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.

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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