Christmas Bonus

Neither of us had ever had a Christmas bonus before we came to Nigeria. I still haven't but Fraser got two today. Once the library had closed for the break he came home carrying a black plastic bag. Inside was his share of the staff Christmas cow. It had been donated and arrived at the college a couple of days ago and I think the plan had been to fatten it up before distribution but it was refusing to eat. Farm cows are trained not to eat grass so they don't destroy crops but that was all that was on offer at TCNN. This one had learned the lesson so well that even when there was nothing else it would rather starve than disobey. I took our bagful round to the chaplain who has many refugee mouths to feed.

Fraser's other bonus is pictured below.

Refugees

I often hear about people being displaced by Boko Haram's violent activities in the north of Nigeria.  For the past week Yakubu has been helping in our garden to earn money whilst he's staying at TCNN.  He should be at school in Adamawa State but was driven out by the terrorists and is staying here with relatives.  Some people have opened their homes and are packed full of friends and relations who've had to flee.  Becky who helps me in the house has her sister living with her at the moment.  Their father refuses to leave his home in Adamawa despite it being close to towns Boko Haram have taken; their mother is staying with their father.
It's bad enough to hear about such things but it was yesterday that it really hit home.  The grade 10 boys discipleship group was painting the walls of a classroom at a refugee centre in an unused secondary school five minutes from our house.  I went to collect James, was impressed that the boys had got far more paint on the walls than on themselves but was more struck by the number of families crammed into the school courtyard and classrooms.  Some were washing clothes (though the well is on its way to drying up after which water will have to be bought and delivered), some were cooking, some just sitting.  There are 19 different languages spoken amongst the refugees, most of whom come from Adamawa State and people of all ages from the not yet born to the elderly.  Two boys were pointed out to me.  They had been at college.  The first time Boko Haram attacked they fled into the bush.  The second time they did the same.  The third time they had to go to Cameroon and from there find their way out and to the relative safety of Plateau State. 
This centre was opened at the beginning of November with four families.  Yesterday there were nearly five hundred people living there.  These people have nothing.  They won't be able to return to their homes for years so one of the long term hopes is to get them settled into communities where they will at least be able to grow some of their own food and perhaps the children will be able to get some schooling.  It does not bode at all well for the future of Nigeria that there'll be a whole generation of young people whose education has been disrupted or non-existent and whose lives have been so torn apart by violence.

Your sins will find you out

InReach at Ecwa Gospel 2 church on Thursday afternoons is always fun, especially as the church building is being constructed around us (health and safety would have to lie down in a darkened room). A couple of weeks ago it was Ecwa's women's week with lots of extra activities and services arranged.  Last week one of the stories found its way to InReach.

A special guest preacher had been invited to take one of the final services and he brought his "baba" (father or respected father-figure) with him.  The preacher preached, giving it his all and finished with an altar call.  The choir were singing hallelujah as the old man (who followed traditional practices) proceeded down the church towards the front.  He was handed the microphone and began to speak.

I would be interested in learning more about this Jesus if you (pointing at the preacher) would return the bananas you stole from me years ago.

There was silence.

How can anyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus expect others to believe and trust what they say if they don't show the difference he makes in their lives?  That's one of the things we talk about in InReach - how we can live and love like Jesus and never feel worried at the mention of bananas.

Happiness

We have a new addition to the family - Ruth's kitten.  Any tips on feeding when there's no supermarket stocking easy catfood would be appreciated.

I could never produce sunflowers like these in Scotland.

Police Encounter

For the past few weeks there's often been a police vehicle waiting at a quiet spot on the road from TCNN to Jos.  The armed Nigerian police do not have a good reputation amongst their countrymen.  The conversation I had with the officer who stopped me this afternoon could give you a clue why, although I've never before encountered one as blatant.

Me: Good afternoon.
Policeman: I'm going to chop your money.
Me: Are you?
P: Give me lots of money.
Me: No.
(Incredulous look from policeman)
P: I'm going to chop your money.
Me: No you're not. That's not your job.
(Second incredulous look)
P: What's my job?
Me: To protect and serve.

