Letters from TJ

First week.

Hello everyone. I am in good health and doing well. Figuring out how everything works. There is much need here in Nigeria I
wish I could become a doctor, teacher, mechanic, dentist, and many other trades in order to help these people as much as
possible but unfortunately it would take to long in order to become all of those things. I have had many new fruits and foods all
of which I have enjoyed. There are many people with cell phones out here even in the bush. Right now it is very humid and hot. I
feel sticky, but it doesn't bother me to much. It might be much to your dismay that I have not see a single snake or scorpion and
do not wish to see one either. All of the people here are friendly. We stayed with Caroline Gross for the last 5 days. Yesterday
evening we arrived in Eka where the Dibbles and Wheelers live. It is a very nice place. This weekend I plan to go out into the
bush with Spin Dibble. I am excited about that. I have been learning more and more Igala every day. It has been a good week.
Pray for the Assembly in Anyigba. They have gone a little off the deep end lets just say. I have the opportunity to go into the
bush often and also teac in Otutulu at the Orphanage, teach school that is. I hope that every thing is going well with all of you.
Thank you for your prayers. More updates will follow Lord willing.
In His strength alone,

Your brother and friend in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Second week.

Hello everyone, We have been here in Ika having a marvelous time. The Wheelers and the Dibbles have been very hospitable.
We have enjoyed hanging out with the Wheeler kids and their friends. We went down to the river (creek) last week and played
Volleyball in knee deep water. It was very refreshing. We had much fun and made many new friends. We have been working on
the Engine and Upholstery some but have run into some snags. We should be able to finish up soon if everything works out.
Grandpa bought a motorcycle for me and him to ride. Benji Wheeler has taught me how to ride it. It is so much fun. I have been
enjoying it. The joke for Valentine’s Day was that I was depressed that I had gotten nothing for Valentine’s day. That no one
loved me, because I didn’t even get a Valentine card. But I had fallen in love with my motorcycle. She welcomes me when I turn
the key on and even tells me when I am going right or left. Just like a woman!!! lol. Yes, my bike does speak to me.

Sunday I spoke to the kids at Sunday school which ended up being the whole church also not because they are all Sunday
school age but because they were all in the building at the time and wanted to listen. I used the Evange-cube and the kids loved
it and the teachers wanted some more to use. Yesterday night I used the projector for the first time. And the rest of this week I
will be using it. Every single night I will be speaking this week. On Thursday morning I will be traveling back to Anyigba to go out
with some guys to do evangelism. On Monday morning I will be traveling to the orphanage at Otutulu. After that I have no idea
what will happen.

Africa is not what most people stereotype it as. Snakes around every corner and lions or panthers in every tree waiting to bite or
kill you. In fact I have not seen a single snake yet or anything more menacing than a dog or a miniature goat. They are more
afraid of you than anything else. Malaria is at least a yearly thing for the missionaries here if not two or three times a year and if
not taken care of properly it can be dragged out for months. I actually enjoy Nigeria. It is not even close to as bad as everyone
makes it out to be. There are cell phones and TV and internet. The worst problem is the water and electricity. It is hard to find
clean drinking water in most villages and electricity is unstable. You have it for a few hrs and then it is gone. Very unreliable.
Most people will get a TV before they get good drinking water. That’s just the way it is. Motorcycles are essential for most. Some
have cars. Motorcycles can get around much easier. The people here are friendly. There is a great need for clean drinking water.
Many people die because they do not have clean water. It is a very sad thing.

Pray that the Lord will work in the heart of the kids I will be speaking to tonight and tomorrow and for the evangelism this
weekend that we will be doing. I am excited about that. I have nowhere near enough tracts to last the whole time I am here. Pray
that the Lord will let them be in the hands of the people that will come to know Him. Well I must get going. That is basically all that
happened this week. Hope you all have a great day. Thank you all for your prayers.

Your bro in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Third week.

