It’s been a long wait but finally I was able to buy a much needed car. Nigerian roads can be quite dangerous and often times the conditions of the roads and the other drivers can be equally as bad. Sometimes you can be driving down the road, shifting gears, honking your horn while it is storming, motorbikes are buzzing on both sides of the car, you are dodging holes, goats, people, pigs, chickens and taxi’s. It’s not as luxurious as we have it back home where the roads are smooth and the cars are under control. Sure, my Pittsburgh friends can complain because Penn-Dot always seems to fail us miserably and you too have to dodge holes as you drive from point A to point B but add the other elements and driving can be very difficult. Even as a trained school bus driver and a holder of a commercial driver’s license I still find it hard to venture out on the roads. Having lost a brother in a car accident I often times become determined to not allow the same fate to be decided for my own life and as a result I find myself trusting in the Lord more than I did when I would venture out onto the roads back home. This is Nigeria and being here has been wonderful. The challenges of driving are part of the difficulties that one has to face when they leaving the US but at the end of the day it is worth it to be here and be able to minister to such needy children. Having a “moto” (as we say here) simply makes my life a lot easier. Normally I am entering taxi’s with people and animals shoved inside (great cultural experience) and if I sit in the front the driver usually tries to get a second rider for the front seat making it three including the driver. Sometimes I find myself sitting on the gear shifter as the driver is pushing me in the backside to sit up so he can shift to the next gear. Having a car doesn’t mean everything is going to be much easier. I now have to wait in lines over a mile long for hours upon hours just to get to fill up my tank. Currently we are experiencing some sort of fuel shortage and tankers have gone on strike which makes it difficult to find someone selling gasoline. Recently I was desperate and had to pay 500 Naira ($3.33) for a gallon of gas but normally they sell it for 65 Naira a liter making it about 260 Naira for a gallon. So, I say this to let you know that you may have to wait a while for gas when you go to the pumps back home but just think about having to wait in a line that is literally over a mile long and then having to pay twice the price. It’s crazy. My picture of the week is in honor of my newly acquired automobile. I’m happy to take some proposed names for it and will let you know what I decided for a name once I hear your suggestions. The car is a Volkswagen Golf. Currently it is getting an alignment and new shocks so I’ll be back in business in a few days Lord willing.
Lastly, thanks for those who help contribute to the car fund. Sorry I couldn’t get a helicopter like I wanted but this little guy is going to have to do.
Oh, and yes I fit inside of it.
In Nigeria, if you are a father or a mother it is common and appropriate to just call you “baba” (father) or “mama” (mother). If your child’s name is Joseph, or Stephen or Bryan then you can be called “baba Joseph, or Baba Stephen” and so on. The same works for the women. My mother can be called “mama Joseph, or Mama Julia, Valerie, etc..”. My pastor, Reverend SundayGwomna, has become a Nigerian father to me so it is fine if I refer to him as “baba”. We spend a lot of time together visiting members of our church and just talking and having a cold minerals (bottle of soda) together. He has become a great friend and source of encouragement and wisdom. He is a very busy man because he is the only pastor of our local church plus he has had a lot to deal with the last 8 years with the attacks upon our church but he has handled it all marvelously and with much love and patience. I’ve really grown to love and appreciate him and his/my “family”. The picture of the week is honor of a man that has stood strong in times of persecution and hardship and of a man who is steadfast in his walk with the Lord.
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