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.

Meet my pastor, my friend, my baba…

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.

Ahh, what a refreshing feeling it is to have a cool plateau breeze coming in through the window just after a heavy rain। The rainy season is finally here after having rain on Saturday for a short while and then a heavy thunderous down pour just about an hour ago. Having rain is much appreciated after having months of just dry, dusty air and streets. Seriously, the dust was just out of control. Having had rain twice in the past week has prompted me to post my picture of the week in honor of the much needed and long awaited for rainy season. Thank the Lord because we really needed it. Oh, I couldn’t help putting one more picture of Precious. Enjoy…

Picture of the Week (2)

Nigeria is currently coming to the end of the Harmattan season which means an end of the Sahara dust and rain is on its way. In Jos everything seems to be dry, dusty and brown. Lush green plants are a thing of the past because rain is no where to be found and water supplies are drying up or else, dried up. Even one of our care centers is without water to bath the boys at night. Everyone seems to be longing for rain and I just so happen to be one of them.

The picture above was taken in Cross River State which is south of Jos and borders the country of Cameroon. This past weekend I spent 5 days up in the mountains and even did a little hiking. The weather on the mountain is cold and it rains there often. Above is a picture of an older man who was out returning from his farm and making his way back home. In the picture you can see some green hillsides and potential rain on the horizon. While the rest of Nigeria is begging for rain this particular state is enjoying cool weather and wet ground. For 5 days I felt like I was back in Papua New Guinea enjoying cool weather and delicious bananas. I was very happy to see this side of Nigeria. I hope this gives you a better look into this wonderful country.

Note: the picture is not "foggy", rather, it was taken in a cloud.

Picture of the Week

Here is my photo of the week. In this picture is a little girl named Sandra. She was dressing up for a picture that I was preparing to take of all of the girls because one of them was celebrating a birthday. However, the girl celebrating the birthday was not one of our girls; rather, she is one of the staff girls. In Nigeria most people don’t know there actual date of birth, especially children who lived on the streets. Sandra was so happy to be dressed up for a picture that she began to twirl around the courtyard and I just so happened to catch a nice picture as I was snapping away. People wonder how I managed to take the picture from so high up, I just laugh and say “I’m 6 foot 4 inches”.

I hope this pictures makes you smile like Sandra was the other day.

My Favorite Pictures Thus Far

These last 8 months have been quite eventful. There have been times of laughter and times of tears, times of frustration and times of relaxation. There have been times when I wanted to quit and come home to the USA, eat pizza with my friends and drink coffee with my family. Times when I just wanted to sit down with my grandmother and hear her share her wisdom on the subject at hand. These last 8 months have been wonderful in a lot of ways and also frustrating in other ways but at the end of the day I thank the Lord for bringing me through 1/3 of my stay here in Nigeria. I enjoy Nigeria very much and have considered it my home now for these last 8 months. I’m grateful for your encouragement, your support and your prayers.

The pictures below are my favorite pictures from my time thus far. Out of over 6,000 pictures I have picked 16 because it was too hard to pick 10 or 8. I decided to pick two for each of the 8 months that I’ve been in Nigeria.

I also want to thank my friend Michael for buying me a new camera after my former one was stolen when I was robbed in December. In other words, I don't need a new camera anymore. Thanks for those who inquired.

Here are my top 16 pictures thus far. Do you have a favorite?

BITTERSWEET

I love it, yet I absolutely hate it. I look forward to it, yet I dread it. I enjoy it, yet it brings me great sorrow. What am I talking about? What is so bittersweet?

A new child is a new face, a new face is a new story, a new story is a new hope...

Welcome to Gidan Bege, the house of HOPE...


These last few months I’ve learned a lot of stories. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the area of sponsorship, which, by the way, every child in this post is in need of a sponsor. As I write the stories of each child and how they came to Gidan Bege I find it difficult to even type the words that they say. It’s bittersweet when I interview them because I am excited for the child that he/she has a new hope in the Lord but at the same time I hate it because someone was so cruel to this little innocent child.

Here is a typical interview:

What is your father’s name? “Ishaku” (Isaac)
Where is he now? “He is late” (dead)
I’m sorry, how about your mother, what is her name? “Her name is Alheri” (Grace)
Where is she? “She is late”

No father, no mother equals: O-R-P-H-A-N.

I’ll ask them “How did you find Gidan Bege, did you run to the streets?” yes, I ran to the streets after my community tried to kill me.

Why did they try to kill you? “After my father died they said that I killed my father and so they wanted to kill me”.

Where did you stay when you were on the streets? “I slept in a mango tree”.

Here are some of the replies that I have documented:
-“they tied my hands and feet together and hung me from a tree and they beat me but a pastor came and rescued me and took me to Gidan Bege”
-“they hung me from the ceiling and on the ground they cooked some pepe (small chili peppers) so that the smoke went into my eyes”.
-“they beat me very bad”
-“they said I killed my father and mother”
-“they wanted to kill me”

The list keeps on growing. Every new face is a new story and each new face is a new hope. Gidan Bege means “house of hope” in the Hausa language. It is here at Gidan Bege that the children are getting an opportunity that the never had. They are given hope despite the darkness of the past. They come beat up, battered and bruised but they receive healing, comfort and hope inside the ministry. They are given food and clothing and they are taught the scriptures. They want to become doctors, pastors and evangelists. It is bittersweet when I see a new child come into the ministry. When I learn about their story and the way they came here it breaks my heart but then I’m refreshed by the fact that those things are in the past. One boy, Clement, told me about his childhood growing up in a big city with a father who was in the military and a mother who sold produce in the market. He said “we were always having jin dadi” look familiar? “jin dadi” is enjoyment. Growing up was always joyful for Clement until both parents died and he was taken to Gidan Bege as an orphan. He said he loves Gidan bege and It made me think, which does he prefer, life with his parents or life at Gidan Bege? I asked him, “Clement, where would you rather be, at home with your parents or at Gidan Bege?”

He looked at me and said: “I would rather be with my mother and father”.

I knew his answer even before I asked it but I had to hear it for myself. These children each have a story, each have a hope, each an opportunity to erase the hurts of the past and look to the joys of tomorrow.

Each one on this post is in need of a sponsor. If that is something that you would like to do than please email me at joseph.shriver@sim.org

"To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed that the man of the earth may oppress no more" Psalm 10:18