Week 1: Sannu! Greetings from Nigeria!

SANNU!!!!!!! (That means hello in Hausa!)

Wow, I do not even know where to begin. Let me start off by saying that words on a page are a cheap way of expressing my gratitude to the Lord and to all of you who are supporting Allison and I through prayer and encouragement and financial means. But, since it is the only way at this time of telling you how much I am thankful, let me say it the Nigerian way and say “Na gode”.

SO, to give a brief overview of the week, Monday and Tuesday we had safe and blessed travels with no problems at all. Thanks for all your prayers!! Our flights were comfortable and long, and we met fun people along our journey. *QUICK funny* Allison and I both took Nalgene bottles so that we could fill them up once we got through security. Well, after we got off the plane in Frankfurt and we were going through their security (which is MUCH less fast-paced and stressful than in America..) I was pulled aside. “Oh great.” I thought to myself. “Is dis your bag?” the security man asked in his German accent. “Yes it is.” I replied. “Open it”. So I opened it and he dug out the two water bottles that were half full of water!!! “Ooops! We forgot to dump them out on the plane!” I exclaimed. “Can you drink?” he asked. “Yes!” I said, “Or you can just pour them out...” “No, you must drink.” They wouldn’t let us pour them out!!! WE had to CHUG our bottles in front of security!!! hahahaha.. Allison and I were glad we were able to drink quickly so we didn’t hold up the line and they didn’t expect that we were trying to bring in poison or some other explosive chemical. BUT it was funny and they were all watching us as we chugged half a big bottle of water. =) Silly... we know not to do that again..

Anyway... everything else went really smoothly and customs and the airport in Abuja was really easy. We arrived with another family, who the man, Mr. Tait, is actually the SIM director of the country, so we sort of followed them because they knew what they were doing. We traveled to Jos on Wednesday morning on a four hour car ride and got to see the country just a little. IT was GREAT, especially riding with the Taits because they knew so much and were telling us so much information about the country and pointing out landmarks etc.

Now that we are in Jos, Allison and I have been bombarded with a million facts and lots of information in the last three days about SIM and the culture and what to do and what not to do etc. Its been kind of a crazy few days, but its been so good!

Yesterday we went to the market and got our cultural orientation. WOW talk about awesomely insane! Ok, so we bought some Nigerian material, some veggies, fruits and other groceries to get us started on our cooking. We also had to walk along the streets which are FULL of cars, people and motorcyle taxis.. and I mean FULL. You would not believe the number of people on the streets!! And NONE of the vehicles stop OR slow down for anyone or anything! so there takes on new meaning when you say, be careful crossing the streets. =) OH MY GOSH, I cant even explain how awesome it was to be right on the streets, crossing right in front of the cars, walking along all the market and being in the midst of the people. They are crazy drivers and especially the motorcycle taxi drivers. They are like ants EVERYWHERE and they have NO fear about diving in and out of people, cars and pot holes.

I definitely felt my color when I walked through the market. The people look at you when you walk by and some call you "Baturi" (Ba-too-ree) or "Oibo" (Oh-ee-bo). It is mostly in a friendly way and they are in general very nice and friendly people. They all want to greet you and say hello or “sannu”, in their language. There are only some men we have to ignore, but other than that Kauna, our orientator, said we could be friendly and should greet them back or else we would be considered rude. We have also been trying to learn other Hausa phrases so that we can greet people and respond back when they greet us. Most people speak Hausa and then the people who have been educated speak English and Hausa. There are many tribal languages though and so it ends up that many of the people here can speak three of four different languages.

We went to the tailor to get our dresses made and we should have our Nigerian dresses back in a week! =) I am so excited! On the way back, Kauna was running late so she decided to catch a taxi back to the headquarters and send us back to Evangel on our own. It was fun for Allison and I to be out on our own for the first time and we felt pretty confident as we darted across the streets between the cars and the motorcycles. Literally, they say if you wait for there to be a clear spot in the road, you will sleep there because the streets are never clear. So you just have to time it right and be smart about when to walk out in the middle of the road. We almost got the hang of it and we did well on our own.

The weather is really nice! It can get warm in the early to middle parts of the day but is just right in the later afternoon and evenings and has rained almost everyday for about an hour or so. When it rains, it rains HARD! It’s so nice! Sometimes we wake up to the rain during the night also. It is so green here and the plant life is beautiful this time of the year!

The missionary community is so welcoming and fun. We have been to many houses for dinners and lunches because they “take care of you” the first week you are here. Next week we will be on our own for cooking, but we are excited and nervous at the same time to take on that adventure. We played ultimate Frisbee today with a group of about 35 people at the high school for the missionary kids. It was a game organized by some Baptist girls who are here on 2 years terms and they were really sweet girls. There were families and young people from all over the city who are here for short or long term and who are here from all over the world. It was so fun to play and have fun with a community of believers who are here serving the Lord with a similar vision. (I’m proud to say my team won..) =). I am really looking forward to spending more time with the Baptist girls as they have now invited us to their functions such as worship on Wednesday nights etc. Allison and I have also been hanging out with Rachel, Dan and Tim in our spare time. Rachel is a medical student from New York who lives with a family here on the compound and Dan and Tim are two medical students from Northern Ireland who lived right next to us. It has been fun to get to know them. Last night we played cards with Dan and Tim and taught them Hand and Foot and had a great time enjoying their Northern-Irish ways: for example.... they say “It’s your go” instead of it’s your turn.... or they call chips “crisps” and things like that. =) The five of us will be hanging out quite a bit in our spare time I think because we are all medical so we are all here on the compound together and they are all really fun people.

Well I think that is it for now. I do not want to make these too long, then no one will read them and know how to be praying for us!! =) Thank you all for your constant support and prayers. Allison and I really do feel them and are so encouraged that you guys are behind us and supporting us here. WE could not do it without your support and we could DEFINITLY not do it without the strength of the Lord! I have been reminded time and time again that if I take my eyes off the Lord, I will sink into the waves, just as Peter did. The exciting thing is that I have stepped out of the boat and now I am in stormy waters and the only way I can stay afloat is by keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus. I KNOW I cannot do this and serve through my own strength, but I am clinging fast to the promise that “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’ Therefore MOST GLADLY I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Blessings on you all as you each serve wherever you have been placed.
Sai anjima!!! (See you later)
Alisha

PRAISES
-Safety in traveling and on the road
-Many welcoming missionaries and help from the many people here
-We got wireless internet finally set up in our apartment!!!! =)

PRAYERS
-Continued health
-Safety as we face the busy streets and the markets
-Wisdom and safety as we begin in the hospital on Monday
-Continued growth in relationships with other missionaries here

Allison and I in the plane.

Trying to entertain ourselves in the airport.

Finally we have arrived in Jos and this is the living room in our apartment!

Allison and I in our front yard.

Enjoying the scenery, its so green here!

The flowers are beautiful because it rains everyday!

The trash and compost pile is not so nice, but it works!

This is Kauna and I at the market. (Notice all the people and cars in the background!)

This was our first experience in a taxi, it gets really squished because they fit two people in the front and four in the back and then you have to tell them when you want to get out as they are driving!! It was pretty different!


This is the market! This is where we will be doing our shopping for the next 5 weeks.