Sunday, November 7
Arrived home safely on Saturday at 1:30p to Minneapolis. All flights were on time (or early) and uneventful. The 15-hour trip from Abuja, via Ghana, to Atlanta was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be and the touch screen personal entertainment system was fabulous. Thanks, Delta!
The group was unable to post final blogs due to no wireless internet access available in Adamawa State and then no time once we got to Abuja. But I know Pastor Judy wants to post a blog about our interfaith dialogue with Muslim and Christian leaders from last Wednesday evening.
During our final noon meal last Friday in Abuja, the group shared many touching words, poems and songs with me, thanking me for my leadership of this trip. Their words and actions truly touched my heart! You must ask Carolyn to sing her song to you (captured on video, of course, by Sister Melinda), as well as John's final song in the van on the way to the airport. Pastor Judy promises to share the poem she wrote as well. In the meantime, here are some reflections that Deb wrote:
Nigeria is:
Beautiful people with smiling faces and waving hands, anxious to greet
Big cities with many vehicles, many motorbikes, scary roads
Small villages with few vehicles, few motorbikes, scary roads
Hopes, dreams, desires just like ours
Bold and connected spirituality
Bugs, bugs and more bugs
Liver for breakfast, chicken and rice
Hiking in the Atlantika Mountains in the 90 degree full sun while wearing a dress
Many Holy Spirit-filled, tireless Nigerians devoted to their people and their missions
Profusely sweating, day and (sometimes) night (i.e. Kubi)
Operating on “island time”
An invaluable driver who became a good and trusted friend in a very short time
Women’s Fellowship Group, Boys Brigade, New Life Gospel Singers
A young democracy experiencing adolescent growing pains
Beautiful fabrics – immaculately dressed people
Announcements, announcements, announcements
Busted at the market!
Cock-a-doodle-doos at 2:30 a.m.
Trick or treat, compliments of Carolyn
Miscommunications
Cattle transport, Nigerian style
Beautiful, young traditional dancers
Squirrel-shaped fish in OK sauce
Drumming and singing
Graciousness and hospitality
Psalm 65
Comings and goings
Breakfast at the Pope’s
Interfaith dialogue providing enlightenment and encouragement
Students from so many walks of life
“There’s been a change of plans…”
God at work in the world
Countless bottles of Faro water
Mango trees, banana trees, bau bob trees
Sad goodbyes
An ice cream surprise
Canoe ride, anyone?
The naira crisis
Prayers and blessings
Filling every available seat in or on a vehicle and then some
Extraordinary travel companions!
Our fearless and fabulous trip leader: Many thanks, Kris, for all your hard work and commitment to ensure that each one of us will hold our memories of Nigeria close to our heart. Deb Swanson
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, for safe travels and good health along the way, and for people who made this trip a real joy!
Check back in a week for final postings!
Blessings and joy,
Kris Perry
MAS Companion Synod Coordinator
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Busted in Yola
Busted in Yola!
Did Kris warn us not to take pictures of any government facilities? Yes. Did I know that the marketplace was a government facility? I don’t think so. But now I do, since I was busted this morning and hauled off to the police station to apologize for my transgression. Here are the facts, to the best of my recollection:
This morning, we decided to take a trip to the market, which is housed within what we would call a gated community. Anari, our driver, had to pay a small fee when we entered. What I didn’t know was that, if you want to take pictures, you are to let the official marketplace men know that when you enter. My troubles started as we were about to leave. Drew and I had arrived before the rest (being typical men shoppers) so I decided to snap a couple of pictures from the viewpoint of our van. Soon thereafter a nice gentleman in a white dashiki arrives and asks me if there is a problem—since I am taking pictures. I assure that there is not, that I am just a tourist. “No problem,” he says.
Five minutes later, when the women arrive with our faithful driver, Anari is confronted by three more gentlemen in dashikis and a policeman in uniform is called over. After a heated discussion, the police officer strolls over and admonishes me for taking pictures without permission. I ask if I should delete them, but he says no. Instead, we are to accompany him with our van to the police station on the other side of the market. When we arrive, Anari and I are accompanied inside by the police officer. After more discussion in Hausa with the officer in charge, I am lectured on making sure I get permission first the next time I want to take pictures in the market. I apologize several times, agree to the terms and we are free to go. I do not need to delete my pictures. Once again, the customary response: “No problem” or ba kome.
I have learned my lesson, and one other one from Anari: The next time I am asked what I am up to, I should tell the officer that I am a missionary, not a tourist. They get a lot more respect!
John, the scoff-law, Becker
Did Kris warn us not to take pictures of any government facilities? Yes. Did I know that the marketplace was a government facility? I don’t think so. But now I do, since I was busted this morning and hauled off to the police station to apologize for my transgression. Here are the facts, to the best of my recollection:
This morning, we decided to take a trip to the market, which is housed within what we would call a gated community. Anari, our driver, had to pay a small fee when we entered. What I didn’t know was that, if you want to take pictures, you are to let the official marketplace men know that when you enter. My troubles started as we were about to leave. Drew and I had arrived before the rest (being typical men shoppers) so I decided to snap a couple of pictures from the viewpoint of our van. Soon thereafter a nice gentleman in a white dashiki arrives and asks me if there is a problem—since I am taking pictures. I assure that there is not, that I am just a tourist. “No problem,” he says.
Five minutes later, when the women arrive with our faithful driver, Anari is confronted by three more gentlemen in dashikis and a policeman in uniform is called over. After a heated discussion, the police officer strolls over and admonishes me for taking pictures without permission. I ask if I should delete them, but he says no. Instead, we are to accompany him with our van to the police station on the other side of the market. When we arrive, Anari and I are accompanied inside by the police officer. After more discussion in Hausa with the officer in charge, I am lectured on making sure I get permission first the next time I want to take pictures in the market. I apologize several times, agree to the terms and we are free to go. I do not need to delete my pictures. Once again, the customary response: “No problem” or ba kome.
I have learned my lesson, and one other one from Anari: The next time I am asked what I am up to, I should tell the officer that I am a missionary, not a tourist. They get a lot more respect!
John, the scoff-law, Becker
Visit to Deaf Center and Remi Foundation
November 2, 2010
As the LCCN Women’s Fellowship frequently sing; “Today, today, today alleluia, is a happy day! Alleluia!” For me today was a very happy day as I was able to realize a dream to experience the Deaf community in Nigeria.
We started the day by visiting the LCCN Deaf Centre in Jimeta, Nigeria which was founded in 1985. Mrs. Ruth Ulea, a deaf woman, who manages the Centre, holds degrees in both teaching and theology. She is a real powerhouse, driven by her faith in God and the passion to serve the deaf community in countless ways! Her unflagging energy and commitment, against the odds of economic challenges, ensures that each deaf child receives a solid education. Ruth opened with an overview of the school and her professional background. (Watch for details in a future blog posting). We then moved to the classroom to meet the students and teachers. They were very happy to see us, especially someone who could communicate in American Sign Language (ASL). My ASL is a little rusty but was well received! The deaf students were studying mathematics using sticks to apply the concepts of addition and subtraction – nice hands-on learning! The teachers held the student’s focus while having fun sharing their knowledge.
Before we left the LCCN Deaf Centre, Ruth presented me with fabric created just for the National Lydia Women League of which Ruth is the president. This organization is yet another ministry lead by Ruth to support Deaf Community in Nigeria. We also were invited to purchase beaded jewelry made by the woman to support the efforts at the Centre. I plan to make a dress to wear to a future deaf community event in Nigeria! (By God’s grace it will be Ruth’s ordination as a Deaf pastor!) We bid our farewell to Ruth and the LCCN Deaf Centre filled with hopes, dreams and ideas to continue the good work being done at the Centre.
Our next stop was at the Remi Foundation, a school started in 2003 by Rehad and Michal Bongi with three enrolled students. The school was originally founded to serve children who were mentally retarded, mentally or emotionally challenged, deaf and/or blind. As the school grew, the Bongi’s adopted the “double healing” philosophy – to create a community that accepts children of all capabilities so that all are accepted and aware of the gifts each child brings to the world. Currently there are 460 students, and a total of 53 staff including 26 teachers at Remi.
Entering the school yard we were immediately surrounded by preschool children welcoming us, giving us hugs, callings us “Auntie” and sharing “high fives”. We toured the various buildings on the campus including a school and community clinic. With great joy we met many children including a visit with the primary school-age Deaf students. The children displayed their skills in signing the ASL alphabet, sharing their names, discussing the subjects they study and enjoyed much fun and laughter.
We wrapped up our time at Remi by visiting with Mrs. Michal Bongi, the founder of Remi Foundation and the principle at Luther Junior Seminary. She shared information, and answered our many questions. Check out this website for more information on the Remi Foundation – you will be blown away! www.remifoundation.org
As we left the campus the Deaf students waved their goodbyes and signed ILY (I love You) ! Another wonderful experience in Nigeria!
Child Means God ( a posting on the Remi Foundation campus)
Barb Geiger
Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church
As the LCCN Women’s Fellowship frequently sing; “Today, today, today alleluia, is a happy day! Alleluia!” For me today was a very happy day as I was able to realize a dream to experience the Deaf community in Nigeria.
We started the day by visiting the LCCN Deaf Centre in Jimeta, Nigeria which was founded in 1985. Mrs. Ruth Ulea, a deaf woman, who manages the Centre, holds degrees in both teaching and theology. She is a real powerhouse, driven by her faith in God and the passion to serve the deaf community in countless ways! Her unflagging energy and commitment, against the odds of economic challenges, ensures that each deaf child receives a solid education. Ruth opened with an overview of the school and her professional background. (Watch for details in a future blog posting). We then moved to the classroom to meet the students and teachers. They were very happy to see us, especially someone who could communicate in American Sign Language (ASL). My ASL is a little rusty but was well received! The deaf students were studying mathematics using sticks to apply the concepts of addition and subtraction – nice hands-on learning! The teachers held the student’s focus while having fun sharing their knowledge.
Before we left the LCCN Deaf Centre, Ruth presented me with fabric created just for the National Lydia Women League of which Ruth is the president. This organization is yet another ministry lead by Ruth to support Deaf Community in Nigeria. We also were invited to purchase beaded jewelry made by the woman to support the efforts at the Centre. I plan to make a dress to wear to a future deaf community event in Nigeria! (By God’s grace it will be Ruth’s ordination as a Deaf pastor!) We bid our farewell to Ruth and the LCCN Deaf Centre filled with hopes, dreams and ideas to continue the good work being done at the Centre.
Our next stop was at the Remi Foundation, a school started in 2003 by Rehad and Michal Bongi with three enrolled students. The school was originally founded to serve children who were mentally retarded, mentally or emotionally challenged, deaf and/or blind. As the school grew, the Bongi’s adopted the “double healing” philosophy – to create a community that accepts children of all capabilities so that all are accepted and aware of the gifts each child brings to the world. Currently there are 460 students, and a total of 53 staff including 26 teachers at Remi.
Entering the school yard we were immediately surrounded by preschool children welcoming us, giving us hugs, callings us “Auntie” and sharing “high fives”. We toured the various buildings on the campus including a school and community clinic. With great joy we met many children including a visit with the primary school-age Deaf students. The children displayed their skills in signing the ASL alphabet, sharing their names, discussing the subjects they study and enjoyed much fun and laughter.
We wrapped up our time at Remi by visiting with Mrs. Michal Bongi, the founder of Remi Foundation and the principle at Luther Junior Seminary. She shared information, and answered our many questions. Check out this website for more information on the Remi Foundation – you will be blown away! www.remifoundation.org
As we left the campus the Deaf students waved their goodbyes and signed ILY (I love You) ! Another wonderful experience in Nigeria!
Child Means God ( a posting on the Remi Foundation campus)
Barb Geiger
Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church
A Decade Later
My first trip to Nigeria was in 2000. This is my third, and each time I come I see progress and change. Let me share a few things.
• There are many more major roads that have been improved.
• The naira is now printed in multiple denominations instead of just N100 bills. This makes working with money a great deal easier.
• We can fly into an International Airport in Abuja.
• Abuja, the capital city, is a place of great construction and development featuring both a national Cathedral (National Christian Center) and a national Mosque.
• Cell phones! Cell phones have made communication easier and better and have been a benefit within the LCCN.
• Motorbikes are everywhere, which does allow more movement in the country and from rural areas into cities. It also makes driving an interesting experience.
• The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria keeps growing with the new Abuja diocese added in the past year and work on another within the Taraba Sate.
• 34 women have been ordained and nine have entered theological studies this year at Bronum Seminary
• There is an established partnership between the LCCN, Mission Afrika of the Danish Lutherans, The ELCA Global Missions, our Minneapolis Area Synod, and Global Health Ministry with an annual partners meeting, each partner with specific things to offer with established communication with each other.
• LCCN outreach projects have expanded to include education for children, water projects, and health initiatives.
