Here at last part 3

Eggs and chips for breakfast

It’s always a good sign on the second day at a new school if you don’t have to drag your children there. We’re even getting into a bit of a routine.  It’s up at 6am for Fraser and me, a little later for James and Ruth.  The first excitement of the morning is turning on the light switch to see if there’s any electricity.  For the past two mornings there hasn’t been but the sun is up and it’s soon fully daylight.  Auntie Ruth, the lovely lady who cooks at the Baptist Hostel, arrives soon after 7am and makes breakfast for us.  This morning was a real treat for the other three – fried scrambled eggs with onions accompanied by a large bowl of freshly made chips. We didn’t think we’d be getting food like that in Nigeria and probably won't be when we're in our own place.  I’m happier with my cafetiere of coffee (brought with me) and whatever fruit is in the bowl.  Oranges and bananas do taste better when they haven’t had to travel thousands of miles.

After chapel at Hillcrest

Food booths at Hillcrest

We’ve had a lift to school the past couple of days then Fraser and I enjoy the walk back to the hostel.  I’m sure the locals are starting to recognise the strange white couple who keep walking past them instead of going in a car.  We like walking and feel it’s a better way to get to know the place.  The morning’s the time to do it before it gets too hot and I’m really enjoying waking up and not having to think about how many layers to put on.

Yesterday we went into the centre of Jos on a shopping trip with Pamela, her sister Pearl who’s visiting and lovely three year old Gracie, Pamela’s little girl.  The traffic’s something else, especially if you’re used to the Highlands, something like a cross between a jam and a racing track.  You want to open the car windows because of the heat but you often can’t as you’d be asphyxiated by the fumes.  You can buy just about anything in Jos though.  A lot has been imported from the UK as it has the price in sterling as well as naira and there’s one supermarket to which I’m looking forward to returning once our house is ready as it sells nearly all the household goods you’d require.  We had lunch at a Lebanese café – meat and chicken pies nearly as good as the ones from the Lochinver Larder but like most food in Nigeria a lot spicier.  I hadn’t forgotten James and Ruth in our gadding about: they’ve got the slightly less spicy beef pies for their school lunches today.

After buying umbrellas for the daily rainstorms (which are much heavier even than the ones we were having in England before we left but somewhat warmer) we headed back to school to pick up the children.  Both were positive about the first day but the amount of schoolwork they’ll be getting was slowly sinking in.  Homework was done without a fuss (long may that last) then at 6pm we went down to the tea that Auntie Rachel makes for us each night (we do have to wash up afterwards as she’s gone home, we’re not waited on all the time).  Between 8pm and 10pm we’ve all gone to bed in stages, even Fraser who used to stay up till 1 o’clock.  This seems the natural rhythm here and hasn’t been difficult to get into.  Perhaps when we’ve lived here a little longer that will change but it suits us for now.

Auntie Rachel on the right

Here at last part 2

Last night I'd got to the end of Saturday before the waves of exhaustion swept me away.  There's been so much to do and take in these last few days that sometimes it's a struggle not to go to bed before teatime.
On Sunday morning we attended the service at Hillcrest School Chapel.  Once we're settled we intend to worship in a Nigerian church but it seemed a good idea to go for the familar the day after we had arrived and was a good opportunity for James and Ruth to see something of the school before their entrance exam the next day.  It was the right decision.  The banner at the front was "Shine like stars"  which is a verse that has been occuring to a friend of mine whenever she thinks about what we're doing.  The first song was "Open the eyes of my heart Lord" which we'd had at our commissioning.  A bit emotional but more of God's kindly confirmations to us.

On Monday we were back at the school for the exam.  Whilst James and Ruth were busy working, Fraser and I achieved our own minor triumph: we managed to make the half hour walk from the school to the guest house all by ourselves without getting lost, and we got back to the school again!  It was lovely to see the MA family en masse at lunch time at school.  Whilst in the UK Jamie Oliver is campaigning for healthy school meals, at Hillcrest you can get delicious food freshly cooked on barbeques but this food is all fried.  We had sooya (thin bits of beef with a spicy coating threaded onto sticks) and cooked on the fire with copious quantities of oil, accompanied by raw red onion and masa (soaked rice ground to powder, mixed into a paste and fried).  I don't know if it was a good thing that the portion was left next to me as it was all too easy just to keep eating.  This was the only booth open in the holidays but from today the lady who cooks "puffpuffs" (doughnut holes) and fried Irish (potatoes) will be there.  I know why Nigerian clothes are so free flowing.
Both children passed - James has gone into grade 8 and Ruth into grade 6.

