Jos blog
Tuesday 26 June 2012 Arrived safely and well in Jos at about 10 this morning. Enjoyed the coach journey to LHR, because I wasn’t driving and I was high up so that I could see more: enjoyed the trees, the green fields and the wild flowers, especially the wild roses, mostly pink, but a few white. Booked in fine, but complained about the change of seat even though I had paid £25 for a different one! (I’ll try and get a refund!)Flight went well, but I can’t drop off to sleep in those conditions, especially as there were two loudly spoken men seemingly entertaining a third older man who was dressed in traditional clothing, probably somebody they respected. I did suggest to them that others would trying to rest, and they did eventually pipe down – but almost immediately the lights came on for breakfast! So I didn’t gain anything. Rather a lot of turbulence as we entered Nigerian air space, and a bit of a bumpy landing. Delighted to see my friend David the driver waiting for me, and without any ado we were on our way to Jos immediately. He hadn’t had any breakfast, so I gave him an apple, and then later he bought me a roasted corn on the cob – very chewy and I took considerably than he did to finish it! Couldn’t manage to keep my eyes open all the way, but I did enjoy the lush green of everything that had been enjoying good rains. I always look forward to the teak forest plantation half way to Jos, with their huge green plate-like leaves. Then the long climb up onto the plateau with lovely views of close and distant hills and mountains with their jagged ridges with cloud wisps hanging below their summits, and the rock formations that seem to have been clumsily piled up on top of each other and left, then the wide open landscape with distant mountains, and cactus hedges and again more lush green growth in the fields. Sun shining on it all, making it all a beautiful sight. It’s the rainy season here now – hence the luxuriant green, but as a rule it only rains in the afternoon if it’s going to rain at all. And the first roll of thunder has just sounded as we go to lunch! Had coffee with Katy Barnwell and caught up a bit on her news and about the course which starts next week. 14 languages expected, so quite a challenge ahead. Unpacked in my little room – just a bed, a table and a chair and a make do wardrobe; a carpet, an electric socket loosely attached to a wall, a dim light; windows screened against mosquitoes, but they’ll find a way in to bite “fresh” white skin. There’s a little bathroom, so it’s ensuite, with a hand held shower piece, a wash basin and a new toilet – but no running water, and that’s why there are two big buckets there! I’ve been out to the well nearby and pumped myself a bucketful, and somebody else pumped me the second bucketful. At lunch, I sat with two men from the Zaar Project who have just about finished their translation of Luke, and hope to put the finishing touches to it by Friday; they come from Bauchi State, a Moslem stronghold. We had what is now to me the standard one chunk of meat, with far too much rice for me and coleslaw – very tasty, though. Chance to catch up on a little lost sleep this afternoon. I’m staying on the NBTT compound where I stayed in 2004 and 2006 (NBTT = Nigeria Bible Translation Trust), a quiet, secure compound, with a strong perimeter wall and vigilant guards on duty at the entrance. But it’s full of trees and birds and plants as well as buildings, and it’s the season for mangoes – just so delicious. (And there’s a litre bottle of honey for sale – I’ve got my eye on that as soon as I’ve exchanged enough money, £4!) The birds are singing and flitting about, workmen are laying new water pipes – I wonder if we’ll get running water before I leave! It’s all peaceful and calm here at present, with a strong scent too from the mango trees and sweet scents from other trees. And I’ve been assured that there has been no trouble in Jos for the past two months. Supper was at 5.30: the one ‘regulation’ chunk of meat in a pepper stew that was really too hot for – take a little and hope to get used to it – and a mound of pounded rice (I think!). Cuppa tea with Katy and one other lady missionary brought the evening to an end and the prospect of an early night. Remembered to spray the room against the mosquitoes when I went for supper! Not a sign of them, I’m glad to say.
Wednesday 27 Up soon after 6, after a good night’s sleep. Cloudy and dull and a bit chilly. But cheered with the discovery that Katy Barnwell had left me a flask of hot water, sugar and milk powder outside my door, so that I could do myself a hot drink first thing, with enough left over to try shaving! Very thoughtful of her. Joined a group of people for a devotional half hour (I thought) but it turned out to be their weekly NBTT staff prayer meeting with reports form each dept. Anyway, I got a special welcome from the boss, but it meant that I didn’t get breakfast until 9.30. Our first linguistics staff meeting took place at 10, and now I know what is expected of me. And it rained and rained – but, but …it’s not supposed to rain in the morning, so I’d been told. Ah well, there are always exceptions, and today was one of them! What was also exceptional was that we had NEPA electricity all morning and afternoon. And when that happens you’ve just got to take advantage of it, and work. And that’s what I did all afternoon, working on one of the documents that will get handed out to the participants. Also was given a mobile modem so that I can access the internet, and so had a go, and I think it worked! Danjuma and Vero invited me and a lady missionary called Ann Kampari for supper, and that was nice. And it continued raining practically all day!
