Abuja

Above are some photos from when I went to Abuja for a few days with Angie and Steph. After I had been in Jos for about 5 weeks, Angie invited me to come with her to Abuja to take her sister to the airport. They were going to have some fun in the city while they were there so I gladly took her up on the invitation. It was strange how different Jos and Abuja are even though they're only four hours apart. It felt like I was going home. It was a fun few days. We got coffee that wasn't nescafe, pastries, ice cream, and other yummy food. 

I'm not sure why I was thinking about the trip to Abuja. Maybe because Abuja is to me one of the stepping stone cities between my life in NC and my life in Jos. In order to get to Jos I have to go through Abuja. This time around I've had many more stepping stone cities. Avane, the town in tuscany i've been living in, is the next big one. I am leaving Avane today. It's been a great month. 

I get to see my Mom today for the first time in 88 days. I'm pretty excited.

Oh to see the world

Because of the opportunities I've had to travel lately, I have been thinking a lot about this big wide world. It is so big and there is so much variety. No place is the same. I've had the opportunity to hike on four different continents now. I've hiked in North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. It's different everywhere. In America I love hiking in the Adirondacks. There is no humidity, there are trees everywhere, and the mountains are huge. In South America I hiked the Inca trail in the Andes mountains. It was a very high altitude, it was andean flat (which means the trail goes up and down a lot), and there weren’t as many trees as in the adirondacks. It was still beautiful though. In Europe I've only been in Tuscany so far (going to Switzerland soon though!). There are mountains all around. I think Africa is the most different. There are very few trees, many rocks, and a lot of dirt and dust. There aren’t really mountains, at least not the type of mountains I think of as mountains. I had fun exploring around the little bit I was able to during my two months in Nigeria.

Another thing I've had fun trying in all four continents is the ice cream. That too is different everywhere. My favorite place for ice cream is Italy. Technically, it's gelato. It tastes so different from the ice cream in America. It's so much better! Ice cream in Africa is not so good. At the grocery store it is way over-priced and there was only one shop where you could get it served to you in a cone. The fruit in Africa is better than the ice cream. 

Cheers for hiking and gelato!

Hard Work

sunrise in africa

Me with most of the teachers at Gyero + Nancy

It’s been interesting for me to see the culture of Nigeria and the culture of Italy. One component that really stands out to me is hard-work. In this post I’m going to talk about hard-work I saw in Nigeria and in Italy.

Almost every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while I was in Jos, Amos picked me up on his way to work. Amos is a Nigerian who has been working for the Fretheims for many years. He works at the same compound that Nancy lives at. It was good to get to know Amos a little bit during our drives. Most Nigerians I met are so hard-working. Amos picked me up whether it was on his way or not. If he was running late, he picked me up anyway. There  were only two times when he couldn’t pick me up - one when he was in Abuja and one when his car was at the shop. He never asked for any money but willingly picked me up three days a week. During my time in Nigeria, he had a bunch of family staying at his house. I found out through Peter that there was way more people than there was space in the house. But instead of telling his visiting family that he didn’t have room, they shared beds and made do. Amos has been a good example to me and displayed some character qualities that I hope to take back with me to the U.S. He is a servant and he is self-less in that he is willing to pick me up whether it is convenient for him or not. Most people I know only do favors for others if it is convenient. He is also hospitable and loving. Before most americans are willing to host company, they have to make sure their house and everything is just right. God knows that we don’t have everything together, but He does call us to be hospitable. 

I’m not sure if I ever told you the names of the teachers out at Gyero. In Nigeria they call a lot of people “auntie” and “uncle”. I was called auntie amy. Anyway, auntie Mercy teaches class 1. Uncle Julius teaches class 2. Uncle Lonz teaches class 3. Uncle Felix teaches class 4. Auntie Margaret teaches class 5. Auntie Rahab teaches the boosting class. These teachers are truly amazing. They are so hard-working. 

Auntie Mercy is married, has children, is a house parent, and is a teacher. As a house parent, in addition to her own family, she is also responsible for a certain amount of the orphans. She teaches Monday-Friday from 8am until 1pm. Then at 1 she goes to her compound and takes care of several orphans. If her husband is not home she has to bring her children with her to school. 

Uncle Julius has been coming to Gyero for about three years now but this is his first full year teaching. He is married and has a baby. His family lives in Kagoro and the most he gets to see them is on the weekends. Kagoro is about a two hour drive from Jos. Some weekends he doesn’t get to go home. During the week he lives in Gyero with Uncle Lonz and the orphans. I can’t imagine only seeing my family on certain weekends. 

Uncle Lonz came to city ministries when he was 16 years old. He has actually gone through the system somewhat. I’m not entirely sure how long he has been working at Gyero. I do remember him being there when I came in 2012. He is a house parent and a teacher. He told me that he is a scientist and he really wants to sell his inventions to the public. Right now he is trying to get registered with the government. Uncle Lonz is a thinker and is always coming up with new ideas. He wants me to help him write a book titled, The Power of Thinking. 

Uncle Felix is married to Auntie Rahab and they have a baby named Cherish. I’m not sure how long he has been teaching. Auntie Rahab just started teaching in February. The boosting class teacher left and God provided Auntie Rahab to take over. It was such an answer to prayer! 

Auntie Margaret has children of her own and also lives in Gyero.

These teachers are truly amazing. They never get a break. It’s not like they can leave and take a vacation. Then who would watch over the orphans? But they do it all so joyfully always praising and thanking God. It really makes me appreciate my life. I have it so easy. 

Please continue to pray for Nigeria! 

• Pray for the teachers at Gyero. Right now they are on Easter break. Pray that they would get good rest.
• Continue to pray for safety in Gyero. Pray that the POLICE would be involved there.

on the farm

I have also gotten a chance to get to know hard-working people in Italy too. Giacomo and Helena are both very hard-working. It’s not easy running a farm. There are always things to be done. On top of running a farm and taking care of a family, both Helena and Giacomo are also translators. Helena usually works on the farm in the morning and translates in the afternoon. Giacomo is always doing something around the farm or translating. It’s been fun to see what it’s like to run a farm and I’ve enjoyed the past two weeks! 