In October, Nigeria celebrated its 50th Anniversary of Independence. One slogan we saw on banners proclaimed: “Good People, Great Nation”. I would have to say that the good people here are always working on building and strengthening their great nation.
May God continue to bless Nigeria!
Pastor Judy Burgett Winzig
• There are many more major roads that have been improved.
• The naira is now printed in multiple denominations instead of just N100 bills. This makes working with money a great deal easier.
• We can fly into an International Airport in Abuja.
• Abuja, the capital city, is a place of great construction and development featuring both a national Cathedral (National Christian Center) and a national Mosque.
• Cell phones! Cell phones have made communication easier and better and have been a benefit within the LCCN.
• Motorbikes are everywhere, which does allow more movement in the country and from rural areas into cities. It also makes driving an interesting experience.
• The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria keeps growing with the new Abuja diocese added in the past year and work on another within the Taraba Sate.
• 34 women have been ordained and nine have entered theological studies this year at Bronum Seminary
• There is an established partnership between the LCCN, Mission Afrika of the Danish Lutherans, The ELCA Global Missions, our Minneapolis Area Synod, and Global Health Ministry with an annual partners meeting, each partner with specific things to offer with established communication with each other.
• LCCN outreach projects have expanded to include education for children, water projects, and health initiatives.
In October, Nigeria celebrated its 50th Anniversary of Independence. One slogan we saw on banners proclaimed: “Good People, Great Nation”. I would have to say that the good people here are always working on building and strengthening their great nation.
May God continue to bless Nigeria!
Pastor Judy Burgett Winzig
Monday, November 1, 2010
A Visit to Kubi
A visit to Kubi
Late Friday night, October 29
Tonight we are in Kubi. I am writing this from my hut, lying on a thick foam mattress (no sheets) surrounded by mosquito netting. Outside the villagers are having a lively conversation in Hausa. It’s at least 90 in here and humid. Drew somehow managed to fall asleep almost immediately, but I have not, so I take out my iPhone and start typing.
The road to here was smooth by Nigerian standards until we reached the last real city and made the turnoff to Kubi. Then it became a lot like the road to Pai but a little dryer. In the US, it would be the worst dirt road you had ever ridden on. Here, is it standard fare. The scenery was stunning as the mountains of Cameroon loomed off to our right, tall and bright green. In the foreground are fields of guinea corn and beautiful savannah trees.
When we finally arrive, we discover that the pastor had no idea we were coming or even who we were. He thinks we are with the borehole team from the government and appears less than pleased to see us, especially when Barb lets him know we were planning to stay until Sunday afternoon. We are brought into his conference hut where we sit for the next two hours while the leaders of the church sort things out. We plan for the worst, which means heading back to Yola within the next two hours. Kris has given us strict guidelines to not travel at night, when bandits may be out. After about the first half hour, the confusion is resolved as some of the tribal members remember Barb and Judy’s last visit in 2006. All is now well and we are welcomed with open arms, though still didn’t know we were coming. And so they prepare for our visit while we continue to wait in the hut.
The dean for the area pastors, Michael Abejo, arrives about an hour later and greets us all with great enthusiasm. He is happy to see Barb again and asks about Judy and the others who were there last. After a great deal more preparation we gather our bags and head to our huts. Tea is served and, as the sun goes down we are served dinner under the stars at a table next to our hut. Tomorrow we will visit other villages and take a motorcycle ride to the mountains. This should be interesting!
Saturday, October 30
Today was very busy with trips to outlying villages. The morning trip is to villages that border the mountains of Cameroon. Poor Anari, our driver, has 12 of us in the van with Michael and the other church leaders directing him down roads that are literally motorcycle paths through guinea corn fields and high grasses. Anari has the choice of straddling the path or keeping one wheel in the path and blazing a trail for the other wheel in the grass. His approach varies by road condition. We are all concerned that he’s going to bottom out and we will be stuck with a broken down van out in this most remote part of Nigeria.
The driving portion of our trip ends in a village that is primarily Muslim. From there we hop on motorcycles for the journey further up the path. Since there are only three motorcycles available, I am to wait behind while they deliver Drew, Barb and Deb then come back to get me. Instead, a Muslim gentleman offers to give me a ride on his cycle. It is quite a ride over narrow trails, through streams and down gullies. Somehow, I manage to arrive at the village first, even though they left minutes before me and we never overtook them. There are several men standing around when we pull up. I appear to be in the right place, since they have plastic lawn chairs set up for us. I just hope the others are coming soon and didn’t go to some other village instead. Finally an older gentleman walks up, welcomes me in English and hands me his student card for Bronnum Seminary and a picture of Pastor Judy Winzig’s family from four years ago. Now I know I’m in the right place!
The others arrive about ten minutes later and we hold a brief ceremony for all present. This is repeated at each village we visit—Michael explaining that the partnership is now with Lake Nokomis Lutheran, which he has them all pronounce. After the ceremony, we all head out for a twenty minute walk (which is actually 45) up to the next village. It’s a beautiful walk through a savannah surrounded by mountains. We repeat the ceremonies and head back to the motorcycles and the return trip to the Muslim village. From there it’s back into the van for the ride back to Kubi. But not for me:
A young man named Solomon who I met the night before wants me to ride back with him on his motorcycle. I eagerly accept as the ride is both faster and a lot cooler (it is at least 90 degrees in the shade). It is turns out to be a truly joyous experience. Ask me sometime about our stop to buy a cup of gasoline and the condition of the tires on that motorcycle. Over the next day I developed a nice relationship with Solomon with whom I have exchanged family photos. I am also introduced to his father and sit with him on the family front porch until the others arrive back in Kubi. The afternoon is more of the same, though the roads actually get even narrower, to the point where Anari finally says he will go no further. So we walk the last quarter mile to our last village for the day. There is so much left to tell, but this is already long, so I will end here for the day.
Sunday, October 31
Services are to begin promptly at nine in the morning, but are delayed for a while as we are taken to meet the village chief. Even though he is Muslim, Pastor Drew Flathmann is invited to lead us in prayer in his hut. It is quite a moving experience. The service is equally moving with songs of welcome from the women’s fellowship and the youth group. I have videos of each. The church is simple but of good size and fills up steadily as the service goes on. After two hours, we present our gifts for the congregation and receive ours: each of us gets an African outfit which they help us put on over our existing clothes. It’s already hot inside the church and this makes it even more so. Even I was sweating profusely, which is rare. And I wasn’t wrapped in a headscarf as Barb and Deb were. Pastor Drew then gives his sermon, which is translated into Hausa by Michael. Next is the offering, which is done separately for the men and women. First the women leave the building and re-enter from the back door, dance in single file to the front and leave their offering in a basket. Barb and Deb are near the front and, after depositing their offerings, greet each woman in the line with a handshake. Drew and I repeat this ceremony with the men. After another short, ten minute address of encouragement by a younger man (pastor in training?) the service is over, and it’s only a little after noon.
Within relatively short order, we make our way back to our huts, remove our western clothes from under our African ones, put the African ones back on and pack to leave. Shortly thereafter we are on our way! I could add so much more to this, but that will have to wait for another time. It has indeed been a life-changing experience!
John Becker
Late Friday night, October 29
Tonight we are in Kubi. I am writing this from my hut, lying on a thick foam mattress (no sheets) surrounded by mosquito netting. Outside the villagers are having a lively conversation in Hausa. It’s at least 90 in here and humid. Drew somehow managed to fall asleep almost immediately, but I have not, so I take out my iPhone and start typing.
The road to here was smooth by Nigerian standards until we reached the last real city and made the turnoff to Kubi. Then it became a lot like the road to Pai but a little dryer. In the US, it would be the worst dirt road you had ever ridden on. Here, is it standard fare. The scenery was stunning as the mountains of Cameroon loomed off to our right, tall and bright green. In the foreground are fields of guinea corn and beautiful savannah trees.
When we finally arrive, we discover that the pastor had no idea we were coming or even who we were. He thinks we are with the borehole team from the government and appears less than pleased to see us, especially when Barb lets him know we were planning to stay until Sunday afternoon. We are brought into his conference hut where we sit for the next two hours while the leaders of the church sort things out. We plan for the worst, which means heading back to Yola within the next two hours. Kris has given us strict guidelines to not travel at night, when bandits may be out. After about the first half hour, the confusion is resolved as some of the tribal members remember Barb and Judy’s last visit in 2006. All is now well and we are welcomed with open arms, though still didn’t know we were coming. And so they prepare for our visit while we continue to wait in the hut.
The dean for the area pastors, Michael Abejo, arrives about an hour later and greets us all with great enthusiasm. He is happy to see Barb again and asks about Judy and the others who were there last. After a great deal more preparation we gather our bags and head to our huts. Tea is served and, as the sun goes down we are served dinner under the stars at a table next to our hut. Tomorrow we will visit other villages and take a motorcycle ride to the mountains. This should be interesting!
Saturday, October 30
Today was very busy with trips to outlying villages. The morning trip is to villages that border the mountains of Cameroon. Poor Anari, our driver, has 12 of us in the van with Michael and the other church leaders directing him down roads that are literally motorcycle paths through guinea corn fields and high grasses. Anari has the choice of straddling the path or keeping one wheel in the path and blazing a trail for the other wheel in the grass. His approach varies by road condition. We are all concerned that he’s going to bottom out and we will be stuck with a broken down van out in this most remote part of Nigeria.
The driving portion of our trip ends in a village that is primarily Muslim. From there we hop on motorcycles for the journey further up the path. Since there are only three motorcycles available, I am to wait behind while they deliver Drew, Barb and Deb then come back to get me. Instead, a Muslim gentleman offers to give me a ride on his cycle. It is quite a ride over narrow trails, through streams and down gullies. Somehow, I manage to arrive at the village first, even though they left minutes before me and we never overtook them. There are several men standing around when we pull up. I appear to be in the right place, since they have plastic lawn chairs set up for us. I just hope the others are coming soon and didn’t go to some other village instead. Finally an older gentleman walks up, welcomes me in English and hands me his student card for Bronnum Seminary and a picture of Pastor Judy Winzig’s family from four years ago. Now I know I’m in the right place!
The others arrive about ten minutes later and we hold a brief ceremony for all present. This is repeated at each village we visit—Michael explaining that the partnership is now with Lake Nokomis Lutheran, which he has them all pronounce. After the ceremony, we all head out for a twenty minute walk (which is actually 45) up to the next village. It’s a beautiful walk through a savannah surrounded by mountains. We repeat the ceremonies and head back to the motorcycles and the return trip to the Muslim village. From there it’s back into the van for the ride back to Kubi. But not for me:
A young man named Solomon who I met the night before wants me to ride back with him on his motorcycle. I eagerly accept as the ride is both faster and a lot cooler (it is at least 90 degrees in the shade). It is turns out to be a truly joyous experience. Ask me sometime about our stop to buy a cup of gasoline and the condition of the tires on that motorcycle. Over the next day I developed a nice relationship with Solomon with whom I have exchanged family photos. I am also introduced to his father and sit with him on the family front porch until the others arrive back in Kubi. The afternoon is more of the same, though the roads actually get even narrower, to the point where Anari finally says he will go no further. So we walk the last quarter mile to our last village for the day. There is so much left to tell, but this is already long, so I will end here for the day.
Sunday, October 31
Services are to begin promptly at nine in the morning, but are delayed for a while as we are taken to meet the village chief. Even though he is Muslim, Pastor Drew Flathmann is invited to lead us in prayer in his hut. It is quite a moving experience. The service is equally moving with songs of welcome from the women’s fellowship and the youth group. I have videos of each. The church is simple but of good size and fills up steadily as the service goes on. After two hours, we present our gifts for the congregation and receive ours: each of us gets an African outfit which they help us put on over our existing clothes. It’s already hot inside the church and this makes it even more so. Even I was sweating profusely, which is rare. And I wasn’t wrapped in a headscarf as Barb and Deb were. Pastor Drew then gives his sermon, which is translated into Hausa by Michael. Next is the offering, which is done separately for the men and women. First the women leave the building and re-enter from the back door, dance in single file to the front and leave their offering in a basket. Barb and Deb are near the front and, after depositing their offerings, greet each woman in the line with a handshake. Drew and I repeat this ceremony with the men. After another short, ten minute address of encouragement by a younger man (pastor in training?) the service is over, and it’s only a little after noon.
Within relatively short order, we make our way back to our huts, remove our western clothes from under our African ones, put the African ones back on and pack to leave. Shortly thereafter we are on our way! I could add so much more to this, but that will have to wait for another time. It has indeed been a life-changing experience!
John Becker
Paul's Reflections
October 31, 2010
Nigeria trip thoughts by Paul Nelson
I think today is Halloween – although I’m not completely sure as I’m losing track of time. The past three days have really been quite amazing. I’ve split off from the group and have been off looking at water issues and potential projects. However, before I get to that I do want to note two special experiences that do not fit under the theme of water. First, whenever we stop, children gather about 5 to 10 yards (or maybe I should say 2 to 3 meters) away just out of reach as if they are not too sure about you. However, if you say hello or start shaking hands they come right up – but what I really found is that they love to look at the family picture I brought along. Within seconds there are 20 to 30 of them pressing close to get a look. They get quite excited about Angie with her bright blond hair - So Angie, if you’re reading this, you’re a hit.
