Savor. 651-700

651. Nickel Creek's "Doubting Thomas" & remembering all the stories & youth connected to it

652. Finding a 7-11 in Kanab, UT - which means a yummy Slushie.

653. Buying way too many bags of Trolli egg gummies.

654. Realizing that our hotel in Kanab is right next to the Escalante Staircase Visitor Center

655. Driving down a road just far enough to see if we could catch the sunset

656. Seeing at least 20 deer cross the road and chase their friends

657. Belgium waffles at hotel breakfasts.

658. Walking next door to the visitor center to register for the Wave

659. The fact that they only let 20 people hike the wave every day - to keep that land protected

660. Being the number four in the lottery for The Wave

661. Speaking German with a French/German couple

662. Not winning a permit for the Wave on Saturday

663. Driving three hours north east to the Hole in the Rock dirt road. 

664. Only getting to mile 16 out of the 26 miles on the dirt road.

665. Exploring the 25 mile Wash.

666. Stepping into mud or quicksand and being able to laugh about it and get my boots out

667. Climbing a cottonwood tree

668. Getting off the Hole in the Rock road before it rained on us. Didnt' want to get stuck in the mud.

669. The beautiful scenery that changes before your eyes

670. A second morning eating Belgium waffles - I really like them! So yummy!

671. Watching a couple from Japan celebrate because they got a permit for the Wave 

672. Driving over to Arizona for the day.

673. Finding a Sonic & drinking a Route 44 Cherry Limeaid

674. Sitting at the edge of Horseshoe Bend, AZ

675. New adventures

676. Experiencing Red Mountain Resort with Michelle

677. Yummy and healthy food

678. Access to a variety of hot tea all day long

679. Early morning hikes in the Red Rocks

680.  Trying new workouts back to back

681. Riding bikes to have coffee in a neighboring village

682. Laughing. A lot.

683. Trying to open wine without a wine opener

684. Sabbath by lying in a hammock for the afternoon

685. Walking the labyrinth by myself surrounded by red mountains

686. Meeting Deedre and Kim on one of the morning hikes

687. Running into Abby while getting my haircut with Merrill! I love small reunions!

688. Experiencing The Summit Youth Ministry conference for the second time.

689. Catching up,with Anne at dinner in Atlanta

690. Lunch with my YMCP guys

691. Meeting & listening to the guy behind the Kid President share how God is using them

692. Listening to speakers and feeling so thankful that I do what do & how we do it

693. Sonny's barbecue

694. A slice of pizza from the best pizza place ever in Atlanta

695. Love when friends come into town

696. Wine tasting with Candis at Arrington Vineyards

697. Talking about guys with Candis and her friends

698. Yard Sales. Don't like them but thankful for the people who give and the people who buy so my youth can raise money

699. Laughter with my youth after an entire today together at the yard sale

700. Face timing with my dad and Grace

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." - W.T. Purkiser

Year Four. Day 36.

Flying back into Nashville this morning! Gorgeous day!!

Ya heard of scleroderma??

I'm sitting with four dear friends and one new friend in the Pittsburgh Presbyterian Hospital. This hospital specializes in Lung Transplants and my sweet friend, Lorene is on the Lung Transplant list because she was diagnosed in 2010 with Scleroderma. Her symptoms have caused her lungs to harden - which makes it extremely hard to do anything. In the past, people with this form of scleroderma were sent home to die - but now there are a few hospitals that offer lung transplants. It's not easy to get in the list but after lorene was rejected from Duke - Pittsburgh said yes. You can read about her journey - here.

We were sitting in her apartment for only 1 1/2 hours when Lorene got a phone call around 2:00 pm. There was a lung available and they wanted her in the hospital in the next 30 minutes. This is the first time that she was given a hospital room and was completely ready in a bed for surgery at 9:30 tonight.

So we are waiting. With Lorene and her husband, Steve. They have a sweet relationship and are both handling the unknowns of this disease and the transplant situation well.

We know right now that one of her three surgeons flew to where the available lung is and is personally going to check it out. If this lung is a healthy match then the surgeon will fly back with it and then Lorene will go into surgery.

We've laughed a lot today. A lot.

Lorene, Sandi, Mandi and Kelly have all been friends since they were in elementary school. I met them all in high school. We are telling stories, making fun of each other and catching up. All 5 of us haven't been together since the end of high school.

*******************

It's now 1:00 am.

The lungs were a no-go. The surgeon found pneumonia in the lungs so another doctor came to let Lorene know. She was released and we all left.

There was a sense all day that it would be amazing that if she received her new lungs while the four of us were here. So it was a definite let down to hear that she wasn't getting new lungs tonight.

I'm still so thankful that we have been here with her though - this roller coaster is part of her journey. It's been amazing to me to see the outpouring of love, well-wishes and prayers from so many people in her life - from all over the world! Keep the prayers coming...for her strength and continued health and for her new lungs to come available soon!

Moments in Alaska

Here's some of the pics I took in Alaska...

Anchorage Urban Trails

Salmon Eggs Benedict from Snow City Cafe

View from the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

I know someone who would wear these...

