They roared their terrible roars

Daso is made king of the wild things!

Culture night at our annual retreat featured the "wild things" this year who "roared terrible roars" at their wild king (Daso) as he floated away on his private boat after the rhythmic wild rumpus.  Zach let his creative wild side shine too with face painting before Christy took the stage to narrate one of her childhood favorites, Where the Wild Things Are. Daso enjoyed a chance to put those acting skills in to practice.  There's nothing like children being told to let their wild side run...wild! 

Peter and the Savior's Knees

He'd been fishing all night...a master fisherman, and caught nothing.
Jesus, the master, said one word, and the fish came.
We strategize, working up to the last day of our departure, working throughout the night to plan, organize last minute details, hand off to the right people, train, pack...
We have tried to be obedient to cast our nets where Jesus has told us to, and yet, we must cling to his knees, cling to the Savior, for only he can bring the "fish", the fruit, the impact of our obedience.

Here we are in the United States of America. What did our last days look like as we clung to the Savior?

Saturday, July 1st: 
6-7am Zach and I could be seen finishing up final details on the map we painted with the children in the children's classrooms at our church.

7-9 am Found me doing teacher training for the Thursday Bible Study teachers who God has sent, equipped, called to carry on this ministry for these children.

9-11 am We finished painting the children's hands on the tree and I went home with the girls
11-2:30pm We made lunch and then prepared for the Beautiful Me program
1:30pm God provided a translator, which I desperately needed to communicate with the mothers of Beautiful Me.
2:00pm It started raining heavily
3:30pm-7:00pm The mothers and daughters arrived (over an hour after scheduled time) in sprinkling rain for our last Beautiful Me before we go on furlough.
7-10pm we clean up, put the girls to bed, and pack some more

Sunday, July 2nd
5am I go to the office to print quiz questions before electricity goes out
6am The electricity goes out right before I hit print
6:15am I'm walking out the door of the office and the electricity comes back! (Thank you God!)
8am We arrive at the church to get the children ready for the big quiz!
9am Church starts
10am The quiz begins with me reciting 2 Timothy chapter 1, the children singing a Scripture Song from 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness,"  and the youngest group doing a fabulous job remembering all their quiz answers.
10:30am I witnessed a child I didn't even know was paying attention tell Saul's story of redemption on the Damascus road. His oversized winter coat hung below his knees and over his hands, but his words were clear, and the message moving that God can do and change any situation. The other two groups went, surprising me with their clear answers the demonstrated a lot of practice and understanding of God's word.
11am I recited all of 2 Timothy (except the final greetings), which God had most certainly helped me do, and I encouraged the congregation to know God's Word, learn it, love it!
11:30am We ate lunch with the Pastor's family, an unexpected blessing for this pregnant mama.

12pm Went to have a final meal with our dear friends who are currently caring for Daso in our home
2:00pm-7pm I took a quick nap, visitors came to the house to say goodbye.  One of them is a woman who has inspired me again and again with her continual support and work in the ongoing Bible translation in her own language, Kuce. She's 75 years old.

Monday, July 3rd - Two days before we leave
9am We finish a Scripture Listening and Reading Group (SLRG) training for another ministry.  I was not sure if I should go because of our impending departure, but I was so thankful that I did.  The testimonies were so touching. They said things like, "This is the best seminar I've ever attended!" and "My children were listening and answering questions.  They were so attentive!" and "I will really use this in my ministry because I can see how this is better than what I'm doing when I'm disciplining."  These leaders work with male and female prisoners, patients, female prostitutes, and male drivers at transportation parks.
11am While the training is going on, I run to town to buy the radios they will need to go and apply what we have been teaching them.  I tie in some last minute gift shopping as well. 

2:00pm we wrap up the training and I go home.
2-6pm I pack while Zach is working hard at the office meeting with people.
6pm Our dear friends Rachel and Uche bring us dinner.
8pm We get the girls ready for bed, and then continue packing.


Tuesday, July 4th - The day before we leave
10am We have a meeting with Rachel (who is also on the Scripture Engagement team) about continuing ministry.
11am I go to meet a mother in a remote part of Jos.  Her child has been a part of our ministry over the last year and I couldn't leave without meeting her. 
12:00pm I get a hair cut from a visiting beautician from, of all places, Holland, MI. 
1:30pm I pick up Daso from school.
1:35pm Go to Mashiah foundation and the House of Hope Sewing Shop to see if the sewing is done for gifts to take home.
2:00pm We go to visit a ministry that offers refuge and support to abused girls and women. Give hugs.
3:00pm We go home to continue packing to find some sweet children have come for homework help.  Zach has been working with them, but I tell them they need to go home now.
3:00pm We pack.
5:00pm We go to a July 4th celebration where people talk about all the things they love about America.  It made me rejoice that we're going to this special part of the world, and weep as I held Daso in my arms and they prayed for us.
7pm (July 4)-2am (July 5th) We pack.