Thursday 28 Up at 6; beautiful bright morning. Flask of hot water at my door again! Very welcome. Coffee, wash and shave, and then time for devotions. Breakfast at 8; double decker fried egg sandwich with onion! Yum! Enjoyed working on the lesson plans all morning. Lunch at 1; vegetable rice with a tender piece of meat, which was nice. Read and rested a bit in the afternoon, then finished off the work on the lesson plans. Strolled around the compound to enjoy the lovely warm clean air and the bright sunshine. No rain today; just a lovely summer’s day. Enjoying the bird life on the compound, including a paradise fly catcher, a Barbary shrike and the little cordon bleu. Supper was semovita, a chunk of gristle with barely a scrap of meat on it and egusi soup, the “drawing soup”. Exchanged a bit of money with Katy over a cup of tea, while Ann went shopping to a local shop and got me a few things. Lovely day, but NEPA has just gone off as twilight arrives!
Friday, 29 Up as usual …Took Mathew 6:1-4 very much to heart. A little look into the library; I don’t think anything has changed since 2006, and one or two items that I had donated were not there. And then Fred turned up – what a wonderful surprise! It was simply great to see him, but we had no time because the next staff meeting was scheduled then. And then as I was about to enter the meeting Adamu was suddenly there – another wonderful surprise. It was simply great to see him too, but the meeting was about to begin. What a pity but they would come back. And they did. First Fred just before supper, and Adamu just afterwards. Funny how the two had come almost at the same time, unplanned and they didn’t actually see each other! Lovely to spend a bit of time with these two good men. From the staff meeting, I now know that I will be teaching each morning, and will team up with a speaker of Western Tangale from Gombe State. Kept up my preparations by going through more of the lesson plans. Lovely day again, not only the work, but also the weather. Watched a scarlet-breasted sunbird drain the nectar of the tree blossoms after I filled my pail of water. NEPA off for a bit this evening, but it was still light enough to enjoy a stroll around the premises and chat to people. Enjoyed meeting Mr Chirindu who is working on the OT for the Ika language. Caught up a bit on the news through BBC world service online. Had a bit of stomach trouble this afternoon, so decided not to take supper. I went up to tell them, and they asked me if I had eaten beans at lunch time. Yes, I said, and they nodded knowingly. But they persuaded me that rice that evening be OK for me, so I took a small portion. So far, so good! But the chunk of meat at lunch time was tough; it was tough to cut, let alone to chew!
Well, well, would you believe it NEPA has just gone off again! So that’s that for today.
Saturday, 30 Quiet day today. Breakfast not until 9, but I was up as usual soon after 6. Time to wash and shave (in cold water today!) and pray. Completed my work on the lesson plans this morning. Coffee with Katy and Ann. A Nigerian colleague volunteered to do a large picture for me of a kind of x- ray of the head to show the organs of speech, so that’s one job less. Spent time translating Klaus- Peter’s letter from German. NEPA on and off, often with a too powerful surge of energy that does damage to any electrical equipment left on. Worried that my computer was affected, but after closing it down over lunch, it seemed to working again OK afterwards. Mightily relieved, because I don’t really understand these things. Read first chapter of Dr Martyn L-J’s book “Born again”; powerful and convincing. Rumbles of thunder carried on for quite some time, and then the rain came, in torrents, and lasted all afternoon while I continued translating; it is still very grey as light now begins to fade this evening.
Sunday 1 July Grateful for a good week just past. Grateful for a good and safe journey here. Grateful for my little room all to myself, even though I have no running water or kitchen facilities; grateful to be close to the well, so that I don’t have to carry my buckets too far. Grateful for the people here for their kindness – a flask of hot water first thing in the morning, the loan of a mobile phone to call home and a mobile modem to access my emails and the internet, visits from three friends, a bit of shopping so that I can make myself a cup of tea. Grateful for good colleagues and a good spirit among us. Grateful for time to prepare the lesson plans and materials for the participants. Grateful for time for my private devotions each day. Grateful for good health and plenty of Nigerian food. And grateful for the natural creation around me here – the scent of the trees and the mangoes, the colours and songs of the birds, the warm sunshine and the afternoon showers. This is a nice place to be, inside the compound of the NBTT (Nigeria Bible Translation Trust); it is peaceful and secure – with guards at the entrance, and I am grateful for them too.
