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28.01.2008 :: Banstead - Monday

I've uploaded a few short videos...

• Student comments
• Gusau Cathedral

Posted by Rick at 09:43

26.01.2008 :: Banstead - Saturday

Home. Tired. Happy. Smooth journey.

Mark & Warren wouldn't get back to N. I. for a few hours yet (still in transit at Heathrow) - and Chris won't get back to Sydney for in excess of 24 hours - when he'll be starting a new job(!)

PS - In answer to Joe & Sharon's questions - time difference is only 1 hour (ahead) - weather has been (relatively!) cold for Nigeria - but that still means about 20 degrees centigrade. Definitely no snow.

PPS - I took a video camera with me, and took some short shots that give a bit of a feel for what Gusau's like. I'll try to post those to the website in the next day or two. Once I've done that, I'll put a link to them here on the blog.

Posted by Rick at 20:00

25.01.2008 :: Gusau to Kaduna

We travelled down from Gusau to Kaduna today. Stopping off here overnight, leaving for Abuja at 5:30am tomorrow(!)

The Gusau marking is all done, but Mark is still slaving away on this NT1 class...

Posted by Rick at 18:15

24.01.2008 :: Gusau, Last Day (Thursday)

I had almost finished making this entry when the power went in the last internet cafe, and the generator wasn't working, so I have decamped to another place that has a reliable generator. Very frustrating, but incredibly that's the first time it's happened to me here!

As I type there are 14 sitting the Mark exam and 13 doing Romans. The church is a scene of intense concentration! Pray that the men and women taking the exam will be able to show how hard they've worked over the time, and that God's word will stick not just in their heads but their hearts.

We start marking after tea this evening (pray for power so we don't have to use candles) - it would be great to get finished before we leave tomorrow morning, but that's a big job. Rick and I will stop in at the local theological college (about two hours away) in Wusasa to leave off some of the books we brought with us. Then on to Kaduna to meet up with Mark and Chris. We'll go to Abuja either on Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning. Pray for a safe journey on the roads (no small ask!) and back to the UK, and then back to Australia for Chris.

Fair play to Lee - with 5 hours he deserves to hold onto the title for longest service. Only 1/2 hour away though - maybe next time... By the way, Lee, all the bishop's family (especially Paul) and a number of the students were all asking after you, and are looking forward to seeing you next year. They were very excited to hear the news of your engagement, and are eagerly anticipating meeting "madam".

There may not be a chance to update the blog again before getting home, so thank-you again to all who have been praying for the work here - God has been very gracious to us.

Posted by Warren at 17:14

24.01.2008 :: a big thanks

Just been reading the notes you've all been leaving - thanks for all your prayers. (Thanks Matthew for getting your youth fellowship to pray!)

Things have gone so smoothly at this end, so thanks for all the prayer support.

Posted by Mark at 14:04

24.01.2008 :: Thursday - Kaduna

Mark and Chris are too busy working to be sitting in internet cafe's worrying about accommodation!

Lectures finished here on Wednesday - we got all the material covered - so give thanks for that. On Wednesday afternoon the guys sat a half exam. This went well - about half of them passed, and the other half learned valuable lessons in doing exams.

Pray for them as they revise and prepare for tomorrow's exam.

Today we had a revision session along with some tips on exam technique. All this was followed by a marathon photo session - they are rather fond of getting snapped.

Anyhow - time to go. Pray for us as we seek to get the exams marked before we come home!

Posted by Mark at 13:50

23.01.2008 :: Calling Mark & Chris

Mark and Chris - what is happening about Friday night? Have you got accommodation sorted for us in Kaduna, or do we need to go to Abuja? Please let us know!!

Posted by Rick & Warren at 18:57

23.01.2008 :: Gusau - Weds

We've finished the teaching here in Gusau. Tomorrow morning is revision, and then we're going to do the exam in the evening, and travel down to Kaduna on Friday. My class were pretty keen for me to be around tomorrow to go through revision questions with them - but Warren's class suggested he should have the morning off. Not quite sure what way to take that.

The students are all working hard, and getting themselves ready for the test - they find it pretty demanding, but (just about!) manageable.

We're looking forward to a quieter evening tonight, before the marathon marking session starts tommorrow...

Posted by Rick at 18:36

22.01.2008 ::

So Warren thinks he's working hard. He probably is!

We've almost finished teaching here - we are aiming to finishing teaching tomorrow, sit a mock half-exam in the afternoon and leave thursday for questions and revision.

Pray that the men will do well.

I spent last night, marking, but only after we had watched Nigeria lose to Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations.

Chris has been driving to the place where our classes are held, but today he risked his life and let me drive the trusty Beetle. First experience of driving on the right. We survived and it cant have been too bad an experience for him since he let me do it again in the afternoon.

