Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Going to the Village


Hi Everyone!
What a busy yet fun day Crist and I have had today. My day started with having our next door neighbor, Dorcas (our landlord's wife), over for tea. She is a woman closer to my age, a wife, mother and grandmother and a wonderful Christian woman. As we shared parts of our lives with each other we were able to pray together and we even sang the song, "Jehovah Jireh, My Provider" together. It didn't matter that we were from two different countries, we share our common faith in the Lord - and that makes all the difference! I look forward to getting to know Dorcas better in the weeks ahead.
After lunch, we ventured out to the village with Daniel, a Nigerian Back2Back staff member. However, Nigerian protocol says we must first meet the "Chairman" of the village. As it turns out, he was not at home but we were able to meet some of his family members. The picture below is of me and one of the women living in the "chairman's" compound. We're not sure if she was his mother, aunt or wife but even though she was very shy, she very graciously allowed us to take her picture. The picture below that is of the Chairman's daughter-in-law and granddaughter as we are looking into their home. She was cutting up some green leaves to make a soup for her family. There were dogs and chickens scurrying around the area and although it was a very humble dwelling, everyone seemed very content and were very welcoming to us.
From the Chairman's house we ventured to the village doctor. This is such an amazing story. The above picture is of Crist and I standing with the doctor. He has no formal training but has been ministering to the village for many many years with great success. People from other villages come to be treated by him. His speciality is broken bones. We met a young man who had severely broken his leg. After only three weeks he was wiggling his toes and is able to stand and use crutches (there is no cast). The doctor is a Christian and he prays for each patient and allows God to direct him with each treatment. The blue curtains you see in the picture behind us are the entry ways to the rooms where a patient and his/her family stay. The rooms are small and everyone sleeps on the floor but the doctor believes that healing will be quicker when the family is there with the patient. Even without all the modern technologies we are used to, without the germ-free environment we think is essential, God is still using humble servants like our village doctor, for His healing purposes.



We arrived home this evening at 5 o'clock and as we were getting out of the van, the heavens opened up and it began to POUR DOWN RAIN. It is the beginning of rainy season so it might rain a little or a lot each day. It was extremely hot and humid today so with the rain this evening, cooler temperature arrived too which has been very appreciated. After a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, and some leftover cabbage, we worked on this blog and now it's almost time for bed and it's only 8:10 p.m.
We have many more pictures to share but they will have to wait for another day. Bye
In-Joy,
Eileen and Crist



2 comments:

  1. Bill says the cows are called "Zebu" like in the veggie tale song...the song of the Zebu, a silly song with Larry. ;)

    We love the doctor!! How much we can learn by resting in God's wisdom first!

    miss you-leusink family

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  2. I am glad your day yesterday was so good. Lots of good relationship building time. I am grateful you had these moments.

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