Second is the traffic. I suspect others on the trip have tried to describe it, but I’m not sure you can. Today I was thinking that at any particular moment I could see 20 or more of what would be considered traffic violations in Minnesota. These range from driving at night with no lights to driving on the wrong side of the road, to piling a dozen people on top of a sack of grain in the back of a small pickup, to passing a car while it’s passing a car. I think lane striping is completely optional. With that said, I do want to say that our drivers have been very good, and they are in my prayers.
As for water issues and projects, my first two days were quite different in terms of how the local communities seem to be handling the problems – one has quite a bit in initiative while the other does not. I’m intentionally not naming the communities here in an attempt to retain some privacy for those who might have family in the USA. The first day I traveled with Steven and Adams in a small Peugeot whose tail pipe exhausted into the back seat where I was sitting. Adams is the local water consultant to the LCCN. I am very impressed with him, and most importantly he seems to care. The community we visited had three boreholes and one hand dug well. Of the three boreholes we looked at, two are currently not operational – problems with the hand pumps. One has been in disrepair for over two years and no one has fixed it. It was installed by the government, LCCN now has permission to fix, so it should get done. The other broken one appears to have been installed incorrectly… it’s too hard to pump so they finally gave up. The one that is working, however, can only be pumped for a short period of time before they have to let it recharge. They get two buckets of water and then have to wait about an hour before they can use again. Again this is probably an installation problem where the drillers stopped only a short distance into the aquifer such that the short period of pumping pulls the water down surrounding the bottom of the casing. They also tell me that they’ve had to have it repaired more than 10 times since it was drilled two years ago. So again it seems to be a construction problem. This borehole also goes dry in the dry season, as does the hand dug well. When that happens they go to the river a few kilometers away for water. When we arrived they had just finished applying new concrete around the base of the hand dug well and had it roped off. So they seem to take ownership of that structure, which make some sense since it’s been the most reliable for them.
I was also taken up hill to the medicine dispensary building. They say they get about 5 people a day. There is no water there. Nearest is one of the broken pumps about ½ mile away or the hand dug well. The young man working there also pointed out that there is a stream a few kilometers away in the opposite direction. It’s pretty dry now, but I also noticed drainage rivulets through the sandy area surrounding the dispensary. The young man said the people do sometimes get water from these to wash while they are at the dispensary. I asked if they had a latrine for people to use when they visit. The young man shrugged his shoulders and said they just use the woods. Adams sort of scolded him for not having one. They have had cholera in this area as recently as September.
The next day we went to one of the Global Health Ministry Community Based Health pilot project sites. They are just kicking it off so we got to meet all the important people in that area including the tribal chief. Lots of speeches and stuff and they had a very nice lunch for us. This was a village with about 8 small surrounding villages ranging in population from 300 to 1,800 for a total population of about 7,000. The surrounding villages range from 1 to 5 kilometers away. There are only four boreholes serving all of these villages. One was broken but a man was working on it. Turns out he has learned to do repair by watching when they have had repair people come out in the past. Same is true at one of the other villages with a borehole – two young men have a brother who works for the water board that taught them to do pump repair. Only problem is that in the one borehole that has galvanized iron piping they are not always able to put back together with all of the pipe sections. They have gone from having a hole 12 pipe sections deep to 6. A fix however may be as simple as getting them the tool to re-thread pipe when they have to cut it for any reason. They say the chain breaking is one of the most common problems so they could also use some grease and a grease gun and some training that they need to keep it greased. So the young men in this community have some initiative and some improvement could possibly be made by getting them a little more training and some additional tools. It would also be good to help them figure out a way to better finance. When asked how long the borehole is inoperable once it breaks, it sounds like it might take them a couple days to as much as 5 days to get it working again. In the interim they use the local stream water – untreated. When the local project manager asked about the disease risk, the reply was a shoulder shrug and the statement “this is Africa.” Potentially what we could do here is change the way they raise money for repairs. Instead, maybe we could get them to keep some supplies of the most common problem parts on hand, so they can get it repaired right away, and then they are only raising finances to replace supplies. The more they can keep the boreholes in operation the less exposure they’ll have to water borne diseases in the stream water.
Finally, went to church today in Pella with others from Global Health Ministry. Beautiful location in the mountains. It was a lot of fun. Services are a bit more lively than at Lyndale Lutheran. In addition, the Youth League had some sort of project competition after the service- so there was quite a gathering. We had lunch outside the pastor’s home under the mango tree and the temperature was very pleasant. All in all a very good day.
Peace,
Paul
Nigeria trip thoughts by Paul Nelson
I think today is Halloween – although I’m not completely sure as I’m losing track of time. The past three days have really been quite amazing. I’ve split off from the group and have been off looking at water issues and potential projects. However, before I get to that I do want to note two special experiences that do not fit under the theme of water. First, whenever we stop, children gather about 5 to 10 yards (or maybe I should say 2 to 3 meters) away just out of reach as if they are not too sure about you. However, if you say hello or start shaking hands they come right up – but what I really found is that they love to look at the family picture I brought along. Within seconds there are 20 to 30 of them pressing close to get a look. They get quite excited about Angie with her bright blond hair - So Angie, if you’re reading this, you’re a hit.
Second is the traffic. I suspect others on the trip have tried to describe it, but I’m not sure you can. Today I was thinking that at any particular moment I could see 20 or more of what would be considered traffic violations in Minnesota. These range from driving at night with no lights to driving on the wrong side of the road, to piling a dozen people on top of a sack of grain in the back of a small pickup, to passing a car while it’s passing a car. I think lane striping is completely optional. With that said, I do want to say that our drivers have been very good, and they are in my prayers.
As for water issues and projects, my first two days were quite different in terms of how the local communities seem to be handling the problems – one has quite a bit in initiative while the other does not. I’m intentionally not naming the communities here in an attempt to retain some privacy for those who might have family in the USA. The first day I traveled with Steven and Adams in a small Peugeot whose tail pipe exhausted into the back seat where I was sitting. Adams is the local water consultant to the LCCN. I am very impressed with him, and most importantly he seems to care. The community we visited had three boreholes and one hand dug well. Of the three boreholes we looked at, two are currently not operational – problems with the hand pumps. One has been in disrepair for over two years and no one has fixed it. It was installed by the government, LCCN now has permission to fix, so it should get done. The other broken one appears to have been installed incorrectly… it’s too hard to pump so they finally gave up. The one that is working, however, can only be pumped for a short period of time before they have to let it recharge. They get two buckets of water and then have to wait about an hour before they can use again. Again this is probably an installation problem where the drillers stopped only a short distance into the aquifer such that the short period of pumping pulls the water down surrounding the bottom of the casing. They also tell me that they’ve had to have it repaired more than 10 times since it was drilled two years ago. So again it seems to be a construction problem. This borehole also goes dry in the dry season, as does the hand dug well. When that happens they go to the river a few kilometers away for water. When we arrived they had just finished applying new concrete around the base of the hand dug well and had it roped off. So they seem to take ownership of that structure, which make some sense since it’s been the most reliable for them.
I was also taken up hill to the medicine dispensary building. They say they get about 5 people a day. There is no water there. Nearest is one of the broken pumps about ½ mile away or the hand dug well. The young man working there also pointed out that there is a stream a few kilometers away in the opposite direction. It’s pretty dry now, but I also noticed drainage rivulets through the sandy area surrounding the dispensary. The young man said the people do sometimes get water from these to wash while they are at the dispensary. I asked if they had a latrine for people to use when they visit. The young man shrugged his shoulders and said they just use the woods. Adams sort of scolded him for not having one. They have had cholera in this area as recently as September.
The next day we went to one of the Global Health Ministry Community Based Health pilot project sites. They are just kicking it off so we got to meet all the important people in that area including the tribal chief. Lots of speeches and stuff and they had a very nice lunch for us. This was a village with about 8 small surrounding villages ranging in population from 300 to 1,800 for a total population of about 7,000. The surrounding villages range from 1 to 5 kilometers away. There are only four boreholes serving all of these villages. One was broken but a man was working on it. Turns out he has learned to do repair by watching when they have had repair people come out in the past. Same is true at one of the other villages with a borehole – two young men have a brother who works for the water board that taught them to do pump repair. Only problem is that in the one borehole that has galvanized iron piping they are not always able to put back together with all of the pipe sections. They have gone from having a hole 12 pipe sections deep to 6. A fix however may be as simple as getting them the tool to re-thread pipe when they have to cut it for any reason. They say the chain breaking is one of the most common problems so they could also use some grease and a grease gun and some training that they need to keep it greased. So the young men in this community have some initiative and some improvement could possibly be made by getting them a little more training and some additional tools. It would also be good to help them figure out a way to better finance. When asked how long the borehole is inoperable once it breaks, it sounds like it might take them a couple days to as much as 5 days to get it working again. In the interim they use the local stream water – untreated. When the local project manager asked about the disease risk, the reply was a shoulder shrug and the statement “this is Africa.” Potentially what we could do here is change the way they raise money for repairs. Instead, maybe we could get them to keep some supplies of the most common problem parts on hand, so they can get it repaired right away, and then they are only raising finances to replace supplies. The more they can keep the boreholes in operation the less exposure they’ll have to water borne diseases in the stream water.
Finally, went to church today in Pella with others from Global Health Ministry. Beautiful location in the mountains. It was a lot of fun. Services are a bit more lively than at Lyndale Lutheran. In addition, the Youth League had some sort of project competition after the service- so there was quite a gathering. We had lunch outside the pastor’s home under the mango tree and the temperature was very pleasant. All in all a very good day.
Peace,
Paul
Judy's Reflections
Sunday, October 31
We estimated that the LCCN Church in Jalingo is built to seat about 2,000 people. However, when the Fellowship of Lutheran Women in Nigeria came for their annual national convention, the church is overflowing. As of Saturday, 6,165 women had registered, so the pews were crowded, the aisles packed; every bit of space was occupied with women dressed in the dresses made from the special bright yellow/orange Women’s Fellowship fabric. Women were hanging in the windows to hear, and sitting in close by rooms. The convention had the feeling of and old time reunion, mixed with passionate presentations, joyful singing, and many, many opportunities for prayer.
The Women’s Fellowship is strong and a powerhouse in here in Nigeria. They are grateful for their partnership with WELCA of our Synod and the Deaconess Community of the ELCA. Because we represented their American partners, we were the honored quests: Kris, Sister Melinda, Carolyn and I. Honored guests meant that we had seats up front, plenty of bottles of water, pink plastic hand fans, sat by a huge fan, had more food that we needed, and very often heard apologies for the high heat and humidity.
What did we experience in the day and a half that we were a part of this faith filled community of women?
Passion! Women were encouraged to practice anad teach peaceful ways in their homes and to their children, so that Nigerian Christians would be known as people of peace. They were told that they had no reason to not be about telling the Gospel story. If they could not preach, they could sing. If they could not sing, they could show God’s love in what they do daily, and how they would do it. As the mothers, sisters, daughters of Nigeria, they had an important role in the development of faith and of the nation.
Joy! Singing, singing, singing! So much wonderful singing! Songs in response to the presentations, songs to welcome and songs to thank. There was even a competition between the singers of various dioceses. Each group singing their own unique songs, complete with special hand motions, and even props. It is the tradition when the singing is good; one comes to show gratitude by showering the song leader or the singers with naira. It is especially good to see if the naira bills placed on your forehead will stick! So, if you are from the Todi Diocese for example and your group is singing, you really want to show the strength of your sisterhood by showering your sister singers with money, which of course all goes into the Fellowship’s treasury. On Saturday, Archbishop Nemuel Babba attended the morning session, and there was a great shout when he came up to shower two of the groups with naira! All is done with great joy, which bounces from the walls of the church.
Commitment to evangelism! This LCCN is committed to evangelism and this was demonstrated so clearly, as one of the women leaders spoke with great energy about the new projects and possibilities of the Women’s Fellowship for the next year. She then called for an special offering for evangelism. It seemed like everyone came forward to give something for this offering. Women came forward with happy smiling faces, rejoicing as women hugged each other while stood in line or danced forward. The offering took at least 20 minutes for everyone to come forward, and a total of 104,700 plus naira was raised! That’s about $700 in US dollars. Here is a place where we can definitely learn from our Nigerian sisters!
How important was this Convention in the life of women? Important enough not only for over 6,000 women to attend, but to attend knowing that they would have to provide their own food, sleep in the church or on the church grounds, with little of what we would consider comforts. Imagine wall to wall women, with some small children, and a few men camping out and sleeping outside, taking care to prepare their own meals; so that they could be together in Christ? We left and there was still another day and a half of singing, listening, laughing, offering, and encouragement to go. We should not wonder why the LCCN is the fastest growing Lutheran church in the world!