Batter go here

Posted by Mark at 18:04

21.01.2008 :: Gusau, Monday 21

They have time to play games in Kaduna?! I guess we're spending too much time in the internet cafe! The weekend disappeared very quickly - after a couple of hours working in the morning we had an hour or two at the market haggling over cloth and kalabash bowls (to be honest it was the Bishop's wife Helen and her 10 year old son Paul who were doing most of the haggling, although Rick is something of an expert - he even tried to haggle an extra naira to the pound in the bureau de change(!) in Kaduna! We worked for a bit more of what was left of the afternoon after lunch getting ready for preaching on the Lord's Day (the room we're sharing was a boiling cauldron of stress and nervous tension - well, sort of!). My service began at 8am, so I got up as loudly as possible for Rick's sake, so he could spend some extra time preparing before he had his leisurely breakfast. Both our services seemed to go well - at the end of my service I was presented with some Nigerian cloth which at this very moment is being transformed into the latest Nigerian men's fashion! The congregation also sang a song of welcome to me (as did one of my students earlier in the week, a budding pop star!) - I'll be expecting the same treatment when I get to church this coming week! After the service (it was quite short, finishing at 10.30), politely declining a post-service bottle of Maltina, I joined the cathedral service which began at 9.30 and was still going on. I missed Rick's sermon, which included him trying to feed the entire (vast) congregation with one slice of bread and also hanging himself with a noose in the pulpit, but I still got the last 2 hours of the service. So I think I may now hold the record among the trainers who've come here of the longest Sunday service - 4 1/2 hours. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The rest of the Lord's Day was well-earned rest.

Back to work today though, and some new students trickled in even at this stage! Up to 11 in the morning & 12 in the afternoon now. I'm not sure how they're going to manage the exam, but most of them are keen to try. We've run out of textbooks and are hoping to get some photocopies done before tomorrow. Easier said than done though! We're hoping to finish by Wednesday to give the students Thursday morning to revise. Pray that we'll get through the whole course by that time. Thanks for your ongoing prayers everyone, and for all the kind messages you've left.

Posted by Warren at 19:15

21.01.2008 :: Monday - Kaduna

Yesterday was a fun day here - ran out of petrol twice on the way to church - first it happens to me on the SAUnday before I come, then twice here. Milford folks should probably prepare for me not to make it to church on Sunday!

Four collections in the service here - watch out when I get back.

Other than that not much else to report. Nigeria are playing Ivory Coast tonight in the African Nations Cup. Should be fun. The whole place is up for it.

Take care and keep praying.

Posted by Mark at 16:37

19.01.2008 :: Saturday morning in Kaduna

Time for another update from Kaduna.

Things have been going well. I've settled into the routine of teaching, and have also had to get used to marking essays and remembering to set homework.

It's been great so far, the Nigerians are wonderfully friendly people. We are staying in the Bishop's place - it's like an enclosed compound with his house and a chalet for guests, along with a couple of other houses for staff. The bishop's cook prepares all our meals for us. The gardeners kids (Marvellous, Faith, Peace, Joy) and a couple of others (Genesis and Caroline)come over and play games with us every day when we get back - in fact they are usually waiting for us and keen to carry our bags. Roslyn McCollum's present of footballs have gone down a treat.

It's Saturday morning, Chris has had a relatively easy couple of days, but has to work today. Some of his guys are going an exam this week, I think so that they can do one next week too.

At present I don't have to preach tomorrow, but who knows!

The weather is still lovely, the driving is something like very organised choas. Theey have a system and it works perfectly. But it looks ... different. Chris has been doing hte driving - in a little old Beetle. I might take a stab at it, or maybe not!

Other than that I'm not sure that there is much more to report.

Take care

Posted by Mark at 11:48

18.01.2008 :: Gusau - Friday

The weekend has arrived! I'm looking forward to a quieter day tomorrow - it's been a pretty busy week. We'll probably pop down to the local market in the first half of the morning, before the sun gets too hot. (It's relatively cool here still - just in the 20s most days. But it keeps getting hotter from now until March, when it'll be in the 40s!)

Warren and I have been asked to preach at a couple of churches on Sunday ('The church of the Good Shepherd' and the cathedral in Gusau).

Posted by Rick at 18:51

17.01.2008 :: Gusau - Thurs

Very quick note - all my students have now arrived, and are working diligently and enthusiastically.

Posted by Rick at 19:26

17.01.2008 :: Gusau - Thursday

Felt a bit rebuked by the length of Mark's mammoth entry for Kaduna, so I thought I should keep up the honour of Gusau and add a bit more (although we obviously made a much greater effort to get to a computer sooner than the Kaduna boys.) Class sizes are going up and down a bit here - there are now 7 in my main class, and as many as 10 have come to the evening, but it's much more hit and miss with the lay readers and church members in the evenings. After a couple of days of sore throat from talking too much (no change there) in a hot & dusty environment things have settled down, and Rick and I are both keeping well and more or less on course to finish in time for the exam next Thursday afternoon. We've changed the timing of the classes to run from 9 to 1 each morning for the clergy & evangelists (instead of 10-12 & 2-3.30). This means they can go home after lunch and study while there is still light. The power has only been on one evening while we've been here! The lay readers/church members still come from 4-6 as before.