I love the word "Sundries"

I passed this playground on an urban hike.

Yum, Moose's Tooth Pizza and beer

Sunset on my first night from Alaska 1.

Snow Mobiling!!

Snow mobiled to this Glacier. Check out Snow Tours!!!

Snow Mobiling

That's right...

Alaska sampler

Got my stamp!

The views here are breathtaking!

On my way to Homer, AK.

Halibut Fish and Chips

Alyeska Hostel

Morning run in Girdwood

Breakfast at Silvertip Grill! Ate two meals here - yum!

On the way to Seward, AK.

Iditarod Trail starts in Seward.

Spenard Hostel in Anchorage, AK.

My silver lining on a dark day.

Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge

Keeping my eyes above the waves...

I have a tendency to listen certain songs over and over. Typically they are songs that evoke some kind of response out of me. This week while driving around Alaska - there have definitely been a few that have been on repeat.

Some of the singers/songs:

Ingrid Michaelson
Maybe:
I don't wanna be the first to let it go
But I know, I know, I know
If you have the last hands that I want to hold
Then I know I've got to let them go

Everybody:
Happy is the heart that still feels pain
Darkness drains and light will come again
Swing open your chest and let it in
Just let the love, love, love begin

Philip Philips
Gone, Gone, Gone:
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating- I freakin love this song right now!

Garrison Starr
Gasoline:
And I wish I could save you
From all the shrieking voices
Inside your head that rip you to shreds
And tell you lies
Like there's no happiness to find


And THE ONE that keeps taking my breath away today is from Hillsongs latest album
Oceans - Where feet may fail:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior


That first line...Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders??? Really? No borders? What if I'm trusting in the wrong thing? How do I honestly know when it comes to the matters I have questions about?

My trust has so many borders - it almost pisses me off. I've cried today while listening to this song. Gotten angry. Even had moments of profound hope. I wish I was in a place to completely trust. But I'm not sure that its possible for me to trust God without borders.

I AM trying.

My favorite part of this song are these six lines - and they are repeated six times. Reminds me of Taize songs or even a longer breath prayer.

In my moments of profound hope today - I have actually said (to myself), "I'm in love with my life!" Which would crack me up.

I'm not exactly sure what is NEXT in my life but lately I've been smack in the middle of something hard. As well as beautiful. I like the steps I've taken. I'm sharing my heart more. I've cried a lot. I'm taking risks. I'm trying to be present even when I want to shut down(that's the hardest for me).

In the something next - I don't know how much of the story that I'm in the middle of now will continue but what I do know is that I'm trying to approach it all as a celebration.

I'm ok if I'm not able to trust God without borders. But I'm planning to repeat those six lines over and over as a prayer until they do become truer in my life.

Merry Christmas Letter

Hi to all -
I decided to actually write a letter this year...so I am going to write it on here. For whatever reason I do not feel compelled to send any cards or letters out this season but I do want to connect with friends and family in some way...so I guess this is where it will happen.

2009 has definitely left a mark on my life. I would say this has been one of the hardest years that I have experienced. I don't know if it is because I turned 33(which some people have said was a hard year for them as well - possibly because it's the year Jesus was crucified?) or just because sometimes life is hard. When I say hard - I don't mean that hard is always bad. Just hard. 

I am still serving at the Director of Youth Ministries at FUMC in downtown Pensacola, FL.  I have been here for 5 years and still absolutely love what I do.  I get to walk with 7th-12th grade students as they figure out what they believe and who they are in the Body of Christ.  I also get to pray, cry, laugh, serve, ask questions,  travel, explore, hike on the A.T. every summer, sing, get messy, tell stories and so much more with all of them.  It is truly an honor when I see each one of them really work hard to hear God's voice and respond in their own unique way. 

In April, I had the opportunity to take 7 students along with two dad's (supposed to be three dad's but one wasn't able to go at the last minute) to Ihiala, Nigeria to help dig a clean water well in a village that didn't have access to clean water.  After 6 months of raising money and awareness - we boarded a plane that took us to Nigeria.  It was an honor to watch the students from my church adapt to the heat, the attention, and the overwhelming need that surrounded us every where we went that week.  They played with children in the village and at an orphanage.  We were invited to lead songs for 4 hour long worship services.  We attempted to help with the well.  But most of the time...we waited and shared and talked and watched and prayed and learned and laughed...and cried.  I don't know if any of us will ever experience the kind of attention that we received that week and I know that none of us left that country the same.  It is an amazing and frustrating experience to know that there isn't much we can do for the people in that area...but we offered our time and our lives.  Here is a link to a video that one of the students created when we got back.

I also was given permission to take a month off to hike this year.  So on October 3rd - I flew to Sydney, AUS with one of my dear friends and explored the eastern coast of Australia for two weeks with her and then hiked around different parts of New Zealand by myself.  It was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in my life - the people that I met were amazing AND I got to hike across glaciers and volcanoes and near fjords.  Seriously.  It was incredible.

