We have had a new girl who has arrived at challenge compound. She
is from the US and a Paediatric nurse by profession, but is here working with
Self Sustaining Enterprises doing development work and health education in the
villages. She’s a lovely girl and I think we will be good friends. It’s so nice
to feel like I know more about living Nigeria than someone else. To be able to
sit down with her, have a cup of tea and remember back to what it was like for
me 4 months ago is a really bizarre feeling. Trying to recall what advice
helped, what observations gave me needed insight and what I would have liked to
know that I found out the hard way! In some ways it feels as though time is
flying by here in Africa, and in other moments it feels like I’ve been here a
lifetime. I’m just trying to enjoy each day and make the most of the moments as
they come.
The other weekend a small group of us went out to see this giant 10
Commandments monument which is being constructed on the outskirts of Jos. One
might say it is Jos’s first tourist attraction! We met the man responsible for
the replica (with perhaps, some would argue, more money than he knows what to
do with?) and heard his vision behind the idea. He is a Seventh Day Adventist,
hence his focus on Old Testament themes and was very passionate about making a
whole attraction for people to come and experience God. As well as the massive
10 Commandment statue, he is building a baptism pool, a prayer house on a big
rock formation (Mount Sinai), teared seating for outdoor services or preaching
and a ministry center. It was a sight to see that’s for sure. Still not
convinced it was the wisest use of his money, considering the poverty and
sickness I see everyday, but who am I to judge.
I went to my first burial yesterday. A
good Nigerian friend by the name of Esther, who is a parent to a group of kids
out at Gyero orphanage and whom I am currently training up to do basic medical
assessment and diagnosis for while I'm not there during week, was bereaved of
her older brother late last week. He died of Tuberculosis late last week and
yesterday was the funeral and burial.
Fiona and I had arranged to meet all the
Gyero staff outside Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) hospital at 7am to escort the
body from the mortuary to the church (as is custom) for the funeral service at
9am. After a bit of confusion about which hospital the body was at and multiple
trips back and forth down the busy road in peak hour traffic (one lady told me
OLA and another 'maternity' hospital, which in the end turned out to be
different names for the same place!) we found the entrance to the mortuary and
waited for people to turn up. By 830am when the Gyero staff still hadn't
arrived and the procession was almost ready to start to the church, I rang one
of the Uncles only to discover his car (packed with 7 Nigerian adults) had
broken down! Only in Nigeria would there be so many dramas in such a short
amount of time! So I went to pick the group up from where their car had broken
down and took them to the church. From there, we (me and 6 Nigerians) bundled
into my SUV, attached a flyer with the face of the deceased on it to the
windscreen and followed the rest of the convoy of cars in the funeral
procession one and a half hours out of Jos to the family village. One hour of
our journey was on super bumpy pot-holed dirt road (real 4WD material!) however
I was following a Toyota station wagon with 7 Nigerian men in it which was
ridiculously low to the ground, so that gave me confidence in crossing through
the muddy puddles I couldn’t see the bottom in! We hiked for 10 mins from the
cars into the bush and buried the casket after a few word were spoken in Hausa,
then had minerals (glass bottles of coke, Fanta and Sprite) at the nearby
village before heading back to Jos. It was quite an ordeal, especially being
the only white person attending, but a real adventure and I was overwhelmed by
the gratitude of the appreciative Gyero staff, thanking me for my time and
resources. I feel so blessed God enabled me to get a car, so I could bless
others with it.
Speaking of my car, I am loving the
challenge of driving in Africa. It’s been 3 weeks now and I’m feeling more and
more confident on the roads, with how to dodge slowing taxi’s, to be on the
look out for cars doing u-turns, and to never take for granted anyone’s
movements in any car around you. Hardly anyone uses their indicators here (or
‘trafficators’ as they call them), so you have to assume someone could change
lanes at any time without notice. It was so funny last week, I was in a car
with a Nigerian friend when someone in a car in front suddenly slowed to pull
over and she yelled “Trafficate now” out the window with an exasperated
tone….still makes me smile remembering it, guess you had to be there. I’m still
not totally familiar with all the roads in Jos obviously, but I have now driven
to all the places I need to get to each week for clinics and ministry eg. the Jos
prison, the Widows ministry house, Gidan Bege, Gyero, Transition House, JETS,
Hillcrest, Evangel Hospital etc. so am
feeling rather accomplished J
Until next time…..
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