Gone for a week.

I leave this Monday for the week. Going with Albert to visit some missionary locations. This time more South East of Plateau State. In absence of my ever witty and thought-provoking blog, I leave you to gander at some of my Facebook pictures.

Trip to the EKA part 1

Trip to the EKA part 2

Women stone crushers

(Just to clarify, you don't need Facebook or need to be my 'friend' to see the pictures. I'm still working on getting Flickr...)

Where to begin?

So I had quite the interesting last few days, to put it mildly. I'm not really sure where to begin with this, so I'll just take a crack at it and see where it goes.

Packed up all I figured I'd need for 3 days in the African bush into two small bags on Friday night. Nicely forgot toilet paper. Not a good thing to forget when traveling. Ever. Sunday (name of our driver) picked me up at noon on Saturday and we went to the Mountain View compound to pick up Monica, Janina, Christine and John then headed out on the 3 hour drive to Abuja. We were supposed to meet up with Chinyere in Abuja, but her flight was delayed from a mechanical problem so we weren't sure what was going to happen, but drove out there anyway. We stayed in the ECWA guest house in Abuja for the night and 3 guys from Water Wins, a well drilling organization landed from the States and also stayed the night. They're associated with the CRWRC and PWW (Partners WorldWide) and come every year to bring supplies, train Nigerians and help dig more wells for villages in Northern Nigeria. Great organization and great guys. Doug started it up a few years ago and got in contact with Steve, a professional well driller. They've come out for the past few years and Jamie, who works with Steve, came out this year too.

Sunday morning we found out Chinyere wasn't going to be able to join us because of the delay, so after a breakfast of eggs and toast, we headed out on the 8 hour drive to the EKA (think it stands for Eastern Kontagori Kambari (thanks Megan!) Area). Jos, the city I live and work in here is in Plateau State, Abuja is in Abuja Capital Territory, the state just West of Plateau State and the EKA is North West of that in Niger State. The three well drillers, the of us CRC peeps and our driver all fit nicely into the van with everyone's luggage, plus all their well drilling supplies. After the nice long and hot drive, we stayed at Jeremiah and Marietta's house, while Christine and John Breuker stayed at another home not too far away. We had dinner at Dave and Jen's (? - I'm horrible with names), a missionary couple there who have been there for 41 years. Dinner was delicious, but I made the mistake of eating an entire red pepper that was in the salad. I think I turned as red as the pepper itself. Sunday night is movie night and a projector screen was set up. We caught the very end of Jurassic Park and The Jesus Film was put on after. Sidenote: if you feel like how I used to feel about Jesus being portrayed in movies, just think about how many people are able to come to faith through that amazing movie. Take some of these facts I lifted from Wikipedia. It's been translated into 1,026 languages (Nigeria itself has over 500 languages), is shown in 229 nations, and has been seen more than 5.6 billion times throughout the world. Which makes it an incredible aid for evangelism and spreading the gospel in remote areas (like the EKA). If you're still not sold on that, think about the 230 million people who have converted to Christianity because of this movie. If you have a problem with Jesus being portrayed in a movie, He sure doesn't seem to mind because He's using it in a huge way. Sidenote end. That night I took a picture of 5 African boys. Before I knew it, I was swarmed by like 20 more village kids who all wanted their pictures taken. They loved it, especially since my camera has the adjustable screen, so they can watch themselves have their picture taken. This lasted a good half hour. I had shared a room with a praying mantis in the night who thought it could fly through walls. It couldn't. Just made a bunch of noise until I managed to get it out.

Monday was the most interesting day. North American style breakfast got us geared up for a lot of driving again. This time it was more fun though. I got to drive! I got the keys to Dave's pickup and got to drive us through the African bush. Pretty darn fun. And bumpy. Rest of them took turns sitting/standing in the back. Surprised I didn't lose any of them with the bumps we hit. Well, I hit. We had a guide point us where to go so we wouldn't get lost. We went to several different villages in the area. Most rarely see white people, so needless to say, we were a bit of a show. Lots more camera fun. One of the villages we went to, we delivered a concrete slab for one of the new wells that had been dug there and a different village we installed a sign saying who had sponsored the well to be dug. One villager showed us how they separate the chaff from the seed. Still done the same way it's spoken of in the Bible. There are so many parts of the Bible that just hold so much more meaning to the people in the 10/40 window that we only vaguely understand.

The truck started to stall a lot, so Sunday took a look at it and fiddled around. Let him drive the rest of the way back. We went back for lunch then went to the market. The market here is quite different from Jos. Much more Muslim influence (no picture taking!) but pretty cool. Very big - it's only once a week, so it has to be. We went back to Dave's. The rest of them got to take a tour of the school there while I helped put together a satellite dish for his neighbour. Got the dish together, but no channels as he didn't know where the satellite he wanted was. Good thing the sky is so small...

