A Motorbike Named “Miss Lottie”

Anne Lucas is a former missionary kid. She grew up in Nigeria. Her parents, Jeannie and Ray Crowder, were appointed to serve as missionaries at Glorieta in 1954. They left for Nigeria when Anne was six years old. The family had to return to the United States 12 years later because of Ray’s health. This is Anne’s story.

My family served as missionaries in the small town of Keffi, Nigeria. Daddy spent a great deal of his time each week traveling with pastors deep into the bush country to share the story of Jesus and help start new churches. The weather was hot with an average temperature of 100 degrees and higher. We had six months of rainy season and six months of dry season. The first few years, we had no running water or electricity. Most of the roads were almost impassable during the rainy season because there were no paved highways. These villages were accessible only by foot, bicycle, or motorcycle. It took hours, perhaps days, to reach the remote villages.

Daddy learned of a special village several days from Keffi that had not heard about Jesus. The village had very strong pagan leadership. It would require many hours to reach the village even if one could travel there by vehicle. Our family began to pray for a way to reach the village. For several years, Daddy submitted his missions budget to include the purchase of a motorcycle. It would make the difference in getting to these remote villages that were impassable by car.

The extra funds for a motorcycle were continually denied because funds through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for missions had not reached the goal. There were more critical needs. After several years of praying about how to best get to that village, Daddy received notification Southern Baptists exceeded the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal for missions, and funds were available for a motorcycle. Upon purchase, the motorbike was immediately named “Miss Lottie” in honor of all who gave to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Shortly after the purchase, Daddy and a local pastor loaded some supplies, along with an accordion, and headed out to the remote village. They arrived after many hours of travel in the jungle.

Next month, we will continue Anne’s story and learn how villages in Nigeria were transformed once they had access to the gospel.

Father,

Thank You for 177 years of uninterrupted gospel proclamation among the nations through the ministry of the International Mission Board. We echo the words of Revelation 7:10: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

In Jesus’ name, amen.