I've been a bit scarce on this blog lately. My days are jam-packed with travel details. Too much to do and way too little time.
David, who has been counting down the days for about 2 months, actually said today, "Can we leave in 5 days instead of 2 days?" The reason is that he can't find a couple of the toys that he wants to use when playing with their Imaginext castle which is stored at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Since it was causing that much anxiety, I decided I would help him sift through his toys tonight. We found two more pieces; still have two to go.
Lily will not be traveling with us because we do not have all of the adoption paperwork and the subsequent passport. Try explaining that to a 3-year-old.
When Bayo was in Abuja, Lily heard me ask Bayo on the phone to go to the Embassy and pick up David's passport. She took the phone from me and said, "Daddy, get my passport in Abuja before you come to Jos." If only it were that easy.
I'm trying to do a few things that will make her time here a bit special. For example, she's starting pre-school in our home this week. The woman who was the assistant in David's preschool class works half-days in our home. So she will be teaching Lily this summer. Lily is thrilled to finally be starting school. We have the space all set up. I'm even having a school uniform sewn for Lily. That's a very big deal here--unnecessary in our case, but it makes it special for her.
Months ago we had seen the possibility that it would come to this. So we made arrangements for Bayo to travel to the U.S. in April/May. Now the boys and I will go and Bayo will stay behind with Lily. It's not ideal, but it's the best we can do considering the circumstances.
Will Lily ever be able to travel with us? Yes, I firmly believe she will. We are still trying to find our way through adoption paperwork, but I am certain that it will come to pass in due time. We appreciate your prayers for this situation.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Happiest People in the World
I recently came across an interesting news tid-bit: According to a 2003 survey of people from 65 countries, Nigerians appear to be the happiest people in the world. Romanians came in 65th.
Just the other day Tobi gave me his own anecdotal evidence of this theory. He said when his Nigerian friends fall down and get hurt on the playground, they just start laughing and then continue playing. He contrasted that with some other boys who fall down and really make a big fuss out of it.
When our American friend Emily who has grown up in Czech visited us, she was absolutely amazed at the general happiness of people whom she saw along the road on the four-hour drive from the airport to Jos.
Life is hard here, but people still find joy in living. Suicide is almost unheard of.
I think it's safe to say that most Nigerians have been cheated in one way or another, but instead of getting bitter and remaining angry for a long time, they let it go.
Nigerians are constantly joking with each other. The women I work with are always telling stories in the Hausa language, and then cracking up with each other. To me it seems that stories are always funnier in Hausa.
I love it when visitors come to Bezer Home expecting to see end-stage AIDS patients, but instead they are met by laughter pouring out of the upstairs rooms.
Just the other day Tobi gave me his own anecdotal evidence of this theory. He said when his Nigerian friends fall down and get hurt on the playground, they just start laughing and then continue playing. He contrasted that with some other boys who fall down and really make a big fuss out of it.
When our American friend Emily who has grown up in Czech visited us, she was absolutely amazed at the general happiness of people whom she saw along the road on the four-hour drive from the airport to Jos.
Life is hard here, but people still find joy in living. Suicide is almost unheard of.
I think it's safe to say that most Nigerians have been cheated in one way or another, but instead of getting bitter and remaining angry for a long time, they let it go.
Nigerians are constantly joking with each other. The women I work with are always telling stories in the Hausa language, and then cracking up with each other. To me it seems that stories are always funnier in Hausa.
I love it when visitors come to Bezer Home expecting to see end-stage AIDS patients, but instead they are met by laughter pouring out of the upstairs rooms.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy 50th Bayo!
Bayo turned 50 today!
Everyone says he doesn't look it. And I guess having young children makes him seem young.
We just celebrated in a pretty low-key way. The day was completely jam-packed with various activities so there was no need to add any more excitement.
Every Monday our women meet for a time of fellowship. Today we said good-bye to Jeanette Wilkinson, fondly known as "Mommy Jeanette." For the past five years she has taken her day off from hostel parenting to teach our women various sewing skills. Jeanette and her husband will be returning to Australia next week. In the midst of our send-off party, Bayo walked in to say his own good-bye to Jeanette, and 80 women regaled him with a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday!"
Later we went out to eat with some good friends. Bayo's birthday present to himself was a nap on the couch at 8 p.m.
Everyone says he doesn't look it. And I guess having young children makes him seem young.
