Settling in

Sannu! Hello from Nigeria! I just wanted to say thank you for your prayers and let you know how I’m settling in so far. I meant to have this blog up several days ago, but internet and power are tricky here.

I left Thursday morning August 20 from Portland at 7:45 am and arrived in Abuja 36 hours later one Friday at 8pm local time ( For reference I’m 8 hours ahead of Pacific standard time). My flights were long, but uneventful. Thank you so much for your prayers! The most interesting thing that happened the entire time was when we landed in Malabo about an hour before getting to Nigeria: the 1 ½ year old boy in front of me saw a dog on the runway and made a ton of noise because he wanted to get off the plane to get the dog. In customs, the part I was nervous about, they simply waved me on by. Thank you for praying!

Saturday I drove to Jos and started to meet people and settle into my apartment. I have had a blast with all the new sights and sounds but it is a huge adjustment. So far I’ve had time settling in and figuring out life here. I have an apartament to myself with a kitchen, livingroom/dining room, my room and even an extra bedroom. It seems like so much space just for me!

Yesterday I met with my ministry mentor to figure out where I fit in the ministry here. There are A LOT of choices and different combinations that I could be part of. Please pray that we will have wisdom and discernment to put me in the right place.

For the rest of this week, and probably much of next I will be touring the different ministries. Tomorrow I am going to Gidan Bege(House of Hope in Hausa), which is one of the main ministries City Ministries does. From this location there are outreaches for all ages of the destitute. It is also the “trial period” home for kids recently off the streets(for the first 3-6 months). After that, they are moved to one of several transition houses or other centers. I may be working in GB with the outreaches, as well as with literacy classes and Bible study. Another major option for me to work in is a brothel ministry that is looking at teaming up with SIM again. I am really excited about it, even though it seems ridiculously huge and I have no idea what I would do. In the end, I will probably be working in several of these areas at different times. Please pray that I will be listening to the Spirit and that God will give me confidence and boldness. I have no idea what I’m doing but God is strong and mighty and He has planned where I’ll be.

Just for a little picture of where I am and the kind of adjustments going on here are some bits of life here…

Achabas are the incredibly noisy motor bikes that make it feel like frogger anytime I cross the street. It was several days before I crossed the street by myself and it was a BIG DEAL! They don’t follow any rules of the road and are used as taxis. Often people will carry whatever they need on the Achaba, which ends up being pretty interesting. I’ve seen a man and a goat as well as up to 3 people on one and I have heard stories of people carrying 4 tires, a door, dead goats up to their chin, ect… I’ll try to get a picture.

Security is incredibly important and I just wanted to assure you all that I am VERY safe. I live in a compound where I must pass a guard and then unlock the gate to even be inside. Once inside my apt, there are 3 locks on the door and one on the screen door. The guards are great and are helping me learn Hausa… one small phrase at a time.

Lights/power are sporadic at best. The Nigerian Power company is called NEPA, which many people joke stands for Never Experiencing Power Again. Since I’ve been here we’ve gotten power around midnight for a little while and it is usually on again when I get up in the morning at 6 or 7. I have a rather elaborate light configuration when I g et home late from another apt ect… I use the small light on my keychain to unlock the door, have another sitting on my kitchen counter to get me to the living room so that I can turn on my two lanterns and find my headlamp. So far, most nights I just take a lantern and headlamp to bed with me and end up turning them off and putting them on the other pillow when I go to sleep! Please pray that I will have good reaction to the lack of light, in the past I’ve struggled with seasonal depression that was due mostly to needing more light.. I’ve been ok until today but as I’m sitting here in the dark I’m realizing how much in affects me… yeah, there is me being really honest…

Shopping in the open market is really fun, but there is SO much to pay attention to. Yesterday I bought cloth to have a tailor make me a Nigerian outfit, and today I bought veggies for the first time. Some things are really inexpensive while others are ridiculous. I found a medium sized Crisco for 2500 Naira or $17.

Cooking just takes a lot longer here than other places because of the amount of preparation needed to clean everything and the lack of canned products. Today I cooked for the first time… I mostly have odds and ends still so I was really creative and ended up with a really nice green bean peanut curry thing. I doubt I could replicate it! All of the veggies (that I bought on the corner) had to be soaked in a solution for at least half an hour before I could use them.


Prayer

Pray for me to figure out were I should be in the ministry

For me figuring out taxis and shopping here

That my time in his word will be rich

For an open door to share the Gospel

one week

This time next week I'll be somewhere between here and Nigeria. Wow. I don't think its quite settled in me yet. Right now I'm spending a few days with my family at the beach before I head off and trying to get my mind around what is going on in life. In short, I need prayer (as always, but I really feel it now!)

Please pray that all the loose ends get tied up ( my visa which is being fed-exed on Monday, Praise God! remembering to get a power converter, packing instead of piling)

I'm really excited to actually get there and settle in. Pray for a good transition and that God will give me grace in figuring stuff out.

Most of all please pray for courage and boldness. You all probably don't think I'm shy, but I definately can be and I don't want to miss out because I'm being dumb!

Prayer over all the other technical aspects like luggage getting there, finding people at the airport, ect would be appreciated too!

In the end, I know that God is in Control! Pray that I'll pay attention and glorify Him in all the big and little things over the next few months.