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!

Still More From Today

Filanis are a noimadic herding tribe of cattle, goats, sheep. The women in the photo are part of this tribe. They herd their animals anywhere there is food. The spider and the wasps were in and outside of the building. The lunch break focused on the very chewy but tasteful beef on a stick. We are gathered on the front poarch of the Oasis House

More form today

Eating, building pallets, Gus and Sarah came along because school was closed for security reasons-a church was burned in another part of town, most of the village children have no shoes, one little fella had one! Mark Parker is inspecting his sand samples after washing several times to remove soil.