Hello everyone,

The Lord has been merciful and good to us. It has been amazing to see His hand in everything. There is much to tell you this
week. The work is starting to pick up and I love it. Last week I was in Anyigba for 6 days. I went and did evangelism with Mepa
and 28 other people. We went to a town called Dekina to go door to door. Unlike in America they are very open to people walking
up and greeting them and talking to them randomly. Visitors are always passing through, but when a white man comes they are
even more open. We went out for Friday and Saturday morning to do evangelism from 7am to 10am. I absolutely loved it even
though I could not understand most of what they were saying. Sometimes I was able to speak through an interpreter. Most of the
people there were in there late 20’s to 85 yrs old. I was the second youngest there. The youngest was a little girl of 11 yrs old.
She had come with her mom. We became good friends even though she didn’t speak more than a dozen words in English. On
Saturday I was able to witness to two people in English. The first was named John. He was a Catholic. When I started talking to
him we talked for a while about the gospel and then I was showing him Eph 2:8-9 and he asked me to sit down and changed the
subject to telling me that he would find me an Igala wife before I left. In utter shock I stumbled over my word and then finally said
No he didn’t need to do that. I didn’t need a wife. He insisted on finding me a wife and I again said I didn’t need one. He asked me
why not and I was saved by the man I had asked for the Igala Bible from as he came up with the verse. I did not have to answer
why and I changed the subject back to the gospel. The man listened to me but still wanted to rely on works. So off we went. We
met many different people while we were out. Right before we left to go back there were two boys sitting on bench. I had my
soccer may I ask you a question tracts( of which I was pleased to find out that they are starting to use them here in Nigeria and
Emmaus Correspondence School has the ability to print them) and they were wondering what they were. So I gave them some.
They led me to their compound and I gave some more tracts out the other evangelists got into a conversation with some of the
parents. The boys brought their brother to me and I got to talk to him about the gospel in English. He was a Muslim and I showed
him that It didn’t makes sense and then I talked about hell and heaven and told him I did not want him to go there. As doubt and
fear came across his face his hard heart would not let him come to Christ and he quickly cast aside the doubt and fear and said
goodbye to me. Ten minutes later as we were leaving he was sitting on a bench reading through the tract. I pray that he might
come to know Jesus Christ. His name is Rashad. I am excited to go back out. Currently I am writing from Ministry of Mercy
Orphanage in Otutulu. The road here is very bad but we made it safely. Grandpa and I left Anyigba at 5 pm so we could get here
on the motorcycle before it was dark. We got to the Otutulu road safely but about a mile down the road we had an accident. We
were going through sand and the handle bars broke off, the handle bar mount had snapped in half. God was taking care of us.
We did not get hurt. Luckily it was in the sand so it did not destroy the bike and if it had happened on the tarmac (paved road) we
would have totaled the bike and could have seriously injured ourselves. The Lord was watching over us and I am thankful for
that. The car holding our stuff and Grandpa and Shana was behind us. A Nigerian stopped and I rode to Ottutulu with him on his
bike. I paid him and gave him a gospel tract for him and some for his people. We went back and got the bike and will try to repair
it.

I know I have gone into depth with my adventures here in Nigeria, but this is only part of them. I wish I could tell them all in detail
but I cannot right now. Maybe you will feel you are right here with me. I hope so because I wish all of you could be here with me,
especially here at the orphanage. I hope all of you are well. Pray for Rashad and John. This week I will be here in Otutulu and
then next week providing the bike is fixed, I will be traveling back to Anyigba and to Ankpa for Evangelism. Every weekend I will
be in the Anyigba Area for Evangelism. That will be my base while I do evangelism and then I will travel out from there. Pray for
Safety in travel and for the people’s hearts that they might turn away from their idols and follow the living God. Thank you all for
your prayers. God is good, God is bigger.

Your brother in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Fourth week.

Hello everyone how are all of you? I hope you are all doing well. Right now you may have heard of more trouble in Jos. Reports
say (I am not sure how accurate they are) that 200 people have been killed by a group of Falanis. They are a tribe here in Nigeria.
It is a sad thing. I am not scared of what might happen as many people are here. The Lord is with us. So much has happened in
the last few weeks. I have not to be able to update you all because there has been no internet. I have been to a funeral with
grandpa. The lady was a believer. She had walked out her back door at night without a light and a poisonous snake bit her. They
were not able to get a snake antidote to her on time because we are out in the bush and they do not have refrigerators out here
to keep the antidote. It has to be refrigerated. It was a nice funeral. Different than any I have ever been to. The people were glad
that white men came because it gives the person that died more prestige. They asked grandpa to speak. It is there custom to ask
people to speak 5 minutes before they speak if that much time is given. They fed us after the funeral and we had this stuff called
Maltex. I have no idea if we have it in the States but if you ever come across it don’t try it. It is basically non–alcoholic beer and it
tastes absolutely disgusting. Grandpa did not tell me that until afterwards but after the first sip I figured it out. I had to have it
because it was offensive if I refused it. So I gulped it down trying to smile so they would not be offended. I about threw it up right
there but I got some water down before that happened. It basically tastes like strong molasses. Next time I will tell them I don’t
know how to eat it. They understand and take it better than us saying we don’t like it. Oh did I tell you it is a coveted drink. Well
let me tell you that night I was not coveting that drink. I threw up all of it and all of the rest of the things I had eaten that day. I was
so sick. It is not fun being sick and sweating and when you drink water you vomit it up so you are dehydrated. Finally at the end
of Saturday the 27th, I felt much better. I slept all day Saturday and then all night Saturday Praise God for a quick recovery. I felt
like a new man on that Sunday but grandpa was not feeling well. He was supposed to speak. I decided to fill in for him. The
teaching time was first and then the breaking of bread. The thing is they asked me to speak for the teaching time. I was ready for
that but the teaching time went right into the breaking of bread and with the 1 minute break I was told I was speaking for the
breaking of bread also. You see when they do the breaking of bread they have many brothers that pray and request hymns but
one man speaks from a passage of Scripture. So now I thank my dad and Jeff Tackes for encouraging me to share something at
the Breaking of Bread at home. That is what helped this Sunday in impromptu speaking as well as the Lord. I have no doubt that
He was helping me out the whole time.

