Establish the Work of Our Hands

Maps of the World

2011-12-10T07:48:00.000+01:00

The other day we had a customer who ordered a wallhanging with a map of Nigeria, and then asked if we could also make one with a map of Canada. Well, we do a lot of Africas and a lot of Nigerias, but we've never been asked to make a map of Canada before. The ladies are always up for a challenge, so they accepted the job. A few days later I heard about it, and I said, "Do you know what Canada looks like?" I sent for the world map in the school, and we had a good long look at Canada. To tell you the truth, I'd never really studied it before. The whole northern part of Canada is islands! If we had a few weeks to get it done, we could do it, but since the customer was coming in just two days, we had to act fast.
After mulling it over, I said, "Why don't you make the Canadian flag instead of the country." So, they called the customer, and the customer agreed to the change. Two days later, this is what I saw:

I was pretty impressed with their Canadian flag! We had looked at it on the internet together, but then they figured out how to enlarge it and get everything done.

The other wallhanging is a map of Nigeria. Cleverly, it also has the green/white/green of the Nigerian flag on it. The yo-yos are just for decoration.

I'm pretty impressed with how well the ladies can tackle new projects and get a beautiful result.

Graciousness

2011-12-02T06:00:00.001+01:00

When I see graciousness in action, I try to remember those experiences--in the hopes of becoming more gracious myself.

While we were selling our Women of Hope handicrafts in Abuja, a woman looked through the five aprons we had on display. After she decided on a lime green batik apron, I noticed a small hole in the fabric. I told her, "Oh, I'm sorry, this one has a small flaw. Can you choose another color?" And I took the lime green apron off the display table and packed it away.

She checked through the other aprons, but couldn't really find one that she liked as well. Then she said, "Just let me buy that one--someone's got to take it."

We thanked her and threw in an extra gift bag for the favor she did for us. She was an example of graciousness in action for me.

World AIDS Day 2011

2011-12-01T06:00:00.001+01:00

Every December 1, we commemorate World AIDS Day. We remember those who have died and we celebrate the advances that have been made in the care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Our women will be participating in a march through part of Jos today along with hundreds of others.

Yesterday, we marked the event in two special ways.

Six of our women acted out a 10-minute drama during the Hillcrest chapel service. They showed the story of a young woman who was just diagnosed with HIV and how her auntie threw her out of the house because of it. As she was walking around looking for help, she encountered someone who was willing to house her. That person also introduced her to a ministry with a sewing program where she could receive help. After the drama, all of the women introduced themselves and told a little bit of their own stories.

The drama was based on an experience that some of them have had. Thankfully, there are some families that continue to show love and support in the midst of an HIV diagnosis.

Bayo and I traveled to the US Embassy in Abuja (capital) in order to take part in their commemoration of World AIDS Day. Esther David, one of the first women in the sewing program, also went along. We were able to share briefly about our work with women and children. Esther shared boldly, as she always does, about living with HIV, and her gratefulness to Mashiah Foundation for care and support and also to PEPFAR for providing her with free drugs for the past nine years.

PEPFAR stands for President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. It is the largest humanitarian relief ever given by the United States. HIV-infected Nigerians are incredibly grateful for this gift. PEPFAR works in 15 countries around the world.

Esther testified that had it not been for PEPFAR she may not have lived to raise her four children, ranging in age from 9-19.

The day would not be complete without selling our handicrafts made by the Women of Hope. It was a really great day in Abuja.

The Orphan Boys

2011-11-30T23:30:00.000+01:00

We have continued to get to know our new family of orphan boys. They spend a lot of time at Bezer Home as their own home is just a short distance from us.

The other day I saw the 10-year-old engaged in full-face, open-mouth laughter. What an incredible sight! In the few months I have known him, he has progressed from a blank, vacant stare to flickers of smiles and now even bold laughter. It's amazing what food and love can do.

Two of the older sisters are now enrolled in our sewing program. It's great to see their determination to work hard and earn money.

In addition to what the sisters are earning, we have been giving them some food items as well as a little weekly cash to buy more food items. We have found that it's a real balancing act when helping someone and trying not to create dependency.

A Home Visit

2011-10-12T23:04:00.000+01:00

Today a friend and I visited the hungry boys in their home. From Bezer Home, we trekked along muddy paths, crossed a small stream, and then meandered on various paths as we followed the boys to their home.

They live in a decent home by local standards. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it. Their father built the home before he died, and it is now owned by the children.
But as we visited further, we realized that the boys and their two older siblings and a baby all share one room of the house while the other rooms are rented out to tenants. The problem is that the tenants are not current with paying their rent. They are blatantly taking advantage of these young orphans and their inexperience.

For the first time, I heard the whole story of the eight children left behind. The 16 -old was able to tell us the exact dates when their parents died. Almost three years ago their parents died within three weeks of each other. While on his deathbed, the father begged his children to get an education, as that was the only way they could get ahead in life.

But how do you get an education when you don’t have money to pay school fees and your main concern is how to feed yourself every day?

The boys shared that every day they look for small jobs in their community so they can earn some small change to put something in their bellies. Many times they pack sand from the stream and sell it to people who are building houses. I shared another small job opportunity with the boys and asked them to tell me by tomorrow if that is something they want to do. They are eager to work and eager to learn.

Their older sister just joined the sewing program at Bezer Home. We are hopeful that in a few months she will be earning some money to help her siblings.

I asked them, “What’s your biggest problem right now that you need help with?” Fully expecting the answer to be ‘food,’ I was quite surprised when the eldest said, “My education.”

I said, “Well, we’ve got that taken care of for now. I hope you understand why I had to put you in 3rd grade. I don’t want you to feel bad about that.”

He said, “I finished 6th grade, but I couldn’t read or write so I know you had to put me in a lower level.”

I continued, “I hope you boys won’t run away from the school.” They shook their heads and laughed quietly. I could see there was no chance of that happening.

We left some raw food ingredients with them as well as promises to see how we can help them solve some of their immediate problems. Our goal is to help this family figure out how to sustain themselves. We want to be careful that we don’t create an unhealthy dependency.

The Power of Food

2011-09-30T22:35:00.000+01:00

This week I learned that our three hungry orphan boys often quell their hunger with a local alcoholic brew made from corn. It costs just pennies for a large bowl; perhaps it's even given to them for free. It fills them, dulls their senses, and allows them to sleep without being aware of the gnawing hunger in their stomachs.
As I have reflected on their feeding situation, I have been forced to really look at my own use and mis-use of food.

How often have I discovered a container of moldy food in my fridge? Why do I allow this to happen? I could blame it on the erratic electricity, but let me look a little closer to home and ask why I didn't care enough about using that food before it spoiled.

For years I have not allowed my children to use the phrase, "I'm starving," when they really mean "I'm hungry." Should we even be allowed to use the phrase "I'm hungry"? Maybe it would be more accurate to say, "I'd like something to eat."

How many times have I said, "There's nothing to eat in this house." No longer can I say such a thing. Even when there's 'nothing' in the house, there is still something.

Today my helper made a big batch of moi-moi (pronounced moy-moy) to take to my children's school for a celebration of Nigerian Independence Day. Moi-moi is basically steamed bean cakes. She took black-eyed peas (beans), 'washed' them until the outer casings came off, added onions, hot peppers, and salt; then blended it all together. She put the liquid in clear plastic bags with a chunk of boiled egg, and then boiled it until it became firm. Moi-moi is really a delicious, filling meal.

I took a bunch of moi-moi to Bezer Home for the three orphan boys and another family that is also hungry. I discreetly gave it to them, and they sat down and ate it in a quiet corner. About ten minutes later, I was shocked when I saw the two oldest boys swinging on the swing set with great fervor. And the youngest was contentedly sitting against the water tank looking at a book from school. This behavior was such a marked contrast to their normal look that it gave me pause. For now, it's really that simple: food brings joy and contentment and strength.

We are currently working on a plan to help the older boy earn some money on a daily basis. Our goal is always to encourage self-sufficiency and not dependency. Obviously with young orphaned children, there is a place for handouts. One of their older sisters will be joining the sewing program next week. Through that program she will be able to earn money to help herself and her brothers. In the meantime though we'll be bridging the gap.

The Problem of Math

2011-09-26T23:46:00.000+01:00

I am passionate about basic math knowledge. Last week I gave math tests to all of the children at our school based on the grade they recently completed. All of them scored anywhere from 1-6 grade levels below where they should be. The problem is, they have simply been passed on to the next grade even when they cannot grasp the most basic math concepts at that level.

I have always loved math. I'm sure I had some excellent teachers over the years who cultivated that foundation. We intend to re-build that foundation for our students in our new school. Currently, each student attends two math classes every day. I even wanted it to be three math classes a day, but the teachers squelched that idea. I'm just trying to help the students catch up on math so they don't have to stay in secondary school until they're 25!

I'm grateful for people like my neighbor who volunteer their time to tutor some of our children in math. The one-on-one tutoring in invaluable. I know it has made a difference in this girl's life.

In general, our students have a fear of math. We are hoping we can help them overcome that fear. We have hired three math teachers who have a solid understanding of math concepts. Here's to a great school year of learning the basics and building from there.

Childhood?

2011-09-25T23:06:00.000+01:00

I've really missed this place! I'm sitting here in my home office at 10:30 on a Sunday night. The house is quiet, the electricity is on, and I have some time to pray, "Direct my thoughts, Lord. What should I share?" Well, it's impossible to write about all that's gone on in the past six months so I guess I'll just share a story that's been on my heart for the past week.

We started our school last week. For the first time we invited children from the community to enroll. Prior to this, we have only worked with the orphans and vulnerable children we know through the ministry. Last Monday I took a few minutes to interview each new child to get some basic information.

As I was asking one young boy some questions, I realized that he couldn't really pay attention to me. Perhaps some of it was a language barrier, but I instinctively knew that he was hungry.

I asked his older brother if they had eaten that morning. No.

"When did you last eat?"

"The day before yesterday."

"I'm sure you had pap* for breakfast yesterday." Nope.

"I'm sure you had tea yesterday." Yes.

"I'm sure you had bread with your tea." Nope.

I take a closer look at the boy sitting before me. His brother says he's 9, but he looks 5.

They tell me more of their story:
Dad is dead.
Mom is dead.
Step-mom is dead. (Dad had two wives.)
Their older siblings try to feed them when they can, but food is not steady.

What kind of childhood is this?

The three youngest children have come to our school. They haven't been to school for a number of years. They are 16, 13, and 9, and none of them can read. That will be the first item on our agenda--after we fill their bellies.

*corn is soaked for 3 days, using fresh water every day, then ground, and then cooked into a porridge.

Fatima: Then and Now

2011-03-27T21:37:00.000+01:00

It's March, and I recently remembered that Fatima came to us in March 2009. I can't remember if I've shown her before/after photos here.

Here is Fatima during those first days of complete incapacitation. She didn't have much hope for herself, but we did. By December of 2009, I was giving her 'orders' to make herself walk from her bedroom downstairs to the sewing room upstairs. That would take her nearly an hour. Eventually the tough love really paid off.

Here she is sometime in the first part of 2010, attending an individual literacy class--upstairs.

Here she is in February 2011, enjoying an orange.

And this photo was taken just last week. She has more than doubled her weight since we first met her. She used to walk with her body bent at a nearly 90 degree angle. Now she has just a very slight limp. I love the transformation we have seen in her.

Fatima no longer lives at Bezer Home; she has moved closer to her family. She still attends Monday fellowship and a sewing class during the week at Bezer Home.

When Bezer Home first started, we thought we were going to be doing hospice care. We are delighted that that has rarely been the case; rather our residents usually rise up and walk!

Our Daughter

2011-02-23T22:34:00.000+01:00

Just before Lily started Kindergarten, Bayo and I sat down with her to chat about some things she might face because she is adopted. I was concerned that she might get some uncomfortable questions about skin color in our family, especially because she is a different color than her brothers.

I said, "Lily, if your classmates ask you why your mom is white and your dad is black, what will you tell them?"

She responded, "Because they were born that way!"

How refreshing. We brought it up because we thought her classmates might wonder why she's black like her dad and not brown like her brothers. But it looks like she'll be able to hold her own with any questions people throw her way.

Or maybe most people just won't notice the color variation of our children. Case in point:

Recently I was chatting with a friend who moved to Jos about a year ago. I mentioned that we would appreciate her prayers for Lily to get a visa. She looked confused as she said, "But she's your daughter so of course she should be able to travel with you."

I said, "Yes, she's our daughter, but she's adopted and we still need to complete her U.S. adoption."

My friend had no idea. I was quite tickled that she hadn't noticed the color variation of our children.

Lily is aware that she is adopted. We've been very open about it. But now we've come to a point where we're intentionally not going to talk about it--unless she brings it up. She is simply our daughter, no labels attached.

Towards Sustainability

2011-02-18T23:45:00.001+01:00

In early December the Self-Sustainability Dept. of Mashiah Foundation gave out brand new treadle sewing machines to five of the women in our program. Over the years we have given out more than 100 sewing machines. This is an incredible gift to the women as it allows them to do much of their work at home without always having to pay transport to come to our sewing center. The machine is a big step on their road to being able to take care of their families.

These are always times of great joy--and always kept a secret until the staff come dancing out with machines. The recipients are often overcome with emotions. I haven't seen Nigerian women cry very often in public, but many times this gift is so overwhelming that their tears just pour out.

The women's immediate response is to praise God for their new machines. It's a time of pure jubilation.

I love how friends rejoice with those who receive.

I don't have any pictures here of the complete machine with the stand, but the women received both parts of

the machine that day.

We have one woman who does not have the use of her legs due to having polio as a child. Consequently, she can't use a treadle sewing machine. She comes to our program from time to time. I'm always reminded of the Bible story of the persistent widow whenever I see her. She kept telling us that she wanted us to help her buy firewood so she could be selling it at her house. In January, we paid for a load of firewood which she is selling from her compound. Ideally, by the time she finishes selling the wood, she will have capital to invest in another load of wood as well as some income to feed herself and her child.

She was so happy that day when some of our staff members visited her in her home and took the money to her. We will be following up with her to see how her business venture is going.

Open to Suggestions

2011-02-16T16:36:00.000+01:00

We have been designing a new receipt for the Women of Hope shop. We just made some formatting changes so it will be easier to work with.

The other day, while proofing it once again, I realized that I would like to put a Bible verse on the receipt. So Sarah and I started looking for verses that would be appropriate. We checked out Proverbs 31, Isaiah 61, references to women, widows, orphans, the fatherless, etc, but we still didn't come up with just the right verse for our receipts.

This morning as I was heading out the door, I asked Bayo if he had a suggestion. He said, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph 2:10).

Later at our staff meeting I asked the staff if they had any suggestions. Esther said, "There's a verse in Romans that I really like. I think it's Romans 13, about verse 8 or so."

So I opened up the Bible and read, "Let no debt remain outstanding..." and we all burst into laughter! How very appropriate. Now that would be a good verse for our invoice which is what we use while we're waiting for the customer to pay!

We later found the verse Esther had been thinking of: Romans 13:11-12. "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

We still have a day or two until we send it to the printer. Any suggestions from out there?

Glimpses of Love

2011-02-15T23:33:00.001+01:00

Valentine's Day is celebrated here in Nigeria, but it's probably pretty low-key compared to the U.S. Personally, we didn't have any plans beyond sending heart-shaped cookies to school with the kids.

The day unfolded in a pleasant way, so I'll share some glimpses here.

