 4,604 people have watched it on YouTube so far! You can purchase the DVD for $10, plus $5 shipping. Watch it, then share it with friends, your Sunday School class, your missions board, or your pastor! Have a film viewing party, and provide the popcorn! :)

  3. Purchase Missionary Phyllis Sortor's books! Phyllis has written TWO great books about her ministry in Nigeria. Her first book, The Kidnapping of an American Missionary, is the story of her kidnapping in 2015. Her second book, Kidnapped Redemption, is full of the amazing things God did in Nigeria upon her courageous return to the very place she was kidnapped from. Books are $20, plus $5 shipping.

  4. Do you attend a Sunday School class? Ask if you can share about Schools For Africa! Ask if you can share the film! Perhaps your class could support a teacher or nurse monthly for $50/month!

  5. Does your church have a missions board? Forward this email to your team, so that they can get to know SFA! No missions board? Forward this to your pastor! Give them time to check it out, then follow up! Tell them how passionate you are about this ministry!

  6. Have a fundraiser to raise money for Schools For Africa! There is a great story about a church that did JUST THAT below. You could have a bake sale, a yard sale, a movie night, etc! Get your men's group, your women's group, your Bible study, or your children's ministry involved! We would LOVE to connect your children's ministry to a school in Nigeria!

  7. Invite Schools For Africa to come to YOUR church! Phyllis is not coming to the US for a while, but SFA Secretary Carisa Haven would love to come visit your church! She would be happy to share about what God is doing NOW, and bring an update from Phyllis and the team in Nigeria! Perhaps we could schedule a movie night! :)

Email us for more info at carisahaven@gmail.com!

Northlake Christian Church put God's word into the hands of FORTY PEOPLE! WOW!

From Pastor Ryan:

Thank you for inspiring the opportunity for Northlake Christian Church’s’ family ministry to raise funds for Schools for Africa. It’s great for our students to engage in missions work and participate to see lives transformed by the gospel.

Northlake heard about the SD cards from Bill F. and our missions team wanted to partner in helping. We decided to run a month-long fundraiser in the children’s ministry classrooms through the month of November. We wanted to bring mission awareness and understanding for the kiddos and give them a practical way to meet a felt need. Each Sunday in our kids classes our leaders shared a bit about Schools for Africa and then gave an opportunity to children to give.

Here is the total raised by the Northlake kiddos, many of which gave from their own piggy banks: Schools for Africa: $286.93

Thank you! 

Ryan Hoxsey, Family Pastor, Northlake Christian Church

SFA is moving mountains!

and churches, and schools, and healthcare clinics...

Dear Rev. Phyllis and Schools For Africa,

Calvary greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you are doing fine and rejoicing in the Lord. I thank God for His grace and mercy to be alive to see another year. Welcome to 2024 and Happy New Year.

On behalf of the Northern Provisional Mission Annual Conference of the Free Methodist Church Nigeria, I am writing to thank you and all SFA partners for your love, prayers and financial support to our conference through out last year 2023. Your love, prayers and financial support have been a source of great joy and encouragement to us last year. With your support, we have been able to plant new churches, buy land for churches, raise church buildings and provide roofs for churches. 

All of this takes time and money, and would not have been possible without your financial support. As I reflect on the events of last year, I am reminded that our conference would not be able to fulfill our mission and calling without the support and partnership of people like you. It is through your support and partnership that enables us to carry out our mission of sharing the love of Jesus among Fulani Muslim groups and plant churches across northern Nigeria.

Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your love, prayers and financial support in 2023. May God's abundant blessings be with you and your loved ones in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. We are looking forward to your continuing support and partnership in this year 2024.

Thanks and remain blessed,

With deep appreciation,

John Raji, Conference Superintendent

DARE TO DREAM!

In 2024, Schools For Africa will DARE TO DREAM for EVERY school and healthcare clinic on Bobi Grazing Reserve to receive monthly funding. There are MANY opportunities to support a school or healthcare clinic on Bobi Grazing Reserve. Teacher/nurse monthly salaries in Nigeria start at only $50/month. You can support them monthly! You may not be able to support the whole school - PLEASE talk to your church about joining you!

Below are the current needs:

Bobi Healthcare Clinics: 2 nurses $50/month each, yearly cost of medicine/supplies, $1,000/yr ~ $85/mth = TOTAL $185/month

School #1, Courtney Carleton Memorial Primary School, 6 teachers @ $50/month = $300/month

School #2, Bailey Robinson Memorial Primary School, 2 teachers @ $50/month = $100/month

School #3, Big Dam Primary School, 7 teachers @ $50/month = $350/month

School #4, Dam Dutse Primary School, 2 teachers @ $50/month = $100/month

School #5, River Of Life Nursery & Primary School, 4 teachers @ $50/month = $200/month

School #6, Kango Bassa Primary School, 1 teacher @ $50/month = $50/month

School #7, Yabawa Primary School, 4 teachers @ $50/month = $200/month

Start your monthly donation NOW! 