But the best part of the trip - was the time I had to be still.  I am learning that I need to give myself time to be still so that I can hear God voice through all of the chaos that echoes around me most days.  My favorite day was in New Zealand - I was sitting on the side of the road looking at beautiful NZ scenery and listening to a Derek Webb album.  I cried.  I prayed.  I wrote.  I listened.  I was able to just feel like I wasn't alone and that I was particularly loved.  At this point - all I know is that I long to be a willing participant in the story that God continues to tell through my life. 

I get to see some of you every week. I miss many of you.  But no matter what I am thankful because each one of you is in my life. 

Blessings and prayers to all of you as we enter into 2010 together!

Emily

Give me eyes to see...

Monday, October 12th

I wake up early. No matter what. Earlier than the others with me, so I usually wait for awhile before I start getting ready for the day. I was going to run this morning but I decided not to because we are hiking in the Bald Mountain National Park...which should be a 3 hour hike total.

My left foot is still giving me problems - but the pain is on the top of my foot. This has happened before but it normall goes away eventually. Not now. After today's hike, I might take it easy for a couple of days and see what happens.

We ate breakfast at a mom & pop bakery - we all had meat pies with something different on top. Mine had tomatoes, cheese and bacon - not too bad!

The Bald Rock Mountain is supposedly the largest exposed granite monolith in the Southern hemisphere. We started our hike up with snacks and water. It was an easy hike up - mostly on a logging road. As we got to the top - we were hiking mostly on smoth granite rock. We again had a great view, there were lots of clouds but they just added to the beauty. We had hoped to see wildlife out here but all we saw were flies and a few birds.

Then. There are two ways to the summit.
1) long but easy (which we took up to the top)
2) short and harder - more of a rock climb

We tried to find the rock climb down. But honestly there were NO signs for it at the top. So Candis and AJ thought we could continue our hike dow the logging road - I mentioned that I wasn't comfortable with it but agreed to try. 45 minutes later we hadn't seen any signs - so I told them that I thought we should really turn around. I have been in this situation too many times before(you know, lost but you know exactly where you are) so we turned around. We were low on water and it was lunch time...Anyways, we got back fine, just hiked a lot longer than we planned.

I was super determined to not get discouraged - so my prayer the whole time was "give me eyes to see"...cause I can get so inward focused that I miss what's around me. (Still didn't see kangaroos though).

We washed our faces at a spigot near the carpark and then drove to a waterfall gorge - it was beautiful! There was also a HUGE dragon/lizard...pictures to come!

We spent the rest of the day driving south...we decided to go to the next town down for lunch - even though we were all pretty hungry - so around 3:30 in the small town of Deepwater...we stopped at a convenient store that served burgers and sandwiches. The owner is a delightful woman who has been in the area for about 4 years - her name is Sandra. She told us stories about her family and how she ended up in Deepwater. All I know is she makes a mean burger - it was possibly the best meal yet! We left stuffed.

In Glen Innes - there is a Celtic memorial to honor the Irish and how they helped Australia to become what it is today. They are standing stones...it is pretty cool. But weird because it isn't natural. And there are alllll sorts of amazing rocks standing all over the place. But we went and looked and enjoyed.

Further down the road as we passed through Glen Innes - we saw the Happy Strawberry. They make strawberry shakes, shortcake, jams and more. This place was recommended to us by Ulla. So we had to stop in! Candis and I split a shake and because I had asked about the Pavlova - the woman gave us a sample. It was a meringue with cream and strawberries. OH MY. I could have licked the plate! So good. No really. I want some more now.

Found out my hike in New Zealand was cancelled. So...I don't know what I am going to do in a couple of days. I think I am still heading to New Zealand but I don't know where I am going to hike. OH - and the weather in South Australia and New Zealand is cold enough to snow! hehe.

Tonight we are in a cabin at a YHA - in the town of Armidale. The home of the University of New England.

Australia - itinerary

It's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday. Friday just happens to be the day that I will board a plane which will take me to Memphis, where I will join Candis as we travel to Los Angeles and than all the way to Sydney, Australia. By the way, I will lose October 3rd completely because we will arrive in Sydney on Sunday, October 4th in the a.m. Candis will be with me until the 17th and then I will continue my travel on my own...

Just in case you are wondering where I will be for the next 30 days - here is what our itinerary is for right now:
Sunday, October 4th - Sydney
October 5th - Sydney
October 6th - Coffs Harbour
October 7th - Murwillumbah
October 8th - Brisbane
October 9th - Brisbane
October 10th - Brisbane
Sunday, October 11th - Surfers Paradise
October 12th - Tweed
October 13th - Byron Bay
October 14th - Newcastle
October 15th - Blue Mountains
October 16th - Sydney
October 17th - Candis heads to the US and I start the 2nd part of my adventure.

New Zealand!
Whew

Sans the suitcase...but I am home.

I just got home.
This day has been incredibly long so I am not going to write much...but I left the house I was staying at by 6:15 a.m. and got to the Lagos International airport by 7:15 a.m., only to have the entire Delta system go down. So they had to manually check all of us. I was lucky - I got back by 8:45 but we didn't actually leave until 11;53 a.m!!!!!!!!!! Supposed to leave by 9:15 a.m.
So 2 extra hours on an airplane but just sitting at the terminal.

