Christmas Greetings!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas ...
white sands would do fine, too ...
but both snow and sands will have to wait.

I'm dreaming of a CHRISTmas ...
here in Thailand -- a land of Buddhists
the only Christmas is more of a Santamas or Bellmas ...
God cannot be mentioned.

Even in the Starbucks, when a song was played that contained the words "holy" and "Christ" (and they weren't used as exclamatory comments) the song was immediately turned off.

But, we are so looking forward to attending a church service this Sunday! There will be a few words we'll recognize!!!

No matter where this Christmas finds you (physically and spiritually!) ... may your Christmas be blessed because of Jesus Christ -- who is worthy of all of our celebrations!

Little Lives with Big Needs

So, I promised I'd blog about a couple of dear boys who live near our beach hut.

Firstly, let me explain the big picture. Our beach hut is about 1 1/2 hours from the island areas of Lagos. (If there weren't "go slows" then we'd get there in about 40 minutes!) We travel with armed escorts because anything out of our little island area is off limits to ex pats without escorts (and even WITH escorts for some of the areas!)

Our drive takes us past hundreds of thousands of places where people live -- the "big man's" houses/villas that look opulent but upon closer view really aren't much; the shanties that are shelters made of corrugated metal; the squatters who are making a home out of one area of an unfinished building while the owner scrambles for another ten years to try to get the funds to get the place finished. (Vines and squatters grow in these situations at about the same rate -- overnight!)

Our hut is along a row of beach huts that are generally leased to people such as us. To reach it, we go through 4 villages -- an experience in itself. See a few photos:










Some of the villagers are wealthy and just maintain a little place in their home village. Generally, though, most of those who have obtained some level of wealth have moved away and have quickly forgotten the family they have left behind. Stories abound of fathers who have sacrificed in order to send one son to school in order to gain a better standard of living. Generally, the son gains his education (notice I didn't say a "quality education!"), gains a fairly decent job, and abandons the father and family who've made the sacrifices.

So, we always assume that the people we meet in the villages are desperate for anything. The children are adorable and always tug at our hearts. From our first visit there, we began the custom of handing out sweets (lollies, candies) to the kids when we are ready to leave.

The first time we tried this it was quite chaotic and the kids dropped the candy wrappers all over the ground as they ran off giggling with delight. After that, our driver, Jide, had a chat with the kids and since then they always form a nice queue and keep their trash (at least until they're beyond our sight!). Each visit, when the day is growing long and we are thinking about needing to pack up the car, we begin to hear the laughter of children as they gather outside the fence. They know what's coming. And the stragglers rush down the path to get to us before the treats run out.

We try to find little jobs for the kids to do. 'Gbenga is the 12 year old that we've gotten to know a bit. He always shinnies up the coconut palm trees with a machete in his mouth in order to get us some fresh coconuts. On a good day, when we have guests with us, he can make even N1,000 (almost $7). That's a huge profit even after he has paid the owner of the trees!










Ishak is a little guy, a 7 year old who has become the official "fanner" for Martin when Martin is grilling the food for lunch. Martin is our friend from Austria who absolutely loves to cook and considers it restful to slave over a hot grill for the day! So, I bought a fan from a vendor so that Martin can at least be cooled.

Well, the last time we were there with a bunch of friends, a friend found out that I was paying Ishak to fan Martin and she wanted to contribute. We gathered all of our small bills and I gave him a little pile of money. He and I counted it together and I fought back tears as I watched his eyes get wider as we approached the total. It was N320 -- a little over $2. After he stopped saying "tank you, Mudduh!" I asked him what he was going to do with the money. Without hesitation he said, "buy school sandals, Mudduh." OK, I held the tears off just long enough to get into the "toilet" and have a good, though silent, cry.

That's what lead us to finding out more about these two guys -- 'Gbenga and Ishak. Ishak's mother died when he was young and his father's second wife took him in. But when his father died and the step-mom remarried, he became less valued. The woman now has other children. He has a roof over his head but that's about it. It's better than 'Gbenga's situation, though. 'Gbenga has no one. He's lived on his own for quite a few years. He tries to earn food or money by helping where ever he can. And he lives wherever he can find a place to lay his head. He seems to enjoy the freedom this affords him, though.

Amazingly, both boys are in school. Even the public schools cost money for "fees," dashes (bribes) to the teachers, books, uniforms, ...

So, with the advise from our driver (who, out of his own poverty, gave 'Gbenga N500 on a previous visit to help with some school fees ... and, quite to Jide's credit, never told us about it!) we decided to give each of the two boys some money as Christmas gifts. Jide will oversee the use and check in with the boys during the time we are on vacation (Jide's family lives 6 villages down and grew up in the area and will be there for two weeks during our/his vacation). Depending upon how they have managed by the time we return in January, we hope to give them additional money. They plan on keeping the money a secret. Jide was getting word to Ishak's "guardians" so that they would not think Ishak had stolen the money. 'Gbenga told Jide that the only person he was going to tell was his big brother who lives in a village in the area. 'Gbenga was soooooo excited that as soon as we left he planned on running to the brother's village to share his good news (and probably to share the money, too!)

The corruption and the poverty can be so overwhelming that you just close your eyes to it all. We pray that we will never close our eyes but that we will be able to see ways that we can, just as little people ourselves, make some kind of long-term impact.

We'll keep you posted (pun intended!).

There are things about this place ...

that we really, really like!

Jim took me out for a lovely dinner (our 27th anniversary) at a restaurant that was actually quite lovely. We tend to be excited about most restaurants here but then we always have to ask ourselves, "would we ever step foot in here if this was in the U.S.?" and the answer is usually "no way!" But, this restaurant was actually one we'd go to in the U.S. In fact, it reminded us of our favorite Italian restaurant in Denver "Three Sons" -- in the Highland area. The service was exceptional, the food had excellent flavors, the decor was quite lovely ... OK, we'd die at the price in the U.S. but the phrase "you get what you pay for" has new meaning here because you really, really have to pay bunches to get even a little!

And we sooooooo enjoy our beach hut. We went there alone yesterday -- see a few photos.


























That's our driver, Jide, playing Petanque with Jim! We are so very blessed to have Jide in our lives. He's much more than a driver. He's my own personal assistant. He helps provide directions to other drivers. He advises drivers based upon my feedback to him about what works and doesn't work for drivers of expats. He thinks of us as another mother and father and he said that he doesn't feel like he's going to work every morning but rather going off to visit his parents. (Now, for most folks this would just entirely be "a line!" but for Jide, it's truth!)

I'll have to blog more about Jide sometime. We've learned a lot from him!



And I'll give you some interesting information on a couple of young kids we've helped a bit who live near our beach hut. They're orphans and amazing survivors! I'll put that in another blog.

Busyness as a Survival Skill and What it is We're Surviving

Crazy busy is the best description for how life has been of late. The benefit is that it helps us not notice how crazy life is in general around here! I recorded a figure skating competition a couple of weeks ago and have tried to watch it, oh, at least 5 times. It's only two hours and when you fast forward through the commercials that brings the total time down considerably. But ... alas ... I still haven't watched the last portion.

Jim had to leave early this a.m. for Port Harcourt so I'm staying awake and trying to get caught up on a few things! It's his first time back since we both had to leave very quickly in early June when our co-workers were kidnapped. He'll check on the progress of the banana tree that we planted last year!

Back to the topic of busyness --

Putting a westernized work ethic in the midst of a land of "go slows!" (the name for the traffic congestion) is a dangerous combination. It's because it makes it difficult for the ex pats to ever stop working. We are so determined to reach our goals, to make a difference, to accomplish something! But we lose time in traffic, we lose time because we're waiting on some local to do his job, we lose time because the job wasn't done properly, we lose time when we're waiting for a delivery or a food order or a meeting to begin or a driver to meet us or ... You get the picture. For the majority of Nigerians the response is "no wahala" -- "no problem!" For the majority of ex pats it just makes us work harder and smarter. But sometimes maybe smarter involves just giving in to the general "go slow" mentality! It's tempting to just sit back and say "whatevuh!"

Deadlines aren't really meant as a date the work should be completed. It's more or less a time to start shouting at someone to get started on the work. If it's before the deadline and they haven't even begun they always say "no problem, we're starting it tomorrow and we'll bring on a double crew to meet the deadline." Silly me ... sometimes I still believe the promises.

So today I'm meeting with a vendor who was supposed to deliver household items to 8 flats in August. And he's mad at us because we have the audacity to complain to him about his lack of service delivery when it's the end of November. He points out the items that he has delivered (which amounts to a little more than half of the list) and thinks we're unappreciative! And of the items he has delivered, we are expecting too much because we think the irons should heat evenly and the electrical kettles actually heat at all ... And, this vendor is one of the best! He is constantly putting down Nigerians because he's only half Nigerian. He laughs at the excuses other gives but he doesn't hear his own voice.

There are lessons to be learned here, as always. The education we are receiving is at least double the value of a university classroom, I'm sure.

One lesson is -- integrity does matter and we should still honor our promises and accept responsibility for our errors. Even when no one else does.

Another lesson is -- pray without ceasing! Praying about attitudes has to be as common as breathing. Attitudes can get corrupted so slowly by the corruption around us. It's subtle.

Which leads to another lesson -- racist statements and generalized statements about a pattern that is evident in a group of people are very similar. We constantly ask God to help us love each individual and not start to lump all faces into one group that we label as "them." I've had quite a bit of heated discussions with folks of late -- as I try to defend a Nigerian that I respect and as more and more seemingly racist comments are made. I typically say, "Would you agree that a racist is someone who makes a generalized statement about a group of people and then makes a statement about an individual based upon the fact the s/he is in the people group?" "Well, I suppose so," someone answers. "So, then, what you've just said is a racist comment." "No, it's not. I'm just stating a fact." And so the discussion goes on ...

Subtleties -- "Never trust a Nigerian." vs "Be cautious about trusting people."
"There's not a single Nigerian in this whole _________ ( insert: "country," "company," "world") that is honest." vs "He's a very honest Nigerian." (I hesitate to use the label Nigerian at all but I want to point out that this person is honest and is Nigerian -- together in one person.)

Anyway, you can see the struggle. And the busyness helps us to not over-analyze the whole thing!

I've learned a lot of other lessons lately. I only hope I'll have time to write about them soon.

Title, Honor, Shame, and how it all works

I met with a chief, yesterday, in his home. Now, the home was not what I expected -- picture clutter and then triple it! 50 framed pieces of "art," piles of stuff on every table and every chair, papers and glasses mixed together ... but amidst it all ... obvious signs of wealth. The 50+inch plasma TV and surround sound speakers, the gold plated Motorola mobile phone, the "keepsakes" from China, the portraits of each child graduating from a UK university. Wealth mixed with a lack of "class" ... a strange combination. Class without class, so to speak.

The reason three of us from the company met with him was that he totally and completely has failed as a landlord for a property we've been renting. But he didn't know that. One of his sons is in charge. And the son dares not tell his father anything negative. So, for almost one year the old man has been told that everything is fine when, in reality, our people who are tenants there have been suffering to the point of asking for early transfers out of country.

So, imagine this --- we needed armed escorts following our vehicle because I'm white and, therefore, I couldn't travel to the area on the mainland where the man lives.

We arrived, unannounced, because a source told us he was in country and available -- like so many successful Nigerians, he lives out of country more than in.

A man who appeared to be house staff met our car after we passed security at the gate to his villa. He was not staff; he was the chief, himself. The escort alarmed him so he decided not to send anyone else out to investigate, he sent himself.

We were warmly welcomed into his home. He served us lovely tea with honey in beautiful cups and saucers from China.

I opened with words of appreciation for the lovely first impression one receives when approaching the rental property followed by words regarding the potential the property has as a lovely landmark in the area, a place we would long appreciate leasing.

He was charmingly gracious and warm and courteous.

He was shocked (but didn't reveal it!) about our concerns and immediately jumped into action -- calling various staff and contractors on his gold plated flip phone. He was shamed by the failings of his people and, not admitting to the shame, went about immediately trying to impress us with his power to fix things. Indeed, he has the power. I was impressed.

Within a short time, every one of our major issues had been addressed and he'd made the appropriate calls to take care of the problem.

When referring to his photos of his children who each graduated from various UK universities, a co-worker asked him how many children he has. The chief smiled and calmly said, "Sir, I am a traditional chief. Do not ask me the number of my children. I cannot answer." To which I responded, "Chief, I believe you have answered." He laughed.

I received yet another education and a glimpse into the "class" society of Nigeria.

More scenes from Thailand

Still shocked by NGA sometimes!

We had an interesting conversation with our driver on the way into the office this morning. In a nutshell, he believes that he and about 70% of all Nigerians would VOTE for a return to military rule if allowed to do so!

