Graduation

The ministry we are working with has a few different ministries and one of them is the youth ministry. I (Uche) have spent most of my time working with this ministry. They are working on empowering the youth through providing them with job skills and training them in HIV prevention. Right now they have a computer school for the youth. I was privileged to attend a graduation ceremony for the passing out students who had finished the three month course. It was a colorful occasion. The graduates didn't just march in but they danced their way in. Too bad I didn't have my video camera.
In the picture above is the director of the youth program. He is a wonderful man of God and has a big heart for the youth of Nigeria.

The ceremony was a big deal, with family and friends attending to celebrate the young peoples' accomplishment. The prayer of the ministry is that these young people will now go out and find jobs using their newly acquired skills.

The graduates are receiving prayers from any and all the ministers in attendance. Sarah is fascinated with women's hair here, with gorgeous braids or fabulous wigs it's fun to sit behind them.

One of the reasons this graduation is important to these students is because this may be the only graduation some of them will ever participate in.

These are just some of the people who have devoted their lives, time and talents to training the students. These teachers were honored during the ceremony for their contribution to the ministry.

Hanging out with the kids

When we came in January we weren't quite sure what we would do during our time with the ministry here. Some of the most enjoyable times has been spent hanging with the kids who are helped by the ministry. Most of the kids live on the ministry compound and few others are neighborhood kids who attend the school that was started by the ministry this school year.

We had the boys over to decorate cookies, since it wouldn't have been fair to invite the girls and leave the boys out! Even though there were more boys who came, they were so much quieter than the few girls who had been over a couple weeks before. They quietly decorated and ate cookies, and finished with an hour left to go. So, we watched an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos which was a hit. AFV crosses all cultural boundaries and is just plain funny!

We joined the kids for a school field trip. They went to a power station and learned where our electricity comes from. They were great and all took notes diligently. Uche joined the older group, and I stayed with the younger kids. The young kids weren't able to go inside this area because the electrical current would be too much for their little bodies. While the younger kids quickly lost interest, Uche said the older kids bombarded the tour guide with questions. The man was gentle and patient with all their questions, and I'm sure the kids learned a lot and enjoyed getting out. Uche also learned a lot!

On the back of the kids school uniforms (every school here has a uniform) it says, "We are Building on the Rock. Matt 7:25" Though this speaks to Jesus as the foundation of the school it's also a bit of a play on words since the property that the ministry compound sits on is full of big rocks, so literally and spiritually this school is built on the Rock!

The next couple pictures were just too cute not to include. Sometimes Uche has come in the afternoon and has found the kids hanging out doing homework and just enjoying down time after a busy day at school. They love to come hang out with Uche and LOVE having their pictures taken!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture!! This little girl is something else, and has already endured quite a lot for such a little thing. Her life has been changed, and her future has been dramatically altered because this ministry has taken her and her mother in. Her name is Happy.

The sights

For this post, I thought I should just post some random pictures of life here in Nigeria. I've been told to take lots of pictures when I first arrive in a country because pretty soon you get so used to everything around you that you don't take pictures anymore. So, here's the sights that have struck us the past couple months.

I don't even know what to say about this, but this sight is more common than you can imagine!

If you're squeamish, don't look too closely... I like to tell people here that I prefer not to know where my meat comes from. Going to the market here can make one consider going vegetarian!

Do you recognize the seed hanging off the end of that fruit?? It's a cashew! When I first saw this, I realized why cashews are so expensive, one nut for each piece of fruit. I haven't actually tried the fruit (Uche loves them), and when Uche bought these the smell filled our whole house. It's a really sweet smell, very distinct, and it didn't appeal to me... maybe next time!

We see people carrying things on their heads all the time. This woman is selling yams. She walks around hoping someone will call her and buy some yam for dinner. I once saw a woman carrying a baby on her back, a tray of bananas on her head and knitting while she walked around town. Now that's some serious talent!

If you look closely in the center of the picture you can see an armored vehicle. The military has had a very strong and visible presence in the city to keep violence from breaking out. They recently began to pull back and again violence flared, so I guess they're gonna have to be around for a while.

Who is that African woman??

This gorgeous tree is called a flame tree. Right now during dry season the flowers are out in full bloom. I wish you could all see them in person, pictures can't do it justice!

Here's a closeup on the flame tree. Underneath the tree are the fallen petals, so walking underneath one is like walking on red carpet.

I've been home for two months

Now that we have been here more than two months, my taste buds have finally adjusted to taste of the food here (isn''t that funny?). Earlier on I noticed that some of the food I used to enjoy and I was looking forward to eating, didn't taste as I expected. It's either that my expectation was too high or that my taste buds had changed. I chose the latter because I've noticed my taste buds have gradually adjusted to the taste of some of the food here.