In the morning, a man dropped off a Valentine's Day present for Mashiah Foundation: 48 rolls of toilet paper and 12 bars of soap. Angela accepted the gift from the anonymous man. We gave a roll of toilet paper to each woman who came for Bible study that day. The remaining rolls went downstairs to Bezer Home for their use. I shared the bars of soap with the students in the school. There weren't enough for everyone so I asked siblings to share with each other. This might seem like an unusual gift, but it's really very practical and very much appreciated.

When I stopped by the Kindergarten, I saw a picture that their teacher had drawn on the new whiteboard. The children are all standing in the same order as the picture.

I told all the children in the school (about 20 right now) that I had a love letter for them. Their eyes lit up. I pulled my little red Bible out of my purse and read some passages from I John. I think they really got it. Then I gave them the heart-shaped cookies that my kids had made and the bars of soap.

When I saw Linda, one of the Bezer Home residents in the morning, she was wearing nicer clothes than she usually does--but she still had on her usual flip-flops. So I said, "Linda, I know you have some nice shoes. Will you go and put them on?" She went downstairs. Later when I saw her, she had completely changed her outfit. Some of the ladies helped her put on a bit of make-up. I just had to 'snap' her photo. I also promised to print some of the photos for her. We're trying to help Linda grow in her self-confidence.

Esther, a Women of Hope staff member, with Linda.

And Julie, another Women of Hope staff member with Linda.

And we always have a great time of worship on Mondays...

Then when I picked up my kids from school, a friend said, "I have a little token for the ministry in my car." Well, that wasn't quite true--unless you call lots of yams and a 50 kilo bag of rice 'little'!

We all got a kick out of this brand. I just had to take a picture of Lucky with the Lucky Thai rice!

It was just a good day with lots of love shown in personal, practical ways.

In the Kitchen

2011-01-23T08:01:00.000+01:00

Last week I invited the older boys at Bezer Home to come over to our house to learn how to make donuts. They were so pleased at the invitation, as it's usually the girls who get to do these special things. They caught on extremely quickly and had a great time in the process.

As well as learning how to make donuts, they also learned how to calculate the cost of ingredients so they could figure a price per donut. They made 75 donuts and shared them all.

I love those tight-lipped smiles--they're trying so hard not to break into an all-out grin!

Keziah Sunday, 2001-2011

2011-01-22T23:40:00.002+01:00

We recently lost one of our little girls who has been part of the ministry for about 6 years.

When her mother Larai was brought to Mashiah Foundation, she was terribly sick with kaposi sarcoma. With proper treatment and care, Larai fully recovered. One by one, she began to bring her four children to Bezer Home. The first one she brought was her last-born, Keziah, fondly known as Mama. Larai resided in Bezer Home for three and a half years before she was able to rent her own place near Bezer Home. Larai is currently working as a staff member with the Women of Hope.

Keziah has had some kidney or liver issues ever since she was treated for TB a number of years ago. But basically she has been a healthy, vibrant girl. When the family returned from visiting the village at Christmastime, Keziah was sick. She was receiving treatment at the Mashiah clinic.

Then yet another Jos crisis erupted, forcing residents to remain home-bound for basically a week. Larai had been afraid to even go out to seek help for Keziah--and we didn't know that Keziah was still sick. On the morning of Friday, Jan 14, they arrived at our home. We touched Keziah and prayed for her, and sent her on her way to one of the major hospitals in town. Death never even crossed my mind. But that afternoon we got the call that she didn't make it. I believe Keziah was a secondary casualty of the recent crisis. No, she wasn't caught up in a riot, but because of the tenuous nature of the town, her mother felt she could not seek help.

Everyone was devastated. The mother especially. This little girl has been her reason for living.

Starting on Saturday morning, visitor after visitor came to console Larai. In Nigeria, this basically means sitting with the bereaved for hours and hours, many times saying nothing, simply being there. Larai's female relations stayed with her continually from Saturday morning until Tuesday, the day after the burial. I learned a lot about how the grieving process is played out since we were basically serving as her family.

Generally, when children die in Nigeria, they are buried very quickly. It's a painful affair, and the male relatives generally take care of the burial the next day. No service is usually held.

But we had a service for Keziah on Monday, Jan 17, at Bezer Home. It looked like there were about 150 people in attendance.After the service, we all trekked out to a community burial ground just behind the Mashiah Foundation land.

I was observing the committal service from a distance while standing on a four-foot stone fence. As the coffin was lowered into the ground, Larai started to wail and cry out for her daughter: "Mama, have you gone? Is it true?" Then she cried, "Mommy!" For a second I thought she might be calling me because that is what the women call me, but I also thought she might be calling one of her relatives. She called again and I didn't move. Then she called, "Mary Bet!" Bayo found me and helped me jump down from the wall so I could console her along with her female relatives. She kept glancing toward the grave with a crazed look on her face. The wailing continued until she was exhausted. By then, most of the people had started to trek back to Bezer Home. The men filled in the grave and then searched for big stones to put on top of the fresh grave.

The 20 minute trek back to Bezer Home was a welcome time of diversion and thought. Once we were back, I simply sat with Larai as did many others. That was the thing to do. You don't just jump up and start doing something. As we were sitting together, Larai scanned the crowd, and whispered to me, "Mama has people." I know the incredible support gave her strength.

After the initial outpouring of grief, most people become quite stoic in the days that follow. We are currently working with Larai's remaining three children as well as the Bezer Home children, and especially Larai, to help them work through their grief. And of course, we are grieving too.

Boxing Day

2010-12-26T23:52:00.000+01:00

Growing up, I always saw Boxing Day printed on the calendar on Dec. 26, but I had no idea what it was. (My knowledge of history is so weak I probably thought it had something to do with the Boxer Rebellion.) Since I have lived in a former British colony for many years now, I have come to understand that Boxing Day originated as a British holiday, a day when people gave boxes or gifts to one another.

In Nigeria, Boxing Day is a public holiday and has come to be known as one of the biggest visiting days of the year. Typically we don't exchange gifts on Boxing Day, but we do go out visiting one another.

My mom, being so logical, once asked me, "How do you know if you should go out to visit others or if you should stay at home and wait for visitors?" Hmmm. Good question.

After the Christmas Eve bombings in our city which claimed more than 30 lives, we stayed home all of Christmas Day. However, we did venture out to church today on Boxing Day. The day seemed almost normal except that traffic was a little less than usual, but church was full. So, on arriving home, I got out the frozen samosas and spring rolls to thaw. I figured I would just fry them up when visitors arrived. I planned this menu about three weeks ago because I knew we would definitely have visitors--and something must be served. Most people I know would serve rice, but I wanted to be a little different this year. Besides, many times when people have already visited other homes before coming, the last thing they want to see is another plate of rice!

Today was a quiet day at home, the day after Christmas. We read; we watched movies; we napped. But something wasn't right: no visitors arrived for Boxing Day.

Clinic Progress

2010-12-25T02:11:00.000+01:00

We have been building a medical clinic for a number of years now. Recently we were able to begin work once again. Here's a look at some of the current progress:

This is one of the electricians. First he has to chisel the cement wall where the wires will come down into every room.

The masons are doing a lot of different jobs throughout the clinic. They just put in this internal door which will section off one wing.

Here the masons are plastering the outside of the building. They are also doing plastering in the inside.

This lorry brought a load of ceiling panels. (That's Bezer Home in the distance.)

Here the ceiling panels are being installed.

More to come later!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T01:21:00.002+01:00

I have missed this blog! I love writing and reflecting and sharing. Unfortunately our internet goes off when the power goes off, which is the norm around here. So I'll write while I have power to do so. We happen to be having our "Christmas Electricity" right now so I'm taking advantage of it.

Last week I realized that we have made it through the last few months of the 2010 without an incident in our city. Well, tonight, immediately following the Christmas Eve service, we heard that a few bombs had gone off in various locations around the city. We have not had bomb incidents before. Generally we just have rioting. We really don't have details yet, but a number of people were killed in the explosions.

It was disappointing to cancel our Christmas Eve dinner plans, but we needed to be home. I was able to whip up a decent Christmas Eve dinner for our family and our two guests. I won't mention what the kitchen looks like at this point.

I'm anticipating that we will be homebound for a few days at least. Christmas in Nigeria is associated with lots of visiting, but that may go by the wayside this year.

Orphan Sunday

2010-11-07T20:29:00.003+01:00

A father to the fatherless

a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families.

Psalm 68:5-6a

In honor of today being Orphan Sunday and November being National Adoption month, I want to dedicate this post to the orphans around us. In Mashiah Foundation we work with orphans and partial orphans 365 days a year.

Pictured are five precious girls, each with her own unique story.

One comes from an intact family.

Another received an intact family through adoption.

Two have mothers but no fathers.

And one lost mother, father and twin sister to AIDS.

Here are some books on my shelf that I am currently being challenged by:

Adopted for Life~Russell D. Moore

Castaway Kid~RB Mitchell

Fields of the Fatherless~Tom Davis

Reckless Faith~Beth Guckenberger

Small Town, Big Miracle~Bishop W.C. Martin

Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew~Sherrie Eldridge

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...James 1:27a.

Dear Lord, Help us to take your Word seriously as we see the needs of orphans around us. Amen.

I'm Still Here

2010-10-04T22:28:00.000+01:00

Life is just very full right now.

Every day I'm involved in the nitty-gritty work of coming alongside others. Surely there is a need to pull away at times and reflect and evaluate and get some computer work done, but the more I get involved, the harder it is to pull away. I'm sorry for my absence here and will try to improve.

Here's something I've been mulling over in recent weeks:

In the last few weeks I have come across students who have finished 6th grade, 9th grade and 12th grade, and they all have two things in common: they cannot read and they cannot do the most basic math. Mind you, I did not say they were 12, 15 and 18 and had never been to school; rather, they have been going to school ever since they were 5 or 6 years old. Their parents have sacrificed to scrape together their school fees. They probably have average IQs, but they have simply fallen through the cracks when it comes to their education. In fact, I don't think 'cracks' is the right word, I think it's more like 'gorge' or 'Grand Canyon' simply because there are so many of them. I have not even gone searching for the lowest of the low; these are simply children who have crossed my path. How many more, like them, are out there?

When I heard the 18-year-old try to read to me, I felt like sobbing. What subject can you do without knowing how to read? What kind of survival skills has she learned in order to somehow pass to the next level year after year? Is her whole life made up of dodging and copying and cheating, and who knows what else? That's her own normal. But now that we have identified the problem, we are going back and teaching her how to read just like a 1st grader. I weep for the wasted years.

If I look at the number of children in a similar situation, I won't be able to cope. For now we will have to be satisfied with reaching the children within our grasp.

The children I have mentioned here are in our Orphans and Vulnerable Children program. Their parents either have HIV or have died of HIV/AIDS complications.

A Clumsy Day

2010-08-21T23:38:00.019+01:00

Today was a very clumsy day.

I can't say that's a Nigerian expression because I've only heard it once, but it certainly fits the bill for today. As I kept penciling in events for Aug. 21, I could see that it just wasn't going to fit together very well. But that's not really something to stress about here. I just decided to take it however it happened to come together--or fall apart.

By 9 a.m. I was ready to take David and Lily out to buy eggs and meat, but then a visitor showed up at our door. I prepared tea and visited for a bit and then left the visitor with Bayo.

By the time we came home at 10:30, that visitor had gone and a new visitor was in our home to spend the weekend. But he's been here before, and he's more of family than a visitor.

I took Tobi to a birthday party at 11. I still had a few minutes to spare before attending a going-away party at 12, so I went to a missionary garage sale. Even though I was quite late to the sale, I still found some delightful bargains. As I examined the dresses on the rack, I saw a really cute one that I just knew I had to buy. It was a size 6 so it was obviously not for me! I thought I might re-size it for Lily, but then it struck me: a perfect gift for petite Esther who turned 40 today!

I got home about 12, threw the dress into a cloth gift bag, figuring I'd see Esther later in the day. Turned the key in the ignition and Bayo called: "Can you come to Bezer Home right now? The children have thrown a surprise party for Esther, and we need you to come and take a few pictures." Not in the plan, but important. Have to swallow my pride because I had specifically instructed the five other people attending the going away party that they should not be late!

Zipped over to Bezer Home in 7 minutes. Had a fun 5 minute celebration. Zipped over to the going away party. Had to apologize as I walked in the door--everyone had a good laugh at my expense! Had a delightful time of conversation and fellowship with the other women. Left at 2 p.m--right when my next event was supposed to start. Told my passengers that I couldn't drop them at home because I was already late to my next meeting...but the sky was threatening to open up at any moment so I zipped them all back over to Bezer Home.

Came home, found people in my house, got out the icing sugar and glazed the donuts that were made in my absence. Got to the meeting about 2:35. About half of the people came after me so I didn't have to apologize this time! Had a delightful two hours of reading and discussing and sharing with other Nigerwives (foreign women married to Nigerians).

Got home at 5. Determined to do one more thing today. The daughter of Tobi's Tae Kwon Do coach turned 2 today. She's been sick and the parents have been so concerned. Glazed some more donuts. Gathered some little birthday gifts together with Tobi. The rain was pouring, but we went anyway. Discovered that Tobi really has a heart for encouraging others through gifts. Determine to find a way to foster this characteristic. The family was very happy that we had come. In fact, our 15 minute visit was the entire birthday celebration for the day.

Home again. Time to figure out supper. We have a visitor so I cook spaghetti. If not for him, it would have been a smorgasbord from the fridge!

Crash on the couch for awhile. Read to the kids. Call Grandpa and wish him a happy birthday. Have devotions. Pray.

Yes, it was a clumsy day indeed, but a very good day.

Fresh Food

2010-08-21T22:59:00.000+01:00

For about a year, David and Lily have been selling eggs to our compound neighbors. Today I took them to buy eggs from a place that has about 500 chickens. We asked for 7 crates (30 eggs in a crate). The young man wasn't sure if he could fill our order because a buyer had come from Abuja the day before and taken nearly everything they had on hand. In the end, he did manage to get 210 eggs for us. He commented that the eggs were still warm because they had just been laid.

After we went to the chicken place, we headed to the meat market. Since this was my first time in the meat market this year, I greeted my usual seller with "Happy New Year!" That brought a laugh. I complimented him on his re-furbished stall. He shared that the whole place had been burned during the January crisis. Oh yeah, that's why I don't come to this market anymore. Strange that I had forgotten about that when I made my plans this morning.

I often send someone to buy my meat or I contact a man who will deliver it to my door, but today I just felt like buying it myself. I'm trying to buy the meat that I think we'll need for a month. I'm hoping this will help with menu planning and budgeting.

The seller asked which piece of meat I wanted. I said, "Show me the one that was slaughtered today." He pointed to one large piece, and said, "Can't you see it's still quivering?"

While we waited for him to cut the meat into pieces, David and Lily got a biology lesson from studying the dead goat on the next table. I was pleased that they could both look at it objectively without thinking it was gross. They saw a kidney, liver, lungs and stomach. I think the stomach is the most amazing organ with its thousands of surfaces for absorption.

Later in the car David commented, "That table was SO dirty." All of the meat is displayed and cut on wooden tables.

I responded, "Yes, David. That's why we wash it and cook it really well."

Then we went in search of the pork. I kept stopping, searching, and asking. One woman sent me back the direction I had come. After a few minutes I knew that wasn't right. She saw me coming back and asked if I found it and I said, "No, I'm still looking for the pork."

"Oh! I thought you said you wanted a pot!" Then she sent me off in another direction.

We saw some live pigs, but we never did find the fresh pork meat. Now I've decided just to ask someone to go and buy it for me on Monday.