For the average Nigerian, this pretend democracy is a failure and has negatively impacted their lifestyle options considerably! Jide was quick to clarify that they would prefer democracy because they know that it works in other countries but because the civilian government has only meant an increase in corruption at every level of power, he says that this is not really a democracy. In the absence of a real democracy, military rule is better than a corrupt civilian government, it appears.

Under military rule the streets were clean, traffic flowed properly, people obeyed the laws. The schools were high quality and there were public schools that were actually public, with no charges other than minimal fees to the families. The government subsidized many items and there was free trade from the neighboring countries and beyond so prices were affordable on clothing, food, and even non-necessities.

The only negatives that Jide could think of if there was a return to military rule were -- loss of free speech to some extent and the presence of soldiers to keep order.

However, it's interesting that the loss of free speech must not be too severe because he also said that the military government listened to the people better than do the elected officials and responded to their concerns. His examples -- adjusting the prices of bags of cement, fuel, etc. when the people complained -- seemed valid.

Here's a practical way for you to see the differences. This is what began our discussion this morning:

As we ventured out into the jungle of traffic yet again, I was asking Jide how drivers obtain their licenses in the first place (if they even have one!).

Here's the deal -- for N3,500 they can fill out a form, provide a passport photo, sign the form, and the license will be processed. This could take up to 9 months. No driving test. No written test.

However, if they don't want to wait so long ... They can pay N6,000 ($42ish), turn in a photo and a signed form and they'll have the license in 3-4 days! The N3,500 goes to the government (or the gov't leaders) and the rest goes to the people processing the request.

He went even further with his explanation -- Jim and I could each sign an empty piece of paper. Jide could take our signatures and our photos to the office. He could fill in the form and provide our signatures and photos and we'd have licenses by next Monday!

And, a little further. We could get licenses in the same manner for Jeri, who has visited NGA once. And ... for Brad and Joey ... who have never set a foot in this country.

And a 6 year old child could have a license if the person put age 18 on the application.

And ... Jide knows of men who have licenses, get them renewed every 6 years, and have never sat in a driver's seat of a car, don't know how to put a key in the ignition, don't know anything about a gas pedal, ... you get the picture!

What a place is this Nigeria!

Photos from Phuket, Thailand

It's taking many days to get any photos uploaded -- SLOW NETWORKS. Please be patient. I'll try to post more that we took from other locations in Thailand.

Vacation has ended ...

So, we're back in NGA. Blogging from various hotel rooms and internet cafes did not prove to be possible and now I'm so behind, I don't know when I can share thoughts from our trip.

Briefly -- UAE was a disappointment. Due to Ramadan, most stores and all restaurants were closed during the day. Strangely, the fasting causes most people in the area (who seem to be quite secularized) to just re-arrange their schedule. They sleep a lot of the day and then feast and party until 1 or 2 a.m. The malls were actually open until 1 a.m. each night! The average person actually GAINS weight during this month of fasting because they eat so much after sundown! I realize now, duh ..., how much history adds to the charm of a place. So, I really didn't appreciate much of UAE because most construction that's more than 10 years old is being demolished and everything seems to be a sea of concrete, high-rises, etc. and the skyline is dotted with cranes for new construction. It's a booming area, no doubt about it. And "silly money" is tossed about without a care in the world. But it seems to be a bit of a shaky economy -- propped up by glitz and glitter and quite possibly booming dangerously fast -- just our opinion! We didn't have much time in Dubai -- it's definitely prettier than Abu Dhabi. Anyway -- just a quick review!

And now on to Thailand ...!!! I'll cut through all of our tourist comments and stories of the gorgeous beauty, terrific elephant rides, amazing orchids, beautiful mountains, clean green everywhere, charmingly polite people, gorgeous coastlines, stunning beaches, enchanting caves and coves, luscious gardens, abundant fountains, mugginess all-round, ... and tell you the most important part:

Boy asked Jim for Jeri's hand in marriage and they are now officially engaged. I'll attach a photo from the night Boy proposed and gave Jeri her ring. I took some photos the next day on Jeri's camera that are their "engagement" photos and I'll post some when I get them from Jeri.

Jeri starts a teaching job at a great international school on Monday in Ubon. This is the area Boy was raised and the area where they will live. Boy has a two year commitment to the Air Force that begins 1 November. With the school schedules for Joey and Brad/Karissa and with other travel parameters -- the wedding will be early January in Ubon -- probably between 5th and 10th of January. They have to wait until Boy gets his leave finalized in early November. 'very exciting times for all of us! God is allowing so many little details together to come together with such ease -- we are so grateful!

We love Boy, actual name -- Sarawhut Chapootorn -- he and Jeri make a great team! Their long-term plans are to stay in the Isan area -- the poorest and most unreached-by-the-good-news-of-Jesus area of Thailand. They want to do missions work in small villages. Right now, Jeri's renting a lovely three bedroom house for just pennies and she's having fun getting it all fixed up for married life! They'll have running hot water, even -- something they might not have later on when in the smaller villages. What an adventure!

So, this means that our Christmas plans have totally changed and we won't be getting back to the U.S. at all in 2007. We'll Christmas in Thailand with Jeri -- Joey will join us there. Then, others who are able, can join us for the wedding. If you'd like to be a part of the wedding celebration -- let me know! It's going to be absolutely gorgeous -- after all, this is the land of flowers and beautiful gardens!!!

Anticipation is half of the Fun!

I'm sure this sounds crazy to you because we just got back from a vacation in early May but ...

we are SOOOOOOOOOOOO ready for a vacation and we'll be off in two days. It is recommended that we leave once every three months at least (some try to leave every 10th week!) -- this has been a four month stay. Of course it was broken up by a move to Lagos and a visit to Abuja, however, I can see the reason for the recommendation. It just helps to get away, clear our heads, think straight, examine our motives, pray about our attitudes, and get some fresh air!

I'm not sure what gets to us the most -- definitely all of the lying and cheating that surrounds us; the trash everywhere and the basic lack of caring for the environment, property, etc; the incredible noise and traffic -- a construction project is causing a 10 - 15 minute drive to the office to be a 1 1/2 - 2 hour crawl to the office. If it were safer, we'd get out and walk it and probably arrive one hour before our car and driver; the corruption in general; the lack of a work ethic as a part of the culture; ...

There are some truly delightful and trustworthy people with whom we have enjoyed becoming acquainted. But, unfortunately they are very rare. They know it and they are ashamed of their people and the pervasive culture.