Happy Halloween!
Rev. Judy Burgett Winzig
P.S. Carolyn brought along glasses with a nose for all of us to wear this hallowed night, so those of us who are back at the hotel will greet our returning visitors from Kubi when they arrive.
We estimated that the LCCN Church in Jalingo is built to seat about 2,000 people. However, when the Fellowship of Lutheran Women in Nigeria came for their annual national convention, the church is overflowing. As of Saturday, 6,165 women had registered, so the pews were crowded, the aisles packed; every bit of space was occupied with women dressed in the dresses made from the special bright yellow/orange Women’s Fellowship fabric. Women were hanging in the windows to hear, and sitting in close by rooms. The convention had the feeling of and old time reunion, mixed with passionate presentations, joyful singing, and many, many opportunities for prayer.
The Women’s Fellowship is strong and a powerhouse in here in Nigeria. They are grateful for their partnership with WELCA of our Synod and the Deaconess Community of the ELCA. Because we represented their American partners, we were the honored quests: Kris, Sister Melinda, Carolyn and I. Honored guests meant that we had seats up front, plenty of bottles of water, pink plastic hand fans, sat by a huge fan, had more food that we needed, and very often heard apologies for the high heat and humidity.
What did we experience in the day and a half that we were a part of this faith filled community of women?
Passion! Women were encouraged to practice anad teach peaceful ways in their homes and to their children, so that Nigerian Christians would be known as people of peace. They were told that they had no reason to not be about telling the Gospel story. If they could not preach, they could sing. If they could not sing, they could show God’s love in what they do daily, and how they would do it. As the mothers, sisters, daughters of Nigeria, they had an important role in the development of faith and of the nation.
Joy! Singing, singing, singing! So much wonderful singing! Songs in response to the presentations, songs to welcome and songs to thank. There was even a competition between the singers of various dioceses. Each group singing their own unique songs, complete with special hand motions, and even props. It is the tradition when the singing is good; one comes to show gratitude by showering the song leader or the singers with naira. It is especially good to see if the naira bills placed on your forehead will stick! So, if you are from the Todi Diocese for example and your group is singing, you really want to show the strength of your sisterhood by showering your sister singers with money, which of course all goes into the Fellowship’s treasury. On Saturday, Archbishop Nemuel Babba attended the morning session, and there was a great shout when he came up to shower two of the groups with naira! All is done with great joy, which bounces from the walls of the church.
Commitment to evangelism! This LCCN is committed to evangelism and this was demonstrated so clearly, as one of the women leaders spoke with great energy about the new projects and possibilities of the Women’s Fellowship for the next year. She then called for an special offering for evangelism. It seemed like everyone came forward to give something for this offering. Women came forward with happy smiling faces, rejoicing as women hugged each other while stood in line or danced forward. The offering took at least 20 minutes for everyone to come forward, and a total of 104,700 plus naira was raised! That’s about $700 in US dollars. Here is a place where we can definitely learn from our Nigerian sisters!
How important was this Convention in the life of women? Important enough not only for over 6,000 women to attend, but to attend knowing that they would have to provide their own food, sleep in the church or on the church grounds, with little of what we would consider comforts. Imagine wall to wall women, with some small children, and a few men camping out and sleeping outside, taking care to prepare their own meals; so that they could be together in Christ? We left and there was still another day and a half of singing, listening, laughing, offering, and encouragement to go. We should not wonder why the LCCN is the fastest growing Lutheran church in the world!
Happy Halloween!
Rev. Judy Burgett Winzig
P.S. Carolyn brought along glasses with a nose for all of us to wear this hallowed night, so those of us who are back at the hotel will greet our returning visitors from Kubi when they arrive.
American University
Thursday, October 28
I can tell we’ve arrived in Adamawa State because the Zain wireless internet provider does not have a strong signal; hence, no posting of these blogs. I keep trying, but no luck. I suspect by the time I am able to post again, there will be several blogs to post, so keep reading.
A beautiful buffet breakfast was served at 8:00 a.m. for our group. At 9:20a we departed for a tour of The American University in Yola. Upon arrival we were greeted by Rev. Dr. Peter Bartimawus from Bonnum Lutheran Seminary, who arranged for our tour. We were then greeted by American University staff members Abubakar Tahir, Director of Public Affairs, and Usoh Usoh, the Manager of University Relations, along with Adeola Rhoda, who will write an article about our visit. We proceeded to the Vice President’s office for a 15-minute question and answer time before visiting various labs, classrooms and the library, as well as the dormitory rooms. This university is very impressive and has total high-speed, wireless computers for all to use. Hence, they have three large generators which keep the campus well air conditioned in all of the rooms, but not the hallways. Following our tour, we were the guests of the University Club for lunch where our group enjoyed spaghetti with meat sauce, tomato soup and of course, the usual chicken and rice dishes. Several University faculty stopped by to greet us. One professor, in particular, caught my attention as he taught at St. Cloud University from 1991-2004 in the geology department. I now must check to see if my son, Mark, had him as an instructor. His name is Dr. Bayo Lawal. We all look forward to receiving a copy of their next newsletter, where Adeola promises an article with photos will be included.
Upon our return to the ADIP hotel, the group will take a short rest and then proceed to the market place to do their first souvenir shopping of our trip. Some wanted to purchase small traditional drums; however, they were told that “it wasn’t the season” for them but that they tried to find some for them before we depart next week. I have no doubt a drum or two will be found.
Rev. Dr. Peter Bartimawus stopped by my room (Kris) with his wife, Fiya, and their son, Joshua for a nice visit. Pastor Judy joined us and we laughed and reminisced, while Joshua enjoyed playing with the three cars I brought him as a gift and munching on his animal crackers. He graciously shared his animal crackers with all of us!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Our usual buffet breakfast was ready at 6:15 this morning. The Women’s Fellowship Group’s van driver arrived at about 7:40 to transport Kris, Melinda, Judy and Carolyn to Jalingo in the Taraba State to experience the Mission Field’s annual convention. We traveled to Numan and then took the road to Jalingo, about a 3 hour trip over some bumpy roads. We arrived at about 10:30 a.m. to LCCN No. 1 Jalingo Church where we saw the church grounds filled with women and children and cooking going on. We were then escorted into the church where there were well over 5,000 women packed in elbow-to-elbow, as well as sitting on every open floor space available. We had seats reserved for us and quickly made our way to the side where Archbishop Babba’s wife, Kaja, was seated with three of her friends from Denmark (Anna, Karen and Bergitt). We were treated to three of the seven diocese’s music, welcome speeches by several women, and a firey sermon that lasted at least an hour. We felt bad that it was all in Hausa as we would have liked to know what the female pastor preached about, though we do know it was on Romans 18.
Unfortunately, due to the extreme heat and humidity this year, my ankles and legs swelled up again and it was necessary for me to leave the convention to lie down with ice packs on my legs. The women were simply amazing as they cared for me. Kaja then came to see me and insisted that I return to Yola with she and her friends so that I could spend Saturday trying to rid my ankles of the fluid. Carolyn decided to drive back with me, so we enjoyed an air-conditioned three hour ride back. Two of the three Danish women spoke English so we had a lovely chat about life in Denmark, their volunteer mission work in Nigeria, and their love of our President Obama.
Upon arrival back at the ADIP, we ordered room service for supper and tuned into CNN to catch the latest news, where I just heard that a suspicious package had entered the USA from Yemen, targeted for Chicago. I suspect our flight home will have heightened security.
It was truly amazing today to witness so many thousands of women crammed into one place where they were very attentive to their speakers and seemed to be enjoying being in community. They will continue to meet until 10p tonight, go all day and into the evening tomorrow, and wrap up on Sunday. Melinda and Judy will depart Saturday morning to return here.
Four of our travelers departed for their partner congregation in Kubi, near the Cameroon border, while Paul remained here to spend time with the Water Team learning about their work and how he might contribute to the team.
Carolyn and I spent Saturday catching up on rest, out of the heat, journaling, watching a few movies on TV while waiting for Melinda and Judy to return. We all enjoyed a nice supper together and then watched Melinda’s videos from the Women’s Fellowship Gathering. My ankles have returned to normal again, thanks to the diuretics I got while in Jos. Judy and Melinda endured an evening without electricity, so the heat was difficult to endure, but they did it! I’m impressed. They were glad to be “home” at the ADIP and relax in air conditioning once again.
Sunday, October 31
Since everyone else was gone, we had no transport to church this morning, so the four of us spent time processing our trip thus far and just getting to know one another better. Peter then phoned and asked if he could drive me over to see Buntausa’s wife and new baby. I was thrilled for the offer, so left my laptop with Judy so she could write her reflections while I traveled to the other side of Yola to visit Grace. It was a joyful visit with lots of laughs. Unfortunately, my camera battery died and I forgot to bring my other battery, so I only got two photos taken. I will try to phone Buntausa’s brother, Yusof, to encourage him to send more photos of the baby – she is beautiful and slept the visit away.
Peter helped me shop for watermelon, oranges, bananas and water on the way home. It is now time to watch for our friends to return from Kubi and Pella so that we might all share our experiences of the past two days.
Hopefully, by God’s grace, we’ll visit the Deaf School Monday where Barb will help with communication since she knows sign language. Can’t wait. Blessings to you all!
Kris Perry
I can tell we’ve arrived in Adamawa State because the Zain wireless internet provider does not have a strong signal; hence, no posting of these blogs. I keep trying, but no luck. I suspect by the time I am able to post again, there will be several blogs to post, so keep reading.
A beautiful buffet breakfast was served at 8:00 a.m. for our group. At 9:20a we departed for a tour of The American University in Yola. Upon arrival we were greeted by Rev. Dr. Peter Bartimawus from Bonnum Lutheran Seminary, who arranged for our tour. We were then greeted by American University staff members Abubakar Tahir, Director of Public Affairs, and Usoh Usoh, the Manager of University Relations, along with Adeola Rhoda, who will write an article about our visit. We proceeded to the Vice President’s office for a 15-minute question and answer time before visiting various labs, classrooms and the library, as well as the dormitory rooms. This university is very impressive and has total high-speed, wireless computers for all to use. Hence, they have three large generators which keep the campus well air conditioned in all of the rooms, but not the hallways. Following our tour, we were the guests of the University Club for lunch where our group enjoyed spaghetti with meat sauce, tomato soup and of course, the usual chicken and rice dishes. Several University faculty stopped by to greet us. One professor, in particular, caught my attention as he taught at St. Cloud University from 1991-2004 in the geology department. I now must check to see if my son, Mark, had him as an instructor. His name is Dr. Bayo Lawal. We all look forward to receiving a copy of their next newsletter, where Adeola promises an article with photos will be included.
Upon our return to the ADIP hotel, the group will take a short rest and then proceed to the market place to do their first souvenir shopping of our trip. Some wanted to purchase small traditional drums; however, they were told that “it wasn’t the season” for them but that they tried to find some for them before we depart next week. I have no doubt a drum or two will be found.
Rev. Dr. Peter Bartimawus stopped by my room (Kris) with his wife, Fiya, and their son, Joshua for a nice visit. Pastor Judy joined us and we laughed and reminisced, while Joshua enjoyed playing with the three cars I brought him as a gift and munching on his animal crackers. He graciously shared his animal crackers with all of us!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Our usual buffet breakfast was ready at 6:15 this morning. The Women’s Fellowship Group’s van driver arrived at about 7:40 to transport Kris, Melinda, Judy and Carolyn to Jalingo in the Taraba State to experience the Mission Field’s annual convention. We traveled to Numan and then took the road to Jalingo, about a 3 hour trip over some bumpy roads. We arrived at about 10:30 a.m. to LCCN No. 1 Jalingo Church where we saw the church grounds filled with women and children and cooking going on. We were then escorted into the church where there were well over 5,000 women packed in elbow-to-elbow, as well as sitting on every open floor space available. We had seats reserved for us and quickly made our way to the side where Archbishop Babba’s wife, Kaja, was seated with three of her friends from Denmark (Anna, Karen and Bergitt). We were treated to three of the seven diocese’s music, welcome speeches by several women, and a firey sermon that lasted at least an hour. We felt bad that it was all in Hausa as we would have liked to know what the female pastor preached about, though we do know it was on Romans 18.
Unfortunately, due to the extreme heat and humidity this year, my ankles and legs swelled up again and it was necessary for me to leave the convention to lie down with ice packs on my legs. The women were simply amazing as they cared for me. Kaja then came to see me and insisted that I return to Yola with she and her friends so that I could spend Saturday trying to rid my ankles of the fluid. Carolyn decided to drive back with me, so we enjoyed an air-conditioned three hour ride back. Two of the three Danish women spoke English so we had a lovely chat about life in Denmark, their volunteer mission work in Nigeria, and their love of our President Obama.
Upon arrival back at the ADIP, we ordered room service for supper and tuned into CNN to catch the latest news, where I just heard that a suspicious package had entered the USA from Yemen, targeted for Chicago. I suspect our flight home will have heightened security.
