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.