Join us in what God is doing in Nigeria!

Your monthly gift goes directly to Nigeria, to support the salaries of our WONDERFUL teachers and nurses! One-time gifts are also welcome!

Prayer Requests:

  1. DARE TO DREAM - Yes we do, our God is ABLE! We are daring to dream for monthly support of EVERY BOBI SCHOOL AND CLINIC in 2024.

  2. Pray for persecuted Christians in Nigeria - there are MANY!

  3. Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of the Fulani people, for salvation in Christ Jesus!

 

A Map and List of our Projects

Build a Meaningful Legacy with SFA!

Learn more about Schools For Africa Director, Phyllis Sortor!

Find out how SFA shares about Jesus!

Meet our SFA Board Members!

A story about the GOOD LIFE in Nigeria...

Watch our Kidnapped Redemption Film!

 

Visit Our Website!

Questions? Email us!

Sign up to stay in touch!

DARE TO DREAM and Christmas Miracles!

In this post you will find:

  1. How we might together DARE TO DREAM for change in Nigeria

  2. Christmas miracle #1: Dr. Godfrey

  3. Christmas miracle #2: Bobi Secondary School FUNDED!

Nigeria is the country with the largest population in Africa, and soon one of the largest in the WORLD! Open Doors says there are currently 5,000 deaths and 5,000 kidnappings in a year, up dramatically from one year ago. Nigeria is 6th on their List of Dangerous Nations in the WORLD for Christians, with "EXTREME LEVELS OF PERSECUTION".

Go HERE to read more about Christian persecution in Nigeria and the world. It is a shocking reality that we don't talk about enough.

Go HERE to read about a Christmas Eve attack in Nigeria, where 140 Christians were killed by Islamic extremists.

Could we, should we DARE TO DREAM?

YES WE SHOULD!

Psalm 117: Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.

For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. 

For God's glory, the work Schools For Africa is doing in Nigeria is making a clear change by providing schools, healthcare clinics, and rotational grazing. We are loving a people group long shunned and forgotten. The Fulani people may be forgotten by the world, but NOT BY THE LORD! HOW the Lord LOVES His beloved Fulani people!

YEAR END GIVING

We’re incredibly honored to be a part of what the Lord is doing as we work together in Nigeria. Thank you for being a part of what we’re doing. Your commitment to our community has made it all possible, praise God!

We see God moving in His POWERFUL way! His words are coming alive in the everyday lives of the Fulani people. We are seeing lives be transformed and renewed! The Great Commission is being fulfilled!

 MAKE A YEAR-END GIFT

1. One-time Gift:

It's not too late to give your YEAR-END GIFT. Your one-time donation makes a way for the Lord to move, through the hands and feet of our Schools For Africa team in Nigeria.

GIVE A YEAR END GIFT HERE

2. Monthly Giving:

Your monthly gift to Schools For Africa supports our many teachers and nurses. As we continue to build schools and healthcare clinics, we need your monthly support to continue this life-changing work!

BEGIN MONTHLY SUPPORT HERE

3. Buy books/DVDs:

The stories of what God has done in Nigeria are INCREDIBLE and exciting! Hear the testimony of Missionary Phyllis Sortor, it is SO important to share! She has written two GREAT books, and a film has been created about her kidnapping!

EMAIL US TO PURCHASE BOOKS/DVDS

4. Mail a check to:

Schools For Africa

c/o Don Standley, Treasurer

1010 Silver Springs Way

Stanwood, WA 98292-8102

Christmas miracle #1: Dr. Godfrey

Dr. Godfrey is one of our own, son of our beloved pastor, Rev. Sunday. Dr. Godfrey was an ICCM (International Child Care Ministries) student, who was then sponsored through medical school at Hope Africa, in Burundi. He is now working for SFA and for our government hospital in Imala!

Dr. Godfrey, having recently moved to Nigeria to work with us, found the very important need to acquire his medical license in Nigeria. How would he be able to afford it?? Upon careful research, Dr. Godfrey learned that it would be QUITE EXPENSIVE to complete the process! Phyllis promised to help. When Dr. Godfrey emailed the budgeting details of what he would need to do to acquire his medical license in Nigeria, it was OVER $1,000!

Phyllis emailed SFA Secretary Carisa, to see if we might find help to fund the need. Carisa emailed this request for Dr. Godfrey’s licensing expenses to the Butterfield Foundation to see if they would pre-approve it for grant funding… GUESS WHAT! They called the next morning to let us know that this would qualify for Butterfield’s discretionary funding, and they had a bit of money left over, and they were gonna squeeze it in THIS YEAR! They mailied the check for $1,000 THE SAME DAY! 

BOOM! Thank you Jesus! Merry Christmas to Dr. Godfrey, tell him he can get to work. :)

From Dr. Godfrey: "Firstly, I thank you for everything you are doing for me. Through you, I am seeing the goodness of God in my life."

