Besa

Last night our dog Besa died.
He was only 6 months old.
We are devastated.

That evening as we listened to a message called "Why doesn't God answer my prayers" Fraser and I knew that despite asking for prayer for Besa and praying hard ourselves, he wouldn't be with us for much longer.  Why?

Craig Groeschel (pastor of www.lifechurch.tv which is well worth checking out) listed several reasons why our prayers may not be answered in the way we think they should be.

• Is there a relationship which needs repair?  We should heal our horizontal relationships as they affect our vertical one with God.
• Are our motives in asking right?  So often it is easy to deceive ourselves that we want what we want out of pure motives but the heart is deceitful above all things.  God is never deceived.
• Does the Creator of the universe know what is best for us better than we do ourselves?  God loves us enough not to give us everything we ask for.
• Does God have greater plans?  Sometimes God takes the prayers that have not been answered as we think they should and uses them to do great things, in us or through us.  In the end, when we see what he has done, we would not have had it any other way.  The very hard part is the time between the"unanswered" prayer  and seeing what God has done.  The pain is often great but the Lord gives strength enough to bear it.  Though I am weak, today I believe.

 Last night was awful.  Canine parvovirus wrecks havoc.  Three days ago Besa was lively and healthy.  Part of the shock is that he deteriorated so fast, even after the vet medicated him.  Six months was not long enough.  He was a very special dog, born on the day we left the UK, friendly, good natured and fun.  We shall miss him terribly.

In the grand scheme of things the health of a dog is not the most important issue, especially here in Nigeria where there are so many people with vital needs.  However, when you move from your own country and culture and get a dog who was born on the very day you left and rapidly becomes one of the family, when that dog becomes ill it is quite a concern.  It also brings home to me how far I am from what I know.  In the UK I know how to find out the vet's surgery hours, I can take my pet to a clean and welcoming building and feel reassured that he'll be well cared for, given whatever medicines he needs and at the correct dosages (facts by no means certain here for animals or humans).  In Nigeria on Saturday I turned up 20 minutes before the sign said surgery ended only to be told I was too late, come back on Monday.  I'm fairly competent in assessing whether my children need a doctor urgently but I've had little experience when it comes to a dog and felt so helpless in the face of all that is unfamiliar.  So many people here have tales of how their animals died suddenly from diseases they picked up from the surroundings.  When our dog hasn't eaten for 3 days, is dreadfully lethargic and bringing up yellow froth I do feel that he needs attention and probably won't get better without help.  So here I am waiting in for a well-recommended vet to do a housecall after he's been to church.  Perhaps there was  a cultural misunderstanding with the other vets and I didn't make enough of a fuss for them to take me seriously, but it's so reassuring to know there are people out there who will go the extra mile.

Hard decisions

It's so very hard to choose between two valuable activities when there are only enough resources for one.  That's the sort of decision we had to make at BRICC (Building Relationships In City Centre) last week.

The Unity Fitness Centre (UFC) is in a Muslim part of town: all the Christians left the area after the crisis of January 2010.  It had been running for a few months when BRICC got involved, helping to provide a few pieces of equipment and spreading the much needed message of peace and co-operation between Muslims and Christians.  Last February physiotherapist Fiona started going once a week for BRICC and built up strong ties with the community in that area.  The effect she had on the lives of so many who attended UFC having lost hope that anyone could help them has been amazing.  She truly brought hope to the hopeless.  One of her patients, left unable to walk after a car accident, agreed to film his story.  This can be seen on the BRICC website (www.briccjos.com)  She had to return to the UK last month and the gap she's left is huge.  We don't want to lose the relationships formed in this area, especially with Baba, a lovely Muslim gentleman who runs the centre (and has actually changed its name to BRICC Unity Fitness Centre he's so committed to pursuing peace), but the landlord is knocking at the door and the money is tight.  N70,000 is needed to pay the rent for the next twelve months. 

