Less than two months left...

This Wednesday was the official "2 months left" marker. I've got mixed feelings about this.

2 months is...

on one hand, too long.
on the other, too short.

Two months seems like a loooong time until I'm home.

Two months seems waaaaay too short to have left.

I'll be saying goodbye to dozens of friends I've made here. People I've learned from and owe a lot to. It's going to be hard saying goodbye to them, not knowing if I'll ever see them again.

It's also going to be very hard going home to a level of uncertainty. I can proudly boast in advance that I know God will take care of me and that I really don't have anything to worry about as long as I'm living my life for Him. But that doesn't mean I don't often worry about all the 'unknowns' in returning to Canada for an indefinite amount of time.  I'm also confident that this is the path God has laid for me, so I've no regrets and don't expect to have any for leaving, but I will miss Nigeria a huge deal. It may sound cheesy, but the cliché saying is true: part of my heart is here. I love Nigeria, the Nigerian people, the missionaries, the other volunteers, the landscapes, the culture... granted, there are things I don't enjoy (like the hours long line up for gas) but there are so many things I'll miss. I hope to take a lot of what I've learned and put it into practice in my life in Canada as well. Where religion so obvious in day-to-day life as to make it into the names of stores or products (there's a bookstore called "God's Own Bookstore" in town). While it may make me chuckle, it also makes me realize that being a Christ follower SHOULD be something obvious. We're not supposed to be behind-the-scenes or behind enemy lines hoping to snag an atheist and get him on our side. We're supposed to be blatantly and obviously followers of our Lord. "They will know we are Christians by our love". They're won't need to guess.

I also hope to be able to share what I've learned and the experiences I've made in my 'other' homeland. I'd love to be able to get more people (mostly youth) involved in longer-term mission/volunteer work. By getting the word out there of mission organizations like the CRC and SIM and the countless others and getting my generation involved in them, God can use them in places like Nigeria. I'm excited for this opportunity to be able to share my past experiences, what I've learned from God, what He's shown to me and how He's carried me through. I'm excited to get more people involved in this line of God's work!

If only I knew how to go about doing that...

suggestions??

Also, here's a photo of me in Kano last week. I realize I've yet to update about that, so I'll be sure to soon!

Here I am greeting one of the groups of younger men who we did a program with.