Slipping back into busyness

I know that there are at least a few of you who are checking in on my blog, so I just wanted to say thanks for stopping by! I haven't quit writing, I've just been busy.


We had an impromptu meeting the other day at the Faith Alive office here in the Fort. 2 of the key women responsible for getting FA the momentum that is has right now were in town to transfer some of their obligations to members of our church. Sally is the president of the FA board, and Pam is probably the first American who got involved with Dr. Chris way back in 1998. It was really interesting to here the stories of how they became involved. And they're just really nice people, to boot. It was nice to be with everyone again, and it was just about as chaotic as it was in Nigeria, once again. Who knew it could take over an hour for 11 people to introduce themselves and how they got involved with FA. Especially when the basic answer for most all of us could be the same....Russ. It's really neat to think that my involvement and my video can all be traced back to Russ riding a bike at the gym and seeing a report about famine in Niger. That's what lit his internal fire to go to Africa, and through a recommendation of someone he met at FPC, he ended up at Faith Alive a few months later. I can only hope that I can influence people in the same way. I spoke to my parents on the phone last night and the pastor of their church (the one I grew up in) asked them to have me write a little trip report for their church newsletter. So the doors are opening for me to share my experience. If even one person I share my story with makes some commitment or lifestyle change, then I'll be happy.

As for my video(s)...Erika sent me list of the dates she would like to have 3-4 videos done. All of them are late March through April, so I have time. I'll be focusing on the main Faith Alive video, since that was my main reason for going, but I'll still put my heart into the others as well. So I should be pretty busy over the next month!

Oh yeah, the pictures...from left to right: the line waiting outside the clinic, a little girl at the village, and Tina from the sewing school, ready to be my apprentice! If you click on any of them, you should get a full size version.

Thanks again for reading and may God be with you!

Part Tres

Okay, so I'm actually going to finish this story tonight. There's not much left, just kind of a wrap of how this story is unfinished. But before we get there, let's go back to the strange brew the woman was working on the first day I visited. It was still in the pot the next day and it looked pretty thick and gross. It's made of ground millet or guinea corn, so you can probably imagine what a grain based drink might look like. At any rate, I was taking a picture of an older woman looking out of a window onto the scene of us with the kids, when she asked me to come inside. As it would turn out, there was another woman breastfeeding a baby in there and she's the one who wanted me to come in. Even she wanted to be "snapped." So I took her picture and as I was showing it to her, and laughing about the results with them, I got offered some of the drink for 20 Nira. I respectfully declined, even though I was a little curious. Just not curious enough to risk my health on a batch of home-brew made with creek water. After that, I came out and saw some of the rest of the group heading into previously unexplored parts of the house. We went through a short hallway that led into a small (8x10') courtyard. I call it a courtyard, simply cause it was surrounded by walls, and had no roof. There were clothes hung out to dry here and 3 or 4 doorways leading off. One of them was a bedroom that had a wooden bed with no mattress and I didn't see any blankets, just maybe a sheet. One of the village elders was in the courtyard and I was a little worried that he would be upset that we were back there. You see, I thought the group members I were following had a host, but I never saw one. So I asked the elderly gentlemen if that was his bed. Actually, he didn't understand the question, but when I put my hands together and pretended to sleep on them, he pointed out of the house, indicating that he lived at one of the other complexes. So, I guess he couldn't care less about us poking around, since it wasn't his house! One of the doors must have led to a bathroom of some sort, cause there was an outlet for one near where the feeding occurred. The smell of urine and a wet patch leading from a cutout at the base of the wall was a dead giveaway. Not exactly flush it and forget it! After that little excursion into the inner part of the house, we walked down to the farmland. There was something surreal about walking on a dirt path with the sun shining on you and thinking, "I'm in Africa." It wasn't quite like the Lion King, or anything, and I never thought I was in danger or being trampled by an elephant, but it was still a neat feeling. Just the idea that the dirt getting on my feet was from a continent I'd previously only dreamed of visiting. Russ and Kay stayed back at the village and gave the kids a couple of soccer balls. They had a couple of makeshift goals set up and ball that was flat, so they were having a great time when we got back from our walk to the land.