So, we're off to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and then ... tada ... to see our daughter, Jeri, and her boyfriend, Boy (it's the sound and not the meaning of the word!!!), in Thailand.

Oh, my goodness, I can hardly wait!!!

'will try to blog while traveling.
'haven't had much time to blog lately due to the crazy work schedule I've been keeping.

Our rest begins as soon as we're seated in the plane ... 'smiling just thinking about it!

...no more teenagers!

So today we're feeling really old -- just because our youngest is one day older!



We have no more
teenage children.

So, congrats, Joey!!! (who celebrated 9 hours before us because he's in Australia! and who usually is a blond unless he believes the box that says the hair color is temporary! and who obviously is serious about his college life!)

Years pass in a blink!

This morning Jim and I have been looking at pictures of our little girl, Jeri!
What a cutie!

... and today she turns 25! Still a cutie! Time is a strange thing. Maybe it messes with our minds sometimes because we are


created for eternity.

Breath-taking!

So, yesterday morning I truly experienced something breathtaking ... I choked on some food and didn't breathe for maybe as much as two minutes!

Quick version: In a hurry to get ready yesterday morning I was working on face and hair, standing in front of a mirror, and eating toast while I worked. I don't know how but the toast got caught in my throat. Without oxygen, I not only couldn't breathe -- I couldn't speak. Jim was far off down the hall in the living area. I tried to cough it out, etc -- nothing. So I went out in the hall to get Jim's attention. We have cement walls -- banging on a cement wall doesn't create much noise and I was trying to conserve what ever oxygen I still had so I just slapped the wall until he heard me. By the time he reached me, I had dislodged something enough so that I could wheeze a little. So he didn't want to do the H. Maneuver and cause injury... Anyway, I poured some water into my mouth, spilled a whole lot of it, and begged God to give me breath. And He did. There's no scientific reason that I should have started breathing but the wheezing turned into one good breath and I knew the worst was over.

My eyes were bloodshot and my head was beet red while struggling. Then, I got pale and flushed. And weak. So, I rested for half an hour and then we headed off to work.

But, at work I still was very weak and short of breath and feeling like I'd pass out any moment ... then my arms were getting a bit numb when I was working at the computer.

So, we thought -- enough! Go home and get some rest. So, we headed home for the afternoon and I slept. A lot.

I've eaten toast again ... with great care and fine success.

But, you know how people always say that life was in slow motion for them during these "near death experiences"? It's true. I can recite every little thing I thought and did for those few minutes that seemed like an hour.

We thank God for giving me breath and allowing me to be on earth for a longer time. And I'm feeling incredibly grateful and incredibly dependent. We really have so little control over life. And death.

Missing the good 'ole USA

Today I'm going to ask for more than I provide because we're a bit home sick, I believe. Well, a year ago we were in the U.S. -- first in Colorado, getting our house ready to lease and seeing friends; then in Alaska for our son Brad's wedding and seeing friends and family. Due to the lovely U.S. tax laws, we can't be in the country more than 32 days a year even though a kaboodle of our money is going back the U.S. government as it is ... a bit frustrating!

So, our next U.S. trip will be in December. Right now, that sounds very cold and very far away!

I welcome any emails, snail mails, and blog comments. Even our news on the U.S. is sketchy because all of our international news is based out of the U.K. and has very few 30 second U.S. news bits! I'm missing the political "punditting" -- before an election is a wonderful time to tune in to talk radio, etc. Our only TV political editorials are Wolf Blitzer and John Stewart -- both on CNN, one being almost impossible to suffer through due to his clever but foul mouth!

Politics here? Well, the new President, Yar 'Adua, is appearing to be a bit more honest than the typical government official. He's reversed a few sales that the previous Pres. orchestrated right before leaving office -- sales to himself and his cronies. And Lagos State has received some federal money it was due for many years. And they are trying to increase the presence of honest, trained police in our area. (Previously, both terms -- "honest police" and "trained police" would be oxymorons!)

But we are now on a curfew here in Lagos because the robberies are increasing in most of the areas that expats tend to visit. With the surge of expats moving out of the rivers/delta areas to Lagos, crime is shifting, too. So, we're not on lockdown at all and hope not to be -- we just have to be home by 10 p.m. every night -- which is never a bad idea, anyway!

The sun is peeking out so Jim and I will sit down for a lovely lasagna meal, prepared by our cook, and then maybe we'll spend a couple of hours at the pool. This is the way a Sunday afternoon should be spent! (Well, if we can't find a home church, yet, at least this is a good second choice!)

We've lost all sense of seasons and can't imagine that pre-season "football" is back already. There's no hint of Fall in the air, here, and there never will be!

Thus endeth my random mind-wanderings for the day ...

Please stay in touch!

With friends at our Beach Hut

What a joy and a total privilege to have a beach hut in Nigeria! Amazing, really! So, for our first trip to this place since it became our own, we invited a bunch of friends. The photos below include petanque games (the French boulle game that's quite fun, not just for old retired men!), village people (not The Village People), and shots of our shopping experiences. The vendors LOVED us for sure -- we all contributed to the economy! It was an international day and, as is often the case, Jim and I were the only English-as-our-first language people. Countries represented on this day were: U.S., France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Venezuela, India. Gotta love it!

Hop in our car and join us for a drive!

Our driver, Jide, usually awakens at 3:30 a.m. to trek to a bus stop and get a bus by, at the latest, 5 a.m. that is bound for the islands – Victoria Island and Ikoyi Island. These are more like peninsulas than islands and they are more man-made than God-made. They are the two basically safe areas where expats can move, almost freely, during daylight. Of course, we can’t drive our own car and we can’t just go anywhere we tell our driver to take us, but it’s almost total freedom – something to which we are still, happily, adjusting!

Jide arrives to our place around 6:30 on a good day. He tidies up the car and is ready for us when we appear. He says his job is to wait for us, not us for him. So, he’s diligent to be ready when we are!

Jim sits in the front passenger’s seat. I usually sit behind Jide. If you were to join us for this ride, this morning, I would sit behind Jim because I wouldn’t wish that on anyone due to the lack of legroom! :-)

Soon after we begin our journey we are greeted with “horning” – that’s everyone using their car horns more than their gas pedals. It’s constant. They “horn” when nothing’s moving as a way to tell someone to get moving (yeah, right, like they can do anything other than their own horning!) They also horn to thank someone for letting them in the line up, a rare occurrence, to be sure. And they horn (a short beep) to let someone know that they can go in front of them, also rare. But usually the horning noises are selfish communications that say “I am more important than you so get out of my way!”