Life in Tuscany

Tuttomondo 

I made it to the Mediterranean Sea!

Biking in Tuscany

I am so blessed to be living in Tuscany for the next month. I am living with a family in a small town called Avane. Avane is about 20 minutes drive from Pisa. I can actually see the leaning tower from the top of their mountain. Their family has owned the farm for many years. The running of the farm has been handed down through generations. There are many different aspects to the farm. They have olive trees from which they make their own olive oil. They have a liquor making business. They grow various fruits. They have chickens and rabbits. They are building an ecological bathroom and they are also building an oven to make their own bread in. Sadly, I don’t think the oven will be finished before I leave. Giacomo and Helena, the family I am living with, run everything expect the liquor making business. Giacomo’s sister runs that. 

Giacomo and Helena have four children. Stefana (not sure if I spelled that right) is in her early 20s and is away at college. Dante is 19 and goes to school in Lucca. Here in Italy there are 5 years of high-school instead of 4. Susannah is 16 and goes to school in Pisa. Daniel is 12 and goes to school in Avane. I am sharing a room with Susannah. Giacomo, Helena, and Susannah can all speak English pretty well. The boys don’t speak much at all. I don’t have any trouble communicating with Giacomo and Helena though. If Helena doesn’t understand something she just asks Giacomo to translate. Both Giacomo and Helena are translators. Giacomo mainly does Italian to English and English to Italian translation and Helena does Italian to French and Italian to Russia. 

I have worked six days on their farm so far. I got here on a Friday and they let me have Saturday and Sunday to rest before starting work on Monday. I start around 9am and work until about 1:30. On Saturdays I only have to work 2 hours. Right now we are working on burning all the olive tree branches that were cut down in the fall. In order to burn them we have to gather them all together and if the branches are too big we have to cut them. At first it seemed like it was going to be a never ending task. But little by little we have already finished 1 hectare and have started another. They have 6 hectares of olive trees. Thankfully, some of the other hectares have already been cleared. I think we have 3 more to clear.

Even though I’ve only been here a little over a week, i’ve been able to travel a good bit so far. My first Saturday here I went with Giacomo and Helena to a fair in Vecchiano. That Sunday I went with them to a fair in Pietra Santa. I saw the mountains where, supposedly, Michelangelo got the marble to make his sculptures. Everything is so beautiful here. I’ve also had the opportunity to go to Pisa, Livorno, Viareggio, and Pistoia. One day last week I biked around too! It’s been great. 

Some reasons why living in Tuscany is awesome:

-We have pasta for lunch everyday

-There is bread and wine at every meal

-My family owns an Alaskan Malamute named Vodka

-I found out today that Nutella is Italian. Makes sense

I’ll have to share more later.

Prayer Requests:

-I hurt my foot last week. It’s something I’ve done before. It’s called cuboid syndrome and it hurts to walk. I am going to a physical therapist tonight. Pray that it will get fixed and heal soon!

-Pray for conversations and relationship with the family.

italy

I made it to the farm! Praise God. The journey here was eventful. There were a lot of new things I had to figure out along the way. But I'm here now and am so glad. The family I'm living with is very kind. I got to their house on Friday around 4:30pm. They let me have yesterday and today to rest up before starting work on the farm tomorrow. Their farm is actually on top of a mountain. I haven't seen it yet. I'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow! Their house is on the side of the mountain. They live in Avane. Avane is a province about 20 minutes (by car) from Pisa. It is so beautiful here.

I was exhausted from traveling here. I think I slept about 4 hours Thursday night. From the time I landed in Italy until I met Giacomo (the man who owns the farm) I had to figure out how to get from the Florence airport to Pisa Centrale. Carrying all my luggage made it even more difficult. The most challenging part was figuring out how to get a train ticket at the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence and finding Giacomo once I arrived in Pisa. Not many people here speak English so asking for help wasn't very helpful.

I slept until 10 yesterday morning! That is the latest I have slept in in over two months. It is so quiet here compared to Jos and I think that's why it's so much easier to sleep late here. I had a relaxed morning and afternoon. Lunch is always at 1:45 and dinner is always at 8:30 here. Lunch is also always some type of pasta with sauce, bread with meat and cheese, salad, fruit, and chocolate. That's how it is for most Italians. They always have pasta for lunch. Some Italians have pasta for lunch and dinner.

I spent some time processing Nigeria yesterday. It has been a little difficult adjusting to such a different culture and living environment all over again. I know that I'm going to have many good experiences during my time in Italy but I also want to be able to share about my many experiences in Nigeria. So I'm really trying to be intentional about spending time to think and journal about Nigeria and all that God taught me.

I went to the commune of Vecchiano with Giacomo and Helena (the two owners of the farm). Vecchiano is a cute little town about 5 minutes drive from Avane. There was a fair going on and Helena wanted to visit her friend who weaves baskets out of twigs from trees. Some of the twigs he uses are from olive trees. Giacomo and Helena have a lot of olive trees on their farm. There were several different booths set up at the fair. There were stands selling fresh produce, meat, cheese, baked goods (including nutella crepes), animals, etc.

After visiting Vecchiano, we went to Pisa. Helena and I walked around while Giacomo went to pick up a bike for me to use during my time here. They said I can bike around during my time off but that the roads are narrow and I have to be very careful.

Yesterday evening I went back to Pisa with Susannah. Susannah is their daughter who will be 17 in May. I am sharing a room with her. We rode her motorbike to town and met up with some of her friends. We walked around Pisa for a while looking for a pizzeria that had space. We never found one so we settled on sandwiches for dinner and gelato for dessert. Everything you've heard about how good the food in Italy is, is true.

 I got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we headed home. We didn't get home until about 12pm. It was pretty cool riding on the back of her motorbike from Pisa back to Avane at night. I'm still somewhat in shock that I am actually in Italy living with an Italian family.

