Bold Believers in Nigeria Kids of Courage Kids of Courage is a division of The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc. (VOM), a Christian missionary organization dedicated to serving today’s persecuted church. Kids of Courage/The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc. P.O. Box 443 Bartlesville, OK 74005 Tel: (918) 337-8015 Fax: (918) 338-8832 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kidsofcourage.com Unless otherwise marked, all Scripture verses are from the New King James Version. Reproduction of the materials in this book is permissible for home or classroom use except for material that is noted as being reproduced, adapted, or used with permission. For any other use, please contact The Voice of the Martyrs. © Copyright 2006, The Voice of the Martyrs Table of Contents Nigeria Facts 4 Flag of Nigeria Prayer Reminder 5 Map of Nigeria 6 Nigeria Crossword Clues and Puzzle 7 Bold Believer Stories & Activities 1. Mary Slessor 14 Activity: Fascinating Food 2. Godswill 17 Activity: Mancala 3. Saul of Nigeria 20 Activity: Make an African Bead Necklace 4. Joshua 22 Activity: Forward and Backward 5. Hausa Hannah 24 Activity: Nigerian Groups and Languages 6. A Miraculous Change 28 Activity: A Nigerian Game 7. Helping the Widows and the Fatherless 30 Activity: Pray for Nigeria 8. Former Spy Urges Love for Muslims 36 Activities: Muslim Beliefs at a Glance and What Muslims Do Not Believe 9. Bridgett…Pork and Shariah 40 Activity: Learning About Shariah Q and A 10. After the Persecution 44 Activity: What Would Jesus Say? Additional Coloring Pages & Activities 49 Answer Key 56 The Voice of the Martyrs 3 Bold Believers in Nigeria Nigeria Facts Capital: Abuja is the current capital. Lagos, the largest city, was the capital until 1991. Size: In area Nigeria is larger than Texas and smaller than Alaska. Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa. Time: At 6:00 a.m. U.S. Central Standard Time, it is 1:00 p.m. in Nigeria. Religion: Southern Nigeria: About 70 percent of the people are Christian, and 20 percent are Muslim. Central Nigeria: About 55 percent are Christian, and 30 percent are Muslim. Northern Nigeria: About 70 percent are Muslim, and 15 percent are Christian. Shariah: Muslims and Christians get along peacefully in some parts of Nigeria. However, some Muslims in Nigeria would like their entire nation to be ruled by Muslim law, called “Shariah (shah-REE-uh) Law.” A law in one state said all public school girls, even non-Muslims, must wear Muslim headscarves, and all students must take classes in Islam. (Islam is the religion of Muslims.) Suffering At times Christians have protested against Shariah Law. They have also disagreed with Muslims on other issues. As a result of the Christians: disagreements, riots have occurred and Christians’ homes, stores, and churches have been destroyed. Many Christian families have suffered greatly. The Voice of the Martyrs 4 Bold Believers in Nigeria Flag of Nigeria To make a flag of Nigeria: Draw two vertical lines on a rectangular piece of paper, dividing the paper into three equal sections. Color the outer sections green and leave the middle section white. Hang up your flag as a reminder to pray for the people of Nigeria. Make a small Nigerian flag to use as a bookmark in your Bible or in a devotional book. Laminate a larger-size flag to use as a placemat. Pray for Nigeria at mealtimes. Tape small flags to toothpicks and give them to Christian friends as prayer reminders. The Voice of the Martyrs 5 Bold Believers in Nigeria Nigeria became an independentMa countryp o inf 1960. Ni gThee countryria was divided into only a few regions at that time. By 1996, Nigerians had split their land into 36 states and one territory. The states and territory are shown on the map below. Color the states on the map, perhaps one each day. Pray for the people in each state. Many strict Muslims live in the states north of Kwara, Abuja, Nassarawa, Taraba, Plateau, and Adamawa. Pray the leaders in those states will treat the Christians in their states fairly. SOKOTO KATSINA YOBE JIGAWA ZAMFARA KEBBI BORNO KANO GOMBE BAUCHI KADUNA NIGER ADAMAWA KWARA ABUJA PLATEAU (F.C.T.)