Over spring break a group of us went on an outreach in northern Nigeria. I was so excited to be able to travel to some different parts of Nigeria and get a real village experience. Our team was made up of seven baturis and six Nigerians. Baturi means white person in Hausa. The first day we drove about six or seven hours. Traveling in Nigeria is quite an “adventure”. Oftentimes the roads are bumpy and the driving is erratic. It’s amazing how you adjust to these things even if they are different than anything you have ever experienced. Restroom breaks include a roll of toilet paper and a “concealed” spot in the bushes. Again, it’s funny how you adjust to new experiences.
Before we got to the village, I had been told this would be the first time for many of the people to see a white person. When we got there, we spent some time greeting the people. I began to joke around with some of the kids. I was playing with one of the kids, but didn’t realize that there was a little boy behind him freaking out. He obviously had not seen one of me before. :)
Afterwards we spent some time playing with the kids and setting up for a film show. It was so much fun just running around with the kids and trying to think of games that don’t take much explanation. Later we showed a couple of films. It’s cool because they are films that are in their language and they share the gospel through a story.
The next day was Sunday so one of our team members preached and then we set up the medical clinic. It was organized chaos. They received a card to come into the clinic. When they came in they got their blood pressure taken and then saw one of the two nurses from our team. They interviewed them and wrote a prescription for them. Then they moved to the next station where their prescription was filled. The drugs that we had were basic things like Ibprofun, eye drops, malaria medicine, and cough syrup. But these are things that are not easily accessible for people in a village. We also provided everything for free. While some were working in the clinic the rest of us played with the kids. We had a great time trying to teach them some games and our friend Dazaan made it much easier by translating for us. It would be so cool to be able to fluently speak the Hausa language. But even those who have taken one or two classes find it difficult to communicate. I was so glad that we had some Nigerians with us so that they could translate and have some good conversations with people. They were able to pray with and for those who came to the clinic. When we finished up our day, we left and went back to Malumfashi. There is a City Ministries care center there and we stayed there for the night. It was nice to have a shower (bucket bath) and relax. We slept outside and it was perfect weather.
On Tuesday we got up and drove up to the border. We were across the street from the Niger border. We were in the desert! It was so windy and dusty, which was good for us because it kept the heat bearable. We did basically the same set up with the clinic and playing with the kids. We rotated so that we all did some of everything. Before the film show in the evening, we did a puppet show. The kids (and some of the adults) couldn’t figure it out, so they kept running back and forth, trying to see how this was happening. We were in this village for two full days. After the people went through the clinic, they had the option to have someone pray for them. Many of the people did this, and I think it was encouraging for them and for us.
The last village that we went to, was back towards Jos, outside of Kano. We stopped in Kano for a couple of hours, for a much needed shower and a meal at the Pizza Hott. It was hot pizza served in a really nice hut. :) It was good to relax a little before moving on to the next village. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to know the Lerosas. They are from Switzerland. They already speak three or four languages and are now busy learning English and Hausa. We had fun teaching them some of the “essential” English phrases like calling a joke cheesy or corny.
We got to the last village in time to set up our tents and go to bed.The next morning we got up had breakfast. Some of the guys went to greet the chief. Greetings are a big deal here, and they wanted to let him know what we were doing. We had a connection with a pastor at each village. The chief of this village did not want us to give out free medical care. So we prayed about it as a group and decided to spend the day playing with the kids and later that evening we had a meal for the church members. We were still able to do a puppet show and show a film.
I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go and visit these villages. I feel like I had the real “African” experience and I continue to be amazed at the greatness of our Lord. We are such a small part of this world, and He chooses to use us to be His vessel to carry the message of Jesus Christ to our neighborhoods and around the world. Thank you so much for being a part of this. I pray that God would bless you and keep you! I would love to hear from you!
