Monday A Day Off

Monday Eileen and I took a day off. I did not even leave the house. I read a couple of episodes from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, cooked supper for the family, a dish I called "Baked Burritos". I did discover the video clips will not upload from here. You may also notice the "Hit Counter" at the top of the page. It tells us how many, not who. Encouraging to see thjat since it was installed on Saturday by a IT guy from the men's group. We've had 79 hits as of this entry.

Sunday at the Village Church

Our Valentine's Day Sunday began at the village church. Our pastor exchanged pulpits with another church so our preacher of the day was from another church in the district. Once again the music was outstanding. Because I'm limited by internet connection I may not be able to upload full videos. I'll add them later when in Texas. Notice the entrance step to the church. The hand carved letters are "ECWA church". One lesson I have learned from this village parish is that they have created only the basic necessities for worship celebration.

Zoo Day with a Grand Celebration

Today the staff and mission team hosted children from one of the two orphanages in the area. Nine children from Our Lady of Apostle Catholic orphanage were our quests at the Jos Zoo and returned for a traditional feast of roast lamb, couscous and roast plantain. We were entertained by two hours of authentic tribal dancing. Our zoo visit included wandering camels, black cows, up close visit of a mama and papa lion, close enough that when she roared I got her spit on my face. Thank goodness for a very strong fence between us. She with papa and two cubs. We also watched a boa constrictor kill a live rabbit for its meal placed in the pit by a zoo worker.

Grocery Receipt

Several days ago I mentioned we went grocery shopping. Our "tab" came to over n32,000.00. I paid in cash. the exchange rate right now is $1.00 for n150.00. Even for a simple grocery bill I carry a really big wad of bills. the largest bill is n1,000.00, the smallest I have seen is n5.00. I understand there are coins, but have not seen any because I am told they are not used.

Chicken Soup for All

Last evening's supper was a hearty and scrumptious home made chicken soup. It was so hearty in fact I ate mine with a fork! The beautiful table setting Corrie provided was placed on a special made table cloth. After supper the men of the mission team gathered to ask questions about the new property development. John, the development & project manager shared the hopes and dreams for the property. The master plan, the cost and the process. Photos show the plan for the fifteen acres where the team began by pouring footers for the water tower and building blocks for the structure.

Special Village Visit

This morning John, Sarah, Gus, Sami, Eileen and I went to visit the village pastor and his wife and the village chairman. Our purpose was to greet them and present the simple gifts we brought for them. For the pastor a collared shirt, for his wife a shirt and jewelry made by Jeni Guckenberger, for the village chairman a collared shirt and a baseball cap which he wears daily. The photos are of pastor and wife, Eileen with a village child, nephew of the pastor, construction on the Chairman's property with childen carrying the blocks on their head as helpers and a photo of the chairman. He inbvited us into his home for a brief visit, showed us the starting of tomato seedlings in the reed covered bed. His tomato crop will be planted in the coming weeks with harvesting in May and June to the local markets.

Chad's Birthday

Today Chad, ond of the men on the mission team celebrated his 33rd Birthay here in Jos Nigeria complete with double chocolate cake from a local bakery, singing, cards and gifts(for his wife). Our evening meal with the Men's Team included Tacos! Is this the trend for a new Nigerian meal?

And a sunset over the razor wired wall which helps us be safe!