Jamie's Adventures

Still have stories . . .

2010-04-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've written on my blog. . . okay, so it's been more than awhile since I've written on my blog, it's been a year! It's not that I haven't had stories to share . . . for crying out loud, I got married last June. I think that I haven't written because I forgot about my blog and because I figured my stories weren't exciting any more. Granted, the stories I had to tell from Nigeria were exciting, out of the ordinary, fun to write and I hope entertaining to read, but i sadly no longer live in Nigeria, and that doesn't mean that all of my life is boring now. (If you didn't get a chance to write my blog while I was in Nigeria check out some of the posts in my archive below. I guarantee there are some funny stories and great pictures!)

Anyways, my newest adventure besides getting married, working at Richmond Beach Coffee Company and becoming an aunt is signing up for the Seattle Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon!! For those of you new to the running world, a half marathon is 13.1 miles . . . I don't know about those crazy people who run full marathons! 13 miles is plenty for me. Sarah, a friend and co-worker is undertaking this crazy adventure with me! After coming up with the idea of running the race, we decided that if we are going to spend this much time training we had better make it worth more than just a crazy thing for us to do. So we decided to make our half a fundraiser for World Vision.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Since I have spent time in Ethiopia, The Dominican Republic and Nigeria this is right up my alley. I have seen poverty and injustice up close and know what a real problem it is in this World and even for some of my friends across the globe. Therefore we are asking any of you who can to make a small donation to our race, to help raise money for World Vision. You can donate on our World Vision Team page by clicking on the link on the right hand side of the page, labeled Donate to Jamie and Sarah's Half Marathon. If you are unable to donate at this time, we would love you to pray for us as we train for the half marathon . . . so day's it's hard to run! :) Thanks for your donations and prayers! Together we can all make a difference!

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other and each of us needs all the others." Romans 12:4

Information about our wedding!

2009-04-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

Who: Jamie and Sean

When: June 6th 2009 1:30pm

Where: St. Luke Parish

322 North 175th Street

Shoreline, WA 98133

Map Quest Link to St. Luke's Parish:

Mapquest Directions to St. Luke Parish

*Reception to follow ceremony in St. Luke Auditorium

Jamie and Sean are registered at Macy's, Target and REI:

Target Registry

Macy's Registry

REI Registry

Or you can make a donation in Jamie and Sean's name to Jamie's kids in Nigeria at:

Go Nigeria

Find joy in the "Normal"

2009-03-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

It has sure been a while since I have posted a blog . . . life just doesn't seem quite as exciting here at home as it did when I was in Jos . . . sure aren't as many unbelievable stories to write about! :)
Even though the stories might not be as exciting, there are a lot of new things going on in my life and God is continuing to teach me every step of the way.

I have been studying Matthew lately, and the words in Matthew 11:28 have really helped me remember to find joy all of the time, and allow God to be in control.

"Then Jesus said, come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly and the burden I give you is light."

Wedding planning is sure an adventure of it's own . . . we are learning more and more about each other each day. We are learning how we each make decisions (or don't make decisions), how we relax, how to communicate better and many other fun things! :) We have been blessed by wonderful friends and family who are more than willing to lend a hand in the planning, so I don't feel like I have had to do hardly anything at all!

Along with wedding planning I have been working at our local coffee shop. What a blast it has been to see old friends and customers and have the opportunity to share with then how God is working in Nigeria. People are always so interested and love to share their stories with me once I share a little bit with them! I have been able to meet people from all over the World, even a man from the town in Ethiopia I worked in several years ago.

Along with sharing my adventures in Nigeria with my customers at the coffee shop, I recently was able to speak after Mass at St. Luke! It was wonderful, to share pictures and stories with so many people! That experience opened up the door for me to be able to speak in a class at St. Luke this coming week!

Along with speaking in the classroom this week about Nigeria, tomorrow I will be speaking at my brother's Church in Bellingham! I was blessed with the opportunity to share with them before I left, so I am really looking forward to reconnecting with people and being able to share with them, how their prayers and support worked.

If you could please keep me in prayer as I speak this week that would be wonderful!

Come See!!!

2009-02-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend after the 9:00am and 11:00am Masses at St. Luke's I will be sharing about our Ministry in Nigeria with long-term Missionary Erin Rigsby!! Come ask questions and see pictures!! We would love to share with you!

St Luke Parish

322 N 175th Street

Shoreline, Wa 98133

Hope to see you there!!

She said Yes!! :)

2009-01-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

Although I am home from Nigeria, the adventure hasn't ended, it has just changed a bit. The adventure no longer involves driving down muddy roads, or navigating the busy market place, hiking mountains with orphans kids, or living with constant political tension. Instead, it now involves learning how to communicate clearly, learning how to make decisions with another person, learning how to put someone elses needs way before your own, navigating the commercialism of our society and seeking God's direction for the next steps in my life . . . Preparing for marriage is definetely an adventure of it's own!!

Sean and I are now offically engaged!! Yay!! :) This is a huge adventure, and one that I am so excited for (even with it's huge challenges)! Each day I wake up and am so thankful that God has put this amazing man into my life. A man who loves me so unconditionally, who supports me no matter what, who is so patient and kind, who is full of life and energy and fun, and a man who is has such a humble heart. I know that it is God loving me through Sean, and I am so grateful for that love.

Now, we had talked about getting married for awhile, but decided that it was best if we waited until I got back from Nigeria to get engaged, to see how God directed us individually for the six months apart and see what God did our relationship during that time apart. As difficult as those six months were, neither one of us would trade them for anything. Our relationship was challenged and strengthened in ways that it wouldn't have been otherwise. We learned to communicate more clearly and in new ways, and were challenged to give all control over our future to God, hard lessons, but good ones. So we waited until I got back to make that committment . . . a whole 3 days after I got home :) (I think somone was excited! :)

Sean proposed the Saturday after Christmas during a hiking trip up Rattle Snake Ridge, one of our first date spots. We hiked to the top of the ridge, in the snow and the rain . . . and boy were were soaked and cold when we arrived at the top! So after getting down on his knee and proposing, we took a photo and ran down the hill as fast as we could to warm up!! :) It was fun, and a good Sean and Jamie story!! Here are a few pictures from that day . . . as you can see we were pretty wet!! We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we embark on this adventure of marriage togther!

Home . . . is where the heart is?!?!?

2009-01-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

If it’s true that home is where the heart is, then I have a lot of homes. My heart isn’t just in Seattle anymore; a huge part of it is definitely in Nigeria. Although I have really enjoyed my time at home so far, especially the time I have been able to spend with my family and friends I really miss my family and friends in Nigeria. I spent a few hours sorting through photos today, trying to pick out which ones I am going to print and boy that is a challenging task. I love all of my photos, because each photo is so much more than a photo to me, it is a memory of someone and some place that I deeply love.

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in a steal. Store your treasures in Heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there you heart and thoughts will also be.”
– Matthew 6:19-21

On the way home . . .

2009-01-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Friends and Family,

I apologize for my delay in updating my blog . . . I have had many people asking if I am going to keep my blog update even though I am home and the answer to that is YES! Although it seems like I have been home for a long time already (since so much has happened), I have only been home for a week and a half . . . that is CRAZY to realize . . . so in short I am still slowly adjusting to life back home. I have plenty more to say about adjusting back into this western culture and believe me that will all come soon, but I have left out a very important part of my trip home . . . my time in Bosnia!! So before I update you on my adjustment and how things are at home and what my future plans are and all of that good stuff, I need to share with you a bit about my time in Bosina . . .

As most of you know, before heading back to the states I flew through Europe and met up with one of my best friends Jessica who is doing two years of mission work in Bosnia . . . Bosnia?!? You might say . . . well yes, Bosnia. Jessica has always had an interest in this area of the World and during college she had the opportunity to travel to Bosnia several times. During these trips, God developed a deep passion and love for this country and the people, and now God has called her back to minister to college students.

Similarly to Nigeria, Bosnia is a country of contrasts. Sitting in a nice warm coffee shop, decorated with Christmas lights and sipping on a cup of coffee (what EVERYONE in Bosnia does) you can look out the window and see a bombed out abandoned building left from the war. Although life goes on normally each day, walking down the street you have to avoid the holes in the sidewalk that were left from when the city was shelled . . . Despite the tangible reminders of the horrible things that happened to the people of this beautiful city, the people keep right on living.

I so enjoyed getting to meet the students in the English classes Jessica is helping with and meeting the students at the church Jessica is working with. They are all full of life, funny and thoughtful. I loved getting to go to coffee with all of them and trying out all of the wonderful Bosnian food with them! I ate a lot of great food! J Besides eating a lot and drinking a lot of coffee, we also went up to the mountains where the Olympics were held and explored the very culturally diverse city. The city is beautiful, with all the cobblestone streets and little coffee shops and restaurants tucked away in the corners.

What a gift it was from God to have the opportunity to go and visit Jessica. It was a good transitional period for me. It was really helpful to have a friend who knew me so well asking me questions and helping me process my time in Nigeria, especially after such an intense ending. It was also great to have a first hand experience of what Jessica is doing so that I can pray for her better and support her better from far away. I would have NEVER in my life thought I would ever fly to Bosnia . . . but God always has different plans! And I am ever glad that he does because his plans are so much greater than mine would be!

Please be praying for Jessica that God would continue to encourage her and direct her ministry, and also be praying that the Holy Spirit would light a fire in the hearts of the people in the Church of Bosnia!

Check out Jessica's blog at www.jessicainbosnia.wordpress.com

Stay tuned for more!!

Saying Goodbye . . .

2008-12-23T05:07:00.001-08:00

This is a blog I wrote right after I left Nigeria, but was unable to post until now . . . enjoy :)

Kai! I had to say goodbye yesterday . . . well actually this week has been a process of saying goodbye . . .

Thursday night I was able to spend the night in Gyero for the last time and go to worship night with all the kids! God is so good, because I couldn’t have imagined a better night – all of the kids and staff in one room singing, dancing and praising god! It was amazing – i couldn’t help but have tears of joy, thankfulness and sadness run down my face the entire time. I played tag with my girls after worship . . . they love it when I pretend I’m a grizzly bear and chase them around . . . it was good fun! J

Friday I was able to visit our staff at Gidan Bege and TH and say goodbye to them . . . sadly this was the first time I had been at either of these places since the crisis, so it was a hello/goodbye. Much of the fighting that took place during the crisis was very near TH, so it was really my first exposure to see first hand the damage done – it is heartbreaking. I listened to story after story from the uncles about what happened during the crisis and it was incredible. It’s a miracle that TH wasn’t touched. It made me sad to know that I was leaving and won’t be able to help people continue to process through what happened, but it’s another step in trusting the Lord and his plan.

Saturday Lisa and I took the girls on a picnic as my last goodbye. It was a blast! Little Favor had never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in her life . . . after she figured out how to eat it she ended up enjoying it! We all had a great time eating our PB&J, banana muffins and oranges on the rock behind our mountain . . . a good memory to say the least. We escaped a tearful goodbye, by slipping out the back when some visitors came to meet the girls . . . probably for the best after a tearful Thursday evening . . . I don’t think I could have handled much more . . .

Sunday was filled with packing, and repacking and repacking some more and saying goodbye to my missionary family. Nicky and Lisa made some great pizza for lunch and then it was off . . . it was hard to say goodbye to these friends who have become my family over the past six months . . . I will miss each of them SOO much! But God reminded me that we will all meet again face to face, when we go to see him – how cool is that!

I feel so blessed that in my short life I have been able to be a part of things like what I’ve been a part of in Nigeria . . . It keeps getting better and better – God is Good.

Although it might be time for me to leave Nigeria for now, I know that God has more planned for me and the relationships he has helped build there. So this is not the end . . .

Thoughts and More Thoughts . . .

2008-12-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

So, I have left Nigeria . . . I am now in Bosnia visiting my best friend Jessica who is doing college Ministry here in Sarajevo. I have much to say about actually saying goodbye to my Nigerian friends and family, but that is going to have to wait for another day. I am simply going to post a few passages of scripture that have really stood out to me during the past few months and even the past few days . . . No fear I still have plenty to share about my time in Nigeria and PLENTY more pictures to share with you, so this is in no way the end of my blogging! :)

"And God, in his MIGHTY power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him." - 1 Peter 1:5

"I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will make the darkness bright before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do those things; i will not forsake them." -Isaiah 42:16

"When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor." - James 4:10

"How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog- it is here a little while, then it is gone. What you ought to say is, 'if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.'" - James 4:14

How to say goodbye?

2008-12-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

I’m not exactly sure where to start, except with, I don’t know how I even begin so say goodbye to these children, the staff and the missionaries who have become my kids, my friends and my family over the past six months.

In the beginning six months seems like such a long time! Now that it’s almost over, it seems so small. Although there were days that were hard and days that were long, the time has flown by and I can’t believe it’s time to say goodbye already.

As most of you know, things have been a bit crazy in Jos over the past two weeks. Rioting and fighting broke out in the city after unfavorable (well actually before, unfavorable) election results were announced. Much of the northern part of the city was burned; homes, churches and schools. People lost lives and fear and tension has been planted in the city. For a few days us missionaries were relocated to a smaller village an hour or so outside of Jos, just as a precaution in case the fighting broke out again. Although I was torn about leaving Jos, my kids, friends and more than frustrated that this relocation meant five less days I was able to spend with my kids a week before I left, I was thankful for the space we had to go hiking, play frisbee, play WAY too many games of Settlers of Catan (at one point we had 4 or 5 different games of Settlers going on at the same time!). I was also nice to have a break from the tension in the city.