At this point I think he gave up as he smiled and asked after my family before waving me on to black looks from his comrades who, with guns slung over their shoulders, were busy requesting money from the other vehicles they'd stopped.

"Do your job well," was my parting shot. "Honour God."

I await my next encounter with interest.

BRICC Retreat

Some people called it a retreat, others a day away, to some it was a picnic but whatever you want to call it, yesterday we took BRICC (Building Relationships In City Centre: www.briccjos.com) teachers and co-ordinators off to a beautiful spot some miles from Jos for a time of fun and re-visioning.  It didn't start too auspiciously for me as I sat outside the BRICC office wondering why the place was deserted and muttering about how people who live miles away in Bukuru could arrive on time whilst those who live in Jos were late.  It was only when one of the teachers knocked on my car window and said he thought we were meeting in the Plaza building (where the ladies' skills programme and most classes take place) that I realised that I hadn't actually paid much attention to the letter of instructions.  Together we drove off to the right meeting place (yet another argument in favour of a single building for the BRIC family) where there were at least a few others waiting. 
By 10am we'd packed (literally) everyone into cars and set off.
The aims of the day were to have fun, get to know one another better and consider our identity in BRICC.  All three aims were achieved with games, a very amusing time of 60 second speeches on random topics (if you want to know how doughnuts are connected to peace just ask), good food and time together.  We are a family in BRICC and that's what makes a difference in so many lives.

Take away food Nigerian style - it arrives in large insulated containers on women's heads and then is served out in situ.  Here it's jollof  (spicy fried with vegetables) rice, two large lumps of beef and coleslaw.

Toby explaining how to play "Corn Holes"

 There was a lot of fun.  Veronica declared she enjoyed herself so much that she forgot she was a wife and mother and was just herself.  Alhaji displayed grace and accuracy, unhampered by his flowing white outfit.

InReach

One of my favourite times of the week is Thursday at 4pm when I go to the InReach group at ECWA Bishara 2 church.  Joshua, the junior pastor, attended the first InReach sessions for ECWA pastors and since then has been a great supporter.  He lets us use his church and has put together lively and thoughtful groups for subsequent Inreach meetings.  These meetings have added excitement as the church where we meet is still very much under construction.
Previously we've given thanks that even in the rainy season we've never got wet.  Yesterday we were thankful that we didn't have huge metal roof supports dropping on our heads.  In the UK no one would be allowed near the building, all the workers would have hard hats and the scaffolding wouldn't be made of wood. In Nigeria it's perfectly acceptable to hold meetings on the first floor whilst large pieces of metal are being manoeuvred above (there was another floor in between). The whole breezeblock-built building did shake a few times but only one girder can crashing down near us.
It was an eventful session. Not only was there the excitement of the roof but the Boys Brigade were having a marching practice on the football pitch by the church.  You can't march alone so soon they (and we) were accompanied by a marching band - those trumpets and drums that I appriciate so much some Saturday mornings between 5am and 6am at TCNN but in far greater numbers.
Despite all these distractions we had a great discussion though we might have to show the dvd again next week when people can hear it.

Only in Nigeria

Running water and reliable electricity are two of things that make daily life a lot easier. We haven't had mains water since August 28th. For a while we were in a state of hopefulness that work was being done on pipes and that soon the water would flow again. Today we've been told that the reason the water has stopped is that the water board hasn't paid its electricity bill, has been cut off and therefore has no power for its pumps. As we've received only one water bill since we moved to TCNN two years ago this is hardly surprising but it does mean we've lost hope of anything happening soon.  Thankfully the rains at this time of year fill our water butts fairly regularly.  However, the schools are scheduled to reopen on Monday after being closed as a precaution against ebola and an avoidable water shortage will not help. The first line of defence is hygiene - disinfectant soap and clean water to wash hands: it doesn't look as if this'll come easily.


On a happier note we have additions to our family. In the spirit of community relationships I bought three hens from the man who brings them to the BRICC office on a tray on his head. They now have a donated rabbit hutch and live in a corner of our garden. The dogs think they're the new in-garden entertainment and we've had a couple of eggs already.
 