After we left, we went to the very American feeling coffee shop in the downtown district. I was one of the few who stayed behind and was fortunate enough to hear Amos and Russ talking about the reality of building a school for those kids in the village. The church was building a new building, so they could use the existing one for a school. And Amos figured that a teacher would only cost about $120 a month. So Russ jumped on this idea and presented it to the group that evening. Most of us were not in a mindset to say "yeah, let's do it," coming from a place where schools don't just happen wherever you can find shelter and a teacher. But nevertheless, Russ was unrelenting and took the bull by the horns. And we were all happy for that. So the next Monday, Amos set up a meeting with the village elders and church leaders. And along with Dr. Chris, Russ, Kristen, and Bob went out to talk about the school. I wish I could have gone, but filming obligations prevented it. Apparently, everyone in the village, including the kids showed up dressed in their Sunday best. The meeting went well and there was excitement from the elders and the church leaders. So when we left, Amos already had a teacher in mind and Faith Alive is on the verge of having a major presence out there at the farm land. It is very possible that our chance outing to that village is now going to result in a school and lunch program. That means that we can have a lasting impact on that village that extends past one hour of lunch and fellowship.

If you are interested in learning more about the school as it develops, just shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment. I can't say for sure when it will get rolling, but Amos is the best guy we could have working on it in Nigeria, and I know that it will happen. In the meantime, thanks for reading and God be with you! Time to log some more tapes!

Part Dos

When we showed up to the village the second day, it seemed as though the population had doubled or tripled. There were kids everywhere, and the longer Amos gave out hats, the more that kept coming. It was a pretty incredible to watch them coming from distant houses that we couldn't see. Even though we only experienced a small portion of the village the day before, this day was introducing us to the people who were living at all the other houses we passed on the way in. I guess when you roll up in a bus with a dozen white folks, you're bound to make a scene! As soon as we got out, I just jumped right in with the camera rolling. I haven't got to that tape yet, but it should be interesting. Since I was there the day before, one of the men remembered me and we immediately got to chatting in the little English that he knew. We walked around to the backside of the house where the men hang out and play mancala, but I couldn't stay long cause I knew there would be so much going on with the kids and the food. So I was pretty shocked to come back around the house and see the women and children of the village standing there facing the people of our group. Apparently everyone else wasn't integrating so smoothly. It struck me as odd, but it didn't take long for everyone to start mingling freely. As it would turn out, some of the people in our group were so overwhelmed by the sight of the kids in dirty clothes, no shoes, and in an obvious state of malnutrition, that they were sort of in shock. I can't blame them one bit. But the longer we stayed the easier it was on both sides. Upholding Nigerian tradition, our group had to eat before any of the villagers would take a bite...visitors first, even though we brought the food. I was too busy filming and talking to eat, so I neglected the custom and no one seemed to notice. We ended up only feeding the kids, I think that was a village decision. So 4-5 kids would gather around one plate and eat with their hands. The strange thing was that they were picking around the carrots! Amos would later point out that they aren't used to eating them, because even though they're easily accessible and fairly inexpensive, they probably never ate them. In fact, we saw some of the women carrying melons and other veggies away from the village, apparently to sell, on our way out. It's not uncommon for people to sell the foods they grow that are rich in nutrients, to buy yams, which are cheaper and go farther. So after the kids had all gotten there fill, they started opening up the pastries that Russ had bought from a local bakery. As with the veggies, the kids were unfamiliar with plastic wrapped food, so even though they were given the sweet rolls as soon as we got there, they didn't really understand that they could eat them. Or they were just saving them. At any rate, Mary Jo got a surprise birthday cake which she shared with the villagers. One by one they came up with their hand outstretched and got a big handful or cake and butter-cream icing. Yum. She was thrilled and even got the traditional "Happy Birthday" song, and at her request, a Nigerian song. Okay, I have to go, but I'll go ahead and post this in case some one checks in. I'll wrap it up later! Thanks for reading!

Recapping...part uno

Ahhh....Uno. Russ, Kay and Kj introduced us to Killer Uno, a variation that has a lot more rules and tricks. There was a handful of us who really got into it and started staying up late to play. I only mention that cause I used "uno" in the title. It triggered a thought, so I ran with it. I want to start giving more detail about what we did while in Jos, so I figure I'll just start around where I left off...with taking lunch to the village.

When the idea came up the night after we'd visited, everyone was excited, though only George, Russ, Dr. Chris and I had been there with Amos that day. I was nervous though, just because I was afraid there may be a negative reaction to a dozen white folks showing up with a hand out. And as foolish as this seems now, I actually thought "what if we show up and they've already eaten?" I was wrong. When we were there the first time, we were just going to look at the farm land that a village member had donated to Faith Alive. Their immediate plan is to subdivide it and allow patients from the support group to grow crops. It's a large piece of land and should be able to support a good amount of growing. A couple of the village men accompanied us on the walk out to the land, and when we got back to the village (really just a church, one house and 2 small buildings for storing grains) more of the villagers had come out to greet us. A few of the men were playing mancala, and they tried to explain it to me, though I couldn't follow the action. And then there was a woman working over a large pot over a fire like you'd associate with a witch's caldron. Dr. Chris said that it was an alcoholic drink...it looked like some sort of porridge. There were a handful of kids there, probably 8-10. So when Amos was giving me and Russ a ride home and stopped to buy some knit hats for the kids, I was surprised that he got 25. But as it would turn out, 25 was just barely enough...

