8th grade banquet

There’s a post on the Parkers’ blog that has some pictures of the 8th grade banquet @ Hillcrest School. You can see Janelle in the dress that we delivered to her. They all look fantastic!

And there is also a  post with pictures from the 8th grade discipleship party, and Janelle is also in the group picture for that event, too.

Click on the pictures for larger images!

Driving in Jos

By now if you talked w/ anyone on our mission trip, you’ve heard descrptions of the  “Nigerian driving experience,” but until you’ve been there, it’s a bit hard to imagine! I found this video on the site of one of the missionaries we met @ SLC in Miango. It looks like it’s been sped up for effect, but it *does* give you a very good impression of what the streets in Jos are like! Also, it appears to me that the video starts in the compound where Jim, Salome and Janelle live, and the very beginning and the end of the video are of the road we walked along to get to their house from Crescent House, where we stayed while we were in Jos. Enjoy!

More “Nigeria” Thoughts…

Yes, it’s been awhile since there’s been a new post…after all, the Camano Chapel Nigeria Mission Team arrived back home on January 18, 2008. I don’t know all the other team members, but I continue to (re)visit the pictures and words here, and often find myself scanning through the links for the missionaries, seeing if they’ve posted recent news and/or pix. And the visits to the blog continue to increase, and I *know* they’re NOT all just because of me! I continue to search for additional tidbits of information about missionary life in Nigeria. Be sure to check out the new(er) section of Nigeria Mission links (right column on the page) for organizations we visited and/or learned  about while we were there…they are (still) occasionally updated as I find more during my “Nigeria surfing!” And there is also the “More Missionaries” section with links to information about other missionaries we met who were not part of the SLC.

Several team members have been in direct contact w/ our new Nigeria missionary friends, both by phone and by email, and we share those among our group by email and when we see each other. We worry about them, we pray for them, and miss them!

We left a part of ourselves in Nigeria, but we also brought part of Nigeria home with us in our hearts and minds.

Stories, Pictures…and dessert! (Sunday 02/10/08)

Dear friends,
The team has set a date of Sunday, Febraury 10th, at 6:30 PM to
share their stories and pictures of their recent trip to Nigeria, Africa
with their friends, their family, and their church. This will be a
DESSERT POTLUCK, so we invite you to bring your favorite dessert to
share with everyone. We will be in the Wayland Sanctuary at Camano
Chapel starting at 6:30 PM. The team and I hope that you can attend so
that we can properly thank you for standing with us with your prayers.

See you Februday 10th!

Day Twentytwo (Friday 01/18/08)

We arrived in Amsterdam around 6:30am after an all-night flight from Abuja. Thankfully, the Shipol Airport has gone “smokeless” since 01/01/08, so the airport air quality is *much* better! We had a longer layover here on our way home, so Paul, who has spent time in Amsterdam, offered to be our “tour guide” to visit the Anne Frank House.

A 20-minute train ride took us into central Amsterdam, where we ventured out onto the streets in search of someplace to find breakfast this early in the chilly (45 degree…brrrr!!) morning darkness. Since Amsterdam is quite a bit farther north that even Camano Island, daylight doesn’t really begin until almost 8:45am. It finally go light after breakfast as we walked the Anne Frank House so we could enjoy the streets, buildings and canals along the way. . Bikes were parked and ridden everywhere along the narrow streets…more people are out traveling on bikes than in cars.

Touring Anne Frank House was an amazing and thoughtful experience, with diary excerpts, other printed accounts, pictures and even video clips of the Occupation in Holland. Photography isn’t allowed inside the house, so there are just outside pictures of our short visit in Amsterdam.

The chance to get out of the airport into the fresh (cold!) air before having to sit on the plane again for 10 more hours was appreciated by everyone, even if it was chilly (ok…frigid!)  after the 80+ degree weather we’ve been experiencing the past 3 weeks. After the train ride back to the airport, the coffee drinkers in our group delightedly swarmed to the Starbucks we spotted earlier on our way out of the airport. It’s the only one in Holland, at least so far, and it was a welcome taste of home!

One more l-o-n-g plane ride to go before we’re home to our families and all the hugs waiting for us there…woohoo!!!

Day Twentyone (Thursday 01/17/08)

Our l-o-n-g journey home began around 10am today when we departed CHH in Jos. Our luggage was loaded into one van, along w/ Jim, Angela, and the driver, and we loaded up into the larger SIM van, along w/ Salome and Janelle. Even though we did have a larger van for this drive, we still had more people than seats, so Micheal spent the trip sitting on his backpack, or stretched out on the floor between the seats! The luggage van headed for Abuja, and we’ll catch up with them at the airport for our departure.