THE FINAL WEEK IN NIGERIA

I am leaving Nigeria on Thursday. I can’t believe I only have 3 more days here. During my final week here I had to do a few different things that I didn’t get the chance to do earlier. 

1. I managed to get all the souvenirs and gifts that I needed. I really like shopping here. It’s fun to see all the different items. Most of them are handmade which makes it even better! I did have to watch how much I was buying because I’m not going straight home from here and I have to pack light. I ended up making at least 5 or so trips down to the shops near the zoo. I know that means nothing to most of you. The zoo is about a 5-10 minute walk from my apartment. Near the zoo are some good shops to buy souvenirs. For various reasons, I walked down there a good bit in the last couple weeks. I started to get to know the shop owners. One of them said he wanted to give me a gift and let me pick out a card for free! Another lady really liked me coming into her shop. I think she liked the company. I wish I had more time here to get to know these people better. 

2. For those of you who don’t know, I really enjoy hiking and exploring new areas.  During my time here I was able to go on 4 hikes. Hiking here is much different from the hiking that I’m used to. I’m not sure I would even say I went “hiking”. I think exploring is probably a better word. It was fun to see new sights though. I went on one sunrise “hike” and saw a monkey! 

3. Yesterday was my last church service here. I went to JETS (Jos Evangelical Theological Seminary) with the ladies who live in my compound. JETS was the church I went to my first Sunday here too. I ended up going there three times. I’m going to miss the worship here. It’s pretty awesome. After church I got to decide where we went for lunch. I chose Elysars. Elysars is probably the nicest restaurant in Jos. It’s a Lebanese/Chinese restaurant and it has a really nice atmosphere. It was a good lunch filled with hummus and other yummy food. I tried a drink called Fayrouz. It was basically a pineapple soda. 

4. Yesterday was also my last Sunday dinner with Delight. Not sure if I’ve talked about Delight yet. Delight is a girl whose mother sells bean cakes and yam on the corner near my compound. She usually helps her mom in the afternoon after school. I think she’s about 16 years old. In Nigeria you don’t really ask ages though. I’ve had Delight over about three times for dinner on Sundays. She taught me how to make coconut rice and red stew. We have dinner together and then play games. She has really enjoyed playing skip-bo so we usually play that. Last night we were going to make coconut rice but the electricity went out. To make coconut rice you have to blend the coconut to get a coconut liquid. We were hoping that the electricity would come back on before she had to leave. So we went ahead and cracked the four coconuts. Cracking coconuts is quite a task. The shell is extremely hard. We had fun though. Electricity never came on. We had spaghetti instead. We played about four games of skip-bo too. Delight wanted to keep playing until she won. Too bad that never happened. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Delight. You can pray that she would be able to take her school exams this week. Her family doesn’t have the money to pay for exams and if she can’t take them she has to repeat the school year. 

There is so much more I could say. I can’t believe how fast the time went. I remember when I got here people were saying that two months was too short. At the time, I didn’t believe them. I thought two months was a good amount of time to be living in a different culture on my own for the first time. Now I understand what they meant. Once I started to figure out my role here and become more involved in the community and make friends, time flew. But I am so thankful for the time I’ve had here. 

God has taught me a lot about himself and myself. One main lesson He has taught me is that relationships take time. I think a lot of what He taught me I vaguely knew already but my time here made it hit home. In order to really get to know someone, you have to spend a lot of time with them. It takes time. In two short months it’s hard to create deep relationships. I’ve made good friendships, but I think I’m seeing how important long-term missions is. I’ve learned a lot more about missions. It has helped seeing what missions is like first-hand, on the field. I also strongly believe that wherever God has placed you is your mission field. It could be in Africa, Italy, North Carolina, etc. I feel a deeper conviction and longing to love others. I think loving others is one of the best ways for us to show Christ to them. I’m excited to process more of what God has been teaching me and share with you!

What’s next for me? I am heading to Italy! I am leaving Nigeria on Thursday and will get to Pisa, Lord willing, on Friday. I will be working on an organic farm through an organization called WWOOF. I will be there for one month and will be living with a family. They have one daughter who is 17 years old. Please pray for me! 

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray that the goodbyes here in Jos would go well. 
2. Pray that packing would go smoothly and I would know best what to leave behind.
3. Pray for safe travels to Italy and that here would be no wahalla (problems). 
4. Pray for my time with this family and that I would be a good witness for Christ.
5. Pray for the language barrier.

INTERNATIONAL

I wish I had the time to blog about each day. I’m so sorry I haven’t been more consistent with my blog. The fact that I haven’t blogged in a while means that I have been busy! I am so thankful that I have found ways to keep me busy. I find it hard to spend a significant amount of time on my laptop while I am here. I think of so many other things I would rather do. But I know it is important to keep all of you updated on what is going on and I really do want to keep you updated. I am so thankful for each and everyone of you who have been faithful to read my blog and pray for me. I wish I could be more faithful to updating my blog more often. I was thinking about what to write about since it has been so long. Instead of giving you brief updates of several things, I am going to focus on the most recent event and share it thoroughly with you.

Seeing as I am interested in majoring in elementary education, I thought it would be a good idea to observe in a school while i’m here. That way I can see what it would be like to teach in an international school. Since being here I have been helping out at the school in Gyero and in Gidan Bege. But both of those schools are Nigerian and I wouldn’t ever teach in one like that. However, there is a possibility of me teaching in a school like Hillcrest one day. In fact, every missionary I tell that I’m interested in majoring in elementary education says that I will have to come back and teach at Hillcrest once I graduate. They are in need of teachers. 

Hillcrest is a christian school here in Jos. It has been around a very long time. I asked Amos, a Nigerian who has lived in Jos a long time, how long Hillcrest has been here and he just said, “a very long time”. It was originally started as a school for missionary kids. Now there are more Nigerian students than missionary kids. There are fewer missionaries here than there used to be so Hillcrest allowed other children to enroll. Most of the Nigerian children at Hillcrest come from wealthy families, but there are some that come from families who work very hard to pay their school fees. 