Next week my helpers will mince, slice and chunk the meat the way we like it.

I really enjoyed my outing with the kids this morning. I wouldn't want to do it every Saturday morning, but once in awhile it's nice--and it's nice to find food that's really fresh!

Mango Worms

2010-07-31T23:58:00.000+01:00

*Warning* This post may be considered gross by those who have queasy stomachs.

'Tis the season for...mango worms. Ugh.

During the rainy season flies lay their eggs in damp, moist places. The eggs/worms burrow into skin and begin living off of the host's body.

Our three little kittens had a rough bout with these invasive creatures when they were just a couple weeks old. This little guy had it the worst. We thought he had a bad eye infection because of this huge pustule-like thing crowding his eyeball. Turns out a mango worm was sharing the eye socket with the eye. This photo was taken one day after we squeezed and tweezed that nasty parasite out.

Perspective: here's a squeezed out mango worm next to Tobi's index finger.

This same little guy had two mango worms in his jaw as well. I popped one out--see the hole, but I couldn't get the other one out at that time.

Small animals can die if they are infested with mango worms. The worms simply consume everything that the animal needs for life. Our kittens were already in a weakened state with their 4 to 5 mango worms a piece.

Of course, humans are not immune to mango worms. I've only had one, and I got it out while it was still quite small. The worst story I ever heard was of a foreigner who was a runner. Every day he would take off his sweaty shirt, put it on the clothesline, then throw it on again the next day. His back was completely infested with mango worms.

We take extra precautions with laundry during the rainy season: all of it is either ironed or run through the dryer in order to kill any of the worms that have been laid in the seams.

Why are they called mango worms? I don't know. Maybe because they come out during mango season which is also the rainy season.

By the way, our little kitten appears to have completely recovered his eyesight.

The Local Oven

2010-07-31T23:43:00.000+01:00

The other day I saw Esther, the matron of Bezer Home, outside picking up sand. I thought she was getting cat litter, but she said she was baking a cake. Would you like to hear the story?

Esther collected sand in order to bake with what is called a "local oven." The large pot is partially filled with sand.

Then the pot or pan that holds the cake batter goes inside the larger pot.

Here's the cake after she had trimmed it a bit to make a uniform shape. I never got to see the finished version with the icing. Esther took it to a graduation party at one of the area schools. Everyone was so happy with the cake from Mashiah Foundation.

Accident

2010-07-31T23:21:00.001+01:00

During the last week of July, we opened our new Women of Hope shop on a major thoroughfare in Jos. About 5 minutes after I got to the shop on Friday, we heard a loud crash and looked upon this scene. The Mercedes station wagon was trying to turn and head the opposite direction when this over-loaded lorry full of mattresses slammed into the side of the car. Thankfully no one was injured. Even though the car was making an awkward turn, I'm sure the lorry will be at fault since he was coming from behind.

After it was obvious that no one was injured, the immediate concern was the downed power lines. I heard questions of "Akwai wuta?" meaning "Is there light (electricity)? After the first few people passed through without being electrocuted, then all the traffic started to move again.

These photos were taken from the balcony of our second floor shop. Pictures coming soon!

July?

2010-07-31T22:28:00.000+01:00

Wow. Where did July go? I had a goal of blogging 20 times this month...the days were just incredibly jam-packed. I'm trying to be intentional about not being on the computer in the evening hours when the kids are still awake. I don't like it when they always see my back hunched over the computer.

Well, let me at least write one thing about today. When Lily reached about 3 1/2 years, I felt I didn't need to be so hyper-vigilant about where she was every time she went outside. We live in a walled, secure compound. It was a relief that I could finally do something inside the house without having to go check on her every five minutes.

We have tried to make sure our compound is a safe place for young children. Sometimes this means just walking throughout the entire compound and trying to have the eyes and thoughts of a child in order to ascertain what may constitute danger.

Today something very unexpected happened. Lily had a friend over and they were playing under some bushes, perhaps jumping or dancing or stamping--and the ground collapsed below Lily. She nearly fell into an old septic tank. Thankfully some strong roots kept her from going down. This septic tank was completely off our radar screen. It never would have crossed our minds to look for potential danger here. I suppose with all the heavy rains we've been having, the ground above became very spongy.

A few years ago, a 4-year-old child of missionaries drown in his backyard while his parents and siblings were home. There was an old pit that had somehow filled with water. This was a tragic wake-up call for all of us. We checked our compound then--and now we've been reminded to do it again.

The Way to a Man's Heart--Guacamole!

2010-07-10T09:09:00.001+01:00

Well, at least to my African man's heart. Bayo loves to come home from work to find fresh guacamole in the fridge. He eats it with cheese crackers, wheat crackers or pita bread.

I've never been a fan of avocados, but I've learned to buy them because Bayo and Lily enjoy them so much. I think the season will end pretty soon so I'm trying to buy them often. I don't know of any way to preserve them. They are quite cheap right now. I paid 50 naira for each of these--about $0.35. Avocados are called pears here.

My mom was amazed at how large the seed was in this variety. I've never bought avocados in the U.S. so I wouldn't really know.

Lily loves to help me make guacamole. The pastry blender works well for mashing up the avocados.

We added some chopped up onions.

We added just half of this jalepeno, along with some salt and coriander. I couldn't find any cilantro in the market at this time of year.

Voila! The nutritious snack is ready.

I'll be making a big batch of guacamole for our staff meeting on Monday. In general, most Nigerians love avocados. I have shared guacamole with a few of my friends, and they are just crazy about it! They ate it with bread and thoroughly enjoyed a new-found snack from local ingredients.

Random Pics

2010-07-08T12:47:00.000+01:00

Hey! I just figured out how to import pictures without all the distortion I've been having. Great!

Here are a few random pictures from life here in Nigeria:

The women are putting cord through eyeglasses cases. A missionary ordered 250 cases so they can give them out with the reading glasses they are distributing in some rural areas. The women are laughing, joking and telling stories as they work.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this little guy at Bezer Home. His mother bundled him up because it was such a cold morning in Jos--about 65 degrees F! I was wearing a sleeveless blouse as usual, but then I have Minnesota blood in me.

Have you ever said, "It's easier if I just do it myself"? Well, yes, that's often true, but then how will other people learn? Lily really wanted to help with transferring the flour from the 50 kg bag to smaller containers, so I let her. She took great delight in her work. (When she woke up this morning, she had this "statue of liberty" hairstyle because of how she slept.)

Oh, Happy Day!

2010-07-06T23:15:00.005+01:00

We are invited to many, many weddings, but I only go to a handful. If I weren't selective, I would be spending nearly every Saturday at a wedding/reception from about 11 a.m. til 4 p.m.

Last weekend, there was a wedding that we simply could not miss.

About ten years ago, seven children, ranging in age from 17 to 2 years, trooped into Bayo's office, and the eldest announced, "Our father told us that when he died, we should meet you, and you would tell us what to do." Dumbfounded, Bayo's jaw dropped in amazement. The ministry immediately started taking care of their feeding, school fees, and basic living expenses.

The children live in a town about an hour and a half outside of Jos. They continued living there with the ministry providing for their needs. One church in particular has been supporting many of this family's needs through the ministry for the past five years or so. When the children are on their school holidays, they often come to Jos and stay in Bezer Home.

Well, on Saturday, July 3, the eldest child got married. This was such a happy day for us, as we have seen how the Lord has truly been "the Father of the fatherless."

The wedding was slated to begin at 10 a.m. The first car from Mashiah Foundation arrived about 9:30 a.m. bearing the wedding gown. Amazingly, brides here don't really stress about things like that. We came in the second car and arrived about 10:30 a.m.

We had time to chat with both the bride and the groom. The bride was all dressed and ready, sitting in the back of a car, waiting for the service to start. The groom was ambling around nervously, just waiting.

After 11 a.m., I went into the church with the kids. It was pretty empty except for the band which had been playing ever since we arrived. I loved the toilet tissue streamers that were dotted with markers and strung throughout the church.

And then the different groups of girls/women started dancing into the church. This is always my favorite part of any wedding so I really try to get there "on time." Here, Sister #6 leads the way with her friends, all dressed in their uniform of choice.

Sister #3's group is close behind with their own uniform. Two more sisters with their groups of friends followed.

And finally, the bride danced her way down the aisle.

That's Sister #3 looking on. Bayo actually stood in as the bride's father and gave her away.

The newest couple in town.

Sister #5 dancing away. Notice all the money on the floor. This is a Nigerian custom called 'spraying.' People come and place bills on the bride's face and groom's face as they are dancing. The money falls to the ground and designated 'secretaries' pick it up and give it to the couple later. Generally, small denominations are used. Most of these bills are ten naira notes which are worth about seven U.S. cents.

People coming out of the church after the wedding. Notice the planted field which is probably for the pastor or the congregation.

Lots and lots of dancing at the reception.

Sister #2 looking on.

Sister #4

Sister #5 posing for the camera.

Sister #6

And the only brother, following 6 sisters.

It was such a joyous, wonderful day. We were pleased to participate in all the festivities.

In Nigeria the honeymoon doesn't always start immediately. The newest couple in town went to church on Sunday morning at the same church where they were married. Then on Monday, they came to Jos to greet their Mashiah Foundation family. (When a couple wears matching clothes, it is symbolic of their oneness in marriage.) Now I think they have finally gone for their honeymoon!

Nigeria ~ A Simply Amazing Place!

2010-07-01T07:41:00.001+01:00

Recently while chatting with some Bible translators, I heard these interesting facts about Nigeria:

One in every five Africans (20%) is a Nigerian. I've heard this one for years and have often used it when trying to explain how densely populated Nigeria is. Keep in mind that Nigeria only occupies 3% of the land space in Africa. By the way, Nigeria has a population of approximately 140 million, which is about half of the U.S. population.

One-quarter (25%) of the African languages are found in Nigeria. There are 58 countries within Africa. Isn't it amazing that one-quarter of the African languages are found here?! Not only are we densely populated, but we also have very diverse languages and people groups. By the way, these are unique languages, not simply dialects of one language.

Nigeria has at least 500 known languages! Let's put this in perspective: Nigeria is one-tenth the size of the USA. If the United States were comparable to Nigeria in terms of language density, the U.S. could boast of 5000 different languages.
Plateau State, Nigeria has more languages per square mile than anywhere else in the world. This is the state we live in!

You may be wondering, "How on earth do they communicate?!" Quite well actually. Almost all of my experience has been in the city, and many of the people I work with easily speak 3-4 languages--and think nothing of it!!

They speak their tribal/village language.
They speak the trade language which is Hausa in this region.
They speak Pigeon English or Broken English if they have not gone beyond a primary school education.
They speak English if they have had a decent amount of schooling.

I have seen illiterate women switch their tongue from a tribal language, to Hausa, and then to English in a period of one-minute--depending on whom they are speaking to--and they don't even realize this is amazing.

Just as I am amazed by them, they are also amazed that I only speak one language--and I'm educated!

There are three major trade languages in Nigeria: Hausa in the North; Yoruba in the Southwest; and Igbo in the Southeast.

With different languages come different cultures, foods, and traditions. Obviously, conflict can and does occur. However, now that I think of it, I guess it's actually pretty amazing that we don't have more conflict than we do. Overall, I think the cultures interact and get along amazingly well most of the time.

I really wanted to post some maps with this blog, but had a hard time getting some decent ones off the 'net so we'll just have to make do with photos of the maps on my kitchen walls. Here is Nigeria with its 36 states. Plateau State is the green one close to the middle, and yes, part of it is on a plateau.

And here's the map of Africa. Sorry, it looks a bit squished.

Nigeria is the orange country right in the bend of the continent.

I Remember

2010-06-13T00:03:00.002+01:00

I remember where I was around the time Mt. St. Helens erupted: I was a 5th grader in Sidney, Montana. I could see the volcanic ash as I walked home from school: 1980.

I remember where I was when President Reagan was shot: I was in 6th grade band: 1981.

I remember where I was when I heard that Rock Hudson had died of a new-found disease called AIDS: walking down the high school hallway with my classmates who all knew more than I did about Rock Hudson, but I was able to grasp that this AIDS was a new and terrible disease: 1985.

I remember where I was when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded into bits one minute after take-off: Home, sick on the couch during my junior year of high school: 1986.

I remember where I was when the Berlin Wall came down: Victorian Lit. class at Luther. A German student kept exclaiming: "I can't believe I'm in America while this is happening in my country!" 1989.

Why this walk down memory lane? This week we had some visitors who came to Bezer Home, and I asked a few of our women to share a story from their life of living with HIV. Three of them shared from the heart about what it has meant to live with HIV. Then one of our visitors from California stood up and shared her own story with us: "My daughter has been living with HIV since 1988 when she was 17, and she's still alive today." She proceeded to give us a brief sketch of her daughter's life and to report to us that she's quite healthy today because of the ARV drugs she is taking. Her daughter openly tells her story to the people around her, and she also speaks to large gatherings.

I had to take a walk down memory lane because her daughter and I were in high school at the same time. Her daughter contracted this disease near the beginning of its known existence. I find it interesting that I have such a clear picture in my mind of where I was when I learned about this disease. I have it catalogued inside my brain alongside major national and international events. Of course, back in those days, I never knew that I would one day work alongside people living with HIV/AIDS.

Our women are used to being open with our visitors; we have learned that there is freedom in sharing. When visitors are open with us, something clicks between us and instant friendship is forged as stories of intense pain are shared mutually. That day our women sang and danced with great joy, knowing they are not alone in their struggles.

Lunchtime

2010-06-10T21:10:00.001+01:00

Yes, cats in Nigeria catch mice and rats, but occasionally they're even quick enough to catch a lizard. This mama cat is enjoying playing with her food before she eats it.

We started having cats a few years ago because I was tired of always seeing mouse droppings in kitchen drawers and cupboards. I haven't seen signs of a mouse now for years--and I don't hear them above the ceiling anymore either.

I no longer have the cats in the house because one of them had an affinity for urinating on the cloth bean bag chair. But just having them in the garage and the outdoors has still prevented the mice from coming back to my kitchen.

Tying a Quilt

2010-06-10T07:30:00.001+01:00

I had the opportunity to give the sewing ladies a little history lesson on quilting the other day. We were repairing an old quilt for one of our customers. I asked them to guess how old this quilt is. They guessed between 10-18 years. It's actually about 35 years old. They were amazed.

This quilt was originally tied in order to keep the top, batting, and back together. We untied it and replaced the batting as well as fixed a number of threadbare seams. The women had never seen a tied quilt before. We either do top-stitching with a sewing machine or machine quilting.

I also talked to them about how quilts were made from scraps of fabrics. People didn't just go out and buy yards and yards of cloth in order to cut it all up into a quilt.

We put a new binding on the quilt because the previous one had disintegrated. A lot of quilts can be preserved by simply putting a new binding on. I've started to do that with quilts around our house. We can get a lot more wear out of them in the years to come just by replacing the binding.

It was a privilege to work on this old quilt and to learn something about quilts of the past. It also feels really good to repair something instead of tossing it out.

Hope

2010-06-09T00:44:00.001+01:00

About two months ago 11-year-old Hope* came to live at Bezer Home. Her parents had both died of AIDS as well as her twin sister. She had been living in the village with a woman who was taking care of many children. Some youth corpers took it upon themselves to take care of her feeding. When one set of corpers would finish their term in the village, they would ask the next batch of corpers to help feed the little girl. Eventually they got to know about Mashiah Foundation and brought Hope to Bezer Home.

