We always used terry towel nappies for the children. I am not a new man. Four kids and never changed one.Why keep a dog and ....Disposable nappies started around the time our first but they were not available for us and we could not afford them if available. Only ones we used would be flying home and back. We had to deal with shortage of water at Limankara. Our labourer drew water from the mission wetland filled the drum which served piped water to our house.When the well dried up I had to take a drum to another local well. If that dried up and it did not for us but did for other missionaries, the labourer had to dig a hole in a riverbed and fill up the drum in the landrover from the water collected. Nigeria taught one far more of the Bible view on water than you get with a good supple in UK. Even in the Nigerian cities mains water might be unreliable -like most things in the county. Inefficiency ruled as the second in command to corruption. Nigerians are notoriously proud. In East Africa they will hire expats to provide utilities if needed. No in Nigeria. They would rather go without e=than pay the Whites to return and run things. A few whites were still employed in education like John Gordon, secondary school head. Some stiller employed by expat owned companies like NESCO who supplied power, hydro-electric to Plateau mines and to Vom. There were a few old expat tin miners around. We visited one, a real character.Discussing The Day of the Jackal he opined the only thing wrong with the book was that De Gaul ducked the Jackal's bullet.
Nov 1 visit Basel missionary at Gulak and found them friendly. Their Church of the Brethe=ren, Eclesiar 'Yanuwa, tends to be more liberal than ours though they did send Chuck Kraft, hausa expert home when he taught that 'husband of one wife means a leading man of good moral stature, so he would have a polygamist as an elder. His church wouldn't. Our souls not have a polygamist even as a member. I believed that was wrong but one senior pastor told me.'Your fathers told our fathers to send away their wives leaving only the first if they wanted baptism. We are not changing, especially not for these (hated) Muslims.
2nd serviced landcover. Hodo our labourer managed to put kerosene in the tank instead of petrol.
3rd to Gwoza with family. Church elders do not wants posted elsewhere and will write to the mission.(To not avail.)
4th visited CBM Mubi, Kulp Bible School and Basle at Gulak.
%th heard CBM missionary is working at Fadagwe where we have a church on the plain.
6th only four out of six students turned up for Gwoza EBS. Film at Cubits in the evening.
8th no-one came to Pulka EBS. Yariyep Lot from plateau staying with us for a primary teachers' course.
9th Gwoza EBS plus two men there entire Bible School exam.
10th preached in Hausa, Fadagwe. Lunch there with the evangelist. Our English friends the Clarks leave Cubitts as he is not well. Few at Gwoza English service.
Nov 11 Cubitts repainted our mission sign.
Nov 12 to Gwoza hospital and Pulka. The latter has some wonderfully spectacular rock formations.
14th. Pastor Zakka (Zacheus) has had five people write letters asking we stay. Three women for Bible School interview.
14th. Four students told they have passed Bible School exams.One has to repeat.
15th. Last day of Bible School. Took one family home.Were they the couple who named their baby girl Oliver in honour missionary nurse Jean Oliver? Our neighbour's wife was a Cinderella. Hyacinth was common especially among RCs. I think Kerosene and Latrine were apocryphal. But Dung, ale, and Chundung, feast]le were common among the Berom.
16th preparing EBS course on Galatians.
17th Presented Bible School certificates. Teachers came to my English Bible study.
18th took two students home to Gomulu. Poor Must (Moses) found his house and church building collapsed in the rainy season. Given a cockerel at Isge on the plain.
20th EBS Gwoza and Pulka. Fadagwe church has split, ours and EYN now.
21st to Pulka, bank, Limani and Moru. Missionary from Chad tells of arrests there including Ernie A the MAF pilot.
22nd. Mora and Mokolo in Cameroon.Visited our Ngoshe church from that side with spectacular hairpins.Mountains of the Moon very impressive. Back to Limankara at night via Kerawa. It is over 100 miles to Ngoshe by road, but only two miles on foot.
23rd Drove to Maiduguri and ran out of petrol en route with four gallons still showing on the gauge. Meals with Blacks. Bible School standing committee.
24th A packed Maiduguri ordination, standing room only. Visited zoo with Blanches.
25th back to Limakara. Katy jostled earlier in Maiduguri market. Four church VIPs from Jos staying with nus.
26th took the visitors to Kwanda, isle and Gomalu. Ran up two wheels one side on an unseen log and became stuck. Visited Fadagwe and the Gwoza head of local government and the pastor.
27th took the visitors to Maiduguri. Drove to Monguno, Allahgerno then Malamfatori on Lake Chad overnight. Hard driving in low gear. Cloying sand. Two sets of ruts, landrover or lorry. You can, with a guide, ignore the tracks but it is hazardous if then you hit one at speed you could turn over. Chewing cols nuts, an acquired taste, for stimulus.Their caffeine content is so high it could equal amphetamines.The church bans tobacco and alcohol but people refused to desist from cola. It is addictive but the social equivalent of a cup tea and not banned by Muslims either. Malamfatori had warm water from a borehole, like a sauna in the desert.
28th. Visited Malamfatori, Yo and Abadam. On the border with Niger. I tried a camel ride but it was laden with thorn grass, very prickly. I later found one does not ride at a walkout a trot. The walk is too violent a motion. Riders have to dismount approaching habitations as from the saddle they can see the secluded women in the compounds.Pastor baptised three people. Keith Black did a baptism there with a very speedy exit from the water when a crocodile was spied.One of the few times I saw Nigerians move quickly was when in a canoe on a lake near Shendam south of the plateau. They saw a hippo and fled the lake.
29th Four hour hard drive to Allahgerno then Baga. There places have Platear missionary evangelists and dispensers. At Baga you stay in after dark. Mosquitoes there are the worst and you do not want to expose any flesh especially at the latrine. One lady missionary, in daylight went to the loo behind a rush matting screen. She heard she was spied upon when the voice said, 'White, very white'.
30th to edge of Lake Chad at Baga where Nigerian evangelists bought sacks of fish to bring home to Maidugur where we arrived 7pm.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment