One Month Left

Today I realized that being the last day of June, I only have one month left here. I can hardly believe how fast the time is going. This weekend was fun and relaxing for the most part. We got to go to the market and pick some cloth to make our Nigerian outfits (I promise to post a picture!). The whole experience of being in the middle of this crowded place with people either staring blantantly at the Bature (white person) or greeting us to come into their stores were overstimulating. It was funny to me to see one booth selling live chickens and the next selling shoes. I am learning that the number one way to offend a Nigerian is to either not greet them at all or not greet them properly. I am in such a habit of either minding my own business or simply saying hello-not so here. You greet initially with 'Sanu' which means hello, followed by a slew of Hausa phrases asking how you slept, how work is, how your mother is, how your father is, how you feel, and on and on. Its funny because people are still saying sanu, lafia, sanu, etc as they are walking away, even if the other person has moved on. The number two way to offend someone here is to not accept something they offer you, especially in their home. For instance, if you are sitting on the couch and they offer you a drink-accept even if you aren't thirsty. You don't even really have to drink it (or eat it if it's food) just the simple act of accepting their offer will make them 'very happy'.

This morning was our first official day at the school and my morning was spent grading papers and checking off the students work. At one point I felt like I should be getting a paycheck! The teacher of my classroom is fairly harsh with the kids and you can tell they are all terrified of her. When we walked up to the school she had a group of them outside and was using ruler to slap their hands-my blood started to boil and I had to calmly walk away. As soon as you enter the classroom they all stand up and say, "Good morning Aunte!". It is so cute and sweet. They all introduced themselves to me and I think its going to take me longer to learn their names than the time I will be there. Some of them are starting to look me in the eye as they turn in their paper and all I have to do is smile or wink and they giggle all the way back to their seat. I'm hoping that during the next couple weeks they will learn that they don't need to be afraid of me unlike their teacher. School starts at 8am and goes until 1pm with a long break and a short break-thats literally what they are called. The long break is at 9:30 and the short break is around 11:15 or so. Most of my kids used the breaks to study because there were two tests today-science and social studies. The teacher wrote all the questions on the board and they were to answer on their own paper, unfortunately a lot of the words she wrote on the board were spelled incorrectly and it made me think long and hard about how blessed I was as a child to receive the education I did. The saddest part for me of being at the school is that these children do not know any better, they don't realize the teacher is spelling words wrong and teaching them incorrect grammar. They all think that it is completely normal to essentially teach yourself everything with little accountability for achieving the right answer. I'm not saying that they aren't learning anything but it's at such a slow pace that it aggravates me.

Please pray for patience as I enter the classroom for the next couple weeks. Pray that I am able help where it is needed and not where I want to 'fix the problem'. Thank you for taking time to check my updates and I love and miss you! Grace and peace :)

Mun gode Allah (We thank God)

Well the past few days have been very trying on me. Dad and Derek left on Tuesday and Colin and I moved from the LCCN guest house to the JETS (Jos ECWA Theological Seminary) guest house. This is where dad will come back and teach his classes in July. It was suprisingly hard for me to see dad leave, I was pretty shook up. I think mostly because he is our connection to all the work we will be doing and having him here was like a security blanket for me. Luckily, I saw the transition for the lesson it was-depending on God's strength and supervision rather than my own. Thank you for praying for a smooth transition time because without those prayers I think I would have been lost. The Lord really comforted me during those few days and I am continually astounded by his love for me. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as we begin work.

The past few days have been a lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. Once dad left we were without transportaion so we now have to wait for a ride everywhere. Kauna Magaidi has been an angel throughout all of this. Her job here in Jos is to train missionaries and help them adapt to the culture and that is just what she has done. She took us into the city to go 'grocery shopping' which basically consisted of stopping at various shops on the side of the road. That day it was pouring down rain so we didn't get the full experience of going to the market. She was going to teach us to taxi here and also how to barter for our goods, but the rains complicated all of that. She was amused that I don't really know how to cook and we ended up just getting the basics-rice, spaghetti and bread. We ate lunch at the Net Cafe and enjoyed a chicken pizza. We spent the night at the Magaidi's home, which is in one of the slums here. It was a very nice home and I was thankful to have electricity that evening. At the guest house there is none and at night we have to do everything by battery powered lantern. I don't mind but it was nice to have a bright light and some television rather than playing rummy by lantern.

Today we got a taste of what we will be doing for the next couple weeks. Barje (Kauna's father and senior pastor of the church here) took us to EMS (ECWA Missionary School) and introduced us to the owners as well as the teachers there. We were able to spend about three hours with the children who were so happy to have visitors. Colin is in a classroom with teenagers and my classroom is about ages seven to ten. The children are all very sweet and you can tell they are eager to learn, however, they have such limited opportunities there. The classrooms are quite basic and the students all go at their own pace. Basically all the teacher does is teach one lesson, maybe two a day and then sign that they did their work. She doesn't even check it. I found myself wishing I could stay here longer and really interact with them, so pray that the next weeks are fruitful in showing these kids they are loved.