There is a man here named Fred. He is crippled and cannot walk but he is the most wonderful man. I love sitting and talking with
him about spiritual things. He is the head school master of the primary school. He shows Gods love in all of his actions and
words. He is a neat man.

This past week, we took care of Crystals kids while she was away to renew her visa. Daniel Edeh went and got our visas
renewed for two more months last Monday and it did not take very long at all. PTL. So we are now able to stay for a few more
months. J This week went by quickly and on Friday I left to go to Anyigba on Motorcycle. I had a good trip. Then I met James (the
man I am doing evangelism with). We went to a village called Ankpa. It is a big village. I was sorely disappointed in the weekend
all together. CMML Nigeria is a very Charismatic group of people. So they like loud noise and dancing around in their services. I
am not comfortable leading people to Christ and then having them go to this group of churches, so I will not be with them
anymore. I had no idea what I was getting into. Anyway, we went out to do evangelism for one and a half hours in all. I wanted to
go out for longer but they said that I should stay. They had very loud music going for almost all day. They say that it attracts
people to their churches. I was absolutely astonished. If they want to attract to people to church with music then why are the
people coming. It is not because they love Christ but because they like the music. It was a sad fact. The next thing that happened
was the night vigil. They stayed up all night Saturday and played loud music. I tried to sleep as I had to speak on Sunday
morning. Unfortunately I could not because of the loud music. I told James that it made no sense to me. All the people stayed up
all night to worship the Lord but at the Lords Supper they would be asleep. Sure enough my prediction was right. They were
asleep during the Lords supper and my message. I don’t think they like my style of preaching because all of their preacher’s yell
at the top of their lungs into the microphone. I don’t do that. The third thing that made me mad and made me weep for a long
time when I got home to Otutulu. Was what they did to a little girl in their main service. I did not speak at it. This little girl could not
mover her arm above her head because her shoulder was hurt and I wish I could have helped her. They asked her to come up
with her mother and they started praying all at the same time for her out loud and then the pastor took her by the arm and
yanked it up and she let out a scream and sank to her knees. He let the arm fall and then he said there was an evil spirit that was
making her arm do this. He asked the congregation if they have enough faith that this girl might be healed. They answered yes
and he said that if anyone doubted then she would not be healed. He grabbed her arm again and yanked it up and she let out
another scream and he prayed again that the evil spirit might come out. I sat there looking on in horror and prayed that the Lord
might have mercy on the little girl, but I did not get up and do anything. I know what they would have said is that I was hindering
the healing if I had tried to stop them. That is not the point I should not have been worried about what they have said but about
the pain the little girl was going through. Jesus showed compassion on people. He did not hurt them. I am frusterated with
myself and I weep bitterly every time I think of it. I wish I had stood up to them but I was too scared to and when the next time
comes I am ready to stand up to them. The little girl was not healed. I took a look at her arm afterwards and saw that it looked as
if it had been put out of socket but the mother would not let me help the little girl. I was mad at the pastor there and if I could tell
you the rest of what happened in that church it would take pages but these were the three main things. Please pray for the little
girl and her mother, the pastor told them to come back later and they would pray for her again. I cannot bear the thought of a
little going through that again. Pray that I would stand firm if I encounter something like this again.

We left the church and I went back to Anyigba and then on Monday traveled to Otutulu. Pray for me as I will be meeting with
James again and telling him that I cannot be a part of a group that is doing this sort of thing. I am a little discouraged by it but just
being here with the kids has greatly encouraged me.

I thank you all for your prayers. There is a few people who would like to meet like the example in the New Testament and they are
grateful we are here because it gives them some support. So we will be working with them. I am sorry this letter is so long but I
wanted you to know all that is going on here. Thank you all again.

Your bro in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Fifth week.

Hello again everyone, I hope all of you are in good health and doing well. I am writing from the orphanage once again. This week
has not been as busy as the others have been. We have had plenty of time with the kids. Last week we pulled the engine out of
the Peugeot and are repairing it and rebuilding it. I also fixed a motor cart for one of the handicapped fellows here and will be
making some more adjustments on it this week. We fixed the well that Tom Wheeler had put in here at the orphanage but it will
have to be developed even more. We went to a church in Agbenema about 2hrs from the Orphanage. The man who invited us is
trying to start a church that is based on New Testament Principles. These people were looking for something else, besides what
the charismatic movement wants to give them. So we stayed and preached on Evangelism, Pride and the Church. Three
messages. We were there from 8am to 6 pm. After the last message we had a long question and answer time. It was a really good
time. I thank God for the time we had with the believers there.

