It was a beautiful and joyful time on Sunday, 29th November 2020 at Church of the Brethren, Magodo, where Sesor Empowerment Foundation had its thanksgiving service to celebrate 10 years of building back stronger and better.
Friends of Sesor, employees and some of the displaced women Sesor works with, were present for the joyous occasion, during which the church was also hosting its annual Thanksgiving Harvest.
There was a rich display of pineapples, oranges, bananas, plantains, pears, pawpaw, tangerines, wheat and millet at the altar to symbolize a year of fruitful harvest.
The occasion was filled with exciting sessions of rich cultural dances from Madagali/Mubi areas of Adamawa state and a handful of Hausa songs.
Attendees could not help but clap and dance along even though they could not sing along in Hausa.
It was a beautiful scene and all were more than excited to be a part of it.
During his sermon, the guest preacher, Rev. Paul Abraham Chandumi spoke about the importance of gratitude.
He reiterated the need to constantly show gratitude and the blessings that are associated with a thanksgiving spirit.
Speaking at the cake presentation and thanksgiving session, Sesor’s Co-Founder, Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, notes, “Why did we choose EYN to celebrate our thanksgiving with? 5 years ago, on the first anniversary of the missing Chibok girls, we brought relief materials to displaced people here from Borno and Adamawa at the church. We also met some of children who had run from Borno to Lagos and we helped them go to school for 6 months until they could go back home. Since then, we have continued working with other displaced people in Lagos. The EYN is a resilient church and has kept going even though its members have come under several attacks from terrorists. So, when our 10th anniversary came up, we said we will thank God here because He has been with us, just like he has been with the EYN church, and kept us safe when we visited dangerous and difficult terrain. In all the times we have been working, none of our staff died in any of those areas and we are grateful. That is why we are here to celebrate.”
The Pastor, Reverend Eli Samuel, thanked Sesor for their generous donation towards their thanksgiving harvest and the support over the years.
After cutting the anniversary cake, the pastors and some church members joined Sesor and friends in a thanksgiving dance procession. The day was followed by a series of vigorous dancing from different groups in the church in celebration of a fruitful year despite the hardship and numerous sad events recorded in 2020.
Sesor is grateful to Church of the Brethren and other supporters who joined the service in person and online.