Christmas miracle #2: Bobi Secondary School FUNDED!

Have you heard?! In 2024, we get to build our first secondary school on Bobi Reserve! It is a HUGE project! GREAT NEWS - the Lord is IN IT AND THROUGH IT, and has provided the funding to see it completed! We even have a church willing to connect to Bobi Secondary School for monthly support! WOO HOO! We are so thrilled to see the Lord move on behalf of Bobi Grazing Reserve, and the families who live there! Phyllis has close relationships with the leaders and their families there. We have SEVEN primary schools on Bobi Grazing Reserve! If you want to hear some incredible stories about Bobi, there are many in Phyllis’s second book, Kidnapped Redemption.

Bobi Grazing Reserve is 75,000 acres! Fulani herdsmen are working to improve the land and feed their animals successfully on these hundreds of acres allotted to them for rotational grazing. Schools For Africa has partnered with Clear Blue Global to drill FIVE boreholes there for fresh drinking water, and we’ve repaired two more that were in a state of disrepair. We have conducted several reading workshops there with teachers over the years. We are so blessed to have TWO healthcare clinics on Bobi Grazing Reserve! There is also a lovely church there, the First Free Methodist Church! Prince Saidu, who is an educated man who studied in the US, has overseen Bobi for years. 

The Governor of Niger State has authorized SFA to build and run schools there. There are a total of SEVEN schools there, with over 700 children in total! Below are the schools/clinics (ALL OF WHOM REQUIRE MONTHLY SUPPORT!):

Bobi Healthcare Clinics: 2 nurses

School #1, Courtney Carleton Memorial Primary School, 6 teachers

School #2, Bailey Robinson Memorial Primary School, 2 teachers

School #3, Big Dam Primary School, 7 teachers

School #4, Dam Dutse Primary School, 2 teachers

School #5, River Of Life Nursery & Primary School, 4 teachers

School #6, Kango Bassa Primary School, 1 teacher 

School #7, Yabawa Primary School, 4 teachers 

Bobi Grazing Reserve has been a volatile place. Bandits have wreaked havoc so much in the area that the Nigerian Army finally came in last year and intervened. While the area is still very unstable, the area chiefs are absolutely thrilled to have schools for their children. One chief named Kiri Bauchi recently told Missionary Phyllis Sortor that they were going to hold on to Schools For Africa and our schools with BOTH HANDS! This volatility HAS affected student registration some, as families literally flee to safety, but we have seen increased stability in the area this year.

Kidnapping is on the rise across Nigeria, and especially in this area. Phyllis asks that we pray for security to continue to improve there in Niger State, but the work on Bobi will go forward whether she's there or not. Our plan these days, because of continued ambushes and kidnapping, is for Phyllis to stay at Peace Village in Ogun State, while our builders and manager do the work on Bobi according to the exact plan. Last year, SFA really tested and perfected our building teams, who are now able to go and do the work without Phyllis needing to be onsite to oversee. This is a major WIN for SFA and Phyllis, as the travel can be very dangerous for her. When the work on Bobi Secondary School is finished, SFA Assistant Director John Raji will go to Bobi to interview and hire teachers. Security needs will be properly addressed at Bobi Secondary School, with a wall built around the school, and security guards always present. 

Bobi Secondary School will be joyously welcomed with both arms, and it will be registered with the appropriate government offices. Funds for this school will go through our Board Treasurer, Don Standley, directly to Phyllis in Nigeria. She and a couple of trusted employees then are able to distribute funds as needed. We are thrilled that the Lord is building this school at JUST the right time, as the students from the nearby SEVEN primary schools are needing to move on to secondary school! The thought of sending them to ‘just any’ other school, considering the low quality of education at other schools, was really disturbing Phyllis. We are praising God for this miracle! 

ESTIMATED COSTS:

$50,000 - Initial cost to build the school, DONATED!

$6,000 - for teacher’s housing, on site, DONATED!

ONGOING COSTS:

$6,000 - yearly cost for 12 teachers’ salaries

$1,000 - yearly cost for utilities for the school

$1,000 - yearly cost for security for the school

$2,000 - yearly cost of books, paper, and writing tools (this would be a huge blessing that is not usually provided)

Other possible blessings could include:

$10,000 - for 2 buses, as children often walk a LONG way through the bush to school

We are looking for churches to support Bobi schools monthly. We LOVE to connect CHURCHES to our schools, for on-going connections, relationships, and support. We want churches to be praying for the pastors who oversee the schools, for the teachers, and the children, specifically that they would come to Christ! We will ask them to be praying for churches, in return! SFA will commit to sending your church quarterly updates from your school, but more contact would be acceptable. This connection helps congregations like yours know more about WHO they’re supporting, and our goal is to help you feel connected. 

We are so excited to see the Lord moving, again and again. It never gets old. :)

James 3:18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. 

Connect YOUR church to a school!Email for more information!

Donate NOW!