Often God has a way of nudging you towards a solution.  The sports programme costs N83,000 for a ten-week clinic.  We heard last week that Monday who runs it may be leaving in April when the present clinic ends which would leave us with the task of finding a replacement.  Is it justifiable to spend N83,000 on a ten-week programme to improve the football skills of a group of young men (and teach them something about peace) rather than use N70,000 to keep open a centre that changes people's lives and shows them love in action?

We decided the relationship with UFC and the openings in an area of Jos where few Christians venture was more important so, once this clinic has finished and until more funds are available, the sports programme has had to be put on hold, hopefully to be resurrected at a future date.  It is important that the young men have an outlet and experience training (in football and peace) with members of different communities but the impact of UFC on lives can be so much more profound.  In a perfect world BRICC would be able to support both projects but then in a perfect world there would be no need for BRICC to exist.  I'm rather excited about it as Ruth Beattie and I hope to go to the centre regularly to lead some informal health/fitness classes for the women.  It also gives me the incentive I need to prioritise learning Hausa as that's the language most people use in that community.

Six months

Today is our six month anniversary in Nigeria.

As usual with time it seems as if we've been here a lot longer while also being hard to believe it's only six months since we greeted our twelve pieces of luggage with relief at Abuja airport.  It's been a steep and at times very frustrating learning curve but from our very first day we've been reassured so many times that this is the place the Lord wants us to be. We've seen so much evidence of prayers answered and although it's not always been easy we know that we haven't just been dumped in a strange land to fend for ourselves.  God prepared the way and is continually sustaining us.  Really we do know that the prayers of the people supporting us are being heard.

So far today has been a good one.  Two reliable young men who live with their parents on the TCNN campus have arrived to work in the garden.  Although their parents both have jobs at the college they also farm so I am extremely hopeful that wonderful things will be produced from the garden in the next year.  As well as that, a plumber who actually knows what he's doing came to start work on raising the water tower that workmen who didn't care about doing a good job had built far too low.  By the end of the week we should have hot water when we turn on the tap instead of a sense of disappointment and an extra water storage tank to put my mind at rest during the dry season.  All we have to do in between is to survive without running water as the tanks are being installed.

As if that isn't enough, I've been introduced to another weird and wonderful fruit.  Just seeing its spikey beauty makes me happy.  It's actually a kind of cucumber, dismissed here as chicken food but worth getting just for the way it looks.

Gratuitous insect

Photos

 

Just a few photos taken from our garden.

My ambition is to take better pictures of birds, butterflies and lizards but they just won't stay still.  Flowers are much more co-operative.

The lizard that lives in the water tower

Cashew nuts growing

The cashew apple is a most peculiar fruit.  When you cut into it it strongly smells of perfumed apple, a bit like an excessive mackintosh red.  When you bite it nearly all the moisture in your mouth is immediately sucked away in a rather disconcerting fashion.  It's definitely an acquired taste and one I may not have a chance to get as most of the fruits are being devoured by a voracious and efficient flock of long-tailed birds.  All they leave behind are the greenish-grey nuts lying on the ground below the tree. I'll have to see what I can do with those instead.

Cashew fruits

BRICC's first birthday

A year ago today BRICC (Building Relationships in City Centre) began.  Yesterday the co-ordinators all met for a celebratory lunch and get together to celebrate the occasion.  Muslims and Christians came together at the Niger Creek Centre in Jos to share food, fellowship and the love that is such an integral and obvious part of BRICC.

Physiotherapist Fiona & Baba

In true Nigerian fashion the Baturis (foreigners) arrived at the appointed time of 1pm.  Most of the Nigerians didn't turn up before 2.  We ate, laughed at BRICC family jokes and appreciated everyone who in their very different ways has made an impact.  I found it very helpful when we went round the room introducing ourselves at the start, then Joseph mentioned everyone individually in his speech and finally Toby named people again as he gave out the keepsake plaques.  Now I can put a few more names and roles and faces together; not all by any means, but a lot more than before.

