I miss the girls....

I miss the sweet, sweet girls. The highlight of my week is when I would drive out to Gyero on Tuesday afternoon's and spend the night. To get there, I drive down a highway for about 20 minutes. Then I turn off onto a dirt road full of potholes and dust (or mud in the rainy season)--- and beautiful farmland and birds and hills--- for another 15 minutes. One of my favorite things was when I would drive up to the concrete wall surrounding the girls compound and all of them would come running to my truck saying 'Aunty Erin, Aunty Erin' and I would get 10 hugs and smiles. Then they would follow me around to the back of my truck and 'help' me open it. I would usually have lots of stuff with me (pillow, blanket, bag, activities for the girls, food) and so the girls would all want to carry something for me. We would then walk to their little building , where there are 2 rooms us missionary gals sleep in.

We would dump everything in there and then play until it got dark. I loved just sitting with them and listening to them laugh and let them play with my hair and sit on my lap.

In the evening, the older girls would help Mama (staff mother) cook dinner in one pot over the fire. We usually had rice and beans and I would dish it out in their tin bowls. They would come to me one at a time and after I served them, they would do a little curtsy, a cultural sign of respect. Then we would all sit on the floor and eat rice and beans (I usually just ate a little and then had a snack in my room later :). I loved how, when they finished eating, one by one they would say 'Thank you, Aunty', 'Thank you, Mama', curtsying to us as they do so. Very cute!! By that time it would be dark, so we'd gather in a little room they called the 'Parlor', to play games.

When bedtime came, we all went into their room, where they climbed into their bunkbeds. The little ones slept two by two (their choice and Oh, so adorable!). We all would cover our heads with a headtie before our nightly devotional (a cultural sign of respect to God). Then one of the girls would lead us in some songs (their voices are so beautiful). I would share from the Bible and they would share their memory verses and then we all prayed. A wonderful result of our time together - one of the first times I was out there, I encouraged the girls to pray about having a friend at school who they can encourage and even witness to. Over the months, the girls would show me letters their new friends had written to them, they shared how they prayed with their friends, and even a few girls witnessed to their M friends!

God really loves every single person all over the world and will use whomever is willing to share about His love! After devotions, I would tuck each of them in and kiss each of them on the forehead before leaving their room.

As part of the Nigerian Christian culture, we would wake up at 6am and have devotions again (well, the church bell would ring at 5am to combat the M call the prayer at the other end of the village - so that always woke us up first!) It was so precious and a wonderful way to start the day. After this, the girls would get busy sweeping the compound (swept dirt really does look better), making their beds, and then would run to the bathing building (made of concrete). They would line up and Mama Sati would scrub the little ones down from head to toe. The would just crouch down and let her have at them - it was adorable! The water had been warmed over the fire and was put into buckets and carried to the bath house. After a girl was finished, she would run back, dripping wet, with a towel wrapped around her and wait in the parlor until all of the were in there. Then they would start putting Vaseline all over each other's body's! This actually really keeps their skin beautiful and all Nigerians do this. After that we got them all ready for school and sent them off.

Here's a pic of the 'original 10', plus a staff child. The girls center opened Dec. 2006. The ministry decided to care for the first group of 10 for a long time before adding more. Of course, there are many more orphans and abused children in the Jos area, but we really wanted to go slowly so that we cared for each girl properly and thoughtfully. Right after I left, 3 new girls were added. I wish I could be there, but I know that many are praying for them. I've been blessed to see how many people love these precious girls who live in a village in Nigeria. In the above picture, a 90+ year old woman handmade the hats, each taking 8 hours! Other people have shown love by sending letters and funding projects. One team brought Crocs for all the kids! A perfect shoe to have in a village climate.

Loving the children in our ministry (almost 400 of them total!) is definitely a team effort and requires lots of hands and hearts to thrive. Although I miss these precious girls, I know the Lord will provide for their every need.