Dave drove me back on his motorcycle. Was pretty surreal. We took a path that led us through several 'homes' (families live in several huts all together, looks kinda like a mini-village). On the ride over I just started laughing. If I had thought last year that I would be riding past the beating drums of villagers in the African bush on a motorcycle, I would have thought I was nuts. Maybe I am.

The villages we visited have never had access to clean water so it's an incredible thing. Half of all the babies die because of unsafe water here. And we don't think twice about turning on the tap for perfectly fine, perfectly safe water. Chances are you don't even drink water out of your own tap because you've been brainwashed into thinking bottled water is the only 'good' water. These people are digging water out of swamps and feeding it to their children and we think our multi-filtered and clorinated water isn't good enough for us, but don't do anything about the millions who go thirsty every day.

Chances are me saying this won't affect you, you've seen the commercials and turned the channel. You've read heard the stories and faked concern. What makes one more person telling you we live in a culture obsessed with the self change anything? It's not like you know them right? It's not like you can do anything about it right? Maybe you'll frown about how sad it is those people out there live without all the perks we do. Maybe you'll tell someone else. Maybe you'll support a band that supports a charity. Maybe you'll watch a movie about poverty and think about how 'sad that is'. Maybe. But you won't do anything. What could you possibly do, right? The problem is too big, right?? What could one Canadian do, right??

As you sleep tonight you'll have forgotten about this blog. As you sleep tonight you'll be thinking about how you can't wait until the weekend to watch that new movie. As you sleep tonight - the few hours passing as one day merges seamlessly into the next - 30,000 children will die from starvation or diseases related to malnutrition.

Sweet dreams.

Trip!

I'm going on a trip for a few days starting tomorrow. Driving the 3 hours to Abuja tomorrow, then the next 5 hours to Kontagora the next day. I think. Other people do all the planning, I just go. Going with Monica, John and Christine Breuker, Janina and Chinyere, who's waiting for us in Abuja.

Should be fun, I'll be sure to post pictures and update how it goes!

What I've learned....

So I've been here for one month and two days. I thought I would make a summary of some of the things I've learned in Nigeria.

Driving:

• The horn is the most vital part of a car
• Streetlights are for show. They don't turn on.
• If you have to pee, just pull over and go, there's no need to try find a tree or bush.
• Fitting 8 people into a car is no challenge.
• If your car breaks down in the middle of an intersection, that's where you fix it.
• Fit as much stuff onto one truck as possible using as little rope as possible. If you don't have any rope, get someone to climb up and hold it down while you drive.
• If you need to go somewhere with your kid, but only have a motorcycle, she rides on your lap.
• Helmets don't exist.

Food:

• Oranges are green.
• Oranges that are orange have gone bad.
• If you're not sweating from the heat, the peppers'll get ya.
• I love pounded yams.
• Fingers are great utensils.
• I don't know how to make any food other than pancakes.
• I eat a lot of pancakes.

Random stuff:

• Yellow Fever is a policeman in an orange shirt. Or a deadly disease.
• I'm a lousy tennis player.
• Gecko's are quick.
• I can do the broom dance.
• The power will go out as I try to post this.
• Working with Nigerians all day and hanging out with English and Irish people all night makes me think with an accent.
• The entire James Bond collection can fit on one DVD.
• 15°C is "cold".
• A guest to the church will be asked to stand up while the congregation sings a welcome song.
  
• If you have garbage, make a pile and burn it on the side of the road.
• I'm a bature
• I stick out. A lot.
  

Why yes, I COULD write a longer post...

Hiya folks!

Felt it's been a while and I should probably have some sort of update on here. I'm kinda lazy to read over what I've already said, so I'll just start from scratch. Kinda. I'd tell you to bare with me, but I know it's pretty cold up in Canada right now, so you can stay clothed.

I am loving it here. It's great. Time is just flying by and I truly hope I can stay for 6 months. This might be a bigger problem than I thought, but more on that later. (Don't worry Jon and Stef, I'll make sure I'm back in time for your wedding). I'm living on a compound with 5 or so other houses on it, plus the CRC office. There's a couple families, a few couples and a couple singles. Everyone is amazing and has given me a lot to think of. Lots of great people here. Plenty of people to hang out with and lots of things to do! I'm getting my own small taste of Heaven here: different cultures, different nations and different denominations all worshipping the One True God - together! It's Awesome!

At Rurcon (organization I'm volunteering at) I've been doing a bunch of computer stuff. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it's keeping me semi-busy for now. Next week will be a bit more interesting as I'm going to be putting together a handbook all about Rurcon, rather than deleting viruses and formatting hard drives (well, still doing that). Putting the book together has been giving me a bit more of an understanding of what they do. Allow me to share some things about Rurcon, plus other things that have been on my mind as of late.

