Monday, May 21, 2007

A day

It was a good day, but very full:

- Went to SIM office to download emails, get money, greet people

- Off to Gidan Bege to meet Mrs. Gona, who has been caring for the Nigerian Missionary Kid's since I have been gone (praise God). What a joy-filled woman. We talked about the need for better food for the kids (working on it), medicine, how her own kids cannot go to school because no money to pay for the school fees, and then we prayed together. Look forward to getting to know her more.

- Our weekly management meeting of folks in charge of various parts of the entire ministry (medical, outreach, sports, etc). It is a colorful array of Americans, a Canadian, a Danish, and Nigerians. We are all trying to understand one another's cultures and today was a trying one. It had to do with the issue of money. Hmm. I hate money sometimes. It ended Ok, but will take some time and lots of prayer to really get to the heart of the matter. Do we as Westerner's cripple the ministry because we have access to funds and have to make decisions on how to spend them? Do the Nigerians depend on us too much? Not questions to be answered quickly. Sigh.

- Greeting the kids at Gidan Bege (these guys are waiting to be transferred to their permanent home in our Care Center in Gyero). Greeting folks here is super important and if you neglect this - wow - you have really offended them. So, gotta be sure to do it.

- Rushed back home for lunch (yummy Nigerian rice - food discussion is for another blog). Met the electrician bc my lights keep flickering and find out I need another stabilizer because the current keeps fluctuating, which can either blow my lights and electronics or not get enough power into my fridge. Also may need a new car battery to run my little lights when our electricity goes off. Man, am glad for Mark the Electrician.

- Try to keep my dogs from attacking said Mark the Electrician's friends who came to greet him (they do not like men).

- Off to Transition House to see some sick kiddos. Thanks to some handy kits I got donated, I was able to test three of them for Malaria - all of them have it. Treat them and explain meds to the uncle (staff in the house). Care for some wounds, decide a kids tooth needs to be extracted and will call dentist, arrange for an uncle to take three different kids to different appointments tomorrow (yeah for delegation!), meet with the head cook about the list of food to get this week for the kids.....

- Back home for dinner, a chat with Harvey, a missionary who has been here for 41 years (!) and here I am.

Well, not sure all this will interest many of you. But, hey, it is my blog :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It interests us greatly! We are so glad to see you there and the kids we've been praying for. Your update gives me a feel for your day and for the struggles that we can join you in praying for.

We're grateful for you, Erin. Love, Kim Ransleben (TBC - Next Step class)

Anonymous said...

Erin,

My name is Rene Marshall and confession: I've been secretly stalking you for a few months now b/c I'll be heading out to Jos, with SIM, by September of this year, God willing! I totally love these kind of blogs b/c they give me an unromantisized idea of what daily life in Nigeria might really be like. I plan on emailing you with some specific questions in the near future, but wanted to go ahead and introduce myself. Keep doing all that you're doing, you're making more of an impact for the Kingdom than you'll ever realize:)

Anonymous said...

Erin,
I love to hear the details of your days! Love you and praying for you!
Rhea

Angie Velasquez Thornton said...

Hey Erin! Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading about your daily life. Dan and I fear the whole money issue will be one of our biggest challenges to ministry in Senegal. We pray the Lord will give us wisdom to do the right thing. It's tough, eh?