As we approach the first intersection, we see that no police are on duty. That means that there will be about 30 vehicles trapped in the intersection, car noses pointed in every possible direction as they literally nose their way in front of another vehicle’s nose in an attempt to squeeze their way forward. The vehicles with no bumpers and an abundance of bent and torn metal cannot be trusted. They will risk anything because they have nothing to lose. Our driver will lose his job if he gets in an accident so we trust him. Because we are basically stalled or, at best crawling, the vendors have gathered in the intersection, trying to sell a variety of wares. And, the okadas (motorcycle taxis) are somehow managing to wiggle through the tangle and emerge on the other side with their passengers still attached to the okada seat!

We tend to not look out our windows much from here on out. It’s best to not get eye contact with the vendors. And it’s crucial to avoid eye contact with the beggars. That’s for two reasons. One reason is that if they see you see them, they will hound you as you crawl through the traffic. The other reason is that they will make your gut tighten and your heart ache. On any given journey you will see limbless men (who are from a Muslim area of the country and have committed a crime somewhere long ago) on scooter carts, blind children (whose parents often gouge out their eyes when they are infants in order to use them as a source of income), a woman with extreme burns, an “elephant man” with tumors all over his head and upper body. How do we know all of these folks are in the streets? Well, we’ve peeked. And so would you.

Now, about the vendors. What you would find on a typical day in the streets includes:

Mints and gum
Water in little plastic bags
Nuts in bottles
Rat poison
Twinkie-like cake things
Alphabet charts
Men’s boxers
Hankies
Rat poison
Belts
Watches
Framed photos of the new president and VP
Maps of Nigeria
Rat poison
Razors
Mirrors
Scarves
Newspapers
Rat poison
Bread, white and “wonder-like”
Dictionaries, Bibles, other books
Bags of apples imported from South Africa
Bags of grapes imported from SA
Magazines
Rat poison

It’s so very entertaining. We arrive at the office with a headache from the fumes we’ve breathed, the noises that have surrounded us, the neck-jerks for which we’ve braced, … but we didn’t realize we were even getting a headache because we were, at least, distracted by the vendors.

'hope you enjoyed the drive! We'll try to sneak some photo-taking and post those soon!

Of Politics and Criminals

Kidnappings continue. They appear to be both politically and criminally motivated. You will get a mixture of news that you can only sift through with a bit of skeptical reserve. Like the kidnapping of the three year old girl. It’s really not a case of militants crossing a line. When I first heard that the father was British, I immediately said to Jim, “I bet the mom is Nigerian.” And that is the case. So, it’s a typical domestic/family/way-to-gain- wealth-without-working sort of thing. Or so it seems at this point. And in the middle of it all is a frightened little girl. In a country that values females as about equal to a goat but certainly less than a cow. Disgusting.

The expats are streaming out of the Niger Delta and along with them … all of the jobs. It is estimated that every expat working in Nigeria creates 30 jobs for Nigerians. So, the Niger Delta region is littered with unemployed, hungry, and desperate produce vendors, maids, …

A man just recently told me that the best way to analyze and predict the future of a country is to look at the driving conditions. Think about it: sleek freeways with incredible lighting, multiple lanes, excellent shoulders, and clear signage … progressive governments with clear boundaries and clear punishments; free-for-all driving where “every man does what is right in his own eyes” … a government in which there are no lanes, no laws, no leaders.

Where is the future of Nigeria? Even the locals who have typically said that “tings r gettun bettuh” are now shaking their hanging heads.

How do you spell BLESSED?

maybe L-a-g-o-s! ? (Warning: this is a long blog!)
Hi! The pace is just not slowing down for us yet! So, today, we've decided to stay home for the entire day and try to rest, catch up on some unpacking, plant some plants in pots, ... and catch up on communications!

So, here I am, sitting at my desk in our "office." Jim and I each have desks in a spare bedroom that has large windows -- but it's nothing like the patio in which we worked in our camp. It's the only place we have internet in the house, otherwise we'd work in the living room where we have HUGE sliding windows, basically along the whole outside walls of the living and dining areas, that look out into a large courtyard that is filled with lovely trees, manicured grass, trimmed hedges, a lovely pool and BBQ area, and a gym. We've been too busy to even walk out into that area yet but we hope to do so today -- if it doesn't rain!

We are feeling so blessed that it is hard to express. If the political/criminal issues against expats don't escalate, we could see ourselves staying here a long time. It's amazing what you can take if you have a peaceful and lovely home to regroup in every evening! Our place is so very lovely. Even if we were in Denver and had this place we'd feel very blessed (well, the pool would be a bit out of place, I suppose!) It's a large 3 bed, 2 1/1 bath apartment in a unit with 8 apartments -- two per floor and four bldgs in all. The toilets all flush and ... this is the shocking part ... don't leak! The tilework is lovely and the grout is welldone -- very different from Port Harcourt and all of the cracked pieces of tiles with sloppy grout/silicone used to try to cover up the mistakes! There's trim on the doors and it's done very well with mitered corners and all. You can get the picture, I think.

I've been viewing potential apartments for the past four weeks and I've seen a lot of junk ... really bad workmanship, pathetic floor plans, ... It's as though they took 3 toilets, 3 sinks, 3 showers, a few beds and closets, threw them all up in the air and when everything landed they drew random lines around them and called them rooms! There is, of course, no bldg codes so the stairs are random and uneven with some being very steep and others being very short and long -- all in the same staircase. Supervision, or the lack thereof, is the big problem. The laborers live on dirt floors in little shanties about a 2 hour bus ride away from this area. They don't value what the expats value and they don't have any pride in their work so they do as little as possible as poorly as possible, just thankful that they know they'll be paid for showing up for the day.

The costs are going up as fast as I can type this. Due to the influx of expats leaving the Niger Delta area there are no available properties. Some companies are buying leases on things that have yet to be built. Because of the poor finished quality that is all-too-common, I'm hesitant to suggest that our company do this. So, we risk having very little options. But, we've found a few decent places. You'd be shocked at the costs -- for a three bedroom flat with no yard, a small pool and small gym, adequate workmanship -- with a three year lease and with service charges and legal and agent fees, it's upwords of $90,ooo - $100,000/year per flat. Ugh! But we've got 60ish folks in hotels and guest houses at the moment and the cost there is around $250 per night with food and laundry charges added on top of that (and often with a 2-hour wait for food and a $35/load laundry charge and leaking toilets, cockroaches in bed with you, no hot water, etc.) so ... the apartments start looking affordable!