Joseph, one of the founders & driving forces of BRICC

Thompson & Eugie

Fraser and I sat with two young men, Thompson and Eugie (not sure about the spelling), who are filled with the desire to change the situation and attitudes in Jos and Nigeria as a whole.  It's encouraging to hear people who haven't lost hope, despite everything that's happened.  They told me how so many people have been so traumatised by the violence that they have lost all hope that anything will change and no longer want even to try to rebuild relationships with members of the other community.  Before there can be lasting change there must be healing.  Eugie mentioned one Christian who refused to have anything to do with Muslims after the Crisis.  He attended a BRICC trauma-healing session for both communities and his attitude completely changed.  Now he is encouraging others to go and talk out the hurts that destroy from the inside.  The lack of hope has to be addressed.  One of the things that unite people in BRICC is that they have not lost the hope that Jos can be restored to peace and they're willing to reach out to others in whatever ways they can.  As Toby said of the film-making department, there's no shortage of ideas in BRICC, in fact there are too many ideas, enough to keep us occupied for years.

Bearing in mind the problem of corruption at all levels in Nigeria, I asked Thompson what he thought could be done.  His answer was simple.  People are hungry.  If money that could be used to improve agriculture and education stopped finding its way into the bank accounts of the "bigmen," if there was more of a concept of leaders serving the people, not exploiting them, if the government paid more attention to making the electricity reliable so people could make a living and feed their families then they would no longer be as vulnerable to those wanting to take advantage of them for political or religious reasons.  There's also the age old problem of older men being unwilling to make way for the younger generation with all their ideas and enthusiasms.  The generation gap, despite (or because of) the traditional Nigerian respect for elders and tradition, is very apparent.  The young are tired of being told they are the leaders of tomorrow when tomorrow never comes (especially when former leaders in their old age are still attempting to get involved in running the show).  I would not be surprised to see Thompson running for political office one day: may his enthusiasm never be eroded.

On a completely different subject.  Problem: what do you do when you need oranges for a recipe but have none in the house?  Answer: go out and pick them from the tree in your garden.  I do enjoy living in Nigeria!

Driving licences (again)

Today I got a Texan husband.

At 1pm this afternoon Fraser and I arranged to meet Makeji at the Tax Revenue office in Jos to continue our pursuit of the elusive documents that are Nigerian driving licences.  We filled in another form and waited patiently for our turn to be photographed and fingerprinted -a bit like being arrested (not that I have personal experience) but with the added fun of giving each other electric shocks whenever we passed things (a frequent occurance this time of year).

Fraser was called up but I was then invited along to a much more upmarket office to upload my details.  It was air-conditioned and I was offered a comfortable padded chair instead of the ubiquitous plastic seat.  Ten minutes later I wished I was still in the public waiting room as the official moved on to his third laptop in an attempt to get it to accept what he was typing.  The fourth laptop allowed him to fill in the form but then he told me I'd have to move over to his colleague as his computer had no camera.  A picture was taken but then I had to wait again before moving to yet another desk with another laptop attached to a very clever fingerprint reading device which eventually, after several attempts for each digit, took its readings.  I was now on the system and could be issued with my temporary licence which when printed had already expired.

But how did I acquire a Texan husband when I already had a Scottish one?

One of the questions on the form was state of origin.  The drop down list of options contained all the Nigerian states, Illinois and Texas.  Fraser, disappointed though he was not to see Glasgow listed, decided (in consultation with his official) to pick Texas as his state of origin in the desire to be registered and the hope he'd be able to change it later.  I, having been born in Norfolk, was similarly disappointed not to see my place of origin among the choices but I could not bring myself to plump for a US state.  My official, acknowledging my difficulty, made enquiries of the technical team with the result that we altered the system.  Now, along with Nigerian and US states, Norfolk is listed on the Jos Government list of places of origin.  A satisfying day's work.