Tuesday was another busy day as we were taken over to Bukuru to meet Dr Tersur Aben, Provost of TCNN.  Fraser would have been quite happy to have been let out of the car at the library and left but sadly the library was locked.  Most of the staff had been given the week off before the beginning of term on Monday.  We were taken to see our house which does need quite a bit of work done on it before we can move in but we all felt at home in the place and want to be there as soon as possible.  As it's been unoccupied for quite a long time there is a maize field in part of our garden but once that's been harvested we can reclaim the land.  I'm already thinking about the crops and flowers we could grow.  I know we'll be happy there as not only are there at least four mango trees but also an orange tree and a cashew nut tree.  My prayers answered and then some.  I intend to plant some papaya trees and banana plants once we get there so we'll have to stay in Nigeria for quite some time.
Dr Aben took us out to lunch at "McHez", a Nigerian fast food place.  Our first proper Nigerian meal was very tasty and rather spicy.  The bitter greens, moimoi (a sort of beancurd wrapped in a leaf and baked with a hardboiled egg in the middle), catfish, dumplings, soup (more like stew) with catfish again, fried rice and spicy chicken were served in huge platefuls so everyone tried a bit of  everything.  We're going to enjoy Nigerian food.  We had gone upstairs for a bit more privacy to talk.  In true Nigerian fashion the television was turned up when they realised where we'd gone.  There's no concept of noise pollution here.

I'm nearly up to date now as this morning we were up early again to take James and Ruth for their first day at school.  The 8:05am start isn't that hard to get used to.  All parents are invited to the chapel service which was more like a DEC Sunday meeting than a school assembly.  It was great and we were reassured to see James and Ruth both chatting to people as they came in.  Things have started well.

Here at last

Where do I start?  So much has happened in the last four days that I don't really know where to begin.  At 4:45am on Saturday morning we landed at Abuja airport, went fishing for our 12 cases on the baggage carousel and thankfully landed them all.  Catching a couple of porters with empty trolleys was our next task but we managed, promising them that our friend would  have something for them once we got through customs.  We got through customs and there was no sign of Ricky from Mission Africa who was going to meet us.  What do we do now?  It was a relief when we went outside to find Ricky, his father and brother in law, two MA drivers and two large vehicles waiting for us.  They sorted out the porters, filled the minibus with our cases and we were off through Abuja in convoy by 6:30am.
Our journey to Jos was an education in driving Nigerian style.  To start with they drive on the right so I thought our driver had actually got into the passenger side (I'm still trying to get into the driver's seat instead of the passenger's).  Actually, saying they drive on the right isn't really accurate - they drive on whichever side there aren't potholes, using the horn to tell others that they're coming so get out of the way.  You can't drive in Nigeria if your horn doesn't work, you'd be flattened.  We're going to leave it a little while before we get behind the wheel although the car we've bought from a departing missionary family has arrived and looks good (if a little scratched but that's also not a bad thing).
On the four hour journey to Jos I lost count of the number of army checkpoints we went through.  They were all very polite and our driver handled them as a matter of course but that will take some getting used to.  Ruth received her first proposition of marriage from one of the soldiers but, having had no sleep on the plane, she didn't make the most of it, she's still unattached.
Once the sun came up I was enjoying looking at the stalls by the side of the road.  There are some amazing company names - the "God is Able Block Company" or how would you like to have your teeth done by "The Lord's Chosen Charismatic Dental Clinc"?  More fascinating things were the cactus fences, guaranteed to keep out marauders if there are no gaps, the ornate piles of fruit and vegetables on roadside stalls and the amazing volcanic rock formations as we neared Jos.

