"...and have it in abundance."

     I’ve been taught from a young age that one of God’s greatest desires for his children is that they live abundant lives. I’ve never known exactly what that abundant life looks like, but it sure does sound appealing, doesn’t it? Synonyms for such a life might be rich, or full; my Dad used to associate it with FUN. As I grow and experience more of life, I’m finding that, ironically, perhaps the most full life—and indeed, fun life—is a life which is constantly pouring  out into others.  If such service is abundant life, and “eternal life is this: that you might KNOW Him [God],” then it seems that God’s greatest commandment is simply to have abundant and eternal lives: “The greatest commandment is this: to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, and mind and strength. And the second is like unto it: love your neighbor as yourself.” In loving and knowing God, we embrace eternity. In loving and pouring into our neighbor, we enjoy all the riches that life has to offer.  

     Though I make ZERO claims of loving my God or my neighbors well, I am thankful that He still is allowing me to see this principle at work in my life and the lives of those around me.  God has allowed me to experience the fullness of life in several ways over the past couple of weeks. Yesterday was a prime example.

We had our Celebration Feast yesterday, modeled after Jesus’ command found in Luke 14. Though we had initially invited about 70 folks, only around 40 actually were able to come. The event was a smashing success. The kids that came—most accompanied by their mother-- had some terminal illness (generally HIV or cancer). It was interesting that, in contrast with our past Tennessee Luke 14 banquet guests, most of these kids were not visibly struggling with a disability, but their physical and emotional hardships were just as real. I can’t imagine the emotional stress and heartache that the parents (mostly single moms) are going through, without the help of good medical care and material comfort of any kind, knowing that their children will die before they do. Anyhow, for a bit yesterday, I believe, those families were able to forget their troubles.

      When they arrived, they were warmly greeted, their pictures were taken by a professional—to be given to them at the end of the party, and they were shown the Bouncy Castle, which thrilled most of the kids. The auditorium was decorated as for a wedding feast, with the food matching in quality and style. As most guests were Muslim and spoke little English, Newton gave a short introduction in the Yoruba language. After they ate, we had a short program including music (led by yours- truly), minute-to-win-it games, and door prizes. They were then led outside where there was a horse prepared to give rides, a trampoline and playground, and earring making for the mothers. The smiles on those kids’ and mothers’ faces were absolutely priceless. After a couple hours of such festivities, they were sent on their way with party favors. Our greatest prayer is that they were blessed and received the knowledge of the love of God. Thank you for your prayers.

   

       Working backwards chronologically now, I must tell you of our fantastic guests of two weeks here in the American House. On Nov. 5^th, a group of nearly 30 American medical professionals arrived in Ibadan on a mission to provide free medical care to those who were in need. As some logistics fell through last minute for the group (Called the “Moses Lake Medical Team”), American Christian Academy was called upon to help house the team. We ended up with four young women here in our house (though only three actually stayed in the country for more than 24 hrs…) who turned out to be an absolute blast. We were able to go on site with them one day and volunteer with the medical team. They had quite the smooth operation, with a couple dentists, a couple general practitioners, several nurses, several surgeons, an optometrist, an ophthalmologist, several pharmacists, and even a massage therapist.  They served a couple hundred people each day for the two weeks that they were here. It was a great work they were doing, but our favorite part was definitely getting to host and hang out with Cecilia, Brighid, and Elaine. It really turned out to be a huge blessing to have them here. 

     Working backwards once again, we finally have gotten to interact with the orphanage with which we’ve been trying to connect. We made an initial visit almost three weeks ago, and then invited them over to our compound for popcorn and a movie on the following Friday night. Talk about a precious group of kids. They were the most grateful and respectful bunch ever; huge contrast with the students that attend our school every day. We are planning on making weekly visits to their orphanage to do crafts and such starting this Sunday.

     School continues to be an adventure. My little ones are still cute as all-get-out. Bible class is still rocking my socks off—I just hope it’s having the same effect on my students. The food situation is great. The exercise situation could be much better. Life, though, is good. We WILL be celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday with a Turkey and all the traditional sides (with as few modifications as possible). While I am so thankful for the experiences God is giving me and the ways that He’s growing me here, I am also quite excited for Christmas break at home which is three weeks from today!! So many things to be thankful for.