* NASSARAWA OYO TARABA KOGI OSUN EKITI BENUE OGUN ONDO EDO EBONYI LAGOS ENUGU DELTA IMO CROSS RIVER BAYELSA AKWA IBOM ANAMBRA ABIA RIVERS *F.C.T. stands for Federal Capital Territory The Voice of the Martyrs 6 Bold Believers in Nigeria Nigeria Puzzle Clues = Nigeria was named after the Niger River. Niger is also the name of a country north of Nigeria. = Another main river of Nigeria is the Benue River. Benue is also the name of one of Nigeria’s states. = Lagos, the largest city in Niger River Nigeria, used to be the capital. Abuja became the new capital in 1991. = Nigeria is just a little north of the equator. The equator is an imaginary horizontal line that divides the earth in half. = The Atlantic Ocean is between Nigeria and the U.S. = Nigeria is north of the Gulf of Guinea. = Chad and Cameroon are east of Nigeria. = Nigeria has an Army, a Navy, and an Air Force. = The unit of money in Nigeria is the naira. Nigerian naira and kobo (100 kobo equal 1 naira.) Approximately 130 naira equal $1.00 in U.S. Coins are rarely used money; or one naira equals .007 U.S. dollars. in Nigeria any more. = Popular sports in Nigeria are soccer, basketball, field hockey, rugby, and volleyball. Nigerians also enjoy watching track and field competitions and boxing matches. Many Nigerians play table tennis and billiards in their spare time. = Hakeem Olajuwon was a famous National Basketball Association All-Star player in The Voice of the Martyrs 7 Bold Believers in Nigeria the U.S. He was bornNi ing Nigeriaeria and P isu a zMuslim.zle Clues = The Nigerian government is joining forces with an American computer company to try to stop dishonest Nigerians from robbing people by e-mail. The Nigerian thieves send people false stories by e-mail and ask for money from those who receive the e-mails. They promise great rewards in return for the money, but their intent is to rob people. = Some of the main farm crops of Nigeria are corn, cocoa, nuts, beans, rice, sorghum, yams, and plantains. = Parts of Nigeria have a rainy season from about April until October. = Nigeria has the largest population of any country on the continent of Africa. = The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is a Christian group in Nigeria. CAN’s leaders try to see that Christians are treated fairly in their country. = English is the official language of Nigeria, but there are more than 250 languages spoken. Names of some lesser known Nigerian languages are Sha, Boga, Pe, Fum, Koma, Kwa, Uda, Wom, and Dong. Boys watering crops = Three main languages of Nigeria are Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. “Welcome” in Yoruba can be spelled “ekaabo.” It is pronounced “ay-KAH-boh.” = Both Christian and Muslim holidays are celebrated in Nigeria. Ramadan is a holy month of fasting to Muslims. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate a holiday called “Eid el Fitr.” The Voice of the Martyrs 8 Bold Believers in Nigeria Nigeria Puzzle Clues = “One uses their horn more often than their brake when driving in Nigeria,” said one visitor to the country. “It is madness, no doubt about it,” a Nigerian official in Lagos said about the traffic there. Traffic jams, poor roads, and reckless drivers make driving difficult in some parts of Nigeria. Traffic in Nigeria (Photos courtesy of Motherland Nigeria Web The Voice of the Martyrs 9 Bold Believers in Nigeria Nigeria Crossword Puzzle Read the facts about Nigeria on the previous pages. Then solve the following puzzle using the facts to help you. ACROSS 1. River in Nigeria, or country north of Nigeria. 6. Lagos is Nigeria’s largest _____. 8. The imaginary line south of Nigeria. 10. E-mail scammers intend to ___ people. 13. Nigeria has an Air Force. Abbreviation for “Air Force.” 15. Sha, Boga, and ___ are three languages in Nigeria. 17. Eid __ Fitr is a Muslim holiday. 19. Beans and rice are ___ crops in Nigeria. 23. The new capital of Nigeria. 26. Nigeria gets much ___ between April and October. 27. The main color of the Nigerian flag. 28. ___ is a Nigerian crop. Hot chocolate is made with it. 30. Billiards is popular in Nigeria. A billiards stick is called a ___. 32. ___ and it will be given to you (Luke 11:9). 33. Abbreviation for a country across the Atlantic Ocean from Nigeria. 35. Olajuwon was an NBA All-Star. Abbreviation for “All-Star.” 36. Parts of Nigeria get more than 100 inches of rain yearly. Abbreviation for “inches.” 37. Chad is ___ of Nigeria. (Hint: a direction) DOWN 1. Abuja is the ___ capital of Nigeria; not old. 2. An “intelligence test” measures this. 3. The ___ of Guinea is south of Nigeria. 4. Each naira equals about .007 U.S. dollars. Abbreviation for “each.” 5. Sudan is to the right (east) of Nigeria on the map. Abbreviation for “right.” 6. Corn is a main farm ___ in Nigeria. 7. Homonym for “too” and “two.” 9. Distress __ persecution shall not separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35). 11. A main river of Nigeria. 12. Nigeria is near the Atlantic ___. 14. Egypt is northeast of Nigeria. Abbreviation for “northeast.” The Voice of the Martyrs 10 Bold Believers in Nigeria Nigeria Crossword Puzzle 16. Nigeria’s continent.