 InReach is progressing well.  As we were waiting to start a new group in Miango we were entertained by the skilful tyre-running of the local children.
  That is until they noticed we had cameras and crowded round to get their  photos taken. 

Extreme pruning

 Ever since last March when a tree crashed down and narrowly missed our car and house I've been slightly concerned when the wind blows strongly in the regular storms we experience this time of year.  Now I don't need to worry as the tree fellers have done their work, drastically pruning the eucalyptus which threatened to do damage to life and property.  There were no hard hats, no ladders, no harnesses and thankfully no accidents.  As we're out in Nigeria under the auspices of an Irish mission it also provided some harmless amusement when the tree fellers turned out to be "tree fellas".

We've been back here a month now and InReach groups are starting up.  Every Friday Toby and I go to the ECWA Bible seminary at Kagoro, an hour's drive from TCNN, to lead InReach conversations.  It's been very encouraging to see some of the students who went through the sessions last year and hear them tell new participants how Inreach has affected their thinking, attitudes and actions.  As Nathan said, "I started InReach thinking it would teach me stategies for evangelism. I found it first taught me about myself."
Another encouraging thing is knowing that we're in step with what God's doing in many places throughout the world.  At the Keswick Convention this year I came across Rebecca Manley Pippert for the first time.  She's been teaching about reaching people by living out Jesus' love to them where they are for many years; exposing non-believers to Jesus rather than insensitively/aggressively imposing our arguments and beliefs on them.  What she's written books about is what Toby and I feel God's been leading us to do with InReach around Jos over the past year, separately yet together within God's great plan. The wonderful thing is that wherever you are, whatever you do, you can still live Jesus love to your neighbours in simple yet efective ways.
Have a look at our website to find out more: www.inreachministry.wix.com/inreach.

Like all the houses on the TCNN campus we get our water from storage tanks which are filled at the whim of the person who operates the mains switch. Sometimes they get worryingly low as mains water doesn't come.  That was the case for us at the beginning of the week so we did what we've learned to do during our time in Nigeria, we included it in our weekly email of prayer requests on Tuesday.  It might seem a small thing but our God is faithful in the small as well as the large.  Only our lower tank receives the water which we then have to pump up to the higher one which supplies the house.  A full lower tank and electricity to power the pump do not always coincide but this morning we woke up to find the lower tank full and the electricity on.  You can't hang around to use electrical things at your convenience here so before breakfast I was pumping the water.
It was a bit of a concern that the low tank was almost emptied as the higher one filled but at least we'd have water through the taps.  As soon as the pump was turned off I heard the welcome sound of running water - the lower tank was being filled up again.  Coincidence or answered prayer from a loving God?

Back at TCNN

We've been back at TCNN for a week now.  School started on Thursday complete with anti-ebola handwashing stations and anti-terrorist car checks and security measures.
Mosque and preachers in Bukuru are still very keen on the 4-6am slot and unfortunately their loudspeakers are working fine.
Jos is still overrun by serious roadworks with roads closed without warning (you don't know until you get to the barrier and have to u-turn). On the positive side though, if you get confused and end up driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway no one bats an eyelid and the road workers, instead of telling you off, greet you most warmly and stop traffic on the other side to let you get through.  Getting a new sim card requires photographs, fingerprints and passport numbers (think of that when you pick up your next one at Tesco checkout).
Our dogs are settling back in and so are we, although it might take a little time to get fully back into the swing of things.

Keswick

For well over 100 years the Keswick Convention has been bringing good Bible teaching and uplifting worship to people all over the world.  It was at Keswick in 2010 that Fraser and I heard God telling us he wanted us to go out to Africa and now we're coming to the end of another week of encouragement.  James and Ruth have been having a great time in the Youth Programme, not getting home until after 10:30pm on some nights but raring to go back at 10:45am for the next morning's sessions.

