home is where the heart is.

I'm home.

...

What does that even mean? I'm not exactly sure now. It's odd. People ask me "Are you happy to be back home?" and I have to pause to answer. Of course I'm happy to see my family, to see my friends. But my heart is in two. I now have two homes. Two families. 

I miss my Nigerian home.

What a beautiful home it is. 

The most beautiful kind.

Susana Homes will always hold a piece of my heart. I hope someday I can journey back and retrieve it, but for now I'm comforted in knowing not all of me has left. 

Yay NEPA!

Hey!

Lookie here, I've got good internet! We're back at Carolyn and Emeka's for the weekend, so I guess I better take advantage of this awesome internet and write one good long blog before going out to the bush. I'm gonna warn you, this could get long since I haven't been able to update in a while. Get ready. Get set. GO!

FOURTH OF JULY:

Boy, let me tell you, this was probably the best Fourth of July I've ever celebrated. Isn't that ironic since I wasn't even in America? It was also one of my team member's, Arielle's, birthday, so Mama Chi put together this big party to celebrate both Auntie Arielle's and America's birthday. It was GREAT. The kids sang us a bunch of songs, including the United States national anthem (which surprisingly all of the kids wanted us to teach it to them just a couple days after we'd arrived. It's like their favorite song now. I've probably heard that song more these past 6 weeks then I have in the past 6 years).

There was lots of food. The kids ate their normal meal, but Chi served us 2 roasted chickens which was delicious (chicken is expensive here so we don't eat it often) and we had birthday cake which would have been as good as American cake except the cakemakers forgot the sugar. Isn't that crazy? How can you forget sugar when you bake a cake? But in Nigeria you eat what's put in front of you, so we all chowed down with a forced smile on our faces, ha.

We danced a lot. At Susana Homes we party a lot. A lot a lot. When somebody comes, we party. When somebody goes, we party. When somebody has a big test coming up, we party. When it's America's birthday, we PARTY. Now, I've never been much of a dancer. Not at parties, not at school, not even at my junior high valentines dance. In fact, the only times I've really danced is the few times at church during worship. So it was a stretch when at the first Susana Homes party we went to they opened up the dance floor. But I've definitely got the hang of it. Actually, I love dancing. Well, who wouldn't love dancing with a bunch of beautiful Nigerian kids? Yep, so we danced and danced and danced at the fourth of July party. The really funny thing is is that there are pretty much only 2 songs that Susana Homes owns that are dancing songs, so at ALL of these parites, we've been dancing to the same two songs over and over and over again. Groundhog day anyone?

SLEEPOVERS:

So remember how I wrote about those devotional groups we've been doing with the Strawberry Girls and the Angel Cakes? Well, two Friday's ago we threw a sleepover for the Angel Cakes and then this past Friday we had a sleepover for the Strawberry Girls. Oh my goodness, it was so much fun. These girls are just so sweet! We taught the Angel Cakes "Aint No Mountain High Enough" and "YMCA". It was SO funny listening to them sing it with their thick Nigerian accent. We popped popcorn and made PB&J for the Angel Cakes and they really enjoyed that. You would not believe how much food the Strawberry Girls ate. We had Indo-mie (which is basically Nigerian Ramen Noodles), pigs in a blanket, grilled cheese, chicken, and pineapple. They ate plate after plate of food. It'd blow your mind how much food tiny little 9 year old Adaku ate. They're so funny. This last Friday we're having a tea party with the Honey Ponies which are the 4-7 girls. We opted on not having a sleepover with these girls since they are MAJOR bedwetters. I'm excited about the tea time.

---

Hmmm, so this past week the kids have all been taking exams in school (the school is located on the compoud of Susana Homes and is actually run by Susana Homes), so we've been helping out with that. During these past 6 weeks we've taught random little lessons with the kids in school, but Tuesday was my first time to have the whole class to myself for a good 2 or 3 hours. I had Primary 5 and I pretty much just sat there and stopped any cheating. These kids are sneaky little cheaters. Ha, but don't worry I caught 'em! When you go to the school during recess, there are hundreds of kids hanging out in this big field. And let me tell you, they SWARM white people. One moment you're having a nice stroll by yourself, you blink a couple of times, and then next thing you know it's a SEA of 3 foot munchkins all in red checkered uniforms clawing to grab a finger or a couple inches of your arm. One time I counted and I had 27 of them around me.

The Susana Homes kids are pretty used to white people I think, and we've been here long enough and spent enought time with them that the novelty of our skin is gone. But at the school, all the village kids are still fascinated. They think it's so amazing how when you squeeze my arm, the tan goes away for a second and gets really white. Ya know what I'm talking about? They squeeze my arms over and over agian, like I'm some sort of giant toy. It's kinda like getting an arm massages so I don't mind ;) But you should hear the compliments these kids shower me with:
"Auntie you are very fine"
"Auntie your skin is beautiful"
"Auntie I love your body"
Ha, they crack me up. So, so sweet.