We just celebrated in a pretty low-key way. The day was completely jam-packed with various activities so there was no need to add any more excitement.
Every Monday our women meet for a time of fellowship. Today we said good-bye to Jeanette Wilkinson, fondly known as "Mommy Jeanette." For the past five years she has taken her day off from hostel parenting to teach our women various sewing skills. Jeanette and her husband will be returning to Australia next week. In the midst of our send-off party, Bayo walked in to say his own good-bye to Jeanette, and 80 women regaled him with a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday!"
Later we went out to eat with some good friends. Bayo's birthday present to himself was a nap on the couch at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Being Albino in Africa
I knew an albino girl in college. I probably wouldn't have even known she was albino if she didn't tell me. She was just a girl with really white hair and white eyelashes.
Being albino in Africa is a little more obvious. It's hard to be a 'black' albino. Being albino has its own physical problems such as having extremely sensitive skin and poor eyesight. The albino males I have seen are almost always wearing a cap to protect their facial skin from the harsh sun rays. Many of them have skin problems on their arms and face due to over-exposure to the sun.
As a point of reference, Jos is about 10 degrees north of the equator so it's very easy to get a sunburn here. I really try to avoid the sun between 11 a.m. til 3 p.m. because I can burn in about 10 minutes. I'm fair-skinned, but I still have more protection than an albino.
I visited with two albinos in the last two days, and I was struck by their eye problems. The first albino would only make brief eye contact with me; she would not hold my gaze (well, that's cultural since she is younger than me). I noticed that her eyes did not track together; in fact the two eyes seemed to turn outward--just the opposite of cross-eyed. I saw the other albino reading a book with one eye about an inch off the page.
Surely some of these eye problems could be surgically corrected, but I'm sure it would be very expensive.
A few months ago my friend Ann (from Wisconsin) opened up my eyes to a way to minister to albinos. She put out a group email asking for donations of sunscreen for the albinos. Wow. I had never thought of that. What a great idea! Most of us have more tubes of sunscreen than we will ever use. We donated a few. Later Ann attended a meeting of the albino group (they have a name, but I can't remember it) and presented the sunscreen. They were so grateful! There is a little bit of sunscreen available here, but it's extremely expensive and most can't afford it.
Bayo asked me to keep a few tubes of sunscreen in my car and give it to the albino lady who lives on the road to Bezer Home. I kept my eyes open for a good month before I finally saw her fetching a bucket of water one day. I stopped the car and gave her the sunscreen. She said thank you and curtsied with a full bucket of water on her head.
This past week she traced me to Bezer Home. She wanted to know if I had a job for her so she could earn some money to further her education beyond high school. I told her I would keep her in mind if anything comes up.
Later I mentioned this interchange to Bayo, and he immediately responded, "Let's find something for her. These people are so marginalized." That's something I'm only vaguely aware of, but I would like to learn more about how life is difficult for albinos beyond the physical issues they face.
Being albino in Africa is a little more obvious. It's hard to be a 'black' albino. Being albino has its own physical problems such as having extremely sensitive skin and poor eyesight. The albino males I have seen are almost always wearing a cap to protect their facial skin from the harsh sun rays. Many of them have skin problems on their arms and face due to over-exposure to the sun.
As a point of reference, Jos is about 10 degrees north of the equator so it's very easy to get a sunburn here. I really try to avoid the sun between 11 a.m. til 3 p.m. because I can burn in about 10 minutes. I'm fair-skinned, but I still have more protection than an albino.
I visited with two albinos in the last two days, and I was struck by their eye problems. The first albino would only make brief eye contact with me; she would not hold my gaze (well, that's cultural since she is younger than me). I noticed that her eyes did not track together; in fact the two eyes seemed to turn outward--just the opposite of cross-eyed. I saw the other albino reading a book with one eye about an inch off the page.
Surely some of these eye problems could be surgically corrected, but I'm sure it would be very expensive.
A few months ago my friend Ann (from Wisconsin) opened up my eyes to a way to minister to albinos. She put out a group email asking for donations of sunscreen for the albinos. Wow. I had never thought of that. What a great idea! Most of us have more tubes of sunscreen than we will ever use. We donated a few. Later Ann attended a meeting of the albino group (they have a name, but I can't remember it) and presented the sunscreen. They were so grateful! There is a little bit of sunscreen available here, but it's extremely expensive and most can't afford it.
