Coming in from the fields

Last post from nigeria

This is my last posting from Nigeria. We are driving to Yola tomorrow so we can get our plane tickets to fly out early on Wednesday morning for Abuja. We will fly out of the country on Wednesday evening and be home some time on Thursday. Pray for our safe travel!
Dottie

After we were stuck the bridge looked like this

Our last Saturday in Nigeria

Today, I was going to work with the children on the computers. I should know better than to try to plan anything!! We went to another revival. Simon Benjamin decided it would be good to go to the Central Conference with the children and thank them for their support of the orphanage. So we did. We took the scenic route, which is shorter. I think there is only one bridge over this river and we didn’t take it.. We took a ferry instead. These are not like any ferry I have ever been on. I hope when I post this, I can also post some pictures. I am amazed every time I go somewhere in Nigeria. Something always goes wrong, but we always make it to our destination and back. This time the van was acting up. They are going to have it serviced. My guess is the mechanic won’t find anything wrong. I think it is a vapor lock issue. But then I’m a woman and what do I know. We also got stuck going over this makeshift bridge. Four wheel drive went right around through the water and so did the motorcycles. I don’t know if the van would have made it through the water or not. We made it over going, why not coming back? It has aa lot to do with the way the planks were laid out. Anyway, the revival was good. There was a bit of political campaigning, lots of music, preaching, praying, and offerings. It amazes me that politicians can find a place to blow their horn whenever a few or more folks are gathered.

Computer time

Thursday evening,

Today has been a good day for me. I got online!!!!! That meant answers back to questions I had. Notes from home were welcome. All the sad news from Japan was not. I spent the afternoon with the kids. We did Kid Pix on the computers. It was really a lot of fun. When I got back to the guesthouse there was a choir practicing next door. I took video. It is way too dark to see anything, but the sound is pretty good considering it’s a recording from my camera. I tried to download video, but when a photo takes five minutes there is no hope for video.

New Classroom buildings

Simon Benjamin has started two new classroom buildings and a computer lab. The building that is being used for classrooms now is an older but sound building that does not have the best air circulation or lighting. It was our hope that solar panels could be put in place for llights. That has not worked out. The new classrooms will have good lighting and circulation and the present classrooms can be converted to dormitories for new orphans. All the funding for the buildings has come through local donations.

I can only upload one photo at a time and they each have to be in their own post. I don't know why I cannot do it the regular way, but it works and that makes me happy. It takes about 6 to ten minutes to do each one and I am not a patient person.

Laying blocks

carrying cement to lay block

Mixing Cement for New Classrooms

Thursday

Hello from Nigeria:

It’s Tuesday morning and I am sitting outside to write this. When I get to the orphanage I’ll paste this onto my blog.

Linda Rowe is off doing some surveys for boreholes. She has had a really difficult time this trip. The company they were going to use didn’t work out. We only have one week left and no wells have been dug. She was planning to do six to ten. On Saturday and Sunday evening she met with a new driller and looked at some places he has worked.  Yesterday they took off to look at the sites she wants to have done. With any luck they will get some thing done this week. After she leaves, Ruben, the fellow in charge of wells here can complete the work. The wells they drill are about 150 feet deep and have to go through rock to get to water. The villages where the drilling is done usually have no source of clean water nearby and the people are sick often during the dry season. Out in the remote areas there is often no good road, children must walk a long way to school if they go, water is scarce, and life is hard.

I’m struggling to get something done here also. My frustration is with myself. I have had a terrible time with the heat, especially the last couple days. The painting I’ve been doing with the children is going OK. I want them to have fun but they are taking everything so seriously. The best day we had was when we worked a bit on a computer and learned the keyboard home row.

Hannatu, who works with Brittany from Iowa on micro loans for women has someone sick at her house today so she will not be by. I’m not sure what Brittany will be doing, She might come with me to the orphanage if she and Hannatu cannot work on their micro loan project.

March 15, evening

I am sitting outdoors enjoying the almost cool of the evening. I wasn’t able to get online today because the server wasn’t working. It is an electrical thing. They’ve had electricity consistently at the orphanage and secretariat until I came. It is so hot that people are using too much to cool off. Here at the guest house we are running a generator to keep the fans running.

I worked on painting pictures with the children in Primary Level 5 today. They are a fun bunch. They find great humor in the way I talk and the fact that they can talk amongst themselves without my understanding what they are saying. This group has been the most lively of all the groups both times I’ve worked with them. They first drew their pictures with pencil. Then, some of them traced over their lines with markers. We used watercolor crayons and when that dried they outlined with glitter glue. We had a blast. Tomorrow I am working with Primary Level 4 kids and there are more of them. We’ll see how it goes.