But it shortened my 4 hour layover in Atlanta to 2 hours and now I am home.

Without my suitcase - I had it in Atlanta cause you have to get it to go through customs off an international flight and then recheck it for your domestic flight. But at least I had it in Nigeria the entire time!

I really loved Nigeria.

Last morning in Owerri...

I have LOTS of thoughts about my time here and I know I've included some of the thoughts in my writings so far but I will try to process and share some of what I feel...
Today we got more water for the upstairs...and while were were filling the jugs a funeral procession started out front. So we ran upstairs to watch the procession happen...Interesting.
Then we got ready to head out to the market one more time to buy toilet paper and soap for the kids at the Red Cross Motherless Babies home...when we got there -they just said "Welcome" and continued with their work. So Mare, Chidinma and I started to hold and dance and play with the babies for a while. Man, if I lived here - I would probably come often to hold the kids...
When we come in April my prayer is that we can help level the playground, fix or add playground equipment, bring some books and stuffed animals and just hold the babies...
Now we are back at Mare's eating oranges and she is putting up with me while I am on here.

Blessings to all of you!

Time for me to head back home...I am flying to Lagos tonight and then staying with a family that is connected with Rob Haynes at Fairhope UMC. (THANKS ROB!) Then I leave their house at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning(Midnight Friday in Pensacola) to get to the Lagos International Airport...then the crazy long flight to Atlanta and then home by 10:00 p.m.(Pensacola time)

Motherless Babies Home...

Well, today we were going to work and play. First we planned on going by the Red Cross Motherless Babies Home to see what we could do there in April and then we were going to go to the lake with Richee and his friend Sylvester. It's about 45 minutes away from where Mary Ann lives and she really wanted to share this place with me. So we had the guys meet us at 10:00 a.m. to head out...and as we got in the car, Mare warned them them that the car isn't working well(see last nights info about that) - and that if it gave us too much trouble heading to the orphanage then we wouldn't go to the lake.

We made it to the Motherless Babies home and got out and were completely not sure where to go. Right away I knew that my group could just spend time cleaning up the grounds or removing trash or ANYTHING and it could be helpful. This is a non-profit organization and it completely depends on volunteers...we finally made our way to C who was willing to talk to us about the children at the home. And once she figured out that we were connected to Fyne...then she was very helpful!

Have to end here...but will continue in the morning.

Okay, the generator ran out of fuel last night so we had to shut everything down...

Basically, the Red Cross Motherless Children's home has huge needs and the absolute heartbreaking thing is that it will take so little from some of us to help fill some of their needs. Like they say on every commercial for places like this - only $20 or $30 a month can feed and care for a child! It's crazy true.

I have a few things that this orphanage can use that I want us to try to take care of...I will list them in separate post.

After C gave us a tour of the whole facility we played with the babies but not for very long and then we went to buy them peanuts and biscuits(crackers) across the street.

We never went to the lake - the car is not in good shape so we decided not to risk it if we didn't have to and we are still going to have to use the car to get me to the airport.

Mare and I got some more shawarma's at Crunchies and spent the afternoon entertaining some of her male admirers. They stop by quite often. It's actually pretty rediculous...some of them do just want to be friends but so many would love to marry an american woman! They really do believe that America has all the answers...they have bought everything that Hollywood is selling. What was pretty amazing is that two of the guys(the ones that went to the orphanage with us) - actually listened to us when we explained that hollywood is not how most of America really is. Mare has told that to soooo many people already but most don't believe her. So I think it is helpful to have two of us here - to give different examples. I told them how I hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and they just couldn't understand why someone would do that...but it made them realize that we don't all sit around with food at our feet all the time. It was a fascinating conversation...

In the evening, we ate fried yams and plantains - split the last of the smores that I brought(just the marshmellow, chocolate and graham cracker - not over a fire)...and watched another movie together before the power and generator went out.

Crazy driving and new foods???

Wednesday continued:

So after Richee left we decided to get some food "to go". We got shawarma to go on Tuesday in Onitsha and so Mare decided to take me to a different "fast food" restaurant called Renny's. We got into the car and as soon as she started it and let it go to idle...the car died. And we both just started cracking up. Then the car lights went out. So we agreed that we wanted to try to venture out at night to this restaurant...but weren't sure the car would make it...but we decided to try. Basically the poor car would stall anytime it was in neutral or idle...it's a standard car - it's often in neutral AND the lights would randomly go off so she had to . So Mare had to navigate the traffic, rev the engine when we came to stop(which means braking with the left foot), and switch the lights between on and brights...NUTS! All in all - she did a great job...

We got to Renny's and picked out some Agusi soup with foofoo and garee...it is more like a stew that is eaten with a starch with your fingers. And to eat this you use a technique called swallowing. Roll a small amount of the starch in your fingers - scoop some soup and then place on tongue and swallow. So we both ordered the same thing - but hers had a big ol piece of fish and mine did not...no meat for me. :)

We headed out and got into the marvelous car and...it wouldn't start. So I got out to try to push it cause sometimes if you push start it...it will start. Very laughable...a white girl trying to push a car...some men stopped to help us and started pushing her car down the road...AND it didn't start. They kept hitting the trunk and yelling..."start!" "Go!". But we couldn't. And just as we were about to give up - the engine turned over. Whew. So we made it home.