It was truly amazing today to witness so many thousands of women crammed into one place where they were very attentive to their speakers and seemed to be enjoying being in community. They will continue to meet until 10p tonight, go all day and into the evening tomorrow, and wrap up on Sunday. Melinda and Judy will depart Saturday morning to return here.
Four of our travelers departed for their partner congregation in Kubi, near the Cameroon border, while Paul remained here to spend time with the Water Team learning about their work and how he might contribute to the team.
Carolyn and I spent Saturday catching up on rest, out of the heat, journaling, watching a few movies on TV while waiting for Melinda and Judy to return. We all enjoyed a nice supper together and then watched Melinda’s videos from the Women’s Fellowship Gathering. My ankles have returned to normal again, thanks to the diuretics I got while in Jos. Judy and Melinda endured an evening without electricity, so the heat was difficult to endure, but they did it! I’m impressed. They were glad to be “home” at the ADIP and relax in air conditioning once again.
Sunday, October 31
Since everyone else was gone, we had no transport to church this morning, so the four of us spent time processing our trip thus far and just getting to know one another better. Peter then phoned and asked if he could drive me over to see Buntausa’s wife and new baby. I was thrilled for the offer, so left my laptop with Judy so she could write her reflections while I traveled to the other side of Yola to visit Grace. It was a joyful visit with lots of laughs. Unfortunately, my camera battery died and I forgot to bring my other battery, so I only got two photos taken. I will try to phone Buntausa’s brother, Yusof, to encourage him to send more photos of the baby – she is beautiful and slept the visit away.
Peter helped me shop for watermelon, oranges, bananas and water on the way home. It is now time to watch for our friends to return from Kubi and Pella so that we might all share our experiences of the past two days.
Hopefully, by God’s grace, we’ll visit the Deaf School Monday where Barb will help with communication since she knows sign language. Can’t wait. Blessings to you all!
Kris Perry
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Melinda's Reflections
Today was a “sleep in” morning. Being from New York City I can fall asleep to the sound of buses, garbage trucks, jack hammers, even sirens; but the gentle chirping of the cricket that was in our bedroom last night provided a challenge. After much tossing and turning, though, I did finally drift off to dreamland – cricket be damned!!
The day started with a very nice breakfast buffet – chips (French fries), omelet, sautéed beef liver, baked beans, and oats (oatmeal). And, of course, coffee and tea.
After a satisfying breakfast, and some more lulling around the room, we left the hotel at 11 am to make our way to the LCCN National Headquarters in Numan. There we were served a very delicious stew for lunch at the Numan Guest House.
After lunch we met with the Administrative Secretary of the LCCN, Mr. Parisa and the Archbisoph’s personal secretary, the Rev. Dan Elkanah. During this visit Mr. Parisa expressed heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the partnership that has been growing between the Minneapolis Area Synod congregations and the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria. It was a moving moment for all in the room, as a reciprocal declaration was made by those from the partnering congregations.
Gifts were presented to Mr. Parisa and Rev. Elkanah of pastor stoles, several Book of Concord, and tons of eye glasses. When asked how long it will take for the eye glasses to be distributed to those in need, Mr. Parisa replied, “The word will get out, the lines will form, and the glasses will be gone in two days!!”
The question was posed to Mr. Parisa as to what the members of the Minneapolis Synod could do to assist in the ministry of the LCCN. We met the medical director of the LCCN medical dispensary, who provided a tour of the medications provided to patients who come to the dispensary for care – antibiotics, hypertensive, vitamins, malarial, etc.. A list of necessary medication was generated by the team to bring back to the states to see if assistance can be obtained to acquire these medications.
From the LCCN Headquarters we traveled to Numan General Hospital, originally an LCCN facility. Serving the sick and needy in the Numan area efficiently and with the love of Christ, the LCCN lost control of the hospital when the government decided to usurp the control of the hospital. Since that time, the quality and efficiency of health care to those in need has declined. The hospital administrator graciously provided a tour of selected wards. We were taken to the maternity, pediatrics, and women’s surgical wards. The nursing staff provides excellent care with very limited resources. Imagine what kind of care the patients could be receiving if LCCN had not lost control and been allowed to continue the Christ centered care that started the hospital.
From Numan General Hospital we drove to the Demsa Hospital. Once a thriving LCCN health care facility, providing primary health care, surgery, and health care education for both health care professionals and patients and their families, it is now sitting empty. Financial difficulties prevented health care staff to continue working there – salaries could be paid, medications and medical supplies could not be obtained in the necessary quantities. It was very sad to see such a promising facility abandoned. However, a team from the Global Health Ministries is working to find a way to reopen this critically needed health care facility.
Arriving back at the hotel, hot and sweaty, we took a short respite and climbed once again into our van in search of dinner. Instructed to follow Bulama, our van driver, Anari, did as he was told, only to discover that Bulama, in taking a short cut to the main road, forced us to drive against the traffic until we could cross the road. Those of us in the van were oblivious to this, thinking only . . .Ok, he’s a Nigerian, driving like a Nigerian.
We wound up at a restaurant that was once the palatial home of a wealthy Nigerian businessman, complete with swimming pool and tennis court. When the businessman died, it was passed on to his family who converted it into a guest house, known as Friendship Cottages. The place is lovely – to say the least. The swimming pool is empty, and no one plays tennis, but the area is used as the guest house’s restaurant. We ordered many new and different foods of Nigerian origin. As for me, the pounded yam and beef (with greens) was extremely filling and piquant. The meal was completed with fresh fruit – yes, it was safe to eat it. At least that’s what Kris told us. We’ll see in the morning. It was a lovely evening, with lots of time for conversation. Preparing a large meal is quite challenging for a Nigerian restaurant, requiring great patience on our part. However, the joy and pride expressed in the smiling faces of our servers and hosts made it all
worthwhile.
We entertained ourselves on the ride back to the hotel by trying to estimate the temperature today. The estimates ranged from about 94 to 98 degrees, but the humidity was the killer. However, the temperature and humidity experience today was beyond the comprehension of most Minnesotans.
Tired but sated, we returned to the hotel for another good night’s sleep. If only that cricket would stop it’s chirping!!! But then . . . . I’m in Nigeria.
Sr. Melinda Lando
ELCA Deaconess
The day started with a very nice breakfast buffet – chips (French fries), omelet, sautéed beef liver, baked beans, and oats (oatmeal). And, of course, coffee and tea.
After a satisfying breakfast, and some more lulling around the room, we left the hotel at 11 am to make our way to the LCCN National Headquarters in Numan. There we were served a very delicious stew for lunch at the Numan Guest House.
After lunch we met with the Administrative Secretary of the LCCN, Mr. Parisa and the Archbisoph’s personal secretary, the Rev. Dan Elkanah. During this visit Mr. Parisa expressed heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the partnership that has been growing between the Minneapolis Area Synod congregations and the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria. It was a moving moment for all in the room, as a reciprocal declaration was made by those from the partnering congregations.
Gifts were presented to Mr. Parisa and Rev. Elkanah of pastor stoles, several Book of Concord, and tons of eye glasses. When asked how long it will take for the eye glasses to be distributed to those in need, Mr. Parisa replied, “The word will get out, the lines will form, and the glasses will be gone in two days!!”
The question was posed to Mr. Parisa as to what the members of the Minneapolis Synod could do to assist in the ministry of the LCCN. We met the medical director of the LCCN medical dispensary, who provided a tour of the medications provided to patients who come to the dispensary for care – antibiotics, hypertensive, vitamins, malarial, etc.. A list of necessary medication was generated by the team to bring back to the states to see if assistance can be obtained to acquire these medications.
From the LCCN Headquarters we traveled to Numan General Hospital, originally an LCCN facility. Serving the sick and needy in the Numan area efficiently and with the love of Christ, the LCCN lost control of the hospital when the government decided to usurp the control of the hospital. Since that time, the quality and efficiency of health care to those in need has declined. The hospital administrator graciously provided a tour of selected wards. We were taken to the maternity, pediatrics, and women’s surgical wards. The nursing staff provides excellent care with very limited resources. Imagine what kind of care the patients could be receiving if LCCN had not lost control and been allowed to continue the Christ centered care that started the hospital.
From Numan General Hospital we drove to the Demsa Hospital. Once a thriving LCCN health care facility, providing primary health care, surgery, and health care education for both health care professionals and patients and their families, it is now sitting empty. Financial difficulties prevented health care staff to continue working there – salaries could be paid, medications and medical supplies could not be obtained in the necessary quantities. It was very sad to see such a promising facility abandoned. However, a team from the Global Health Ministries is working to find a way to reopen this critically needed health care facility.
Arriving back at the hotel, hot and sweaty, we took a short respite and climbed once again into our van in search of dinner. Instructed to follow Bulama, our van driver, Anari, did as he was told, only to discover that Bulama, in taking a short cut to the main road, forced us to drive against the traffic until we could cross the road. Those of us in the van were oblivious to this, thinking only . . .Ok, he’s a Nigerian, driving like a Nigerian.
We wound up at a restaurant that was once the palatial home of a wealthy Nigerian businessman, complete with swimming pool and tennis court. When the businessman died, it was passed on to his family who converted it into a guest house, known as Friendship Cottages. The place is lovely – to say the least. The swimming pool is empty, and no one plays tennis, but the area is used as the guest house’s restaurant. We ordered many new and different foods of Nigerian origin. As for me, the pounded yam and beef (with greens) was extremely filling and piquant. The meal was completed with fresh fruit – yes, it was safe to eat it. At least that’s what Kris told us. We’ll see in the morning. It was a lovely evening, with lots of time for conversation. Preparing a large meal is quite challenging for a Nigerian restaurant, requiring great patience on our part. However, the joy and pride expressed in the smiling faces of our servers and hosts made it all
worthwhile.
We entertained ourselves on the ride back to the hotel by trying to estimate the temperature today. The estimates ranged from about 94 to 98 degrees, but the humidity was the killer. However, the temperature and humidity experience today was beyond the comprehension of most Minnesotans.
Tired but sated, we returned to the hotel for another good night’s sleep. If only that cricket would stop it’s chirping!!! But then . . . . I’m in Nigeria.
Sr. Melinda Lando
ELCA Deaconess
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Kris' Reflections
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Well, we had a first in Nigeria – room service! No kidding. Each guest left their order with the reception desk the evening before, and breakfasts began arriving the following morning. We departed promptly at 9:00 a.m. for Nyanya Congregation where the Women’s Fellowship Group greeted us with song and dance.
From Nyanya, we drove a short distance to the Government Secondary School in Abuja where we spent time with Principal Hassana Nuhu followed by a visit to many of the classrooms, where the students all stood as we entered and enthusiastically answered our questions. The highlight of this visit was probably the five young women who were dressed in native costume and performed a unique tribal dance for the group accompanied by drums and instruments played by other students.
We returned to Nyana where Carolyn from Light of Christ, their partner congregation, presented Pr. Jediton and Chairman Jamieson with a beautiful worship banner that had been sewn by Light of Christ, along with other gifts. In return, LCCN Nyanya presented Carolyn with a beautiful crystal plaque with both congregations’ names. The women then presented each of us with a necklace and earring set. While we ate a noon meal of chicken and rice, many of our group to learned to play their instruments while we sang a song for them, and they for us. It was a touching and delightful good-bye with our friends as we then departed for a short visit to Bishop Benjamin’s home to meet his wife, Jessica, who is also an LCCN pastor. She, too, had prepared a lovely meal, so we ate again.
Two of our group members had tummy upset and were in need of rest. Unfortunately, we had another hour’s drive to the domestic airport, where we were greeted by Bishop Ben’s younger brother, Bernard, who is employed there. He graciously processed our airline tickets and got our boarding passes as well as checked our luggage. One of our group members who was ill was escorted through security early in order to rest in the lounge. We were hoping to depart for Yola soon thereafter; however, due to a delayed Arik Airline flight from Lagos, our flight did not take off until 1.5 hours later, landing in Yola in the dark. As we boarded the plane in Abuja, we walked outdoors and the men and women were asked to be in separate lines before climbing the stairs to the plane. We soon found out the reason: all people needed to be patted down. No worries, but I will say that I’ve never been patted down on my breasts before…another first. We were treated to a pound cake-type muffin on the plane with juice, coffee or tea.
We arrived at ADIP hotel where Mr. Bulama had our room keys waiting for us. We stopped to purchase some bottled water along the way, and Anari’s van was slightly hit by a driver. More adventures.
Everyone was very tired, so we decided to treat everyone to a morning sleep-in before departing to Numan at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday More to come…
Well, we had a first in Nigeria – room service! No kidding. Each guest left their order with the reception desk the evening before, and breakfasts began arriving the following morning. We departed promptly at 9:00 a.m. for Nyanya Congregation where the Women’s Fellowship Group greeted us with song and dance.
