Experiences

Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity to stay with a Nigerian family. Their two daughters attend Hillcrest. Here are some experiences and thoughts from the weekend. Hope you enjoy!

--I got to eat lots and lots of Nigerian food. One of the main highlights of living in Nigeria is experiencing superb hospitality. Here are some of the foods that I got to eat: red stew, moi moi, plaintains and rice, pop (corn but in a custard texture), and much more.
--Bucket baths. When you don't have running water, you heat up the water and take a bath with a bucket and a bowl. Thankful for hot water :)
--Got to meet their kaka (grandmother) and grandfather on the other side. What a neat experience that was. I guess it's because you know they hold so much wisdom. They were both very sweet.
--Talent Show Friday night. The older of the two girls was in the talent show. She did a fantastic job. She danced with a friend to a song by Superchick. The song was about needing a mean boy like needing a bowling bowl dropped on your head. :) There was some amazing break dancing as well. Hillcrest is full of talented kids.
--I got to spend time with the girls and hear about their interests. The younger sister wants to be a writer. She is writing a book. Amazing. The older wants to be a missionary. :)
--Cooking lessons from the mom. :) She even taught me to make pancakes from scratch.
--The mom also spoke to me in Hausa some of the time. Great way to learn. Mun gode Allah. :)

There was much more, but I need to rest for school tomorrow. Thursday is Independence Day, so we are celebrating tomorrow. I will post some pictures soon. Love you all and miss you very much. Hopefully I'll be sending out a newsletter this week, and I'll try to post it on here as well. Love in Christ ~ Heather

Recently

So I want so much for you to be able to visualize what life is like here. The best way that I can think to do that is to describe typical experiences here and hope that it gives you a glimpse of life in Jos, Nigeria. On a schoolday, I wake up and get ready for school. This includes on most days using the 12 volt light system that my parents so generously ordered and paid for. Power here is unpredictable and limited. I imagine that there is a man by a switchboard determined not to follow a schedule. But with the 12 volt system, there is nothing to complain about. But it doesn't power the fridge or the washing machine. So you learn what things to keep in the freezer and to be flexible with the laundry. The school that I work at, Hillcrest, has provided a driver in the mornings and afternoons for the teachers that do not live on campus and need a ride. This has been such a blessing. Especially since I have such great luck with taxi rides. :) I get to school about 7:30,which is nice because the second bell doesn't ring until 8:30. We start with Bible, and then do a whole group reading lesson. At 10 the kids have recess. Nice, right? Then, we finish reading and do math till noon. The kids eat from 12-12:15 and then go play. There is no lunchroom, so most of the time they bring their own lunch. Or someone brings it for them. They can also buy stick of suya (chicken on a stick) or chips (french fries). After lunch we do science, grammar, and writing. On Mondays the kids get out at 2:30. We sometimes have a staff meeting or professional development. On Tuesdays-Fridays they get out at 3:10. On Tuesdays I help with a 9th grade girls discipleship group. I'm leading it with another teacher which is nice. We are leading them through a study on how to be a godly woman. I did a Bible study with some friends last year on Proverbs 31. It was so good, I had my mom scan some of it to me and we are using it with them. They are fifteen lively, opinionated girls, so it's a challenge to plan things that will keep their attention and help them to grow. On Thursdays I take tennis lessons after school. Why not? One thing that the elementary teachers have the opportunity to do is to go on home visits. So I visit each of my students' homes. While it is taking a long time, and it takes up some of my afternoons, I am appreciative of the opportunity to catch a glimpse of their lives. It helps to understand them and their parents better. I have eleven boys and six girls in my class. Five are missionary kids, one is Lebanese, and the rest are Nigerian. The staff at Hillcrest is supportive and encouraging. On Wednesdays during recess the elementary staff get together and pray. On Wednesday nights we have praise and worship with some of the single missionaries around Jos. We have compound prayer on Thursday nights. I don't think I have had two similar weekends yet. Last weekend a group of us went to Styre. Styre is in Bauchi state. It's an old trucking company...I think. Anyway, they had a pool, which was nice. Once you get off the plateau, it gets warmer. We went to a giraffe park on Saturday. We saw a few giraffes and some zebras. Yes, they were enclosed in a fence. But I say it is two steps up from the zoo. 1. Because you are in Africa. 2. Because you get to walk around in the fence. This weekend we have a four day weekend because Monday and Tuesday are Muslim holidays. Shallah I think is what it is called. So I'm hoping to see some of the different ministries here in Jos. I will write more later and try to describe more of what it is like in Jos and what the culture is like. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I praise the Lord for his hand in each of our lives. God Bless.