On Monday we fixed a washing machine. Only eight more to fix. We will be busy this next week with teaching, fixing washing
machines, cars and anything else that needs to be repaired. I am hoping to get out and do some evangelism in some of the
neighboring villages.

Last week I was able to give out around fifty tracts by sitting down at the meeting tree. Many people stop there to rest because it
is a big tree with lots of shade. So anyone that passes by gets a gospel tract. Please pray for one of the Muslims leaders in the
area. I gave him a tract as he went past. As He was coming back he tried to give the tract back and I told him I was offended
because he did not want to take my gift that I had given him. Then I started giving him telling him about Jesus Christ. He hastily
told me he would take the tract and left. J Well that is what has been happening here. I think the next 6 weeks will go by faster
than we think which is sad because I really like it here. Lord willing I will be able to return. I have been asked to come back on a
more permanent basis but that is only of the Lord permits it. I am praying about that right now and we will see if that is what the
Lord has in store for my life.

You may have heard about the fighting going on here and from what I understand you all are getting the wrong news. They are
telling you that it is Christians against Muslims but the fact is that it is tribe vs. tribe. Last week you may have heard of reports in
the Jos area of fighting and in my last update I told you about the trouble there. The fact is that there is still tribal wars and that is
what most of this fighting is about. Not Christian vs. Muslim. Although that does happen some of the time but most of the time it
is just Tribe vs Tribe. There was also an incident in Lukoja of a cement truck running into the market and killing 50 people. All of
the cement trucks that came in that day were looted and burned. Some of the drivers were killed. It is a sad thing but that is what
the world looks like without Christ. Please pray for the gospel to get out because if many find out about Christ there won’t be so
much fighting and violence.

Thank you all for your prayers. I am thankful that I am able to write to you and tell you what is happening here so that you can
pray for us. I hope you all have a great week. Thanks again.

Your bro in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Sixth week.

Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week has been a short week. They days are flying by faster and faster only about 40 days left of our trip. I don’t want it to
end I wish I could stay here much longer and I am planning to come back as soon as the Lord will allow it.

Many things have happened this week. We have put the Peugeot back together only to find it was leaking lots of water out the
exhaust and into the cylinders. Not good. We have been doing kids club with the kids in the afternoon and that has been going
well. I go down and sit under the meeting tree and hand out tracts every day and anytime we go anywhere we usually pick up
people who need a ride and I am able to give them gospel tracts as well. Sunday was spent here at the orphanage. Grandpa
spoke so I had the week off. Then in the afternoon I went with some of the men from the meeting at the orphanage to a village a
couple of miles up the road. We went to talk to a family who had lost a son, he was stabbed to death in a bar fight. We got the
opportunity to share the gospel with the family. My Igala greeting skills are improving immensely. When we get home we will
show you how to greet someone in Igala. ;) Anyway there were five of the extended family sitting in front of where our car was
parked. They wanted dollars. I gave them gospel tracts instead because I didn’t have dollars with me. Then the opportunity to
talk to them about the gospel came up. The all spoke English but did not understand me very well. So Simon interpreted. I
shared the gospel with them then asked if they believed this. They all answered yes. I asked them if they went to church
anywhere. They said no we don’t go to church we go to the Muslim Mosque. Then I asked them why they agreed with me that
Jesus died on the cross for their sins. They said, “Oh no we don’t agree with that but we believe in Jesus. He is a prophet of
Allah. There is no difference in our religions we will both get to heaven.” As I was going to try to answer him my interpreter said
that we had to go, now. We needed to stop the conversation right there. I was frustrated that we had to leave but I tried not to
show it. Later in the car he told me I should not be talking to Muslims like that. If I wanted to talk to them I needed to get into a
friendship with them, that is the only way to reach them. He told me that the way I was doing it was no good. The fact that he said
that I should stop the way I was doing evangelism was something that was a surprise to me. I quietly went home and did not
protest. Monday we stuck around the orphanage and got some things done that needed to be done. That night Crystal came
over and told us her car had broken down in the next village, the village that we had just been at the day before. I was so happy.
We went to take a look at the car. I was able to talk to the men for a couple of minutes but they did not understand as much
English as they had said they had. There were many kids around and so I gave many tracts to them. I was excited about that and
hoped that they would show them to their parents. J We couldn’t fix it that night so Tuesday morning we went back again and
decided to tow it. None of the men I saw before were there that morning. I hope that what I was able to say will stay with them. At
least I was able to give them the gospel. PTL for that. This weekend we will be going across the river with Spencer Dibble for a
conference, which means I will be speaking plenty. It will be a good experience and I will be able to meet more people. One
problem, I think it is in Bassa land so the Igala I have been learning will not do me much good. Oh well that’s how life goes. I am
excited about it. Well that’s about all that we have been doing. Thank you for your prayers. I hope that I will get the opportunity to
hand out more tracts. I am going to try to get the Ottutulu village done with tracts and then hit some of the other villages around
the area. Please pray for me as I have some decisions to make here in Nigeria and also in the States. Nigeria concerning the
work I will be doing for the next month or so. The States, concerning this fall and school and things for this summer. Thank you
all again hope to see many of you in about a month and a half.