Wednesday July 5th
7:30am The car arrives to take us to Abuja.
3pm We check into a beautiful apartment for the night (provided for us free of charge by Peniel Apartments).
4pm We watch Despicable Me 3 in a theatre with Daso and her friend, Reese, Zach, and Mariama.
6pm We get Dominoes pizza and enjoy Coldstone creamery.
8pm We have devotions...a meaningful time in the Word of God, praying with Daso about the days to come.
9pm We present her with a Nigerian girl doll that is dressed from her own culture as a going away gift.
10pm We repack and get ready for the next day.


Thursday, July 6th
5:30am We load in the car
6:30am We say goodbye to Daso with tears and "You are my Sunshine"
7:00am We check in and board BA for London and then on to Indianapolis (a day earlier than our flights were first booked, do to the flight being cancelled on Friday).

Friday, July 7th
8pm We arrive in Indianapolis where my sister-in-law, Susannah picked us up.

So the furlough journey begins.   
Oh, Jesus, we cling to you!
May you show yourself faithful and true, 
Complete what you started in us there
May each we left behind sense your care. 
May the children learn and grow, 
May Daso your love know, 
May mommy's and daughters connect, 
May those trained remember, reflect, 
May your Word go forth with power, 
May you be their strong tower. 
Father, we cast on you our desire to see results
For only you can show yourself strong through our weaknesses and faults. 
Increase our faith that you will indeed do, 
What you have have planned as we surrender to you.

Dazzling and beautiful

Yeah right! Whoever told us her hometown was 8 hours away was definitely an optimist. Oh, well, we arrived on Thursday morning, and, after checking in with Daso’s family, went with her father and Auntie Mary Jane to two schools where Daso may go next school year.  They were as different as can be.  

The second school was not just dazzling on the outside, it was also impressive on the inside.  It exceeded my expectations of what I thought was possible, and, though I didn’t get to witness a classroom because they are on midterm break, the scattered classrooms left by busy learning made my heart happy…not just because they were scattered and Daso would feel right at home.  No, there were science posters, paper mache volcanoes, painted gourds (a cultural symbol), inspirational posters on the walls. I saw interactive learning had taken place in every classroom we entered.  Mary Jane said she wanted to be 11 again.  I wanted to move there myself. They had drama club, press club, and other extracurricular that will make Daso dizzy with possibility.

Praise God for this answered prayer. Daso will need to take an exam to enter so they can place her in the appropriate classroom.  You can pray that she will be able to show what she knows and as she goes to school, will be confident in who she is so she makes friends who are confident and joyful as well.

I have asked a young woman I met while there to be Daso’s mentor.  I’m waiting and praying for an answer to this request.  If she does not agree, we will keep praying that God will show us the right person.

Probably my favorite moments at her family home were sitting outside, taking in Mariama playing in the sand with other children, Daso getting her hair braided, eating tuwo (corn mush) with sauce, and discussing the important and the mundane with Daso’s mother and Auntie Mary Jane.  We also swam in a very mossy pool, went out to a bakery for food and drinks, and celebrated her oldest brother’s 14^th birthday with balloons and cake made on the stovetop in a “local oven.”  

Yes, it was a beautiful and successful trip.  Thank you for praying with us as Daso (and us) transition in the upcoming weeks.  

Family

If there is one thing that living in West Africa has taught me, it's that family in God's eyes is so much more than what we learned about extended and nuclear families in anthropology 101. The bonds that hold people to each other are as diverse as the shades of brown that make this colorful creation of family so special.
We are preparing to go on furlough. Preparing for a tearing that we know God has already covered in his grace.  With this knowledge, we live our days building memories, scrapbooking ones we've had, and training ourselves for a time apart.  Daso will be returning to her family two weeks after we return to the United States.  She will stay with her "aunties" Nnena and Mary Jane who brighten our days and will love her well at the beginning of the 6-month separation.

We (Mari, Daso, and I) will be making a journey to her hometown to see schools, and pray God provides just the right place for her, giving me discernment to know it when we find it! My hope is also to find a mentor for her as an outside person to listen and pray with her.  Thank you for holding us all up before the Father who loves each of us and goes ahead of us.

Family Picture from left to right: Mary Jane, Christy, Mariama, Daso, Zach, Nnena

She's Back!