The Baptist Hostel

By now we'd got a second wind and were no longer so tired although I certainly knew the meaning of being travel-stained.  We were taken to the house of Pamela Gaiya (a Northern Irish MAer but married to a Nigerian) for a breakfast that was nearly lunch (since we've been here there's been a lot of eating).  Then it was off to the Baptist Hostel where we'll have to stay for at least a couple of weeks until our house at TCNN in Bukuru has been renovated (at the moment the roof is leaking and as I'm writing this whilst the rain pours down outside I can appreciate the damage that a leaky roof will do in the rainy season: at least it's warm rain).  We've got the place to ourselves which is great - plenty of space and the garden's lovely with mango trees (although the season doesn't start until April), lemon trees, banana plants, swings, a trampoline and a traditional little house on the top of a huge boulder.  The disadvantage is that there are some mosques quite close.  As it's ramadan they seem to be working overtime with loudspeaker services at 12pm, 3am, 4:30am 5am so my nights are rather disturbed.  The days are warm but not too hot and sometimes giving torrential rain.  They're also very full so we're going to bed very early and getting up very early too, especially as school starts tomorrow at 8:05am for James and Ruth.
That's it for now.  Next time I'll write about our trip to TCNN to meet the Provost, Dr Tersur Aben, and to see our new house.  The question uppermost in my mind of course was, "Would there be mango trees in the garden?"  Find out next time.

View from our window

Off we go!

It's very odd to think that this is our last full day in the UK for quite a while.  I feel that I've been in the limbo-land of living in other people's houses for so long that I'll just drift along forever when the reality is that tomorrow we head down to Heathrow and fly away.

Here's the proof - all our cases just about packed and ready to go.

In July 2010 when we first heard God's call we hoped we'd be overseas within a year.  Some people told us it would probably be summer 2012 before we went anywhere. We didn't want to believe it but they were right.  Frequently it's been a frustrating wait but throughout it all God's been faithful and working.  I've seen it in myself and I hope that our progress, the rollercoaster we've been on, has touched some of those who've been involved or watching.  We've been stressing from the start that this is a team or family effort and as we go on that has become more and more obvious.  With God we can do anything and doing it his way, with the people he's chosen to get involved, is the most freeing and exhilarating experience in the world.
Our rollercoaster is going into loop-the-loop now: we need to hold on to our support all the tighter.

Good news

After a week of ups and downs we got the go ahead to go out to Jos yesterday and today received our e-tickets for the 10:15pm flight on Friday, 3rd August from Heathrow to Abuja.  We'll arrive in Jos (all being well) on the Saturday morning but we'll have to stay in a guest house for the first couple of weeks as the house we've been allocated by TCNN still has rather a lot of work needed to make it habitable.  At least we'll be out just before term starts at Hillcrest School on Wednesday, 8th August and in time for James and Ruth to take the assessments for which grades they'll be in on the Monday. 

Bad News

We've been counting down to Thursday, 26th July when we hoped to be leaving for Nigeria. 
Today we were told that our departure has had to be postponed due to terrorist activity and the threat of more trouble in Jos and the surrounding area.  There's been credible intelligence from both expats and Nigerians that something's brewing and it's not advisable to send new families into the region.
Needless to say we are all very disappointed.  We do believe that God is in control and will work out his purposes despite the schemes of evil men but it is hard to remain in this holding pattern.  It brings home to us yet again that we as Christians are truly engaged in a spiritual battle where the hope and help we want to bring to others can so often be attacked.

Someone I know recently went back to church for the first time in ages.  She was amazed to find that some of the songs were two of her absolute favourites.  Perhaps it was just a coincidence or perhaps God was saying, "Welcome back, I'm glad you've come."
Whether she'd been in church that Sunday or not, the songs would still have been sung but she would have missed God's message of love to her.  How often we live our lives refusing to accept the gifts and tokens of love God desires to give us.  It's crazy really but stubbornly and willfully we all do it and miss out on so much.
We were travelling again over the weekend, seeing more of my family before we head off in 9 (!) days.  I'm very glad we went but the repacking is still hanging over me (hence the early morning post - perhaps more sleep will come once it's all done (again)).  On Sunday we enjoyed our time at the definitely not boring Baptist church in my sister's small village near Cambridge.  It was alive, friendly and minded to spread the good news, both overseas and locally, a good example of the fact that no Christian's got an excuse - God isn't calling us all to go abroad but we can all get involved in some way.