Join us in what God is doing in Nigeria! Your monthly gift goes directly to Nigeria, to support the salaries of our WONDERFUL teachers and nurses! One-time gifts are also welcome!

Prayer Requests:

  • DARE TO DREAM - Yes we do, our God is ABLE! We are daring to dream for monthly support of EVERY BOBI SCHOOL in 2024.

  • Pray for upcoming grazing reserve development, more info coming soon!

  • Pray for our beloved Fulani, that God would raise them up, and for their salvation!

Bobi Secondary School, COMING SOON!

New address!

SFA Treasurer Don Standley has moved! Please update our mailing address to the address below!

Schools For Africa

c/o SFA Treasurer, Don Standley

1010 Silver Springs Way

Stanwood, WA 98292-8102

IF YOUR'E ON OUR MAILING LIST, you received your new prayer card this week! If you would like to receive a prayer card and be added to our mailing list, EMAIL US!

Bobi Secondary School, coming in 2024!

Two families from Stanwood, WA have committed to building a secondary school on Bobi Grazing Reserve! The school will be large, and it will cost $50,000 to build! This estimate for the secondary school includes six large classrooms, each 24’x24’, an office also 24’x24', desks, tables, chairs, outdoor toilets, and a security wall enclosing the property. Not only is the building PAID FOR, but the generous donors have also committed to build teacher's quarters there! Phyllis has some grazing reserve projects that she is starting in January, so she is hoping to begin building Bobi Secondary School around August 2024.

Funding for the project goes through our SFA Treasurer in Stanwood, WA, directly to Phyllis in Nigeria. Phyllis will personally pay contractors and oversee the work. The school will be registered with the appropriate government offices. The school will be welcomed with open arms! Bobi Secondary School is coming at just the right time, as the pupils in our SEVEN PRIMARY SCHOOLS there are ready to move on to secondary school. The thought of sending them to 'just any school', considering the very low quality of education offered in most other schools, was really disturbing to Phyllis. She is quite ready and able to build and equip a secondary school that will be THE BEST FOR OUR CHILDREN!

A BIG need will be the ongoing support of the school, at around $700-900/month. We would REALLY love a church or two to connect with the school - for prayer, community, and monthly support. It might take TWO churches to support a school this size! :)

ESTIMATED COSTS below:

$50,000 - Initial cost to build the school - DONE!

$6,000 - yearly cost for 12 teachers’ salaries

$1,000 - yearly cost for utilities for the school

$1,000 - yearly cost for security for the school

Other possible blessings could include:

$2,000 - yearly cost of books, paper, and writing tools

$10,000 - 2 buses, as children often walk a LONG way through the bush to school

$6,000 - for teacher’s housing, on site - DONE!

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Can you commit to helping us support the secondary school on Bobi Grazing Reserve? The students will get the opportunity to learn about Jesus! They will get a strong education, and help the Fulani people to grow and succeed in Nigeria!

A note from Phyllis: We have seven SFA schools on the Bobi Grazing reserve in Niger State. We established these schools with the full support of the Federal and State governments, in September 2017. Now, this year, those children are entering primary (grade) 5, and by August 2024 will be ready to start Junior Secondary School. We'd like to build this secondary school in the village of Durgu, just outside the reserve. This will make it available not only to Fulani children, but ALL children, bring people of different tribes together AND give them a high standard education. I want to ask YOU and your family and/or your church to partner with this school on an ongoing basis, supporting the teachers' salaries monthly. Thanks, and God bless you for your caring heart. Phyllis

Join us in what God is doing in Nigeria!

Your monthly gift goes directly to Nigeria, to support the salaries of our WONDERFUL teachers and nurses! One-time gifts are also welcome!

DONATE NOW!

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for our upcoming grazing reserve projects, and for the Fulani who are coming to settle there.

  • Pray for our beloved Fulani, that God would raise them up, and for their salvation!

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Email us!
Sign up to stay in touch!

Phyllis UPDATE and DVDs!

Where in the world is Phyllis today?

Phyllis is nearing the end of her 8-week tour across America. She just left Pennsylvania, stopped in OHIO to visit family, and is heading for Mattis Ave Free Methodist Church in Illinois!

Thank you all for your continued prayers over Phyllis. She is happy, healthy, and determined to finish strong! I often check her Facebook page to see how she's doing, and based on the picture below, she's doing GREAT!

She LOOKS great! This is Belle, Phyllis's grand-dog!

Phyllis has shared some incredible highlights from her tour: MANY, MANY friends both old and new, an incredible painted portrait, restful camp cabins, and Nigerian meals!

Pictured above are Jenny and Eddie Mack, Carol Barrett, Paul and Sue Frazier!

DVDs are NOW AVAILABLE! 

We are selling them for $20, plus $5 shipping and handling. 

EMAIL US to place an order! There are TWO ways to pay: 

  • Go online HERE to donate the $25, and be sure to "Write us a comment", and note that your donation is for a DVD.