From Nyanya, we drove a short distance to the Government Secondary School in Abuja where we spent time with Principal Hassana Nuhu followed by a visit to many of the classrooms, where the students all stood as we entered and enthusiastically answered our questions. The highlight of this visit was probably the five young women who were dressed in native costume and performed a unique tribal dance for the group accompanied by drums and instruments played by other students.
We returned to Nyana where Carolyn from Light of Christ, their partner congregation, presented Pr. Jediton and Chairman Jamieson with a beautiful worship banner that had been sewn by Light of Christ, along with other gifts. In return, LCCN Nyanya presented Carolyn with a beautiful crystal plaque with both congregations’ names. The women then presented each of us with a necklace and earring set. While we ate a noon meal of chicken and rice, many of our group to learned to play their instruments while we sang a song for them, and they for us. It was a touching and delightful good-bye with our friends as we then departed for a short visit to Bishop Benjamin’s home to meet his wife, Jessica, who is also an LCCN pastor. She, too, had prepared a lovely meal, so we ate again.
Two of our group members had tummy upset and were in need of rest. Unfortunately, we had another hour’s drive to the domestic airport, where we were greeted by Bishop Ben’s younger brother, Bernard, who is employed there. He graciously processed our airline tickets and got our boarding passes as well as checked our luggage. One of our group members who was ill was escorted through security early in order to rest in the lounge. We were hoping to depart for Yola soon thereafter; however, due to a delayed Arik Airline flight from Lagos, our flight did not take off until 1.5 hours later, landing in Yola in the dark. As we boarded the plane in Abuja, we walked outdoors and the men and women were asked to be in separate lines before climbing the stairs to the plane. We soon found out the reason: all people needed to be patted down. No worries, but I will say that I’ve never been patted down on my breasts before…another first. We were treated to a pound cake-type muffin on the plane with juice, coffee or tea.
We arrived at ADIP hotel where Mr. Bulama had our room keys waiting for us. We stopped to purchase some bottled water along the way, and Anari’s van was slightly hit by a driver. More adventures.
Everyone was very tired, so we decided to treat everyone to a morning sleep-in before departing to Numan at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday More to come…
Barb and Deb's Reflections
Monday, October 25
We started the day with breakfast at the Pope’s and then was joined by Bishop Benjamin, Pastor Jamieson and Vicar Jediton from St. Paul Cathedral (Nyanya LCCN) and their heavy duty vehicles for our excursion to Pai LCCN, an outreach congregation located approximately 2 hours from the Nyanya LCCN in Abuja (30 kilometers off the main road).
Our journey began with an exciting drive on a Nigerian freeway. We shared the road with pedestrians, motorcycles, quickly moving cars and slowly moving cars, vans, buses, trucks, all in an energetic yet chaotic traffic dance. Once we got out of Abuja there was no speed limit!! Our obliging drivers were peppered with questions about the LCCN, the country and culture of Nigeria and sights seen along the way.
Then we began our off-road adventure to Pai, Gyebri and other outreach areas. The recent rains made a barely dryable road even more difficult to traverse and yet our drivers handled it famously and with great patience. There was only one challenge of getting stuck in the mud. Along the road we saw people carrying firewood, making home-made charcoal, fields of vegetation including maize, guinea corn and sesame, goats, chickens, Brahma cattle and one lone dog (similar to a dingo).
As we arrived in Pai, the preschool aged children and adults greeted us with curiosity and smiles. We proceeded to meet with the evangelists and bible school teachers, all men who are married with families. The bible school was started in 1987 with 3 students and now has 14 students, all adults both men and women. Prior to attending bible school these adults had no education. The evangelists are volunteers and receive a small allowance for their living expenses. Evangelists and teachers introduced themselves and gave a short background on their experience in the Pai LCCN outreach areas. Carolyn Hirsch, Light of Christ Lutheran, Delano, MN presented a medical kit and monetary gift for the students in the Pai LCCN. We exchanged questions and had a discussion to clarify propaganda in the media focused on Muslim influence on Christianity in the United States. Afterwards we visited the bible school students and then enjoyed lunch consisting of egg and bologna sandwiches, beef and onion sandwiches (very tasty), and of course, rice and chicken prepared by the women.
The second half of our journey took us on more challenging roads past the government primary and secondary schools, through numerous small villages and a marketplace. The many students returning home from school bestowed on us smiling faces and waving hands. We arrived at the banks of a river across from the outreach area, Gyebri, accessible only by a large wooden canoe. The canoe is used as their “school bus” to ferry children across the river to attend school, transport supplies and villagers.
Our return trip to Abuja was equally exciting with an added “bonus” of vehicle breakdown along the freeway. The Vicar kept his cool, called the mechanic and ensured a safe arrival of his passengers to the guest house. Mun gode Allah (Thank you God!). To wrap up our day, Bishop Benjamin whisked us away to a fabulous Chinese restaurant! Pastors Judy and Drew led devotions (Psalm 121), we enjoyed many delicious dishes and wonderful dialogue about the day. (Ask John about the Squirrel-shaped fish in OK sauce)
Alleluia and amen!
We started the day with breakfast at the Pope’s and then was joined by Bishop Benjamin, Pastor Jamieson and Vicar Jediton from St. Paul Cathedral (Nyanya LCCN) and their heavy duty vehicles for our excursion to Pai LCCN, an outreach congregation located approximately 2 hours from the Nyanya LCCN in Abuja (30 kilometers off the main road).
Our journey began with an exciting drive on a Nigerian freeway. We shared the road with pedestrians, motorcycles, quickly moving cars and slowly moving cars, vans, buses, trucks, all in an energetic yet chaotic traffic dance. Once we got out of Abuja there was no speed limit!! Our obliging drivers were peppered with questions about the LCCN, the country and culture of Nigeria and sights seen along the way.
Then we began our off-road adventure to Pai, Gyebri and other outreach areas. The recent rains made a barely dryable road even more difficult to traverse and yet our drivers handled it famously and with great patience. There was only one challenge of getting stuck in the mud. Along the road we saw people carrying firewood, making home-made charcoal, fields of vegetation including maize, guinea corn and sesame, goats, chickens, Brahma cattle and one lone dog (similar to a dingo).
As we arrived in Pai, the preschool aged children and adults greeted us with curiosity and smiles. We proceeded to meet with the evangelists and bible school teachers, all men who are married with families. The bible school was started in 1987 with 3 students and now has 14 students, all adults both men and women. Prior to attending bible school these adults had no education. The evangelists are volunteers and receive a small allowance for their living expenses. Evangelists and teachers introduced themselves and gave a short background on their experience in the Pai LCCN outreach areas. Carolyn Hirsch, Light of Christ Lutheran, Delano, MN presented a medical kit and monetary gift for the students in the Pai LCCN. We exchanged questions and had a discussion to clarify propaganda in the media focused on Muslim influence on Christianity in the United States. Afterwards we visited the bible school students and then enjoyed lunch consisting of egg and bologna sandwiches, beef and onion sandwiches (very tasty), and of course, rice and chicken prepared by the women.
The second half of our journey took us on more challenging roads past the government primary and secondary schools, through numerous small villages and a marketplace. The many students returning home from school bestowed on us smiling faces and waving hands. We arrived at the banks of a river across from the outreach area, Gyebri, accessible only by a large wooden canoe. The canoe is used as their “school bus” to ferry children across the river to attend school, transport supplies and villagers.
Our return trip to Abuja was equally exciting with an added “bonus” of vehicle breakdown along the freeway. The Vicar kept his cool, called the mechanic and ensured a safe arrival of his passengers to the guest house. Mun gode Allah (Thank you God!). To wrap up our day, Bishop Benjamin whisked us away to a fabulous Chinese restaurant! Pastors Judy and Drew led devotions (Psalm 121), we enjoyed many delicious dishes and wonderful dialogue about the day. (Ask John about the Squirrel-shaped fish in OK sauce)
Alleluia and amen!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Carolyn's Reflections
24 October 2010
Last night, Saturday, the Minnesota/New York group of 8 arrived in Abuja, weary and relieved to be in Nigeria after an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam, a 2+ hour layover and another 6 hour flight to Abuja. Kris met us at the airport, but outside, so she had to wait (and wait and wait) while we negotiated with the officials who were suspicious about the 7 big boxes we toted. The uniformed men and women (government representatives dressed as you would imagine police officers would be) wanted to know what we were transporting into Nigeria so Judy produced the list for each box. Not good enough. Huddle. They decided it was necessary to open (some? all?) of our boxes. Apparently the concern was what exactly was in the large first aid kits we’d packed so one was unwrapped and opened. Nine officers circled around and discussed what to make of the things we’d brought for our Nigerian friends and companion churches (eyeglasses, medical supplies, special gifts for congregations.) Then there were conversations about the “port fee” which was ultimately decided we would not pay. Kris had to speak through the outside door to assure them that these were missionary gifts and saved the day. Finally, it was decided that we were good to go and we loaded luggage and our travel-weary bodies into the vans. Bishop Benjamin drove our van himself and we were all delivered to the ECWA guest house where we were greeted by rehearsing church choirs in our parking lot.. The rooms are clean and tidy and air conditioned.
Sunday morning we were driven for breakfast to the Pope John Paul II guest house and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of oats, eggs and toast. There was beer for sale but we didn’t indulge. Some local women helped tie our headdresses and then on to Nyanya Lutheran Church for their worship service. The church was stated in 1984 with a membership of 5 in someone’s home, moved to a local primary school building two years later and building began in 1993 when the site was allocated to them. It is large with seating areas circled around the raised pulpit and in the balcony. The seating is plastic lawn chairs, at least for now. I’d expected it to be a long, hot service and was pleasantly surprised. Recent rains have cooled the air some and there was a breeze coming through all the open windows. And there was so much going on, such beautiful colorful people to watch and various choirs singing and drumming. The service was delivered in a mix of their native language (Hausa) and English, Nigeria’s official language. We were asked to sit in a row of chairs behind the esteemed church council men, a place of honor, and presented to the congregation by the Bishop. It was heart-warming and wonderful to be their esteemed guests. Lots of hand-shaking and the women offered a small curtsy as they greeted us. It was all charming, including the ever so respectful children who were really curious about us.
Light of Christ’s youth sent along a cash gift designated for the youth of Nyanya Lutheran (recently renamed St. Paul Cathedral) which was presented to the youth director. He held the envelope to his chest and was very thankful and everyone cheered.
As I reread this I see I’m not doing the worship service justice. It was an explosion of color and sound. A joyous celebration with lots of singing, hip-shaking and clapping to the beat. The women were decked out in fabulous dresses and our female members accorded them the respect of wearing Nigerian dresses too, complete with headdresses.
The rest of the afternoon included a lunch in the bishop’s office (served by the Women’s Fellowship Group), the congregation’s election of new church council members, a.k.a. Elders, (while we ate) and then conversation among the Bishop, Vicar, church council and our group. It was interesting to hear how our churches are organized and talk about what can be done to keep the youth of our congregations involved---a common concern. We look forward to more time to talk in the days to come.
By the time we departed Nyanya, it was time for supper, so we chose an Italian restaurant not far from our guest house. The food was fabulous and some enjoyed that beer (or wine) that we didn’t purchase in the morning. We’re looking forward to breakfast again tomorrow at the Pope’s!
Carolyn Hirsch
Light of Christ Lutheran Church
Delano, MN
Last night, Saturday, the Minnesota/New York group of 8 arrived in Abuja, weary and relieved to be in Nigeria after an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam, a 2+ hour layover and another 6 hour flight to Abuja. Kris met us at the airport, but outside, so she had to wait (and wait and wait) while we negotiated with the officials who were suspicious about the 7 big boxes we toted. The uniformed men and women (government representatives dressed as you would imagine police officers would be) wanted to know what we were transporting into Nigeria so Judy produced the list for each box. Not good enough. Huddle. They decided it was necessary to open (some? all?) of our boxes. Apparently the concern was what exactly was in the large first aid kits we’d packed so one was unwrapped and opened. Nine officers circled around and discussed what to make of the things we’d brought for our Nigerian friends and companion churches (eyeglasses, medical supplies, special gifts for congregations.) Then there were conversations about the “port fee” which was ultimately decided we would not pay. Kris had to speak through the outside door to assure them that these were missionary gifts and saved the day. Finally, it was decided that we were good to go and we loaded luggage and our travel-weary bodies into the vans. Bishop Benjamin drove our van himself and we were all delivered to the ECWA guest house where we were greeted by rehearsing church choirs in our parking lot.. The rooms are clean and tidy and air conditioned.
