I've Got it All Figured Out 3.29.08

Life in Nigeria: I've Got it All Figured Out ...okay, well maybe not.

But I have been here over 10 days now, and my main accomplishment thus far may be that i did my laundry this morning and also remembered how to hang things on a clothesline---for the first time in 30+ years.

"Sannu" (sp?) is Hausa, the main language spoken in this part of the country, for "hello."

I got up before 6 today to take a drive in my borrowed 1956 Willy's truck, which everyone in Jos seems to love. the gas pedal sometimes falls off, and the passenger door won't open. and the turn signal is a little switch which you reach b/t the steering wheel for and then have to remember to turn off. it is a three speed and tops out around 45 miles per hour. my average speed has been 15 mph b/c the traffic is more than you can believe, with very few rules and things like lights, stripes, and signs are just not in existence over here. the knob on the stick shift also comes off easily; i learned that in my first outing but recovered in time. but i love it. reminds my of my first vehicle, a 1964 willy's jeep at age 16! but this thing is built like a tank and everyone around gives me a wide berth b/c i look dangerous in it. and if someone hits me, they will lose. (and yes, mom & dad, it does have seatbelts and i am wearing mine.)

I was looking for fuel for the willy's early this am. (You can't say gas here b/c that means the propane? gas you buy to fill up your tank so you can cook with your stove.) The early morning traffic was pretty light. I passed by 6-7 gas stations, which are not exactly what you are picturing. They were either all closed or just didn't have any fuel. There was some a few days ago, but I heard the lines were huge.

the nigerian food is really good. my favorite thus far is something called suya. a big helping would be $2-3 dollars, handed to you from a kiosk, of sorts, wrapped in some kind of paper for you to carry away and eat where ever. it is spiced meat on a stick, grilled and served with bread made from rice and red onions and some powdered pepper, which i get on the side b/c it is a bit hot. I'm told that if you put some on your skin and then go out in the sun, it will blister. but on a good note, it seems to help clear the sinuses.

My other big accomplishment last week was walking down the road a ways and buying some soda. Used the currency. Got back. Saw about 15,000 Nigerians on my little 45 minute walk and not another soul who looked like me. Good, yes i know.....

The english here is very good for the most part, but in going into town you really have to watch for all the traffic and the tons of motorcycle taxis. there are thousands of them.

and there are three very good restaurants here where all the food and drink are safe.

When i arrived, the electricity was out in the apartment i had thankfully rec'd b/c someone had dropped a ladder on a couple wires that then fused together. but last Sunday i got into my new pad. a nice little upstairs unit. that was good also b/c it was quieter there. the first morning here in jos, nigeria i awoke to the muslin call to prayer, which was over loud speakers and sounded like it was all happening 20 feet outside my open windows. (they all have security bars on them)

you have to be really careful with the water here, and must used bottled/filtered water to brush your teeth, cook, etc. it is not that hard, it is just that everything takes longer. the other big change is that we have only had electricity about 30% of the time thus far. lots of candle and battery usage. and lots of stuff thrown out that went bad b/c of course the fridge is sometimes off for 12-15 hours at a time. also means the electric water heaters es no bueno during that time and a bit afterwards.

no tv. no land lines, just cell phones. everything is texting b/c actual phones calls are much, much more expensive and you pay for each minute. no cell plans here. you buy credits and install them into your phone. everything is paid in advance and when you are out you go to the corner and buy a new card to install new credits.

labor here is incredibly cheap b/c the unemployment is some 50%. the rest average $1-2 dollars per day in pay. the currency here is called naira. 100 naira is about 85 cents. so you can hire a laborer for a couple dollars a day, but a whole uncooked chicken will set you back about $16. supply and demand. obviously the vast majority of the 130+ million population gets very little protein. BTW, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and is about 50% Christian, 40% Muslim, also the 5th or 6th largest producer of oil, but the wealth is not getting to the people. schools are a luxury. there are hundreds if not thousands of kids living off the streets each day.

back to daily life.....sometimes i just give up and get in bed early. but there so far has been lots of time for reflection b/c you can't just go out for a stroll in the evening. too dangerous in lots of different ways. heard many different gunshots over the last 10 days. i just try to think of the 4th of July. it's not a big deal. you just adjust.