  • Mail a check for $25 to: Schools For Africa, c/o Don Standley, Treasurer, 22205 93rd Place West, Edmonds, WA 98020-4512

3,300 people have seen Phyllis's story in the last four months! Praise God!

75 PEOPLE SEE IT EVERY WEEK!

View the 2-minute film trailer!

View the 48-min. Kidnapped Redemption film HERE for FREE!

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for great connections at Mattis Ave Free Methodist Church in Champaign, IL!

  • Pray for Phyllis, for strength and stamina on her tour across America, to finish strong and healthy.

  • Pray for our upcoming dairy project - there are a lot of unknowns and possibilities!

SD Cards, New Dairy, and DVDS!

Happy 4th of July!

We praise God for our nation and our independence!

The SD Cards were delivered this week!

Last week, we ordered 500 SD cards loaded with ALL OF THIS!

  • Full Bible

  • Through the Bible (J Vernon McGee)

  • God's Story

  • The Story of Jesus

  • Good News

  • Look, Listen, Live

  • Words of Life

  • Christian Music

Do you love and cherish your Bible, too? Do you want to buy some SD cards, and help us get God's words into the hands of a believer or unbeliever!? They are $7 each. We ordered 500, which comes to $3,500, and we would LOVE some help to fund them. Click the button below to help us purchase these SD cards!

Some BIG NEWS...

God is moving mountains AGAIN! God LOVES the Fulani people!

With the CRAZY statistic (see above!) of Nigeria soon to be the world's 3RD MOST POPULOUS nation in the world, our hearts to help the Fulani settle in ONE PLACE burn hotter and hotter! Fulani shepherds can no longer move their cattle about the nation, like their fathers and grandfathers before them. The nation has rapidly grown, and the cattle are NOW CAUSING GREAT STRIFE, WAR, AND LOSS OF LIFE!

Our goal with rotational grazing is to provide a way for the Fulani people to keep their culture of cattle, but safely, and in one place! We can also offer education and healthcare on our grazing reserves! CHANGE IS HARD. After doing things for hundreds of years, change has come slowly. There is no doubt the Fulani KNOW we love them and care for them, but they are wary to make the change from nomadic shepherding to rotational grazing.

To support rotational grazing, we are going to add a DAIRY PROJECT to Lafiya Grazing Reserve in Imala. Phyllis has been thinking about how to better partner with the Fulani on grazing reserves... She has been wondering if we could use the milk Fulani HAVE ON HAND, and help them sell it to earn a more stable income. In a wonderful way - that only God can do - a possible dairy door has opened...

Phyllis met a dairy developer, through a mutual friend! We are working on a partnership with a dairy company in Uganda. They have already built a dairy, figured out the tricks of the trade, and they are willing to come to Nigeria to help US build a dairy! We are still working out the details, but it seems like a GREAT next step. We will begin with LOTS of research in Nigeria, to make sure our plan in feasible, but God is leading, and we must follow!

If our dairy project at Lafiya Grazing Reserve is successful, we will reproduce it on every grazing reserve we run! We want to help and support our Fulani friends, to learn to settle with their cattle in one place. With our growing team in Nigeria, we will continue to build and support schools and healthcare clinics. We are excited to see what the Lord will do with this new dairy project, and we continue to expect great things!

DVDs are NOW AVAILABLE!

We are selling them for $20, plus $5 shipping and handling. EMAIL US to place an order! There are TWO ways to pay:

  • Go online HERE to donate the $25, and be sure to "Write us a comment", and note that your donation is for a DVD.

  • Mail a check for $25 to: Schools For Africa, c/o Don Standley, Treasurer, 22205 93rd Place West, Edmonds, WA 98020-4512

3,141 people have seen Phyllis's story

in the last three months!

View the 2-minute film trailer!

View the 48-min. Kidnapped Redemption film HERE!

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for Phyllis, for strength and stamina on her tour across America.

  • Pray that our SD Cards will have a GREAT impact for God's kingdom in Nigeria!

  • Pray for our upcoming dairy project - there are a lot of unknowns and possibilities!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Sometimes that's all there is to say!


It has been an incredible weekend with Seattle Pacific University! Phyllis got her SPU Alumna Of The Year Award Thursday night, with many SPU Alum and beloved friends and family in attendance. Friday, Phyllis attended the Ivy Cutting Ceremony and Graduate Commencement as SPU's honored guest. We also attended lunch with the group of 50th year reunion SPU Alum - what a treat! Saturday we got to be in the middle of T-Mobile Park, where the Mariners play! Phyllis did an EXCELLENT job addressing 6,000 PEOPLE as the Undergraduate Commencement Speaker! She encouraged graduates to live on purpose, for God's purposes, with a strong gospel call. You can watch Phyllis's Undergraduate Commencement Speech HERE!

SFA Secretary Carisa Haven with Missionary Phyllis Sortor, on T-Mobile Park's field!

SPU Interim President Pete Menjares with Phyllis - what an honor to spend time with him!

