In Nigeria!

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay in the update, but here she be!

I arrived in Jos on Saturday around 6 or 7pm after a very stressfull and rushed day of travelling from Kenya. I woke up at 5 in the morning that day to be ready for the taxi driver who was to come at 5:30. She didn't show up until about quarter to and we didn't leave until 10 to. The flight was at 7:30 and took the better part of half an hour to get to the airport. By the time we got TO the airport, we were told the check-in had closed, and the boarding had already started. Alice, a Nigerian who also works for Beacon of Hope and was at the training as well, managed to get us checked-in, and we rushed to the plane. We hurridly went through security, I threw my stuff on the belt, grabbed it on the other side, then ran on the tarmak (shoes in hand...) to make the flight with minutes to spare.

From Kenya, we flew to Lagos, the old capital of Nigeria (population of almost 8 million) and tried to make the flight to Jos. We didn't. We were stuck going to Abuja, then take the 3 and a half hour taxi drive to Jos. So it was a long day... Saturday I stayed at David's house, a Nigerian who works for the CRWRC. He's a very generous man and kept me fed all of Saturday and Sunday. Sunday afternoon I moved back into the 'old house' (same place as last year) who's current inhabitants are the Biblically named Micah and Emmanuel (from Ireland and England, respectively). I didn't get the chance to meet either of them until Tuesday night since they were down south visiting some of their Mission Africa friends. It also happened to be Micah's birthday, so we went to the local resturant 'downtown' and celebrated. It was great to meet all the new faces and the few who are still here that I DO know... Somehow I became the 'new guy'...

Coming back has been great though. The welcome has been incredible. So many smiling, familiar faces ready to invite me over for dinner (at least 4 invites in the first day!) They all truely make me feel welcomed back. It's weird, a lot of them have been asking me what it's like to be back. I think they assume I'll say something like 'weird', 'different' or something. But with the friendliness and how inviting everyone is, the transition has been smooth. I really don't feel like I've left. I'm back in the same house, driving the same car (for better or worse), and neighbours with the same people.

I'm beginning to really remember why I loved it so much here.

As much as Nigeria feels like home, there are elements that don't quite make it such. There's no duplicating or replacing what I have in Canada.