Your bro in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Seventh week.

One month until we reach America soil. Our time is flying by. This week was an interesting week. You know that I was going over
the Niger river to a conference. We went to Ika first and then Grandpa and I went with Mr. Dibble to the conference. He attends
these conferences every month. The drive was a day’s journey. We left at 10 am and got to the village at 11 pm. Along the way
we stopped at Lukoja at one of the few fast food restaurants. Basically only for rich Nigerians. Mr. Biggs was the name of the
place. We each got chicken and rice which tasted delicious. The Nigerians greeted us in Idoma (a different tribe and language
than Igala. The greeting in that language is “Uma”) and then proceeded to unload our bags and told us to go sit. They did not
want us to work but to rest. I think that is the hardest part to do just to sit because I am so used to helping out. Mr. Dibble told us
to sit down or we would offend the Nigerians. So we sat down and watched them unload everything. Then we set up our
mosquito netting and went to sleep by 12 am. The next morning we woke up early at 6 am and at 7:30 we had breakfast. The
meal was one of guinny corn gruel and fried yam. It tasted pretty good. At 9am the meetings started and let me tell you about the
structure of the conference. They have three hour sessions with 2 or 3 speakers. This time they had 3 speakers, each having 1
hr to speak. So they go from 9 am to 12 pm and then there is a 3 hr siesta and then they call come back at 3pm for another round
of three hours, ending at 6 pm. So every day there is 6hrs of Bible teaching. J This conference lasted for three days, so it is a
total of 18 hrs of Bible teaching. I loved the hunger for the Word that these people have!!! The conference was outside because
there was no building that could hold the amount of people there for the conference. There were around 800 people there (a
small crowd according to the Nigerians). They all sat on benches for three hrs straight. As it went on many started falling asleep
but there were several people with long sticks there to poke them if they started to fall asleep. I thought that was a good idea.
After the first session of teaching many came up to greet us. To my surprise many came up and started talking to me rapidly in
their language as if I knew what they were saying and I had no idea what they were saying. Finally when I made them understand
that I did not understand. They simply asked if I was Mark (Tom Wheelers Son) Mr. Dibble quickly told them that I was not Mark.
Apparently I look much like him. So it made for an interesting weekend. I really enjoyed the people there. They were so
hospitable and cooked some of the food without too much pepper. The outhouse was interesting. It was the only private place
that whit man had. It was a hole in the ground with a grass mat around it. The grass mat had holes in it, so it wasn’t really that
private anyway. One of my favorite meals is pounded yam with Okra soup. Yummy. Anyway, on Friday night I went out onto the
soccer field and showed a film show with the projector. Let me tell you I have never preached to that many people ever. There
were people from the conference, from the village, people passing through would stop and come over, so much so that, there
was people all over the place. There were around 200 people that heard the gospel that night and they loved the pictures. PTL
One man came up to me and told me it reminded him of his childhood days when missionaries would come through the village
to show film shows. He said it made him very happy that other children would remember this also. We stayed there until Sunday
morning and left after breaking of bread for Ika because we wanted to get back before to late. So we travelled back almost the
same as we came. The horn on our car stopped. It is a vital part of driving in Nigeria. But we made it back safely without it. We
stopped at Mr. Biggs again. I decided to have a Beef Burger and it tastes nothing like an American Burger. It wasn’t bad though.
We got to the Ika road and there was a young man there that needed a ride to Ika so we picked him up. We had two of the people
that went to the conference with us. So grandpa asked the young man, Fredrick, if he knew Christ. The young man said yes,
then he was asked how he knew Him. Fredrick answered that he worshiped him. I, unsatisfied with that answer went on to ask
him who Jesus was. Fredrick answered that he did not know. I asked him why he was worshipping someone he did not know.
He did not have an answer for that. I proceeded to talk to him about eternity and the other man that was with us, Edo, helped out.
We talked about Christ and what He did for us. We found out the young man was a Catholic. He was relying on works and what
the priests said. He had no Bible, so we gave him a New Testament to read. The time we had on the Ika road was much to short. I
wish that we had had about another 15 minutes. Pray for Fredrick that he would read the Bible and that it would open his eyes to
the truth.