We wrapped up the weekend at Westside Presbyterian, where Phyllis shared a message titled On Higher Ground. It was a blessed and fruitful time! You can watch Phyllis's address to Westside Presbyterian Church HERE!

Do you have a Bible?

I bet you do! I bet you have 2 - 5 Bibles... I know I do!

This week, Phyllis and I (Carisa, SFA Secretary) shared an AirBnB in Seattle, to attend the amazing SPU events, and visit friends together.

As we sat on the couch, we were chatting about our friends in Nigerian churches who do not have a physical Bible. And often times, even if they did have one, it would do little good, as they can't read it!

I had my Bible nearby, and I reached out to rest my hand on it. I am SO THANKFUL for that book! It is PRECIOUS to me! It gives me life, instruction, wisdom! I DEPEND on this book, to learn more about who God is. I hear God's voice through this book! I honestly can not imagine my life without my Bible. I would be LOST!

So I asked Phyllis, "How can we get God's WORD into the hands of our friends in Nigeria?" Phyllis reminded me that we have handed out HUNDREDS of SD CARDS with the Bible on it! We share them with Christians AND Muslims! Christians are thrilled to have access to these resources. Muslims who want to learn more about Jesus can listen to the material on their phone, and no one will know. It is a very EASY, unobtrusive way to share God's word.

What a wonderful idea! We need more of those! We emailed a trusted SFA board member, Bill Flansburg to help. We asked Bill to contact the company in Canada that produces them for us, and place an order! But how many do we need? 300? 500? 1000?!

We found out that 8GB SD cards can come loaded with ALL OF THIS!

  • Full Bible

  • Through the Bible (J Vernon McGee)

  • God's Story

  • The Story of Jesus

  • Good News

  • Look, Listen, Live

  • Words of Life

  • Christian Music

For $7 EACH, we can put ALL OF THAT into the hands of someone who has never heard the whole Bible before! $7 is a pretty inexpensive Bible, we think! So we ordered 500 SD cards to start. We ordered 250 in Fufulde (the primary language spoken by Fulani), 150 in Hausa (another prominent local tribal language), and 100 in English (the national language of Nigeria). They will ship in time for Phyllis to carry them home to our beloved friends the end of July!

We are SO EXCITED about this! The last batch that we handed out saw several people coming to Christ! I am CERTAIN that we will reap a good harvest from this batch of SD Cards, too!

Do you love and cherish your Bible, too? Do you want to buy some SD cards, and help us get God's words into the hands of a believer or unbeliever!? They are $7 each. We ordered 500, which comes to $3,500, and we would LOVE some help to fund them. Click the button below to help us purchase these SD cards!

CLICK HERE to buy SD cards!

I CAN'T HELP IT! I HAVE to tell you that God is moving mountains AGAIN this week! We can't share what it IS yet, but I will tell you that God has led us in funny, surprising ways, and left our mouths hanging open in astonishment! What FAVOR! God LOVES the Fulani people! We hope to share in the next email, July 1st...WOW! WOW! WOW!

With the acquisition of SIX SCHOOLS all at once last year, and our GREAT recent growth, we need monthly givers to help support teacher salaries!

Support a teacher or nurse for $50/month!

CLICK HERE to give!

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for Phyllis, for strength and stamina on her tour across America.

  • Pray for supernatural REST between tour dates.

  • Pray for LOTS of new connections, supporters, and prayer warriors!

Our Kidnapped Redemptionfilm is NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE on YouTube!

View the 2-minute film trailer!

View the 48-min. Kidnapped Redemption film HERE!

Phyllis is HERE!

Phyllis is HERE in the US!

Phyllis made it safely to Seattle, and is settled in her AirBnB. She is getting some time with family before her Seattle Pacific University events next week. Then she flies across America to New York!

Please be praying for her, the tour schedule is FULL!

Link to Phyllis's Summer TOUR 2023!

If you're in the Seattle area, please join us to honor Phyllis Sortor. She will receive the SPU Alumna Of The Year Award Thursday, June 8th, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM, at Seattle First Church.

The SPU Alumnus/a of the Year personifies the goals that SPU has for its alumni. The selection committee looks for a balance among the areas of vocational accomplishment, community service, Christian commitment, and support for SPU. The engagement of the whole person is the quality possessed by every Alumnus/a of the Year honoree. Each recipient, in addition to having broad impact and influence, represents the ideals of the University.

Would you like to get quarterly mailers from Schools For Africa? It's a great reminder to pray and give, and you get pictures of Phyllis to tape up on your refrigerator! Click the button below to update your contact information to add your mailing address!

Sign up for mailers!


Our GREATEST NEED is

monthly support for teachers and nurses!

Support a teacher or nurse for $50/month!

Click HERE to GIVE!

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for Phyllis, for strength and stamina throughout her summer tour.

  • Pray for supernatural REST between tour dates.

  • Pray for LOTS of new connections, supporters, and prayer warriors!

Our Kidnapped Redemption film is NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE on YouTube! 11-16 people are watching this incredible, inspirational film EVERY DAY!

View the 2-minute film trailer!

View the 48-min. Kidnapped Redemption film!

MORE Schools & Clinics, Prisoners, and MILK!?

Has Phyllis been resting?

On vacation?

Lollygagging about??

NOPE!

She has been VERY busy! While personally overseeing the construction of the new church and school in Jos, Plateau State, she also led a building team in Kogi State, building TWO new schools and TWO new clinics!

New Okigwe School

New Okigwe Clinic

Clean WATER from a new borehole, located between the camp and new school!

Jouro School

Jouro Clinic

Remember our friend, Jouro, who begged for a school? He is finally getting his wish!

ALL of these new schools and clinics will need monthly support for teacher and nurse salaries. Would YOU like to help partner with a school? We would love to connect your church to one of these schools or clinics, for monthly support, prayer, and connection!

Our GREATEST NEEDis monthly support for teachers and nurses!

Support a teacher or nurse for $50/month!

Click HERE to GIVE!

Courage and Hope...

Two kidnappers, Jimoh and Joseph, were arrested and sentenced directly after Phyllis's kidnapping in March 2015. Phyllis found them while searching from prison to prison. Phyllis has visited with these prisoner's families, and helped them where she could. Jimoh and Joseph have served their time and are now home with their families. Phyllis got to visit them both!

From Phyllis - I went with Reverend John Raji and Reverend Janet Ahiaba to visit first with released kidnapper Jimoh, pictured here in the lilac-colored shirt. I had visited him in prison; this was the first time to meet with him as a free man. We hugged each other joyfully, I was nearly in tears. I congratulated him for surviving those years in prison and coming back to care for his mom. I had the opportunity to tell him about Jesus, who died to save him, and told him the parable of the Prodigal Son. Reverend John invited him to church with us. Pray for him please.

Free man Jimoh, with his mother

Reverend John Raji chats with Jimoh

The WHOLE family squeezed in to see Phyllis and Reverend John Raji, honored guests!

Below, this is released prisoner Joseph and his wife Hannah, standing on either side of Phyllis. Three Free Methodist ministers are with them: John Raji (in tan), Chukuma (in back) and Janet Ahiaba (in green). They had a wonderful visit with this Christian family, hearing Joseph's story, praying for him, thanking God for his life. They invited Joseph to join the upcoming pastoral training, four days with Reverend Nelson Reed. Joseph accepted and attended!

There is no follow-up help, counseling, or provision of any kind for released prisoners here. Reverend John Raji was deeply affected by our visits today with the two released kidnappers. We plan on setting up some kind of appropriate program to meet the spiritual and physical needs of such men and women, starting with these two, Jimoh and Joseph.

Today we rounded up the three days of discipleship training with Rev. Nelson Reed. This is a photo of just some of the pastors in attendance. My friend Joseph, standing in the front holding his Bible, surprised us all when he asked if he could share his testimony. It was so powerful - I wish all of you could have witnessed this story of redemption and grace.

From Phyllis:

My cup runneth over.

Joseph and I spent this morning together in the Free Methodist Church on the Hope Academy campus in Emiworo.

The last time we were together here was eight years ago, when he and his team took me from this very campus against my will.

So our lives have gone full circle, coming together here, now, in great waves of grace, love, joy and peace.

My cup runneth over.

A note from Phyllis - Training on HOLISTIC LAND AND LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT (HLLM) in Imala Land, Ogun State

Today is the fourth day of the first week of training on Holistic Land and Livestock Management, held at the Good Shepherd Primary School, Peace Village, Ogun State. Sixty-three Fulani herdsmen and two Yoruba representatives from Christian Development Foundation have been faithfully attending the two-week course. (80 herdsmen showed up on the final day!)  

Our trainer, Alhaji Bello Mahmud, retired from a full career with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, with a cattle ranch and farm of his own in Gombe State, is a good friend from the early days of my work on grazing reserves. His late father was an Emir in Gombe State, making Alhaji Bello the Crown Prince. This position has gained him much respect and credibility among the Fulani.  

This week has been limited to lectures in the classroom, with Alhaji Bello teaching from a PowerPoint presentation following the methodology of HLLM as developed by Allan Savory of the Savory Institute in Zimbabwe. I had taken five Nigerians to a 3-day seminar at the Savory Institute, then invited Mr. Savory to come to Nigeria and present his grazing system to commissioners of agriculture in this country. Alhaji Bello was with us at that time and has been a strong supporter and promoter of this system ever since, practicing it himself on his ranch in Gombe.  

Tomorrow, the fifth day of this two-week course, we plan to review all that has been taught so far. Using what we have learned, we will plot out, on the white board, a model grazing reserve with paddocks, water sources, a farm for growing produce for sileage and dedicated pathways for cattle and herdsmen - all that is needed to successfully graze a large herd of cattle on a specific piece of land. We will tell the pastoralists that we will help them plot out grazing reserves in their own areas if they so desire. We will show them the grazing map created by one community in Zimbabwe, a map which indicates locations of the village, school, market and several large paddocks all separated by natural boundaries such as pathways, streams and low hills. 