Ya know, we have one week until we leave Susana Homes. I'm just not sure how I'm going to handle it. I do miss everyone back home, but I miss my babies so much already and I've only been at Carolyn and Emeka's for a day and a half now. I don't know how I'm gonna deal with leaving them and knowing I may never see them again. Tweet, Alex, Confidence, Evidence, Anna, Jojo, Small Mike, Joanna, all of them, I'm just going to miss them so much. Being here has been such a blessing. Do you know how wonderful it is to be covered in hugs everyday? To play handclaps with the kids and listen to their stories? To have them share who they are with you. I see so much of Jesus in them. Everyday is filled with so much peace and so much joy. Even just being with my teammembers and enjoying the hearts God's put in them. It's been such an incredible time here. A sort of paradise. Please pray for my and my team member's transitions back. God has blessed us so much with our time here, please pray that we won't be distracted from His purpose of bringing us back home.

love love love

let them eat cake

Well, guess who got malaria?

Yep, those pesky little mosquitoes got me. But don't worry I'm all better now. A few pills and I was good to go! Getting malaria here is like getting the flu in America. It's kinda no big deal. Carolyn told me she's had it 7 times in the 8 months she's lived here!

So Saturday we had a birthday party here at Susana Homes for Emmanuel. Who's Emmanuel you ask? I have no idea. Apparantly people are fascinated with this orphanage (this kind of nice care for kids is a super rare thing in Nigeria), so they come by not only to give stuff, but just to tour it and be amazed. And then some, like Emmanuel, have their birthday parties here. Chi has tried to explain it to us confused Americans by comparing Susana Homes to Disney World. She says they're kind of equivalent here. HA. Funny stuff.

But nobody really minds the fascination because it means more attention and positive light. And let me tell you, this birthday party was awesome. There was cake. There was dancing. There was cake. There were games. There was cake. There was lunch. There was cake. There were goody bags. Did I mention there was cake? (me and my team mates have kinda gone nuts over here for dessert since Nigerians never eat anything sweet. we were talking about the possibility of cake ALL week...) Oh yes, there was cake. SO much cake. They had this giant Pooh Bear cake which was practically two and a half cakes and then a whole other one that they didn't even cut into! And only a third of the Pooh cake was eaten.... guess who got to keep all of the cake leftovers? :) We've been eating cake like 24/7 now. I'll probably be 20 pounds heavier by the time I get home. I have to say though, Nigerian cake is different then American cake. It's kinda like a dry pound cake-- it's not fluffy and moist. And then their icing is really dry. Or they use fondint- that stuff is really popular here. But I'm not complaining or anything..... but if someone wants to get me a welcome home cake.... I don't think I'd be too upset ;)

So, can I please tell you how amazing the kids are here? I am so blown away bythem. Last year at Amani, since it was a baby cottage, I didn't really get a chance to see how older kids function in an orphanage setting day in and day out. Let me tell you, these kids work ridiculously hard. It would break your heart to see how much they serve the younger kids. They're always helping getting kids dressed, getting meals ready, consoling crying babies. They are so great. I seriously don't think most American kids would work this hard. One of my team mates, Jasmine, came up with a great idea to have a devotional/girls group with the older girls a couple of times a week. So starting last week we've been meeting with them. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays we meet with the oldest girls, the Angel Cakes: Anna, Osi, Miracle, Inhechi, Christy, Eunice, and Happiness. And then on Tuesdays and Thursdays we meet with the younger, but not youngest, girls, the Strawberry Girls: Confidence, Evidence, Becky, Glory, and Aduku. They are all so sweet and so excited about spending this time with us. They ask so many questions! Gosh, I love them so much!

I can't believe we have less than thee weeks left here. I know time's gonna fly and I'm kinda dragging my feet. Part of me is excited about going home. About seeing faces I miss, eating foods I like, having a HOT shower. But most of me is just trying not to think about how much I'm going to miss it here.

Pictures from Africa!

grettings from the white with the pointy nose

Endawo everyone! Ha, that's some terribly spelled Igbo that is some sort of welcome everyone says here. Actually, me and my team members say it to the Nigerians we meet, but we're not really sure what it means... is that bad?

