The changing world (45) May 76

May 1st   Holiday.Family to Jos  and met up with Bulmers at the Lutheran Dogon Dutse accommodation.

2nd         All to church at Hillcrest except for me to our EKAN Church - the Hausa title for COCIN, Eklessia Kiristi in Nigeria - not a word of Hausa in fact!

3rd         Two family’s children very happy together. Enjoying seeing the steam trains.

4th         Travel restricted by the new governor touring the city.Saw him at the station

5th          Took the boys to the zoo.

6th         Visited friends who were leaving the Institute of Linguistics. That was the name taken, in error by Wycliffe Bible Tranlators. They were to change again to Nigeria Bible Translation Trust.

8th           Ate with Jones of SIM, pharmacist with whom we did Hausa school in 1971.

9th           With boys to EKAN in the morning and with Katy and Dick to Hillcrest in the evening.

10th       Bought cloth to have a riga (gown) made. Sorry to hear Clarks to go home soon as Elizabeth is pregnant and they fear hepatitis at term. David locked himself in the toilet.

11th       Ate with the Williams our pharmacist who suppose all the missions from Jos.

14th       Took Jonathan to see Hillcrest School. He is not yet ready to board aged five.

15th       Governor Gomwalk and murderer Dimka executed in Lagos. Back to Langtang via Gills for lunch at Vom.

16th        Boys had Sunday School with the Campus Crusade teachers children. Heavy rain.

18th        Bokkos TEE teachers then to Mushere. overnight.

19th        Mushere TEE student class. Pastor Joshua led well. Books overnight.

20th        Rev Dauda led Bokkos student class well. Took Geof Kimber back to Langtang.

21st        To Kwalla class in landrover taking Geof Kimber. Came back due to heavy rain lest the river prevented our return tomorrow.

22nd        Shendam TEE led well by James. Kimber complains I drive too fast. Not the first to complain but I have many miles to travel and never had an accident in a country full of hazardous roads.

23rd         The boys cried at secondary school Sunday school. David unsettled by my travelling so much.

24th          Mwari TEE. Heard Hausa Bible read with lack of understaning bringing hilarity to me alone. Abraham looked for a city with foundations = birne mai tusa (plural of tussa - foundation) Instead was read, mai tusa - owner of a fart. No-one else laughed. All our Christians are second language speakers not versed in the intricacies of Hausa. Later I was to be told how  the Hausa Muslims despise the Christians mudering their mother tongue. For the Christians ignorance of the finer points is bliss.   Boi overnight.

25th Mart TEE on Honda but  Yakubu the teacher had failed to distribute the book and so get the course started.

26th On Honda to Tadnum TEE after rain. Fell where the road was washed away with the Honda exhaust on the back of my naked knee. I was wearing short. Home with a painful burn.

27th  Kimbers have been staying at Langtand. Breakfast with them. Leg stiff.

28th   Dressed a weepy painful legend hobbled to church.

29th Katy drove us to Vom. Dr Thomas said I was to be admitted for four days as the leg was infected. In Private Ward with a Fulani alhaji here after crashing his Mercedes. 

30th Managing with difficulty to walk to the toilet. Dressing changing very painful. I was cheered to be told that they normally give children morphine before such a dressing change.

31st The doctor says it will take three weeks before I am fully mobile. The alhaji has gone and now I have another one here with piles.He is very sociable.