Hope appeared to be a very withdrawn child when she first arrived, but now she has begun to smile more freely and to move closer to people. She's quite small; heightwise she is between my 4 & 6 year-olds. Her stomach is a bit distended, probably from malnutrition.

Today we finally had success in getting Hope enrolled for anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). These are the drugs that will supress the HIV virus and help to prolong her life. One of our staff members had to attend four sessions on drug adherence at the hospital before they would release the drugs. The drugs on the picnic table in the photo must be taken faithfully, every day at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Hope will finish these drugs in one month and then we will take her back to collect another month's worth.

* Name has been changed.

Changing Seasons

2010-06-08T06:06:00.000+01:00

The other day I tore the Christmas wrapping paper and big bow off my home office door. My son David was indignant: "Mom, why did you do that?!" I left it there when we moved into the new year because I thought I would find time to do some of those fun Christmas activities that December was just too busy for. Then we had 'rioting activities' in January and lots of plans were tossed to the wayside.

Over the weekend I decided that it would be nice to have a change of dishes for awhile. I put away the white-with-blue-trim stoneware and got out a set of deep purple plates. David, my aesthetic child, said, "Mom, these plates are really nice."

"Yes, let's call them our summer plates." Even when I said that it didn't quite sound right because I think of summer colors as bright and perky.

David had a better idea: "Actually, I think we should call them Rainy Season plates." Ahh...he got it exactly. That's a much better term for the deep purple.

Although it's summertime, it's actually quite a bit cooler now than it was in February and March. We went swimming over the weekend, but that was the first time in about two months. We just have to watch the sky and go whenever it looks a bit clear.

I've been enjoying our slightly lengthening days as we approach June 21. Our daylight only varies about one hour on each end of the day throughout the year. It's now getting dark at 7 p.m. In December it will be dark at 6. Many people hardly notice the change here because it's so subtle. By the way, there's no such thing as Daylight Savings Time here.

Death

2010-06-07T22:41:00.001+01:00

In April and May we experienced a number of deaths around us.

Victor, 20, was on his way to work in the Mashiah Foundation Youth Ministry computer school early one morning. He was riding on a 'motorcycle taxi.' A speeding car approached the motorcycle from behind and did not realize they had stopped. The motorcycle driver and Victor were severely injured by the crushing impact. Victor went into a coma and died five days later. His funeral service was held the day after he died. There were easily 1400 people in attendance. I was shocked at the turnout. I had not realized the vast reach Victor had already obtained with his young life.

A few days later the father of one of the Mashiah Foundation accountants died in a head-on collision. The father had recently retired and was enjoying running an egg-laying business.

Then came the death of Samson. We had found Samson propped up near one of the major intersections in Jos. He was HIV+, hungry and homeless. We took him to Bezer Home where the medical team cared for him for 2-3 months. His health fluctuated from week to week. At times he appeared to be improving, but then he would languish, and we would have to take him to a hospital for more intensive care. He died while under the hospital's care. He was buried with dignity with only members of Mashiah Foundation as the mourners.

Then on May 5, we learned that Nigerian President Yar'Adua was declared dead after a six-month illness. Thankfully the swearing-in of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan went smoothly.

Email Scam

2010-06-01T07:29:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend a hacker got into my Yahoo account and sent out an email to my entire mailing list. This was a scam, and I just want to let everyone know that I am NOT in London, NOT being held at gunpoint, and NOT asking for money.

I have now regained control of my Yahoo account thanks to a very helpful Yahoo tech support who spent 40 min. on the phone with me.

Thankfully I was able to get into my account and warn would-be donors before they sent any money to the hacker. The only real damage that was done was that the hacker wiped out all of my email contacts in my address book after sending out the fake email. Because of that, I can't send out a mass email letting everyone know that I'm o.k.

Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern in the past few days.

Stories from Nigeria

2010-05-09T21:53:00.000+01:00

Sorry I've been away from this site for a couple of weeks. Here are blog posts from some missionary friends that I found to be very moving.

Kelly writes about a boy who was abandoned for 13 years outside a village.

Beth writes about a massacre at a village near Jos and the physical and spriritual healing that is beginning.

God's Provision

2010-04-25T08:45:00.002+01:00

Living in Nigeria, we often have to do without a lot of things that would be available to us in the U.S.

But it's amazing to me how God does provide for our needs from all around the globe. Here are two examples of his provision last Friday:

1) David has some speech difficulties, particularly with the letter 'r.' Awhile ago I became concerned and wondered what I could do. Well, at a birthday dinner for a friend, I 'happened' to sit next to a missionary from Tasmania (Australia)* who is a speech pathologist. I mentioned David's situation, and she came over to evaluate him (unbeknownst to him) and gave me some exercises to help him with his 'r' sounds. She reassured me that his speech difficulty is not severe and that 'r' is one of the last sounds to be perfected.

2) A teenage neighbor had a panic attack for the first time in her life. She just could not get her breathing under control after the attack. She couldn't walk because oxygen wasn't flowing into her extremeties. She received medical attention, but she still wasn't calming down. Then an American psychiatrist (missionary), living in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso**, who 'happened' to be visiting Jos, gave the girl a breathing exercise to do, and within minutes, she was back to normal.

Thank you, Lord, for how you provide for all of our needs.

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*She told the children all about Tasmanian devils, and no they don't look like the Tasmanian devil on Bugs Bunny!

** Pronounced wah-ga-DOO-goo. Burkina Faso used to be called the Upper Volta back when I was in school memorizing all the capitals and countries.

The Newest Couple in Town

2010-04-24T23:46:00.003+01:00

We attended the wedding of Lucy and Ivan (e-VAHN) today. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Here the bride is dancing down the aisle. Some of her friends joined her in the aisle and danced with her. Dancing down the aisle can take from five minutes to 30 minutes. (Generally, the bride is not escorted by her father or uncle.) This is my favorite part of any wedding because there is so much joy that is evident and overflowing.

Lucy is from Nigeria and Ivan is from Denmark. They will be making their home in Brazil as missionaries with YWAM.

When the couple came in for the reception, I noticed that they had changed clothes, which is not a common occurrence here.

The more I thought about their attire, I realized the powerful message they were sending. During the wedding ceremony, Ivan had worn a suit and tie while Lucy wore a caftan-like wedding gown with embroidery. I didn’t think anything of their dress at that point. As the reception began, I noticed that Ivan was wearing a maroon caftan and Lucy was wearing a typical wedding gown. At first I thought, “Why is she wearing that wedding gown now,” but then I got it:

For the wedding, they came wearing clothing from their own cultures.

For the reception, they made a powerful statement as they adopted the attire of their spouse’s culture.

Not a word was said, but their clothing made a strong statement. Well done, Lucy and Ivan!

Lily looked forward to this wedding for a long time. I didn’t have to ask her if she wanted to go. In fact, she was out in the car waiting for me to finish getting ready. Lily had a wonderful time hanging out with the other little girls at the wedding. Now the boys on the other hand weren’t the least bit interested. Tobi got to go to a friend’s house, but David had to tag along with me. He wasn’t too happy about that, but at least he found a friend at the reception. His friend really saved the day.

My good friend and colleague, Sarah, sang a song in Hausa to the newlyweds. I love this photo because this is what happens so often in cross-cultural marriages: Lucy is interpreting the Hausa words into English for her new husband. This is just the beginning of a lifetime of translation!

I’ve adopted many Nigerian ways over the years: once we heard about the wedding, I promptly invited three other couples to come to the wedding. This is a very appropriate thing to do in Nigerian culture. I just hope I’ll remember to ‘behave’ myself when I go back to my home culture!

We pray God's blessings upon Lucy and Ivan as they begin their married life together.

Batik

2010-04-22T21:42:00.000+01:00

Our women in the Self-Sustainability Program have been learning how to make batik cloth.

Batik basically means that you use wax to make a design and then you dye the fabric. The dye will not permeate where the wax is. The women have experimented a lot as they have been perfecting their technique. I'm very proud of their efforts and their results. We will use the batik cloth in our quilts and various projects. We will also be selling the fabric in our shop.

A Reflective Day

2010-04-21T22:00:00.000+01:00

I think it's safe to say that rainy season has begun. We had a ten-minute rain last week, but that hardly counted. We had a good downpour today which washed the dust away and lowered the temperature by about 30 degrees (90 down to 60). Now that's a guess, but I think it's pretty close.

We had a sad day as one of our Mashiah Foundation colleagues died today as a result of a motorbike accident. (I will write more about this later.) In my somber, reflective mood, I just walked around and took some photos of God's creation, which somehow seemed so evident today after the cleansing rain.

The amazing thing about these photos is that the vibrant colors have burst forth out of months of barrenness.

This is my neighbor's hibiscus bush, and I try to keep Lily from plucking the flowers.

Golden bouganvillea

Fuscia bouganvillea

My all-time favorite: the fragrant frangipani

Purple bouganvillea

The flame trees have been more beautiful than usual this year. A colleague told me that the more stress these trees endure, the more beautifully they bloom. Oh Lord, may the same be said of me! Check out the red carpet.

The growing mangoes are pulling the branches nearly to the ground.

Here's a cashew fruit and nut in the early stages. The fruit is the part connected to the vine while the nut is at the end. The fruit will become a brilliant yellow/orange color and grow to be about 3" long when it's ripe.

And my little friends, the Easter egg bugs, lovingly hand-painted by the Creator, came out today. Where have they been hiding since the last rain we had about a month ago? I have actually looked for them, and they have been nowhere to be found.

The beautiful bouganvillea is always a welcome sight to me.

Reading under the Stars

2010-04-20T06:45:00.002+01:00

Generally I read to the family in the livingroom, but last night it was obviously much cooler outside than inside so we took some old mattresses out in the yard and relaxed there while I read. It was actually nice when the electricity went off so we could just enjoy the darkness of the night.

We recently finished the second of the Ralph Moody autobiographies, Man of the Family (see sidebar). The last three chapters held one of the most amazing real-life stories I've ever heard. Before we start the third book, Mary Emma and Company, we're taking a little break from this series in order to read a few other books of interest.

Currently I'm reading a junior version of Little Women out loud to the family. We're going to be seeing the musical in a couple of weeks, and I want them to have some background so they can really understand it. We'll finish the book in the next few days and then watch the movie on the weekend. I'm sure we'll have lots of good discussions comparing and contrasting the book, the movie, and the musical. How fun to teach my kids these skills when they don't even know I'm doing it!

Last summer in the U.S., I made a point of looking for some dramas/musicals for the kids. We were able to squeeze in two musicals: Anne of Green Gables in Decorah, IA, and Fiddler on the Roof in Redwing, MN. We had never seen the musical of Anne before so that was new to us, although the storyline was familiar. Fiddler was good as always, but the cemetery scene didn't come close to the rendition developed by our high school in Nigeria. In fact, I doubt we'll ever see a cemetery scene that can top that one. (Kudos to Heidi, George, the Crouch twins, your directors, and the whole cast! I almost went a third night just for that scene.)

A few weeks later as we were driving down the road (something we did a lot of!), Tobi made a comparison between a song from each of the musicals. He realized that two of the songs had exactly the same message about how gossip spreads and then becomes something completely different in the end. Way to go, Tobi! I didn't even make that connection.

I love opening up the world to my children through books and stories.

Innovative Ping-Pong

2010-04-19T06:45:00.003+01:00

I asked my parents to bring a ping-pong set when they came for a visit, but I didn't do anything with it while they were here. I was contemplating having a carpenter make a ping-pong table. But besides the expense, what would we do with it during the rainy season? (There's no room in our home for an indoor table.) A couple weeks ago Tobi found the unopened package and promptly set it up on our dining table. I was quite pleased as I really didn't know how to proceed with the project. (Tobi got this idea from some neighbors who play ping-pong on their dining table.)

I just wish Tobi had come across the ping-pong set while my parents were still here. I know he and Grandpa would have had a great time playing together. But as it is, Tobi and Bayo are having lots of good father-son time. I can 'sacrifice' my dining table for that!

Sacrificial Mothers

2010-04-18T12:28:00.001+01:00

Things have really changed with HIV over the years. About 5-15 years ago, many HIV-positive women gave birth to babies who contracted the virus from them and died. In fact, many mothers and fathers learned of their own HIV status through their sick child. But now we know many HIV-positive mothers who are giving birth to HIV-negative babies.

What has changed?

1) The mothers are on ARV (anti-retroviral) drugs which suppress the HIV virus in their systems.

2) Many give birth by scheduled c-sections in order to reduce the transmission of the virus.

3) Immediately upon birth, the babies are given ARV drugs which are continued for the first 6 weeks of life.

4) Women are told not to breastfeed in order to reduce the transmission of the virus.

In the last five years, about 15 of the HIV+ women I work with have given birth. I can only think of one child who is HIV-positive out of the 15. The odds are definitely in the favor of the child when the above regimen is followed.

And now there is new medical research which says HIV+ women should breastfeed their babies. Women who have a high CD4 count and a low viral load are encouraged to breastfeed. This has been news for the past year or so.

But here is the interesting part of the story: Doctors are now telling HIV+ women to breastfeed, but the women won't do it--at least the ones I know. They are not willing to take even the slightest risk of possibly infecting their child with HIV. In order to fully comprehend this, let me give some background on Nigerian culture:

A pregnant woman in Nigeria does not have to ask herself: will I breastfeed or bottlefeed? The thought never crosses her mind; of course she will breastfeed. When a woman with a small baby is not breastfeeding, it sends an immediate signal to everyone else that something is wrong with this woman. It's really quite devastating for a Nigerian mother to hear what is said about her when she doesn't breastfeed.

And this is why I'm a bit surprised that these HIV+ women won't breastfeed, especially now that they've been given a green light to do so. In fact, they basically open themselves up to cultural ridicule. And besides that, baby formula is expensive ($7.50 for a 14 oz. can). Why do they make this decision? They will do anything to give their child a fair chance in life. Many have already lost one child to HIV and simply aren't willing to take the risk on another child.

Hope Restored

2010-04-12T23:00:00.001+01:00

Fatima's story began with us back in March 2009. Click here for that story.

We took care of all of her medical and feeding needs at Bezer Home. After a few months, her body was not so sick any more, but just plain weak. Finally, after a year of care and support, she has regained her health, her strength, and her desire to do something with her life.

Just recently I started to see her coming upstairs on her own volition. As I would glance around the sewing room, my eyes would suddenly do a double-take as I realized Fatima was sitting at one of the sewing machines. She can't operate a treadle sewing machine yet, but she sure enjoys the daily camaraderie of the women.

Fatima used to walk at a 90 degree angle, but now her body is only slightly bent as she walks. Here she is with Fanny, our literacy teacher.

And here is her beautiful smile as she enjoyed the music at our gathering today.

I love her story of restored hope. This is what we're all about at Mashiah Foundation.

Harmattan Continued

2010-03-22T17:10:00.001+01:00

I wanted to clarify that we have harmattan every year for awhile during the dry season (Nov-Mar). But we rarely see it in March--especially after such heavy rains.

Apparently the Jos airport has been shut down for the past four days due to low visibility. Some of our friends were planning to take a domestic flight today, but had to change their plans due to the heavy harmattan. They drove 3-4 hours to the capital of Abuja so they could catch a flight from there.

I'll try to make this my last post about the weather for awhile!

Harmattan

2010-03-20T22:58:00.000+01:00

In response to a few questions:

The harmattan (HAR-mah-TAHN) is dust that blows in from the Sahara Desert, which is north of us about 250 miles or so. I've never been to the Sahara, but I've seen it on my dining room table and bookshelves quite often during the dry season.

During periods of heavy harmattan, the temperature is quite cool--about 60-70 degrees.

Tobi said he had to dust off his pillow before he could sleep last night.

We built a campfire on our compound tonight. I told Tobi he should get a rag and clean off the plastic chairs. He responded, "It will be dark soon so it won't matter." I guess I'm reaching that point too. I'll clean off the kitchen surfaces, but I'm not going to stress about all the other surfaces.

The Dust Is Back!!

2010-03-19T23:05:00.000+01:00

With the three good rains we had this week, I figured we could say good-bye to dry season. When I looked outside this morning, it looked like we were surrounded by thick fog. My brain couldn't even comprehend that it might be dust...but it is, and THICK dust at that. I don't think I have ever seen harmattan (dust) this heavy before.

In fact, at noon I noticed something different about Bayo and took a good look at his face: yes, there was a heavy layer of gray dust on those black lashes.

Well, I'm off to bed now. I'll try not to think about the blanket of dust that will be covering us as we sleep.

Early Rains

2010-03-17T22:23:00.000+01:00

"...and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth..." (Genesis 7).

We have had three big rains in the last three days. It's a little bit early for the rainy season to begin, but we're tired of dust and heat, so bring it on! It's been about five months since it last rained. The last few weeks have been very hot and muggy, so the rain definitely brought relief. I'm guessing that the temperature dropped from 90 degrees to 70 degrees. I had to go in search of a lightweight jacket, and those flannel sheets actually felt good last night.

For some reason, the change in weather made me want to exercise. The past two mornings I got up early and did some walking within our compound. It felt great. The first morning after the rain, Tobi and I spent some time observing changes that had taken place in nature. As we walked through the compound, we noticed that the Easter egg bugs were out. Now, I have no idea what these things are actually called, and I don't know anyone besides us who calls them that, but they come out every year around Easter time.

Tobi says he gets goosebumps just looking at them. They are curious little creatures.

Family Time

2010-03-15T17:30:00.004+01:00

Nearly every night we have family devotions and then pray together. We read a portion of the Bible and then the kids all get a chance to tell us what they heard/learned. As the youngest, Lily gets to start. Tobi has the hardest job because David has quite the audio-memory and often says most every possible thing. It's good for Tobi to have a challenge. Then Bayo shares some thoughts with the kids. Recently we have read Acts, Esther, & Ruth. We just started Genesis. I enjoy seeing how all of the stories fit together chronologically.

After our devotions, if it's not too late, I read a couple of chapters from a book. Currently, we are really into the Ralph Moody autobiographies/memoirs. They are such good books that I'm wondering why I've never heard of them before!! They remind me a bit of the Little House on the Prairie books--telling stories of the way life was in the western U.S. 100 years ago. If you have boys in your family, these books are definitely the way to go. Ralph is about 8-9 years old in the first book. The Moody family perserveres in the midst of hardship, and above all, the children develop their character and their work ethic. We as a family have been inspired by the ingenuity of the Moody family and their ability to face their situation in life head-on.

We're on the second book now, but I caught Tobi reading the last few pages yesterday. (I might have to lock it up!) But I guess he comes by it naturally: I've already skimmed all of the second book and most of the third book. In fact, I had to get on Amazon early this morning and look at the remaining books in the series (there are 8).

The books do have some swearing--of the cowboy variety. Since we're doing the books as read-alouds, I'm able to make proper substitutions.

In this era of constant videos and TV, I think it's good for children to be able to sit and absorb a story purely from words without having to depend on a visual.

I read once that when you're choosing a family read-aloud, choose a book that is at the interest level of your oldest child--the younger children will pick up what they can. I have definitely found that to be true. These books are at Tobi's level or above, but David still understands about 95% of the story line, and Lily about 50%.

I'm looking forward to the chapters we'll read tonight. I'm sure we won't be disappointed.

Finding Fun

2010-03-13T18:53:00.000+01:00

We took the kids to a school carnival today. The highlights:
Tobi: airsoft guns
David: 40' tall zip line (went twice)
Lily: horse-riding, face-painting, cotton candy

The thing I noticed this year is that the adults really turned out and seemed to greatly enjoy sitting at picnic tables and just chatting. I had good chats with people that I haven't talked to in a long time. I think we're all craving some good social times, and we just haven't had many opportunities with all of the recent events as well as the 6 p.m. curfew. Of course, the curfew does make for good family time, which I have appreciated, but we have missed not being able to have friends over for a meal.

The other day I was chatting with a good friend about our stress-filled lives, and I asked her, "What's the next thing you're looking forward to?" She named an event that will take place in three months. I said, "That's too far away! We need to do something to have fun and laugh now." I guess today's carnival was part of that.

I have found that I have to be very pro-active in finding 'fun' things for my family to do. It's really important for our mental and emotional well-being as we live in such an uncertain place.

Again?

2010-03-09T22:24:00.000+01:00

I've been pleasantly inundated with inquiries about our safety from friends around the globe. It came as a bit of a shock because not many people inquired about our safety during the riots in Jos January 17-20, 2010. Later my mom told me that the main thing on the news at that time was Haiti and virtually no coverage was given to the Jos riots.

Evidently, the Sunday massacre in a village 5 miles south of Jos is receiving world-wide attention. It was a horrific event. We have personally spoken to two people who lost numerous relatives in the strike. The man we spoke to said he lost 9 family members. The woman I spoke to today talked mainly about the children.

The situation is threatening to engulf Jos-city once again. People are tense, alert, and ready to run. We heard a spate of machine gun fire about 9 p.m. tonight. Now I'm hearing military helicopters hovering over the city.

Please pray for the city of Jos and the surrounding villages. We are not at ease.

Keep On Keeping On

2010-02-19T19:25:00.001+01:00

My apologies for being AWOL on this site for the past few weeks.

The dynamics of daily life have changed in the last month, dealing with riots and various security threats.

It always takes me awhile to get back to normal--or I should say: "the new normal." After the riots in 2008, I was driving downtown a few weeks later and almost stopped the car in the middle of the road when I caught sight of construction workers on a three-story building. I was so shocked that construction was continuing while I was wondering when the next wave of violence would occur. They were building for the future, and I was just trying to get through the day.

I bought a whole bunch of tomatoes, peppers and onions last weekend just because this is the season to buy those things. I planned to can pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and red stew (typical Nigerian fare). But as I looked at the 200+ empty jars on my shelves, I felt the same way I did when I saw those construction workers: filling those jars meant planning for the future--and my mind has been stuck in a daily survival mode for the past month.

We did get the canning done with lots of extra help in the kitchen. Here's the tally:
30 pints of pizza sauce (this will last more than 1 year based on current pizza eating patterns in our home)
26 pints of Grandma's spaghetti sauce
18 quarts of Nigerian red stew

Anyway, this past week was the most normal I've had for awhile so I feel like things are starting to pick up once again. And I'll try to post a little more often on this site.

Crisis Makes You Creative

2010-01-30T23:20:00.000+01:00

During our days of 24-hour curfew, I really enjoyed the challenge of having to make meals from whatever I had on hand at the moment. This was about the only kind of mental challenge I was up for in the midst of listening to gunshots echo throughout the city. During crisis periods, I find that my brain kicks into survival mode and just focusing on taking care of my family. If truth be told, I think my family gets better meals during crisis periods.

Stew (pork, carrots, potatoes, celery, barley) & Pumpkin Bread

I still had cookie dough in my fridge from December. I never got around to finishing making Christmas cookies. If it weren't for the crisis, I probably would have thrown it away.

I made English muffins for the first time in my life! It wasn't hard at all. Next time, I'll make it even easier: I'll just dump the ingredients in the bread machine and after it rises once I'll roll out the dough and cut the circles.

Lemon Meringue Pie--we had lots of lemons and eggs on hand, so why not?

We still got to have our Friday family favorite: pepperoni pizza. I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

My kids are pretty good at keeping themselves busy. To my delight, I peeked around the corner one day and saw Lily and David having their own little picnic.

Happy Survival

2010-01-30T22:56:00.000+01:00

Nigerians are so conscious of marking significant time changes. For example, they are extremely conscious that a new week starts on Sunday morning. In the same vein they are very aware of a new month. And then, the most important of all: transitioning from one year to the next.

Many of my Nigerian friends spent New Year's Eve at a church service--and I don't mean playing games and having a party as we sometimes did. They were at an all-out worship service thanking God for keeping them alive duirng 2009 and then praying in the new year with all its fresh hopes and dreams. Even Nigerians who aren't religious during the year can often be seen attending such 'Crossover' services.

Nigerians really want their January to start well. I was reminded of this when two of my colleagues had a petty argument, and one of them said, "I won't let you spoil my January!"

I think the riots in January surprised us all. We weren't expecting them at the beginning of a fresh new year. That's the kind of thing that happens near the end of the year. In 2001, we had riots in September (four days before 9/11). In 2008, we had riots in November. Nigerians tend to expect bad things to happen in the '-ember' months.

So, as from January 1, we were all going around greeting each other with "Happy New Year!" This can continue for many months until you have seen your repertoire of friends and colleagues and given all of them this greeting.

Well, I think the "Happy New Years" have been cut short this year as I notice the new greeting in town is "Happy Survival!"

The Aftermath

2010-01-30T22:29:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry for my absence. I know people are wondering about the status of things here. The actual fighting/riots lasted from Sunday, January 17 through Wed, January 20. Are things settled? On the surface, but not really. We have a heavy military presence with numerous checkpoints. We now have a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew which probably won't be relaxed for at least a month.

We were not directly affected, but now I'm starting to notice the residual effects. I feel iritable. I can't focus on projects that require thinking (like blogging). I need more space when the kids have their petty arguments, etc. While chatting with friends today, they all shared similar stories.

Many people in Jos were so horribly affected during the riots. The death toll varies according to which account you read. Over 500 people lost their lives. Approximately 20,000-25,000 people have been displaced because their homes were burnt.

When the 24 hour curfew went into effect, one of our houseworkers was with us at the time so she stayed with us for the duration. She later heard that her family home was completely burned; nothing was left. Her family got out in time and took refuge in the police barracks for five days.

Two of the ministry staff members had their homes torched. One of them lost her home in the 2008 crisis. They rebuilt in the same place (some of the blockwork was still standing) and moved back in the middle of 2009. Now the house is demolished once again. How was it possible that she was smiling on Monday?

One of our HIV+ women lives at the epicenter of where the riots started. Her home was burned in 2008. And you guessed it--it was burned again in 2010. She came for Bible study on Monday. She was smiling.

How can these people smile? And I don't mean a forced smile, I mean a radiant smile. Part of it is, they are just so grateful to be alive and to still be with their family members. Another part of it is: they're survivors. They rise above the problems around them. And still another part is their faith which sustains them.

There were some atrocities which are so terrible that I don't want to mention them here. If you do a Google search, you can find more than enough.

So, I'm dealing with a little residual stress from the whole experience. Let's put it in perspective: So what? We experienced absolutely nothing compared with many people. I, too, am resilient, and I will be a survivor like my Nigerian brothers and sisters.

Coping

2010-01-19T23:51:00.001+01:00

Well, in case you haven't heard it yet, our fair city of Jos has been embroiled in violence since Sunday afternoon. At first we thought it was an isolated incident that would blow over, but rather, the situation continued to escalate. It got so bad that a citywide 24-hour curfew was announced about 9 a.m. today. That's serious.

I won't go into the background of the violence on this blog, but if you Google "Jos Nigeria violence 2010," you'll find plenty of reading material.

This is the third time our family has had an experience like this (2001, 2008, 2010). So how do we handle it?

Watching videos in our house is generally a once a week occurence, but on riot days, my default mode is movies for the kids. After David and Lily had watched their fourth movie, I told them to go run around outside for awhile. When Bayo saw them outside he said, "Go back in the house and watch another movie!"

With puzzled looks, they said, "OK, Dad."

Aren't there other things to do in the house besides watching movies? Well yes, but the movies tend to drown out the gunshots, which is what I want.

Tobi spent the whole day playing computer games with the other compound boys.

Bayo has all kinds of on-line assignments to get done, but he's had a hard time focussing with all the extra-curricular activity going on.

I feel like I should somehow be productive on these riot days. Generally, I find that I can't really do mental tasks on days like this. My main focus is to be creative in the kitchen. With a 24 hour curfew that means I can't buy anything. Whatever I'm going to feed my family has to come from whatever I can find in the house right now. By the way, I'm cooking for 5 extra people now besides my own family.

What do I have on hand:
flour
sugar
margarine
oil
spaghetti
oatmeal
wheat cereal
4 lbs. of meat
canned pizza sauce (homemade)
cheese
28 eggs

I have a few bits and pieces of other things, but nothing substantial. Just knowing that I can bake bread for about 3 weeks straight brings me solace. Also, we have an orange tree which will help take care of our need for fruit. I figure I can feed my household for about 10-14 days. They wouldn't be thrilled with all of it, but it would be edible. How does meat and oatmeal sound?

Anyway, we believe this curfew will be lifted within the next day or two, and then we will be able to buy more supplies. I do enjoy the challenge of making the most of every single item in my kitchen and providing balanced meals for my household at the same time.

However, while I look at this as a creative challenge, I know there are thousands of people who were caught unaware today with just a few meager provisions in their homes. Many people buy their food provisions daily. Many people (laborers, taxi drivers) work for a daily wage. If you don't work, you don't eat. People who earn a salary are paid between the 25th-30th of the month. That means both money and food supplies are very low for many people right now.

Then there are those people who fled their homes today to take refuge in public places. Will there be food and water for them there? Generally not.

Bayo says hunger will force this violence to come to an end soon.

Meanwhile, we hope, pray and wait.

Diagnosis

2010-01-13T22:22:00.000+01:00

Just before Christmas I wrote briefly about our generator and quilting machine both having breakdowns.
After all of our meetings and inventory-taking last week, we got around to trying to get these two very essential machines fixed.

We called in the generator repairman. His diagnosis: our engine is shot. Cost estimate to repair it: $200 more than it cost to buy the generator one and a half years ago. My response: I think we'll get a second opinion. We're still waiting to hear from the second repairman. If we discover that we can't fix this gen, then maybe we can get a new one for less than the repair would cost!

A generator shouldn't be worn out after a year and a half, but we have really overworked that gen. It basically runs 40 hours a week plus sometimes more on the weekends when we have urgent orders to finish. But I think the real problem is that we have been using one and sometimes two irons while operating the gen. What are we going to do? We sew, and ironing is a crucial part of sewing. The answer is: we have to go back to charcoal irons. Ugh. It takes a great deal of care to make sure the charcoal iron is not too hot and that ashes don't get on the cloth, but we have no other alternative at this point.

The quilt machine can only operate with the generator's power. Even when we have electricity, the voltage is not high enough to carry the machine. So, we loaded up the generator from our home and took it to the workshop so we could do some trouble-shooting. First we changed the fuses; to our dismay, this did not solve the electrical problem. By this point I had reached the end of my technical know-how. We read the manual some more and fixed a few loose connections, but nothing worked.

Here's my diagnosis: the generator and the quilt machine went on the fritz at basically the same time. I think the malfunctioning generator caused an electrical problem in the quilt machine.

I've just sent out an SOS for quilt machine electrical parts to Mom and Dad. And now I'm doubly glad that they are coming next week. This project just moved to the top of their to-do list!

The Thirteenth Day of Christmas

2010-01-06T20:56:00.002+01:00

Well, it's the 'Thirteenth' Day of Christmas today. I guess a more appropriate name would be Epiphany. I decided it was time to take down the tree and the few decorations that we have around.