I have to say - out of everything else I have eaten here in Nigeria - Agusi soup is not my favorite. I don't mind the starch or the swallowing...but the soup tasted pretty fishy and Mare says that the one we had is the least fishy that she has eaten. SO...I probably won't be eating too much more of that this week.

Otherwise, I am reading "Jesus for President" by Shane Claiborne this week - and am absolutely loving how it is challenging me. Especially while I am in Nigeria.

Ihiala and back to Owerri!

Woke up this morning so thankful I finally made it through the night. I wasn't sure I was going to because of the heat. But when I woke up, I also felt better so maybe I got rid of my sickness by sweating!!!

We had a leisurely breakfast with the family and the worked out how were going to get to Ihiala and then home to Owerri. Victory originally thought we would come back to Onitsha before we went back to Owerri but it would save us time if we were able to go straight back...so we found someone who could drive the hour to come and pick us up! Yea Calvin! Also, in the Nigerian culture it is a tradition to say good bye and thank you to the man of the house and he had already left for the morning so she sent someone to go get him so that we could say good bye.
We piled into the ministry van to head to Ihiala but first she wanted Mary Ann (and me by the way) to get measured by her seamstress so Mare can get more clothes made for a cheaper price. Then we were on our way.
When we got to Ihiala there weren't very many people around. There are lots of people on the main street where the shops are but once you turn off the main road it is quiet and very beautiful. We stopped at Victory's grandma's house to see the site of the future borehole and explore the area. Her grandma doesn't speak English so much of the time Mare and I just sat while Victory and her grandma spent some time together. Mare showed me part of the walk to the current water source and we saw some of the other houses and people who will benefit from the new borehole. It is so humbling to realize that many, many people in this entire area have to walk some distance to get water for their daily life needs. And here in Ihiala it's miles to get water. If we are able to bring them the first borehole then half of this community will only have to walk a quarter of a mile for water - but the other half will still have to walk a longer distance. And I just turn my water on. And off. And on. As I need/want. Victory's grandma seems to live off the land - plantains, oranges, yams and other things grow all around her. She brought us some oranges to eat and they were incredible. Their oranges fresh off the tree can't be beat!
Calvin picked us up to drive back to Owerri. I continue to be fascinated by the amount of people that will line up on the road to sell their goods(oranges, bananas, handkerchiefs and more) to people in cars. And how crazy the driving is. We did get pulled over at one of the check points but they let us go without much trouble - just made him show his drivers license and open the trunk.
Then back to Owerri AND it started raining which means the weather is soooooooo much cooler. I was so flippin excited! Mare got us some drinks, Maltinas, which is something that everyone drinks around here. It's a malted beverage...Then her friend Richee came over and the three of us discussed business opportunities, the advantage of being an American, the difference between the faith of Africans and Americans and why it's harder for Richee to see things our way. It was a great conversation...but again it's interesting because here - they tell you what to think.
To be continued...

"Who’d a thought that this broken and fragile heart could be a well."

Today we are leaving Owerri. I came to Nigeria to see Mary Ann as well as to scout out the area for our April 2009 Mission Trip where we will help dig a borehole and other things. We are headed to Onitsha which is where her friend Victory lives with her husband today and then tomorrow will come back through Ihiala, which is where the borehole will be constructed.
And we are traveling on our own. Calvin will be taking us to the bus park - which is where you buy tickets for which bus you want. Typically, busses are really 12 passenger vans that they pack full with people and stuff and they will stop at any time to pick up passengers! But this company, ITC(Imo Travel Center), have both 12 passenger vans and larger and they will only pick up in their official parks (very safe for 2 white girls to travel in). So Calvin helped us get our tickets and then we got the two front seats, which is good cause we weren’t packed in and we had plenty of air with the windows open.
And we headed north towards Onitsha by 10:30 a.m.…the road for awhile was pretty smooth and we passed a Disney Resort on the way out of town. There really was something called a Disney resort but the only person we have asked so far has no idea what Disney stands for to know if they are connected to “the” Disney. Let me know if you know!
These busses pass many locations where kids and adults swarm up to the car trying to sell water in bags, cashews, bananas, oranges, gari and more…and as soon as they saw me and Mare – they would yell “onji oncha”. So we would say “Good afternoon” and then say no to buying anything as they swarmed the van. It does seem that most of the people on these busses do buy snacks and cold drinks on the way pretty often though, but we didn’t.

We got to Onitsha by 1:00 p.m. – Victory came and picked us up in the ministry vehicle(van) with a driver. The traffic in Onitsha is even crazier than anything else I have seen. Cars, vans, people, motorcycles are all battling for space on thin roads. People carrying goods on their head and in their hands to sell to every open window they can find. AND potholes all over – so the cars swerve to miss them or drive slowly to go through them which throws off the traffic as well!