Now that I am back in Jos, it’s time to say goodbye. Saturday will be my last time at Gyero before I leave on Sunday afternoon. The girls are already talking about it, and saying that I can’t leave and they don’t want me to go. I am stressing about packing up my apartment (it’s quite a mess . . .), and trying to fit all of my last minute meetings and lunches and visits in before I go.

Nicky has returned from visiting Erin in the US. A group of us had dinner tonight and we got to hear stories from America! It’s funny what people from other countries notice about your own country that you would never think strange – for example: drive up ATMs . . . . apparently they don’t have those in England and Nicky just thought it was the funniest thing ever . . . and I am learning that people from England don’t eat sweet and savory (a word we don’t use often) things together, so the idea of having sugary popcorn and cheesy popcorn in the same tin together, threw her mind! J I’m glad Nicky is back and that I am able to say goodbye before I leave, but I’m sad that I only have three days, which are already full to see her in . . . and I’m sad that she had to come back to Nigeria in such a state that it’s in.

Let me tell you being here during “The Crisis” as we call it (and I think it needs to be capitalized, the way we use it), has really opened my eyes to understand a glimpse of what it must be like for people who are living in places with constant waring. The tension in this city is absolutely incredible. Today, a crowd of people and a ton of cars came screaming up the street in front of our compound. When some of them stopped and we asked what was happening, no one actually knew why they were running. People were running simple because they saw other people running . . . come to find out this afternoon, ALL of the running that started on the opposite side of town, was caused by a woman who was being chased by a bee . . . yes a bumble bee . . . talk about tension.

I can’t tell you how thankful I have been for the people on my compound. Praise the Lord for Joseph aka. . . . “Batman” and Matt aka . . . “Robin” and for Lisa . . . aka Lisa . . . J The four of us STA’s have really bonded together during The Crisis . . . but I guess that’s what staying up until all hours of the night watching Plant Earth together while you listen to gun shots in the city will do. I have been so thankful for Joseph’s humor and ability to keep things light-hearted and fun and for Matthew’s attention to detail and sense of responsibility for our safety. Lisa and I have hardly been separated since The Crisis started and have become great friends – I am really going to miss her . . .

Needless to say this is a bit of a strange note to leave on. I know this is a bit of a scattered Blog, but I feel a bit scattered . . . I’m not exactly sure how to begin to say goodbye . . .

With a thankful heart . . .

2008-12-02T01:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a blog entry that I wrote a few days ago, but wasn't able to post. Sorry for the lack of pictures . . . I will post some pictures in the next few days . . . Thank you for your prayers and support over the past few days. Please keep praying for our city . . .

“Do you miss being with your family today?” I asked Joseph, a two year short-termer as we drove to our big Thanksgiving dinner including all the American missionaries in Jos. “Well yes, but the moment I drive into Gyero and all the children coming running out greeting me and hugging me, I remember why I’m here” was his response. As our conversation continued we discussed what a strange thing it is for someone to leave everything, their friends, family, modern living conviences to move to somewhere like Africa for a few months or a few years. It is a bit of an odd and counter-cultural idea from an outsiders perspective, but Joseph and I both agreed that we are abundantly thankful for this opportunity we have had to live in Nigeria. Our lives have forever been changed by the people we have met and we have had the opportunity to see a new face of God. God is so much bigger than we ever give him credit for!

I made a list of things that I’m thankful for this morning. The thing I love most about doing this is that every time I make a list of things I’m thankful for it’s always mostly comprised of names of people . . . my friends and family (and of course coffee and sunshine J). The list of people who God has used in my life keeps getting longer and longer and now includes people from all over the World. If I have this many brothers and sisters in Christ now, while I’m living in this World, I can’t imagine how joyful it will be when we all reach Heaven to be with our Father together! What a party!

Over the past few days, as God has been teaching me to have a more thankful and content heart and has been showing me what it means to be at peace with him by trusting in him, I woke up with one very tangible lesson about thankfulness and peace.

Yesterday was a local election day in Jos. This meant that we weren’t allowed to travel, well at least until 4:00pm . . . so a few of the girls and I decided that we would stay with our kids in Gyero, since we wouldn’t be able to travel around. That was about the extent of how we were affected and about the extent to which I even thought about it until this morning. I woke up this morning at 6:00am and carried out my normal morning routine, reading my Bible, emailing and actually getting to talk to Sean on the phone!

Just as I was about to jump in the shower to get started on the busy day I had planned ahead of me, Chris our compound dad, came by knocking on my door. He proceeded to inform me that there is a lot of political unrest due to yesterday’s election and schools and houses are being burned and all of the firework sounding noise I had been hearing were actually gun shots going off. . . so needless to say we aren’t allowed to go anywhere today. The sky is filled with black smoke and the air smells of fire and although the streets are incredibly quite, not a motorbike or car in sight, the sound of gunfire ringing through the city is a loud enough reminder that this is not a city at peace at the moment.

What a reminder to be thankful for what we have at home. Although our elections at home seem to get heated, with nasty commercials and long political debates, our houses aren’t in danger of being burned and we don’t have to listen to gunfire breaking through the peace of our cities. We all have so much to be thankful for.

Even in the midst of this current chaos, God has reminded me that each step of everyday is a gift from him, and we are called to trust in him for each of those steps we take. As we trust in him our hearts are filled with his peace. We don’t have to, or need to know what’s coming next, we just need to trust that God knows and that he is good. We don’t even have to thank him for the circumstances we presently find ourselves in, we have to trust him and thank him for who he is, in spite of those circumstances, an almighty, powerful and ever present God.

Please keep our city Jos in your prayers today. Pray for the people whose homes have been burned, and please pray for those who have been injured by gunfire. Please pray that God’s peace would reign in Nigeria today.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

The challenges of living in Nigeria . . .

2008-11-24T23:54:00.000-08:00

Two things to begin this blog . . . Number 1- you will only understand and fully appreciate how cool the title of this blog is, if you live in Nigeria . . .

Secondly, I need to tell you just how wonderful our compound parents, Chris and Helen are and how continually thankful I am for all they do for each of us. Chris and Helen are from New Zealand, and have been missionaries in West Africa for over 30 years. They just moved to Nigeria a few months ago to help in the SIM office, and boy let me tell you, they couldn’t have picked a busier time to move somewhere and learn a new job.

From the moment they arrived they have been bombarded with lots and lots of work. Even though they have been so incredibly busy, they have the time, to throw birthday parties for missionaries, have a weekly prayer meeting for our compound, have seminars about how to live in Nigeria, make sure we have enough food and dishes, sort our visa issues, help us develop our goals amongst MANY other things. Just saying that makes me tired!

So on top of all this, Chris is also sort of the fix-it guy for the compound . . . when you run out of gas you tell Chris, when you can’t find your keys, or your door won’t open even though you have your keys, or if you don’t have hot water, or any water, etc. you tell Chris . . .
So over the few months that I have lived here in Nigeria we have had many (and I mean many) funny maintenance issues at our compound . . . several of which are VERY funny, so I thought I would highlight a few and share them with you, especially since a few of them have just occurred in the past 24 hours.

#1: Our septic Tank overflowed a few months ago . . .
At home, not a big problem, you call the sewage company, they bring a truck and pump it out . . . In Nigeria, sewage companies and trucks that pump stuff out don’t exsist . . . so you call the construction guy and get his men to dig a new hole, and empty the old hole with buckets and wheel barrows . . . The men that cleaned that out are amazing, praise the Lord for their servant hearts . . .

#2 Breaking down Ruth’s door (also a few months ago) . . .
When Ruth’s got locked out of her house . . .let me say she did have her key’s she just couldn’t get them to open her door . . . it was time to break down the door. Around 9:oopm on our compound, all the guys were up with their tools trying to open the door . . .they ended up just breaking down the door frame with brute force – it was quite hilarious to watch, but eventually Ruth did get back into her house!

#3 Jamie getting locked out of her house . . holding her keys . . . (yesterday)
So all of the sudden, I can’t lock or unlock my house, yesterday upon returning from the office, I tried to unlock my house and nothing happened. The key turns, and turns and turns, but the door doesn’t unlock. Ruth and I decide to kick the door really hard, cause you never know, it might work, AND praise the Lord it did work! The door opened! So when I left again, I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to lock the door, but we decided it would be okay . . . well when we arrived home from dinner, I couldn’t get my door to unlock again . . . praise the Lord after a lot of fiddling around with it, it finally opened, but the whole deadbolt came out!! I was holding it in my hand!

#4 A chunk of my wall tile fell down in the middle of the night . . .
At some point during the night last night, I heard a HUGE crashing sound. I assumed that my kitchen curtain had knocked over my bottle of dish soap, because that happens all the time. So when I woke up this morning and walked into the kitchen to make my coffee, I noticed that my dish soap was still standing on the shelf . . . while boiling my water . . . I looked and the ground and realized there was a pretty large chunk of something on the ground. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a piece of tile, looking up, I could see that it fell out of my wall from above my door!

Well, these are all pretty minor things (expect for the sewage thing), but I thought I would share a few funny stories about living in Nigeria . . . I didn’t even include the stories about our ever leaking water tank and our over-flowing washing machine, but I’ll save those for another day!

Making Happy, Happy . . .

2008-11-21T04:26:00.001-08:00

As my time here in Nigeria begins to come to a close, I feel a mixture of emotions. There are definitely things I miss about being at home, and there are definitely things that I won't miss about living in Nigeria, mainly the unreliable power, water and Internet and the crazy driving. Although I won't miss those things, there are at least 19 little things I will desperately miss about Nigeria - Ruth, Alheri, Elizabeth, Myriam, Gift, Happy, Sandra, Rose, Patience, Faith, Precious, Rebecca, Simi, Mafang, Favor, Patience, Blessing, Godiya and Mary. It's hard to think of not having these little girls be a part of my everyday life. The thought of leaving each of them brings tears to my eyes.

A few days ago, I pulled Happy, one of our new girls out of class so that I could spend some one on one time with her. She has really been struggling adjusting to life in the Ministry- constantly fighting with others, not listening to directions and just been overall very difficult. We have all been praying for her. As it turns out the story we got when Happy and her sister Sandra arrived in the ministry is not entirely true.

Upon further investigation it turns out that the woman who brought the girls to us, made the up the whole story and Happy and Sandra do actually have a mother, well a step mother to be exact, who we happened to meet one day while walking down the Gyero road . . . go figure . . . Isn't it great how God always reveals the truth . . . Part of the reason why Happy has been acting up so much is because she misses her mother . . . Pastor has looked into the situation further and discovered that although the girls do have a mother, the mother is divorced from her husband and is not in a stable situation to be able to take care of the girls, the girls were badly neglected before they came to live with us - which we could tell from some of their physical problems. We are still in the process of contacting the family and trying to figure out the truth of the situation, but it looks like the girls are still in a position to stay with us in the Ministry.

Anyways, I had a good time with Happy, working on our ABC's, drawing pictures of our families and explaining to each other who everyone is and of course playing with my camera. Here are a few pictures . . .

Small things that make a BIG difference . . .

2008-11-21T03:53:00.000-08:00

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead

This past week I have seen first hand just how much a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the World - and even more than change the World share the love of Christ in everything they do. I have been able to spend the past week working along side a short-term team from Maine. The team has a huge heart for orphans, especially girls - the team includes 3 young girls who have been adopted themselves. How cool is it that God brought orphans from Romania to come and play with our orphan girls in Nigeria. Just a small reminder that God is so much bigger than each one of us, and his plan for our lives is bigger than we can ever hope or imagine.

Along with doing a great job ministering to our children at Gyero through Bible Stories, songs, crafts and time spent getting to know each of the children individually, the team has put in many hours of painting and construction work to bring a whole new look to our girls compound . . . The team has painted the girls bedrooms, the parlor and painted a few murals. The mural on the wall is the seven days of creation! It looks awesome! Check out these pictures to see for yourself! It is amazing what a small group of people can do!

Simple things in life . . .

2008-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Today I had a moment . . . I often have moments . . . moments where you realize that taking a picture will not capture the life of what is going on around you, or moments when you realize that you have the best "job" in the whole World, or moments when you realize that you have one of God's most precious creations sitting on your lap . . .

Today's, moment happened while at Gyero with the girls. I received a package last week (thanks Amy and Mona! :) and in the package were those blow up balloons that fly around and make noise when you let go of them . . . simple right . . . well for my little girls, you would have thought that I had given them the World, when they watched with excited eyes as I demonstrated how they worked. For the next 45mins, all we did was blow up the balloons, watch them fly and chase after them.

We all quickly discovered that Rebecca was by far the best at blowing up the balloons, and Godiya could find them no matter how far they flew . . . even the boys came out to watch and soon we had a whole audience! It was SO much fun! We were all laughing and chasing each other around- who knew something simple could be so much fun!

The day got even better, when I remember to bring "The Sara Movie" . . . translated means "The Little Princess" which is now their fav movie since watching it at camp . . . but to be honest it's one of my favs too! :) and THEN, when I brought them banana muffins, they got so excited they almost knocked me over! Yet again, another simple thing in life . . . I love that these little girls teach me so much about what is truly important in life . . . the simple things, and each other . . . I hope that I always have a heart that enjoys the simple things in life!

God's Glory in Creation . . .

2008-11-05T01:07:00.000-08:00

"When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor." - James 4:10

Living in a culture and a place where I have so little control of how my day goes, really teaches me just how much I need to daily, and minute by minute admit my dependence upon the Lord. When I get stuck in a routine going about our day, knowing, or at least thinking I know how the day is going to go, I forget to rely upon the Lord. God has been showing me how I need to come to him more each day even with little things, and has been challenging me to realize that I am not in control of anything and I need to give all of that to him and admit my dependence upon him. If I am able to admit my dependence upon him, even in my weakness, then he is made stronger and it's all about bringing glory and honor to him. This seems to be a lesson I am continually learning throughout my life . . . and one I think God will have to continue to teach me in different ways throughout my life. Thankfully it's a process and God loves me no matter what!