Yesterday Amos picked me up around 8:00 and took me to Hillcrest. I thought he was coming at 8:10 but around 8:00 he called me and said he was waiting outside my gate. I never know what’s going to happen here. It’s hard to really plan. I have to take it one day at a time. I got to the school and had to be escorted by a guard to the 4th grade classroom. I already met most of the teachers at the Fretheims one Friday night. I am actually in a Tuesday night Bible study with the 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers. I got my schedule from Jess, the 4th grade teacher, and went to observe Kindergarten. The kindergarten teacher is from Jos and her name is Juliet. I asked her if she liked teaching kindergarten and she said, “I love it, it’s who I am”. She was very good at it too. All 16 of the children were very well behaved. Observing in her classroom was much different compared to the 1st grade class in Gyero. There are many more supplies and materials at Hillcrest and it is much more organized. 

After observing for a bit in Kindergarten, I went to 4th grade. They were in the middle of Bible class and were about to make tassels to represent what David cut off of Saul’s robe in 1 Samuel 24. I helped them with the project and then it was time for recess. 4th grade is the only class that sells canteen during recess. They were selling popcorn and chin chin. The “standard” popcorn here is different from the “standard” popcorn in the U.S. Instead of being salty, the popcorn here is sweet and has sugar on it. Chin chin is a Nigerian snack. I went for the chin chin. I’ve been trying to eat as much Nigerian food as I can. Chin chin is kind of just like bite-size sugar cookie bits except they aren’t quite as sweet as sugar cookies. I’ve actually been quite surprised by the normalcy of food here. I hear stories of missionaries having to eat disgusting things, but I haven’t had to eat anything disgusting. During recess I played with the kindergarteners on the playground. 

After recess I went back to 4th grade and read with a couple girls. Then I went to 2nd grade. In 2nd grade they were studying pronouns. I worked with them on how to know when to use he, she, they, and I in place of nouns. For lunch I went with the 2nd grade teacher to the huts outside. There are two huts where different Nigerian food is sold throughout the day. In one hut there is suya and massa. Suya is steak cooked in a peanut spice/sauce thing. Massa is some sort of rice that is cooked and fried in a ball. In the other hut there are chips, cose, and puff-puff. Chips are french fries. Cose is a fried bean cake. Puff-puff is kind of like a donut. I’ve already tried suya, massa, cose, and chips so I went for some puff-puff. In addition to the puff-puff she also gave me some salt and pepe. I like it with the salt but not so much with the pepe. 

Next, I went to middle school. I sat in on half of a health class, half of a math class, and two of Miriam Fretheim’s Bible classes. It was my first time ever observing a middle school class. It was good to be able to observe different grades and better see which grade I would prefer to teach. I’m thinking 3rd grade. So Hillcrest is very similar to schools in America. The biggest difference is the fact that most of the students in your class come from very different backgrounds and cultures.

Once school got out I rode with Noah, Sanji, Sanha, and Clayton to La Monde hotel. Noah, Sanji, Sanha, and Clayton are four boys that are a part of my swimming lessons on Tuesdays. Yesterday was the third week of swim lessons. I’m teaching in a pool at a hotel nearby. It’s definitely not as good of conditions as teaching lessons back home but it works. The kids love getting in the water. I was pretty excited to get in yesterday too! March is the hottest month in Nigeria and the heat really drains me. I teach two classes from 3:30-5:15. The first lesson is the beginner lesson and it is from 3:30-4:15. There are five children in the beginner lesson. The second lesson is from about 4:20-5:15 and there are four boys in the second lesson. I saw a lot of improvement yesterday so that was very encouraging! It’s nice to be able to use my knowledge of swimming to bless the missionaries. 

At 6:00 on Tuesday nights I have Bible study with about 9 other ladies. I am the youngest by about three years. We have dinner together and then dive into God’s Word and each other’s lives. We are doing a study called the STRONG challenge. There are different topics each week with challenges to go with it that we try to complete and then come and discuss on Tuesdays. The topics we’ve done so far include play, pray, and study. This week the topic is train. It’s been good to get involved in a bible study with other women here. 

It’s been really neat to see the body of Christ join together here. People from all over the world are working together to tell the nations about Christ. I have friends here from England, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Korea, India, and Nigeria. 

I hope that was a good snapshot into a day for me here. I’ve definitely adjusted to life here and become much busier. Here are some prayer requests:

• Continued safety and protection
• Continued good health
• Finding joy in the small things
• A good sense of closure and ending these next two weeks
• Peace in Gyero

The Transition Curve

I'm not sure if any of you have ever heard about or seen the transition curve. It is a document with all the different feelings you might encounter when going through changes or transitions. The SIM Nigeria personnel director showed it to me and asked if I had been feeling any of the emotions mentioned/could I relate at all to the transition curve. After taking some time to look at it, I was able to think back over the past 2-3 weeks I have spent here and remember moments when I was feeling some of the emotions mentioned. I think taking some time now to let you know what I realized will be helpful in keeping you up to date on how I am doing and how you can better pray for me.

The curve is basically in the shape of a "v" or a "u". There are three main parts of the curve. The top of the left side is ENDINGS. At the bottom is the NEUTRAL ZONE. At the top right is the NEW BEGINNING.

Under ENDINGS the feelings, in order, are disengagement, disidentification, celebration, disenchantment, closure, disorientation, contentment, denial, and disappointment.  The first few days here I think I could relate to feeling disidentification, disenchantment, disorientation, and disappointment. I was in a new environment, meeting new people. There wasn't much familiar to me and not much for me to identify with at first. I think I was amazed I was actually in Nigeria and didn't know what to do with myself. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I had a lot of rest time the first week here and that just made it harder for me. There are so many sounds, smells, and sights that I am not used to here. I was a bit disoriented. The disappointment came when I realized I had expectations and those expectations were not fulfilled (more on this later).

