A Proper "See You Later"

"You did not have a proper farewell, Christy," Jeje (the project literacy coordinator) explained to me as I recovered on my living room couch from a bad spell of malaria.  'Really?  You think a little vomit here and a little vomit there while driving out of the village on Monday wasn't a proper goodbye?' I thought to myself because the sincerity of my Nigerian brothers and sisters does not lend itself to sarcasm.


We agreed to a short farewell on the following Monday, the 16th at 8:30am at the Chief's palace.  The same Monday we planned to leave Jos and go to Abuja to catch our flight on the 17th.

After a late night of packing, we rushed out the door of our cement block house for one more visit with the Bace commmunity in Jebbu Bassa.  On the way we visited our friend Dogara who was in the hospital and picked up Mama Ruth, a dear sister in Christ and supportive member of the Kuce literacy project.  We arrived around 9:15 to wait for an hour before the Royal Fathers arrived from various villages in their flowing robes and Hausa caps.  When they enter the room you feel their distinguished presence.  As I put last touches on the movie showing the events of the past year in their language, I stole glances at them looking over the books I had placed in their hands as samples of the work.  Some were sounding out the words, tracking with their fingers.  Others were reading to each other and smiling at the stories or artwork found inside the books written in Kuce.



Around 10:15 we began with introductions, followed by talks of several members of the community.  Mama Ruth said she felt I was a daughter from her own womb.  A representative from among the chiefs said that I had listened to the problems in their community and prayed with him. Rev. Victor, who is trained as a literacy teacher, prayed a prayer over us from Psalm 23.  Jeje gave a short talk from Ecc. saying that he did not want my work of this past year to be in vain and encouraging the community leaders to join him in carrying on the work.  Then the Paramount Chief gave an inspiring speech about how he wants to see Kuce taught in the village schools. How he himself as a child was taught by an SIM missionary in the Kuce language at the local elementary school.


Encouraged and spurred on by their enthusiasm, I showed the video of the events of the year, and encouraged them to continue building on what had begun with the outstanding group of devoted teachers.  The teachers were there, and I had them stand.  As they stood, I was overjoyed because I knew that God had been faithful.  I entered this community not knowing anyone, and now I had a group I considered my friends, of co-workers in the task of seeing a literate community in Kiceland.  What a unique gift from the Father of Lights.



 We were then presented with locally grown grains, wooden spoons, and clothes (which we wore for the next 4 days all the way home to Holland, MI including our first day there because our bags didn't arrive with us.)  We changed into the clothes in an adjacent room and I modeled them as I came in to the cheers of the leaders and their boisterous laughter rising.


We ended around 11:30 with taking some of the pictures you see below.  My heart was full to overflowing for all God has done, and praising Him for what is to come in the future in Kiceland.