Sunday I was able to go rock climbing just outside of Jos, with a couple of missionaries, and it was a blast! It was REAL rock climbing too! Like scooting between, under, around and over huge boulders! It was so refreshing to be out in God's creation and marvel and wonder over how these rock formations were created, and to see how creative God is . . . our World is so unique and beautiful in so many different ways! Praise the Lord for his wonderful creation!

"I Do" - Nigerian Style . . .

2008-11-05T00:38:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was a cultural learning experience for me. Uncle Musa, one of our Gyero Uncles was married, and I was able to attend the wedding and was even able to wear the official Gyero fabric! In Nigerian cultural, when you attend a wedding, people who are associated with each other, (for example people who work togther, or are in the same singing group, or something like that) all wear the same fabric. This way guests know who you are and how you are connected with the couple. So Nicky and I, and the rest of the Gyero woman all matched! Check out the picture below!

The wedding, scheduled to start at 10:00am prompt didn't actually start until 11:30am . . . we were wondering if we were at the right Church we when arrived at 10:15am and the church was empty . . . The ceremony was similar to a western wedding, except for all of the beautiful singing done by various choirs and even a number done by a group of our Gyero boys . . . Uncle Musa, even joined in with them singing and dancing!

After the ceremony we attended the reception . . . being the only white people in attendance, everyone made a big deal out of us being there . . . we got to sit on the "High Table" and even got to dance up front! There is a custom of "spraying money" for the bride and groom at anytime possible during a wedding . . . so while we were up dancing, people come up and put money on your head and then, as it falls to the ground people go and collect it for the bride and groom . . . the idea is that that everyone gives money to the couple to start their life off well. It was quite fun, and all of our Nigerian colleagues enjoyed spraying money on their baturi friends!

Although I was exhausted when we arrived home at 5:30pm, it was a lot of fun to be a part of something so important to our staff, and wonderful to be able to support Uncle Musa and his wife. Please keep them in prayers as they adjust to married life!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick glimpse at how missionaries have fun . . . and I am convinced that missionaries know how to have more fun than the average person . . . they are forced to be creative with most aspects of life, they end up meeting people from all over the World, thus getting the best hookups for free places to stay while traveling, not to mention they live in a World of constant adventure! :)

Today Halloween happened to fall on our usual Fretheim Friday dinner (a big weekly dinner for all missionaries). Before dinner the kids carved pumpkins and went "treat or treating" . . . (no tricking of course). Rene, had the brilliant idea that everyone should come to dinner dressed as their favorite missionary! Boy did we all have fun with that one! We all dressed up as each other, and before dinner, took a few minutes to do our best impersonation of our favorite missionary! It was great fun! Here are a few pictures . . . Ruth decided to dress up as me . . . Remember that shirt!?!? and . . .

I of course dressed up as my favorite missionary, Nicky :)

Happy Halloween from Jos, Nigeria!

This is An Aunty! :)

2008-10-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Aunty Nicky and I are officially becoming Nigerian! We have the pictures to prove it! In my last blog, I mentioned that we received a new three year old girl named Favor into our ministry . . . well "The Baby" as she is affectionately called by everyone is settling in quite well! Our big girls LOVE having a little sister to hold, feed, bath, carry around and take care of. Mama Sati is loving it as well! She loves "her little baby!" Praise the Lord for rescuing this little girl and bringing her into such a warm and loving environment! Back to Favor in a moment . . .

This week in our ministry is Spiritual Emphasis week, with lots of meetings, seminars, days of prayer and fasting that all of the staff are required to be at . . . if you do the math, that means that the children are left on their own . . . this would be one example of a cultural difference between Africa and America . . . you get in trouble if you leave children unattended in American, while in Africa it is perfectly normal.

Anyways, Nicky thankfully convinced Manager that we didn't need to be at the business meeting today, and instead we would be better used spending the day in Gyero with the children since the rest of the staff was going to be at the business meeting . . . basically, four white girls watching 50 kids! How funny is that . . . well, the kids were at school for at least half of the day, meaning we were left with only Favor, and the four new girls . . . for the 4 of us to handle and man they can be a handful . . . Favor was a bit cranky, so we tried to get her to sleep, but she didn't want to have anything to do with sleeping in her bed she wanted to be "backed". I am not going to explain what that means, just check out the pictures . . . :)

All I have to say is that, the village people got a huge kick out of watching Nicky and I take turns walking around trying to get Favor to fall asleep! It was pretty funny when I walked up to a Mama in the village and asked her to show me how to tie the fabric to get Favor to stay on, SHE laughed so hard! Like I said "we are becoming Nigerian!"

It was a fun day, and I LOVE being in the village, it is such a peaceful and beautiful place, and it is so great to be around all of our children and be reminded of how GREAT God is . . . each of them comes from a different background, many of them terrible, and yet now, they have a home and a loving family! Praise the Lord!

Thoughts told through, Images and more . . .

2008-10-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9

Friends and Family,

There are so many stories to tell here, it is hard to keep up with them all! Instead of trying to tell you all of the stories, I am going to let pictures tell the stories in this blog . . . pictures often say more than words! We have received a new four year old girl to our ministry, named Favor this week, please keep her and her brother Abraham in your prayers as they adjust to life in our ministry.

The Incredible, Amazing love we are all loved with . . .

2008-10-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

-Ephesians 3:18-19

These past few days have been filled with complete joy and a deeper understand of how wide, how long and how deep God's love for each of us really is. We have had the joy of welcoming four new girls into our ministry, this week. Hearing their stories, seeing how God has rescued them from these horrible situations and redeemed them from pasts of abandonment, neglect and loneliness helps me realize how deep God's love really is for each of us, we are all so precious in his sight.

Rose, a spunky ten year old is a single orphan was brought to the ministry after her life was at risk from her family and her community because of her involvement in a cult.

Patience a sweet little girl, also ten and a single orphan was brought into the ministry because she was neglected by her family.

Happy and Sandra, funny little sisters, ages 9 and 6 were brought to us by their aunt who took them out of a broken, polygamous home.

I have had the great privilege of spending the past few days with these girls. We have spent time praying, taking long hikes in the hills (these girls are FULL of energy, we tried to tire them out, but they seemed to tire us out before they showed any signs of slowing down!), drank a few minerals, colored, jump roped, ate lunch, sang songs, hugged, and just had a good deal of kid time.

These girls require and need a great deal of one on one attention, so it has been great having the four of them in their separate house. Please keep our girl's ministry staff, Mama Praise, Kaka and Mama Sati in your prayers, they have a lot of work on their hands, and are doing a wonderful job.

Tents, and illusive animals

2008-10-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

It seems that I am having adventure after adventure lately! This past weekend's adventure was a blast, as any camping adventure in Africa should be! I haven't laughed as hard as I did this past weekend in awhile! Laughter always refreshes the soul, as does climbing hills!!

I joined a group of about ten others for the one and a half hour drive out to Kurra Falls, a beautiful place with lakes, surrounded by rocky hills. We spend the weekend, climbing, walking, talking, laughing, eating, playing games, reading, enjoying each other's company and the beauty of God's creation.

One of the highlights. . . well I don't know if I would call it a highlight, maybe I would call it a memorable event from the weekend came during the night . . . Shortly after squeezing into our kid sized blue and red tent (fitting both of us and all our stuff was quite a task :), Nicky and I began to hear strange sounds, sounds that we couldn't put a name to . . . It was a CREATURE!! But . . . what kind of creature? It was nothing we had ever heard before, and it was close to our tent . . . After much debate and even a scouting mission into the wild African night (which unfortunately woke the rest of the camp up), it was determined that the creature was most likely a BAT!! So we had bats flapping around our tent all night! They must have been some BIG bats, because they sure made a big noise!

Besides the mystery of the unknown creature . . . the time I spent climbing and exploring the hills was the best! Nothing beats the view you get when standing on top of a mountain overlooking god's beautiful creation! During our climbing adventures we saw a monitor lizard, a bug that looked EXACTLY like a blade of grass, we yelled down to a few Falani children in a field below, saw TONS of butterflies and sang away all the snakes! :)

I am continually in awe of God's beautiful creation and I forget how much I see God in nature. Here is Psalm 148 . . . something I love to read when I am totally in awe of all that God has created for us:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens!

Praise him from the skies!

Praise him, all his angels!

Praise him, all the armies of heaven!

Praise him, sun and moon!

Praise him, all you twinkling stars!

Praise him, skies above!

Praise him, vapors high above the clouds!
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and young women, old men and children.
Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones—the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Time to Investigate Africa . . .

2008-10-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

I love that the title of my last blog is "Tomorrow Is Another Adventure" because it was true! The day after I wrote that blog we left for Kano! And what an adventure that was!! Kano, also referred to as "The capital of the North" is a 4 hour drive north of Jos. The quality of the road varies as you travel though the plateau, through the forest and into the desert. Regardless of the road quality, you can always look forward to road blocks and bored army men who are guarding the road blocks. To provide a bit of entertainment for themselves, the road block guards love to test the baturi's (white person) knowledge of Hausa, and they like to see if you have anything they might enjoy . . . but as we found out they don't like bananas . . .

Our time in Kano was mostly spent at the market shopping for fabric for the widows ministry here in Jos. The prices are cheaper in Kano and the selection is greater and boy was the selection great! There were SO many fabric shops, all with different kinds of fabric! It was a blast! The market is a bit overwhelming at first, people, cars, motorbikes, and goats all fighting though the same walkway, but hey if you can all fit, why not! :)

While in Kano, we were able to attend the Durbar Celebration. The Durbar Celebration marks the end of Ramadan as well as honors the state officials. Attending the Durbar is similar to attending a parade at home. Lots of horses and people all dressed up in colorful and fun outfits walking around the stadium. We even had some "fireworks" at the end of the celebration . . .

We took advantage of the fact that Kano is a bigger city than Jos and ate at all the food we can't get in Jos. We had the best pizza ever at "Pizza Hot", not to be confused with "Pizza Hut" although Pizza Hot was in a building that looked like a hut . . . so I'll leave that one for you to figure out! :) We had amazing Chinese food and my favorite ICE CREAM! (although we can get that in Jos, my tummy was still happy! :)

We spent a bit of time playing tourist and visited the dye pits, these deep holes in the ground that are filled with some type of dye. They dye all sorts of clothes, and fabric, they are very beautiful. I bought a table cloth, so you can ask to see

it when I get home! We also got to see where they "iron" the fabric . . . they iron the fabric by pounding it with this huge heavy wooden mallets. It is very unique and we all got to try our hand at it . . .

It was a great weekend! A good group of people and a good experience to get out and see a bit more of Nigeria! I will post some pictures for you.

Tomorrow Is Another Adventure-

2008-09-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how I will ever have a "normal" job after working here in Nigeria. I think I knew that before I came here, but now it is even more clear to me . . . I mean how can you ever spend a day inside at a desk after having a job that includes driving through dry river beds, driving through riverbed that aren't so dry, climbing mountains with kids, riding on motorbikes, painting libraries, learning to eat guava, helping kids with homework, organizing a school and helping create a home for orphaned and at risk girls and boys . . . not much compares to this! Yes, there are things that I miss about home, mainly the people (like all of you) . . . :) and of course my peppermint lattes and heath bar blizzards, but I don't think any amount of lattes or blizzards can make up for the joy that I receive doing ministry here.

I was asked today what my dream job would be . . . It didn't really take me that long to answer, I think my dream job would be to do ministry with youth and young adults, and then get to share with them what God is doing in places like Nigeria. I love those one on one conversations over a GOOD cup of coffee. i love getting to pray with people. i love planning youth group. i love planning retreats. yet I also love Africa. I love these children. I love being reminded of how BIG God is each day. I love the adventure of life here in Nigeria. I love seeing God's redemption in the lives of others, both here and at home. I guess in some ways I already have my dream job . . . but now I just need to figure out how to make a living doing it, but I guess that's for God to worry about not me . . . :)

Here a few pictures for the past few days. We are in midst of painting the new library at Gyero . . . it has been quite an adventure climbing on our "scaffolding" fashioned out of two bent and rusty barrels and two pieces of wood, one with a giant crack in it . . . it is a miracle none of us got hurt! :) Although the library is now finished, we were informed by Richard , our construction manager that he would not hire us to be a part of his painting crew . . . but hey, we were free labor and we actually got the job done, so he can't complain TOO much! :)

We also got to climb one of the hills that overlooks the Gyero village! So much fun! I have really been missing our beautiful mountains at home, so this hike up the hill was good for my soul! I needed to get out and get some fresh air!

Tomorrow I will be heading up to Kano, a city about 4 hours north of Jos, for a few days. Please pray for our safety as we travel on the roads. I will bring back more pictures for you all!! You are all in my prayers! I love you and miss each of you! Thank you for your support and encouragement!

Teachers In Action!

2008-09-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

What do I do here in Nigeria? That is the question that everyone asks me . . . and it is a good question, but a hard one to answer. As Auntie Nicky would say "plenty of bits and pieces". She is absolutely right. There are ALWAYS things to be done here . . . little things that take BIG amounts of time. What you could get done easily in a mornings time at home, take a full day here . . . if not two days. For example mailing a package from the post office, or getting a few sheets of paper printed off (click on this link to read a great blog written by Nicky about her post office ordeal: http://brandnicky.blogspot.com/2008/09 /parcels.html), takes almost a full day . . . and by the time you have your package mailed or your photocopies made, you are so exhausted from the stress that you feel you have completed a whole days work even if it was only two hours . . . Anyways, this blog isn't about post offices, photocopies, or how God is teaching me to be PATIENT in this culture, it's about something we have accomplished, with God's provision and the help of many people. . . . It's about building a school!!