However, the Christmas dishes will remain for the next month or so. Actually they're not overtly Christmas--just greenery with red berries. My sister-in-law says that as long as there's snow on the ground she uses her Winterberry dishes. I think that's a good rationale. Maybe my own will be: as long as it's dry and dusty, Winterberry it will be.

Actually our Christmas will be continuing for quite awhile. We just received our first Christmas card in the mail yesterday. Then the kids got a beautiful Christmas picture book in the mail today. (At first I was afraid it was an advent calendar!) I know my mom has already shipped some cards, and we look forward to receiving those soon.

My parents will arrive in a couple of weeks, and I'm sure they'll be bearing gifts. They were supposed to come at Christmastime, but their plans changed. I dreaded telling Tobi. When I eventually shared the news, his face dropped for a few seconds, and then he said, "If they come in January, will they still bring Christmas presents?"

The only Christmas decoration left in the house is the wrapping paper and bow on my home office door. I had such high hopes of what I wanted to do with the kids during the month of December in our 'Christmas Room,' but they didn't come to pass. I thought I had a second chance with the Twelve Days of Christmas, but that didn't work either. Maybe I'll leave that wrapping paper up for another month or so and see if the kids and I can still do some fun activities in our Christmas Room.

A Story of Love 71 Years Ago

2010-01-04T01:02:00.004+01:00

My maternal grandparents, Edith (of Danish descent) and Olav (of Norwegian descent) married on January 4, 1939. Theirs is a simple love story which paints a picture of the Depression era in the U.S. Olav died in January 2007, shortly after they celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary.

The above photo was taken recently, just before Edith's 90th birthday. She is holding her first great-great-grandchild.

The following is an excerpt from a family history I compiled in 2002. My grandparents both have meticulous minds for details, and they were also record-keepers.

Olav and Edith first met at a neighborhood party when Olav was 17 and Edith was 14. They saw each other periodically over the next few years. One evening when Edith was 17, Olav came and took her out to the movie Shangri-La in Albert Lea, MN. On the way home, about a half mile from where Edith lived, Olav parked and said, "If I ever get suitable employment, do you think you could spend the rest of your life with me?"

Edith responded, "I think I could." The date was November 2, 1937.

Olav's main goal was to find work so he could provide for his bride-to-be. In February 1938, he worked for his brother Ing in the woods of northern Minnesota. They cut tamarack trees for firewood and cedar trees for fenceposts. They did most of their work with curved Swede saws. It was swamp country so they only worked during the winter when the ground was frozen. In order to get water, they would break the ice over a ditch and fetch it out with a bucket. When spring arrived, the peeled the cedar fenceposts and sold them. Olav worked for his room and board, nothing else--a common occurrence during the Depression.

Later Olav spent time in Crookston, MN with his brother Adolph accompanying him on trucking trips to the Twin Cities. In the spring of 1938 Olav started driving for Adolph. Olav picked up cattle from various farms in the area during the day and then started driving to South St. Paul by about 5 p.m. He delivered his load in the morning and then thoroughly washed out the truck. After that he spent the day picking up freight throughout the Twin Citites, and by nightfall he would drive his load to Crookston. In order to make the trip profitable, a return load was essential. When he arrived in Crookston, he unloaded the truck. He often worked for more than 24, or even 36 hours, at a time without sleep. Occasionally he would take a catnap. When he started driving for Adolph, he made $7 per round trip. Later he made $8 per trip plus road expenses.

All this time Olav was living 350 miles away from his fiancee. He bought a 1928 Model A roadster in 1938 for $50. He used it to make one trip to Frost, MN to see Edith. This was the only time they saw each other during their engagement. After he returned to Crookstron, he sold the roadster a month later for the same price.

During their engagement period, Olav accumulated about $65 which he used to furnish a place for his bride. He bought a bed, a table, and chairs. He would often hunt for bargains on household items such as the iron he bought for firty cents. They still have the solid maple dresser that Olav bought for $2.50.

Edith kept busy during the engagement year by doing housework for others in the winter and helping on the farm in the summer. She did housework for a family in which the husband was blind and the wife had heart problems. She had Thrusday afternoons off, and was paid $3 per week. She worked for three other families for a short period of time. She spent her hard-earned money on clothes because she did not have many.

In early December 1938, Edith made plans to travel to Crookston in preparation for their marriage. She took a bus to the Twin Cities and Olav picked her up there in the truck and drove to Crookston. Edith stayed with Ing and Myrtle until she and Olav married just a month later. They had planned to marry on Edith's parents' anniversary (December 30), but Olav had the opportunity to make a few more trips to South St. Paul with a deadline of January 1, so they postponed their wedding a few more days. Olav completed four round trips from Crookston to South St. Paul. The distance each way was 320 miles and his driving speed with 35 mph. He literally worked around the clock during these trips, stopping only for short naps. Olav joked to the man who needed the urgent shipment of cattle: "You sure loused up our wedding plans!" The generous man then gave Olav a $10 bill as a wedding present.

On January 4, 1939, the Lutheran minister was out of town, so Olav went to see the Presbyterian minister, Pastor Hibbard, to see if he would marry them that night. Pastor Hibbard's wife and daughter were the only witnesses. Edith wore her only nice dress which was wine-colored with a matching lace vest and shoes. She still has the dress. Olav wore his only suit which he had purchased in St. James, MN. After the ceremony, their wedding meal consisted of a hamburger and coffee in the railroad depot cafe in Crookston. The honeymoon was short-lived as Olav took off on another trip to South St. Paul the next morning.

Water is Life

2010-01-03T23:45:00.000+01:00

I never knew how precious water was until I moved to Nigeria.

The slogan on the water trucks says:

Water is Life.

I never knew that...until I experienced the scarcity of water.

We get city water about once every two weeks...or three weeks...or four weeks....there is no set timetable.

When it comes, it comes.

At the end of 2009, we didn't have much water at all. We haven't used our washing machine in weeks, but have handwashed clothes instead. Near the end, we were even doing bucket baths to conserve water.

On January 1, we decided we couldn't wait for city water any longer, so we hired a water tanker to come and fill our tanks.

What sweet relief.

When we came home from church today, city water was on --I guess we didn't need that tanker! We topped off our tanks, and pumped to the up-tank, and the city water just kept coming and coming. Usually it runs for a couple of hours and then stops--maybe even before the tanks have a chance to fill. Today it ran for at least 6+ hours.

Let me tell you, we enjoyed that water!

No, the water is not really that dirty, although it was kind of rusty looking. Just notice the dusty landscape that the kids tracked into the water.

My water tanks are full and my heart is full of gratitude.

Get Me to the Church on Time!

2009-12-28T23:52:00.001+01:00

Bayo and I were married 13 years ago today. I was an hour late to our wedding due to circumstances beyond my control. Hmmm, I 've never put it that way before. It's completely true, but now having lived in Nigeria for 14+ years, I certainly wouldn't make the mistake of only having Plan A as I did on that day.

Here's the scoop: Bayo had made arrangements with a friend of his to pick me up from my house at 10 a.m. and get me to the church in time for our 11 a.m. wedding. Well, it was the 4th Saturday of the month and there was enforced city-wide sanitation from 7-10 a.m. This means "Stay home and clean your compound. No driving allowed." Ok, we knew that so we figured the driver would leave his house about 10 and pick me up about 10:10 and get me to the church by 10:25 or so. No problem.

Well, what we didn't count on was that the driver had not prepared the car beforehand. You can't carry a bride to the church in an undecorated car! So at 10 a.m. he went out to the market to buy ribbon and tape, etc. so he could decorate the car.

Meanwhile, my bridesmaids and I had left my house and were standing out in the driveway of my compound looking for the driver.(I didn't have a car at the time and didn't drive in Nigeria.) Thankfully a friend happened to drive through our compound "just in case we needed anything." Yes--get me to the church in time!

Finally we arrived at the church compound. Then we all had to quickly get dressed and get our hair done. At the stroke of noon, I walked down the aisle. Of course, Bayo was in a panic over what had happened to me. All the guests came on time to our wedding since it was a bature (white person) getting married, and we are known for keeping to time--ha!

But I guess that was just part of my immersion into the culture as I joined the vast majority of tardy Nigerian brides!

Born on Christmas Day

2009-12-28T08:42:00.000+01:00

Yesterday at church the pastor asked for anyone with a December 25th birthday to stand up. Five people stood up. Then he asked their names. The three men were: Emmanuel, Christian, and Josiah. The two women were: Emmanuella and Christiana.

It's Time to Rest

2009-12-23T19:34:00.000+01:00

Everything is breaking down around here:

The quilt machine went down on Saturday while we were trying to get a few final orders done for the U.S. I hope it's just a blown fuse or two.
The generator also gave out the same day.
Internet went down Mon, Tues, Wed.
And our family all has colds of one degree or another.

I think the message is clear: it's time to rest our machines and our bodies!

An Eventful Saturday: Part II

2009-12-19T22:24:00.001+01:00

After the orphan Christmas party, I rushed home, changed into wedding attire and got to the reception venue about 3 p.m. The wedding had probably started at 11 a.m., and the reception hadn't even started by the time I got there. When the bride and groom made their grand entrance, I couldn't even get close enough to get a good picture. We'll just have to settle for a shot of some of the 10 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen.

There was a live band playing really good Nigerian dance music. Lots of 'talking drums' too. Sorry, no photo of that this time. Have I ever mentioned that ALL Nigerians are really good dancers? They dance with confidence as these fluid moves flow out of their bodies. I've come to the conclusion that they acquire their rhythm by the time they're 3 years old; hence, it's impossible for someone like me to ever catch up.

The reception hall was packed. Lily and I had some great seats against the wall so we could really see everything that was going on. (Bayo was taking care of some ministry details and the boys were in the pool.)

The 'satellite dish' headtie is ever-popular at events such as this. I was even wearing a red one myself. I'll have to get a picture the next time.

And Lily's friend was the "little bride." Lily thoroughly enjoyed everything about the reception. She soaked in every detail.

An Eventful Saturday: Part I

2009-12-19T22:05:00.001+01:00

Today Mashiah Foundation hosted its annual Christmas Party for orphans and vulnerable children. Over 200 children were in attendance. Here's a shot of a few of them.

Ameh, the director of Mashiah Foundation's OVC (Orphans & Vulnerable Children) Program, is arranging the gifts of clothing/fabric.

A local chief helped with the presentation of the gifts of fabric.

This girl appears to be quite pleased with her gift.

Another very pleased girl!

We had plenty of rice to 'chop' (eat).

What's a party without a soccer game?

After a brief stint on the soccer field, Ameh was back to the sidelines.

It was a memorable day for all involved. Now the orphans will feel like they have been able to celebrate Christmas this year.

What Women Married 10+ Years Know

2009-12-14T22:52:00.006+01:00

During this holiday season our Women of Hope quilt and sewing shop sees more male customers than usual.

One man ordered about $40 worth of 12" x 12" squares of all kinds of fabric for his wife's birthday. She's a quilter who keeps her work handy and hand-stitches her quilt blocks wherever she is. When he ordered the squares, I thought, "What an observant husband he is to give her such a perfect gift!"

Another husband ordered a cushion that will keep his wife more comfortable when she's working on her computer in bed. What an observant, thoughtful husband!

And yet another husband said to me, "You know that quilt you made for those people who left a couple years ago? I want you to make me one just like it. My wife loved that quilt. Now, not a word to my wife."

As I complimented these men on their keen powers of observation, they each revealed that...well, their wives had made some pretty direct hints about what they would like. But I do have to give them credit for actually remembering and following through on those not-so-subtle hints.

I can't even remember ever playing the hinting game in our marriage. I prefer the direct approach. Three years ago a friend was selling her gorgeous set of Winterberry Christmas dishes. I said to Bayo, "Honey, what would you think if I bought this set of dishes and called it my 10th anniversary present?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Maybe it's not romantic, but it sure is practical.

Come to think of it, that anniversary gift served for our 11th and 12th anniversaries as well. I'm still pretty tickled with those dishes so I think they can cover for our 13th anniversary in a couple of weeks. That sure was a great gift, Bayo!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

2009-12-13T22:29:00.007+01:00

Tonight I asked Tobi to select a book for me to read to all of them. I gave him three choices:
* A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (children's version retold by Anne de Graaf)
* The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
* Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Well, he chose none of them. He got out three other Dickens books and said, "How about Oliver Twist or David Copperfield or Nicholas Nickleby...how come all of these books are so sad?"

Ok, so I made an executive decision. "Let's read, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." (See sidebar.)

Well, they didn't think they'd like it, but they were rolling off the couch and emitting deep belly laughs by the time I had finished the first chapter. In a nutshell, the story is about six straggly rag-a-muffin siblings who bully their whole school. They start coming to church because they heard about all the refreshments there. Then they bully their way into getting the six main parts in the annual Christmas pageant. They end up bringing a fresh perspective to the 'greatest story ever told' as they hear about it for the first time.

We read for so long that we got hungry. So we got out a snack, and I resumed reading, but that didn't go so well. We just about had a couple of choking attacks and milk-through-the-nose episodes. We stopped eating and returned to the living room. During one paragraph where I couldn't even get the words out because of laughter, Bayo came out of his office (where he was working diligently on his end-of-term paper) and said, "You people are making too much noise!"

I rejoined, "Sit down and enjoy the story with us." And he did.

An hour past bedtime, I closed the book and said, "We'll finish the last two chapters tomorrow. The kids disappointedly shuffled off to bed. I read this book to them about 3 years ago, but I think they were too young to appreciate it. This time my 6 & 9 year-olds really got the humor. And my 4 year-old would chime in with belly laughs half a second after the older two.

I have a feeling they'll ask me to finish the last two chapters at breakfast, but that could be dangerous.

It looks like this book will become standard December reading in our household.

Feliz Navidad!

2009-12-12T18:17:00.000+01:00

Lily, David and I ran a few errands this morning. While we were shopping in a Lebanese-owned grocery store, we heard "Feliz Navidad" on the piped-in music system. That struck me as funny: I'm an American living in Nigeria, shopping at a Lebanese store, listening to a song with Spanish in it. Lily & David had never heard the song, and before I knew it, David was dancing in the aisle! I guess it does have a catchy beat. For the rest of the day, I've heard Lily singing it around the house.

The next song on the playlist was "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." The only 'white' Christmas we'll get around here is a blanketing of harmattan dust which will cover every possible surface.

Another Reason Why I Love Living in Nigeria (#2)

2009-12-10T00:20:00.000+01:00

Fresh, real peanut butter.

Ingredients: peanuts, nothing else.

Made: in the last couple of days.

Cost: $6.67

Peanuts, which are called "ground nuts" here, are grown in abundance in our state: Plateau State.

I bought this peanut butter at a little market that caters to international customers. I've never known a Nigerian to have a large supply of peanut butter in their home like this, or to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Nigerians often buy a small amount of peanut butter which has been ground up with some hot pepper. Then they dip a raw, bland vegetable called a garden egg or yallo in the peanut butter for a tasty, satisfying snack.

Nigerians eat peanuts for a snack. They also put some of their peanut butter in one of their soups (very tasty!). But probably their greatest use of the peanut is for ground nut oil. Oil is used in nearly every type of cooking here.

Weddings, Continued

2009-12-10T00:09:00.000+01:00

The other night Bayo was stretched out on the couch when he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot to go to a wedding last Saturday!" I didn't even have that one on my radar. Then he continued, "I have a wedding that I MUST go to this Saturday." We don't know the couple, but we are very close friends with the brother of the bride.