I'm feeling a little homesick as the preacher in the morning Bible studies is Vaughan Roberts, rector of St Ebbe's in Oxford, who joined the church staff when I was attending as a student.  It's great to hear him again as he goes through Romans 1-8.  Yesterday he gave a very useful illustration of justification and sanctification.  Imagine God can only accept purple people into his presence but the human race is green and doomed to destruction because rebellion has changed its God-given colour.  By his willing death on the cross for us Jesus has slipped a sheet of purple cellophane in front of those who believe and God now accepts them as purple: they have been justified, the consequences of their rebellion paid for.  However, too often they only know how to behave as green people.  That's when the Holy Spirit goes behind the purple cellophane and starts to paint them so the green truly becomes purple - sanctification which is a life-long process.

It's not all meetings. There are plenty of ice cream shops to sample and this afternoon we hired kayaks for James and Ruth and a double canoe for Fraser and me and headed onto Lake Derwentwater.  James and Ruth were like ducks on the water. As for the canoers: if negotiating a double canoe was part of a pre-marriage course the numbers of weddings would plummet.  Thankfully Fraser and I have been married for 19 years so eventually managed to work out an amicable system!

England can be beautiful too.

Scotland

For the past five weeks we've had the privilege of visiting many different places where God's people meet in the highlands.  From the more traditional to the more modern, the welcome and interest in what God's doing in Nigeria has been great and we feel honoured to have the chance to get to know so many of our extended Christian family.
On Friday we head south for a week at the Keswick Convention then three weeks seeing family and friends in England before returning to Nigeria on August 8th but I couldn't resist posting some photos of Scotland before we leave.

Bruar

Lenticular clouds

Ullapool

Isle of Lewis

Blackhouse Village

Broch on Lewis

Wanderers and sojourners

As humans we get attached to things. We want to hold onto our memories, helped by objects with sentimental value, we want to save things "just in case" we'll need them in the future.

I was relieved when our house in Scotland sold last year.  Being in Nigeria whilst having responsibility for a 100 year old house in Scotland was not always a happy situation.  It felt great to be free of the responsibility for council tax, mortgage, boiler repairs, frozen pipes etc.  Friends cleared the place for us and stored many boxes in their attic until we came back to go through them.

Reducing your worldly possessions to a few boxes is a painful process.  There are many times I've thought "What if we have to set up home in the UK again? Perhaps I'll need that."  I really don't want to get rid of all the examples of the children's early artwork or of my own past.  Think about all the memories in your attics; imagine having to reduce them to a small fraction of what they were.

There's a spiritual dimension to my feelings.  We like the comfort blanket of the possessions that remind us of who we are, who we were and where we came from.  At church on Sunday we read Paul the prisoner's letter to Philemon.  Not only did the theme of reconciliation tie well with the account I gave later of the work I'm doing in Jos but it struck me that Paul probably didn't have a load of boxes in a friend's attic.  He travelled light, relying on God to provide and retain the memories that should be kept.

It's a hard step on the road to sanctification. I mustn't be like the rich young ruler who was so attached to his possessions that he wouldn't let go of them to follow when Jesus called.  It's things with sentimental value I'm wanting to keep rather than riches, but what is important? For the future I trust God to provide as he always has so abundantly.  Logically I shouldn't find it so hard to let some things go.  Perhaps the lesson that's being especially brought home to me now is that we are strangers and sojourners in this world.  I've felt it to some degree in my travels but it becomes particularly real when you're having drastically to cull the things that you've lived with.  In some respects having them all destroyed in a fire would've been easier.  It feels slightly similar to the scene in Voyage of the Dawn Treader when Eustace turns from dragon back to boy.  He feebly pulls away the first layer of scales but the real transformation requires a deep and painful stripping of all that's extraneous.  Many people go through this in a far more violent fashion as war and famine force them from their homes.  Many people don't have places to keep even the few things they've managed to save.  I'm very conscious of all the things I still have. I do have places to keep the "essential" boxes and even if they were all destroyed I would still have everything I need.  I pray that I'll be content to travel light through life. Philippians 3:8.