Now when I say building a school, I don't mean building the actual physical structure (that was last years project . . .). Now that the building is standing, it needed to be filled with desks, benches, clocks, white boards, and alphabet posters! All the little things that make a classroom a classroom.

Due to the fact that the primary school in Gyero is so rough, we have created additional classes of our own for our students to supplement the education they are getting at the village primary school . . . the village school is always on strike, the teachers don't get paid very much, or paid at all, so often they show up to class late, or don't show up at all (although praise the Lord we have a new Christian headmistress who is doing a great job, so there is hope).

So Nicky and I spent this past week helping Uncle Sunday setup the school in Gyero. We went shopping for school supplies, created class lists, found teaching materials, moved desks, moved benches, sorted through stacks and stacks of papers and books, created reward charts and hung up alphabet posters! It was incredible to watch the transformation of these stone rooms. In just a few hours they went from messy, dirty boring rooms, to organized classrooms! The boys were a big help, and I enjoyed getting to know the boys more as me moved furniture and worked together.

A huge thank you to all of you who responded to our appeal for school supplies, because not only did your money go to help setup these classrooms, but also helped pay for school fees for all of our children. It is incredible how far even small amounts of money can go here! If you are interested in helping support these children's education (we have only paid for their first term so far . . . we have two more terms to pay for . . .) Please go to the following link: http://www.gonigeria.org/ and denote on your check that your gift should be used for education. Any gifts are greatly appreciated and go to a good cause! I can tell you from personal experience! :)

So . . . this is a day's work here in Nigeria! Setting up a school . . . among MANY other things!

This IS A small world . . .

2008-09-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a little story to show you just how small this World is . . .

Friday morning, Nicky and I were out shopping for school supplies to start our school in Gyero (will write a blog about that later). Anyways, I see another white man walking down the street, and turned to Nicky to ask her if she knew him, because usually we know the other white people here, because there aren't a whole lot of them . . . She didn't know who he was, and neither did I . . . He happened to walk our way and came over and introduced himself to us. We started talking with him, finding out what each other is doing here in Nigeria. As our conversation progressed, Nicky asked him where he was from, and he said Seattle, Washington! GO Figure . . . So I told him I was from Seattle too! There are not a lot of people here from the Northwest, most Americans that are here are from Texas . . . So I was excited to meet a fellow north westerner . . . THEN we find out that we are BOTH from SHORELINE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! He lived just a few streets down from where I lived! It was pretty funny! We spent a few minutes talking about different places in Shoreline . . . it was great! He is a 78 year old missionary who is teaching at one of the theological colleges here in Jos! We ran into him again today . . . so we chatted for a few more minutes! How crazy is that?!?!

It is a small world!!

Therefore, I'm A . . . Princess Part 2

2008-09-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

A few more pictures from girls camp! Thanks mom and Jessica for the Smore stuff and the craft supplies!

Therefore, I'm A . . .

2008-09-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

. . . PRINCESS!!!

"For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song!"
- Zep. 3:17

This past week, in a little compound tucked away on some side street of Jos, Nigeria God showed 19 girls and 7 women that they are HIS Princesses. Each princess unique in His creation of them, but each loved more deeply and completely than ever imagined. God showed us his love through times of prayer, times spent reading, studying and teaching his word and though conversation. But God also showed us his love through jumping into a green swimming pool, watching movies and eating popcorn together, laying on the floor and coloring, singing around a campfire, introducing Marshmallows into the vocabulary of little Nigerian girls, baking cookies, making jewelry, climbing trees, and eating around a banquet table together.

Oh the joys that camp bring! Living in your own World for a week, with nothing to do but dwell on Gods love and share that with those around you. Yes, at the end of the week I was exhausted and desperately in need of a shower and good night sleep, but a huge part of me wasn't ready to re-enter the real World. We were so created to be in relationship with each other, and so created to love on each other, so having a week, where all I had to do was love on 19 girls, was the perfect place to be.

There are so many stories I could tell from this past week . . . from teaching the girls what French Toast is, and how to use a fork, to reading them a bedtime story each night, showing them how to eat their first smore, dressing them up as princesses, to the story of Munch and Crunchie . . . I could go on forever, but I am going to pick two highlights for me from the past week at girls camp.

The first highlight came for me on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00pm. Although the girls knew we were going swimming at some point during the week, they had no idea that it was going to be this afternoon. So when we woke them up from rest at 1:45pm and announced that we were off to the pool, you couldn't contain the excitement! Girls running up and down the halls screaming, and Mama Sati trying to make sure each girl had a towel, it was chaos in the best way possible.
As this is the rainy season, we knew there was the possibility of it raining on us while we were swimming, and boy were the clouds DARK as we drove towards the pool. Each of us said a silent prayer, "Lord, please hold the rain off for a few more minutes, these girls have never been to a swimming pool in their lives!" and praise the Lord he did! We had at least a whole hour of swimming time before the rains came!

Seeing the faces of the girls as they climbed into the pool for their first time, was amazing! So much joy! Corinne, Nicky and I had little girls clinging to us for dear life, yet they couldn't contain the smile on their face! Eventually they gained confidence and "swam" (well sorta swam) around on their own. The big girls learned that they could jump in off the edge! It was so much fun! It didn't matter that it was cold and the water was green, all that mattered was that these girls were having the time of their lives!

Another highlight for me was the last night of camp, our banquet night. The theme for camp was "The King and I" and we had spent the whole week studying who God is, and how we are all called to be his daughters and his princesses. So on the last night, we threw a Banquet and a Ball! We dressed each of the girls up with their own crown and sparkly shall, each received their own necklace and we had a huge cake to finish off our wonderful dinner! We even had a string trio playing beautiful music during dinner (thanks so much to the Sampson family children). The evening was finished off with Anna (another STA from Ireland) "Teaching" the girls Irish dance! IT WAS THE GREATEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!

Each of these girls has come from horrendous backgrounds. They have been in situations and been through things we will never experience in our lives, so watching God shower his love upon them in so many unique ways, was a gift. We are so blessed to have such a loving and redemptive God, who can take so much brokenness and bring it so much life!

The weeks In Action . . .

2008-09-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted update, so naturally I have PLENTY to write about! I will do my best to give you a BRIEF overview of what we have been up to in the past few weeks. As I have mentioned before, right now is a huge time of change and transition for the ministry here. Not only are we moving 20 plus boys between different centers we are also hiring a new leader for the Care Center in Gyero. Wisely realizing that throwing a new leader into a place that as already been functioning for several years could potentially be a difficult change for the staff and the boys, Nicky and Elisha decided that we needed to plan a leadership retreat with the Gyero staff and the new leader. The idea behind the retreat was to help the staff and the new leader get to know each other and learn to work as a team before he was thrown into the mix.
Praise the Lord, the weekend was a huge success! We talked a lot about different personality types, and how we can support each other with our different personality types. We studied the passages about the tower of Babel and talked about how we could apply that to our lives. We played several team building games, such as the human knot game and the rope game. The highlight was when our SIM director Phil came out Friday evening to lead a team building game called the maze. It was a great exercise in team building and taught us all a lot about each other and how we can work better together.

The weekend ended with us traveling to Gyero and introducing the new leader to the rest of the staff and the boys. It was an afternoon filled with joy and excitement. We ate lunch as a staff, and Uncle Elisha bought minerals for all 50 boys and 15 girls at Gyero! They were thrilled! :)

Here are a few pictures from our leadership retreat and a few pictures from our Pirate Birthday Party for Rene! I think Matthew went above and beyond on his Pirate Ship fruit salad dish!

Tony Is my new Acquaintance. . .

2008-09-05T23:24:00.000-07:00

I have a new roommate . . . His name is Tony. . . He is small, grey and has a long skinny tail . . . He is a mouse. Last night as I sat reading on my couch, I watched him run across my living room and sneak outside under my door . . . then about five minutes later he squeezed back in under the door. I moved, so it scared him and he ran back out . . .

I will ask him for a photo next time I see him . . . :)

This Is A Reality . . .

2008-08-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

As I said in my last blog, when the herds of goats crossing the highway, the butchers shop under the tree, the woman carrying 5 watermelons on her head and mass of motorbikes weaving in between all of it becomes normal, it's easy to forget that I am living in Africa. It's when I see first hand people who have survived trials that I will never enduring during my life time is when I am reminded that I am living in Africa.

This is a place of so much contrast. A place of beauty, culture, love, family and community, but also a place of so much need, poverty, sickness, sadness, loneliness, abandonment and fear. Over the past few days, God has been painting a picture of this contrast in my heart. I have had the privilege of hearing and seeing the stories of Nigerians around me, and God has broken my heart for them. I will do my best to put these stories and feelings on paper, but nothing I write will truly convey what these children of God have actually experienced.

Think back to when you were 15 or 16 years old. The middle of high school, around the time of drivers licenses, football games, school dances and maybe a small part-time job at the local coffee shop. Family and friends, teachers, and coaches to support and encourage you. Dreams maybe of traveling to the world, attending university, developing a career and having a family. Now instead imagine your life like this. . .

You have spent your whole life growing up alongside your brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and parents on your family compound in Sierra Leone. Suddenly due to a military uprising in your country you are forced to flee Sierra Leone, most likely on foot. You become separated from your entire family and find yourself alone as a refugee in a foreign land. Several months pass by as you struggle to survive, and eventually you find yourself in Nigeria. You pick up odd jobs anywhere you can just to have enough food to survive. Eventually a man much older than you asks you to marry him. Realizing that marriage would mean a place to live and some stability for your life you agree. Soon after your marriage, you become pregnant. Your husband decides that he no longer wants anything to do with you, so he leaves. Thankfully your in-laws let you stay with them for a few months, but soon, blind to the fact that you could give birth at any moment they get tired of providing for you and kick you out of the house.

Thankfully a neighboring family realizes that you could give birth at any moment, and takes you in. A few days later your little boy is born. The family allows you to stay with them for about 6 months while you and your child regain strength, but soon they cannot provide for you any more so they kick you out of their house. With no one and no where to go, you spend your days begging on the streets. You and your child become more and more weak with hunger and sickness. Eventually a someone seeing your physical state, takes pity on you and takes you to a local television station hoping the television station will do a story on you and that someone will help you.

This is the true story of a young woman probably the age of 18 or 19 named Sophie. Thankfully instead of the television station doing a story on her, they brought her and her son Matthew to Gidan Bege. When she first arrived at Gidan Bege, everyone thought she was going to die because she was so sick. Within hours of arriving at Gidan Bege, Sophie was taken to the hospital. She stayed there for several days while she was treated for typhoid among many other things. While at the hospital, it was also discovered that Sophie is HIV positive.

Sophie and her son Matthew have been taken in by another ministry called the Mashiah foundation. Mashiah ministers to HIV positive women and their children. The ministry provides housing food and medical care as well as schooling for the children. While the children are at school, the women attend classes that teach them how to sew and quilt. Eventually the women can sell their projects in the Mashiah store and begin to earn their own income and provide for their families.

What a life so different from what many of us have experienced. When I heard Sophie and Matthew’s story my heart was broken. Although I know we all experience pain and suffering no matter what country we are from, and I know that pain and suffering is difficult no matter what form it comes in, it is difficult to imagine a life like Sophie and Matthew’s.

Praise the Lord that he can redeem stories such as Sophie and Matthew’s story. God is so much bigger than all of our pain and suffering and he can bring redemption to each of our lives if we just give him the chance.

“He changes rivers into a wilderness, and springs of water into a thirsty ground;

A fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

He changes a wilderness into a pool of water, and a dry land into springs of water;

And there He makes the hungry to dwell, so that they may establish an inhabited city.”

-Psalm 107:33-36

Thrill In Arrivals Part 2 . . .

2008-08-26T01:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took three more boys home to be reconciled with their families. It was quite the adventure seeing as it is the height of the rainy season and a few of these boys lived in the bush! When I say the bush, we are taking, WAY out in the middle of nowhere! One of the boys, Fidelis, lives so far off the main road, that we had to buy him a bike so that he could get to school . . . Praise the Lord we didn't have any car trouble, and didn't get stuck in the mud as we drove though a HUGE rain, wind, hail, thunder and lightening storm . . . It was an adventure to say the least, but a fun one! Uncle Alex and Uncle Aday kept us laughing the whole time! They are just like big kids themselves! Here are a few pictures from our adventure . . .

Thrill In Arrivals

2008-08-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

I have just passed my two month mark here in Nigeria. It is strange to reflect on my time spent here so far because in some ways it feels like I have always been here. The sounds, smells, tastes and sights are no longer new, but are now a normal part of my everyday life and a normal part of me. Yet, in other ways I am still overwhelmed by new experiences and feel like I have just arrived in this strange foreign land. Because so much of the daily life in Nigeria has become normal, it's easy to forget that I am living in Africa working with orphans, but today was not one of those days. Today was a day when I was reminded of how different my life here is from my life at home.

As I have mentioned before, a goal of City Ministries is to reconcile as many children as possible back into their families. Although the ministry care centers are great and provide in many cases better food, clothing and schooling for the children than they may be able to receive at home, nothing can replace the love and support of a family. So after a time of discipleship in the ministry, if children have a family to be reconciled with, the ministry will check out the family situation, meet with the family members several times and work towards sending the children back home.