Also pray that I don't starve because we will be cooking on our own for the next few weeks and we have no electricity which could prove interesting. This weekend will I hope will be exciting, Kauna is taking us to the market (if it doesn't rain) and we are getting Nigerian clothes. Then Sunday will be our first Nigerian church experience since last week we were in a car in a flood! I am looking forward to the lessons I will learn along the way. Thank you for faithfully reading my stories and keep Colin and I in your prayers as we really begin to minister here.

Back in Jos!

Well I have officially been introduced to the Nigerian way of life...almost every single aspect. The road trip was a huge adventure and after so much had happened we just had to laugh about it all. Here is my attempt at a summary! On the way there we got a flat tire and then our spare was bad, we then witnessed armed robbers get arrested, got stopped by a road official who wouldn't let us pass, and then sat in traffic for over three hours-in blistering sun. Once on the campus in a town called Okada we met with many different students and got a lot of interesting interviews. I had sardines and margarine on bread-for breakfast. Yum! The good news is, they have ice cream here so I enjoyed some chocolate that night. :) There was no running water which proved interesting in the bathroom. The next shower you take, enjoy a few extra minutes for me!
I thought the trip home would be more mild than the way up, but the enemy really wanted to shake us up. It rained the entire day which caused the roads Benin City to flood. We sat in traffic there for about three hours and only got a little water in the car. Which Bola then told us was parasitic and my feet started burning. Derek developed a rash of some sort but Colin seemed healthy. A few hours down the road we got in another three hour traffic jam.
Apparently the road officials had stopped a trucker and broke his windshield so he decided to block the road when they released him. Since every Nigerian driver is impatient and attempts to drive around anything in their way a two lane road had four lanes of traffic from each direction in a gridlock. We had to stay the night in Abuja since we had over six hours of delays.
Overall the trip so far has given me a taste of Nigerian driving and their time-if you say be there at seven, it will be at least eight before anything happens. I am growing tired of chicken and rice, I think we have had every variation possible.

Tonight, back in Jos, we had actual spaghetti with pineapple Fanta. It was a wonderful change of pace and just what I needed. We are all becoming more comfortable around each other and I am looking forward to the weeks ahead. Colin and I will change housing on Wednesday. Please pray for a smooth transition and safety in our new 'home'. Also pray for good opportunities with ECWA and that we can really help those is need.

Still on the Road

Well, it seems that the road trip is somewhat extended. The rains today made one of the rivers impassable for a while, so the team stayed in Abuja tonight rather than risk travel after dark to Jos (another 3+ hours). I am told the interviews with faculty and students went extremely well, and that Brittany and Colin are "made for this." Not sure what that means, but sounds like they aren't bored.

Tomorrow (Monday) should bring some pictures from the campus visit and road trip. Pray for a good night's rest and safe travel on Monday. No doubt the team will spend the rest of Monday in R&R.
Babba

It's Chicken in red sauce and spaghetti!

On the Road

This is Babba (dad) for Brittany. . . she is still in the west of Nigeria at a university assisting with our HIV/AIDS program. She and the team are collecting audio interviews with faculty and students that will be edited and put into the program called: "Sex, Power and Relationships: Everything you wanted to know about HIV/AIDS but were afraid to ask."

I received a text message from one of the team that said that she and Colin "are made for this." I am sure they are relating well to the students, and give encouragement to them even by showing up.

NIFES (Nigerian International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) is related to the parent organization that InterVarsity Fellowship does in the US. Keep praying for their success, and a safe and uneventful trip back to Jos on Sunday. I'll let her relate the events of their 12 + hour trip to the West.

Road Trip!!

The past few days have been so exciting and I don't even know where to begin telling the story! I cannot believe some of the experiences God has blessed me with, and He is continually teaching me new lessons. The biggest one so far is that He is in complete control.