Back in the UK

There's a lot you learn from travelling the world. One is that when you belong to Jesus you have a family of brothers and sisiters that transcends national boundaries.  I have met my family in Australia, Papua New Guinea, the UK and Nigeria.  There may be many cultural differences but the most important thing is that we all have the same Father who cares for us in whatever part of the globe we happen to be.  For the next few weeks we'll be reconnecting with family in the UK whilst missing and praying for the family we have in Nigeria and the US.  It's a joy and a privilege to travel around the beautiful highlands of Scotland showing what's been happening to us in Nigeria, showing that our God is not a provincial deity but the one who created and cares for the whole world.  Be a part of his work. Get in touch and find out the wonders that he's doing.

Peace

In a beautiful, albeit unplanned, display of harmony three weeks ago two BRICC families had babies.  In the morning Alhaji's wife had a little girl.  That afternoon Doris, wife of Friday the carpenter whose shop is beside the BRICC office, had a boy.

One Muslim family; one Christian.  One girl; one boy.

This morning some of the BRICC family visited Friday's house to meet the baby.  Too many times we've had to go to offer sympathy to bereaved families, hoping that the encouragement of seeing Christian and Muslim visit together would offer a little consolation.  Today was going to be different, today we went to celebrate a new life and we enjoyed it, passing little Praises from person to person, laughing as Sadiq joked with Veronica about the best number of children to have, luxuriating in the sense that we are a family though from different tribes, nations and religions. 

Doris & Praises

Doris spoke wisely as she told us how blessed she felt.  BRICC was not able to shower the baby with the traditional largesse but she said that didn't matter.  All the riches in the world are not worth as much as family and she knew that BRICC was her family.  If she or those she loved were in trouble comfort would come from family, not from a cold pile of money, and all present were in agreement.

This morning was about life. This afternoon we thought of death.  I heard and felt the bomb blast in Jos which has broken so many lives and destroyed so much property. Nothing can prevail against such hatred except love.  Pray for Jos.  Pray for BRICC bringing lives together, offering hope, showing people can live and love together.  Pray for Nigeria.

Storm

The rainy season has well and truly arrived.

Last night there was the strongest and most damaging storm we've yet experienced here, complete with twirling winds, a calm eye, then winds going the opposite way.

Bakle trying to make a path to get the car out

I've long been unhappy with the proximity of very tall eucalyptus trees too close to our house.  Last night one came down, missing the car by 2" and almost reaching the house. 
Fraser's library suffered worse.  A corner of the roof blew off leaving only the plastic ceiling to protect the books.  What do you do in such a situation when the winds are howling, the power is off and the night pitch black except for the lightning?  Pray.  We sent out an urgent prayer request to our supporters in the UK and this morning discovered that although the library floor was soaking and a new skylight apparent, no books had been affected.

New lighting for the library

"I'd run 5.75 miles & still beat Dad when he did one lap"

Today's title quote comes from James after he'd completed the six hour sponsored relay yesterday morning.  It's impressive when teenagers are willing to get out of bed and leave the house at 6am on a Saturday morning to spend six hours running miles in a relay to raise money for a refuge/discipleship centre for MBBs who can lose everything when they decide to follow Jesus. 

Waiting for his turn

People of all ages formed teams of 6-8 and took it in turns to run four laps of the school track (one mile).  Ruth was in "Double Trouble" where team-mates partnered with the same colour top; James' team was "Anonymous" where the team cape was ceremonially handed over as one member took over from another.  Most people were there to have fun (though to me running miles and fun are not words that really go together) and raise money but it was interesting to see the competition between one team of men and another of boys from the school.  By the end the older men were bringing in pacesetters to help them achieve most miles run in the time allowed.  Another team of older people were wearing tye-dye tops and doing pirouttes or hopscotch as they passed the posts - there was room for everyone.

In the heat (over 30C) I couldn't help imagining what a six hour relay would've been like in Scotland.  For a start we wouldn't have needed to hope for rain to cool things down and I doubt there would've been the almost carnival atmosphere under blue skies as everyone would've been wrapped up against the cold and the runners covered in mud in the dismal grey.  That's my memory of school sporting events anyway.  Yesterday they ran to a background of cheerful music, ate snowcones and danced in and out of the water sprinkler across the track.