Today, I had the opportunity to go along with Nicky and Pastor Jege as we took five boys home to be reconciled with their families. Although the whole day was filled with wonderful moments, watching mothers being united with their sons after 2, 3, and even 4 years, neighborhood friends being reunited with their playmates, sisters having a big brother again, or aunties having a nephew again, I was struck mostly by our last stop, at Pam's house.

Pam has been in the ministry for two years now. His mother brought him to Gidan Bege after he suddenly began stealing from his family, neighbors and friends surrounding the time of his father's death. As a result of his stealing, he couldn't live at home because his community wouldn't accept him any more. After being cared for and discipled by the ministry, Pam is now a kind, responsible young boy who is at the top of his class in school. After a few visits with his family earlier in the year, the ministry decided that it was time for Pam to be reconciled with his family.

Although Pam was emotional and has a lot of fears about going back to his family, he couldn't help but smile when his auntie came running out yelling his name the moment we arrived at his house this afternoon. We waited for his mother to arrive home from church while we talked with Pam's aunt and uncle, and his younger brothers and sisters played outside. When his mother arrived and came in to greet us, I was overwhelmed by her thankfulness. She was on her hands and knees thanking Pastor and Nicky for what they and the ministry had done for her son, Pam. It was incredible. She was so thankful that she had her son back and so thankful that God had provided for him and changed his heart.

There was nothing normal about sitting and watching this woman who was so overcome with joy, who was telling us that she was "the happiest woman on the Earth." What a reminder of God's love for each of us, and what a reminder that it is a gift, blessing and honor to be serving the Lord here in Nigeria.

"To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: 'A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die. So the father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later his younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding to the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself ' at home even the hired men have food enough to eat and here I am dying of hunger.' I will go home to my father and say "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man." So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him."

- Luke 15: 11-21

This is America . . .

2008-08-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

I have a few more stories to share with you all . . . hopefully they will make you laugh . . . :)

Monday I headed down to the post office to pick up two packages that had arrived for me!! Thank you so much for the packages!! I have received some fun and wonderful stuff for myself and for the girls! Who knew that ranch salad dressing could taste so wonderful!

Anyways, upon arriving at the post office, I greeted the mail man. He had remembered me from a few weeks ago when I had picked up another package. We were talking for a few minutes when another lady walked up. I greeted her as well, trying to be nice and get on her good side (they don't have to give me my package if they don't want to . . . :). After exchanging the usual Nigerian greetings such as, "How is your work?", "How is your house?", "How is your body?" (the response to all of these is "Lafiya" which means "fine"), the woman looked me up and down and said "How old are you?" I told her I was 25, and she responded with a very controling voice, "Well, you don't look like it." I said "I know, I know, I look much younger than I am, but I am 25." Her next question took me a bit off guard "Are you married?" I responded with "No, I am not married." She quickly asked me "Why not?" I said, "Well, God has not called me to be married yet."
If her questions hadn't caught me off guard her next statement sure did "Well then you should marry my son." After she said that I sort of just stood there, not exactly sure what to say . . . for the next few minutes she proceeded to tell me about her son that he was 22 and that I needed to marry him, she was sort of demanding that I marry him. After a few minutes I finally decided to say, "Well, actually I have a boyfriend back home in America and I don't think he would like it if I married your son." Her response to that was "Well your boyfriend is already engaged to someone else." "Really?! . . . I don't think so" was my surprised response as I tried really hard not to laugh . . . she then spent the next few minutes telling me that my boyfriend was already engaged to someone else and that I needed to marry her son (How she would have any idea that Sean was engaged I'm not exactly sure, but she sure sounded like she knew what she was talking about). After telling her that I was pretty sure that my boyfriend wasn't engaged to someone else since I had just talked to him that morning, she finally stopped trying to convince me that Sean was already engaged to someone else since I had left him back in the states. . . As I was leaving, she reminded me about her son and then said that if I wasn't going to marry her son than I at least needed to invite her and her family to my wedding when my boyfriend and I got married. My response was "Well, we will see." So, Sean you better not be engaged to someone else! :)

As if that post office experience isn't enough, today I headed down to pick up another package and have another funny story. The same man was there today, so we chatted for a few minutes, before another man joined the conversation. He asked me where I was from, so I told him I was from America. He eventually asked me where in America I was from, so I said "Seattle, Washington, in Washington State." People here don't know that Washington state exists, so every time I mention Washington, they immediately say "OH Washington DC I know that place." Then I have to inform them that actually I am not from Washington DC and that Washington State is on the entire other side of the country, usually I end up saying something like it's above California since most people have heard of California . . . so after going through this discussion with the man, he said "Washington DC is the former capital of America". My response was "Yes, Washington DC is our Capital". He then proceeded to explain in a very complicated manner, that actually Washington DC is the FORMER Capital of America and that NOW New York is the capital of America . . . I kept correcting him, because I thought he was asking me a question, but about half way though I realized that he was INFORMING me that New York is the new capital of America, and that Washington DC is the old capital. After trying to explain that Washington DC is still the capital, and him totally not understanding I finally just said, "Oh, yes, wow, great, thank you" and walked away with my package . . . :)

Tired In Africa . . .

2008-08-20T02:50:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last update. We have been BUSY around here, with camp, with hosting our team and getting ready for school, among many other things. I have plenty stories to tell, but I will try to keep it short, and tell most of them through pictures . . .

Boys Camp went very well. Given the fact that we had 71 boys in a small space for a whole week, we had very few problems. The Moody Team did a great job teaching our boys! The boys ate up the attention and the Bible Teaching! We had a wonderful worship team and it was great fun getting to sing and dance along side the boys!

One camp highlight was our Talent Show on Friday night. We had a church band come and play, we had a BBQ and our boys had an opportunity to show off their talents . . . ranging from singing, guitar playing, dribbling a football to putting on dramas describing the Bible lessons! It was great fun to laugh and just be with the boys!

I also had my first experience of a Nigerian swimming pool during camp. We took the boys to a local swimming pool for a camp activity in the afternoons . . . swimming pools in Nigeria are very different from swimming pools in America . . . the water in the pool was GREEN because it hadn't been cleaned in so long! So after saying a quick prayer for my health, I jumped on in realizing that when God calls you to be a missionary, part of your job might be swimming in a green pool in the rain . . . the boys enjoyed it and it was cold, but fun. I was SO thankful for my warm shower at the end of the day! Praise the Lord for that!

God taught me a great deal about serventhood during the week at camp. Since our job consisted mainly of facilitating and organizing camp and the team, we didn't get to do the fun stuff like Bible Studies with the boys. I did have the opportunity to spend a great deal of time peeling potatoes and washing dishes in the kitchen with our wonderful kitchen women. Although it was challenging, being more of an organizer than a participant, it was a humbling experience, and good look at what it means to truly have a servant heart.

We could use prayer for energy and strength for the next few weeks, which are going to be very busy. We have several children moving centers, we are reconciling a few boys, school will be starting, we have a few changes in leadership, we are planning a trip to our outside centers and a camp of our girls all before the end of September . . . crazy, but all good! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Tuow, Insights, & Amazing Strength

2008-08-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of camp! Boys from our centers in Jos and centers in other villages several hours away came together today, to spend a week learning to love one another and learning to grow deeper in their faith. I am spending the week at our senior boys camp where our short-term team from Chicago is using the theme "Walk Worthy" to teach our boys about six different characteristics that are important to followers of Christ. Today we learned about how to be courageous in our life and our faith. It was a wonderful day. I was able to talk to some new boys, learn some new names, do dishes and I even learned how to cook Nigerian style . . . well sort of. :)

Ever heard of the phrase "Too many cooks in the kitchen"? Well today I was convinced there is no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, the more the merrier! I was able to spend a few hours in the kitchen today with our amazing cooking staff. These women are not only hilarious, full of faith and joy, but VERY strong! They were making a gigantic pot of tuow tonight (something resembling mashed potatoes in consistency and color), and they let me try and help them stir . . . I was useless . . . I couldn't do it at all . . . I was not strong enough! We all had a good laugh and I handed the large wooden stirring stick back to Rifkatu, a woman much shorter than myself and went back to peeling potatoes! :) I will take some pictures tomorrow! It was quite a sight!

Although camp is exhausting, it is wonderful and I am really enjoying having the opportunity to get to know the boys and the staff on a deeper level. Please keep us all in your prayers!

Things I'm Aquiring

2008-08-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, Nicky, the woman I work with is from England. One would naturally assume that because we both speak English that we would be able to communicate and understand one another clearly . . . most of the time this is that case, but on occasion Nicky will say something to me and I will have NO CLUE what she is talking about. For example, when Nicky asked me to please go and open the boot. I stopped and looked at her with a very confused expression. It was then, that she remember that us Americans don't say boot, we stay trunk. I have since been educated that the boot is the trunk and the bonnet is the hood of the car . . . go figure. In addition, when Nicky reminds me to grab my costume, she is not talking about a Halloween costume, she is actually referring to my swimming suit. Likewise, pants are actually underwear, if you are talking about pants you must refer to them as trousers. Tennis shoes are canvas, rubbers are erasers and a vest is actually a tank-top. In British English, the word "bit" replaces the word "like" in American English . . . I am finding myself using the word" bit" a little bit too often now . . . :) So far my favorite British word I have learned thus far is "manky!" "Gross look at that manky toe!" "Gross look at that manky dog" are common ways one would use the word manky. It's a good word . . .

In addition to learning British English I am also learning a bit about British culture. For instance, 4:00pm is tea time . . . Beans on top of toast is a common choice for lunch, along with a jelly and banana sandwich ( I went for peanut butter and bananas . . . ) and baked potatoes are actually called jacket potatoes.

As you can see, I am being well educated in the British ways :) I can't wait until I can go and visit Nicky in England and experience all I am learning. :) I really enjoy working with Nicky, we have a lot of fun together. We often make each other laugh, especially during potentially stressful situations . . . it's always good to have someone with you, so when you see things like three people and two goats on a motorbike you can say, "Hey did you just see that?!?

This is a picture of Joseph's manky toe . . . (a good use of the word)

This is a picture of Joseph . . . His toe is better now . . . he can play football at camp!

Timing, Incomprehension & Answers

2008-08-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

This Bible reading for this morning is Luke 6. Part of that reading is the Beatitudes. I flipped back to Matthew 5, so that I could read the whole Sermon on the Mount. God has such amazing timing.

Although foot washing was an amazing and joyful experience yesterday, it did come with it's own set of challenges, the largest being that we could not provide shoes for the whole village and had to turn people away. Having to turn a small child away from a new pair of shoes is no easy task, it's a pair of shoes. I have like ten pairs of shoes, these children are walking around barefoot for lack of one pair of shoes. It was a huge struggle to reconcile the idea within my head and heart that we cannot provide for all of these people. Turning mothers and children away makes you feel guilty and caused a lot of confusion in my head and heart on how as a missionary I could say no to these people. "Aren't we here to love and serve these people?, They have legitimate needs . . ."

When I read the Beatitudes this morning I was reminded that although these people need shoes, what they really need is the love of Christ, and although they might be begging for shoes, what they are truly begging for is love. God will provide for all of our needs, physical and spiritual. It isn't up to us to provide shoes for everyone. God will provide what these people need, we are called to be willing to serve and love.

"God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.

God blessed those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.

God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full.

God blesses those who are merciful, for they Will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs."

Matthew 5:3-10

PS: This is a picture of Isaiah and I holding one week old goats! :)

Teaching in Action

2008-08-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

"Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him. . . . After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, 'Do you understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. You know these things-now down them! That is the path of blessing."

- John 13:3-5; 12-17

Today over 100 children at our Gyero Care Center, had their feet washed, were prayed for and received a new pair of socks and shoes. Our short-term team from North Carolina teamed up with a non-profit group called Samartian's Feet, to bring shoes to all of our kids! What a huge blessing! Samartian's Feet (http://www.samaritansfeet.org/) was created by a Nigerian man who came to know Christ after a missionary gave him a pair of shoes. He now travels around the World bringing shoes and the gift of Christ to children.

Words cannot describe the joy of praying over a child and watching their face light up when they put their new shoes and socks on! The dances, laughter, smiles and hugs are something that you can only experience first hand. Instead of writing a long blog tonight, I will post many pictures that I think better describe what happened today in Gyero. Praise the Lord!

"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me."

-Psalm 51:10

Thoughts in Adventures . . .

2008-08-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

I am so exhausted. I left the house at 8:30am this morning and didn't arrive home until 9:40pm. It was a crazy, busy, fun day. I am so thankful for Nicky. We are so alike and have SO much fun together! She makes me laugh a lot. One of our girls (little Faith, she is so small, and only 6 years old) ended up in the hospital today. We think it's Malaria, but not exactly sure. We drove all around the city, ran tons of errands, sorted piles of clothes, brought lunch to a sick missionary, among many, many other things. Although it is extremely exhausting I love the adventures that each day brings here. Simple things become so crazy, and you can't leave the house without seeing something that catches your eye as odd, like army men with guns arresting a man on the side of the road, car accidents which make you wonder how the cars could have possibly ended up in the position you saw them in if they were driving on the correct side of the road (with to be honest probably wasn't the case, they were probably driving on the wrong side of the road, the cause of the accident in the first place), there are just too many crazy things to even begin to list. I wish that everyone had an opportunity to experience life like this at least once. It blows your mind. It also shows you how big God is.