We headed to Victory’s house which is in the same compound as the church that her husband works at, which is pretty big. After a refreshing drink, we went with Victory to a local Catholic Seminary where she is teaching a weekly course on Aids/HIV Prevention awareness for pastors. Wow, that was interesting. It was another example of how different their culture is from ours. The men in the class were struggling with ideas that wouldn't even be an issue in the U.S. We spent the rest of the afternoon at her house – talking, napping, snacking…I have been fighting a cold most of this week and today it has felt the worst. So I welcomed a 1 ½ hour nap, I honestly felt like sleeping most of the day. I have to say though, it is crazy hot here! And even though there are fans in each room…it still feels stuffy. This is one of those times it would be so nice to get out of the skirt and wear comfy shorts! But not here in someone elses house! At 6:00 p.m. Victory said she was going to the revival in the compound – which started around 4:30 p.m. with very rousing music…so she brought out head coverings and Bibles for all 3 of us and we walked out. And as I am finding – we kind of create a bit of a disruption wherever we go…so we ended up in the best location to see the people, dancing, music and speaker. I was able to take some pics of the kids dancing. The music had a latin sound to it – but most of it was in Igbo so I don’t know what they were saying. This has been my favorite worship music experience so far. Their band had about 12 people in it! So fun! But 3 hours later after lots of prayer, preaching and singing – I was so hungry and so tired and still didn’t feel well. We finally left right before 10 p.m. One of the things in the Nigerian Culture is to make a full meal for your guests no matter what time it is, so at 10:30 or so, we were eating the dinner that Victory made for us. I jumped in the shower(yes, they had running water!) right before the generator went off at 11:00 p.m. (Their power(Nepa) wasn’t working last night). Got into bed and had one of the hardest nights I have had since I hiked on the Appalachian Trail…I think I was sweating constantly and just couldn’t sleep more than 30 minutes at a time. But I made it.

To the market...

Woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m. and by 7:45 a.m. the fans came on!!! Yea!!! The cyber cafe opens at 8:00 a.m. so we benefit from the generator being turned on for that.
Today was a day that Mary Ann needed to run some errands and I wanted to go by the Assumpta Pastoral Centre. That is where I am planning on staying when we come back here in April to help dig a well. So Mary Ann, Chidinma and I got in the ministry car and headed into the crazy traffic. Basically, picture no rules - you can drive on the right or the left side of the road, even though they do seem to try to stay to the right, sort of. There are people walking across all the time and motorcycles weave in and out all the time. Whew. I don't know how Mary Ann does it...you have to be so aggressive! So we went straight to the bank to make a deposit and you have to go into the bank one at a time...and so Mare and Chidinma went in and then a man ran up to me and told me that someone was taking a tire off of our car!! So I went into the bank to tell Mare, so she and Chidinma went out and argued with the guys for awhile but the only way they would give the tire back was if she paid a fine. I've seen this happen in Nashville...but it's a little more difficult here.
So after they put the tire back on - we went to the Assumpta Pastoral Centre. It is beautiful!!! We will actually have running water(cold but running) with toilets and showers! There are bed nets over each bed and fans...but the landscape is gorgeous.
From there we went to the post office and then the market.
Mare wanted Chidinma to make egg stew with fish for us for lunch - so we got all the supplies. The market is just a huge collection of people selling meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, clothing and so much more!!! Trash is all over the ground and cars and motorcycles are driving through some of the streets, so you have to constantly watch where you are walking. But I loved it. It was so alive and every other person yelled out “white person” or something in English and I got another marriage proposal yelled across the way. Chidinma got a fish, tomato paste, curry spices and then we were on our way home! The traffic was pretty backed up so it took us awhile to get back home but then she started to cook for us.

Now I don’t know if many of you realize that there is very little refrigeration here. So you have to buy the food you need for a day or two and then go shopping again. Most stuff doesn’t last very long either because there are so few preservatives. So we ate her lunch at 2:30 and then ate the rest of it tonight…It was sooo yummy though. Fried Yams, Fried Plantains along with fried fish and egg stew…spicy and so good.

After that we had chapel on the 2nd floor of the ministry. Any students that are around come and the Vice president of the ministry leads it. Today was prayer time…which ended up being mainly about me. They sing a song called “ you are welcome in this place” which they sang at church yesterday and then again today in chapel and all the students came around and shook my hand… I had to cover my head again for this.

For the rest of this afternoon Mary Ann and I have read, discussed life, the Holy Spirit and the faith culture in Nigeria. Then we watched a movie on Netflix. Mare hasn't seen many movies recently...we got almost all the way through "Superbad" (maybe not the best choice of a movie) until the last 10 minutes and then the internet connection stopped. Oh well.

I've enjoyed our evening together...now she is falling asleep waiting for me to finish on here so she can write her blog as well...

Oh - we are heading out of town for a night - so prayers for our travel!

The Methodist Church of Nigeria...and more.

Church in Nigeria. Supposed to go from 9:00 a.m. to noon. (Pretty much everything starts on Nigerian time here – which is whenever they get around to it) We showed up at 10:00 a.m. and they had just begun the service. Women and girls have to wear dresses that go to your knees and wear a head covering…and Mare has a couple traditional dresses which she wore today.

