Winding it up

Sorry for the lack blogs but its not the easiest thing to pull off.

It's Friday and the week is quickly winding up.  Today one group will take the children of CLAF to the zoo, while another finishes up some work at the brides shop.

Tomorrow will be the longest day of the adventure.  The plan is to get up and debrief,clean up the house , pack our bags and head out around 1:00 to Abuja, Make it to the airport and get thru,then the long plane rides.  If I figure right in a short 32 hours from when we get up we will be back in Cincinnati.  Can't wait to see you.

Everyone is doing well and the luggage arrived on Wednesday.

A quick run down

Wednesday , we went to see a piece of property that the ministry  owns and got a vision of what the future might hold.  Thursday we placed the concrete in what will become a computer lab or IT center. We mixed 6 cubic yards( for those unfamiliar ,thats 3\4 of a load on a big cement truck) That's alot !!!  It went very well dispite the fact it rained most of the day , but the slab was inside.  

This will be the last blog, we'll call you when we hit the US soil , can't wait

Geore

We are here...and we're safe!

Hello family and friends back in the US... i just wanted to let you all know that we made it here safe and sound. We had NO problems getting here. we made all our flights (even though we had to run to one) and getting through customs couldn't have been easier...let's just say that we were being led by an angel! 

We stayed in Abuja for the night and in the morning we made a 3 hour drive to Jos. This was amazing and i am sure that everyone will have wonderful pictures to show. 

Everyone is safe and no one has gotten sick so far...let's cross our fingers and continuing praying for health! We got to visit a local orphanage and play with the kids and do some good old work projects. Everyone did great. And we did get to see the drill rig that the Luke 4 challenge has purchased! It was cool to see where the actual money has gone and the determination and passion these men have who are helping drill the wells. 

3 bags were lost...but no worries because hopefully they will be here tomorrow! Everyone is loving it and having an experience of a lifetime, and each person is using their strengths to help the group and the kids. 

Thanks so much for your prayers... please continue praying that God would just show us what we need to learn this week. We love you all very much and we miss you. 

Bob wanted to say that he misses Kamri and all the kids very much and they he loves them. ( i told him that i would post his little message!)

We love you all!

Nigeria team 2008

Test Case

This is a test for the June 08 Trip To Jos

A picture website..

Check out some great pics. Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/missionsvcc/ to check out nearly 200 photos from the trip. Photos on the main page display randomly... to see them in an order that makes sense, open up the Nigeria Jan 08 set.

A long, hot shower and my very own bed!

It's good to see Jesus at work in a culture very different than our own. And then it's nice to be home. Especially when your bus breaks down (TWICE) on the way to the airport and your new Nigerian friends have to pull strings to get you through the check-in process in order to make sure you don't miss your flight. Dang. This is a story worth telling. But we'll leave that up to each of the team members to pass along to friends and family who were praying so diligently... and of course to Dave.

Thanks for allowing us to be your representatives for this part of the Luke 4 Challenge. We are all honored and humbled to have been sent as part of God's greater purposes. And we can't wait to tell you more in person... as soon as we soak it all in ourselves, of course. And that may take a while.

In the meantime, we'll post LOTS more pictures, after a good night's rest (check back tomorrow!)

Kande

Ready or not, here we come

I type as the rest of the group busily prepares to leave the SSE house at least as good, if not better, than when we found it. We're packed and ready to head out to Abuja in a few hours. We'll likely wait in the airport after security check for quite a while... then on to Amsterdam with a 5 hour layover before we leave for Detroit. And this trip has been worth every bit of every hour of travel.

Last night's dinner that was hosted here at the house was attended by nearly 50 people, and we were treated to traditional tribal dancers. Very fun. It was cold here by Nigerian standards, so our local friends were suffering quite a bit. We ate ram and chicken and laughed and talked a lot... and exchanged a TON of pictures! Good stuff.

We miss you and can't wait to tell you more in person.

Sai gobe,

Mama Kande

Fun day from start to finish

We went back to see the kids from CLAF children's home today (where we built bunk beds and helped with a few home improvements, etc. on Monday). It was good for Dave, Mark, and Brad to see the facilities and to met Emmanuel and Kyenpia, since their assignments on Monday prevented that. Today, we basically just picked up the kids and took them to a private park with swings and slides, and some real, true grass. It as good to just be able to play with them, relax, get pictures with them, eat lunch together (meat pies... YUM!), and then send them back home with the care kits we brought. Great pictures of that I can't wait to show you.

Afternoon was spent in the market... probably too much time if you ask the guys and too little time if you ask the girls, which likely means it was just right. We had a little time to freshen up before dinner, which was hosted here for about 45-50 people. It as good to have SSE board members and staff bring their spouses, as did the drilling team. Dinner was roasted ram and chicken, barbequed right here on the property and it was delicious! Some members were a little shy about eating the intestines, but some went for it! OH, I almost forget... our entertainment for the night were some traditional tribal dancers. Very cool, special treat.

It was bittersweet to say goodbye to many that we've grown to love during our travels here since we likely won't see them before heading out to Abuja tomorrow. And yet we eagerly look forward to home and its warm familiarity after this experience of being completely immersed in a very different culture and economy.

Please pray for a smooth transition out of the SSE/B2B house we've been staying in... that we organize our time in such a say that we can bless Jason & Emilee by leaving things better than when we found them, but still be on time for departure. We also desire your prayers for our safe, timely travels and for the remaining meetings that are to be had in the morning - may they be productive and glorifying to God.

Sai gobe,

Mama Kande (Can't wait to show you my new decked-out dress!)