Every Friday night the director of City Ministries and his wife have all of the City Ministries missionaries to their house for dinner. Well, tonight is what was called "first Friday". The first Friday of every month, ANY missionary in the area (not just city ministries) is welcomed for dinner and worship. There were over 100 people for dinner tonight. Although it was extremely overwhelming, it was wonderful to sit in the presence of so many people and spend time in prayer in worshiping the Lord. There are so many amazing stories of God's faithfulness. It's amazing what you see God doing when you are in a place where you have no choice but to rely on him for everything . . . in a place where you have to pray ALL the time as you are driving down the street, or walking down the street for that matter. Not that God works more here than he does at home, I think that at home we don't realize our need for him as easily because we have power all the time, our Internet works most of the time. People don't drive the wrong way down the streets. You don't see people with machine guns arresting people on the side of the road. You can grab food or coffee or pretty much anything you would possibly want at any possible time . . . it's easy to not pray and to forget your need for God when you can do and get all those things yourself . . . God works just as much here as he does there, and sometimes it's even more of a challenge to remind yourself of this when you are at home. But tonight it was wonderful to be reminded that God can do it on his own, he just invites us to help him. He is SO much bigger than we are. I am more and more thankful each day that I know Christ. I am so blessed to be able to serve God here in Nigeria, and blessed to serve God at home in Shoreline. I am just thankful that I get to serve him.

The picture is of little Faith who was sick today. Keep her in your prayers. She is doing better, and after the Dr. visit, we practiced spelling in the car . . . :) She wanted to know how to spell television, among many other things! :)

Thankfulness In Africa

2008-07-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Some more thoughts for this evening . . .

Today the girls received a TV and DVD for their parlor. I have never before seen 16 happier girls in my entire life! When Elisha began setting it all up they were singing and dancing so loudly that the boys from the other compound wandered in wondering what all the noise was about! It was so adorable.

The TV and DVD player were donated to the girls by someone in America. I wish that the person who donated the money could have been in Gyero today to see the response of these girls, it was amazing. What a good reminder that a little can go such a long way. What a good reminder of how important the body of Christ is. Someone so far away has made a lasting impact in these little girls for a long time.

It was also a good reminder to me that I should be that thankful each morning for the day God has given me. I am constantly being reminded to have a more thankful heart. Last night during family group we made a list of the things we were thankful for. What a good exercise to do . . . It was encouraging to see that more than half of the things on the list that the girls came up with were people in their lives. We are all such a gift to each other.

This morning during devotionals we talked about being a missionary, and how we don't have to go across the World to share the love of Christ. How true it is. We are simply called to follow where God calls us, whether that is Nigeria or your next door neighbor. I love that. The Nigerian staff that I get to work with each day are some of the best missionaries I have ever met in my life, and they didn't move across the World.

We also talked about how everyone shares the love of Christ differently. Such an encouragement to me. The way I share Christ is differently than the way you share Christ and no way is better than any other way. Each way is just different. Romans 12!! :)

Last night we read part of Psalm 118. I was spending a great deal of time reading that Psalm before I arrived here and I just love it, so I thought I would share it with you! :)

Just a few thoughts for the evening . . .

The Internal Anquish

2008-07-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

It seems that every time I sit down, I have so much to blog about, everyday is full of fun adventures and new experiences. I am going to keep this blog short, and to the point, since I am not feeling well; which is what I am going to blog about.

I remember before arriving here, I was very curious about the food in Nigeria. Unable to find much information about it I decided to just figuring it out when I got here . . . well within the first week I had arrive, I had not had any Nigerian food and I was very disappoint. I had eaten a great deal of wonderful American food, but I had yet to try any Nigerian food . . . how disappointing. Well, I have now been here long enough to try Nigerian food!

I will begin with the basics . . . um . . . well spicy, pretty much sums it up. "Peppa" as they call it seems to be the only spice they have here, so EVERYTHING, including spaghetti noodles (with beans), which I wrongly assumed would be bland were spicy! No joke! Besides the peppa, pretty much meals are rice and beans . . . or twuo. Now twuo is an experience . . . it is rice pounded into a paste that resembles mashed potatoes. The twuo is served with a sauce, there are several different sauces that you dip the twuo in with your hands. It is a messy meal and funny to watch people eat. These are the basic meals for lunch and dinner . . . breakfast is mostly a called tombran. It is similar in consistency to cream of wheat, but tombran is brown and made from peanuts among other things, the kids love it, sadly I do not.

So these are the basic foods eaten here, there are a few more rice stews that I have not mentioned, but these are the ones most often eaten in Gyero . . . now last night I experienced a whole new type of Nigerian food . . . called moi moi (I have no idea if I am spelling any of these correctly, but I'm trying). Moi moi, is basically beans in a bag . . . Now, I had brought food with me last night and I was planning on not eating with the girls, but Mama told me she made me special food with out peppa for me, which I was very thankful for, but sadly it didn't sit too well with me.

I am feeling better this evening, thankfully. I greatly appreciate all of the work that Mama put into making the meal, so I'm disappointed that it make me sick because I would love to eat with the girls, but I also don't want to be sick. :(

Thank you for all of your notes of encouragement and prayers! You are all in my prayers and I am constantly in awe what a gift it is to watch the body of Christ work around the World. Thank you for being a part of it!

Tails In Africa . . . or lack of Tails in Africa . . .

2008-07-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

I am writing you this rainy, windy, cloudy Monday morning, with a thankful heart for the NEPA we have right now! We have had sporadic power the past few days and as a result, I have not been able to get online to check email. Thank you for all of the encouraging emails! I can't tell you how much I love to read them! I also received my first package last week! Yay! :) It is fun to get mail, everyone gets so excited! I am currently enjoying some of the American chocolate that was sent to me . . . THANK YOU! :)

So much happens in one week here, even in one day that sometimes it is difficult to know what to write about or even where to start. I have a ton of pictures of the kids that I will post on this blog . . . where to start. Well, we can start with some good news, Uncle Sunday (one of the uncles at Gyero) his wife had her baby on Thursday night. Both mom and baby are healthy and safe, a big praise, as giving birth is a bit dangerous here. We were able to pick up the mom, baby and rest of the family from the hospital on Friday morning, it was really fun!

We do have a bit of sad news . . . You may remember me posting a picture of Gospel, the guard dog for the girls compound, the little yellow one with a waggy tail. Well . . . I'm not exactly sure how to put this, but Gospel is no more. When we arrived at Gyero yesterday for church, the girls came running up saying "Auntie, Auntie, Gospel is sick." The poor dog was really sick, he couldn't see or hardly walk. So while we were out on Sunday a few of the boys killed Gospel, which was really good because the poor dog was in a lot of pain and needed to be put out of his misery. Now, um, well, not exactly sure how to put this, but as we were driving down the road in Gyero, we saw a bunch of the boys behind one of the houses, we stopped and asked what they were doing. They replied with "we are cooking". Nicky they asked "what are you cooking?" The boys replied "Meat". Slowly we put the pieces together THEY WERE COOKING GOSPEL THE DOG . . . I am not kidding . . . I thought that when the girls kept saying they were going to eat the dog they were joking . . . no joke. They ate the dog. I walked into the girls compound and they had a huge platter of meat . . . IT WAS THE DOG . . . I freaked out and the girls, thought it was hilarious . . . I guess when meat is scarce and your dog dies, you eat your dog . . .

There are TONS of dogs running around all over the place here, and Pastor's dog just had puppies. He said that I could pick one out for the girls compound. :) I am excited, but I don't know how I will handle it if it dies and they eat it! AHHH! Okay, enough about the dog . . .

Yesterday Nicky and I went to church in Gyero, which is always a wonderful cultural experience. Almost three hours of sitting on a cement bench, not understanding a word . . . It is actually a lot of fun to go with the girls, and have them explain what is going on. Yesterday was the day that the church does communion, which was an experience. Communion consisted of bread for the body, normal enough and . . . orange fanta (orange pop) for the blood! It was quite hilarious. Before I new that it was fanta, I was wondering if I should even take it because we will get sick if we drink the water here . . . I was thinking how ironic it would be if communion made me sick . . . :) Thankfully it was just orange fanta, which is fine to drink, but quite a funny thing to drink as a representation for the blood of Christ! :)

I have many more stories, but they will have to wait for another time. Please pray for energy and good rest over the next few weeks. We will be busy with camp and several short-term teams. Please email me any prayer requests you may have. - Much Love!

Trunks, Insects, Animals . . . Part 2

2008-07-24T12:34:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from our adventures at Yankari Wildlife Park! :)

Trunks, Insects, Animals . . .

2008-07-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

I can't believe it has taken me so long to tell you about my adventures this past weekend. Probably because for me, writing a blog is a major undertaking that takes an hour or so. :) Now to the story . . .

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Yankari, a wild animal park about 3 hours outside of Jos. We left, my compound at 5:45am Saturday morning. I was joined on the trip by six other short-term missionaries and one of the SIM drivers and his family. The drive to Yankari was beautiful, watching the sun rise above the green plateaus.

When we finally arrived in Yankari, we headed straight to the office to sign up for a safari. It was awesome! We got to ride in a real safari jeep! Our safari lasted for almost two hours, we saw lots of animals such as springbok, monitor lizards, cool birds and even ELEPHANTS!! It was awesome, the elephants were just a few feet in front of our jeep!! It was awesome!

Along with seeing lots of cool animals, we were able to get out of the jeep at one point and walk around and see all of these caves that had been carved into large rocks deep in the forest. The caves were carved by people during the slave trade. People would escape he slave trade by running away and living in these caves. It was crazy to crawl around in them and realize that not only were the caves made by people, but people who were facing such challenges. It was so amazing to be able to walk around the African jungle. We saw bats, spiders, and millipedes! It was SO AMAZING! I will post lots of pictures.

After our safari we headed back to the main complex to have lunch. Now the whole game park is in the middle of nowhere, so wild animals such as baboons and warthogs just chill where the main complex is, they walk around your car and stuff . . . and they like to steal food as I found out the hard way. It is pretty common knowledge for anyone who goes to Yankari that you need to be careful of the baboons. They are very tame and not all that afraid of you, especially if you have food . . . they actually sell sling shots for you to use on the baboons (no kidding). Anyways, being aware of the baboon dangers we decided to eat our lunches in the van. Well as soon as we packed into the van the baboons knew what we were up to and we had about five baboons crawling all over the cars surrounding us, just hoping they might get a bite . . . We thought it was pretty funny and were taking lots of pictures . . . well it was getting quite hot in van with 13 people eating lunch in there, so we cracked the windows, thinking we would be safe from the baboons . . . WRONG! Tim graciously brought mini candy bars to share with everyone . . . so holding the candy bar in the right hand, with my back to the window of the van, I turned to thank Tim. Little did I know that Mrs. Baboon was carefully watching me, and saw this as an excellent opportunity for her to REACH INTO THE VAN AND GRAB THE CANDY BAR OUT OF MY HAND!!! I am SO NOT KIDDING! THE BABOON TOUCHED MY HAND!! I thought that Joseph in the front seat was trying to tell me something, so when I turned my head and saw a giant baboon head, instead of Joseph's head I screamed!! Everyone in the car was startled and was wondering what happened. When I finally caught my breath through my laughter and the tears that were streaming down my face (tears from laughing) everyone had figured out what happened and couldn't believe it! It was SO funny!! I will post pictures of Mrs. Baboon who thoroughly enjoyed MY candy bar!!

After getting over the disappointment of not getting candy bar that afternoon we headed down the natural hot springs for a swim. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life!! It looked like I was in Hawaii!! Crystal clear water, green grass, and Palm trees! The water was so warm, it was wonderful. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the water before we headed home. I will post a bunch of pictures! It was a good day! :)

Things In Africa

2008-07-21T23:45:00.001-07:00

Friends and Family,

I realized that I haven't posted pictures in a while. Here are some pictures of the Gyero area I have taken over the past few weeks. Gospel, our girls compound guard dog is featured in the first photo. The second picture is the primary school. The middle pictures are just to give you a view of what life is like in the village. The last picture of the white building is one of the churches in Gyero. I will post more later! Enjoy!

Truth, Insight, Alligators

2008-07-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

I am sorry that my blogs are so long, I truly do try to shorten them, but there is always SO much to tell, and today is no different. This is been an eventful weekend, so I am going to start at the beginning on Friday . . . this might be a two blog weekend . . . we'll see what happens.

Do you remember the new girl I was telling you about; Godiya? The spunky one . . . well, she has a rather rapid change of attitude and heart this past week. The staff was alerted to her change in behavior and we all began praying about it and came to the correct conclusion that there was way more to her story than she had first told us. Godiya had told us that she was an orphan and so as far as we knew she had no family, so when she told us on Tuesday that she dreamed that her grandmother had died and she wanted to go and visit her to make sure she was okay, we were a little shocked and confused. Mamma Sate and the uncles decided that we had better take her to her village to get to the bottom of her story.

It turned out that Godiya's village, which was about an hour and half drive away was near the village of two of our older boys who are in the reconciliation process with their families. We decided we would take these two boys, Joseph and Nemiah to visit their since we were going to be trekking out that direction anyways. Joseph had not seen his family in over 4 years, and Nemiah hadn't seen is family in a year or so. So, Nicky, Pastor Jaygay, Mamma Sate, Joseph, Nemiah, Godiya and I all piled into Nicky's car to bring these boys to see their families, and get to the bottom of Godiya's story.

Taking these boys to see their families was an amazing experience. When Joseph arrived in his compound people didn't recognize him at first, but once they figured out who he was, all the women began screaming and crying and hugging him. They were overjoyed to see him. It was an amazing experience to be a part of this boy's homecoming and to see that all of these policies we are working on for the reconciliation program are really, really important.

Nemiah received a similar homecoming with his family. Although this home still has struggles this 16 year old boy wants to be reconciled with his family so that he can teach them about Jesus Christ. I was floored when Nicky shared that with me. He is only 16 and he wants to go back into a difficult situation so that he can preach to his family, what an amazing young man. God works in such amazing ways.

