Baba always makes good breakfast and it is nice to start off the day with a group of friends before walking down to the Clinic so my days have pretty much all started on the right foot. The staff has been talking about fruits of the Spirit recently so this morning’s devotion highlighted producing good qualities in yourself and striving to be more Christ-like. It was more a time of personal reflection than the last few days and was definitely more encouraging.
I decided, with the help of my friend Sholah, to check out the lab this morning and see what goes on there. At 8:00 I walked through the doors and into a heated argument between the lab technicians and some man I didn’t. I felt I had interrupted and said I could come back later but Mary, one of the chemists, insisted I stay. Perhaps she wanted me to hear what was going on, I don’t know, but I picked up from the conversation that the lab was having problems with a program that sponsors many of the patients here. Unfortunately I have heard a lot of negative things about this certain group over the past two weeks, a very different view for the American who only sees the financial side of it, and have come to realize that some programs can do much more harm than help if not utilized the right way. Anyways, once the man left I let Pastor Ben (the head of the lab) know that I was there for the morning. He let me know he intended to have me the rest of my stay at Faith Alive, which I think would be good thing, but I reminded him that he at least had me for the day. He immediately put me to work cleaning and organizing the chaos that is the lab office. I spent most of the standing on a chair or sitting on the floor putting things in cupboards and getting pretty dusty. Mary insisted I wear gloves in case any chemical spilled on me. It was a tiring morning but I have always enjoyed projects where people can see the physical progression as you work.
We had a quick lunch since Biana got stuck at the Clinic breaking up arguments in every department between the Faith Alive staff and members from the program. Baba insisted that he pack up her food and take it to her himself, a kind gesture from an even kinder old man. When I got back to Faith Alive we had a good time of fellowship and thanking God for his blessings, which eased the tension most of the doctors had been dealing with all morning. Ben wasn’t in the best mood so he told me to finish my project in the morning when he was done dealing with our “guests.” I spent the next little while on the computer and talked with Biana about what the heck was going on. Sounds like everyone was having a rough day.
We are moving into the windy season in Jos so I took off down the road after work in a cloud of Nigerian dust. Thank God a woman who sells corn at the corner near our flat started up a conversation with me as I walked home. Her name is Dorothy and she is wonderful! She wants to teach me Ibo (which will go great with the three Hausa phrases I can remember) and marry me off to her brother. I told her I would love to learn her native language but asked if I could substitute buying some of her corn instead of becoming her sister-in-law. She said she would think about it, even though she believes my boyfriend would willingly give me up to a Nigerian man I have never met.
A bucket bath to get the dust off, a full Baba-cooked dinner, and an intense game of Killer Uno wrapped up the day well. I am getting progressively more tired each night, but I think that means I am living each day to the maximum capacity. What an adventure!
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