We got into Ika with no problems. The next morning we left from Ika to Otutulu and met two police checks along the way. The
police asked for pure water (Money) and we literally gave them pure water. We had some bottles and filled them up for them.
They let us go right through. The Lord is very good to us. We got on the Ottutulu road and found that there was a big cat with a
bucket on it filling in holes and smoothing out the road. When we got to the orphanage we found out that the governor’s wife
was coming Tuesday morning. So they were taking out some of the bumps. So on Tuesday morning we met the governor’s wife.
She was a nice lady and she was very happy that we were here and that we wanted to come back for another visit. It took all of
30 minutes for her to come and leave and she brought some groceries for the orphanage. Pray that she would have it in her
heart to tell her husband that the orphanage needs a paved road, because time is precious when someone needs medical
attention here at the orphanage. The orphanage is also in need of Better security because there was a little girl kidnapped in
2006 and her body was later found on the property dumped by the person. She was raped and killed. It is a sad thing. That is one
of the things about getting a paved road in here. There would be more criminal activity and more people coming up here.
Anyway that is about all that has been happening around here. Pray that I would be able to use my time as wisely as possible. I
will be showing films this week during the nights and then this Sunday I will be going out in the field to speak somewhere. Friday
and Monday I will also be speaking. Happy Easter Everyone. Praise the Lord that He rose from the grave so that we can have
eternal life. :)

Your bro in Christ, T.J. Kerttula

Eighth week.

Hello everyone Happy Easter. Easter weekend was here and is gone. This was my second Easter that was away from my home
in Montana. This last week I showed film shows three times at different villages. I am trying to do it on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday. We have a kids club in the afternoon everyday and I am meeting with a young man, a little older than me, to pray with him
and share God’s Word with him. We have become very good friends. On Friday we had a meeting in the morning for Good
Friday, to talk about Christ’s death. Saturday afternoon I went to Anyigba to meet with a man to do evangelism. We went to a
small village outside of Anyigba called Agala Ogune. We were able to talk to many people there. A group of young men that were
willing to listen and were thinking about what I had to say were the first we talked to. I was to speak there the next day so my
interpreter took me to the building and then we met with one of the members of the church. He gave us chairs and we sat down
and talked with him for a bit. His mother came along, a Muslim, and she sat and talked with us. I was able to share the gospel
with her and at first she started to argue and then she became very quiet and she said that she would have to think about all of
what I said. Later on I saw she was deep in thought sitting in front of her house. Several other women came and talked with me. I
was able to give them all the gospel in full. They listened intently. Most were Muslims. One of them wanted to believe in Jesus
Christ and asked God to help her unbelief. Then some kids came along to see the Enefu (white man). My interpreter asked the
kid if he knew who Jesus Christ was and if he wanted to accept him. The boy said yes. So my interpreter asked me to lead him in
the confession prayer. I quickly said that I wanted to ask the kid exactly what he understood. I asked him who Jesus Christ was.
He said that He died on the cross. But that was all he knew about Him. He was a Catholic. So was able to ask him where he was
going when he died and why he was going to heaven. He answered that he was going to heaven because of good works. After
that I was able to explain to the growing crowd of kids who Jesus Christ was and what He had done for us. Many of those kids
came to Christ that night. I asked the Catholic boy if he believed that Jesus died on the cross or his sins and that works could
not get him to heaven and that Jesus was the only way to heaven. The boy said that he believed that. So we prayed with him.
After that the boy had the biggest grin on his face. PTL for the work He is doing here. The thing that disturbs me is that there is
no follow up on the kids and anyone else that come to Christ. So pray for the people here that are coming to Salvation, that God
might raise someone up to disciple them. Sunday morning was amazing. When I got to the church there were three brothers
there at breaking of bread. It reminded me of home. The church was very small and because the women were all gone to a
funeral there were only men and small children there. Five more men showed up for the next service. I was very blessed to be
able to meet with this assembly of believers and I hope that I encouraged them. My Easter Dinner consisted of pounded yam and
okra soup with hot pepper in it. MMMMM my favorite!!!!! :D My grandparents and Shana were in Anyigba also meeting with a
small assembly. We met up and went on back to Otutulu. Yesterday morning we had another meeting in the morning and then
kids club and filmshow at night. Our days are busy with many things to do and preparing for the next thing that is happening.
The filmshows have been great because the secondary school students are home and they love to come out with me and do the
film shows. We have a great time and have become good friends. They are like little brothers to me.I witnessed to a Muslim man
today but though he does not know what he believes he says that he can not change from being a muslim. :D Well thank you
again for all your prayers and I hope you all had a good easter. Jesus has risen from the dead and if He had not, the work the
Lord has allowed me to do here would be in vain and all of my preaching would be in vain and my hope would be in vain and the
life which I now live now would also be in vain. But He has risen so none of this is in vain. PTL
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Ninth week.