Sunday morning we were driven for breakfast to the Pope John Paul II guest house and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of oats, eggs and toast. There was beer for sale but we didn’t indulge. Some local women helped tie our headdresses and then on to Nyanya Lutheran Church for their worship service. The church was stated in 1984 with a membership of 5 in someone’s home, moved to a local primary school building two years later and building began in 1993 when the site was allocated to them. It is large with seating areas circled around the raised pulpit and in the balcony. The seating is plastic lawn chairs, at least for now. I’d expected it to be a long, hot service and was pleasantly surprised. Recent rains have cooled the air some and there was a breeze coming through all the open windows. And there was so much going on, such beautiful colorful people to watch and various choirs singing and drumming. The service was delivered in a mix of their native language (Hausa) and English, Nigeria’s official language. We were asked to sit in a row of chairs behind the esteemed church council men, a place of honor, and presented to the congregation by the Bishop. It was heart-warming and wonderful to be their esteemed guests. Lots of hand-shaking and the women offered a small curtsy as they greeted us. It was all charming, including the ever so respectful children who were really curious about us.
Light of Christ’s youth sent along a cash gift designated for the youth of Nyanya Lutheran (recently renamed St. Paul Cathedral) which was presented to the youth director. He held the envelope to his chest and was very thankful and everyone cheered.
As I reread this I see I’m not doing the worship service justice. It was an explosion of color and sound. A joyous celebration with lots of singing, hip-shaking and clapping to the beat. The women were decked out in fabulous dresses and our female members accorded them the respect of wearing Nigerian dresses too, complete with headdresses.
The rest of the afternoon included a lunch in the bishop’s office (served by the Women’s Fellowship Group), the congregation’s election of new church council members, a.k.a. Elders, (while we ate) and then conversation among the Bishop, Vicar, church council and our group. It was interesting to hear how our churches are organized and talk about what can be done to keep the youth of our congregations involved---a common concern. We look forward to more time to talk in the days to come.
By the time we departed Nyanya, it was time for supper, so we chose an Italian restaurant not far from our guest house. The food was fabulous and some enjoyed that beer (or wine) that we didn’t purchase in the morning. We’re looking forward to breakfast again tomorrow at the Pope’s!
Carolyn Hirsch
Light of Christ Lutheran Church
Delano, MN
Friday, October 22, 2010
Back to Abuja
22 October 2010
Wednesday was another delightful day visiting our USA friends who serve in Jos, Nigeria. While the ELCA churchwide staff visited with Dorthea Hamman, I spent time with the Oyebade family (who live right next door) and Mary Beth’s parents, Rick and Sandy, who are here visiting. It was great to catch up on news and brainstorm about future possibilities. On our way to their home this morning, we stopped at the Mashiah Foundation Women of Hope shop in downtown Jos. The shop is filled with many wonderful items, quilted and sewn, as well as several wedding gowns. By Nigerian standards, the prices are a bit high for most people, but the products are high quality, so women who stop by begin to save up for the items they wish to purchase.
Mary Beth prepared a delicious taco salad lunch for us, which really hit the spot. We had had French toast that morning at the Dogon Dutse, a real treat for everyone, so one would think we would have still been full from that feast, but alas, we consumed the luncheon meal with zeal and enjoyed the homemade oatmeal cookies that Dorthea baked for us.
Following my time with the Oyebade’s, I spent two hours visiting with Dorthea and seeing their new home on the missionary compound. I learned more about Dorthea’s extended family in the USA. Both the Oyebade’s and Hamman’s will be back in the USA from May-July for their annual leave time and Dorthea is hoping her family can travel to Minnesota in order to meet their partner congregation, University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. Her family is having a family reunion in River Falls in July, so making stop in the Twin Cities would be wonderful.
Back in 2006 we met another missionary family, Andy Horlings, who has lived and served in Jos for over 30 years. He used to be the business administrator at Hillcrest School (the ex-pat school) but left that position after a number of years and now runs a transport company. We have hired his services on the last four trips. He graciously invited Jim, Viking, Anne and I for supper at his home where we had a chance to see photographs of their five children and grandchildren and learn more about their ministry in Jos. Linda translates the Bible into Hausa and is currently working on Lamentations. They served pounded yams (which are very much like our mashed potatoes) with Agusi soup. I have seen this soup before but have never tried it. As many of you know, I am NOT an adventurous eater, but Linda coaxed me to give it a try, which I did. It was okay. My colleagues really enjoyed it; it was a bit spicy for me, but did taste good. The base is similar to spinach (which I actually like) with spices, sauce and some meat. We enjoyed a fruit platter for dessert.
When we travel to Nigeria each year, we usually do not experience rain. However, it has rained each day that we have been here. The rains do not last all day; rather, it will pour rain for 10-15 minutes, then stop for 15 minutes, then begin again. Yesterday, our drive back to Abuja was met with one shower. I believe it rained again last night, but I didn’t hear it. Upon arrival to Abuja, we said our goodbyes to Viking who had to depart for Ghana, where he serves as an ELCA missionary. Jim, Anne and I then made our way to a new restaurant called The Salamander Café, which Anne had heard served European food. The menu was great – quite a big variety to choose from and it was, indeed, western food. The prices were high, but we all agreed that one treat along the way was okay. By our standards, having a steak dinner for $20 is not all that unreasonable, but by Nigerian standards, that was very expensive.
Anne and I shared a room/bed (over sized king beds) and happened to find on TV the Masterpiece Mystery Theatre, so enjoyed watching one of the Detective Lewis movies, in between two power outages and a phone call home. For some reason I left my Nigerian cell phone on, which was a good thing, because Jim phoned to say he had left his backpack at the restaurant. I phoned our driver, Anari, and he immediately returned to the hotel to take Jim back to retrieve it. As soon as the van pulled up, the restaurant personnel ran out with his backpack, which had his glasses, contact lens case and money in it. They had been waiting for us to return and probably wondered why it took so long for us to notice it was missing.
Anne was up at 5:00a this morning in order to be driven to the airport to catch her flight to Lagos, and then on to Cameroon where she serves with her husband, Willie, as ELCA missionaries. For some unknown reason, I again decided to turn my phone on and sure enough, a call came in just as I was dozing off to sleep again, saying that she was at the domestic terminal, but that she should have gone to the international terminal. Thankfully, Anari keeps his phone on at all times, so he immediately turned around to retrieve Anne and get her to the correct terminal.
Meanwhile, we learned that the little café here at the ECWA Guest House had closed, so there was no place for Jim and I to have breakfast. We headed down the block for a nice walk at 7:30a and stopped at the Valentica Hotel, a lovely 4-5 star hotel just at the end of our street. The prices were high, but we enjoyed a nice breakfast and then stopped at a local market to purchase a few snacks for the rest of the day. The coffee was quite strong (usually not a problem for me as I like it black and strong); it had a different sort of flavor to it and Jim and I deduced that it tasked of molasses. Anne left me a European coffee warmer, so I have asked Bishop Ben to lend me a coffee mug so that I can heat up my instant Starbuck’s tomorrow morning.
Jim and I ventured out to an Italian restaurant for lunch – he had a pizza and I had spaghetti with meat sauce, all very delicious but expensive by Nigerian standards. Returned to the room to try internet again – no luck, so worked on other items before bidding farewell to Jim at 4:30 for his return flight to Amsterdam. Bishop Benjamin Fuduta arrived at 5:00 and we traveled a short distance to the Pope John Paul II Guest House where we enjoyed a nice supper of chicken, rice and fried plantanes.
The Zane wireless internet has been down since last night. However, the Pope John Paul II Guest House has an internet café with high speed computers, so if all else fails, I may go there tomorrow morning to update this blog.
As always, we are greeted warmly by everyone we pass along the way. It will be good to have a day of rest today and catch up on some paperwork. I wish my USA travelers a safe journey here – their Nigerian friends are anxious for their arrival!
Blessings on your day!
Wednesday was another delightful day visiting our USA friends who serve in Jos, Nigeria. While the ELCA churchwide staff visited with Dorthea Hamman, I spent time with the Oyebade family (who live right next door) and Mary Beth’s parents, Rick and Sandy, who are here visiting. It was great to catch up on news and brainstorm about future possibilities. On our way to their home this morning, we stopped at the Mashiah Foundation Women of Hope shop in downtown Jos. The shop is filled with many wonderful items, quilted and sewn, as well as several wedding gowns. By Nigerian standards, the prices are a bit high for most people, but the products are high quality, so women who stop by begin to save up for the items they wish to purchase.
Mary Beth prepared a delicious taco salad lunch for us, which really hit the spot. We had had French toast that morning at the Dogon Dutse, a real treat for everyone, so one would think we would have still been full from that feast, but alas, we consumed the luncheon meal with zeal and enjoyed the homemade oatmeal cookies that Dorthea baked for us.
Following my time with the Oyebade’s, I spent two hours visiting with Dorthea and seeing their new home on the missionary compound. I learned more about Dorthea’s extended family in the USA. Both the Oyebade’s and Hamman’s will be back in the USA from May-July for their annual leave time and Dorthea is hoping her family can travel to Minnesota in order to meet their partner congregation, University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. Her family is having a family reunion in River Falls in July, so making stop in the Twin Cities would be wonderful.
Back in 2006 we met another missionary family, Andy Horlings, who has lived and served in Jos for over 30 years. He used to be the business administrator at Hillcrest School (the ex-pat school) but left that position after a number of years and now runs a transport company. We have hired his services on the last four trips. He graciously invited Jim, Viking, Anne and I for supper at his home where we had a chance to see photographs of their five children and grandchildren and learn more about their ministry in Jos. Linda translates the Bible into Hausa and is currently working on Lamentations. They served pounded yams (which are very much like our mashed potatoes) with Agusi soup. I have seen this soup before but have never tried it. As many of you know, I am NOT an adventurous eater, but Linda coaxed me to give it a try, which I did. It was okay. My colleagues really enjoyed it; it was a bit spicy for me, but did taste good. The base is similar to spinach (which I actually like) with spices, sauce and some meat. We enjoyed a fruit platter for dessert.
When we travel to Nigeria each year, we usually do not experience rain. However, it has rained each day that we have been here. The rains do not last all day; rather, it will pour rain for 10-15 minutes, then stop for 15 minutes, then begin again. Yesterday, our drive back to Abuja was met with one shower. I believe it rained again last night, but I didn’t hear it. Upon arrival to Abuja, we said our goodbyes to Viking who had to depart for Ghana, where he serves as an ELCA missionary. Jim, Anne and I then made our way to a new restaurant called The Salamander Café, which Anne had heard served European food. The menu was great – quite a big variety to choose from and it was, indeed, western food. The prices were high, but we all agreed that one treat along the way was okay. By our standards, having a steak dinner for $20 is not all that unreasonable, but by Nigerian standards, that was very expensive.
Anne and I shared a room/bed (over sized king beds) and happened to find on TV the Masterpiece Mystery Theatre, so enjoyed watching one of the Detective Lewis movies, in between two power outages and a phone call home. For some reason I left my Nigerian cell phone on, which was a good thing, because Jim phoned to say he had left his backpack at the restaurant. I phoned our driver, Anari, and he immediately returned to the hotel to take Jim back to retrieve it. As soon as the van pulled up, the restaurant personnel ran out with his backpack, which had his glasses, contact lens case and money in it. They had been waiting for us to return and probably wondered why it took so long for us to notice it was missing.
Anne was up at 5:00a this morning in order to be driven to the airport to catch her flight to Lagos, and then on to Cameroon where she serves with her husband, Willie, as ELCA missionaries. For some unknown reason, I again decided to turn my phone on and sure enough, a call came in just as I was dozing off to sleep again, saying that she was at the domestic terminal, but that she should have gone to the international terminal. Thankfully, Anari keeps his phone on at all times, so he immediately turned around to retrieve Anne and get her to the correct terminal.
Meanwhile, we learned that the little café here at the ECWA Guest House had closed, so there was no place for Jim and I to have breakfast. We headed down the block for a nice walk at 7:30a and stopped at the Valentica Hotel, a lovely 4-5 star hotel just at the end of our street. The prices were high, but we enjoyed a nice breakfast and then stopped at a local market to purchase a few snacks for the rest of the day. The coffee was quite strong (usually not a problem for me as I like it black and strong); it had a different sort of flavor to it and Jim and I deduced that it tasked of molasses. Anne left me a European coffee warmer, so I have asked Bishop Ben to lend me a coffee mug so that I can heat up my instant Starbuck’s tomorrow morning.
Jim and I ventured out to an Italian restaurant for lunch – he had a pizza and I had spaghetti with meat sauce, all very delicious but expensive by Nigerian standards. Returned to the room to try internet again – no luck, so worked on other items before bidding farewell to Jim at 4:30 for his return flight to Amsterdam. Bishop Benjamin Fuduta arrived at 5:00 and we traveled a short distance to the Pope John Paul II Guest House where we enjoyed a nice supper of chicken, rice and fried plantanes.
The Zane wireless internet has been down since last night. However, the Pope John Paul II Guest House has an internet café with high speed computers, so if all else fails, I may go there tomorrow morning to update this blog.
As always, we are greeted warmly by everyone we pass along the way. It will be good to have a day of rest today and catch up on some paperwork. I wish my USA travelers a safe journey here – their Nigerian friends are anxious for their arrival!