A couple weeks ago I went with a group of Rurcon staff members as they went around the city interviewing women stone-breakers. Some of them had been doing this for decades. Most are widows or have sick husbands so no other source of income. They only way they can feed themselves or their family is by getting up every morning, standing out in the hot African sun all day and hammering rocks. They then sell these rocks for a fraction of the price of a company would get had a machine broken them. It was pretty eye-opening. Makes you think about how poverty really is relative. Someone may be poor in Canada, but they can still go on welfare, can still go to school, still have healthcare… these women have nothing. If they were unable to lift the hammer, they would be stuck begging at the market or the side of a road. This is real poverty. I'll see about posting some of the pictures I took soon.

Another thing I've been thinking about and has popped up is that throughout the world, there is a lack of vision in churches to live completely for God. Sometimes people refer to this as being a 'Sunday Christian'. But it's deeper than that. I'm not referring to a person or persons. I mean churches. Church leaders and members often don't recognize that the church is more than a congregation: we are a community, we are part of the Kingdom of God. We can exist socially, politically, economically, environmentally, culturally and spiritually whole - as God intended. We are a part of the body of Christ. This exceeds farther than just the members of a particular congregation. Every congregation of God is a part of the body. We make up THE Church. To clarify: I'm not referring to Burlington South, West and East as being parts of THE Church: Canadian Reformed. I mean that members of the Canadian Reformed in Canada, the Christian Reformed in America, the Baptists in England, the Catholics in China… ALL make up THE Church: the body of Christ. We all make up a part of the body and need to work together as one. Telling one denomination off, saying they are "close to the truth, but not as close as us" or considering them not 'real' Christians is telling that part of the body that it doesn't belong. In my opinion, saying this is the same cutting ourselves off of the body. If Christ is the confessed saviour to a Catholic in China, he/she could very well be praising God right beside you someday in Heaven. I'm not denouncing denominations. We wouldn't be able to get along without being in one. Each part of the body (denomination/congregation/individual) looks and acts differently. We often forget that Christ is the head, not our particular denomination. Here is a quote from The Message (a paraphrased translation of The Bible that I love), 1 Corinthians 12: 27-31a

You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body":

apostles

prophets

teachers

miracle workers

healers

helpers

organizers

those who pray in tongues.

But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called "important" parts.

We may never outright speak out against another denomination, but we often think it. It ends up being reflected in our lives, especially our church lives. For example, you might hear about someone from your congregation who is attending a different denomination's services. And what do we call this? 'Leaving the church'. Not just our church (a congregation), but the church. Could this not be a time for (dare I say it) rejoicing? This person has found the part of the Christ's body he can be an active part of! He realized he wasn't a toe, but actually a thumb. It very well could be that he, by joining this other church, is now able to grow in his faith in a way that he couldn't have otherwise. This goes the same for someone who joins our church, she may never have achieved the faith life she now has without being a part of this church. Now, before I get hate e-mails or something, let me say that I'm not saying ALL denominations are fine. Also, I feel I should say that I love the Canadian Reformed church and am in NO way saying another denomination is 'better'. But I'm not saying CanRef is either… That being said, back to Rurcon.

Rurcon's staff is a group people of different denominations who aim to have Africa transformed through the church. They hope to have churches realize the impact they have to reach poor and marginalized communities. They are mainly a consulting agency who work to teach other organizations, businesses and churches how to live with their entire lives devoted to God. This is a problem that exists in Canada too, but in Africa it's a bit different. The African culture and religious background is one that has a focus of their entire life revolving around their belief. When Christianity was introduced, it wasn't always done well, and people went back to doing things the way they always did Monday to Saturday because they couldn't understand how they could put this 'new' religion into practice in their daily life. This isn't an African problem, it exists across the globe but its cause is different in Africa. We also struggle to have God shine through in our daily activities. Every single thing we do must be centred around Him. We cannot blame the way we act, the things we do or what where we go, etc. on the country we live in, the job we have, the neighbours beside us… none of this should be an excuse for failing to live a God-centred life.

An interesting thing I learned about Nigeria is that it's FULL of resources. It's the 5th largest producer of oil in the world. It has enough building materials in one small area to satisfy the entire country. If invested properly, these could generate huge income for the country. But because of corrupt governments (and a large chuck of the population being unaware of their rights), a lot of money goes into their pockets and resources are exported for the good of few, rather than used for the good of the country. Just today Ben, a staff member of Rurcon showed me where he had started to build a house a few years ago just outside of town. It's unfinished. Why? The area is too nice. Sound weird? Yeah. Turns out the area is so nice, the government decided the homes they were living in at the time weren't good enough and now plan to live there. So they took over the area and stopped the work going on. Ben's fighting it of course, but he's lost a lot of money in the process. And the houses the government members live in now? Beautiful. They would stand out anywhere. They're big, well taken care of, powered… but still, somehow not good enough.