This is long enough for right now. I'll finish it up tonight or tomorrow night!

My soldiers need backup

Hey everyone, sorry it's been a while. As I said before, I got sick right after we came back, and I'm still on the mend. At Faith Alive, they teach their patients about white blood cells by relating them to soldiers defending your body. Clearly, my soldiers are overwhelmed. I wound up missing Monday and Tuesday from work, and I still haven't quite shaken off my fever. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she wasn't sure what was wrong with me. She thought I looked too healthy to have the flu, so at the advice of the local infectious disease doc, she drew some blood just to be safe. It turns out that I'm okay, no malaria or anything was found. I didn't think there would be, but when you spend 2 weeks in a country that you have to get 5 vaccines just to feel prepared to travel to...you can never be to cautious. My fever is slowly going away, and I'm feeling better day by day.

And because of my illness, the whole reintegration/culture shock seems to be going by pretty smoothly. It turns out that when you can't do anything but lay on the couch and watch TV, you slip back into traditional American culture pretty quickly. Now that's not to say that I'm just going to ignore what I saw in Nigeria and move on, I hardly think that is an option. In fact, I imagine I'll be examining my lifestyle for a long time to come. Now that I'm back at work, I'm starting to get questions from co-workers about the trip. I don't know how to answer "how was your trip?" It's just too complicated for that kind of question. The trip was good. It was challenging on many levels and absolutely worth going on, but how can you put into words what it's like to have children invite you into their homes because they are so proud of them, only to find one room stuffed with all the family's possessions and one bed? Or how can you relate the feeling of sharing a meal with a village's children and laughing with their parents? I know that for some, just saying what I just did might satisfy their questions, but it just doesn't feel right to me. It feels wrong to reduce the people we met to a mere anecdote to be shared casually. The people of Jos deserve better. In fact, the people of Africa deserve better on many levels. The fact is, there are people in Jos of whom I am jealous. If I had the faith and joy that many of them have, my life could mean so much more. I'll elaborate on that at some later date.

A final note for this Valentine's Day...I am sickened by the fact that our government is spending God knows how much money investigating whether or not MLB players are using steroids. Is that really something that our government needs to be involved in? Last week I was with people who make $50 or less a month and were scraping to get by. And I come home and see just how wasteful we are as a country showcased on every news and sports channel. That hits me in the pit of my stomach and I sincerely hope that it does for you, too.

Thanks for reading and God be with you!

Hot like Africa

I'm home from work today cause of a 101 degree fever. Yay! I can't say that I was ready to get back to work, but this isn't any fun. I've felt okay for the most part, just worn down and a little feverish. Oh well, at least I waited til I was home to get sick. That's all I really feel like writing today. I hope y'all are doing better than me!

Back in the US of A

Let me first say thank you to everyone who read this while I was gone. I wanted to share more with you, but I had a hard time justifying my use of the internet when my time could be spent with my other group members or at the clinic. So for the past week I've pretty much shunned the internet. I did send Anna a couple of e-mails, but even they were short. So, thanks for reading and I'll try to do some recaps on this in the coming days.

As for now, I'm tired. We left our hotel in London yesterday at 6:00am local time and arrived in Denver around 7:30pm, which is like 2:30 am in London. So by the time we finally got back to the Fort, we had been travelling for nearly 24 hours. Yuck. Thankfully, we arrived at night so the sleep schedule should get back to normal fairly quickly. I slept about 10 hours last night and I still feel a little worn down. Partially from the travel, but also a part of it comes from the long days we had in Jos the past 2 weeks. But now it's time for reintegration into American society and culture. It's time to see how my mind and my heart react to the differences. We stayed in a pretty comfortable place and ate good food in Jos, but as soon as we left our apartment compound, we were surrounded by extreme poverty. It's already kind of weird to sit here and look at all of the stuff we own. It's weird that we have running water and don't have to rely on a generator for electricity. I have a feeling that the next couple of weeks are going to be tough for me. I haven't talked too much to Anna, yet just cause I don't even know where to start. I feel like I can't even say anything that can convey what we saw. Pictures will help, and I hope the video does as well, but there's something about being there that you can't explain. So if you talk to me in the next few days, just bear with me. Believe me, I want to share my story, but I still need to figure it out for myself. So is it good to be back? Yes and no.

Thanks for reading and God be with you!