Yesterday, Chris had the awesome priviledge of being part of a Nigerian Baby Naming Ceremony for fellow staff, Steve and Mabel. In many parts of Nigeria it is the custom to hold a ceremony 8 days after a child is born in order to announce the name of that child. The naming of a child is very significant for them, as it is in the Bible. A name means something about the destiny of a child and it is a proclamation of that Childs identity every time you speak it out. Chris shared a charge and encouragment to the parents and then took the little boy into his arms in order to announce the name of the child for the first time to the community. We all responded with thunderous applause!
This little boys name was Erioluwa, meaning “testimony of the Lord”. He actually had 9 names total but the parents spared Chris from having to memorize and try to pronounce all of those! It was an incredible ceremony giving deep gratitude and honor to God for his overwhelming goodness and blessings to Steve and Mabel. We left feeling so thankful and a tad bit jealous that our own American culture doesn’t do something similar!
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