But another problem of was in the churches. Leaders often taught their congregations they were not allowed to farm or make more money than what they absolutely needed to survive. They told them that to have a big field is a sign of greed and therefore a sin. So people starve not realizing they have the resources and ability to thrive. With half of the population being Christian, that has a large impact on the country. This wasn't an on-purpose thing, the leaders had no benefit of doing this, they had honestly felt it was the right thing to do. Sometimes I wonder if we need to take a more drastic approach to the way we run business… Rurcon runs a two-week course every year for leaders to properly show pastors/managers/organization presidents/NGOs how to properly analyze and effectively develop relief (and I get to go to it!) God has gifted them with the ability to farm resources and they can glorify God through it! A bigger business can mean sending your children to school, eating healthy, strengthening the community and the economy, helping someone in need - things that would give God pleasure.

Like I said earlier, I hope to stay the 6 months, but there's some complications with that. Turns out Rurcon wasn't actually expecting a volunteer right now. They had asked for one a while ago, but had then hired someone for that position, so when I came along they were sent scrambling to make work for me. I've been told that I will get busy, that the stuff they have for me is coming soon. I hope so, it's been almost a month now and I've basically sat on my laptop all day, every day. I'm not complaining (ok, I kinda am) it's just not what I'd like to be doing. Not the reason I came. I came with the intent to be able to somehow figure out where I fit into God's plan. To find out where I belong in His world and how best to serve Him with the talents and abilities He's given me. No big revelation on that yet, but I know it'll come. I should find out by the end of this week if Rurcon wants me to stay the 6 months here, but I'm not sure if I'll want to… I want to stay in Africa for the whole 6 months, but if I'll be doing computer stuff (something anyone could do) I'd rather find another organization I could help out for 3 months. And there's lots here in Jos. I just feel I have more to offer than tech support. But that could just be the hubris talking.

So yeah, that's just some stuff that's been on my mind. It's kinda all over the map (geography pun!) but I think I made some sort of point in there somewhere.

But hey, I could be wrong about stuff. Humans are like that.

To hear His voice.

Last night, I was laying in bed and something popped in my head. What does the Bible mean when it speaks of a 'reward in heaven'? I've always considered Heaven as being the reward. But several passages (Matthew 5:12; 6:1; Luke 6:23) speak of a reward IN Heaven. What would it be?

Then I started thinking about God's voice. Have you ever had someone you love and respect tell you 'good work'? You have done something that he or she approves of. I could be something they told you to do (which, God does). But to hear that appreciation, it feels good. Makes you happy. Imagine God telling you 'good work, you made me happy'.

God.

God telling you that.

God spoke and things popped into existence. His voice created stars. Giant balls of gas burning billions of miles away blinked on. Because He said so. That's a powerful voice. I don't think I can come up with a better reward.

So I slept pretty good.

To-do list

I was thinking of some of my goals for what I'd like to do in the near and far future so I thought I would right some of them down. Places to go, people to see, things to learn, goals I have... et cetera. Some a little more unlikely than others. But if you don't aim high you're just shooting yourself in the foot! And I'm well aware that doesn't really make sense. In no particular order:

Visit Machu Picchu in Peru
Go to Chichén-Itzá and climb the El Castillo pyramid
Bungee jump off a bridge
Hike the whole Bruce Trail
Skydive from a plane
Take a photography course
Take a religion course
Walk on the Great Wall
Portage Algonquin (or another park)
Learn to play an instrument
Fly a helicopter (or a plane, I'm not picky)
Learn to speak another language
Learn to read the Bible in its original languages
Scuba dive
See Stonehenge
Learn how to make food where all the ingredients aren't all in the same package
See the Acropolis
Listen to all the sermons on www.imagodeicommunity.com (new addition thanks to Justine)
Go to the next Urbana
See Abu Simbel

This is a list that is will never be complete, but that's what I can think of so far.

Some picture's for ya!

Heya folks! I got some pictures uploaded to Facebook, and I know you old-timers don't know what Facebook is, but that's okay, you managed to figure out how to read my blog, so that counts for something. Anyway, I've got a couple albums up on there, but relax, you don't have to sign up to another website or even add me as a friend (I know how embarrassing that would be) so all you have to do is visit these two links! Yay for convenience!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15269&l=5438d&id=297901410
Will let you see the pictures of me in London, and

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15498&l=63838&id=297901410
will let you see the pictures of the first bit of me in Nigeria!

Hooray!