I don't know if there are words to describe what it was like to be a part of these boys’s homecoming. I was overwhelming and exciting. Please keep them and their families in your prayers.

So after drinking a HUGE orange Fanta (you all know how much I love pop) and peeing in the maize (corn) we were off, this time bound for Godiya's village. When we finally arrived in Godiya's village, she jumped out of the car almost before we stopped driving and ran to "her grandmothers" house . . . when we catch up to Godiya, we see that she is hugging this very confused looking crippled woman who is sitting in the dirt doing her laundry. Pastor and Mamma try talking to the woman, but she is just looking back at us very confused . . . after a few awkward minutes she doesn't respond to anything said and she goes back to doing her laundry. Godiya, starts in about how she wants to stay and take care of "her grandmother" . . . we are all thinking "we can't leave her here . . ." A few more awkward moments pass by before God greatly answered our prayers for guidance and wisdom.

Two school teachers from the village just happened to be walking by while all his was going on, and came over, probably at first because they saw white people. As the two teachers began to talk with Pastor and Mama, they quickly begin to put the scatter pieces together of what was going on. All of the sudden they grabbed Godiya by the arm and began yelling. Nicky and I were standing there very confused asking Pastor to translate, but he was just as confused as we were. The two women begin walking off with Godiya and the four of us with rather confused expressions on our faces, followed after. We begin to pick up a few words in English as we are following this crazy scene and we learn that actually Godiya has a family, just on the other side of the village . . . "A FAMILY?!?!" we were all thinking . . . "we were under the impression that she was an orphan" we told the two women.

Thankfully these two women began explaining the whole situation two us. Godiya is not actually an orphan. She is one in ten children, and both of her parents are living. As it turns out she ran away from home about a month previous to when we brought her back. Everything that she had told us was a lie and that woman that she has jumped out of the car to greet, wasn't even her grandmother, they weren't even related!!

While this story is unfolding THE ENTIRE village came out to see what the commotion was and then to stare at the two white people. It was quite the experience let me tell you. I think that two white people being in the village might have been bigger news than the fact that Godiya was back . . . People literally stood there and stared at us and followed us around. . . it was a bit like being on show. The two teachers took charge of the situation and took us all over the village, sharing the story of what had happened. We met the pastor and another woman involved with the Church who feed us lunch (which was wonderful because we were starving by then). I have to share this side note with you because I thought it was great . . . Nigerian food is really spicy, so after eating lunch I pulled out some gym I thankfully had in my bag and offered it to all the women in the room . . . it was hilarious sitting in this house chewing mint gum with all of these wonderful Nigerian women. It was a moment. :)

Anyways, we eventually met Godiya's mother and explained to her the situation. According to her mother Godiya was a pretty rebellious child and they had no idea where she was while she was gone. They hadn't really tried to look for her, because with nine other children it wasn't a priority. The mother thanked us for bringing her back and we left after praying with the family, or more accurately, we prayed with a random assortment of people from the village who some how become involved in the whole process.

WOW! That is a day for ya. It was crazy. It was hard to know how to feel. I was sad that Godiya had lied to us and confused about why she would have wanted us to go back to her village in the first place. Did she really think we wouldn't have figured it out and would just leave her there with that random woman? Why did she run away in the first place? I just had so many questions, and I still do . . . It is sad because Godiya never apologized for lying; she just wanted to make sure she got her clothes from us. When I asked her why she did it, she said it didn't matter and that she liked to be punished . . . the whole thing was very strange. I am thankful that God gave the staff such good insight and lead us to the truth so quickly, because she could have caused a lot of problems with our other girls if we hadn't gotten to the bottom of it. I know that God was protecting us, our ministry and the other girls by uncovering the truth.

Okay, so I just have to share this one last random story with you . . . I couldn't stop laughing. It is really common here for people to run up to your car and try to sell you things, like fruit when you are slowing down or coming to a stop. Well, on the way home, we were slowing down in a village, and of course a huge group of people run up to us trying to sell us fruit and olives. I wasn't paying much attention, when all of the sudden Mamma starts yelling "look, look!!" Confused, Nicky and I started looking around . . . searching out my window I finally saw what Mamma was yelling about. A man was holding a two to three foot long ALLIGATOR by the tail and he was trying to sell it to us (people eat them here)!! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life . . . (at least at that point in my life . . . Saturday brought a few more crazy experiences). I couldn't stop laughing! An alligator! I wish I would have had my camera so I could show you all . . . it was awesome.

Anyways, that was my Friday. See how hard it is to shorten my blogs! How could I possibly leave any of that out?!!?

Thank you for your prayers and encouragment! I am so thankful for all of you!!

Traditional, Interesting Attire. . .

2008-07-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

Although we didn't make it to the traditional Nigerian church we were planning on going to this morning, I was still dressed like a traditional Nigerian! :) Just thought you might enjoy a picture! :)

Hope all is well!!

Thoughts In the African night . . .

2008-07-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

I just have to tell you all about my new best friend . . . my headlamp. I am more than thankful for my trusty little light that follows me where ever I go. He started to flicker the other day and I freaked out! What ever will I do without my headlamp!! We have become such close friends in the past few weeks . . . It gets dark around 6:00pm in the evening, and it seems to be a theme that we don’t have electricity in the evenings. If we are lucky NEPA comes on around midnight and stays until 9:00am . . . not the most convenient of times, but I am thankful for this little power with which I can rotate charging my computer, cell phone and IPod . . . even if it means waking up at midnight to plug in one of the three items.
As a result of the untimely power my evenings are often left in the dark. I have a few candles, which I do have to say are quite nice and relaxing to sit by and read or journal write by in the evenings, but my headlamp can travel with me, something these candles cannot do. I tried lighting candles in each room, so that if I needed to go into my bedroom, I wouldn’t be walking into a dark room, or similarly if I needed to use the bathroom, I didn’t need to venture into the dark abyss of the bathroom (you never know what you might find in a dark room in Africa, a giant cockroach or a variety of other unwelcome roommates) . . . but leaving all those candles burning for a few hours, isn’t safe or economical, I would need to buy a lot of candles. So I have now resorted to burning just one candle and leaving my headlamp on me so that I may use it whenever I venture into a new room . . .
This decision to not go anywhere past 6:00pm without my headlamp was also aided by the difficulty in actually lighting a candle here. “How difficult could it actually be to light a candle” you may be thinking to yourself . . . well quite difficult is the answer. It takes about 5-7 matches each time you decide you want to light something, whether that be a candle or the stove or the oven (yes my oven is a gas oven . . . the electricity is not reliable enough for electric stoves or ovens). The matches here just don’t work and it’s not just me . . . believe me everyone here complains about how bad the matches are . . . they break in half when you strike them, they often don’t light, or they light and die rather quickly. It’s amazing the pile of matches that accumulate on the table in only one evening. I have been informed by more experienced missionaries that the matches with the tomato on the box are the best, but I have yet to invest in tomato matches. I will let you know how well they really do work once I am able to find these tomato matches.
It seems funny to be writing about matches and headlamps when I have seen and been thinking about so many more important things, but I thought I would share a little bit of what daily life is like here . . .
On a more important note God has been teaching me and showing me so much about need. There is so much need here. The other day I was eating my lunch out at Gyero and I dropped a piece of my food on the ground. Within seconds, the chickens, and dogs had run over to fight over this tiny scrap of food . . . and then the ants came and picked up the little crumbs that were left behind.
It’s very overwhelming at times to be faced with these constant needs. Being white, people are constantly begging and asking for money, and I can’t give away money to everyone. It’s hard to understand how God provides for all of these needs, but it blows my mind when I think about it and realize that he is big enough to provide for all these people, and he cares for each one of them individually and he knows what their true needs actually are.
Today at Bible Study we were discussing whether we truly believe and take to heart the fact that God will only withhold something good from us when he has something better planned. It’s easy to believe and see that God does this in hindsight, because we see how he provided, but so difficult to believe it in the midst of a struggle, when we think we see what we need, but don’t see God providing it for us. It comes to trusting and believing that God knows us and has our best interest at heart. We talked about several verses, but I came back to these two standards: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5
And
“And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us we become more and more like Him, and reflect His glory even more.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Hope this finds you all well. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! I am thankful for all of you!

Thankfulness, Intersession and Aunties

2008-07-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

There is always so much to write about! Sometimes it's hard to know where to begin . . . The past two days have been so eventful!

Yesterday we had another new girl join us at Gyero. It is a miracle that, Godyie actually made it to the ministry. Both of her parents past away a few years ago. At that time a distant relative took her to use as house help and neglected taking care of Godyie. Just a few days ago, the relative decided she was going to move to Lagos, but didn't want to take Godyie with her, so she told Godyie to pack her bags, they were going on a trip to Jos. The woman dropped Godyie off at a street corner and told her to wait there she would be back in a few minutes. The woman never came back. Godyie began begging, and thankfully she came across a Christian woman who knew about our ministry and brought Godyie to us. Praise the Lord. Godyie is quite the 12 year old young lady. She is very spunky and can definitely hold her own.

Godyie arrived at our ministry with nothing but the clothes she was wearing, so Nicky, Mamma and I took her shopping yesterday to get some new clothes. Seeing the joy on Godyie's face, joy not only from the fact that she was getting new clothes, but joy from the fact that these 3 women actually cared about her was an amazing experience. She held my hand, smiling and jumping up and down the entire time we walked around the market in the rain. Godyie was very excited that I had a camera, and she loves to pose, so I will post a few pictures for you!

After taking Godyie to the market, it was time for "Family Groups". Every Tuesday night all of the kids at Gyero are broken into small group of 12 kids and 1-2 adults. Each family group eats dinner together, does Bible study and spends time worshiping in song. I was able to join the girl's family group last night and let me tell you, those girls can sing! The beautiful song they can make with simply their voices and a bucket, is beyond me. I couldn't for the life of me keep the rhythm with the girls, but I had fun dancing and trying to sing with them. They thought it was hysterical that "Auntie Jamie" was dancing with them!

I prepared a devotion with the girls last night, and we had fun talking about the qualities of God, the qualities we see in ourselves and talking about being children of God. We looked at two passages:

Genesis 1:27: "So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them."

John 1:12: "But to all who believed him and accepted him he gave the right to become children of God."

It was fun to watch the girls tell each other that they were children of God. I was able to get a hold of a Hausa Bible, so I wrote the verses in English and in Hausa. The girls were fascinated and had fun reading the verses first in English and then in Hausa to each other. It's difficult to know how much they understood, but it was at least fun . . . and I know God shows up in fun! :)

I spent the night in Gyero with the girls. It was a blast, a toilet that rivals the one in the D.R. for all you Team Swaction members! :) The walls of the toilet were covered in mosquitoes and flies . . . (That one is for you Amy! :)

We were awoken by the Muslim call to prayer at 5:00am, which then caused a chain reaction of the dog in the compound to start barking, the women in the COCIN (Church of Christ In Nigeria) to start singing, the compound roosters to start crowing, and the girls to wake up and begin their morning devotions and worship. By 6:30am, I was awake, dressed and greeted by each one of the girls . . . these Nigerians sure know how to use their day light!

I enjoyed spending the morning reading, working on the alphabet, coloring and just sitting with the girls. They are all so unique, beautiful and have such dark pasts. Each one is a miracle. As much as I have enjoyed getting to know the girls, the two women, Mamma Sate and Kaka (grandmother) are two of the most amazing followers of Christ I have met. They both have given up good paying jobs and lives with their families to spend almost every waking minute with these girls. They mentor, disciple, feed, clothe, bathe and love on all of these girls. Until recently, Kaka didn't have a blanket to sleep with and used a pile of her clothes as her source of warmth. Kaka spends a good portion of her day praying for each of the girls by name, and if she isn't praying on her own, you will probably find her sitting on the broken bench mending a sweater with a girl by her side as she sings praises and thanks to the Lord her God. She is a true witness of someone who understands the thanks and praise God should receive from us all.

I have taken a few pictures of the girls and of Kaka. I will post them along with (hopefully) the video I took of a Nigerian rain storm.

I am grateful for each and everyone of your prayers and your emails. I am continuing to pray for all of you and your specific prayer requests. Let me know if there is any way I can be praying for you! I love you all!! Thank you!

Thunder & Incredible Adventures!

2008-07-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

Praise the Lord we have finally had more than 30 mins of power a day, so I can write to you all! The past few days have been packed with many interesting adventures that I am excited to tell you about. The first of which is Gyero. We took Mary, our new orphaned girl out to Gyero on Friday and introduced her to the other girls. We played a few name games and hand games and although she didn't talk much she smiled and joined in. As I was playing with the girls I was trying to put myself into Mary's position, to be 9 years old, having just lost your mother and now these Bature (white people) are taking me away from any family I have known to live with 12 other girls I have never met in my life. I can't even imagine what that would be like. The two women, Mama Sate and Kaka (grandmother), who take care of the girls, are wonderful women of God. They have both given up better paying jobs, and lives with their families to live with and take care of the girls. I will post a few pictures of the girls, and one of Mary and I.

It was decided last week that every Tuesday night I will stay the night at Gyero with the girls for family time. During family time I will play a few games, a craft and lead a short devotional and Bible study to do with the girls. We will all eat dinner together and I will spend the night with the girls. I am really looking forward to having this opportunity to get to know the girls on a more individual level.