So, now you see why, in addition to the contrast from our living style in the Niger Delta, we are feeling even more blessed because we have one of the better places to live here in Lagos, even!

Here are a few more blessings -- we have a great car and driver. Our driver's name is Jide (pronounce Jih-dee). He's born and raised in Lagos. His father and family live out in the same area as the beach hut that we have leased. (Yes, if you look back through old blogs to photos of our first visits to the beach in Lagos -- some of those are from the very same hut that is now ours. We just took over the lease from the people who's apartment we have.) Jide lives with his wife and 4 sons about a 2 hour bus ride from here in a one room "house." But he's a great guy and they live a lot better than many. We've learned to not fully trust anyone who works for us but all in all ... he's going to be great.

Our cook,Michel, ... what can I say? Well, this should sum it up well -- I told Jim this week that I don't need to visit any restaurants (and I LOVE going out to eat anywhere in the world, even in Port Harcourt!) because we have our own personal chef and private reastaurant at home! Michel is from Togo and trained at the British High Commission. He can whip up about anything from any international style desired!

Picture this ... we leave the office rather frustrated because most of the day the internet was down or the printers didn't work or the cell phone or land lines were down or all of the above. We've sat in noisy, dirty, hot rooms with people talking WAY TOO loudly all day all around us (most expats use ipods and headsets so they can focus -- we might do the same!). We climb into the car around 7 p.m. and face the traffic. (We have to leave the office before 5 or after 7 to avoid the worst of the traffic.) For an actual 10 minute drive, we sit in "go slows" for at least one hour, often more ... with horns honking and people shouting and motorcycles shooting by and beggars sticking their faces in the window and vendors carrying their wares and weaving their way through the cars (I'll blog about that separately!). So, we try to nap or visit or read (if the car's totally stopped because you can't read when you're bouncing through potholes and the jerking/halting struggles of attempting to make forward progress in the masses of cars-- which I'll blog about, later -- all of the time).

So, we arrive home. Say "good evening" to Michel. Drop our laptops in the office. Wash up. Light some candles. Turn on some music. And sit down at the dining table that is already set.
Then the fun begins. Michel comes out of the kitchen with the first course and continues with many other surprises. We usually have no idea what he is going to cook and it's just unveiled as we go ... Ahhhhhhhhhh, such peace! When we're done, he clears the table and does the dishes and disappears for the evening. We go to the office or, occassionally relax for the rest of the evening. Michel has our breakfast of fresh mango, papaya, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple all cut up into bite-sized pieces and ready for us for morning. In the morning, we either eat at home (if we're staying late) or we leave before 7 a.m. (to avoid the traffic) and eat our breakfast later in the morning at the office. And Michel packs a lunch for us each day -- quiche, salad, leftovers, etc.

And, some more about Michel -- he does all of the cleaning, laundry, flawless ironing, shopping, menu-planning, etc.

So, you're wondering about Lucy -- our dear maid from PH? We paid for her to travel by bus and join us for one week here in Lagos. She supervised our shipment's packing in PH and then spent the day bumping along in a crowded bus, arriving before the shipment because the shippers were so pathetic in their service,... oh well! Lucy took care of most of the unpacking, sorting of clothing, etc.

We took her out for a day of fun -- first the open air market where she was a great help to me as I bought some baskets and items for the house, then on to the fun! She saw her first mall (bear in mind that it's a multiple storied building with many small shops but in most of the shops you would not buy anything!). She saw and rode on her first elevator and totally freaked out -- it was glassed styled on the outside of the wall, adding to the thrill! She saw her first escalator but it was broken so we couldn't try it. She saw her first movie in a theatre and was so confused when we came out and it was still daylight! She had her first salted popcorn during the movie. I bought her some fun stuff along the way thourghout the day. She was totally exhausted by the time we climbed in the car to go home. Oh ya, she also saw the ocean for the first time in her life even though Port Harcourt is where the Niger Delta branches out into many rivers that all flow into the ocean! She stayed in our guest room and had her own bathroom --- all things she's never experienced in her whole life! She had to buy a bag to carry all of the stuff we gave her back to PH. The bag is called a "Ghana-must-go bag," harkening back to the days in the 1980s when the refugees from Ghana had to move back to their country -- these large plastic, plaid bags became popular then and have remained in Nigeria, name and all!

Our plan was to settle Lucy very well and help her get moved to another state where the work options are better. It's an area where she and her soon-to-be-fiance' wanted to eventually move anyway. But she wants to invest the money we gave her rather than wasting it on a move and on food, etc. while she waits to find work. So, even though Lagos is an expensive place for maids to live (or anyone, obviously!) she would like to move here for a few months and save money for a final move. We can't take her into our employ because we have Michel and, though we'd be willing to hire her just as a maid, there's no place for her to stay because Michel is in the staff quarters for our flat (each flat has a separate quarters for the domestic help). So, I'm going to get someone to hire her and we'll see her again, soon. That made saying goodby not so tough though she cried and cried -- mainly out of gratitude, I suppose.

OK, I'll blog on those other promised issues and some political thoughts sometime soon, maybe later today.

Now, it's time to have some lunch ... for which we are feeling very blessed!

Celebration Time!

Our men are freed! It's been a good week for hostage releases and we are shouting "hallelujahs" for our freed coworkers! They are in good health and seemingly good spirits. Relief is a small word for what we feel at the moment!

And the strike has been called off. The disputes between the new gov't and the Labor Unions have totally crippled the nation. I've put in a lot of hours working on a team for emergency plans to get diesel and water and food to our people and to even determine actually WHERE each of our displaced people are ... !

So, it's wonderful to know that we can begin to find the new normal. (I can't say "we can return to normal" because we will never all return to the life we had ... and, in actuality, the life we had wasn't really normal anyway!) But now the planes will fly again and we'll have fuel to get around and the shops will open and the shippers will return to packing our belongings in our old place and the people in our new place will be able to finish packing and move out and ... it keeps on going! And, just maybe, the oil industry will be able to begin providing all of the amazing opportunities to these millions of people who depend on the work that the industry brings. Drivers, maids, vegetable vendors, curtain makers, gardeners, shop owners, restauranteers, ... everyone has been direly effected by the hostage issues and then the strike. Things will not be bustling again in the River Delta areas -- that will take a much longer time to become stable. But, we'll begin to have some stability here.