I'm also glad that coke here isn't as sweet as they are in other places I've been to, including the USA. I know Americans will be surprised to hear this because they also noticed that coke is sweeter in Mexico than in the States. I have concluded that coke is sweet in the USA. But it is sweeter in Mexico. However, it's the sweetest in the Philippines (what happened to "coke is coke everywhere?).

Also I've gotten over the initial shock of eating bread and thinking how weired it taste. It seems like the bakeries here make an extra effort to try to eliminate sugar in their bread. I like that.

I think I'm getting better at speaking or trying to speak the local language here without mixing the words with Tagalog (a Filipino language). Sarah and I have also realized that certain words sound better in Tagalog than in English or Hausa (the language here). The few Hausa language I used to know are gradually coming back and I remember them at random.

I never gave much thought to all these things before, till recently I realized that for the past 14 years, I have spent only one year total in Nigeria! The rest were split between the Philippines and the USA.

Hiking in Nigeria

Our host here invited me to go on a hiking trip with him and his son's science class. They needed more adults to accompany them because of the security issues in Jos. I was excited to go because I had never hiked in Nigeria before. In fact, most people here don't even know the concept of hiking maybe because everyday they hike... to the river, to the market, to the school etc. Those of us who drive ourselves everywhere are the ones who walk for fun!

We got there only to discover that it wasn't just a normal hike on a trail. People were crawling on all fours just to make it up the hill.

Here's a view from the top of the mountain.

I learned something interested with these fourth graders; that there was a volcanic eruption on the mountain we were on and the next one were going to climb. I never heard there was any volcanic activity in anywhere in Nigeria before. There were the rocks to prove it.

This is the second mountain we climbed.

This is my nephiew, Michael (he came and spent a week with us in Jos) and one of the teachers
celebrating our victory to the top of the two mountains.

I also joined in the celebration.

We later treated ourselves to a suger cane party. I hadn't had a suger cane in a long time so eating this sweet cane was awesome.

A Sunday Afternoon Program

The kids at the school connected to the minsitry we're working with here put on a program last Sunday afternoon. So, we got to enjoy an afternoon of entertainment put on by some really great kids. The program included...





Singing...

scripture reading...

Sword drills...

Adults sword drills- it had been years since I had done one of those!!




Musical chairs...
and it all finished up with some traditional dancing.

Random pictures

These kids at a vulcanizing (tire repair) shop caught my attention. I'm trying to believe that they are just playing with the vulcanizer's tools. I don't think that they are doing an apprenticeship this early, because they are the future of this great nation, and I hope they'd be in school rather than working at this age.

I got to my sister's house one day and found people shooting a movie in her living room.

While waiting for my flight at the Owerri airport I realized that the passengers weren't the only ones there. There were some sheep/goats going about their business at the car park.

Trip to Abuja

Last week we headed down to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to meet with some people as well as to have fun. Abuja is a unique city, especially in Africa, because it started out as a planned city. A couple decades ago they decided to move the capital to Abuja from Lagos, so they planned it and built and are still building it according to a plan. We had a great time, enjoyed the sights and pretended to be tourists for a couple days.


We had dinner with some friends who are a UK/Nigerian couple. We met and hung out with them when we first arrived, and we had such a great time from the moment we met! We went over to their house the night we arrived and the wife was making Nigerian food. This was me trying my hand at pounding the yam to go with our soup. First she boiled the yam (it's different from American type of yam, but essentially it's a big tuber) and then she took that big stick and began beating it. The pounding mixes and softens the yam to where it becomes the consistency of mashed potatoes. She is quite good at it, but I still have a long way to go!


We visited the Arts and Crafts Village to look at local art, clothes and crafts. This area is where the artists are located. Each hut has a different artist selling their work. I bought a cute little picture, and we will definitely be visiting again to buy some more paintings. These huts are built like some traditional huts that you see in the countryside here. In the background you see a large brand new building. That's a beautiful mall, so in this picture you see the reality of life here. The traditional contrasting with the modern.


We hung out at the mall a little bit. We checked the movie theater schedule, browsed a bookstore and watched people bowling. Even when we were here seven years ago, we never dreamed we would do those things here. Abuja is really changing and new things are popping up everywhere.

On Friday evening we joined up with some new friends to hang out at an outdoor restaurant. Uche was super excited to go there because they're known for their grilled fish. Not being a fish person, I had eaten a burger (my first burger since we came) at another place. Uche also ordered this dish, it's a stew like dish made of goat head. Yes, you read that correctly, goat head. Uche would pull out pieces and identify the piece he was eating, such as an ear or the tongue. Needless to say, I didn't even get close to it!! He said it was delicious, and I guess I'll just take his word for it, cause I don't plan on ever trying it!

During dinner this guy came by to show off his skills. We were impressed! I kept telling Uche not to use the flash on the camera cause he might cause the guy to drop everything, but the guy was a pro and performed his juggling/balancing tricks without incidence!