Thanks be to God

A few people have asked me if I’ve experienced much culture shock since my arrival here in Nigeria. As I’m pretty laid back and seem to take things in stride, my answer to them has been “No.” Yesterday, however, I experienced culture shock—though not in the way you might expect. On our way back from a short traveling excursion (which I will detail later), we stopped at a big mall called Shoprite.  Walking into a mall that was enormous, clean, stocked, lacked odor, was absent of people staring and shouting “Oyibo!” was incredible. It was very nice and very western. The choice of foods to buy in the big grocery store was literally overwhelming to me. The really weird thing was that it seemed to be normal for everyone else walking the aisles.  Of course, three months ago, if I had walked through such a place, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.  I just couldn’t figure out, given how I was feeling, how these shoppers could consider this mall “normal” AND the radically different world just outside “normal.” I’m still baffled. 

I’m afraid it’s been far too long since I’ve written a blog post and several goings-on of the past couple weeks may have escaped me. But I’ll give it a shot.

The last two weeks have been a huge gift from God.  The previous week, I had struggled quite a bit with the seemingly increasing monotony of life here and lack of meaningful interactions with people.  After discerning these struggles, I began praying every morning that God would grant me a real love for my students and co-workers, a joy in my teaching, and a passion for the mission that God has for me here.  God has been so gracious in granting these desires of my heart.  He has granted me so much joy that I can remain genuinely enthusiastic with my students throughout the day, that I can actually enjoy the moments that caused frustration before, that I feel so much more settled and at peace with the work that God has placed before me.  Praise the Lord.

Last week, I had several conversations with people about the different special needs of a few students in the preschool. There’s a child diagnosed with mild autism, a child with speech difficulties diagnosed as blockage in the ear canal, and a child with undiagnosed disabilities which to me resemble some sort of moderate autism.  Now, obviously these kids don’t have access to special services or accommodations, but the teachers definitely want to see them succeed.  Because of my minimal background knowledge, I was asked to observe the latter child to see what I thought could be done. Such observations and conversations really made me wish I was much more knowledgeable and capable of meeting these needs. They have again stirred my felt need to get further education in some area of disability service.  

I was given another unbelievable gift last week – a visit to a LEGIT coffee shop. Now in order to understand my excitement here, you have to realize that I’ve been primarily subject to Nescafe instant coffee with Peak powdered milk these past months—a drink which has fallen off the backside of the spectrum which contains a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. You also need to understand that this little coffee shop had real, creamy and delicious cheesecake with blueberry topping—a delicacy that I dared not dream of before in Nigeria. I nearly started crying as I sat back in comfort with a Cappuccino in my hand a delightful dessert before me. “Praise His name, Hallelujah, ha ha ha.” 

This weekend has been a five day holiday due to midterm break here at ACA, thus affording us the opportunity to escape the compound for a couple days. Several of us jumped on the opportunity real quick. Katie, Gretchen and I, accompanied by Leah and Hadassah, as well as three lovely Nigerian ladies – Ethel, Blessing, and Goodness—made our way to Lagos (3-4 hrs. away) to spend a couple days at the beach. We stayed at a small resort called Hermitage. 

Though the hotel wasn’t the nicest thing ever, the private beach was SPECTACULAR. I’d never experienced such awesome waves—though the alarming number of jellyfish was a bit perplexing. We so enjoyed viewing the power of God manifested in the night sky filled with more stars than you could count, the raging ocean filled with bright sparks from the jellyfish, the beautiful crescent moon, and the dim lights from the nearby city reflecting into the water.  Sitting on the beach Friday night with a guitar, singing praises to the Creator of this beauty was an awesome and refreshing experience.  In the morning, we rose at six in the morning to view the sun rising over the water and the fisherman beginning to maneuver the waves in their small boats. We attempted to get a ride out into the ocean on one such boat but failed on account of the outrageous price that the Fisherman wanted to charge we seemingly rich and dumb Americans. Not this time buddy.  Anyhow, the beach trip was a wonderful and needed break from work and compound life.

Typical view while driving down the expressway.

The common roadside vendors, walking between, and causing congestion.