Along with everything that God is doing at Gyero, I have been able to experience the beginning of the Nigerian rainy season. Now for you Seattlites who think you have the rain down, and it's not a problem for you, think again . . . the rain here is NOTHING like I have ever seen. Last week it was actually hailing . . . everyday we have thunderstorms, we are actually about to have one as I write this Blog . . . I will take a video to post on the blog, it is something you must experience. :)

I have so many stories I wish to share with all of you, and not enough time, and I know this blog is already long, but I must share a few highlights from my day yesterday, because, as Nicky said it was a quintessential missionary day. The day began by going to a 3 hour church service in Gyero. The speaker switched back and forth between English, Hausa and singing during his sermon, so I couldn't tell you exactly what he was talking about. After having a spicy lunch of rice, beans and fish, I piled into the back of the Blazer with 7 other people for the bumpy ride down the dirt road. After dropping off our crew, we traveled around Jos visiting the families of the boys who will be reconciled later next month. The first house we came to brought me my first experience of Maltina. Any Nigerian would be furious to know that I HATE Maltina. Maltina, a soft drink which is supposed to contain many vitamins and be very good for your health tastes pretty much like drinking molasses. Sick. I sat in this house, drinking Maltina, not understanding a word that was said when I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom (big surprise). So I think to myself, well, you can hold it, we are going home after this house anyways . . . wrong. As the rains come we decide to leave the house, and upon arriving at our car realize that the battery is dead. Well, having my share of car problems, I popped the hood and checked to make sure the battery was still connected . . . it was . . . so i determined that we needed a jump from another car. While I am trying to sort out if there is another car we can jump our car from, one of the Nigerian men begins hitting the car battery with a rock. I was like oh crap . . . apparently he is a mechanic . . . So he tells Nicky to start the car and amazingly enough the car starts . . . go figure.

To my bladder's disappointment I figure out that we are not going home we actually have another family to visit. So after driving down this dirt "road" we climb out of the car, hike a few rocks, jump a stream, and hike some more rocks to this house on the top of the hill. Let me remind you all of this was done, while having to pee, while wearing a long skirt, while wearing flip-flops and in the rain . . . Since this house was so far out of the way, I was thinking that maybe I could just run behind one of these rocks and go to the bathroom quickly without anyone noticing . . . wrong. I am a Bature (white person) SO EVERYONE who lived on the hill was out watching us, so I could have gone to the bathroom, I would have just had quite the audience!

We visited with this second family in their house at the top of the hill for awhile . . . my bladder had to endure a mineral (coke), and we left just before the real rain hit. As we were driving the Pastor back to the Gyero junction it was raining so hard you couldn't see a thing out the windshield. Usually we drop the pastor at the junction and he grabs a motorbike taxi back to Gyero so that we don't have to drive down the dirt road, but in this rain the motor bikes were driving. We decide that the Blazer can take the dirt road even in this rain if we were careful . . . (may I remind you that I still have to pee). We slide all the way down to road to Gyero, it was a miracle we didn't end up in a ditch. Finally we arrive at Gyero, and Nicky dropped me off at the girls compound so I could finally use the bathroom, my bladder was eternally grateful! . . .

Enough adventure for one day?!?! Oh no . . . So it starts raining even harder and lightening is flashing in all directions across the sky. By this point the entire road back to town has pretty much turned into a red river. Praise the Lord for Nicky's blazer otherwise we wouldn't have made it back. We were driving through puddles so big that the splash from the wheels covered the windshield! We prayed and laughed all the way back to town. When we finally made it back to the highway into town we thought we were safe. Wrong again . . . the highway had also flooded and therefore on coming traffic was actually driving IN OUR LANE!! Imagine if, south bound I-5 flooded and all the cars just decided to start driving south in the north bound lane . . . that is a good picture of what we experienced on our way home. It was crazy! We finally made it home safely, praise the Lord. Let me tell you, I was exhausted by the end of the day! It was an adventure!

I'm sorry for such a long post, but I just felt the need to share this crazy story! :) Please keep emailing me and letting me know how things are at home. I love reading your emails! You are all in my daily prayers and I am so thankful for the great community God has given me! I love you all!!

Time In Africa

2008-07-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

There really is no other title to this blog, besides, This Is Africa. We have been without power for almost a week now. The story behind why we have been out of power for so long is quite interesting, but I think I will save that story for when I get home, and not post it on the Internet . . . Oh Africa.

On another TIA note, we had a major thunder and lightening storm all afternoon and last night which included hail. Yes, my friends hail in Africa. So much hail actually that it put holes in the roof of some of our buildings. Let me tell you, trying to fall asleep during a thunder and lightening hail storm, when you have a tin roof over your head, is nearly impossible. I have a great video clip of the hail storm which I will post on my blog, but I don't have my camera with me at the moment. I have to go to the office to use the Internet, because our Internet won't work at home with out power . . . TIA.

On the ministry front, things are going very well. I am really enjoying working with Nicky. I am getting a very good view of the administrative side of ministry and have really enjoyed working on the reconciliation project with her. I am getting to know the Nigerian staff very well, because I spend a lot of time in meetings with them. They are working on teaching me Hausa, and I have to say, I am not a good student! You can pray that I retrain some of the language better and that I work harder at it . . .most people speak English, so I'm sad to say I have been a bit lazy in trying to pick up the local language.

Along with working with Nicky, I will be spending Tuesday nights out in Geryo, our village center. Tuesday night is family nights, so I will be playing games, doing crafts, reading books, doing devotionals and many other things with the 13 orphan girls at Geryo. I am really looking forward to this. I was able to spend Friday at Geryo playing with the girls, and greatly enjoyed it. I did get very sunburned, so I learned my lesson early . . . always wear sunscreen, even if it's not sunny out! :)

Today we just received a new little orphan girl, named Mary. We will be taking her to Geryo in the morning. He father died in an accident several years ago and her mother just passed away last Wednesday. I was able to meet her today, she is very sweet and very shy, but if my mother had just died and I was coming to live in an orphanage, I think I would be a little overwhelmed too . . .

So many of these kids have stories that break your heart. They have been through more in their short little lives than many of us will go through in our long lives. Please be praying for Mary and for all of the kids involved with our ministry. Keep the staff and the missionaries in your prayers as well.

I love you and miss you all!! Thank you for your encouraging emails and to those of you who are sending me packages, I am so excited to get them!! You are in my prayers!!

Tales of Indescribable Amounts

2008-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

The past few days I have spent exploring the town, meeting the huge community of missionaries here, and learning about the many different ministries in Jos. I am working for a group called City Ministries. City Ministries is HUGE and it would take me forever to explain it all to you, we have a website, so check it out if you want to read about it . . .the website is posted on the right hand side of my blog towards the bottom. Anyways, it looks like I am going to be assisting Nicky, a missionary from England. She works everywhere, so Friday I got to follow her around and learn all about City Ministry.

The first step or goal with City Ministries is to get street kids off the streets. There is a huge population of orphaned boys here in Jos. Some have been orphaned by aids, some aren't orphans in the usual sense, they maybe have ended up on the streets because they have been abused by a step father, or grandparent or someone else. One little boy, about 7 or 8 years old, ended up at the first center on Thursday, because his grandmother tried to hang him, and praise the Lord a woman walked by and cut him down and saved his life. You can still see the rope marks on his neck from where the rope was cutting him. I can't even imagine.

When boys are first taken off the streets they are taken to Gidan Bege which means House of Hope. Here the boys get schooling, and discipleship, they have 'uncles' who take care of them 24 hours a day. The boys stay here for 6 months, and the uncles see if the boys will adjust to life off the streets. Some run away, some steal . . . so Gidan Bege is a trial period. If they make it the 6 months they are taken to Geyro, where I will be mainly working. Geyro is a town, 45mins outside of Jos. Here the ministry was able to purchase a large plot of land where they now house 70 boys and 13 girls. All the kids go to school, have discipleship and have 'aunts' and 'uncles' who take care of them.

Once the kids reach high school age, they are then taken to Transition House, a home in Jos. Here the boys go to high school and get internships to help transition them into life after school.

After high school, many of the boys, do internships, or go to Bible school, or join YWAM.

The ministry really aims at reconciling children with their families. So at any time during this process, the uncles and staff work hard at contacting and getting to know any of the family the children might have, in hopes of one day sending the children back to their families. This is only a fraction of what is going on in Jos, and as you can tell, it is amazing and important work.

Friday I was able to go to the Christian hospital called "Evangel" in Jos. Okay, want to talk about culture shock. Going to a hospital in Africa. Now for Africa, this is a really nice hospital, but I can't explain what it was like. I was over come with the need here where I walked into the hospital. For those of you who are reading a long in Matthew, the day I went to the hospital happened to be the day we read Matthew 11:4 which reads "Jesus told them, 'Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen- the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf here, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him: 'God blesses those who are not offended by me." This verse really came alive to me, because there are lepers here, there are the blind, the lame, the deaf. To experience what Jesus was talking about first hand is a totally indescribable.

The need is so great here. I have really felt called to returning home and doing fundraising for this ministry. They are in great need of funds. They might not have enough money to pay the hospital bill for the boys this next month, which means if another boy gets sick, they can't take him to the hospital because they can't pay for him. It's overwhelming. Please pray about God giving me direction with this ministry and about possibly fundraising for the ministry when I return home.

Here are a few pictures from my adventures around town! Hope you enjoy! You are in my prayers! Lot of love!

These Individuals are Amazing! Pictures of You!

2008-06-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

I just realized that I had a few pictures from my going away party at the coffee shop. I'm sorry that I don't have pictures of everyone, but I am going to post the few I have. I love all of you! You are in my prayers!

Touring In Africa

2008-06-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

Today we had the opportunity to travel downtown to the market with Kauna our wonderful orientation leader. It was an awesome, fun, exciting, overwhelming and very African experience. You must barter for things. . . something that will take awhile for me to get used to. There are TONS of people and things everywhere. We first toured the Bature, or 'white person' market, where most items have a fixed price, for those of us who don't want to barter for everything.

We then toured the actual Nigerian market. Upon entering the first ally into the market, I was quickly approached by a man carrying 8 live chickens by their legs and asked rather forcefully, and excitedly if I wanted to by one. It took me off guard for a second and then I thought it was rather funny. The market was lots of fun, and I am excited to go back and do some more exploring. I bought some fabric, to get my own Nigerian clothing made! My two outfits should be ready next Friday, so I will post some pictures for you all to see! :)

It is the rainy season, so we have had many down pours or rain, and a few thunder showers!! :) I love thunder storms! Our power has still been very unreliable to say the least . . . it actually just went on and then off again . . . TIA.

I am getting very excited about the ministry work I will be doing here. I met with a couple more missionaries tonight, one of whom will be my mentor while I am in Nigeria. She was telling me that I will be working at Geyro, a town a 40 drive outside of Jos. I will be working with the youth there, and it looks like might have a few opportunities to stay at the compound in Geyro with the children, something I am really looking forward to. There is so much going on here, ministry wise, it is really exciting to hear about all that God is doing. Tomorrow I meet with the people in charge of City Ministries and will get more information about my job!

Thank you for all of your emails and support and encouragement, they mean so much! I miss all of you and you are all in my prayers!!

Taking In Africa

2008-06-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finally arrived in Jos, after the more than 24 hours of traveling . . . we landed in Germany, in the jungle, ( a place called Malabo, if you know anything about it, let me know, all I saw was jungle, a rotting airline, 2 fighter jets, helicopters, old oil pipe lines and a few tanks, looked like something out of "Blood Diamond" the movie), and finally landed in Abuja. The next morning we drove 3 hours out of the city through the beautiful country side, (sadly I wasn't able to take pictures due to the several military check points) and finally arrived in Jos.

Jos is a much bigger city than I anticipated, lots noise, cars honking all the time, people everywhere and lots of motor bike taxis called "achabbas" (if i spelled that correctly).

We have a week of orientation, put on by the missionaries here. They are all so friendly, and I am looking forward to getting to know them. I am living at a compound here called "Challenge". I have my own apartment, with a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. I took a few pictures and will try and post them.

It is the rainy season right now, so it isn't too hot, it just rains really, really hard sometimes. Last night it was raining so hard it woke me up!

There are lots of cool lizards that run around everywhere, my goal is to catch one while I'm here . . . or at least take a picture to share with you . . . :)

Today we are going to go to the market. I'm a little bit nervous, you have to barter for everything, I'm not so good at that . . . but I am looking forward to getting to see more the city.

Most people speak at least a little bit of English as it is the national language of Nigeria, but the native language is Hausa (not sure if i spelled that correctly).

Thank you all for your wonderful emails! The power, called NEPA (which people jokingly call, Never Expect Power Again) goes out all the time, like multiple times a day, so if I don't respond to your emails, it's just because I couldn't get online or I ran out of power, but I appreciate reading them all none the less!

I love you all!!

"Keep on asking and you will given what you ask for. Keep on looking and you will find, keep on knocking and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives, everyone who seeks finds and the door will be opened to everyone who knocks." - Matthew 7:7

This Isn't Alarming . . .

2008-06-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

This isn't Africa . . . this is America . . . Traveling Fact # 1. Don't fall asleep on top of your alarm clock. The draw backs of falling asleep on top of your alarm clock are as follows: You will abruptly wake up to "oh crap, it's five-thirty and we were supposed to leave at four-thirty." In addition to the rude wake up, you will be forced to wait in a long line for customers who are "full service, international flight, no confirmation code, no e-ticket and for those customers who fell asleep on top of their alarm clocks and arrived 40 minutes before their time of departure". As an added kick in the pants, you will be out $50.00, be slightly more stressed than you had hoped for and will no longer qualify for use of the "Expert Traveler" security check-in line . . . :)
Now, the advantages to mission your flight are that to relieve your fatigue and stress, you have the opportunity to purchase over-priced, bad coffee, and you get to sit on the cold tile floor of the airport for four hours and spend "quality" time with your amazing boyfriend who you won't get to see for the next six months. :)

Please pray that God would give me strength and that he would draw close to me as I deal with a great deal of change in a short amount of time.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9