Peace ... Joy ... Gratitude!

Adjusting to more changes

Well, we're in Lagos. We're staying in a guest house that is actually quite decent. Of course, the electricity goes off regularly but they are quick to turn on their generator. The water leaks have been almost totally solved. We now have hot water and internet and sometimes some TV channels. But it's VERY clean and nicely decorated and the staff are trying very hard to please us-all. Oh yeah, we do wait about 2 hours for a meal to get delivered to our room -- but they're trying! Our company has moved into all of the rooms. And we've taken over other guest houses, too... could be awhile that they are needed.

I can't give much news on hostage situations here but when I have REALLY GOOD news to report, I'm sure it will be ok to put it in print. We do have folks we know who are still in captivity but we continue to pray for their safety, that they will not get malaria, and that the negotiations will progress steadily and with a full release very soon!

Our belongings are going to be boxed up soon, under the supervision of our dear maid, Lucy. She's a treasure. We will bring her over here when we have a place to live. The belongings won't be shipped until then, either.

My job has basically transferred to Lagos. I'm replacing the gal who was doing it here and I'm inheriting all of the "orphans" from the area we were in. So ... it's a new definition of crazy! Housing is almost impossible to find and the prices seem to be rising by the day and the quality, though better than where we were, is still ... well ... "it's still Nigeria" is what everyone says!

So, peace and tranquility (and the accompanying boredom) are all things of the past. At least for a while until things settle down.

But ... Lagos, a city of somewhere between 15 and 25 million, has a lot to offer to previously encamped folks -- 2 movie theatres, many restaurants, home decorating shops even, clubs to join, ... That comes along with traffic jams -- "go slows" -- that can cause a 15 minute drive to be 2 hours. A car horn is used more than a gas peddle around here!

Way back, many blog entries ago, I posted some photos of the beach and the huts along the beach. Welllllllllllllll, the gal who's job I'm taking and her husband are leaving Nigeria after 7 (count them ...) years and we're buying their lease! OK, THAT'S something we can definitely adjust to!!!

We hope to visit a church this weekend. The last time we were able to go to a church in Nigeria was early last August!

So ... be it crazy and unsettled ... city life is what we have! And new opportunities with new people and new adventures and ...
new ways to learn to turn all of our concerns over to our ever-faithful and wise God!

a quick update

Jim and I are fine. Nigeria has been in the news ... again ... I don't want to give much information here, but, we did have more from the expat community kidnapped.

'just wanted you to know that we're being relocated -- taking one suitcase each. After things settle down, we'll probably get the rest of our belongings. We'll be staying with a friend in Lagos for awhile. Emails and mobile phones will still work!

We are still feeling relatively safe but our hearts are heavy for those who are hostages. I don't think we'll ever joke, again, about our camps feeling like a prison. Those who are truly prisoners would give anything for our comforts!

Pardon the Advertisement!

I've hesitated doing this for awhile but ... pardon the self-promotion for a moment!

In a world so very far away from my daily life in Nigeria --

Laura Greiner and I have a new Bible Study that is off the presses from Group Publishing. And we're working diligently to get the word out. And so, I finally decided that there are enough women who read this blog who are women in ministry and are looking for new tools for the gals in their groups that ... well ... I thought I'd let you know about it!


It's Rendezvous Bible Study: Where Women Love to Meet; Joy Ride: Philippians. It's a creative, interactive, energy-packed group study of the book of Philippians. The link below is for the leader's guide but you can click on the companion participant's guide, too. So, check it out!
I'm especially excited that it gets women connecting with each other and with the Living Word of God in lively and joy-full ways!

Believe me, there was a certain connectedness I felt with Paul (the writer of Philippians in the Bible) while writing this because Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians from jail -- sadly, I have been able to relate! :-) However, I also can relate to the inexpressible joy that Paul held onto no matter what circumstances he was encountering. And that's the study's theme -- the joyride of life with Jesus!

You can find it at:
http://store.grouppublishing.com/OA_HTML/gpCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=14480

If that link doesn't work, just try www.group.com and then do a search for Rendezvous!

En-joy!

Nigeria: Failed Elections, Failing State?

For an excellent analysis of the current status of Nigeria, check out
www.crisisgroup.org and read Africa Report No. 126.
Just click on the title: Nigeria: Failed Elections, Failing State?
From my perspective, this is very accurate. Indeed, the next couple of months will be pivotal.

Seasons and Sameness

It's Memorial Day Weekend in the U.S. and we didn't even realize it until a couple of days ago. You see, we've lost all sense of a calendar. There is no rhythm of the seasons, here. The only seasons are wet and dry and in our area even the dry season has a lot of rain so it's really just rain and more rain! And the sunrise and sunset times vary less than 1/2 hour during the entire year.

Being raised with extreme seasons, in Alaska, this is a difficult adjustment. I now realize that much of an Alaskan's life is spent in anticipation and dread -- anticipating the arrival of the favorite season and dread that it will pass on all too quickly!

So, from our background, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer and time to plant flowers and gardens. The next anticipation is Summer Solstice and the night-long fishing trips! After that, my mother always says she can smell Fall in the air. Fortunate for her that she likes Fall. :-) Some of us don't like thinking about Fall in June! And the rhythm continues with Labor Day, falling leaves, termination dust on the mountains (that's what Alaskans call the first snows!), ice on the lakes, Winter Solstice, the days "feeling" longer by the end of January, melting snow and emerging mud in March, ice-freed lakes, the hint of pale green that appears on the tree branches in May ... and back again!

It's the sameness of everything here that robs us of any rhythm. Nothing to anticipate and almost nothing to dread.

... and that's what's taught me how very important is one little word -- HOPE! Hope is what gets us out of bed in the morning. It's what drives us to stay late at work. It's what gets us checking the stock market. It's what gets us into the malls in search of the perfect _______ (whatever!). It's what gets us to the gym and gets teams practicing. Something to look forward to ... to dream of ... something that motivates us to stick with it ...

Maybe the sameness of everything here is what causes so many Nigerians to have so little hope.

Today the new President was sworn into office. Same political party. Same leader still behind the scenes -- Obasanjo -- military general in the 60s and 70s, prisoner, emerging leader, president, and now, still, the leader of the PDP -- the controlling party. It's a lot of sameness. With so little hope.

