More photos

Here is me under our mosquito contraption. It really works well until I have to get up to use the bathroom at which point I can get very confused how to get out.

Here I am with our toiletry bags when they arrived from Abuja. We went 10 days without any of the "extras". It wasn't too bad for me but Kelsey and Tara were excited to get their clothes.

Here we are the graduation for the sewing, computer, and knitting schools. People love to get their photo taken here and we ended up taking photo after photo rotating people in and out. This woman in the brown dress in the middle wanted a photo with just us but all these people jumped in. We took another with just her later.

I told you the rains came! Here is Ajit and JB (very cold) taking a shower in the rains.

JB in the morning after devotionals. I just love the people here. And I especially love the children! They are so not-shy around us. They will just constantly come up and give us hugs and sit on our lap. I love them.

I just checked Tara's blog. She's got a good display of photos!!! She's patient with loading them. (And doing the prework to get thme to load.)

We just came back from Yankari game reserve for a two day trip. This was an AMAZING event. We saw one of the most beautiful places any of us has ever seen – warm springs (temperature is always a constant 70-something degrees) in the middle of the jungle. Tara (the world traveler) said this quite literally was one of the most amazing things she has ever seen and that is saying something. I will write more about it and post pictures later when I have time. We had 13 people in the van on the way there (4 hour drive). I’m still not sure how that was possible but it was. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. More details to come.

We continue to be amazed by how beautiful the people of Nigeria are. They are such an amazing and charismatic people – so in love with God and life. I am sure you will hear more about them in time to come from me. They are so full of love and encouraging and loving life. We are reminded that we are only seeing a small section of Nigeria ... but this section has just really grabbed me. I just love, love, love these people!!!!

Please be praying for the country as tomorrow is the governor-elections (we are leaving on Thursday before the presidential elections). Jos never has any problems with riots etc.; however, they encourage us not to be on the road and to instead just lay low.

Dr. Chris is back in town and went with us to Yankari. Here is a blog I wrote a few days ago:

Bulleting our lives in Nigeria

• I love the names of people here: Blessing, Innocent, Comfort, Mercy, Grace, Praise, Miracle … In additions, everyone’s name means something and people are quick to share the meaning. Most people also have a “tribal” name in addition to their “English” names.
• One thing that is very different from the U.S. is the relationship between the sexes. Men will often walk holding hands. Dr. Chris will often take JB’s or Ajit’s hand as they walk. This is how male friends will act with each other. Women will do the same thing. A big difference is that couples (like JB and I) do not show a lot of affection in public. I have been told that it is not inappropriate. However, I still feel like if I touch JB in public, I am bringing unnecessary attention to us. My relationship with JB is different here and it would take months I think to find a new “normal”.
• Our friend Blessing took us to Afri-one for dessert to celebrate Tara’s “lent is now over – let them eat cake”. We returned two days later for a lunch just the five of us. There appear to be very few restaurants, primarily restaurants that non-natives would visit. This restaurant was a strange sort of “surreal” experience. It was if we had gone back into the U.S. There was fresh bread and desserts and drinks in freezers and a bathroom nicer than most you have seen in public facilities in the U.S. It was nice to have some ice cream (and a hamburger and different-tasting Mountain Dew on our second visit), but it was a very weird experience to step back outside to be flogged by beggars and honking horns. I almost felt bad enjoying the experience. There were also more white people and non-Nigerians in this one place than I have seen total since we arrived in Nigeria. Quite surreal.
• As far as food is concerned, “Papa” makes us three meals a day, seven days a week. It has been difficult to allow this sixty-something year old man to serve us meals. He is absolutely the sweetest-hearted man you could ever meet! We try to make things easier by clearing our places, but in the end, he still works nearly all day for the five of us to eat. He makes a sort of American and Nigerian mixture of food: papaya, watermelon, oranges, cous cous, beefy mixtures, chicken, noodles, even macaroni and cheese (with egg in it). At first we thought we wanted to stick to more native food. However, this tame-down version is probably better for our stomachs.
• I helped get water from the well up to the house the other day. This is not easy work AT ALL. I also can't wear my glasses in fear they will fall in.
• Tuesday we visited two SIM (Sudanese Interior Mission) boys’ homes (a smaller one of 16 that serves as a transition house to the larger one of 90). This is run by a lot of “white” people from Europe and the U.S. so our presence was not seen as “out of the ordinary” for the boys. They barely gave us a second look. I was very impressed with the amount of organization and discipline in these places. We met Isaac and Shadrach, two small boys, probably around 7 or 8 who lived in the transitional house. They eagerly showed us their beds and “place”. Most of the boys are orphans or runaways or excluded from broken homes.
• On Wednesday we went and visited the World Health Organization’s headquarters. This is basically a Christian version of “Doctors without Borders”. There building, facilities, and organization were amazing. It was a fascinating tour.
• Tuesday morning, Tara led the devotional and Kelsey led the health talk. They both did a FANTASTIC job! I was thoroughly impressed. During this time, a mother of a young boy (probably about 11) started asking me health questions. It is generally assumed that I am a physician. This little boy had cirrhosis (sp?) of the liver. His stomach was greatly distended and his eyes were very yellowed. I directed her to Ajit who discussed the back pain the boy was having. Afterwards, I asked Ajit about his case. The cirrhosis is likely a result of Hepatitis but the only cure is a liver transplant. They do not do organ transplants in Nigeria. And there is nothing I can do about that. I kept looking at this boy wishing I could help.
• A local woman gave Ajit a gift of food to take home with us. We were eating dinner with two Nigerians who explained to us (after Tara and JB had tried the food) that it was Goat head with smashed up brains. This was amazingly foul smelling. I don’t care how long I lived in Nigeria. I would never eat this!
• There are certain things that cause me frustration here that I have to work to not get frustrated about. The noise in the evenings is one of those things. You really must leave your windows open to get any sort of circulation, however, the people outside are often yelling and honking well into the night. Even with the windows closed and ear plugs in, the noise is still prevalent. This is very different from the U.S. where you assume that once you go into your house, any noise you hear is noise you personally make.
• Another frustration is toilet facilities. If you can find a toilet, it may just be a hole in the ground. There is often no toilet paper, never soap, and never hand towels. In fact, it is rare that the water is running to flush the toilet or turn on the sink. This is really “mind over matter” for me. My tendency toward being a germ-a-phobe has had to be put aside. The lack of electricity is something that I can deal with especially with a generator that you can turn on for a few hours in the evening but the water is quite frustrating.
• If I lived here all the time, I would definitely wear skirts everywhere. I would also learn how to put on a head covering, especially for church. Apparently, dress varies from church to church, but in the Baptist church on Sunday, we white women were the only three in church without our head covered. They allow westerners to do their own thing and do not include us in the “dress code” discussions that are constantly ensuing between all the older women and the younger women, however, I would want to fit in more to help draw less attention to the large amount of attention a white person already encourages. I keep thinking the novelty of seeing a white person would wear off, especially for the children that see us everyday. But it doesn’t. Older women do not like “trousers”, however, no one considers anything a westerner wears as inappropriate. They “know” we do not dress like them, and they accept that.
• Dr. Chris has been in Lagos (in the south part of the country) for a few days now. He was told the surgery equipment had been “released” from customs, but apparently, he is still struggling to get it. I know he is very anxious to get that equipment and bring it back to Faith Alive.
• JB and I have been spending a lot of time discussing missions. I would need a whole post (and will most likely use one) in the future to discuss everything that we have been discussing. We really love this organization and could definitely see ourselves being involved with them. However, we would most likely be involved at one of their rural satellite clinics. These are usually only 1-2 hours from Faith Alive, but provide less of a city environment. They would allow JB to incorporate his love for community development. In fact, today, he is going to be helping one of the physicians working on a community development grant. In addition, while long term missions is definitely something in our discussions, the possibility of being involved in a short-term fashion is also greatly needed. A few different doctors could easily “staff” a rural clinic, continuing to support themselves and the clinic back in the U.S. by taking quarter long turns. There are a lot of different options.
• People here do NOT like to see me sit on the floor. In the U.S., if there is not an extra seat, someone will easily just take a spot in a corner, pulling their laptop up onto their lap. I have tried this on many occasions and almost always, a chairs flies in from somewhere – who knows where – to save the day. I think it comes down to their perception of the feet being so dirty. I agree with this of course, however, I just still don’t think they are putting enough emphasis on the dirt of the hands.