Blessings on your day!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Dogon Dutse News
20 October 2010
Following thunderstorms and rain all afternoon Tuesday, it looks to be another partly cloudy day ahead, though one can never tell in the Plateau State of Nigeria. Fortunately, we were in Partnership meetings all day and evening on Tuesday, so the cooler temperatures that accompanied the rain felt refreshing and nice. And it made our tea and biscuit breaks all the more fun.
Traveling has its ups and downs and this trip I ended up with fairly swollen ankles which seemed to be getting worse. So I phoned my good friend, Mary Beth Oyebade at the Mashiah Foundation inquiring if she perhaps had a diuretic I might get. She immediately put out an email to all her missionary friends. No one had any, so she headed to the local pharmacist first thing Tuesday morning. Following a few questions on the phone (e.g. my age, did I have high blood pressure, and was a dimple left when I pressed on the ankles), the pharmacist sent along several little pills for me to take. They worked. This morning all is well. Of course, a few brisk walks would have also helped, but the thunderstorms (literally pouring cats and dogs) prevented that. Live and learn: drink more water on the airplane and get up and walk around (that is, if the flight attendants would get those carts out of the aisle!).
As always, the meals at the Dogon Dutse are a special treat. We had a delicious beef stew, unlike any I had had before, for Monday lunch and fabulous spaghetti for Tuesday lunch. The chicken for supper last night was probably the plumpest I’ve ever had while in Nigeria. Our group has also enjoyed conversing with a young newlywed couple who is honeymooning here at the Dogon Dutse. They did not have a camera, so I have taken some photos of them and will send them via email upon my return to the States.
Awoke this morning to no electricity, so had the pleasure of showering in the dark via battery-operated torches. Thankfully this laptop still had some battery life so I’m crafting this entry in hopes of posting it once the electricity returns.
Today we will have our final morning meeting with the leaders of the LCCN. Yesterday’s meetings were long with very lively conversation, but many mis-communications were solved and we are all excited about the future of our partnership.
We will then depart to spend the afternoon with our friends at the Mashiah Foundation. Mary Beth and Bayo will prepare a Taco salad lunch while we visit and catch up on news. Then we will spend time with Amson and Dorthea Hamman (managers of the Dogon Dutse) and their family. Supper will be with Andy and Linda Horlings. We came to know the Horlings in 2008 when we began hiring them for our transportation needs while traveling in Nigeria. They graciously invited us to supper and we are looking forward to learning more about their ministry. I do know that Linda is a Bible translator and is now working on Lamentations. They have lived here in Jos for well over 30 years.
On our way to the Oyebade’s later this morning, we will stop at the new shop that the Women of Hope opened recently in downtown Jos. With any luck, I may be able to post a photo next time around.
I am looking forward to returning to Abuja tomorrow and visiting Bishop Ben’s new home, visiting with his family and waiting for the next group of travelers to arrive Saturday evening. I trust all is well in the States. Blessings on your day!
Following thunderstorms and rain all afternoon Tuesday, it looks to be another partly cloudy day ahead, though one can never tell in the Plateau State of Nigeria. Fortunately, we were in Partnership meetings all day and evening on Tuesday, so the cooler temperatures that accompanied the rain felt refreshing and nice. And it made our tea and biscuit breaks all the more fun.
Traveling has its ups and downs and this trip I ended up with fairly swollen ankles which seemed to be getting worse. So I phoned my good friend, Mary Beth Oyebade at the Mashiah Foundation inquiring if she perhaps had a diuretic I might get. She immediately put out an email to all her missionary friends. No one had any, so she headed to the local pharmacist first thing Tuesday morning. Following a few questions on the phone (e.g. my age, did I have high blood pressure, and was a dimple left when I pressed on the ankles), the pharmacist sent along several little pills for me to take. They worked. This morning all is well. Of course, a few brisk walks would have also helped, but the thunderstorms (literally pouring cats and dogs) prevented that. Live and learn: drink more water on the airplane and get up and walk around (that is, if the flight attendants would get those carts out of the aisle!).
As always, the meals at the Dogon Dutse are a special treat. We had a delicious beef stew, unlike any I had had before, for Monday lunch and fabulous spaghetti for Tuesday lunch. The chicken for supper last night was probably the plumpest I’ve ever had while in Nigeria. Our group has also enjoyed conversing with a young newlywed couple who is honeymooning here at the Dogon Dutse. They did not have a camera, so I have taken some photos of them and will send them via email upon my return to the States.
Awoke this morning to no electricity, so had the pleasure of showering in the dark via battery-operated torches. Thankfully this laptop still had some battery life so I’m crafting this entry in hopes of posting it once the electricity returns.
Today we will have our final morning meeting with the leaders of the LCCN. Yesterday’s meetings were long with very lively conversation, but many mis-communications were solved and we are all excited about the future of our partnership.
We will then depart to spend the afternoon with our friends at the Mashiah Foundation. Mary Beth and Bayo will prepare a Taco salad lunch while we visit and catch up on news. Then we will spend time with Amson and Dorthea Hamman (managers of the Dogon Dutse) and their family. Supper will be with Andy and Linda Horlings. We came to know the Horlings in 2008 when we began hiring them for our transportation needs while traveling in Nigeria. They graciously invited us to supper and we are looking forward to learning more about their ministry. I do know that Linda is a Bible translator and is now working on Lamentations. They have lived here in Jos for well over 30 years.
On our way to the Oyebade’s later this morning, we will stop at the new shop that the Women of Hope opened recently in downtown Jos. With any luck, I may be able to post a photo next time around.
I am looking forward to returning to Abuja tomorrow and visiting Bishop Ben’s new home, visiting with his family and waiting for the next group of travelers to arrive Saturday evening. I trust all is well in the States. Blessings on your day!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Partnership Meetings Begin
16 October 2010
Gary Sande, Pr. James Gonia (ELCA Global Mission ) and I arrived at LCCN Nyanya congregation in Abuja
I noticed this year that there were many more guard check points along the way. As we neared Jos, the check points were every 3 kilometers. But we made very good time and arrived in time for a delicious supper meal. As many who travel to Nigeria
17 October 2010
The sun is shining and Pwakitti has already done the laundry for the day. The cooks were so pleased to receive the vanilla and orange aide that I brought along. They wanted to make us some sugar cookies, but did not have cream of tartar (apparently it is not available here). So I have already made a note to bring some along next year. One visitor from LCCN Majami’ar Almasihu arrived early to greet me (nurse Justina Ekaa) and she was pleased to have received photos from her partner congregation, Our Saviour’s/East Bethel. Meanwhile, my friend, Mori, purchased me an internet access stick, so I am able to access the internet. The prices have gone done from last year and the coverage is better, so things are improving in Nigeria
All of partners with the LCCN began meetings at 10:00 a.m. and concluded at 6:00. May fruitful discussions took place. We ended our time discussing interfaith dialogue between the Muslims and Christians in Nigeria
It has been a good two days so far, with warm weather but no rain. The partners will meet again Tuesday all day where we will continue to learn from one another, strengthen our friendships and partnership, and look for ways in which we might all support the efforts of the LCCN. I am looking forward to my group of eight arriving Saturday night – we have some wonderful things planned for their time here. Peace and joy to all this warm and humid evening!
Arrived - Yay!
15 October
Arrived at MSP airport at 5:15, secured boxes with duct tape, and proceeded to check in, which was a breeze; security line virtually nil. Enjoyed a nice supper meal with Gary Holland who was working on a special project at a company in St. Paul Abuja New York Washington DC
If you have ever traveled to California or Arizona Africa , also has a distinct smell, that of fire burning, as most Nigerians prefer to cook over an open fire. We didn’t have the usual traffic congestion at the airport as our driver was waiting in a different area from years past. We went through passport control with ease, collected our bags, found our driver, Michael, whose wide passed away unexpectedly and tragically last year while he was serving our needs, and made our 50 minute drive to the ECWA Guest House in Abuja.
We plan to worship Sunday morning at LCCN Nyanya in Abuja at 9:00a with hopes of departing at noon for Jos and eating our snack lunch along the way. Weather hot and humid already!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Preparing to Depart
“Come and see, go and tell.” These are the words that Archbishop Nemuel Babba encouraged the Minneapolis visitors to Nigeria to live out upon our return in December, 2006. Since that time, 43 adults have since visited our companion congregations of The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) over these past five years, returning inspired to “go and tell” about what they have seen and experienced.
October 15 marks the 5th annual companion synod trip to Nigeria. Eight Minneapolis Area Synod congregational members and one ELCA Deaconess from New York will accompany companion synod coordinator, Kris Perry, on another life-changing trip.
Carolyn Hirsch from Light of Christ Lutheran Church in Delano will meet their partner congregation, Nyanya Lutheran, located in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Nyanya Lutheran Church has now been named the Cathedral Church for the newly approved Abuja Diocese. Right Rev. Benjamin Fuduta has been elected bishop of the Abuja Diocese, and it will be our group’s first worship experience on Sunday, October 24. Pastor Judy Burgett Winzig, who formerly served Epiphany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, will accompany Carolyn as she spends time with Elders and congregational members of Nyanya as they, together, begin discussion about their new partnership.
Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church is sending four adults to visit LCCN Kubi, the former congregational partner of Epiphany Lutheran Church, which closed in August, 2008. Several members of Epiphany subsequently joined Lake Nokomis and shared their enthusiasm about their 12-year partnership with Kubi, and the congregation voted to continue this wonderful partnership. Rev. Drew Flathmann, John Becker, Barb Geiger and Deb Swanson will share experiences in a rural congregational setting with Pr. Drew preaching and undoubtedly baptizing several into the life of the church. Below is a photo of Barb when she traveled to Nigeria in 2006 working side-by-side with a woman from their partner congregation at Kubi.
Kris Perry and Paul Nelson (member of Lyndale Lutheran of Maple Plain) will spend time visiting two pilot project sites which have been chosen to initiate a Community Based Primary Health Care Program (CBPHC). This program will be under the leadership of the LCCN Health Board, Dr. Martin Bimba, Chair. Local consultant is Dr. David Thompson with Global Health Ministries. He, along with Rev. Tim Iverson, Executive Director of GHM, and Gary Sande, GHM Nigeria Liaison Volunteer, will also be traveling to Adamawa State, Nigeria in late October.
As a new member of the Minneapolis Water Team, Paul will see for himself the many challenges facing our friends in Nigeria and will gain a deeper understanding of how our synod and congregations might best support the efforts of the LCCN in the areas of health care and providing safe drinking water in Adamawa State, Nigeria.
As a new member of the Minneapolis Water Team, Paul will see for himself the many challenges facing our friends in Nigeria and will gain a deeper understanding of how our synod and congregations might best support the efforts of the LCCN in the areas of health care and providing safe drinking water in Adamawa State, Nigeria.
In a separate trip during November, Rev. Bradley Holt, professor at Augsburg College in Minneapolis and former missionary in Nigeria during the 1960's, will spend three weeks teaching a course with Rev. Dr. Peter Bartimawus at Bronnum Lutheran Seminary in Bamba-Adamawa State, Nigeria.
As always, the groups will spend much time visiting a variety of ministries including Bronnum Lutheran Seminary, Demsa Health and Referral Center, the Deaf Church, public schools and social service agencies (NGO’s). And, of course, while eating new foods and learning and experiencing new ways of living, some will also visit Yankari National Park for two days of rest and reflection as they swim in the hot springs, visit ancient caves, and photograph animals such as baboons, warthogs, deer buck, and hopefully elephants.
Above you see Sr. Melinda Lando, ELCA Deaconess, enjoying a climb into the ancient Marshall Caves at Yankari.
We request your prayers for safe travels and good health along the way. The group will return November 6 with many stories to tell and an abundance of photos. Participants include:
Back Row: John Becker, Paul Nelson Middle Row: Kris Perry, Carolyn Hirsch, Pr. Drew Flathmann
Front Row: Pr. Judy Burgett Winzig, Debra Swanson, Barb Geiger
ELCA Deaconess serving in New York
If you would like to learn more about a congregational partnership, how to become involved in our water or health teams, perhaps financially support rehabbing a health dispensary in need and/or drilling a borehole for clean water, or inviting one of our travelers to share their experiences/photos at an adult forum, please contact Kris Perry at k.perry@mpls-synod.org.
If you would like to learn more about a congregational partnership, how to become involved in our water or health teams, perhaps financially support rehabbing a health dispensary in need and/or drilling a borehole for clean water, or inviting one of our travelers to share their experiences/photos at an adult forum, please contact Kris Perry at k.perry@mpls-synod.org.
Plans are already under way for the annual trip to Nigeria in 2011. If your congregation wishes to participate, please contact Kris Perry to secure your intention. Dates for the 2011 trip are tentatively scheduled for October 28-November 12 with orientation sessions scheduled for March 5, June 2, September 8 and October 6.
If you would like to learn more about the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), visit their new website (still under construction, but viewable) at: www.lccnigeria.org
Check out this video and see how the group in 2008 learned a Nigerian song in the language of Hausa!
Check out this video and see how the group in 2008 learned a Nigerian song in the language of Hausa!
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