As we headed out of Jos, we noticed men working along the road, digging a ditch w/ hand tools (pickaxes and shovels). They were laying bright yellow and blue tubing 3-4″ in diameter in the ditch off of large spools. While we couldn’t figure out what the tubing was for, we continued to pass by men hand-digging the ditch for 25+ miles outside of Jos.

Along the way to Abuja we sidetracked toward Kaduna to visit Salome’s father and brother. As we neared the village, we passed by the school Salome attended growing up, and another school where she later taught. Salome’s father is now in his 90s, and is still doing relatively well. He was a farmer, and has a wide variety of trees planted around the houses that he enjoys. He doesn’t speak any English but he listens to several radio programs in Hausa every day from the BBC, VOA and other broadcasters. We were amused that he asked us about the latest politics in the US. Since we haven’t seen or heard much news from the US in 3 weeks, he knew more about the latest news than we did!

Traditionally, a husband would pay a dowry to his wife’s family when they are married, but in Jim’s case, his father-in-law asked him to build a house for them to stay in when they come to visit. When they built the new house, they also built Salome’s father a new house, with both of them attached together. Salome’s brother and his family live in another house right there, too. We relaxed and ate lunch in the comfortable coolness of Jim & Salome’s house. Salome’s sister-in-law had made some warm rice to go with our usual PBJ, egg-salad, and tuna sandwiches (see other posts about these sandwiches!).

After lunch we walked down the dusty road to visit the rest of the village, including more of Salome’s and Angela’s relatives. We were warmly welcomed by everyone, whether or not we understood each other. And once the chocolate and stickers appeared, we were surrounded by all the children!

After leaving Salome’s village, we still had a long, hot drive ahead of us to Abuja. We stopped for dinner at the Sheraton Hotel, since we didn’t really know of any other restaurants in Abuja. It was strange to pull into the parking lot at a big hotel chain, and while it was very similar to any other Sheraton, it still had a “Nigerian” atmosphere, including service speed in “Nigeria time!” As dusk fell, we drove the last stretch to the airport, amidst the densest smoke/smog/dust we had experienced during our trip. And while we might have felt crowded in our larg(er) Toyota van, we laughed when we saw one of the smaller Toyota vans pass with what looked like 20 people crammed into it!

After hugs all around (several times!), we headed into the airport checkin area w/ our luggage. We had a couple of extra suitcases on the way home, but only only one extra box this time. And while there were quite a few lines to stand in…security, bag pre-weigh-in, check-in, immigration, gate security and boarding…they all went smoothly (even if slowly).  Our flight home makes a stop in Kano as we fly north out of Nigeria, and as a last little “life in Nigeria” episode, we sat in the airplane for 45 minutes after boarding to wait  for extra fuel to be located and added after someone figured out that there was not enough fuel available in Kano to fill up the tanks before we continued on our way to Amsterdam.

I don’t think any of us are looking forward to the long plane rides home, but we are happy that we will be seeing our families soon!

Pix from Nigeria (14)

Here are some pix from Gidan Bege & Meshiah.

 

Day Twenty (Wednesday 01/16/08)

Today we donned our colorful Nigerian outfits again, loaded up in our “15 passenger” van and headed over to JETS (Jos ECWA Theological Seminary), where Jim is a faculty member. He gave us a tour of some of the facilities before we headed over to the chapel to lead the daily worship time.

While we were hoping to be able to more of a “Camano Chapel” style worship, we once again had to remember to be patient and flexible. It’s difficult to get sound equipment in Nigeria and the environment is hard on it. And of course, there’s always the challenge of power! We did manage to get a keyboard working for Rich, a guitar cord for Rob (as long as he stood absolutely still and didn’t wiggle the cord!), and a drummer (a JETS student). There was a very well-used bass, but no other working cable could be found in time, so I joined the vocalists and tried to stay well-back from the mic! Mich *still* didn’t have a voice that goes much beyond a raspy whisper, so Judi carried the lead vocals for the day, along w/ backup from Sarah, Amanda and Kimberly. Mixed in between songs, Kimberly, Buck and Rich gave brief testimonies about the impact(s) of the trip (along w/ brief commentaries by Jim!). No matter what, it was all about worshiping God together, and the Nigerian students and staff joined us with warmth and enthusiasm!

In addition to our usual sack lunches of PBJ, tuna, and/or egg salad sandwiches (all spread v-e-r-y thinly on white bread), Salome brought along fresh suya and puff puffs prepared @ the huts outside @ Hillcrest. Suya is seasoned meat (usually beef) grilled on a stick, and puff puffs are the term for potatoes, plaintains and other sorts of “hush puppy” balls, all deep fried in palm oil. Yummy (although probably not all that good for us)!