Fraser and I did do a little. I struck a blow for English individuality by going round with Ruth for a couple of laps in my dress and almost high heeled sandals.  We ran most of the way though I had to beg to walk after a while. Not to be outdone, Fraser went round with James for a lap and kept up fairly well until the final straight when willingness collided with ability as he suggested they sprinted the last little bit.  James took off but Fraser's body decided that was a silly suggestion and he had to walk to the post.  He had recovered sufficiently to take part in the final lap before the end at 1pm when everyone was invited to go round together.  It was quite moving to see a crowd of old, young and everything in between setting off to the stirring notes of the Chariots of Fire theme and endiing by going through a tunnel of the linked arms of those who'd finished before.
Needless to say there are some stiff people in our house today but it was all worth it.

Yesterday we had a BRICC get-together to welcome some new members of the team.
The first to arrive was Josh, an accountant from the UK.  The word accountant produces all sorts of images but being out on the mission field is not one of them.  Josh is a Godsend.  He's making sense of the BRICC "accounts" and setting up a system that should keep us straight once he leaves in June.  He and his doctor wife Hannah have been highly welcome and extremely useful so don't despair if you're an accountant, God could have a place for you overseas bringing hope to poor missionaries who need hand-holding through financial systems.
Jeremy and Katie arrived in Jos from the US last week and will stay until July.  He's a musician who's also worked as a barista, she has experience in counselling so I'm hoping for a BRICC coffee shop with musical interludes.   One of the good things about BRICC is that there's a place for everyone, it's just a matter of identifying it.
Finally there was Esther, a Nigerian lady who's going to be the BRICC book-keeper, trained by Josh to keep us all in order.  I don't envy her at all!

Opportunities

In Nigeria any time can be church time. I think I've already mentioned the dedication of  the preachers near TCNN who switch on their loudspeakers at 4am to ensure that everyone has a holy start to the day. This morning an enterprising person spotted a gap in the market. He knew that what Bukuru really needed was a service that started at 1am and he was the man to provide it. How thankful I am that such people have easy access to microphones and amplifying equipment.

I'm truly thankful and humbled by the way that God is using Toby and me to spread the message of InReach. It's the original and basic message of the Bible - God is love and Jesus commands us to live out his love to others, pointing them towards him as we do so. Simple but not always easy. This week we finished our six weeks with the pastors, completed week five with a small group of Bible college students in Kagoro and were challenged and honoured to go through the whole thing in five hours for a group of Nigeria workers who are returning to the northern city of Kano this weekend.  I'm busy trying to get our InReach guidebook ready for printing. Every group has been asking for materials to help them start their own conversations. If every Christian was more concerned with showing God's love than condemning those who are different the world would be turned upside down as Jesus meant it to be.

Hallelujah, le keke est arrivé!

About a year ago BRICC was given a donation to buy a second keke.  After excuses, broken promises and finally police involvement we got our hands on it today.

Soon it'll be joining the swarm of kekes already buzzing round Jos, driven this time by a Muslim and bringing in much needed funds to BRICC's programmes.

Delivery issues

Here's an account of how it's possible to run a business in Jos.
A year ago BRICC (www.briccjos.com) was given money to purchase a keke (3-wheeler taxi) to generate income and provide a job.  A little later money was donated for a second - good news for BRICC not only for the extra income but also as in the spirit of the organisation one could be driven by a Christian, the other by a Muslim. As the first transaction had gone smoothly we went back to the same seller to buy the second. After nearly a year we are still waiting.
This seller assured BRICC of the good relationship between us and at first had plausible excuses for the delay in delivery (he's had the money since last April).  However, after seeing new deliveries arriving at his shop in Jos throughout the year and noting how the amount charged for each vehicle was increasing, we eventually consulted the police over our options.  Apparently BRICC isn't the only dissatisfied customer but as we're a non-profit, peace building organisation the police went round to see what was happening.  The man promised we'd have the keke within a fortnight.
After about a month we went back to the police.  They promised they'd track the man down in Abuja where he'd disappeared to. Eventually they found him.  He begged for forgiveness, saying he'd spent our money, but the keke deliveries continued to come and go from his shop as his business thrived.
The most recent development is that another delivery of about 30 kekes arrived on Monday.  He has announced that he will supply the first 5 on his list of customers who've been waiting for a long time.  He says BRICC is number 7 and will have to wait. The lost revenue could have bought BRICC a third keke by now and benefitted the community we're trying so hard to help. The seller is getting rich and BRICC is running out of people to appeal to.