Mom, How Come Sundays are Always Sunny?

2009-12-09T21:37:00.002+01:00

Just thought I'd share how the kids and I spent last Sunday afternoon.

What's this I'm hearing about a snowstorm in the U.S.?

Alright, to tell you the truth, the water was actually pretty cold, but the sun sure was warm. Middle of the day temps reach 80-90 degrees F. Nightime temps dip down to 55-60.

I sure didn't mind a deserted pool all to ourselves.

Oh, and David, every day is sunny during dry season.

'Tis the Season...to Get Married

2009-12-04T21:56:00.001+01:00

Today I was chatting with one of my colleagues about the blitz of wedding invitations that arrive every December.

"So Sarah, how many wedding invitations do you have for December?"

"Let me see...I have two on the 12th, two on the 19th, and one on the 26th...so far."

"Well, I only have four: three on the 19th and one on the 26th." Then I joked, "Who are we to talk--we both got married in December!"

The main wedding season in Nigeria is during the dry season--simply because it's just a lot easier to plan a wedding when you know you can count on the weather being decent. So, the invitations start rolling in October through April.

It's funny, in the first 18 years of my life I can only remember going to two weddings. Now, not a month passes without at least one invitation. Why is that? Well, we're living in a metropolis of over one million people; we know a lot of people; but perhaps the biggest reason is simply that weddings here are huge social events involving many people who may not even know the couple.

Of the four invitations we have for December, I only vaguely know one of the grooms and none of the brides. How's that? For three of the couples, I'm closely connected to one of their relatives. This is standard protocol: you go to the wedding to show support for your friend as well as their extended family. It doesn't matter how many invitations are issued. There is no such thing as an RSVP or a limited number of place settings. By the way, 'RSVP' and a phone number appear on every invitation, but it doesn't mean RSVP. What I can gather is that you can contact this person if you have any questions; alternatively it could be the name of a prominent person who will be at the wedding. Or, as Nigerian jokers like to suggest: it stands for Rice and Stew Very Plenty--which is true.

When I was getting married, my Nigerian maid-of-honor came to my house and said, "Give me one of your invitations. I'm going to give it to my aunt." I thought that was strange since I didn't know the aunt, but now I know it to be a very normal thing.

Sometimes I get confused when I go to the U.S. One summer when I was driving around Iowa visiting churches, I heard about two weddings which were taking place in two families that I'm close to. In my mind I started trying to figure out how I could work the weddings into my itinerary. About a week later, I suddenly realized: I'm not invited--and that means something in the U.S.! In Nigeria, anyone can go to any wedding without receiving an invitation.

I don't go to every wedding I receive an invitation for, but I'll try to make it to a few this December in order to show support for my colleagues. I know my boys won't join me, but Lily never passes up a chance to go to a wedding.

Balancing Act

2009-12-02T23:45:00.000+01:00

So much to do--and I love doing it all! The past two days, I have done nothing but hands-on sewing instruction with the women...to the detriment of my other work. But we have a lot of orders to concentrate on, and we want to make sure that we don't disappoint our customers.

I enjoy getting the women to reason with me through the sewing process.

If we cut the curtains this way, then the leaves will be going sideways. But if we cut it the other way, the curtains will not be wide enough. How can we fix this?
Can you figure out how we're going to sew these angel blocks together? (Diagonal rows--she got it!)
What size are we going to cut the border pieces in order to get the pillow to be 14" square?

I really love getting absorbed in the creative world of sewing...it's just that the other demands of ministry are putting on heavy pressure these days.

Write a report on November activities.
Prepare a budget for 2010.
Work on strategic planning for 2010.
Update the website.
Proofread this document.
Etc.

I don't mind doing these things. They are all good and very necessary. It's just that I struggle with how to divide myself and get it all done.

There are 12 of us who work in the sewing program. Everyone has their own job description and their own specialty. They all help to carry the load. It's just that there are some things that take more of my time and effort--especially when it comes to new projects.

I make it a point never to say: If I want it done right, I'll just have to do it myself.
But, it is true that if I want it done right, I will need to give step-by-step instruction and guidance so that the next time they can do it by themselves. This takes T-I-M-E.

But here's what it looks like in the end:
On Monday at 4 p.m. we gave one of our top quilters fabric and about 3 minutes of instruction on a queen-sized quilt. Today, Wednesday, the top was finished, and she loaded it on the quilt machine and quilted it herself. On Thursday morning, she will submit it to quality control. I can tell you right now: it won't have a flaw. This is the result of instruction and guidance in the beginning stages. (Isn't this where we hope to get as parents?!)

As a side note, about six months ago we gave the above quilter a loan so she could have abdominal surgery. Without this progam, she had no other way to get that amount of money. Today she paid off the balance of her loan in cash. Whenever we have given someone a loan in the past, they have worked it off. This is the first time I have ever seen someone pay off their loan in cash.

And so, the balancing act will continue, but I've come to realize: that's just part of life!

Crazy Thursday

2009-11-26T23:58:00.007+01:00

I keep seeing these adds on the internet for "Black Friday" sales in the U.S. What did I see today? One store is opening at 5 a.m.! When I left the U.S. 14 years ago, the day after Thanksgiving was already a big shopping day, but I get the feeling that it's way out of control now, even earning a distinctive name in recent years. Anyway, I had my own shopping experience today, and the best thing to call it is "Crazy Thursday."

As an aside, Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Nigeria. But this year the Muslim Sallah has fallen on Thursday and Friday so we actually have a 4-day weekend, just like many of our American friends. Last year we also happened to get Thanksgiving Day off because of a local election, but then the next day chaos reigned as riots erupted throughout our city.

Back to the story...I've been running out of everything lately: toilet paper, dish soap, flour, sugar, etc. It was obviously time to take a trip to the bulk foods section of the market. In fact, the last time I was there was in May before I traveled to the US. I bought 96 rolls of toilet paper then, and we just ran out now. A couple months ago I tried to get into the market, but the traffic was just too heavy. Because of that, I was trying to be very strategic in planning my next attempt to the bulk foods market. I really figured that an early morning run on a public holiday would be a great time to go. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Huge tractor trailers full of 50 kilo bags of flour, rice, sugar, or boxes of soap completely blocked off the road, while their goods were off-loaded onto the heads of strong young men. The men have this running-walk that they use when carrying such heavy loads. Just stay out of their way when they're coming through.

I saw a couple of tempers flare up throughout the busy market area, probably similar to some altercations which will occur during the U.S. "Black Friday."

There was a great deal of hustling and bustling. Things seem to move faster in this market than in any other market in Jos. Anyone who sells retail food provisions throughout Jos buys from this market. It wasn't the holiday that made it busy; it's just this way every day. Actually I'm sure Sundays would be a bit slower, but the market would still be open.

My neighbor went with me so I could introduce her to this side of town and this type of buying. We both had pretty extensive lists. We went to one shop, about 10 feet wide by 20 feet long, and told the shopkeeper what we wanted to buy. Then he went around getting everything for us. If he didn't have it in his shop, then he would get it from his neighbors. It took quite awhile because other customers were constantly coming in and interrupting our transactions.

Finally, we had everything we wanted in a huge pile outside the shop's entrance. I hired a young man to put the load in his 'truck' which is a cart that can hold about 3 times as much as a wheelbarrow. He headed down the street towards our vehicle with the load. My neighbor, Lily and I took another route along the frontage of the shops. When we saw our car, we were surprised that the 'truck' hadn't yet arrived. I went back to search and found that they were stuck in the middle of a huge traffic jam. There was really nothing to do but wait for the jam to somehow sort itself out. I have never seen that place so congested before.

So much for my proposed peaceful outing to the market! But at least with all of the shopping I did today, another trip shouldn't be necessary until February!

Albinos in East Africa

2009-11-24T23:06:00.002+01:00

A few months ago I wrote about albinos in Nigeria in this blog post.

Tonight I read a story about albinos in East Africa which has turned my stomach. I pray that this horrific idea doesn't travel to the other side of the continent. Click here for the story.

Adoption Grant

2009-11-23T00:06:00.001+01:00

The Foundation for Hope and Grace is offering grants of $1000 to adoptive families to help defray the costs of adopting.

The family behind this foundation has adopted three daughters from Romania. Tragically, one of their daughters was killed in a car/horse carriage accident in 2008. The family has come to Nigeria on a missions trip.

Holidays

2009-11-22T22:10:00.002+01:00

Today I had the unique opportunity of decorating the Hillcrest chapel for both Thanksgiving and Advent! We start celebrating Advent a little early because the chapel will not be in session for the 4th Sunday in Advent.

The woven shiny white/silver/maroon fabric is called aso oke (pronounced ASHO-kay). Aso oke is produced by the Yoruba tribe. My neighbor graciously allowed me to cut some blossoms from her poinsettia tree in her front yard.

For the mantle of the fireplace, I went with a harvest/autumn theme for Thanksgiving. I purchased the leaf fabric in Nigeria a few years ago and made an autumn tablecloth for our home. I made the leaf quilt a number of years ago from Nigerian tie-dye and batik fabrics.

I purchased the vegetables in the market on Saturday. The two pumpkins will be turned into pie before the end of the week. My mom gave me the autumn leaves a few years ago. This is the first time I have used them. I usually forget to bring out any decorations for Thanksgiving.

Although I plan to do my Christmas decorating next weekend, I decided that I would enjoy even a week of autumn decorations in our home.

Korean Princess

2009-11-17T21:37:00.001+01:00

Last weekend we participated in the International Food Fair. Since there was only one Korean family here this year, a friend suggested that a few of us join the Korean family to help them out with the food booth. We all made various donations, got together to cook, and then manned the booth, completely decked out in Korean attire.

Lily was thrilled about the prospect of wearing a Korean costume, even though she had no idea what it would look like. When I brought home the costume, she was not disappointed.

Although there was delicious food from more than eight regions of the world, my kids dined almost exclusively on cotton candy from the North American booth!

Open Hearts, Open Home (Part II)

2009-11-11T21:33:00.002+01:00

Whenever I see the Naatz family, I can expect to see a little Nigerian baby in the midst of them. In fact, that’s how I first met Lily four years ago. They had the honor of naming Lily and taking care of her for most of her first nine months.

Rick and Brenda Naatz have five children of their own; four are now back in the U.S. going to college and settling into their independent adult lives. Now their last-born is a junior. And as usual, they have a little Nigerian baby that they are fostering. And then recently some missionaries went on furlough and asked the Naatz family to care for their 10-year-old Nigerian foster son until they can be reunited. All of this is pretty typical for the Naatz family.

Well, then Brenda had to quickly travel to the U.S. for three weeks to attend to her mother’s urgent health needs. What did Rick do with his three boys (ages 3 months, 10 years, and 17 years)? Did he farm them out to other families? I doubt that the thought even crossed his mind. He appeared to take it all in stride--night feedings, diaper changes, and all.

During the few times that our paths have crossed, Rick and his 17-year-old son appeared to have everything under control.

By the way, Rick and Brenda are missionaries in Jos. Rick works as a clinical laboratory technologist and also teaches at the international school. Brenda works in their mission’s office as travel coordinator and takes care of her family as well as the extras that they always welcome.

Hats off to the Naatz family for their open hearts and open home.

An Eventful Day

2009-11-10T21:20:00.001+01:00

Today was an eventful day, ranging from Bayo meeting the First Lady of Nigeria to David breaking his arm.

I was fully engaged in giving an extensive tour of the ministry and providing lunch to 8 visitors from the US--until I got a call from David's school.

I met a missionary doctor in the hospital, and she greatly streamlined the process of getting David's x-rays. Amazingly, we were out of the hospital within an hour. Under other circumstances, we could have been there for hours. Cost so far: $17.

Thankfully David's break is quite minor, and the bone does not need to be set. We don't know yet if he will get a cast; for now he's in a sling. He is amazingly chipper and hasn't even needed any pain medication.

David's experience brought back memories of when Tobi was 6 and broke his arm diving out of a treehouse window which was about 6 feet off the ground. In David's case, he was swinging on a 6 foot bar at the playground with one hand, lost his grip and landed on his elbow. So both of my boys broke their left arms while they were in kindergarten.

Let's just hope Lily doesn't follow in her brothers' footsteps!

The Story Continues

2009-11-10T00:05:00.003+01:00

A few months ago, I searched Facebook for a college friend who lived across the hall from me freshman year. I'm sure Kristi and I haven't corresponded with each other since we graduated in 1991.

With her permission, I'm sharing part of what she wrote to me:

Hi Mary Beth,

I've been meaning to write you a message since you found me on Facebook. But yesterday clinched it for me that now is the time to get to it. I've been reading your blog these past few weeks...

...you came to my mind yesterday when I was sitting in church. You see we have this gigantic quilt hanging in our sanctuary and they were talking about how it was stitched by these HIV+ women in Nigeria. Knowing your love of quilting/sewing and your work in Nigeria, I wanted to tell you about it. But before I started to write you this email, I started looking at some of your older blogs and what did I find......you made this quilt!!!! I was in shock. Obviously you know what I'm talking about.....the He Qi painting. When it first arrived at our church a couple weeks ago, I looked at it up close to admire the stitching but then because of its size, had to step back quite a ways to admire the scene. Amazing work! I am so impressed.

And then I got this message from her on Monday:

I have another story about your quilt I thought you might like to hear.....God works in mysterious ways! Yesterday was to be the last Sunday it was hanging in our church, but it wasn't there. Earlier in the week, my choir director had told us about Kathy (a woman on staff at Calvary Lutheran in Golden Valley) who had just lost her niece -- a 20 year old college student who suffered an unexpected seizure. As they were preparing for her funeral (in Montevideo, MN), they had to move it to the school as the church was too small for the anticipated attendees. That pastor was looking for a way to make the venue not seem so much like a school, so began asking for a large banner....just anything that could be a big presence in the room. He was told about your quilt and was directed to Calvary in order to get it....little did he know, Kathy was on staff and could easily facilitate getting the quilt to her funeral.

But the story doesn't end there. Apparently, when the kids graduate from this school, they are presented with a quilt as a blessing to wrap around them and take with them to college. But for some reason, this girl never got her quilt.....until her funeral.....she got to have your quilt as a blessing for her going home.

For a previous blog post about the quilt, click here:

Family Mealtime

2009-11-09T21:04:00.006+01:00

Thanks to my menu plan on the fridge, we had an enjoyable, tasty meal tonight. I haven't made Lil Cheddars for quite awhile, but when I looked through my recipe box, I remembered that they had been popular with the kids. I'm not really a fan of meatloaf, but my kids all really like it. This one is a little more exciting because it has cheese in it. I think our cheddar (imported from Europe) is pretty mild because I couldn't really taste it. Before we started our meal, David had his fork and knife in hand, and said, "I'm ready to attack!" I enjoy it when my kids enjoy my food.

I made the macaroni and cheese on Sunday night. I'm all out of Kraft mac and cheese packets, so I made it from scratch with cheddar cheese. The kids didn't really like it. Tobi said it was "too grainy." Well, I had so much left over, and I wasn't about to waste it, so I sprinkled Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon on top to give it some more zing. (That was the end of my last bag of bacon from Sam's Club--can't wait til Mom and Dad come and bring us some more!)

Just recently I realized that October/November is prime watermelon season. For a number of years, I completely stopped buying watermelons because I got so tired of getting pink or even white melons. I've been buying them steadily for a few weeks now and almost all have been a deep juicy red.

And to round out the meal, we had our full-cream powdered milk.

