Sunday

The chapel at TCNN is a very striking building, inside and out.  The services can be equally of note.  I've often heard music or preaching at our house during the week as with open windows and the Nigerian fondness for volume any service or practice is quite easily heard across the campus.  Yesterday I attended the Sunday service for the first time.

After struggling to arrange a suitable headcovering with a piece of cloth which matched my Nigerian outfit though was too small for easy tying, we walked across to the chapel.

The building is large and airy, the windows wide open -  we picked our seats at the back for coolness.  The service was lively and not too loud (that could have been because the sound system did not seem particularly reliable) but the music was good.  The whole thing was led by one of the students and the place was packed, predominately with men but there were a fair number of women and children too.  Most of the children had attended Sunday school, 7:30-8:30, so were excused the actual service and either went home or played quietly outside.  Three choirs participated, two with beautiful African-style acapella music, the third with guitars, keyboard and drumkit sang Majesty which brought back memories of DEC in Scotland although with rather more harmonising.

A one point there was a request for anyone worshipping for the first time to stand up.  Fraser, Ruth and I duly stood (James, though better, was recuperating at home).  We were then welcomed by the whole congregation and worship team singing and embellishing a chorus that centred round the words Worship the Lord and Welcome to TCNN chapel.

Collection was taken with a difference too.  Instead of sitting and quietly waiting for a bag or plate to be passed round, we were prepared by being told how good it was to dance before the Lord.  We were even given some tips on dance steps and then invited to dance down to the front to present our offerings.  Unfortunately our offering was only in one note so Fraser alone could go along the aisle.  I didn't notice him doing much dancing but I'd better not say too much as it'll be my turn next week.

Later in the afternoon Ruth and I decided to climb the hill up to the huge water tank that overlooks the college and supplies most of Bukuru.  It was a beautiful afternoon and a spectacular view from the top across the rock formations and flatlands of the Plateau. We've been in Nigeria for nearly four months now and thought we were pretty much acclimatised but just those extra feet knocked us both for six.  We felt dizzy and headachey with the altitude and had to climb down sooner than we'd intended.  Perhaps it'll take longer than we expected to get properly accustomed to living nearly 4000 feet above sea level.  Ruth did see a bluetailed skink on the way down which was rather exciting, especially as at first we thought it was an exotic looking snake.

One of the delights of moving to TCNN has been the clear night sky, especially when there's been no power.  Recently the view hasn't been as clear - the harmattan is bringing in the dust and the stars are often fuzzy.  It's also drying everything.  I feel as if my brain is shrivelling (no cheap remarks please) and my skin certainly is.  The challenge now is to get the children to drink enough so they don't dessicate too.