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ,

It is only a small while until we leave here. It is a sad thing but we are working hard to make the most out of the rest of this trip.
This last week we did film shows in the nearby villages. Many people came to watch. They love watching it and keep asking for
me to come back. I want to make it to a few new villages this week. We have been doing kids club here for the kids almost every
afternoon. The kids love it. They like the stories and they love singing. Grandpa got one of the vehicles running that needed the
engine rebuilt. Every day I am able to go into the village and talk with people, mostly Muslims. There is a young man there that I
have been able to get to know and encourage. He has become a good friend. The kids love our attention so we spend as much
time as we can with them. They are so much fun.

This weekend I went to Bassa (another tribe in Nigeria). There were three of us that traveled, a Bassa, an Igala and an American.
We traveled an hour and a half away to get there. I got my first taste of Nigerian driving. Yeah that was fun. There is no such thing
as stay on the right side of the road when you are driving. As long as there is no traffic on the other side of the road you are able
to drive on it if it is better. :D It’s crazy. Another thing that is crazy is that all these tribes are so close and they all speak a
different language. We had a very good time there in Bassa. We showed a slide show at a small village but before we could show
it we had to go talk to the chief of the village. The chief told us that it was good white man is here and that the village needed to
hear about Christ and that he, himself was a Christian and that we should show the film show. So we went and had the film
show. The chief even showed up to watch and was very pleased with it. We went and stay at the mission compound in Odenyi
that night. The next morning we went to another village and I was able to speak to them there. They were very happy that we had
come. We drove back right away after the service very happy that everything had gone well. We came into Iyale the village where
the Otutulu road begins. There was a pagan festival going on there so the JuJu dancers were there along with many other
people, with very big sticks. The Juju’s stop the cars and try to make you give them money if you don’t you get beaten with a
stick. The first few groups I came to got out of the way very quickly but then I was forced to stop because there was a large
crowd of people in the middle of the road. They were hitting my vehicle with their sticks and demanding money. I told them no
and told them to get out of the way finally a man came out of the crowd and told them to get back and let me through because I
was a white man. He got me through the crowd of people and as I was going there were still people asking for money and hitting
the vehicle. They asked me and I told them no I would not give them money. You might think well why not just give them money
so you could get through but the fact is if I were to give them money I would be giving money to Satan and I will not promote
extorting money out of people. It is a sad thing they are doing but the Lord definitely had His hand in everything and was
protecting me and the men with me. PTL. Sunday afternoon we arrived home and found out that there was a baptism going to
take place. Seven young people showed that they wanted to give their lives wholly to Christ. I am so happy for them. Some very
good friends were baptized Sunday and they are serious about their decision. PTL.

On the way back I met a man that was a Muslim and wanted to greet me. He told me he was a king because of the gold watch and
bracelet he was wearing. I used that opportunity to tell him of the true King but he told me that because I was young I did not
know anything and that because he was old he knew everything. I knew I could not reason with him so I said goodbye but he
asked me to come back and sit with him. So I will do that before I leave.

Monday I went to a dinner in Anyigba for many of the people in missions work. I wish I hadn’t. I got back late and there was a
sick man that I knew about here in Otutulu that I was going to witness to. That night he died and I did not get a chance to speak
to him. :( It saddens my heart and makes me remember that I must go on with the Lords work and stand boldly to tell everyone
about Christ. The Lord could have kept that man alive until I had a chance to talk to him but He didn’t. Last night it was time for
that man to go.

I wish I could stay here for a much longer time and I am praying about what the Lord would have me to do. There is such a great
need here for missionaries. There are very few white men left in this region of Nigeria that stay here all year long. I hope that you
would pray with me about this. Also please pray for the people here that there would be a revival in their hearts. That there would
be more people that want to follow after God wholeheartedly, that want to be Disciples of Christ. There are many nominal
Christians here in Nigerian much like in America. There are in the churches so that they can look spiritual in front of people. Pray
for the church at Otutulu that they would continue in their evangelistic efforts. God is so good. Ojo wa chenyo.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Your brother in Christ, T.J. Kerttula

Tenth week.