For the Record

2009-11-09T18:34:00.000+01:00

For the record, it is 6:34 and pitch black outside. I guess I should call the kids in for dinner, huh?

And to think that the darkness is going to come progressively earlier for the next 6 weeks. The other day someone said to me, "I like to think of Dec. 21 as the first day of Spring because the days start getting longer from that point."

We are about 8-10 degrees north of the equator so our daylight hours only fluctuate about 1 hour at the beginning and end of each day as the seasons change.

Welcome, November

2009-11-09T06:00:00.003+01:00

October is usually my favorite month. I just love autumn colors, scents, and temperatures so much--at least that's what I remember about the U.S. But this past October was just too busy. That became apparent to me when I looked at my meal schedule on my fridge at the end of October. Judging from that, it looks like my family didn't eat. Well, that's not true, but I sure was living just a day at a time, with no thought for planning ahead.

Even the beginning of November got away from me, but now I have the reins of my household firmly in hand, and I'm hoping this will be a more organized, deliberate month. Generally November is a nondescript month for me. We don't have any family birthdays. I know we have Thanksgiving, but since I've lived in Nigeria for so long, and it's not a holiday here, it just seems to get rolled into all the other days.

Today I planned out our menu for this week at least. I hope that will give a little more semblance to the week.

This November we actually have plans for every single weekend--which is something I usually try to avoid. I really enjoyed the ones that already happened, and I'm looking forward to the next three weekends.

1st weekend: family trip to Yankari with Minneapolis visitors

2nd weekend: mini-retreat at our house for 10 staff members I work with

3rd weekend: International Food Fair (we're going to be honorary Koreans this year!)

4th weekend: Craft Sale (usually a good day for our sewing program)

5th weekend: Thanksgiving dinner at our compound for people who are looking for a place to celebrate with others.

Each weekend deserves its own post--I'll see if the month of November allows for it!

Orphan Sunday

2009-11-08T23:20:00.000+01:00

I have to confess: the emotions that came with motherhood 9 years ago took me by surprise. The love I felt for my first baby was different from the love I had for my parents and different from the love I had for my husband. Maybe it surprised me so much because I wasn't expecting it to be any different from my other significant relationships.

As a child, I never really played with dolls. I didn't dream of becoming a mother one day. I figured I would have kids one day--just because that's what most people do. But I also could have easily missed motherhood simply because I didn't think it was important to me.

I didn't realize I was entering a sacred profession that would forever change my life. Now, standing on the vista of 40, I wish I would have started younger and had more children. I can't imagine a bigger blessing in life. I love being a mom!

I have a friend who turned 35 today and also announced that she is pregnant with their 7th child. By the way, she and her husband also have 7 adopted Liberian children. Their oldest child is 13 years old. I'm so grateful that this family has provided a loving home for these children from a war-ravaged nation. At least one daughter has hepatitis and another accidentally drank lye as a small child, resulting in a severely scarred and constricted esophagus.

Thanks to a couple of my cousins, I learned that November is National Adoption Month in the U.S. and that today is Orphan Sunday in the U.S.

While looking for more info on the internet, I found this: "Before reaching the United States, the vision for Orphan Sunday was birthed in Africa, where there are more than 80 million orphans – 12 million of which lost their parents to AIDS, according to the United Nations. The U.N. Children’s Fund predicts that by 2010, half of the orphans in Africa will be orphaned because of AIDS." (Christian Post)

I discovered that the U.S. has honored National Adoption Month ever since 1990.

Now that Lily's adoption is actually in progress, I find myself wondering if there might be another adoption in store for our family. We'll pray and leave that in the Lord's hands.

There are millions of children around the world in need of a loving home. Do you have room for more?

One Reason Why I Love Living in Nigeria

2009-11-05T17:40:00.004+01:00

Before:

After:

We fix things here! Cost of repair: $1.33.

Overwhelmed

2009-11-04T17:02:00.003+01:00

Wow. I have major projects coming at me from about four different fronts right now, and all have deadlines looming. So much for a quiet evening with the family. I'm going to get to work now, and see if I can clear one project off of my list tonight--that would improve my outlook. Apologies to my family for Indomie noodles (ramen) and movies tonight.

Parade of Nations

2009-10-30T23:54:00.002+01:00

We are very thankful that it didn't rain on Multi-Cultural Day!

David went as an astronaut and at 8 a.m. Tobi changed his mind and decided to be a baseball player instead of a soccer player. (This photo was taken later.) They both waved their flags representing their dual nationalities. More than a dozen countries were represented. And within Nigeria, many different tribes were represented.

The students had their program in the chapel/auditorium and then proceeded to the courts to watch the Tiv cultural dancers. The Tiv tribe is one of the 800+ tribes in Nigeria. Their dress is very distinctive. Anywhere you see this dress, you don't have to ask, you just know: these people are Tiv.

At noon each class had a multi-cultural lunch with foods representing their various countries. Those are our 'pigs in a blanket' in the front. It was a fun day of celebration for the students.

'Tapering Off'

2009-10-29T23:45:00.001+01:00

Well, it only rained for 3 hours this morning.

We'll see how things go tomorrow with the weather. At the boys' school we are celebrating Multi-Cultural Day. The kids will dress up in costumes that represent someone/something from their country. Later there will be some Nigerian Tiv cultural dancers on the outdoor basketball court. And then we'll have a huge multi-cultural lunch, once again outdoors. I hope it works!

Halloween is virtually unheard of in Nigeria--and I'm not about to introduce it. When I first came to Jos, the international school used to have a Costume Parade at the end of October. I think there was a loose connection to dressing up for Halloween, although I never heard that verbalized.

I like the Multi-Cultural idea. It moves it yet a step further away from Halloween. I just wish it had a catchier name. The other night we planned out the kids' costumes: David is going to be an astronaut--we already have a costume in the closet. Tobi will probably be a Nigerian soccer player--wearing a green/white shirt, of course.

I found some little American flags tucked away in one of my gift boxes. Later in the day, I drove to a place on the highway where I've seen little Nigerian flags for sale. The boys will be able to wave both flags representing their nationalities.

I'll be making a batch or two of 'pigs in a blanket' for their multi-cultural lunch.

We pray the rain holds off. But if not, I'm sure the principal has Plan B and C, and possibly D. Having back-up plans for back-up plans is generally our default mode around here.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

2009-10-28T22:30:00.000+01:00

This has been the most unusual October I've ever experienced in Nigeria. Generally we just have a couple tapering off rains in October, lasting maybe 15-30 minutes.

Well, this October we have had at least 6 major downpours, with various short sprinkles in between. Today's downpour lasted from 11:30 a.m. til 4:30 p.m. Tobi said he didn't have any math homework today because the rain was so loud on the tinroof that the teacher couldn't teach!

It was so dark inside my house at noon that I had to use my phone to see inside the freezer! (Of course, the electricity was off.)

As much as I like it that the vegetation is staying green for a longer period of time, these rains are really hurting our farmers who are right in the middle of harvesting a lot of their crops. I'm concerned that some food prices may go up in the near future, making life even more difficult. Many people already spend 80-90% of their income on food. Food prices have already been on the rise, and if they go higher, it will be hard for the vast majority of people here.

Interestingly enough, dry season produces an abundance of great vegetables. All of the dry season farming is done with irrigation.

I was thinking that this is the wettest October I have ever seen here, but sometimes I have a faulty memory. That was put to rest when I was chatting with someone who has lived in Nigeria for nearly 50 years. He said, "I've never seen anything like this in all my years here."

Hindsight

2009-10-27T05:30:00.002+01:00

Justina spent the day at our house, sobbing and sleeping. She is exhausted what with just giving birth 6 days ago and then spending 2 days in the hospital with an infant hovering between life and death. As I held her in the morning, she kept saying things like, "Is this life?" She's walking through one of the most painful things a parent can experience.

In the evening I sat and reflected with the parents about what happened. Baby Joshua's death seemed preventable to me. I started asking more questions about her medical care at the hospital that she chose to attend. To my shock, I discovered that she never saw the same doctor twice during her prenatal appointments, delivery, and discharge. Yes, there was a written record that followed her, but there was no one who personally recognized her and knew her case.

The day before she delivered, she had shown me the lab result for her yellow eyes and dark urine. I saw numbers and acronyms, but none of it was familiar to me. I told her she would have to ask the doctor what it meant. Well, she unexpectedly delivered the next day. I asked her if she ever showed the doctor that lab result. She said when she went to the hospital in labor, she kept trying to show it to him, but he was very busy writing, writing and never looked at it. How I wish the parents had been more assertive and the doctor more attentive. There could have been a very important connection between the lab result and the baby's sickness.

Since the baby was born 4-6 weeks early, he should have been checked much more thoroughly before being discharged. If the jaundice had been detected at that point, he would probably be alive today.

I asked the husband if he ever went with his wife to her appointments. He told me he did go to some of them, but husbands had to stay in the waiting room. There are literally hundreds of women who come for their prenatal appointments every day--I guess it's kind of a classroom setting and men are not allowed inside. I urged them to register as a private patient next time--so they can see the doctor together and be sure that all of their questions get answered. They will need to pay a little more, but they should get more attention.

I even chide myself for not being more observant on the baby's second day of life. Why didn't I open up his clothes and take a good look at his body in the sunshine? Why didn't I press my thumb into his skin to check for yellow hues? Why didn't I ask more questions about his response to nursing?

When I took a good look at Justina's eyes today, I could still see some yellow. I'm going to ask them to go back to the hospital to follow up on her own health concerns. Through this very painful experience, I know the parents will be much more assertive when they seek future health care.

There are many, many excellent doctors in this hospital and throughout Nigeria. I think Justina and Baby Joshua just slipped between the cracks of an over-crowded system.

Baby Joshua

2009-10-26T07:00:00.000+01:00

Baby Joshua has gone to be with the Lord. Bayo has gone to help them bury the baby this morning. Please pray for these deeply grieving parents.

Improving

2009-10-25T09:11:00.002+01:00

We got word from Baby Joshua's father that he has improved a bit. For that we are grateful. The whole family slept at the hospital last night.

Diagnosis: jaundice. It sounds like the hospital is questioning why the baby was discharged last Wednesday since the baby was at least 4 weeks early--and jaundice is so prevalent among newborns who are born early.

Please pray for Baby Joshua

2009-10-24T19:38:00.004+01:00

Please pray for Justina's baby--I'm calling him Baby Joshua because she said that is a name they are considering.

The parents rushed him to the hospital this afternoon. We arrived a couple hours later and discovered a very sick baby. He is extremely yellow and dehydrated. His symptoms seemed to have developed within less than 24 hours. When we saw him on Thursday, we only saw his face which was fair in color, but not actually yellow.

I've heard that jaundice is quite common in premature babies. In fact, Tobi even had slight jaundice when he was born 4 weeks early.

Justina noticed that she herself had very yellow eyes a few days before delivery. I'm wondering if there is any connection.

The baby is on admission at the hospital. We pray that he will recover from this threat to his system.

Welcome, Little One!

2009-10-23T19:50:00.000+01:00

Today we went to greet Justina and her new baby boy. We thought he was going to be born in December, but he decided to come early! He is small, but still a decent size. I think the due date may have been a bit mixed up.

My kids couldn't wait to meet the new baby. They kept asking what his name is, and I kept shushing them because you don't ask that question during the first week. Justina finally told them a name they are thinking about, but they're not sure yet. Generally by the 8th day, babies have a name, but not always. Obviously we don't get birth certificates before the baby is discharged from the hospital!

For those of you who are wondering, the baby's parents are black, and he will be as dark as Lily is in her picture. Most babies here start out a bit light and get darker in the first couple of months.

Justina is a new mother, and I gave my standard piece of advice: Don't keep a lit charcoal pot in your room. She was interested to hear what I had to say because she had already had countless women tell her to bring a charcoal fire into the room to keep the baby warm. Mothers are generally overly cautious about temperature. Babies are bundled in numerous layers--anywhere from 3-6 layers--and then the windows and door are closed while a charcoal fire is lit in the room. I always tell new mothers that the charcoal fumes and lack of ventilation are harmful for the baby.

As we exited the two-room house, I noticed a neighbor preparing the charcoal pot. I'm one voice in the midst of a community of women who all do things the same way. Will this new mother have the inner strength to make up her own mind concerning her child?

Here's the cultural ramification: If she doesn't use a coal pot and her baby gets sick, everyone will blame the sickness on the fact that she didn't use a coal pot. If she does use a coal pot and the baby gets sick, no one will make any connection between the two because it's taken for granted that of course you use a coal pot when you have a new baby.

When Drugs Fail

2009-10-22T21:45:00.002+01:00

In our Mashiah Foundation sewing program, 8 of our 12 staff members are HIV+. We have been very intentional about hiring HIV+ women. In general, their health has been quite stable, with just an occasional sickness now and then. All 8 are on anti-retroviral drugs which work to suppress the virus. Once a month, they each go to a major hospital in Jos to queue with hundreds of other HIV+ people for their next dose of drugs, compliments of the U.S. government PEPFAR program. (Our Mashiah Foundation clinic does not yet have anti-retroviral drugs, but we do provide free drugs for opportunistic infections.)

Larai had her appointment this week. When she came to work the next day, she was quite down as she shared that she was told that the drugs are no longer working in her body.

The nurse had two main questions for her: Are you using condoms? Are you taking your drugs correctly? Apparently they were concerned about a possible cross infection from a partner. Larai asserted that she has not met with any man since her husband died (around 2002). And she faithfully takes her drugs at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day.

Larai began taking the anti-retroviral drugs in 2004. In 2008, the hospital changed her drugs, but she doesn't know the reason why. And now she has received this news. There was really no alternative given. Perhaps she is already on the final line of drugs currently available here.

Larai was told to start taking a multi-vitamin. She has also resolved that she wants to try to eat better food.

Here she is (red/blue in the middle) singing her heart out.

The interesting thing is that Larai's body has given her no indication that the drugs are failing. She still feels fine as usual. I'm concerned that this news may give Larai a bit too much to think about, and she may even get sick just because she's expecting to get sick.

Larai is the mother of four children, ranging from about 8 to 15. Her passion in life is to raise her children. My passion is to equip her to do that.

We'll be giving Larai more sewing projects so she can earn more money to buy better food. And we'll work on keeping her 'hope quotient' up as well.

Basket Making

2009-10-21T00:02:00.000+01:00

We were recently blessed to have a basketmaker visit Mashiah Foundation and train a few of our women on basketmaking. Jane has made numerous trips to Nigeria with her husband over the last 5 years. She had a little extra time on her hands this trip, so we searched for some basket materials, and she went to work.

It's quite difficult for us to get the cane materials here, but with a lot of perseverance, we were able to get a little bit. We're still trying to find someone who can supply us regularly.

Our women caught on to the techniques Jane was teaching. Now the key is to keep them practicing so they won't forget their new skills!

Here the women are attempting a 5-strand braid which they eventually figured out.

Jane even taught herself something new while she was here: weaving fabric into the baskets. I'm quite pleased with the results.

Jane struggled with the quality of cane we were able to find here--it was not up to the caliber of cane she orders from China. She said she toyed around with the idea of bringing some with her, but I told her I was glad she didn't. If the women had learned with the higher quality cane, they may have been easily frustrated with what is available here. I feel it is better to learn to work with local materials rather than be dependent on foreign supplies. This also helps our work to be more sustainable in the long-run.

Speaking of Sugar Cane...

2009-10-20T17:56:00.000+01:00

These stalks of sugar cane are on their way to a market within Jos. First they will be scraped with a knife, and then hacked into 6" chunks for consumption.