At the end of the day, after a period of questions and answers and speeches by the various chiefs, we will award certificates to all those who attended the training, eat lunch together then watch a documentary on the Wodaabe Fulani, a tribe from Niger Republic.  

Next week we will set up the actual grazing reserve we have planned on the 50 hectares of SFA land adjacent to Peace Village. There will be 40 hectares at this site for the grazing paddocks and 10 for the farm. On the farm we’ll grow maize and millet for use in making sileage for the cattle for use during dry season. We are combining the 8 smaller paddocks already fenced and in use at Peace Village to the new, larger 4 paddocks carved from the 40 hectares, giving us a very ample grazing reserve for at least 250 head of cattle. Marking the new paddocks will be hard going, as we must measure each one, clear the boundaries, set fence posts and put barbed wire around the entire place. THEN harrow and plant grass seed! We’ll actually not be able to use the new paddocks for up to one year’s time, in order to allow the grass to grow to its fullest extent and drop seed. It’s hard to wait, but in the long run its for the best, as the cattle will never lack for food!  

The NEXT step, by God’s grace, will be to set up a milk-collection center, partnering with Christian Development Foundation, a project in which we will buy milk from the Fulani, together with them make yoghurt and cheese and sell it in nearby cities and towns and in local markets! 

In this way, the Fulani will establish themselves as businessmen and women, have the means to better care for themselves and their families, send their children on to higher institutions and gain the respect and friendship of surrounding tribes. We pray that through these projects, peace will be their portion. 

May God bless and favor this work among the Fulani, and through it, reveal His great love for them.  Again, thank you for your part in this story! We love you and are praying for you! Phyllis Sortor

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for Jimoh to come to Christ!

  • Pray for the right teachers and nurses to hire for the new schools/clinics, and for the monthly support needed for salaries!

  • Pray over Kogi State, which has seen some disturbance and unrest in the last year - pray for PEACE!

Our Kidnapped Redemption film is NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE on YouTube! 11-16 people are watching this incredible, inspirational film EVERY DAY!

View the 2-minute film trailer!

View the 48-min. Kidnapped Redemption film HERE!

GIVE BIG 2023! God's goals are our goals!

IT'S HERE! Give BIG 2023!

The annual 48-hour giving event is May 2-3! Last year's campaign raised $14.6 million for 1,500 nonprofits.

GIVE BIG NOW!

About GIVE BIG / Washington Gives

Washington Gives is a year-round online giving platform that features more than 1,500 nonprofit organizations across Washington State. Donors EVERYWHERE can give to organizations that serve causes they’re passionate about. Discover new organizations to support, and mobilize your friends, family, and colleagues to also give. Each year, they host two major fundraising campaigns: GivingTuesday November 29, 2022, and GiveBIG May 2-3, 2023.

God's GOALS are our GOALS!

What are God's goals for His people? Great question!

  1. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind

  2. To love your neighbor as yourself

Hopefully we are ever moving ourselves and others towards these goals. Are God's goals YOUR goals?

How can you be diligent to move towards these goals?

"Nigeria is one of the most complex nations in the world in terms of the public health issues that it is facing. It has the second highest number of unvaccinated children in the world. It is also a nation with a high maternal mortality. Last year, we had the biggest outbreak of Measles in the world. It is a country with extremely weak health systems, so we are trying to think from different angles."

 *The Guardian article, April 8th, 2023

Schools For Africa is helping to build on Nigeria's efforts to improve healthcare, ONE healthcare clinic at a time!

We have TWO MORE clinics going up in Kogi State this spring! 

SFA is NOW in TEN different states in Nigeria! Check out the UPDATED LIST!!

Support a teacher or nurse for $50/month!

Click HERE to GIVE!

TO ALL WHO GAVE IN SUPPORT OF PASTORS RENT, a note from Phyllis:

Please tell all of those wonderful people that the pastors rent has been paid for a whole year!! Thank you so, so much! I love the way God answers prayer through His faithful servants! 

GREAT NEWS! Our wonderful partners at Clear Blue are sending money for three wells!! Praise God!! Learn more about Clear Blue HERE! Wells funded are in Jos, for The Solid Rock School, and our next projects, Jouro School/Clinic and New Okigwe School/Clinic!

Our Kidnapped Redemption film is NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE on YouTube!

11-16 people are watching this incredible, inspirational film EVERY DAY!

View the 2-minute film trailer!

View the 48-min. Kidnapped Redemption film!

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for the next building projects in Kogi State - you will soon see updates on TWO schools and TWO clinics!

  • Pray for out team of builders, for safety and efficiency!

  • Pray for God's GLORY to be shown and known in our building projects, our ministry, our lives!