the other thing here is of course all the disease. been trying to sleep under the mosquito net over my bed, but it seems i have a few holes that need mending. you gotta take your anti-malarial meds. they aren't fullproof, but most people are protected by them. the heat has been a bit intense, so when the electricity is out you just sorta lay on top of your bed and try to not to sweat.

water is also an issue in terms of availability. we are at the end of the 6 month dry season, and you just have to really conserve. in real terms what that means is that you only flush the toilet when you really need to, and you never let water just run. and baths are out. and and shower which is barely more than a trickle, also needs to be kept short.


so you just have to think of it as a really, really nice campsite!


you have figured out by now that this blog is going to be very open and honest. don't want to sugar-coat anything or mislead anyone about what they might find here. i want all of you to come here or somewhere like it. please understand that the above is not really a sacrifice. it is not heroic in any way for me or anyone else to be here. it is just different. and these are just the realities of life here. but the price i am paying for being here is of course nothing compared to what Christ did on the cross for all of us. so you just make do, and vent a little now and then when you need to, and laugh and say things to yourself along the lines of "Darn" and "Rats" and "Bummer" :)

so i will continue to write from the heart. and for those close to me, you should not worry. because i am being as careful as i can be. and the rest is just in the Lord's hands, as it always is anyway--it is just that here in Africa you become more aware of your utter dependence upon Him.

the SIM people i am serving with have been great. the Nigerians are wonderful. Warm. Fun-loving, fascinating people whom i already love.

but life here is a bit tough, and now you know why i feel pretty good about having carried my laundry downstairs to the washer and gotten it done! there is no dryer. and especially when rainy season (lasts 6 months) gets here in a few weeks you have to make sure your clothes get ironed if you dry them on the clothesline, which is really the only was to do it. otherwise, mango flies will deposit eggs into your damp, hanging clothes and when you wear the clothes, larvae will burrow into your skin so it has a comfy place to grow. i hear getting them out is a fairly unpleasant experience.

but good news! Mama Tabeetha comes to my apartment every monday for 2-3 hours and she irons. she speaks almost no english, but works for everybody here on this compound: picture a very, very high fence with iron spikes on top and a huge iron gate with a 24 hour guard on duty. and then another keyed entrance gate, and then two big door bolts and 1-2 other locks on each apartment door.

sorry this entry is so disjointed. but with no laptop of my own and very iffy electricity and 'net connection, i don't have much time to write. so this will be my main source of communication each month, hopefully every week or two as i get the chance.

thus far i have been just trying to see and understand all the various ministries going on here. have visited orphanages and meal/health centers, schools, etc. i will try to sometime get some footage of these things and figure out how to post it on youtube, so you can see what i am seeing. the markets, the traffic, the living conditions of these orphans, etc. will knock you back.

there are no mcdonalds or anything remotely like that, even in this urban center of some 1 million people, nestled upon a plateau of around 4,500 feet. to the north are even greater populations of muslims, and moving closer toward the Sahara, great heat. we just had a guy come back from there who said where he was it was incredibly hot.

we are either 6 or 7 hours ahead of US central time.

by the way, as i flew over the sahara from frankfurt on march 18, traveling north to south, i saw nothing but the sahara for about three straight hours whilst we traveled 568 miles an hour. it is huge. and we flew over that just a couple hours after flying over the snowy, gorgeous swiss alps.

that's enough for now. to my friends and family and swimmers and dear ralph!, please pray for the missionaries. all i have done thus far is start teaching a weekly bible study for some 18-21 year old boys. but the people who are really serving here are amazing, phenomenal folks.

interesting too that the vast majority of missionaries i have met here from the states (there are folks from New Zealand, Switzerland and many other places serving here) are from Texas. Met an Aggie the day i arrived in jos, which i know my brothers will be glad to hear. but these folks are on the front lines of spiritual warfare, and the battle is more intense than you can imagine. i hope you can come here someday. it will give you more than a few new insights on life in the states and what serving our Lord in this way really means.

my apologies again for this haphazard ramble. i'll get better as i settle in. -rw