Today is Sunday, and my friend Rev Adamu Maga came to fetch me and take me to church. He was formerly a student at the college at Bridgend and we have known each other for some time now. It was only a short journey to church, but we had our vehicle checked three times! People know that they have to be vigilant on a Sunday especially in a place like Jos, which has known such awful atrocities in the recent past. Some roads are blocked off so that you can only gain access to a church on foot – that is the case of the Catholic church that was targeted a couple of months ago; the church has been repaired and redecorated since, so that you would not know that it had been recently damaged; the crater in the road has been filled and resurfaced. But for us it was a police check point on the main road and then two local searches in the side road that leads to the church. They use rounded mirrors to search the vehicle underneath; Adamu had to open the boot and the bonnet on two occasions; they can never be too sure. Rods with 6 inch nails as spikes are used to prevent vehicles from entering the car park until you have been searched. As you enter the church compound, a metal detector is used over your body; you have to show any metal objects, just like you do at an airport. Police are stationed around so that nobody can enter over the perimeter wall. Security is taken very, very seriously after so many have lost their lives. But the other dreadful sight is the ruined houses around the church where we went, where so-called Christian youths went on the rampage in revenge attacks on Moslem families. This is deeply deplored by the real Christian population, because they know that Jesus taught His disciples not to retaliate, but to love and pray for their enemies, and because most people killed in such attacks are totally innocent; perhaps one or two were party to the anti-Christian bombings, but not many. Most Moslem people are just ordinary people who want to live a quiet and peaceful life like anybody else. We worshipped at an NKST church. NKST means the “Church of Christ in the Sudan” in the Tiv language, although this is an English speaking congregation. The Tiv people live further south and are one the main ethnic groups in Nigeria. What a lot of noise at first! Loud singing by a small group amplified, accompanied by a small band with a drum set and other modern musical instruments. But then total silence as the main time of worship began. The worship leader opened with prayer and we joined in with the Lord’s prayer. Then there was a time of confession privately, based on readings from the Psalms. We then sang “Immortal, invisible, God only wise” with the traditional tune but in modern English. This was followed by congregational reciting of the Apostles’ Creed. Then the visitors had to stand up and introduce ourselves; the choir sang to us as a welcome and then everybody got up and came to shake the hands of all the visitors – a moment of real joyful fellowship. Then came the announcements – not as long as in some other churches; and the collection – also not as elaborate as in some other churches, no dancing, no processions to the front where the baskets were placed, but just like with us, with a collection bag being passed around. Two collections, mind you: one for the church and the other for the “parsonage”. The collections were accompanied by lively and loud singing from the singing group, followed by a short item from the choir. A member of the congregation led in prayer, and then we sang “I heard the voice of Jesus say”, but to a tune that was new to me. Then came the Scripture reading and sermon. The reading was 2 Chronicles 7: 11-14, which is a well known passage to us, with a well known message, but the student preacher was difficult to understand. I found his accent difficult, and the amplification system did not help; the church building is a large barn-like structure with metal beams and a tin roof, not at all acoustically helpful; also there was loud singing from a neighbouring church! He made a good point about Hezekiah taking the letter from the Assyrians to the temple and praying, which was the point of the new temple that Solomon was opening. But Adamu also found him difficult to understand and follow, so it was not just my hearing that was faulty! We finished with “All the way my Saviour leads me” to the familiar tune, but the leader of the singing group stopped the congregation and demonstrated the tempo at which the hymn should be sung – with a lively rhythm. The pastor closed the meeting with prayer; now, his accent and diction gave me no problem! It was a two hour service – by no means as long as it is in some other churches. A good spirit there, but I could see that some were not paying much attention. About 150 people there – not as many as in many other churches, but this congregation was mainly of the Tiv people, so I was given to understand. Jos is stock full of churches; four in the immediate neighbourhood of this one: ECWA English, ECWA Hausa and a Catholic church. There can be no doubt the vast majority of the population of the city would adhere to Christianity, but as in Wales a century ago, high turn out to church does not guarantee that they are all true and sincere as believers. But I’m sure that there would be more true and sincere believers in Jos than in Cardiff! Monday 2 Good to see that most of the participants have arrived, about 30 of them. The day’s programme started off in rather a haphazard way, and we lost time, which had to be made up by shorter presentations before lunch, but by the end of the afternoon, we were practically on schedule.
