Day 1: You’re Welcome!

I finally made it. After months of scheduling, saving, packing, and praying I am here in Jos realizing that the adventure I have been waiting for has just begun. I came without much prior knowledge of what I am doing here but a full understanding that this is where God wants me to be. And so it begins...

 

            Adrie and I stepped off the plane into a sweaty Abjua morning at 4:45 and were quickly greeted by a man holding a sign with our names. He placed us at the beginning of an already-formed line under the “Diplomat” passport section and I wondered if he actually knew who we were. The two men behind the glass looked at us like we were crazy (obviously two girls in jeans and t-shirts are not government material in this society) but our sign-holding friend got us through after a quick conversation in Hausa. Unfortunately our bags were not so timely and I stood by the carousel watching the same bags go around for a good thirty minutes before ours showed up. They looked a little beaten down but they made it from San Francisco without getting lost along the way. Biana and Dr. Chris met us in the lobby and I can’t say I have ever been so glad to pack my suitcases into a car and start a three-hour drive.

 

            The drive was long and quiet, myself and our driver Gody being the only ones awake, but it gave me the chance to see an entirely new world pass by. Driving is a bit different here and I was glad to know I will never be expected to get behind a wheel in the next three months. I have never heard people utilize the car horn as much as Nigerians. You honk the horn as a reminder to other drivers of your existence, and you need to remind them because much of the time you are driving on the dirt shoulder, stradling the center line (which disappears for miles at a time), or on the wrong side of the road. Most of the vehicles are motorbikes or giant four-wheelers and people constantly dart across the highway so every driver is alert and completely free of road rage. All in all it wasn’t a scary drive, just one that involves more swerving than Americans are used to.

 

            Driving further inland from Abuja to Jos I concluded Nigeria is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It beats out the colors of the Painted Desert, sunsets over the Pacific, and seasons in Yosemite. Those are all breathtaking scenes, but Nigeria holds something extra over all of those. The valleys are green and dotted with cornfields, the jungle foliage is climbing and fruitful, and the hills display boulders stacked on top of each other amid colorful wildflowers. Against this magnificent backdrop are thatched-roofed huts, winding dirt roads, and odd-looking birds and beasts. There are also a surprising number of goats. But the most beautiful thing about Nigeria is its people.

 

            When I toured the Faith Alive Clinic, my home for the next few weeks, I discovered the proper greeting is “You’re welcome.” Nigerians don’t say it like I do as a programmed response to a “Thank you” but as a way to let a person know that they are a brother or sister who is welcome into their country, their home, and their life. All day I was given this blessing from a person who would clasp my fingers and give a big white smile from a beaming black face looking me directly in the eye. And I know I am welcomed.