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And now onto that which is exciting me most at this very moment. I just came back from a brief planning meeting that has gotten my head reeling with excitement and anticipation. About a month ago, I mentioned to a couple people the idea of having a Luke 14 kind of dinner party here in the compound (following Jesus’ command to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind when you have a feast).  Eventually I talked to most folks in the compound about it and found that most were enthused about the prospect. So, we gathered today to seriously plan it out. It’s going to be awesome. We’re going to invite 60 or so folks nearby that an acquaintance of Karen’s ministers to every two weeks. The group is composed of children that are suffering from chronic pain and life threatening ailments (AIDS, tumors, etc.) along with their mothers.  These folks are very needy, in a lot of pain, and most are Muslim.  So, we’re gonna invite them in to our compound on November 20^th, feed them a delicious Nigerian feast, entertain them with music, games, horse rides, blow-up games, and crafts, and then send them away knowing that Jesus loves them.  I’m pumped out of my mind. How awesome to be able to serve Christ in such a real way—He who claims “Whatever you have done for the least of these, brothers of mine, you have done it unto me.”  If you would join me in prayer as we begin preparations for this “Celebration Feast,” I would so much appreciate it. I’ll definitely keep you updated as the event draws near.

Sharpening through the dull moments...

Life always has it’s dull moments, even in Nigeria.  Thankfully, the dull moments here so far have been balanced well by extraordinary ones.  The daily routine is becoming, well, quite routine. I’m grateful that my routine has a variety of activities and tasks incorporated here in the school. Going from teaching the color Green, to teaching about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, to Cicero’s Canons of Rhetoric is really nice. Time after school can be a drag if I let it be. I fight the feeling of being “trapped” inside the compound, as nice as it is. With the right tools (exercise, prayer, reading, music), it is definitely a winnable battle.

Rainy season continues here, and brings with it many adventures. Last Wednesday, Gretchen, Leah and I (along with little Hadassah), headed out to the South African compound for Bible Study—which, by the way, continues to be a huge blessing and highlight of my week.  Though the skies were clear when we left home, a storm quickly came upon us, and by the time we neared our destination, it was a raging monsoon. With incredibly low visibility, avoiding the ever-present and often enormous pot-holes was nigh impossible. At one point, we fell into a hole so big we thought we had lost our bumper. A three second hop outside (in which I immediately got soaked)proved otherwise, thank God. When we were what should have been 10 minutes away from the compound, we were informed that we could proceed no further because there was a bad accident ahead that would not be moved until the morning (that’s Nigeria for you). It’s now quite dark, still raining cats and dogs, we’ve just ventured 40 minutes in a treacherous storm, we’re a mile from our final destination, and most importantly, we’re three strong determined young women. The obvious solution then was to park the car and take off on foot. So, after wrapping our bibles and freshly made Apple Crisp in plastic bags, we took off.  We neared the accident and saw that a small car had been smashed between two semi-trucks—a mess which would definitely not be dealt with in short order. We were very grateful to find that one of our calls to the SA compound had brought forth a car and driver to pick us up on the other side of the accident. And so, we arrived about an hour late, soaked to the bone, to enjoy a lovely evening. The trip back was almost as eventful as the trip there. After trudging through the rain back to our vehicle, we found the visibility to be just as bad and the water on the road to be up to two feet in places.  We arrived safely back home with no problems, but it had certainly been a night to remember.

Another alarming driving experience occurred on Friday evening on the way back from eating Lebanese we ran into some normal looking traffic. As we neared the heart of the congestion, we saw a man lying in the middle of the road, most likely dead. From the looks of it, he had been riding an Okada (commercial motorcycle) and had been hit. No one was moving the body, potentially because the norm is to wait for the incompetent police to come assess the situation without anything being altered. It was a really disturbing sight though.

Other uniquely Nigerian experiences of the past two weeks include eating Goat’s head (gag me with a spoon please). Every week, the school butchers a goat to prepare a lovely spiced meat called “Suya.” Such a butchering allows some lucky few to enjoy the delicacy of the goat’s head. Basically they take the whole head – eyes, ears, teeth, brain, skin, etc.—chop it all up a bit and cook it with some spices and then serve it. I’m not sure what all my bite contained, but I definitely felt some rough skin, maybe some brain… thought it could’ve been some tongue….hmmm…. Meanwhile, a couple Nigerians were chomping down on everything, periodically removing the teeth or jaw bone from their mouth. Mmmmmm, appetizing, eh?