They sing hymns and have a youth praise band that helps lead a few songs throughout the morning. Lots and lots of songs throughout – the pastor would break into song while praying and while preaching. And every time the pastor yelled “Hallelujah” most of the congregation would shout “Amen”! It happened quite a bit. I have to be perfectly honest – I almost fell asleep about 10 different times. It was so hard to sit there for so long! And I really only slept about 6 hours in the past 2 days…but it was kind of funny too. What is interesting is that there were many other people nodding off at different times as well, especially after the power went out. No fans = warm sleepy people.
The two pastors lead the congregation in intercessory prayer about 2 hours into the service and had all the youth come forward first. Well, Mare and I both qualify as youth because we aren’t married or mothers. So that was pretty interesting – the two of us with about 20 students, that would be really hard for me all the time because there isn’t a place here for an adult woman who isn’t married. Then they prayed for the mothers and then the fathers. Lots of "Amens". They also had first time people come forward – so me and 3 others came forward to receive a handkerchief made of pure cotton (because we are all the same in the Body of Christ) and get more prayer. It was a very passionate and moving experience.

After about another hour of announcements they had the last of 3 opportunities to give an offering. They started singing this praise song and dancing and then the people started moving forward to give their offering in a box that is labeled with "Offering" on one side and "giving" on the other. It was fun to watch every person pass by dancing and singing. What I didn't realize is that they were all going up row by row, so when Mare tried to hand me money so that I could go forward - I tried to tell her I wasn't going to go up. But then she pointed out that everyone was going...so I did! It was a little awkward...walking with a beat but I think I managed okay.

I hate to say it but finally after 30 more minutes of announcements the service ended with the choir processing out...

We were invited by the Methodist Diocese Bishops wife to come over for a cold drink and "Kola". Kola nuts are given as gifts to visitors entering a home, usually with some formal ceremony...Mary Ann and the girls presented Kola with a prayer to me yesterday when I first arrived. They ended up making us lunch and also gave us the fabric that she had made for the 20 year celebration of the Methodist Church in Owerri. I am including a picture of the fabric wrapped around me - they made clothing out of this material for all of the committee. And some of them make skirts to wrap around them. I have it on like a toga but they would actually have both shoulders and chest completely covered. I was so moved when she gave it to us though. I think she and her husband were impressed that Mare and I both group up in the United Methodist Church.

Mare and I headed back to GCM at 3:00 p.m. so she could unlock the doors to the cyber cafe. Then we both took about an hour and a half nap...it was lovely! We went for a walk this evening to get eggs and tea. It is crazy to think that most of the people that saw us, only see white people about 2 times a year normally. So most of them try to say "Good evening" or "onji oncha" which means white person to us...they have all be very polite though. But it's funny to be a spectacle. We walked to get part of our dinner from a street vendor - a meat that is cooked over a fire called Suja. A little like beef jerky but much chewier. I was having a hard time with the first piece cause I kept chewing and didn't really get anywhere with it. I said...it was a little like chewing gum cause it didn't break up at all. And Mare made her 2nd quote of the day, "You keep chewing and it just keeps getting bigger". We thought that was pretty funny at the time. Not really sure what part of the cow we were eating...but it was spicy and good. On our way back from getting some Suja, we walked around the back of the neighborhood. Clouds were rolling in for the evening storm and I could see beyond the buildings to the green landscape...it was an incredible sight. To see the contrast of color and light with the dark and then the contrast of that beauty with the extreme poverty and trash right in front of us. I mentioned how beautiful and hard it all looked...and Mary Ann said, "Yeah, it's like where Heaven meets Hell". So true and heartbreaking. I tried to take a picture of the sky once we got back to the GCM building but it's not the same as what I saw. We ate our Suja on the front step and were joined by 3 very young kids...probably 4-6 years old. They talked with us and played and then sang close to 8 songs about Jesus. This area is very Christian. There is no separation of church and state so even their t.v. shows are about hearing the Holy Spirit talk and then a rap song...it is very interesting. So after we played with the kids...we have been upstairs...talking, me on the internet and just being in the same room together.

Good day.

"Are you too hot for tea?"

Mary Ann has drinks hot tea here every morning and evening, so she offered me tea last night and I said it was too hot for tea. So this morning she asked me..."Are you too hot for tea?" Pretty funny.
Today has flown by. I went to bed last night around midnight and fell asleep immediately but woke up before 6:00 a.m. Mary Ann turned the generator off around 12:30 a.m. so eventually I was just so hot and sticky...so I laid there for about an hour and listened to the world around me start moving. There were four kids outside singing and playing and car horns and at some point someone started play praise and worship music - loudly out of a neighboring window. Oh, and many roosters crowed but not till 8:00 a.m. Crazy animals.

I spent some time reading Rob Bell's new book Jesus wants to save Christians and then it was time to get water for the day. Mary Ann has help with this during the week but on the weekends she has to get her own water. They have a spigot out back that the neighbors all use to fill their buckets or jugs - and most Nigerians carry them on their head! (I am going to try to take pictures of all the amazing things they carry on their head - I just haven't been bold enough yet). We both had the joy of carrying two 40 pound water jugs up 3 flights stairs...to fill their water barrel. Then it was time for a shower, which means that you fill up a small bucket and stand in the tub and wash. We ate poptarts and then it was time for church...so we got into the ministries car. Mary Ann navigated through the crazy traffic here in high heels and traditional dress to get us to the Methodist Church of Nigeria.

Traveling to Nigeria

I already have had sooo much stuff happen over the last 30 hours since I left Pensacola… so I am going to try to get it all in before something else happens (like my “shower” with a bucket of water).

First flight out of Pensacola was delayed because of weather in Atlanta and then we were held in a waiting pattern because the visibility going into Atlanta was at ½ mile…just imagine lots of bouncing and turbulence.
I still had a couple of hours to spend in Atlanta so I walked all over – talked to family and friends and then sat in the E terminal waiting for my 11 hour flight to Lagos with a variety of other people. I LOVE walking around the E Terminal because that is where most of the international flights board. I like to watch the people and try to figure out where they are from…
Then we board the plane. It wasn’t the biggest plane I have ever been on – we didn’t have our own t.v.’s but it was still pretty big. The flight was not full so we almost all had an extra seat between everyone which is always nice when you are going to be together for so long. I watched “Swing Vote” around 2:00 a.m. and then attempted to sleep – but about 10 minutes into my nap our absolutely huge plane dropped about 3-5 feet. Not far…but enough that a prayer service almost started up all around me. Most of us had been sleeping/resting so as they were startled out of the rest they made a lot of noise. It was pretty fascinating. Actually at the time I scrunched up my eyes and tried to breathe so that my heartbeat would slow down, but now that I think about it, it was fascinating.
After that I never really got to sleep, I did nap after the second movie (The Visitor) but only off and on.
I loved flying into Lagos- this part of Nigeria is very, very lush and green and all of the buildings are painted bright colors. It is definitely not a wealthy area but it was still beautiful to look at the blend of colors…Okay, then we land in Lagos. I got through customs with no problems and only one comment about how “If I visited here for 2 weeks, then I would be sure to find a Nigerian husband”. Seems to be a common comment here. I got my suitcase and walked outside where I was asked about every 3 minutes if I needed a taxi. I was supposed to wait for Victory’s friend Max and he was going to help me get a taxi so I could get to their domestic airport, he wasn’t there when I walked outside. I kept telling all of the “taxi drivers” that I had a ride, a friend is coming but they would still ask every few minutes. Then they started to offer their phone so I could call my “friend”. I finally borrowed one of their phones after waiting for about 40 minutes to call Mary Ann to see if Max was still coming or if I missed him. She said he was definitely coming and that she really didn’t want me to try to get a taxi without him. So…then Mr. Phone Loaner starts asking me for money since I used his phone. Blech. I hate that kind of stuff. So I told him that I wasn’t going to give him any money because he didn’t tell I would have to pay him AND I need the little money I had for my taxi. And THEN he asked me if he could have my number so that we could start talking and he would be willing to fly me back to Nigeria in December. HA! So I lied to him and I told him I didn’t think my boyfriend would appreciate it if I handed out my number to other men. Dang, I don’t know how Mary Ann puts up with that on a daily basis.
Max got there another hour later – that’s a whole other story – and he personally escorted me to the other airport where I caught my domestic flight to Owerri. He was very nice and it was great to know that I could trust him…so I made the airport transition pretty well.

I was greeted at the Owerri airport by Mary Ann and 2 other girls and one of the guys that helps around the ministry. It was sooo good to see Mary Ann! They had to start the car by pushing it in the parking lot – and then we started the 40 minute drive to Global Christian Ministries, where Mary Ann lives. Okay, I imagine the driving here is a lot like it would be in India – very reckless, no order, people swerve all over the road to avoid potholes that tiny to potholes that could be a swimming pool! We passed about 60 ministries and some of them were already having tent services for the evening. Again, the tents and clothing is very, very colorful. I wanted so badly to take pictures of all the people walking down the street with all sorts of stuff balanced on their heads! Bags, boxes, jars…it is incredible. But there were already plenty of people paying attention to the fact that there were 2 white girls in this vehicle so I didn’t want to draw any more attention to us. But I am just going to have to get over that because there are going to be 2 white girls traveling quite a bit this week…oh and, we got pulled over two different times. I don’t really don’t know why. They both looked like checkpoints and they must randomly make people pull over but it didn’t take long either. (Okay, I know more about the checkpoints but will write more later).
Last but not least, some of the girls made us dinner tonight – it was something that tasted like spicy Spanish rice and then beef jerky. Mary Ann warned me that they don’t really know what is in the meat…but it didn’t taste too badly.
Tonight- I have been chatting and hanging out with Mary Ann in her apartment. The weather here is a lot like Pensacola’s weather in August and then there isn’t any air conditioning…so we have lots of fans on!!!

Okay – going to bed…it’s 11:22 p.m. here…miss you all!