But hope is a peculiar word. It can mean so many things. The best kind of hope is not the "wringing-my-hands-in-fear-that-my-dreams-won't-happen!" The best kind of hope is the confident expectations -- the anticipation that is built on certainty. Just like our certainty that, even with global warming, there will continue to be seasons in Alaska. There's our hope -- our certainty -- that God loves us immensely, that whenever we want to speak to him he is waiting, that he delights in our being delighted, that heaven is real, that as followers of Jesus our eternity has already begun, ... and that the best things on earth won't hold a candle to heaven!

Ted Dekker, in his book The Slumber of Christianity, says "Hope is far more than a flimsy notion. It's the engine of life. ... We humans are built for hope. Without it, we slumber and die. With it, we live and thrive." And check out Romans 5:1-5 "...we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ... and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

I've been thinking a lot about hope in the past three years or so ...

We can choose hope when we enjoy a fragrant blossom and the fragrance fades ... we could be sad at it's passing or we could smile at the reminder that heaven will be better than everlasting fragrances!

We can choose hope when we're still locked into our camp that strangely resembles a prison (even prisoners get TV and food!) ... we are confident that better days are on their way!

We can choose hope when people disappoint us miserably ... because only in heaven will sin not corrupt humankind and only in heaven will we be unaquainted with disappointment and pain.

Without HOPE, we might as well stay in bed all day. Without hope, we might as well live a decadent life and then die.

With HOPE, we have our mission to still accomplish on earth! With hope, we have heaven to embrace for all eternity!

Wow ... the power of seasons ... the ebb and flow of days and months ... variety ... sorrow and joy ... rhythms of hope.

Of cockroaches and lizards

Sunday morning I got a concerned call from a new arrival. This is a rather large man -- looks like a bouncer. But no matter his size, after his malaria and security briefings (meetings that every new arrival must attend), this guy was more afraid of mosquitos than of militants! So, imagine his fear when, while in bed, a cockroach landed on his face! He wanted to be moved but I assured him that cockroaches could be found anywhere in the camp -- though I'd not heard of any landing on someone's face before! I arranged for the place to be sprayed and assured him that it probably wouldn't happen again.

That's when I remembered that just a couple of days ago, while Jim was in Lagos, I walked into the house in the evening and a small lizard scurried ahead of me across the dining room floor. It went under the couch and I followed him and sat on the couch -- without my legs up, even. It didn't even hit me until the cockroach incident -- I've grown quite accustomed to the little critters that live with us in our camp. I've found that lizards are our friends. They usually run as fast as possible when our footsteps approach, so they never bother us directly. And ... they eat the bugs that DO bother us -- the large, ugly, black, flying things that have landed in my tea cup, in my hair, and on my shoulder! Bring on the lizards! I don't want any cockroach landing on my face whilst I'm sleeping! But when they're just crawling around on the floor -- I hardly notice it anymore!


My how times have changed since I saw the first lizard and the first cockroach in our house and, in both situations, jumped up on the couch whilst shouting to Jim to please kill the thing!

Nigeria's "Historic" election period

We are fast approaching the historic handover from one civilian government to another -- the first in the history of this country! 29 May is the day for the transition to the new government.

However, celebrations are probably not the order of the day -- maybe thousands of protesters and hundreds of deaths ... but not much worth celebrating.

This had the potential of being a truly historic event and a true step forward in this country's "march" toward democracy. However, the actual facts taint the jubilance and show that this could be, in reality, a slither away from democracy:
-- the civilian handover is from one man to another WITHIN the same party -- the PDP.
-- Pres. Obasanjo hand-picked his successor and the new VP. The new Pres, Yar'Adua has reported kidney problems leading to some speculation that he won't live long. I actually heard one woman say she was not going to be forced to vote for a corpse so she wasn't going to vote!
-- Ah, the "voting!" Both our driver and our maid proudly told me that they voted. So I asked them if they had a hard time deciding who to vote for. In both cases, they said, "no" it was not difficult to decide because a PDP party official stood over them to make sure they put their thumbprint by the right picture! I tried to give a short lesson in free elections but they were so proud that they voted ... I couldn't burst their bubbles!
-- It is estimated that a few hundred people all over Nigeria died in attempts to guarantee a free election.
-- Reports abound that echo the experiences of our maid and driver.
-- In many cases, entire villages showed up to vote and were told that the ballots were already all used ... before the poles opened. PDP workers had already filled out each ballot and stuffed the ballot boxes.
-- Even 3 weeks AFTER the election, there are reports of PDP workers who have used (and are still using) their own thumbs -- maybe to save the people from the bother of getting their thumbs dirty! (I guess they want to guarantee victory in this "landslide" election.)
-- One presidential challenger is not going to take the election to court this time. Four years ago, when Obasanjo won re-election by a "landslide," this candidate took it to court and the case took 2 years to be considered ... and subsequently rejected. He lacks the money and years to question it again.
-- Other candidates and parties are going to protest the transition of power and are refusing to accept the new president. It is estimated that 20,000 protesters will be in one location in Lagos in a planned protest -- that could grow exponentially!
-- Criminal activity has increased since the election and MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the ones who are usually responsible for most oil-related kidnappings) has escalated their kidnappings and published a rather well-written statement condemning the elections as a farce.
-- The problems are not limited to the Federal positions. The same issues occurred in almost every state with many governors and others being elected in similar "landslides!"

So, most expats are staying locked down in their homes or compounds during the days around the transition day. Many Nigerians are also planning on avoiding the streets and public areas.

There is great hope amongst the educated and illiterate, alike, that the new president will take matters into his hands and actually deal with the militants and criminals that are crippling the oil industry and, therefore, the entire economy. It's a shame ... the average person who was already so very poor is now barely surviving because their income level has dropped in conjunction with the reduction of expats in the oil-rich areas and even in the country at all. Some companies have already pulled out of Nigeria. Michelin is pulling out, leaving thousands without work. But hands are tired at the mercy of the militants and the "area boys" or cults --- what we would call gangs and thugs.

The average southern Nigerian (in the "Christian" part of the country) pulls out their "God card" and says that they know God will restore their country and help the new president. When I try to explain that God will not force repentance and decency on individuals or a nation, that humans have free choice, ... I realize that I'm just trying to burst a bubble that refuses to be burst! If one individual can't comprehend that they are responsible for their own behavior and that God's not going to protect them in their scamming schemes just because they sang and tithed in church last week ... how will a whole nation get it?