We ate more Nigerian food this past Friday at a baby naming ceremony for one of the teacher’s daughters. The baby was born about a week ago and the time had arrived to give her a name—which is not simple process here in Nigeria. We arrived at the ceremony to find QUITE the celebration – like a mini-wedding. The naming process involved all of the extended family picking out a name for the child. The parents would then choose one of the given names to actually call the little girl. The names chosen by the extended family were as follows:  Oluwafayotimisola, Oluwafeyisemilaanau, Ileriayooluwa, Mojadesolaoluwa, Arauluwanimi, Motunriyanuoluwa, Oluwateleayomi, Oluwatomikepe, Temidayoninuoluwa, Sarah (Princess), Michelle (who is like the Lord?). Now, which one of those would YOU pick to call your daughter? I’m not sure, but I think they settled on Princess. Good choice Mr. and Mrs. Afolabi.

Teaching has been going quite well. The preschoolers continue to be super cute and draining. Bible Class is rocking my socks off. Not only do I have an awesome time explaining God’s Word to these kids and answering awesome questions, I’m also being challenged to think through how God’s love is manifested in these Old Testament stories. How, for instance, is his love manifested in his banishment of Adam and Eve from the Eden and the Tree of Life? The Jesus Storybook Bible clarified the answer for me: “You see, God knew that if they ate the fruit, they would think they didn’t need him. And they would try to make themselves happy without him. But God knew there was no such thing as happiness without him, and life without him wouldn’t be life at all.”

 Lunch in preschool today provided another clarifying picture on the issue. When it came time to eat, little Nifemi rushed to her bag to grab her fish and spaghetti. Knowing the disaster that would inevitably result, I grabbed the food first and kept it from her, asking her to sit down nicely. She proceeded to pitch a huge fit, apparently not believing that I would actually give her the food and prevent a huge mess while I was at it. So often I am like Nifemi, not trusting that my Provider actually knows what’s best; not trusting that anytime He keeps something appealing away from me, he is doing it for my good. It was so hard for Adam and Eve to believe that God’s withholding the appealing fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was actually for their good. How much harder it must have been—and is even still—to understand that his withholding the Tree of Life from them was also out of his love for them. Am I willing to trust in the love of such a God? Am I willing to believe that his withholding of pleasantries is actually a preventative of the mess that I would inevitably make out of my life without Him?

As you can see, these classes are becoming the catalyst for some awesome discoveries about the character of God and my relationship with Him.  Thank you for your continued prayer. If you want to prayer specifically for a student in one of my bible classes named Hussein, I’d appreciate it. He’s in 6^th grade, with a clear distaste for the Bible and anything Christian. Oh, how I would love to see God’s love soften the heart of this child and bring Him into a right relationship with the Creator.

I will end today by noting that though dull moments do exist, I’m pretty sure God is using each of them combined with the exciting ones to sharpen this piece of garbage which He for some reason loves and enjoys calling “Child.”

Ups and Downs...

     For those of you who recall my experiences at Camp Easter Seals last summer—and for many, a particularly LARGE scene might stick out in your memory—you might think that I’ve become immune to other human’s excrement.  This would be a false assumption. I was not, in fact, pleased today when that cute little Oshojeme peed all over me. And I was even less pleased yesterday when I was privy to not one, not two, but THREE diarrhea explosions in my classroom (and no, none of them were my own, but thanks for asking). If you do the calculations right, within the span of 5 minutes, 1/3 of my class was covered in…fluids. 