Hello everyone this may be the last letter I am able to send out. We have been very busy. It has been really nice to have the
Secondary student’s home and the University students also. I enjoy hanging out with them and talking with them. We have
gotten into some good spiritual conversations. Last week we did our film shows for three nights. I thought I should explain more
thoroughly what we do. If it is in a village out a little ways I take the car and I take anywhere from 4 to 7 guys with me and we set
up everything, do a Bible story with power point, give the gospel message and then greet everyone. Last night I was in a village
right up the way from Otutulu, it was mostly Muslim. There is only one Christian family there. We got there and people came but
during the whole show they were talking and were not really acting interested. The noise kept getting louder and louder. Finally I
just stopped and people kept talking and I waited and waited. It was louder and finally I got up from where I was sitting and I told
them that if they wanted to talk they needed to go across the road. They just stood there and made fun of me. The noise wasn’t
as loud so I continued and finished. We decided because they were not listening that they might read gospel tracts. That did not
work very well. They were fighting over the gospel tracts. I decided that I needed to leave they were hitting me because they did
not get one and grabbing me trying to keep me from leaving. Finally I was able to get to the car. We got in and got out of there. It
was not what I wanted to happen at all. The gospel is not something to fight over it is a free gift. I was not pleased with what
happened there. I could feel all night that Satan was trying to stop the show but I thank the Lord that we did not get hurt or
anything. Friday, Shana and I went to a private University for a matric ceremony, as the brother and sister of the girl that had
invited us. When the girl introduced us to her friends she called us her brother and twin sister. The Nigerians laughed because
of couse we are white and they are black. LOL :D This weekend, I was able to go to Agatu land. Another tribe from Nigeria. We
were there for two days doing evangelism. I was happy that I was able to visit another tribe. There was a man named Ali who was
a Muslim and came to Christ, PTL. I was able to speak on Discipleship at the meeting there. We had to go three ways with
interpretation. That was fun. ;) I was able to speak to the evangelist that I have been going with and I am glad we were able to
discuss some of the things that were not good that were going on here. He was able to explain some things and I have been
very pleased with what he is doing and his ministry. He is not pleased with what the churches are doing here, with extorting
money out of their members. The church planters are settling where they are at and are happy with their salaries from the church
goers and don’t want to move. The denominations hate each other and don’t want to try to work together for the gospel. So this
man is trying to bring them together. The leaders are too worried about getting more members in their church so they can get
more money, so they don’t work together. They don’t care if they really know the gospel as long as they are coming to their
churches. I am thankful for this man because he is standing against what is wrong. All he cares about is getting the gospel out
to all people. PTL for him. Please pray for the churches here and for this evangelist, named James Enamaku. There has recently
been a problem with adoption from Nigeria. The judge has denied the adoption of a little girl after many kids had been adopted
out of here. They are taking their case to the attorney general today. Pray for them as they go there. Less than two weeks until I
come home. The time is too short but I have to go because there is a need wherever I go so for now I will say goodbye to this
place and then hope that I might come back here soon. :D I hope all of you have a great day and thank you for your prayers.

Your bro in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Eleventh week.

Hello Everyone,

This is my last update until I get back to US. I want to thank you all so much for your prayers. I appreciate them so much. The
Lord has protected us and helped us with everything that we have done. PTL for everything that He has used us for here.

Right now it is beginning to rain. The rain here is beautiful. I love it here. The coolness before the rain is the best part about it.

There have been many things that have been going on here this last week. I was able to go to a few villages with the film show
before I had to take my projector to the person who wanted it. I pray that many people would come to Christ through this
presentation of the gospel. Last week I was out in a village and they wanted us to come back. I wish we could have but we were
not able to. Some of the older men were very happy we came.

I went to Akpacha on Friday morning for evangelism. That was a really good trip the first thing was that it was where my
grandparents had been when they last came and the second thing was that the first known Christian in Igala land was from
there. I was able to meet his youngest son as well as many others of my grandparents friends. It was a very good trip.
Challenging the Christians and meeting with them. Then on Saturday grandpa picked me up and we took the vehicle we were
borrowing back to the Dibble/ Wheelers and said goodbye to them. Then we came back to the orphanage. We are finishing up
things here and spending time with the kids. It is going to be hard to say goodbye but I am ready to start preparing for my next
trip here. The Lord has been so good to us this trip. I love this place and hope to come back in the near future. There are so
many needs here. It is a hard place to evangelize because there are so many Muslims but God is still here and He is at work.

Yesterday another little baby boy came in. The mother had died and the father was unable to care for him. Pray for the father also
as he has had to give up both his wife and son.

Please pray for the school here they have four teachers for eight classes. They are short on teachers and so they are doing a
morning and afternoon class. It has been difficult for them and they really need some more teacher. Continue to pray for the
Muslims here. There are many of them and they need Christ. Pray for the American missionary here at the orphanage, Crystal
Gosnell. She is a hard worker and a great encouragement to many people. Also pray for the rest of the staff here as they are
always busy and rarely have a break from their work.

We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Mrs. Gross’ and then on Friday to catch our flight home. It is a little sad but also exciting
because I have to go away in order to come back. I know the Lord has something else in store for my life and I am excited about
that. PTL for allowing me to have this time here in Nigeria.

Your brother in Christ,

TJ Kerttula