So, I'm not longer at Susana Homes. I decided to come home early...
Ha, just kidding. Me and my team took a little "vacation" and are staying at Carolyn and Emeka Offune's house for the weekend. It's so great to see some familiar faces and just to get a little break from the intensity of the orphanage for a bit. Today they are taking us to a birthday party which I am so excited. Me and some of my team members are quietly praying that there will be some birthday cake, cuz we could really go for some dessert! They don't really eat dessert here. I'm so excited about seeing more of Nigeria while we're here because really the compound is kinda isolated "out in the bush", so we haven't seen much at all.

Okay, so God is amazing. He is always protecting us. Always. From sickness, from insane Africa driving, from anything and everything that could be harmful. I'm constantly thanking Him for all of His protection He's shown me while I've been here. The most recent protection that I've seen: fire. Ha, so a few days ago I was laying on the couch in the living room, reading, when all of a sudden I heard yelling and then saw some very tall frames. I heard "water!" so I immediately ran to grab a bucket of water. By the time I got out of the house with the bucket, the flames were huge! We're talking bonfire size. Impressed? They guys we working outside on the bookshelves when the jug of lacquer they had caught on fire. Oppsie! Everything was absolutely fine. Nobody got burned and amazingly nothing caught on fire, not even the big bookshelf that was only a few feet away from the flames. Praise God! It was actually pretty funny. I guess that's what I get for coming to Africa with a bunch of college kids ;)

So did I tell y'all I learned how to strap a baby on my back African style? I am truly becoming Nigerian. One of the workers at the orphanage, "Nk", took us for a tour outside the compound and showed us around the village. I bet we walked at least 5 miles... with a baby on our backs. Whew, it was quite the hike. Among the people we visited, we made a special trip to see the oldest man in the village, Brother Roland, who is supposed to be 90ish years old. He's probably the cutest old man I've ever seen. We were also taken to the "captain" of the village who owns a poultry farm and a catfish farm. I cannot brag enough about the hospitality of the people here. In America, normally when we go to someones house, the visitors bring a gift right? Wine, a side dish, bread, whatever, we bring something. Well here, when you visit someone, they give you a gift. The Captain gave us a huge bag of eggs and one of the ladies we met gave all of us "mineral water", otherwise known as soda, which is a huge expense for her family. It is so overwhelming to be met with such kindness.

It is so beautiful here. The jungle is beautiful, but the people are even more beautiful. I fall in love with the kids more and more everyday. In fact, as I'm sitting in the Offune's beautiful house, enjoying fast internet and good friends, I can't help but miss the kids a little. Ha even though it's only been less than 12 hours since I've seen them. What the heck am I gonna do when I leave for real?! Hmmm... I'm not sure.

ps- please pray for one of my team members, David. He's not feeling very well and I'd hate for yet another one of us to be sick

Look! INTERNET!

INTERNET! We've got it!
Yes, it's dial up,
Yes, it takes 5 minutes to load a page,
Yes, the power could die any second and most likely will in the middle of this blog,
BUT, we still have internet!

So, Nigeria is wonderful.
Here are some of the things I've accomplished so far:

-successfully gotten sick from steamed greens
-had my hair cornrowed Nigerian style
-been called "the white with the pointy nose" (HA!)
-eaten 5 termites

The kids here are so great. They have really awesome names. Here are some: God's Power, God's Time, Evidence, Confidence (those are two of my favorite girls), Marvelous, etc. They gave me a Nigerian name: Comfort. Ha, so you can call me Comfort now.

I've made so many new friends. One is named Andra, but everyone calls her Tweet.
Tweet is a leech.
Every where I go, she is there. She's such a pistol though. She never obeys. Finally "Mama Chi" had it the other day. Do you know what Tweet's punishment for consistently not brushing her hair was? Having her head shaved. So now my Tweet is bald. Ha, she's such a goof.

You should see the lizards here. They are every where. The ones that sneak into the house are normal American-lizard size. But the ones outside are huge. They're at least a foot long and are normally half orange and half blue. The ants here are African sized too: about an inch long! And the termites are that big too! After it rains, the termites swarm during the early morning, then fall to the ground. You should see how big their wings are-- they look like butterflies. Hundreds of them were one the porch yesterday morning. Perfect for... frying! Ha, it's so funny to see kids and adults hungrily snatching up a pile of bugs for snack. Yesterday I ate five. Impressed?

I'm gonna try to get pictures up sometime soon.

goodbye!

T-minus 6 hours 

I can't believe I'm finally leaving. It's crazy. I've pretty much been planning this trip since August. It's funny how it feels like time is so slow, but then all of a sudden, when you look back you realize what a gallop life is!

So goodbye Mom. 

Goodbye Dad. 

Goodbye friends. 

Goodbye Mexican food. 

Goodbye air conditioning. 

Goodbye hot water. 

Goodbye electricity. 

Goodbye YOU! 

I'll see ya soon!