     While yesterday was one of the worst days so far in preschool, the day just prior to it provided the greatest moment yet in the department. Little Merlin came dressed in the most beautiful Indian dress; she looked just like a princess.  But looks can be deceiving, we found out during snack. Upon being asked to sit and eat, Merlin scowled and flipped over her chair. Being the disciplinarian that I am, I quickly grabbed her up and took her up to the Time Out Chair which sits up some stairs on a little deck in the classroom.  Merlin immediately began sobbing and crying out—in her very strong Indian accent—“Merlin be good, Merlin be good.” After a few minutes of this, I asked if she was ready to come eat her food nicely, to which she replied, “Merlin be good, Merlin eat, Merlin sit.” I walked slowly over to the stairs and motioned for her to come down.  She took a couple steps down, then spread out her arms, and in the most dramatic, princess like way imaginable, she free-fell down the equivalent of four steps where luckily my fast-like-lightening reflexes allowed me to catch her. I TRIED to give her the serious talk about her wrong actions, but was so overcome with laughter that I could barely ask for an apology.  I’m not really sure if she learned her lesson or not… 

     The preceding Friday was QUITE an interesting day as well, mostly due to the unexpected announcement that Barney (Yes, that big Purple Dinosaur) was going to make an appearance at the academy as part of his Welcoming Celebration in Ibadan. An emergency assembly was called for his supposed arrival at 12:30. Knowing that he would probably be a few minutes late, Karen asked me to lead a few songs for the 120+ 2-13 year olds.  The “few songs” turned into at least 30 min. of entertainment as we waited for the Dinosaur. To make a long story short, we ended up waiting for three hours for that purple guy, trying to keep kids under control and entertained, trying to explain to parents why their kids weren’t quite ready to go home. When he finally arrived he spent literally only two minutes with our kids, just enough time to let their video crew get some footage for their evening announcement. Biggest disaster of my life. Barney takes far too much liberty in his song when he supposes that “You love me.” ‘Tis not the case at American Christian Academy, sir. 

     On a brighter note, Bible classes have gone quite well this week.  We discussed the Garden of Eden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I mentioned in my last post that my perspective on sin and God’s love has been shifting and, I hope, becoming clearer. It’s really interesting to see how my teaching of Genesis is being affected by God’s work in my own heart. I am so thankful everyday for this opportunity to share the knowledge of a Good God with these students.   

     Other events of the past week include a FANTASTIC choir concert at a local church. They had a lovely mix of hymns, contemporary praise music, traditional Yoraba (a large Nigerian people group) music, and the most lovely rendition of some Handel’s Messiah. Very well done.

     In my goings to and fro’ this past week I have been almost continually aware of the folks with disability on the streets, and it’s been doing a work on my heart. One scene nearly brought me to tears yesterday. On the way to Bible Study we drove through a busy part of town with slow, slow moving traffic. In the median there was a man speaking/chanting into a megaphone. Leaning over onto this man’s lap was a young lady with her shirt raised to expose her badly deformed hunchback. As he blasted over her with his megaphone, a couple of  people circulated in the traffic collecting money supposedly to help the young lady. The whole thing broke my heart. Anyway, scenes like these may or may not have triggered some thoughts regarding long term life plans.  I pray that God would use my time and experiences here to provide direction for my future that I might serve him with my utmost.

Also, I’ve been here for over a month now, which is CRAZY.

Musings...

I wrote this post four days ago, but unfortunately, we’ve had a bout of no internet, and very sporadic electricity and even water, thus making posting quite difficult… But here you are…

As I enter my fourth week here in Ibadan, I find myself beginning to think deeply about various social, economic, and spiritual issues.  While previously, the excess of new sights and experiences had prevented such ruminations, my situation now spurs me towards new thought processes and realizations. In Isaiah ­­­­­­­­­­God promises “Behold, I am doing something new”—a thought which hold great hope for my life. I have figured that inward change was inevitable with my changing external situation in Africa.  It’s exciting to see the beginning of that movement which I hope will bring new  transformation to my spirit and mind.

Before revealing my inward musings, let me mention a few circumstantial developments and occurrences this week. My work with the preschoolers has been getting better – both in the pre-nursery class and in P.E.. We have a new 2-year-old this week—an little Indian girl names Harkiran. Her family is of the Sikh religion, which I had never heard of. Come to find out, it’s the 5^th largest religion and fastest growing religion in the world. Who knew? Anyhow, the little Indians in the class seem to recognize some racial bond. On the second day that Harkiran was with us, little Jerard took a liking to her. During playtime, Jerard got in the little toy car, began “driving around” and when he saw Harkiran, he promptly put his hand to his mouth and smoothly blew her a kiss across the room. This didn’t seem to faze Harkiran, nor Merlin—whose hand he had been caught holding the day before. Talk about a player and a flirt – and at only 2 years old!!!