The trip to Benin City has been full of adventure and I continue to feel more and more at home in Nigeria. Our team (Bola-works with NIFES, Edith-his assistant, Derek, Colin, and I) left early on Thursday morning and no one could anticipate what would happen on the way. I usually fall asleep instantly when driving long distances but I couldn't take my eyes away from the countryside. The further we got away from Jos, I started seeing more of the Africa Americans think of. We passed countless women carrying things (jugs of water, food, bundles of wood) on their head and as far as the eye could see was mountains and trees. The roads continued to get worse away from the city, and Edith was quite interested in knowing if we had potholes like that in America. I said some but not like this; here, your entire car could get lost if you hit one. Every so often we would pass a village and the poverty is truly heartbreaking. It was really hitting home how phenomenally blessed we are in America when the car started shaking-a lot! And, we got a flat tire. Then the spare was bad. So here we are, on the side of this highway, in the middle of Nigeria with a broken down car. Bola flagged down a motorcycle and the man was kind enough to take the flat into the nearest town-Keffi to be fixed and bring it back. In the mean time, the main concern was getting all of the white people off the side of the road because if any robbers passed, they would have stolen everything and possibly hurt us. So, God sent a taxi at the perfect time and the four of us (Derek, Colin, Edith, and I) went into Keffi. We rested under a tree and then I look up and my heart stopped. There was a lot of screaming and I saw one man pointing a gun at a car...all I could think was someone is going to die!!! Derek really took care of me and hid me behind a tree while the entire village literally went after the robbers (there were four of them). They were screaming 'Theif!!' and chased them into the field. After realizing we had escaped danger we came out from behind the tree and then heard a gunshot. Apparently there was a policeman undercover who had a gun as well and he shot it to get everyone to back away. Then, the entire crowd came back from the field and the actual police got there and took them away. It was like watching a movie and I couldn't believe it. God had protected us through it all and if we had been on the side of the road when they passed, who knows what could have happened. Edith said if those theives had been caught further North they would have been put in their car and burned alive. I am very glad that didn't happen becuase I don't think I could have handled seeing anyone die. We were on our way just as soon as Bola came and picked us up and he couldn't believe what we had told him. Then, a few hours later we were passing some policemen, well they can't really do anything but they are there to stop cars at their leisure. We got stopped and since Bola didn't slam on the brakes exactly when he directed him to, we made the guy very angry. He asked Bola to get out of the car and even though his paperwork was all there he didn't have an acutal license with him. The cop asked Derek, 'How could you let a man without a license drive you around? Are you stupid?' I really thought he might take Bola to jail but Edith reassured me they just wanted money. Luckily, with God's help, he let us go after simply giving us a hard time. What a journey! We didn't make it all the way to Benin City that day, needless to say and we stopped at a hotel along the way. It was very nice and I enjoyed seeing Edith's reaction-she had never stayed in a hotel before. That is just one of many things I have taken for granted.
The next morning we left early again to complete our journey and although it was a little less exciting, we still hit a few speedbumps. First, Bola didn't know exactly where we were going but that was alright because we found it eventually. Then we got stuck for three hours in a HUGE traffic jam. When I say huge I mean trucks literally blocking us in on every side and sitting in the road for almost two hours. We finally got off and to the University.
Our work here has been very interesting and I am learning a lot about the Nigerians perspective on HIV/AIDS. They honestly don't think it is a threat and believe that AIDS is simply an American invention to take over the world. We got some really good interviews and I enjoy listening the their dialect.
Unfortunately I don't have anymore time in this computer lab but I will post more later. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!! Please continue to pray for safety and good health. Also pray that we begin to interact on deeper levels with everyone.

Plateau State: Center of Peace and Tourism

Well we have arrived safely in Jos thanks to many prayers and God's protection. He guided us smoothly on the journey over, straight through customs and down the highway to Abuja. I have officially fallen in love with Nigeria and as they would say here, I have drank the water.

The driving is by far the most entertaining part. Everyone here honks and flashes their brights in order to go anywhere. My father's good friend and driver, Bitrus, drove us around and the best way he could describe the drivers was, "They are very rude." Once we in Jos, the motorcycles swarmed the roads and it became nearly impossible to drive around them.

We have met so many people, all of which are completely warm and welcoming. The traditional Hausa greeting is 'Sanu', which I am growing accustomed to saying. I still have not become used to people saying, 'You are welcome.' In every conversation, it is probably said in almost every sentence.

Derek, Colin, and I have had the great opportunity to travel to Benin City to work with a man named Bola at a university and gather more information for NIFES' student ministry (they are the equivalent of InterVarsity in the US). Please pray for safe travel, it is about ten hours to the south of Jos. Also pray that our communication with the students be clear and we gather all of the information needed.

I tried to post some pictures but it didn't work. I will try again the next time I am on; pictures can give a better picture than I can describe. Thank you again for your prayers and support. I am growing every day I am here and am so thankful for the opportunity.

On my way!

First of all I would like to say a huge THANK YOU for all the love and support from everyone. I truly could not have made it across the pond without your financial support and prayers.

Our plane leaves from Lexington this afternoon and we will go to Detroit, then Amsterdam, and arrive in Nigeria on Monday evening. I can hardly contain my excitement!!!

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers and feel free to message me anytime! As often as I can get online I will send updates on the work being done. I praise God everyday for my blessings and cannot wait to be His hands and feet.

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love.
Eph 6:23-24