Under NEUTRAL ZONE the feelings, in order, are emptiness, chaos, confusion, anxiety, low productivity, and discovery. Some feelings I could relate to are chaos, confusion, anxiety, and low productivity. I am a planner and like to know what's going on. I have quickly figured out that I am just going to have to get over that while I am here. Almost nothing goes according to plan. Still, I needed to make a tentative schedule for myself. It has been a bit chaotic trying to decide how to spend my time. The confusion has come with several plans falling through. I wake up each morning not knowing exactly what i'm going to do that day. Some days I feel anxious because I want to be doing more than I am. I think this also has to do with my expectations that I didn't realize I had. I haven't felt very productive since being here but maybe my view of productivity is different from God's view. Playing, sitting, and going over the alphabet with children does not seem productive to me. But spending time with these orphans is showing God's love to them and showing God's love to others is never a waste. I think God is trying to teach me about what being productive means and how people are more important than accomplishing tasks.

Under the NEW BEGINNING the feelings, in order, are reorientation, inner realignment, feelings of motivation, anticipation, and embracing new dreams and visions. Adena, the personnel director, said that it can take a while to come out of the NEUTRAL ZONE and into the NEW BEGINNING. She said that it is very possible for me to never experience the NEW BEGINNING emotions during my 2 months here. I would say that I am currently in the NEUTRAL ZONE. Sometimes I feel sad that I may never reach the NEW BEGINNING. Then I have to remind myself that God's timing is perfect.

I hope that this post hasn't got any of you thinking that I am not enjoying my time here. Oh, quite contrary! I am very glad that I am here. God is teaching and growing me in ways I would not have expected. I guess that's what He does, right?

The highlights

 I went to terminus (the big market-place in Jos) with Angie and we went to the secondhand clothing market. It was overwhelming. There are heaps of clothing and Nigerians shouting the prices at you begging you to buy something. I went away empty-handed.

I made Gote with Angie. It is a Nigerian soup with vegetables and some type of grain. Nigerians like everything spicy so of course there was some pepper in it too.

I went to a Galentines Party on the 15th. We made pancakes, chatted, played fish bowl, and watched an episode from the show Miranda.

We had an Indian lunch to say goodbye to the Cowies (compound manager and personnel director the past 6 years) who were leaving to go back to their home in New Zealand.

Went to Gyero - taught 3rd grade spelling and helped 1st graders work on their reading. After teaching the spelling class a little girl came up to me and said, "Aunty, I like your teaching. I want you to be my teacher."

Went to the widows. The widows is another part of city ministries. Widows come, learn how to sew, and learn about God. After one year of being there they earn a sewing machine and can start their own business. I went there with Kauna to get my first Nigerian outfit made.

Went to Gidan Bege and hung out with the 14 new orphans. These 14 boys came in just after Christmas. Worked on some ABCs with them.

Went in my first Keke (not sure if that's how it's spelled. I abbreviate it to KK). KKs are a main form of transportation in Jos. There used to be a bunch of motorcycles but those were outlawed because of the dangerous wrecks.

Made banana bread.

Got rid of a bird nest that was right outside my apartment.

Made a bead bracelet with a Nigerian friend and then went shopping with her.

Made a Nigerian meal with a friend from Germany.

Went on a walk with a couple from England.

It was a good week. It was much busier. God has been teaching me a lot so far during my 2-3 weeks here. Hopefully I will get some time to share later on. In the meantime, some prayer requests:

• Pray for the village of Gyero! There has been unrest out there and people have been killed. This has made it difficult for me to go out there.
• Pray for safety. I know there is truly no "safe" place in the world but for some reason America does feel safer. Some nights I hear sounds like fireworks but I know that there are no fireworks here.
• Pray that I would be able to show love to the orphans. Many of them are desperate for love and attention.
• Pray for my relationship with Delight. Delight is a Nigerian girl who sells food on the corner near my compound.

Getting into the culture

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I'm going to try to summarize so this post isn't ridiculously long.

I am finished with orientation! I just finished yesterday and it's good to be getting into the ministry now. Tuesday was the last day of planned meals for me. Last Thursday-Tuesday (my first 6 days here) I had meals planned for me. Starting Wednesday I was on my own. I really enjoyed having meals with other missionaries and their families. I liked seeing their homes and eating in a home with other people. It's not so fun eating by yourself. Looking at my schedule, I think I am going to be sharing meals with people regularly. The only nights I don't have something planned are Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll have to see what I can do and who I can eat with. During my first week here (I have been in Jos over a week now!) I ate most of my lunches at restaurants around town. The ones I went to include Elysar, Southern Fried Chicken, King's Bite, and Afri-One. They're all pretty good.

One of my favorite parts about orientation was the cultural orientation with Kauna. I really enjoy talking with Kauna. She knows a lot about the Nigerian culture and what she has to say is very interesting. She took me "downtown" and we walked in the market. The market is a bit overwhelming. There are so many people, sounds, and smells. There are a lot of fruits, vegetables, and potatoes but there is also a lot of food that I don't recognize. Kauna helped me pick out cloth to have my first Nigerian outfit made. It will be worn on Sundays. The outfits here are so unique because you pick out fabric among hundreds of options and design what you want your outfit to look like. Still not sure what design I am going to do yet.

Yesterday was ministry orientation. A lady named Anna-Karen did that with me. We actually ended up spending the whole day together. It was great! We made a tentative schedule and talked about what I might be doing. Here is the sched: Monday - Gyero, Tuesday - Gidan Bege, Wednesday - Gyero, Thursday - Gidan Bege, Friday - Gyero, Saturday & Sunday - Girl's Transition House. She said it is always better to add in activities rather than take away. So we are going to see how this schedule works and how I am feeling and if I still have time to spare, I will add in more. At both Gyero and Gidan Bege I am going to be helping out with the school and hanging with the children. Gyero is a rural village where a city ministries center is located. There are about 130 children there. All of them are orphans. They have house parents at Gyero and there is a school. Gidan Bege is a center in Jos for orphaned boys. There are 14 boys there right now. I will share more on both places later. I am not exactly sure what I am going to be doing at the girl's transition house. Another exciting thing I might be doing is teaching swim lessons. Somehow the fact that I teach swim lessons came up in conversation and it sounds like some missionaries would be interested in me teaching their children. It's not definite but it would be cool if I could use that to help out.