I’ve been sick all week with a bad cold that has pretty much stolen my voice. This has made teaching EXTREMELY difficult. Bible class, in particular, I’m afraid has suffered from my sickness.

Though management and lecturing has been less than ideal, I am thankful that I have gotten to know some of the students better this week. Names are still a struggle, but I’m determined to get them down—though there are over 100. We discussed Genesis 1 and the creation of the world this week. As I was teaching and showing clips of the magnitude and intricate design of the universe which God spoke into existence, I could not help but join my students in being awestruck by the greatness of the Creator.  Please pray that these students will come to love this Creator as they grow to understand his power and love for them.

                As for other updates, I have begun teaching piano lessons this week to three students and will start guitar lessons next week for at least one. Speech club still has only two students, but they seem enthusiastic and I’m excited to work with them, so it should be good.

                The South African compound has been a huge blessing this week. Bible Study on Wednesday was again super. I am able to lead worship for the group with Katie, which is definitely a joy. Then, on Friday, the four of us American singles (“The Crew”) went to spend the night at the compound.  We spent the evening eating a delicious meal, playing music, visiting and relaxing, slept in the super nice guest house and then arose to a fantastic breakfast, the watching of a Rugby game and more relationship  building. It was wonderful and rejuvenating.

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And now for those of you interested in the inner workings of my mind, however simple or complex they may be, I will expound upon some of my recent thoughts. For the rest, please feel no obligation to read further.

First, in regards to economics. The economy here baffles me quite a bit. The I’ve seen three different types of people as far as economic status. First, there are the rich who live in luxury. These are mostly people of other nationalities (Lebanese, Indian, etc.) who have come to make bank in some specific industry. They often live in secluded compounds, and many send their children to schools such as our American Christian Academy.  Then there’s this odd group which I was introduced to last week as I walked through typical looking market street. I was told that the people here, though they lived and worked in what seemed to be filthy and wanting conditions, were EXTREMELY wealthy – sitting on loads of cash. But, I wonder, why aren’t they investing and improving their conditions? The only answer I have is that the cultural ties prevents them from breaking out of their circumstances. Lastly, there is the public at large which lives in severe poverty, struggling to get food on the table and living in dirty conditions which are quite conducive to disease and worms. OH, side not: the horror stories we heard last night about the various things that want to get inside of us and eat us were terrifying. The South Africans did well at scaring us into wearing shoes always, NEVER hanging clothes outside, and washing our hands every single second.

 But back to the economy. Newton, who lives here in the compound, tells me that he is angry when he sees the poor conditions of his county.  The target of his frustration is, as one might guess, the government. Why? Because they are doing nothing about all the trash and lack of order in the streets and markets. After inquiring more about it, I learned from Newton that the Nigerian government is quite hands off because they receive their immense funding from the oil fields which they own and contract out. While you see a few police around here, they do very, very little. There is no enforcement of taxes here (because the government doesn’t need it). So, for those of you who are die-hard fans of the Free Market (i.e. my family), please help my figure out why people don’t improve their own conditions here. If the government doesn’t interfere with the economy and the land is quite rich in natural resources, shouldn’t there be more extensive economic progress??? Does the hot climate cultural elements of close familial, tribal, and community ties (as opposed to Western individualism) present such a hindrance to improving standard of living? Now, some people claim that the problem lies in the spiritual realm – that if these people embraced Christian values, they would hop right out of their low standard of living. Indeed, many of the churches around here preach such as prosperity gospel. But this leads me to my more spiritual musings…

The circumstances that I find myself in—namely some difficulties and discomforts, semi-seclusion, and quite a bit of time on my hands-- lend themselves very nicely to reading, praying, and thinking, which is good. The current issue on my heart and mind has been spurred by George MacDonald’s “Hope of the Gospel” which Gretchen and I have been listening to in audio form. The basic gist is this, that suffering resulting from sin is an extremely significant part of redemption because it helps us realize the gravity of that which is far worse than consequences experienced – sin itself and separation from the Will of God. It’s a powerful thought which can totally reorient ones life in regards to how he relates to God and how he relates to others. Now, forgive me – these thoughts are quite raw in my mind. But, in thinking about my purpose, future,  and the suffering here in Africa, I think it may bring at least some clarity. Many may scoff at such a thought—and it is a bit radical—to think that sin itself is actually more harmful to man than the consequences that results from it. And yet, I think I may be beginning to embrace that in regards to sin, “The result is the curative of the cause.” 

                One more lesson that God is teaching me through my situation here is a lesson in love. The folks at the South African compound have really impacted me. For, their generosity and love outpoured on me this week has ZERO to do with how much they enjoy me or gain in return for their kindness. Rather, they pour out their love and acceptance because we arrived at their doorstep. Oh, how I long to be able to reflect this love which is clearly from an all-loving savior. A love that is constant and based not upon convenience or reward, but upon obedience to a God who commands love for one’s neighbors.  I have been convicted, and yet deeply hope that Christ will lead me to such a place of love.

                I had zero intention of rambling on so. Oops. I’ll be super impressed with anyone who made it through those “musings” and not at all offended for those who gave up after the first paragraph…. J  Thank you for your continued prayers as my Father’s promise to me is beginning to be seen: “Behold, I am doing something new.”  

The kiddos and such...

Oshojeme

Merlin

Temitayo

Nifemi

Saatvik

Nifemi E.

American Christian Academy -- main building

My preschoolers are pretty adorable. But looks have little to do with attitude and behavior...

Kelly (Preschool Teacher), Me, and Gretchen

Karen, Katie, and Veronica (office manager)

Karen took five of us girls out for a little celebratory meal -- celebrating our survival of two weeks and Veronica and Kelly's birthdays. It was quite lovely.

Two Weeks In...

Today is my two week anniversary for being in Nigeria. On the one hand (especially when in my pre-nursery class), it feels like I’ve been here for months and months, on the other hand-- when realizing how little of Nigeria I have experienced—it seems that I’ve just arrived.  In some ways I feel like I’m getting quite comfortable and acclimating to the area, though at some points I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water.

We’ve been progressing in leaps and bounds in pre-nursery this week. Not ONLY have the learned what an alligator and the number zero are, but students  have also been introduced to the horrible consequence known as “THE TIME OUT CHAIR.” The nine of them provide plenty of cute moments, but not without a load of frustration and exhaustion. Cute moment today was during prayer, when two little munchkins interject several boisterous “AMEN”s into my prayer. No doubt they have picked up on this from the Christian culture here where such interjections are very, very common.  Coming from a two year old, though, is priceless.

Bible class this week so far is rocking my socks off. Though I’ve just done an introductory and review lesson on what they covered last year, I’ve gotten some awesome questions and concerns from the kids. I did a brief overview of what the bible is, and then some fundamental characteristics of God – things that many of us accept without question, like, He is without beginning or end, everywhere, all knowing, a spiritual being.  One of the most difficult things for the 4^th graders came from this question, “Ms. Lee Anne, if God was before the world and created the world, then who created God???” He couldn’t have just been there! Surely He had a beginning!!  The kids actually got a bit riled up with this confusing concept. And then there were great questions, like, “Ms. Lee Anne, do we look like little ants to God?” and “If the bible is God’s message to me, did he write it down with a pen, or what?”  The level of engagement and interest that I’m seeing from these kids, from the 1^st to the 5^th grade classes (6^th is tomorrow) is thrilling, motivating, and inspiring.  And get this, I asked the 5^th graders to jot down what their opinion of the bible was currently. Besides a couple responses like, “The bible is a big book,” the kids answers were beautiful and simple. For example, “The Bible is true, interesting, and about God—which is my favorite.”  That’s what I’m talkin’ about. I am so excited to learn from these kid’s enthusiasm and simplicity as we study the bible together.

In other news, Monday was a super long day because we had our “Back to School Night” event.  Though we were all tired as things wrapped up, several teacher’s aids did manage to fit in a nice debate about whether or not I would marry a Nigerian. The vote, for your information, was 3 in favor and 1 opposed. But, seeing as there were only 4 people involved in that poll, I may have to do further study to get scientifically sound results.