After lunch, Mich and Judi headed over to ECWA headquarters w/ Salome to take care of team financial matters while the rest of us headed for Gidan Bege (“House of Hope” in Hausa). There we were given a tour by Daniel and Benjamin. Gidan Bege provides outreach services to street children, blind & beggar women, and other with phsycal disabilities. On Wednesdays, lunch is provided for the beggar women, most of whom are Muslim. Along with providing lunch for various groups throughout the week, they also give out food from their storehouse filled with all varieties of dry foods and grains (rive, beans, corn, etc.). There is a shop on the premises that makes artificial limbs (primarily legs), an vocational training that teaches sewing. The women sew all sorts of beautiful items – pot holders, napkins, placemats, aprons, wrap pants and more. And yes, we shopped there! Near the end of the tour, we discovered that Pastor Benjamin had studied @ JETS w/ Jim, and had many praises for him (which Rich videorecorded).

After leaving Gidan Bege, we headed back over to Meshiah, to drop off dolls, hats, flip flops and candy for the children there. They women there were also just finishing up their days work sewing, so we were invited upstairs to the sewing room, where all the machines were pushed out of the way and we sat down to hear some amazing singing (and drumming). Wow! And several of the women shared their testimonies with us after the singing was over. Everywhere we have been on this trip, we have been treated (and felt) like very honored and welcome guests.

After a brief stop back @ CCH to rest for a bit and clean up, we packed back into the van and headed out for dinner w/ Sonnie, Salome (and Jim, Janelle & Angela) and the UFM staff. Sonnie’s sister, Ruth, made delicious pizza, fries and brownies and we ate outside @ her house in the gathering twilight. It was a beautiful, relaxing evening among our new friends, and a wonderful way to finish up our 3 weeks here in Nigeria. After dinner, we had a time for prayer requests from everyone that will be copied for everyone so we can continue praying for each other throughout the rest of the year.

It’s time to pack our bags for our long journey home!

Day Nineteen (Tuesday 01/15/08)

(This post was a collaborative effort by Gary & Sarah)

Today we toured Evangel Hospital. Hospital conditions in Nigeria are unlike anything you would ever experience in the US. Heather, from the Biola team was there, too, and told us that compared with a hospital she had visited in Rwanda, Evangel is a “5 star” facility. Our tour guide was Gay Lynn, a missionary from Texas, who is one of two physical therapists for the entire facility. We started our tour at the weekly celebration the hospital has for women who have recovered after VVF surgery. These are women who have been given as wives at too early of an age and are too young when they become pregnant. The pregnancy causes a tear in the bladder. These women are often disowned by their husbands and families because of the condition. The hospital provides surgery and recovery treatment, as well as vocational training so the women can learn to live on their own.

The ceremony consisted of singing and dancing. This week, five women were being discharged and it was quite a celebration. It was an honor to be a part, but also very hard. Many of the girls looked very young, some even as young as 10 or 12 years old. It hurt our hearts knowing this sort of treatment is happening around the world, but the celebration provided hope for the women and a chance to start a new life upon discharge.

After the ceremony, we were taken on a tour of the other wards in the hospital. We saw the outpatient waiting room, x-ray room, therapy rooms, and we visited the pediatric ward. We were able to give out dolls and candy to the kids and they were so cute and grateful. Many of them had their parents with them and they seemed so blessed by us being there. It was a blessing for us, though, to be able to give such a small gift and have it mean so much.

We then visited the Spring of Life ministry at the hospital that works with HIV/AIDS. They are working really hard to educate the community about HIV/AIDS. Many of the stigmas and fears that existed in the U.S. when the disease was first exposed are still real in Africa today. People are still afraid they can catch the disease by touching someone, or being in the same room as someone who is infected. Spring of Life is trying to educate the community and also train people to care for those with HIV/AIDS.

After lunch @ CHH, most of us went back out to the UFM house in Kuru to finish up some of the projects. Along the way we stopped to pick up the glass we had orderer at the building materials market. The guys worked on replacing broken windows and Kimberly, Sarah, Amanda, and Angela worked on painting the Fruit of the Spirit on the prayer room walls. It was really neat to get another day to fellowship with the UFM staff. They are an amazing group of people, devoted and faithful to God’s calling in their lives, and for the hurting people of Nigeria. We took some treats out for the younger kids we had met. One little girl, Priscilla, tagged along both days we were out there. Both of her parents work with UFM and she was a great helper.

After a delicious dinner of red stew (a new favorite for some of us), we met with Bill Foute, the director of SIM Nigeria, and Sue Hammond, the SIM personnel director. They shared what they do, how they got to Nigeria, and what needs there are currently in Nigeria. They also shared how we, as a church, could better support our missionaries when we are at home.

Pix from Nigeria (13)

Pix from our visit to JETS (Jos ECWA Theological Seminary), where Jim teaches. We met 4 of his 5 PhD students while we were there, along w/ several other faculty members.

Please note: If you place your mouse on a picture, descriptive text about the picture should appear in a small box by the cursor. I’m in the process of going back through all the posted pictures to make sure they have a description.