The food here is also delicious, if not quite as varied as the a la carte stuff they get in Chateau Kaduna. I have to say though, that Rick exaggerated about the Maltina - it's utterly vile. I was warned about, and the warnings turned out to have underplayed its nastiness. Rick seems to like it though, or does a good job of pretending he does at least!

Church here was also 3 hours last Lord's Day, but Rick and I will be preaching in two of the churches this week, so I'm sure it'll be closer to 4 hours this time!

We haven't had much of a chance to see round Gusau yet - although the walk back from this internet place in the dark is quite an adventure - probably the most dangerous activity in the whole trip given the way Nigerians drive their cars and millions of scooters!

Thank you all for your prayers and messages of encouragement - it's good to know we're being supported by so many of God's people - we have certainly been very conscious of the Lord's help in everything. Thank-you especially to the boys & girls in Ballyclabber who I know have been praying for me like I asked them before I left. So far God has answered all 3 of those prayer points I gave you!

Posted by Warren at 19:26

16.01.2008 :: Gusau - Weds

All still going well in Gusau. I've only got a couple of mins, as it's taken me a while to get logged in (this computer is running rather slower than normal!)

More students still arriving - they're going to have some frantic catching up to do over the weekend. But they're very much enjoying getting to grips with Romans/Mark.

Warren and I are both keeping well - though Warren hasn't entirely adapted to one of the local soft drinks, a malt drink called 'Maltina'. It's one of those 'acquired tastes...'

Posted by Rick at 19:10

16.01.2008 :: Word from Kaduna - at last!!

Well folks - sorry for the silence at this end - we have arrived. That happened on Saturday after an uneventful journey. Warren and Rick left for Gussau, and Chris and I remained in Kaduna.

Saturday afternoon, Chris took me on a tour of a local market - first class.

On the Lord's Day we went to church - the service started when my Letterkenny service starts (10am)and finished when my Milford services ends (1pm). You guys are in for a shock when I get back!

Monday came and we got into teaching. I have 19 guys in my class, who seem to be able to understand my accent, after a brief lesson. I asked if they could understand me - and one said that they could but I kept putting 'r's into words. This comes from them being used to Australians and Engliahmen teaching them. I have re-introduced them to the letter 'r'!!

Anyhow - the teaching seems to have been going well. The guys are great. I thought we were finishing at 11am, but they informed me that it was 12, and they were wanting another hour.

The weather is lovely and warm - although the Nigerians think it is cold - you see some of them riding around with winter coats and woolly hats on, while the white guys walk around in shorts and t-shirts.

The food is spot on for me - spicy and wonderful. So far we've had deep fried yams, chilli and ginger chicken and noodles, fried plantains, pawpaw, spicy sardines and lots of other great food.

Better go here - tune in later this week for another episode.

PS - Thanks for all your messages - Keep praying for us.

Posted by Mark at 17:18

15.01.2008 :: Gusau

All going well here in Gusau. Today's the first day we've got going on the "technology" side of things (I've just done some photocopying - and no internet) - as Warren said, there's been problems with the power supply. (In fact, the mains electricity is still off this morning - but we've found an internet cafe that has its own generator.)

The students are all keen and enthusiastic as ever, although they haven't all arrived yet...

Posted by Rick at 09:38

15.01.2008 :: Internet imp

Not sure what happened with the last post - the keyboard locked up, but I was pretty much finished anyway! The offending computer has been taken away to be punished.

Posted by Warren at 09:36

15.01.2008 :: Gusau - Tuesday 15

This is the first chance we've had to get to an internet cafe - partly because things have been so busy with travelling and teaching, and partly because the power has been off more than it's been on in the city. Last night was the first night we had power all evening! There has been running water until this morning though, so that's been good. The weather here is very cold (according the Nigerians!) - a chilly 25C! It suits us very well. We made a good start with the teaching yesterday - Rick has 6 students doing Romans in the first part of the day, with 2 later on; I have 5 doing Mark in the morning, and 3 in the afternoon. There may be a few more trickling in today th9111111111xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxdddddddddddddddddddddd``` ```````````````666666666666666666666666666666666666

Posted by at 09:29

10.01.2008 :: Final packing

In Ireland at the moment - final packing pretty much complete. Intending to fly to Gatwick tomorrow morning, and then from Heathrow tomorrow night. Just checked the weather report and it all looks good, so hopefully the flights will all be on schedule ...

Posted by Rick at 11:45

09.01.2008 :: Just checking

Mark here - how come I dont get a pic on the Trainers page - just joking and using it as an excuse to see if I can post pics here

It appears I can't! :)

Posted by Mark at 10:31

04.01.2008 :: Let it snow!

Just trying out the blog for the first time...

I've just come in from building a family of snowmen in the garden with the children - we've had several inches of snow in Coleraine in the last 24 hours. Rick mentioned the cold snap in Nigeria this time last year, but somehow I don't think we'll be making too many snowmen while we're out there.

Posted by Warren at 17:05

04.01.2008 :: The clock is ticking...

Final preparations are underway: - I should be getting the visas tomorrow - The Moore books are arriving this weekend - The anti-malarials have started

Suddenly it all seems very close!

Posted by Rick at 00:13