While I was with Anna-Karen we got some suya and massa for lunch. Supposedly it's a pretty popular food here. I also had fried yam and a bean cake this morning. I love trying new food from different cultures. Kauna told me that Nigerians like spicy food. She was surprised when I told her that I like spicy. Most Americans don't.

Last night George, a man who owns a house on my compound, cooked dinner for me and the three other ladies on my compound. It was a Valentine's celebration and it was super nice of him. He's an excellent cook and he makes his own chapmans. A chapman is a type of tropical drink here. We had yummy food, made s'mores in the oven, listened to love songs from movies, and had good conversation. I enjoy talking with the missionaries here and listening to their view of Nigeria and where it's headed.

Today I went to Gyero for the first time since 2012. I remembered a few people and a few people remembered me. I helped Anna-Karen with some things and visited each classroom. I'm going to be teaching a few classes to help some of the teachers out. One of the teachers specifically asked me to teach his writing class.

A Nigerian Church

On Sunday I went to church with Gay Lynn and Angie (two SIM missionaries living on my same compound). They both have cars so it was convenient for me to go with them. They go to ECWA seminary church. It is on the JETS compound. JETS stands for Jos Evangelical Theological Seminary. The ECWA theme for 2014 is PREACH THE WORD. The verse is 2 Timothy 4:2. Their motto is FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS - 1 Peter 2:21.

The music was beautiful. They have a band and a choir and I just loved their voices.

 Most churches here have two services. One in Hausa and one in English. I was talking with a Nigerian, Delight, and she said she goes to the english service. I asked her why, thinking that maybe it was so that she could learn the language better. She said she understands the english service better. Nigerians grow up learning english in schools so many times they can read and write english better than they can hausa. The service I went to was in English.

After the worship time it was time to greet the guests. All of the first-time guests had to stand up and introduce themselves in the microphone. It was a little intimidating. After all the guests introduced themselves there was time for people to come and shake your hand.

The sermon was on Colossians 1:15-23. I thought that was interesting since I read through Colossians on my way to Nigeria. The main topic the pastor was trying to convey was the supremacy of Christ. He talked about Christ's supremacy expressed in His person (vs. 15-20) and expressed in His works (vs. 21-23).

I'm not sure which church I am going to go to regularly while I am here. It is convenient for me to go to the JETS church because I would have a ride and someone to go with. I don't really want to go to church alone. I do want to get to at least one service in Hausa while I am here.

life update

avocado tree in my backyard

Just wanted to give you an update on what living has been like these past couple days. It has felt slow and somewhat lonely. As you know, I am living in my own apartment. I guess SIM is wanting to ease me into my time in Jos so I haven't been very busy. I think they don't want to overwhelm me with information while I'm trying to get over jet-lag.

On Friday I managed to sleep until 8. Sleeping has been difficult. It's hard for me to fall asleep. I didn't have any hives Wednesday or Thursday so I was super excited. Sadly, I woke up with more on Friday. Praise God my eyes haven't swollen! At about 9:30 Kauna, an SIM missionary from Jos who has spent some time living in the west, picked me up and we walked to the SIM headquarters. Headquarters is right across the street from me. She introduced me to the staff there and I had two informational meetings. One was about travel and the other was about internet. During the travel meeting I learned that immigration only marked my passport to stay until March 3. Even though I told them I was staying until April 3, they stamped me for one month. This means SIM is going to send my passport somewhere to get that extended. Immigration is just trying to get as much money out of me as possible. At the internet meeting I learned that I can get wifi at SIM headquarters and I also bought an internet modem. It was pricy but it allows me to get internet in my apartment. These information meetings were over by about 11. I went back to my compound and read underneath the avocado tree. That evening I went to the Fretheims to have dinner with a bunch of other SIM missionaries.

Yesterday Gay Lynn showed me the shops around the corner from me. The shops are very convenient and have a bunch of basic items. I haven't had to buy any ingredients because I've had meals arranged for me so far. I start cooking for myself on Wednesday. We also walked more downtown and got some lunch and ice cream. For dinner we went to Niger Creek (an SIM compound) and shared a meal with other missionaries.

That is a quick summary of my past couple days. Here are some prayer requests:

+Pray that I wouldn't be lonely. Another short-termer who lived in my apartment a few years ago said she felt lonely too. Everyone else living in my compound kind of keeps to themselves. Pray that I would find ways to get involved so I don't have to be in my apartment by myself too much.
+I have been in Jos for 4 days now and I feel like there is a lot of "nothingness". I'm hoping this is just because it is the very beginning for me. I talked with some other missionaries who said they went through the same thing. At least I'm not the only one. Pray that I would know where to get involved and what relationships to build.
+Continue to pray for my hives. They have not gone away.

Getting to Jos

a snowy landing in JFK

For those of you wondering how the trip from Charlotte to Jos was…..

It was very smooth. Didn't really run into any complications. There were no close calls where I almost missed a flight. Not really anything major. I had a significant amount of leg room on the 7 hour flight from JFK to Paris. Somehow, even though I took two Benadryl, I wasn't able to sleep. I saw next to a man who seemed to speak French and English. We didn't really talk. He slept and watched movies most of the way. I was looking forward to watching a movie but there wasn't anything interesting. I tried to sleep and I read. After landing in Paris I had to go through security again but the airport was so empty it was a cinch. I ended up going through security at every airport. I had about 5 hours in the Paris airport yet couldn't sleep. I read a good bit of Les Miserables. The airport was exactly how I remembered it from the last time I traveled to Nigeria. It's definitely not as fun traveling by yourself. I slept the whole flight from Paris to Abuja. It was off and on but it was good. At one point, the flight attendant woke me up and I remember having a conversation along the lines of…..

him: "Do you want something to drink?"

me: "no"

him: "Do you want something to eat?"