Linda and Ruben should be getting back from doing their survey work this evening. I hope everything goes well and they can do some well work before she has to go back home.

Mrs. Thomas and family & with me

Revival at Lankaviri

Children at revival in Lankaviri

Hassan, level 6

Boer Peter

Monday

Saturday March 12, 2011

Went to a revival at Lnakiviri, not far from Jalingo. The kids went also. Magdiel took a van load then came back and got us and more children and orphanage staff. We were supposed to be there at 10:00 a.m. but were not on time. Lots of group singing before our turn. A politician came by to say hello. Just like at home. Whenever folks gather they show up (election is in April) to campaign. Hannatu asked Linda and myself to greet folks. Benji had asked me to speak about the orphanage. Of course, not everyone could understand us so she had to translate. Then the orphans and some of the staff posed for a group picture. Next was an offering for the orphanage. I got some video of the band playing while they held the offering. The morning session closed. We went to Rev. Liatu’s house while we waited for Magdiel to get back from taking the first group of children to the orphanage. When Linda and I got back to Benji’s office there was no electricity, so couldn’t check e-mail or do any other work. We each had a bowl of mixed fruit. I proceeded to not feel well. I think I’m not hydrating well enough. Don’t know what the deal is. Magdiel brought us bck. I drank more water and took a Pepto and a shower. Then I started to feel better. I hope I can rest more tomorrow. Worship at the revival starts at 9:00 a.m. Hope I can deal with it OK. High temp was 113F with 11% humidity. No wonder I cannot feel myself sweat.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Good luck transition team folks with your webcast! Of course you won’t get this until after it’s all over. I cannot use the internet. A transformer is out in the orphanage and secretariat area, so guess I’ll just wait. If we get a chance tomorrow, maybe we’ll do the internet café. Of course, cannot put this on. Too many viruses. I’ll have to wait until the electricity comes back to blog again.

We went back to the revival for the closing services this morning. It started about 9:00 a.m. and I didn’t look to see what time it was when we finished. It was well into the afternoon when we got back to the guest house.

It is really hot! When I looked at the thermometer this afternoon it said 111 F. I’m feeling much better today! Yesterday I couldn’t even sweat much. Couple things I think I figured out: 1) I’m not eating the foods I’m familiar with 2) Drinking bottled water with no trace minerals 3) I’ve been sweating a whole bunch 4) I am probably deficient in a couple things. Started a multi-vitamin. Brittany has some sent from the US. Her parents sent her some that were better so she isn’t using these. I’m not going to be here much longer so these should help a bunch. I’m not eating much either since it’s so hot. I’m sitting on my bathroom floor. It’s the coolest place I can find in the house.

Anyway, back to the revival.  Sitting through a church service in a different language is tough, even if part is in English. There were about four of five little boys who did a synopsis of the event at the end, journalist style. They were really darling. They spoke in English first and then switched. Rev. Salamatu, the former director at the orphanage, is the District Superintendent in the area so I got to visit with her a little.

New beds

Lots of excitement today. The new beds have arrived for the children. The wooden ones that we had made when the orphanage was new are really beginning to wobble and they were afraid that they might break under the weight of the bigger kids. We made the decision to get new beds for the kids and put the old ones into storage. Some of them are still pretty good and can be used when a new dormitory is finished and children are added. I'm having a bit of trouble with my camera. Forgot to put the SD card back in so took photos on camera memory. I cannot figure out how to get them to the card so I'll have to download them directly to the computer and I don't have a cord. I will be going to a Revival tomorrow or Sunday, it started yessterday already. Why don't we have revivals in the States anymore? It sounds like a really good time!

Hello from Jalingo

I am so excited to be able to send a few photos to you. It isn't as easy as I wish, but if I load them each to their own post it works. Yesterday I came and worked on e-mails and tried to blog in the morning. Right after lunch I went to work with the children doing some painting. Level 3 is much messier than the older children, but we had a good time and I got some good photos of the children. Two of them are posted if you just scroll down after you read this. It is very hot here but cools down in the night, so much that I had to put a sheet over me last night. We went shopping last night for food. Linda, Brittany and a couple folks from here went north for an overnight stay and they had to take food along. While we were at the market a political rally just finished. There was a constant stream of motorcycles traveling past so we had to wait until they all went by before we could cross the street. It took a while. I wish I had taken my camera with me to get a bit of video. You wouldn't believe the excitement. It was like a parade going by only fast with people standing along the side of the street cheering. Elections are in April. They could change the wole landscape of the way the country works. No matter what happens about half the people will be unhappy. Sounds like elections in the US doesn't it.
Brittany's job here is an interesting one. She works with micro loans to women for business ventures such as growing things or selling things in the market. Payback for the loans is going very well and each of the participants has paid each installment of her loan on time. More groups are organizing and that is why she is traveling. Linda is checking on some agriculture things. She is working with folks to help them grow foods with more nutrative value, she has also been working with the well project which takes up most of her time.
Have a great day!