Bayo asked me to keep a few tubes of sunscreen in my car and give it to the albino lady who lives on the road to Bezer Home. I kept my eyes open for a good month before I finally saw her fetching a bucket of water one day. I stopped the car and gave her the sunscreen. She said thank you and curtsied with a full bucket of water on her head.
This past week she traced me to Bezer Home. She wanted to know if I had a job for her so she could earn some money to further her education beyond high school. I told her I would keep her in mind if anything comes up.
Later I mentioned this interchange to Bayo, and he immediately responded, "Let's find something for her. These people are so marginalized." That's something I'm only vaguely aware of, but I would like to learn more about how life is difficult for albinos beyond the physical issues they face.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Establish the Work of Our Hands
Today a friend saw my blog address on our ministry brochure and asked where "Establish the Work of Our Hands" comes from. I realized that I've never written about it here.
Just before we married in 1996, Bayo and I agreed on the two verses below as our "life verses" for our marriage and family. We have prayed these two verses nearly every day of our 12 1/2 years of marriage. After family devotions in the evening, we pray about various situations and then our family of five prays these verses in unison.
"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us~yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17) One thing we ask of the Lord, this is what we seek: that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." (Psalm 27:4)
It has been exciting to see how God truly has established the work of our hands over the years. We have discovered that God's plans are always far better than anything we could ever dream up.
Clothing Sizes Part II
Well, I've had lots of interesting comments on my last post! It is possible that the two shirts I mentioned were youth sizes, but the dress and this sweater seem more like women's clothing to me.
So my young model put on the Size L sweater. If that's size L, then I'm in trouble!
Actually, I think tighter clothing is more acceptable these days, but that doesn't mean that I'm comfortable wearing it.
So my young model put on the Size L sweater. If that's size L, then I'm in trouble!
Actually, I think tighter clothing is more acceptable these days, but that doesn't mean that I'm comfortable wearing it. Thursday, May 21, 2009
Clothing Sizes
What's happening to clothing sizes in the U.S.? Bayo just came back from the U.S. and brought me some shirts and dresses. I've been a size 12/14 for years. The clothes he brought for me ranged from size 14-18, and all of them were WAY too small.
I should have put the shirts on 3-year-old, stocky Lily. I'll bet they would have fit her perfectly. But I've already given them away so I won't be able to do that. I'm planning to give the dress to a Nigerian friend who is about a size 7.
I'm quite sure I haven't changed (still wearing the clothes I bought in the U.S. two years ago), but I'm positive sizing/style has changed in the U.S.
I should have put the shirts on 3-year-old, stocky Lily. I'll bet they would have fit her perfectly. But I've already given them away so I won't be able to do that. I'm planning to give the dress to a Nigerian friend who is about a size 7.
I'm quite sure I haven't changed (still wearing the clothes I bought in the U.S. two years ago), but I'm positive sizing/style has changed in the U.S.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
New Life for Your Wedding Gown
Do you have a beautiful wedding gown hanging in your closet that you don't know what to do with? Please consider donating it to the Women of Hope. As part of sustaining the ministry of the Women of Hope, we are going to be renting out wedding gowns.
Weddings are a very big deal in Nigeria. Brides want to look their absolute best. We know that we definitely have a market for wedding gown rental. Currently we have five wedding gowns that we have purchased from second-hand stores in the U.S.
The ladies I work with had a wonderful time trying them on. They are all dreaming of the day they will wear one.
Weddings are a very big deal in Nigeria. Brides want to look their absolute best. We know that we definitely have a market for wedding gown rental. Currently we have five wedding gowns that we have purchased from second-hand stores in the U.S.The ladies I work with had a wonderful time trying them on. They are all dreaming of the day they will wear one.
Here are a few specs on what we're looking for:
* gowns from the last 20 years that are still in good condition
* no plunging necklines or completely open backs.
* we also need veils and any other accessories.
Most of the wedding gowns we have are size 5/6. We could really use some that are larger. You can contact me by clicking on "View my Profile" and then clicking on my email. I will be in the U.S. this summer and would love to bring a lot of wedding gowns back with me.
Tell your friends. Get the word out! What a great way to get some more life out of that beautiful wedding gown. Your gown will be a blessing to many women in Nigeria as well as a blessing to this ministry.
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