6-19
LOVE MY LIFE!
I woke up at 7:30 this morning and went downstairs for breakfast. I sat at a table with Jen, Paul, Jim, and Bennie. (If the new names confuse you alittle, then you know what I was feeling when I sat at the table and didn't know the people around me.)
Bennie we met right away at the airport, day one. He is a Vineyard missionary Pastor in Quito who was helping to coordinate the clinic during this last week and also translate. He had flown in the night before when the big team arrived. He also brought along his teenage daughter and two of her friends to translate.
This breakfast was like any breakfast you would have in the states, except that there were foods that you would not see at a hotel in the states. Rice and plantains for breakfast along with so many different kinds of juice. The table talk was very American though, because we were all Americans at this table, of course.
After breakfast we were to go to Nigeria for church. We had not been to Nigeria in a few days so you could imagine my excitement to be going back.
We all loaded into the vans and I began talking excitedly with those sitting by me. I didn't know them, but I just could not hold back my excitement just because I didn't know these people.
I figured they had best know I am crazy right away.
I started asking people if they were excited to go to Nigeria, because they really should be. I was smiling all big and talking about how great of a place it is, and how much I love it and all the people there. I thought my heart was going to explode with excitement.
The people around me didn't really know how to react to my excitement.
We arrived at the church in Nigeria and I was beyond excited.
It was a breath of fresh air to see all the familiar beautiful faces. TO hug and kiss all these people that I had come to know and love over the last 2 weeks. Juan Carlos and Byron were leading worship. Andres was also there holding this little boy named Jeremy who we all thought was the cutest thing ever.
One of the local ladies there gave the sermon and Josue (sp?) translated. I just wish I could explain to you how beautiful this church and these people are. After the service ended, while the big group was standing around trying to figure out how to respond to this new place I went to the front of the church by Andres and Juan Carlos and Byron. They played the guitar and we all sang together just for fun.
Then Bennie came up also and joined along with us.
Only in Nigeria would this timida (shy) girl just walk up to these friends I had just met a few days before and sing with them and in Spanish even.
The group then went to lunch after church. The place we went to eat was just a room with tables and chairs and a small bar area. After we got there people arrived in cars and started to unload food from the trunks of their cars. They served us some rice, beans,and meat of sorts. I had been spoiled the weeks before with amazing home made cooking so this meal was not nearly as good as what I had been used to. We were also given some mystery jugo (juice) that was in a little sandwich bag. We had to bite a hole in the bag and then figure out how to pour the juice into our cups without making a terrible mess. Andres said that he didn't trust the juice because it was given to us out of baggies, but I am a stupid, brave girl and figured "hey, I have been eating whatever I want since getting here and have not been sick. What harm can some juice do?". Oh how I hate myself for thinking that.
After lunch we headed back into Nigeria with the plan to go door to door and hand out fliers advertising for the clinic. Pastor Caluca thought this was a bad idea because people around Nigeria had just started drinking and it probably was not the safest idea. So instead we prepared the pharmacy. We bagged medicines. SO MANY VITAMINS AND BAGS OF IBUPROFEN.
We left Nigeria after setting up for the clinic.
We had a few hours of free-time before heading our to dinner.
I wanted to go see the Iguana park and maybe parts of the Malecon again, so I brought Andres along, you know just so I would have a body guard and translator. ha!
We may have lost track of time a little bit and arrived back to the hotel to find everyone already loaded in the vans and waiting. I felt TERRIBLE!
About half way through dinner I began to feel the effects of that bagged juice ( or something I should not have eaten) on my body.
I hardly remember the rest of the night.
*this is the last entry in my journal. From this point on I will try to summarize the last week. It will not be a day-by-day, but it should still be a good time.*
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