Daso has returned to be with us for another school year. We are so excited to see her!  This beautiful bike is her coming home gift. Please pray for all of us as we begin this transition again.  Please also pray for her mommy who will be with us this week as well.  Pray for good connection with her, and that she will feel loved and heard and encouraged while with us.

Mariama is so happy to see her sister!

Daso's smile is contagious! What a joy she is.

First Day of School!

Oh my, what unexpected tears as we prayed last night for Daso before her first day of school.  She is such a gem, shimmering and bright in a world that suffocates such beauty.  But this morning came and I couldn’t hide my excitement as well.  After she returned from a run with Uncle Zach I said brightly, “OK, go and get your uniform on!”  She skipped away with a big smile on her face and I’m sure a few jitters in her stomach. 

The four of us, Uncle Zach, Daso, and Mari wrapped close to my front headed for the road to climb into a keke around 7:10am.  I was in a tizzy because I had timed the journey and we needed 20 minutes to arrive at school by 7:30.  I forgot that in a world of public transport and event oriented timing, the first day of school would probably be more relaxed.  I was glad that we took time along the way to kosai (fried bean cakes) when we arrived at 7:31 to find the teachers in meetings, the students having the all too familiar opportunity for the children in the schoolyard  to stop playing and chattering to freeze at the sight of two white people on the premises.  I hope Daso wasn’t too embarrassed, but she did ask me to stay after we met her teachers, which I think was a good sign that though my presence caused a lot of extra attention being sent her way, she preferred that to being alone in her new environment. 

Being American, we were one of two parents we saw bringing their children to school on the first day, and we made sure to take lots of pictures.  She’ll thank us later, though her smile was not exactly enthusiastic.   We waited until after the singing and pledges of morning assembly before sneaking a wave in and heading out the door. 

I can’t wait to hear how it went! 

Daso’s prayers before going to school:

That I would stay away from bad friends

That all the children would listen to the teachers

That she would learn what they are trying to teach me

My prayers for Daso:

That she would find a couple of really good friends

That she would feel loved by her teachers and accepted in the school

That we would have a good routine in the mornings

That we would have wisdom to help her handle difficult situations

Two, Three, Four!

--> We are learning to count up as our family expands.  Daso is now our little girl, on loan from Falaka and her husband for this term of school.  

I sat on the side of the pool watching Zach pull Daso and Salama (staying with us for the week) around the pool, teaching them to swim then escaping in time while they tried to catch him.  I held  Mariama in my arms as the bright Nigerian sun beat on my outstretched legs. For a first timer, Daso was extremely brave!  She jumped into the pool, practiced putting her head under, and trusted me to throw her into the air (though she didn’t let me do it again.)  Her laughter rang out into the air, making me giggle, as she tried to race Salama (Victoria’s 12-year-old daughter) across the pool, her legs and arms working hard to no avail in the chest deep water.

These are beautiful days as I take in the dynamic scenes of my little family.  Zach takes every opportunity to teach a lesson: “If each egg is 25 naira, Daso, how much will it cost to fill this crate?  Get the cuisinaire rods!” or “…feel this metal spoon, now this plastic one” (referring to his tea cup that he has filled with various utensils) …I don’t know if he ever did get to drinking tea out of it, but at least the hot water wasn’t wasted!   

To the question of do you know what a conductor is, Daso replied “Yes, I know, conductor, like on the bus.  He collects the money. (and in the same sentence) Can we go jump on the trampoline today?”  She knows she has to get that in before the next lesson begins.

 

Daso is to start school on Monday, the 14^th of September.  Today her siblings start school where they live, and I know she is missing being there to go with them.  Please pray that God will help us make a home where she feels loved and secure, and that we will find ways to keep her connected to her family while making her part of ours.

Another Daughter?

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It has been a week and half since my (Christy) friend Falaka came to visit us from a nearby state.  Falaka and her husband are dear friends of mine from Cameroon when they were living there for a time.  We have so enjoyed having them here, that we are praying about Daso remaining with us for the next semester of school.  She is delightful to have around with a quick sense of humor, bright mind, and helpful heart.  School in the state where she’s living has been hard for her because of her tribe, religion, and region of the country. 

Please pray with us as in the next couple of days we make this decision that would essentially makes us “parents” of a 6-week-old and a 9-year-old.

Some things we are considering:  Schooling, transportation to and from school, the redefinition of family time, food preparation and chores, scheduling with work hours, financial implications of another dependent, being sure we have the reserve to pour into this precious girl, being sure that Mariama gets the care and attention she needs, and that we  still have time for each other.