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