Yesterday was a tough day for some reason. I was absolutely exhausted and not in the most joyful mood—definitely in need of some encouragement and heart change. Good thing God knows me so well and is so great at satisfying my soul.  Last night we went to a South African compound about 20 miles from here where we had been invited to a Bible Study. Karen, Equi, and the other Americans have been going for a while. It was the BEST fellowship and encouragement that I’ve received since I’ve been here. There were about a dozen South Africans, Americans, and Nigerian gathered in a home where we shared a meal, worshiped God, and prayed together. I am so looking forward to getting to know these folks more and continuing to fellowship with them. What a blessing.

The weekend begins tomorrow, and I sure am ready for a rest. Funny thing is, compared to Gretchen and Katie, who I live with, I have very few responsibilities and resulting stress.  Please pray for strength for all of us and that we would be effective and contagious lights for Him.

p.s. more pictures are on their way. have no fear.

Getting Settled

Gretchen with our PB

In the past, when I’ve asked someone “Do you want creamy or crunchy peanut butter?” the response has never been, “Whenever your arm gets tired is fine.” But that’s how things go in Nigeria, I guess. It seems we’re finally figuring out food here in the American House. We went to the market on Monday and bought some “staples” like  fresh bread and a bottle of peanuts – which we immediately  made into peanut butter by pounding it by hand. We were thrilled though to have something somewhat familiar. 

The market trip was quite the experience. While in the states, a trip to the store to get 20 ingredients is simple and quick, here, we were required to make three stops, walk probably a mile through stands of produce, fresh meat (with flies and gross smells surrounding it), and bread in order to find our chosen items. But, I have not gone to bed hungry in several days now, so I’m a happy camper.  

There’s definitely a lot of poverty around here and everything is very dirty. Traffic is totally chaotic – similar to any third world nations I reckon.  I’m allowed to get my license and drive a school car, but I’m not sure I’m going to work up the nerve to do so. But getting out of the compound is good. It’s kind of crazy, because inside we are sitting pretty comfortably and safe in a little bubble while just outside there is chaos and poverty. Many of the students that we teach live in similar bubble-like compounds. The few inconveniences that I’ve experience here are really NOTHING to complain about when compared to most of my surrounding “community.” I've seen a couple people with disabilities similar to those we served in Ghana -- crawling or making do with whatever form of mobility they could find. That's really hard for me to see, especially now when there's seemingly nothing I can do about it.

School started on Tuesday. I have 12 little 2-3 year olds, most of which are adorable…at times. Two of the little guys screamed and cried for literally the whole first two days. Today was better in that regard, but “teaching” is still a nearly impossible task. Supposedly it gets better. I have three little Indian students, an Egyptian and Sri Lankan (both have yet to show up), and six Nigerians. I’m teaching with a Ghanaian lady named Vic who is splendid with the kids. I’m trying to learn from her patience, creativity, and exuberance.

I’m terribly excited for next week when I will start teaching the bible classes and Speech club.  Reading through the Bible curriculum (“Creation to Christ”)  and the reasoning behind it has been super thought provoking and has absolutely psyched me up. It’s purpose is to reach unbelievers (mostly those of different religions) by building a solid biblical foundation of human nature, the origin of man and sin, and God’s character before revealing the awesome hope found in Christ.  My principal, Karen, has told me some awesome stories of a few of the kids who have wrestled with the Truths revealed in this Bible class in the past, with the result of some Hindu’s, Muslims, and people of various other religions trusting in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I am so prayerful that I will get to see some of those stories unfold this year.

Overall, I’m definitely beginning to settle in. Remembering these Nigerian names of staff and students is a challenge, but I’m starting to get those, too. I’m super thankful for early morning runs at a nearby golf course before school which has provided fantastic starts to my days and fruitful prayer time. Thank you for your continued prayer as God begins his work in my heart and hopefully the hearts of the students that I am able to share with this year. 

Also, this is the child that lives with us in the compound, with her American mother and Nigerian father. Her name is Hidasa, and she is clearly adorable.