me: "no"

him: "Do you want to sleep?"

me: "yes"

I guess it was pretty obvious that I was tired. We landed in Abuja around 5. I didn't have any trouble at immigration, baggage, or customs. The airport officials were all very friendly. Danjuma (one of SIM's drivers) picked me up from the airport and we drove to the Baptist Guest House in Jos for the night. It was difficult sleep that night. The next morning we left around 8 for Jos. We stopped roughly 15 times because of military checkpoints and car registration stops. At one of the checkpoints one of the guards said he wanted to follow me back to America. He gave me his phone number. We made it to the Challenge compound at noon. Gay Lynn, one of the SIM missionaries living at Challenge, showed me to my apartment and told me about some of the quirks in my room. The main quirk about mine is that the toilet doesn't flush very well. My apartment is facing the street so it's pretty loud. Sleeping right near a busy street with honking cars is going to take some getting used to. That night I had dinner with the other missionaries living at Challenge. It was a goodbye dinner to a couple who are leaving in a week. 

2 Corinthians 4:6

Psalm 25

Praying through Colossians

flowers along the wall in my compound

I am here! I have arrived safely in Jos. It is so good to be here and I have such a peace that God wants me here right now. I left Charlotte Tuesday morning with hives. They were actually worse on Tuesday than they were on Monday. That was a bit unnerving knowing I was going to be away and the hives could get worse. Good news! The hives are better today. Now I am having a hard time figuring out whether I have bug bites or hives….

On the flight from Charlotte to JFK I read some in Colossians. Four main things stood out to me.

1. We need to pray for each other (the body of Christ) and thank God for one another. We are all one family that Christ has put together. [Col. 1:3-14] I am so thankful for all of you who are praying for me!

2. Christ is above all and in control of everything [Col. 1:15-20]

3. The Gospel is good news! [Col. 1:21-23]

4. I have been taught my whole life by my parents and other godly adults about what it means and what it looks like to live for Christ. Now it is my turn to take what I have learned and live for Him. [Col. 2:6-4:5]

Here are some ways you can pray Colossians for me:

1. That I would be devoted to prayer - 4:2

2. Pray that God would open a door in Nigeria so that I can proclaim the mystery of Christ - 4:3

3. Pray that I may proclaim the gospel clearly - 4:4

4. Pray that I would be wise in the way I act - 4:5

5. Pray that I would make the most of every opportunity - 4:5

6. Pray for my conversations with others - 4:6

7. Pray that I would do everything as unto the Lord - 3:23-24, 17

8. Pray that the word of Christ would dwell in me - 3:16

Broken and Headed to Africa

I'm not sure how many of you reading this post know about the health issues I have encountered the past month. It has been a difficult 3 weeks and I feel like God is breaking me. 

About three weeks ago I broke out in a case of hives. We still don't know what the cause of them is. But I still have them. They last for about 24 hours but every morning I wake up with new ones. They itch and sting and are very irritating. When I first got them I thought they would go away after about a week. Now I am not at all sure when they are going to go away. 

My Mom has been incredible. She has researched, talked to doctors, bought me medicine, loved me, etc. Everything any human could do, she has done. I went to an allergist but the things I am allergic to would not be causing hives for this long. I didn't just start taking an antibiotic that I might be allergic to. I didn't change my diet. Nothing has changed. The doctors say I have very sensitive skin. I switched to all natural shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I am now washing my clothes in a fragrance free laundry soap. I got some medicine I can take and a cream that seems to reduce the itch. It has helped to make me more comfortable but it doesn't seem to get rid of the hives. Desperate times call for desperate measures so I am also trying to avoid wheat, nuts, and sugar. Even though the allergy test didn't say I was allergic to any of these, I could have an intolerance. I've been recording what I eat and I seem to get more hives when I eat wheat, nuts, and sugar. Right now I am willing to try just about anything to get rid of the hives. 

The past 3 weeks have been very hard for many reasons. The hives is a major cause but God is teaching me through this. I am a very disciplined person. I like to get up somewhat early, exercise, and be productive with my days. This has not happened since the hives. I went for a run and the hives spread and were even more irritating. Exercising made them worse. I decided to stop exercising until the hives were gone. 

God is breaking me and stripping me of anything and everything I have put above Him. You don't realize how important something is to you until you can't have it. Revelation 2:4 says that the church of Ephesus forsake their first love - Jesus Christ. When we put anything above God, when anything is more important to us than God, we have forsaken our first love. I didn't realize how important exercising, eating whatever I wanted, and being in control was to me. The hives have forced me to give it all up and over to God. I am not in control of these hives at all. For all I know I could wake up with an eye swollen shut (this has happened twice already). 

I have cried more in the past 3 weeks than I have in a long time. I see God working. I feel broken and empty. All I have is Him. All I need is Him. I thought I would feel a lot different in the weeks before I left for Nigeria. I didn't think I would feel empty. I am going to Nigeria to pour out to others. But how can I do that if I am empty? But that's just it. I'm not empty. I have Christ. 

I am leaving Charlotte on Tuesday, February 4th at 12:30pm. I will be flying to JFK and out of New York at 4:25. I will then go to Paris and should arrive in Paris at at 5:30am. Both Paris and Nigeria are 6 hours ahead of North Carolina. I will leave Paris at 11am Wednesday, February 5 and arrive in Abuja at 4:55pm. Someone from SIM is going to pick me up from the airport and I am going to stay in a guesthouse in Abuja Wednesday night. On Thursday I will drive about 3 or so hours to Jos, where I will be living. 

I am excited for all of this to happen and to share my experiences and adventures with you! Please pray for me. 

Pray

+for good health - and even if these hives don't go away for a while, pray that I would rejoice and find joy

+Energy and strength 

+safety

+quick adjustment to time change and living on my own

+good company in Jos

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

oRieNtAtiOn

This past Wednesday- Friday was SIM orientation before I leave the country. It is required of all short-term missionaries who go through SIM. I arrived at the SIM USA base on Wednesday around 3:00pm. There are 8 other people in my orientation and we are all staying in this one housing residence. I am sharing a room with one other girl named Sarah who is leaving for Niger on Sunday. Everyone in my orientation group is leaving this weekend except for me and one other couple who is hoping to go to Nigeria. I hope they end up coming and we can meet up in Jos.

