Day 64: Nigeria Has So Much Money, Yet Its People Are Poor. WE Make Ourselves Poor.

I was shocked to wake up to another Thursday, where is all the time going?! During breakfast I went through the list in my brain of things that need to get done over the next few days and started on what is hopefully one of my last loads of laundry. Waiting for things to soak I sat with my computer and made sure that the discipleship class curriculum was in place with an outline and further suggestions. Hopefully it is helpful to Pastor Ben who is organizing all of it. We walked down to the Clinic once I was ready to print up my document and spent time in Biana’s office before lunch. (I am trying to make the most of every spare minute in an internet-accessible area to plan our few days in London. Yay for hostels and free entertainment!)

 

            Baba made chips, one of my favorite meals, and got us well fed before we met up with MCC again. Greg drove us out to the guest house where we were able to hear a local pastor and historian named Justin give a presentation on the history of Nigeria. It was incredible to hear where this country has been and where it is going--things sounded much better under military rule, that’s for sure. He spent a lot of time being candid about the corruption here, something that many are not too aware of in terms of political and economical ordeals. Nigeria has the potential to be one of the richest nations in the world; they make billions of dollars in their oil industry. But the money stays in the hands of a few and never makes it down to the rest. It is so hard to realize that millions of people here are living in unnecessary poverty: begging on the streets and dying of preventable diseases because they cannot afford food or proper care. And what is supposed to be done? Violent government overthrow has sadly been accomplished numerous times with no positive result. Organizations have tried to make a difference, but are many times uprooted due to lack of funding. The common person does not know their rights or else gets killed for taking a stand. It is such a different world here, and it is hard to see a bright future for this nation.

 

            But there is hope. All is not lost for Nigeria. Good things have already begun.

 

            We went back to Faith Alive for a short amount of time so Biana could get some online Christmas shopping done for her family. Dinner was good, I spent some time doing homework, and enjoyed some peace and quiet with a new book. Ahh, I am going to miss these moments where absolutely nothing is expected of me...