Hassan Kefas, Primaary level 3

Adhaneweh Sauw, primary level 3

Linda Rowe drinking water from the well

Banana trees planted near the well at Bagarmi

Classroom in Bagarmi

Trip to the bush

On Monday we went to Bagarmi and Tsentsee. Both these villages have bore hole wells with a hand pump. They are the only source of water during the dry season and serve at least a thousand people each. The wells were drilled through a program started by Ron Wilmot from Akron, Iowa and continues through a fund in his memory. The church in Bagarmi has a relationship with the Nebraska church at Callaway. The area has very little as far as material goods but the people are friendly and happy. Farming is the major occupation with harvest of the cassava root in progress right now. I was really surprised to see the school. There are four classrooms constructed of cornstalks. There are five teachers but one is ill right now so four are doing the job. One hundred eighty one children attend the school with a possibility of two hundred more. Families pay a fee for their child to attend school and they wear uniforms. Fees for one term are 500 N an equivalent of about $3.50. That’s a lot of money in this part of the world. Uniforms are an extra fee, but not all students have a uniform. There is no school in Tsentsee and the children would have to walk several hours to and from school if they were to attend the nearest government school. Again, agriculture is the major occupation. Ground nuts and corn are two of the commodities that can be stored for the dry season although most of the produce is either sold or consumed. Sheep are raised to sell and buy food when they are running out of their own produce.

Rev Liatu and Rev Hannatu

Sunday, March 6

Sunday, March 5

I am way behind on this. Today I figured out how to get pictures on and then forgot to caption them. I’ll try to do better today.

On Sunday we, Linda, Brittany and I, went to Gada to church. It was a special women’s Sunday so all the women in the District were each dressed in the fabric of their own church. It was a Sunday for the women to vow the work they would do for mission for the year (probably like the Pledge Service we do in the US). They have another one similar toward the end of the year as a celebration of meeting their vow. During this service there was also a renewal of their wedding vows by a couple, Edward and Christina, who had been married for 20 years. Their first wedding was a traditional one, not a Christian one, so it was very special. The service lasted for about three hours, but it really didn’t seem that long. Much of it was singing, dancing in the aisles and praising God. Rev. Hannatu and Rev. Liatu did the service because it was a women’s service. Two offerings were taken, one for the women and one for the church. In the evening there was a reception for the couple who had been married, we didn’t stay for this. Weddings are a great time of celebration, even an anniversary like this one.

Hello, from the land of bananas, pineapple, mango, ground nuts and spinach. In Nigeria ground nuts equal peanuts. Mrs. Thomas cannot get peanut butter though unless she goes to someone who will make it to order. Spinach equals pigweed in Nebraska. I think it has a pretty high nutritional value. Magdiel planted a garden full of it this morning. The children at the orphanage were having spinach for lunch today and I had it for dinner last night. It is really pretty good. So why don’t we eat it in Nebraska, we have plenty of the stuff. Of course if it became a cash crop Monsato would make it Roundup ready and we couldn’t get rid of it in other crops.

We have been away from home over a week. I’m still not accustomed to the way things go here. This morning Hannatu and her husband stopped to see me. She told me that Magdiel was coming to get me. I thought that meant right away so said I needed to get my things together. They left and he was a while getting here.

The coolest birds were across the driveway. I got a picture of them but have to blow it up to see it and then it is no good. (I should have gotten a better camera) They have red, yellow or blue breasts and are gray brown on the back. Saw a few I recognized as doves.

I went to the orphanage this morning. My batteries were dead the last tour I took so today Magdiel and I walked and I looked closer at things. There are three buildings under construction, two classrooms and a computer lab. A fellow from Jalingo is donating funds with the specification that a computer lab be built with them.  The orphanage has several computers that have been purchased with the same fellow’s money. At present they are not using them. They need to run more electricity to the part of the classroom area to use them.  Anyway, we brought one to the auditorium and I installed Kid Pix on it. While it was loading the kids learned the home row on the keyboard. Each one tried to type asdfghjkl;. We all had a really good time.

Benji and I looked at metal beds for the kids. We are going to have the kids try one and see if they like them. I think they will work just fine. I forgot to take a picture, will do that on Monday when they bring it to the orphanage.

I’m back at the guest house and we have no water. Not something I was worried about, maybe we can shower at Brittany’s tonight or hope the pump will get enough water in the tank.

I think I finally figured out how to post a photo to this blog from Nigeria. I hope you can see it. This is Patience and Boer doing some painting.