The first couple hours here we just sat, talked, drank instant coffee, and got to know one another. This was my first time ever having instant coffee. I was told that it is the only coffee I will get in Nigeria. I am not a fan. I'm pretty sure I will just go without coffee. Unless, of course, desperate times call for desperate measures. But I'm not even a huge coffee drinker here in the states. Wednesday evening was very chill. After 7:30 we had the night to ourselves - something I am not used to since growing up in a big family. It was weird and a little lonely. I read a few chapters in the book Multiply.

Thursday morning I was up at 6:30. I like getting up early and starting my day with Jesus. At 8:30 we had chapel with the SIM staff and then prayed for different countries around the world. Throughout the day we had 6 information sessions on Missions and Evangelism, Overview of SIM, Spiritual Warfare, Health, Finance, and Travel.

A lot of what our speaker talked about in Missions and Evangelism I had heard before either from Perspectives, Tapawingo, or somewhere else. It was a good reminder though. A good reminder that the reason missions exists is because worship doesn't. Our goal in missions is to worship God and bring others to worship God. By doing this we bring glory to His name. Missions is seen throughout the entire Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, God has commanded us to tell others about His name. Some key verses are Genesis 12:2-3, Psalm 67, Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8, and Revelation 5:9-10. God has blessed us and we are called to be a blessing to others.

Almost always when I tell people I am going to Nigeria through a mission's organization called SIM, they ask me about it. The overview of SIM session helped me to be able to give a 30 second summarization about SIM. For all of you who may be still confused, here goes the 30 second summary. SIM is global, multicultural, and forward-thinking. They are serving in over 65 countries on 6 continents and have 1,600 missionaries from over 50 countries. SIM is focused on cultivating multicultural mission movements by responding to need, proclaiming the gospel, and equipping the church. Their passion is to see the body of Christ in all places, among all peoples (Rev. 7:9).

The spiritual warfare session was interesting and alarming. Spiritual Warfare is no light matter. It is serious. It is heavy. And it is dark. But it will never go away until Christ comes back. Satan's desire for the glory of God is never going to go away. He will do whatever it takes to deprive God of all the glory. Satan likes to convince us that we can have pleasure, security, and significance through managing and controlling life around us. We must fight the fight.

During the health session it was mainly reminder information that I have heard before. Since I will be cooking my own meals I am going to have to be especially careful.

During the day I was able to talk to a man who lived in Nigeria for 13 years and hear some cool stories from him. I asked him for some advice and the big thing he told me was to go with a learner's attitude. Please pray that my eyes would be open to different and open to learning and becoming part of a new culture. The Nigerian culture is vastly different form the one I am used to. They are very community focused, not individualistic. There is not much concept of time. In America time is measured by minutes. We either spend or invest our time. In Africa time is measured by the movement of the sun. They live. Activities start when they are ready and end when they are finished.

For dinner on Thursday night we went out to an Ethiopian restaurant in Charlotte. It was called Red Sea. I enjoyed the type of eating, not so sure I enjoyed the food. Everyone got their own "bread". It looked, felt, and kind of tasted like a sponge. Supposedly it was made out of the same stuff sourdough bread is made out of. With this bread you tear off a piece and grab some other type of food that is on a big plate. There were 13 of us and 3 plates. I enjoyed eating off of the same plate and eating with our hands. I didn't really like the spongey bread.

On Friday we had 4 information sessions. They were on Islam, Intro to Member Care and Child Safety, Vantage Points, and Personal Security. One of the main religions in Nigeria is Islam so it was helpful to find out some more about what Muslims believe. Surprisingly, most Muslims live in Indonesia and Italy. I was shocked to find that out. One big difference between Islam and Christianity is that Muslims believe that God is our master and we are the slave. I'm sure there is still a lot about Islam that I don't know, but as I travel to the foreign country of Nigeria I am praying that I would go in as a learner, a servant, and a storyteller. The culture of Nigeria is vastly different from what I am used to and I pray that I would be able to learn from the Nigerians.

During Intro to Member Care and Child Safety, our teacher stressed the fact that we need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves. We are part of the body of Christ and if we aren't able to function, the entire body isn't able to function. She also said that our aim should be growth in Christlikeness. We need to be living out the practices of Christ and developing relationships for growth. Another big point she stressed was to reflect on our experiences and learning. God is going to teach me so much during my time in Africa and if I don't take the time to stop and reflect, I might miss it.

During the Vantage Points session our teacher talked a little about culture shock, some inevitable feelings that come from that, and different coping strategies. Because of the cultural differences I am going to experience, some inevitable feelings are general disorientation, tension, confusion, frustration, etc. He mention two different coping strategies. With these feelings we could either learn to relax in God, observe, inquire, and listen, or we could become critical, withdraw, and rationalize. The first coping strategy can result in understanding and cultural integration while the second strategy could result in misunderstanding, alienation, and isolation. Pray that I would deal with my feeling by relaxing in God as hard as that might be.

One quote that really stuck with me from orientation was "Our goal isn't to have a long life, it's to have a full life". Please also pray 2 Timothy 2:22-26 for me.

Going Back

I am officially going back to Jos. All of my support has come in. Praise God! He never fails to provide. Thank you again to all who have supported me! Now that my funds have come in I am ready to buy the plane tickets. I would like to leave around January 30-February 2 but I am still waiting to see what tickets I can get. I am about to start the process of applying for a visa.

Thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray! Below are some things you can pray for me about.

1. Pray that I would obtain my visa quickly.
2. Pray that I would get good plane tickets soon.
3. Pray that I would know how best to pack and what to bring over there.
4. Pray that God would be preparing my heart and the hearts of the people in Nigeria.
5. Pray that I would make the most of the rest of my time at home.