Naomi

"She is my backbone, my friend."  Words spoken by Veronica, BRICC's women's skills co-ordinator, in a short film about the inspiring story of her deputy Naomi (find it at www.briccjos.com).  On Sunday afternoon Naomi died unexpectedly, leaving a huge hole in her family and at the heart of BRICC.  She first became involved in BRICC as a student in the women's skills programme but was soon working tirelessly and lovingly at Veronica's side having overcome her initial wariness of the Muslim ladies and wanting to show to everyone that Christians and Muslims in Jos can love each other.  On the day she died she was carrying supplies to the women's rooms ready for classes the next day. 
The greatest testimony to her life and work was the sight of Christians and Muslims going together to her house after she'd died in order to pay their respects to her family.  After the Jos Crisis Muslims left their houses and moved away from that area; it's the power of love that's bringing them back.

Different worlds

I've taken to walking with Fraser to the library when he goes to work at eight in the morning and then continuing round the campus to get a bit of exercise.  In Scotland I did a lot of walking but it's more difficult here.  By 9am it's often too hot to do anything energetic and I have to take the car to get around Jos.

On Monday we arrived at the library when the cleaner was coming out.  She immediately greeted us and reached to take Fraser's laptop, despite his protestations and much to his surprise.  She doesn't usually do that.
Today we walked past an old man (retired accountant) tying up his goats.  We exchanged greetings then he asked why I wasn't carrying my oga's (Hausa term of respect for a superior) laptop and bag of books.  I think they're trying to tell me something. I don't know if Fraser will get sympathy for having a wife who doesn't realise that her place is to carry his belongings (preferably several paces behind him) or if they think him weak for not beating me into submission.

As in many developing nations in a lot of circles women are not considered equal to men although they do most of the work.  Even in the church men who call themselves Christian and even pastors and elders beat their wives.  Several of the books I worked on for ACTS dealt with this problem but it's spread throughout society, a cultural rather than religious problem.
We were talking about the treatment of women in the BRICC office earlier this week.  One of the women expressed her approval that more girls were being educated.  That's the key: with education women can see they are not inferior to men and I hope will realise that they do not have to accept the treatment and attitudes too often doled out to them.

Kids

 

Yesterday Toby was expressing great interest in something in our neighbour's garden so, trying to avoid trouble, I wandered over to have a look.  He was trying to climb over the fence to join K9 in his examination of one of the smallest kids I've ever seen, tiny and fluffy but with a voice out of all proportion to its size.  As K9 has been known to snack on such delicacies I decided that extraction was the best course of action and ended up bringing it across to our house. 
There was no mother goat in sight nor hearing but under a tree in the garden to our other side was what must have been the kid's brother, even more vociferous than my new little friend.  With Ruth's enthusiastic encouragement I collected him too.  We'd been hearing kids crying throughout the night and guessed that the mother had given birth then been frightened away by one of the many dogs that roam around the place as the kids couldn't have been more than twenty-four hours old.
What do you do with teeny tiny kids crying for their mother?   We tried feeding them milk from a teaspoon and they did take a little but things really took off once we borrowed a baby's bottle from a friend.  Meanwhile, Toby hadn't lost interest.  He was licking them even before they'd spilt milk all over themselves.  I think he wanted to adopt them too, they certainly started following him around.
In the end conscience got the better of me and I made enquiries in the police barracks as to whether anyone was expecting kids and hadn't got any.  One woman had been complaining to friends that her goat had gone out pregnant and come back with neither bump nor offspring.  I no longer had an excuse to keep "Bubble" and "Squeak" (yes, we'd already given them names: the boy was Squeak as he was by far the noisier). They were taken away amidst rejoicing but for Ruth and me, though we'd only cared for them a couple of hours, they left quite a gap.

Not all the creatures I encounter are as sweet as baby goats but at least if they die on the doorstep the ants will clear up.