From the Superintendent's DESK
During my trip to Lagos, Nigeria, a new four-color printer and twelve air conditioning units were dedicated at Anthony Village, the Western and Central Africa (WECA) headquarters. The service took place in the tabernacle on Monday, May 31.
Several days prior to the dedication, when I first arrived at the Anthony Village campground, the Apostolic Faith Secondary school children were ready with a special greeting. They came out of their classrooms smiling and waving, in bright blue and white uniforms. Several formed a row in front of the school, and one young lady recited a welcome message. Then another presented a bouquet of flowers. It was a warm welcome, and afterward, the principal led in a tour of the classes.
The dedication service was well attended. It began with an organ prelude followed by the choir singing “Great is the Lord.” The congregation sang “Giver of All” and then a short narrative was read concerning the air conditioning units, which will be used in the tabernacle. An exhortation was given, and following this, everyone proceeded to the location of the units. After a dedicatory prayer, scissors were presented on a silver platter, and I cut the ribbon. Afterward, we sang “We’re Marching to Zion.”
For the next portion of the service, we walked to the printing office while singing “‘Tis the Old Time Religion.” There, a brief history was given of the various printing presses used over the years, beginning with the Heidelberg KORD 64. It was purchased in 1975 by Timothy Oshokoya, the first Africa Overseer, and still resides at the Anthony Village printing offices. In 2016 a two-color printer was installed, increasing printing capacity four-fold. The new printer, a Heidelberg MOV-VP, will allow for printing large quantities with sharper images and in full color.
A dedicatory message and prayer was followed by the ribbon being cut. Then we received a tour of the printing offices, including a demonstration of the new printer’s capabilities. The current edition of the Apostolic Faith Magazine, previously printed in two-tone, was being printed in full color.
In a letter read during the dedication service, the WECA staff expressed appreciation to God for the new printer and to us for our prayers. They wrote, “Our hearts are full of joy today as we dedicate our newly acquired printing machine to the glory of God and service of mankind. We are now better equipped than ever to support our people on the mission field with many outreach and worship materials.”