Delighted to have a visitor just before lunch, Wayo (which means “wise”!), the soldier who did the ICAL course in 2006. I remember him, because for one thing his English was not so good and so he struggled a bit, and kept insisting that I should learn Hausa. But he confessed that he was a man with very little education “not like the rest of the participants”, and he used to keep asking me questions again and again. I encouraged him to persevere, and told him that he could be as good as the others – which he proved, he reminded me, by being one of only three to get full marks in one of the phonetics tests! That was 2006. He was so pleased to learn how to write his own language, Duya (South Kaduna), and he went on to head the translation team who have now completed Luke’s Gospel. Rev Adamu Maga had also encouraged him and had brought him and others to NBTT all those years ago, and now acts as a kind of part time consultant because of his knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. He was pleased to meet up with me again to thank me for persevering with him; he just couldn’t thank me enough! So that was a nice way to start lunch.
Just grateful that my teaching has gone well today. Relaxed with a few chapters of R L Stevenson’s Kidnapped.
Tuesday 3 Quite chilly this morning; it brightened up, but late this afternoon it became quite chilly again and we have had a lot of rain since. Taught this morning; went fine. The participant from Tangale West has not turned up yet, since I have been assigned to the Jju team, three very competent men. In this language there is an ordinary
NEPA has been off for much of the day, and the NBTT generator was late coming on, and so it has been a pretty dark first half of the evening. Don’t waste a minute: so mentally went over the lesson for tomorrow, and had a time of prayer – strangely enough the light came back on soon afterwards!
Wednesday 4 What Nigerians do with cornflakes: you fill a bowl to the brim with cornflakes, take a sachet of powdered milk and shake it over them, sprinkle sugar over the whole lot and pour on hot water and stir! Novel to me, and I don’t particularly recommend it, as the milk is thinner than skimmed! Well, that’s all that we had for breakfast today; no tea and coffee, because we had the hot water on the cornflakes! Nevertheless, I don’t think my teaching suffered! But I did especially enjoy my tea break with Nescafe and a doughnut! Lovely lunch of vegetable rice, coleslaw and a lovely tender chunk of meat. That means that I don’t go for supper this evening, but experiment with my own bread, margarine and honey or Nutella. After an afternoon of preparation, I can now report that teatime was nicely successful; with a mango to start with, honey sandwiches, and a large slice of watermelon to finish with. The only disadvantage is that I don’t have a natural break from the room for me to spray against the mosquitoes. But a leisurely stroll around the compound meeting people and chatting saw to that – just as the rain began to threaten, and now it’s pouring heavily.
Thursday 5 Chilly dull start to the day; sky heavily overcast. Felt rather fragile myself. No NEPA meant that there was no early cup of tea either! It also meant that the hall where we teach and where we hold early morning devotions was all gloomy too. However enjoyed my fried egg sandwich for breakfast and a cup of Nescafe. Spirit revived somewhat as I got into my teaching, and as the sun broke through the greyness of the clouds, the room lightened up a bit too – and then NEPA returned by the time I had finished. Then the day just got better and better! Did my preparation for the next lesson and just as I was about to go and spend some time with the Jju team, Adamu turned up with an invitation to visit the Adives this afternoon, which I gladly accepted. Very nice time with them. They had hosted me the very first Sunday I was in Jos in 2004 when you rang me with Adamu’s collusion. Dr John Adive was for some time director of NBTT; he went and did his PhD at SOAS in 1981. We had visited NBTT campus but had not found him in. His wife Martha has just come through breast cancer treatment and so there was great sympathy as I shared something of your experience. But she turns out to be a Jju speaker herself and so is Adamu’s wife, Lydia; and so she was quite thrilled that I had been assigned to the Jju team. So I had a bit of the history; some aspects were sad – a death, and a dominant spirit. But I learnt that there are well over 1 million speakers of this language, that the New Testament had recently been re-issued, but with some spelling controversies not yet truly resolved. She has also opened a little shop on the corner of their property, and there I was able to buy extra credit for my mobile and thereby learn its number: (Nigeria code: 234 +) 07036 558 947. So now I can ring you again on Sunday. Well, we had a good long conversation not only about the Jju language, but also about NBTT, and the situation in Nigeria. There is a great deal of prayer and pleading made for the land. We finished with yet another invitation, for lunch a week on Saturday with Adamu and Lydia, Katy Barnwell and me – something to really look forward to. Also I was given a copy of John Adive’s book, and a jar of beniseed, which I will sample with my honey! (I can’t ask for much more!)
A lovely evening sky, bright orange among the clouds, the quiet of the cool of the evening, strolling around the compound as the spray attacks the insects in my room. So a dull start, but a fine end – and NEPA is still on!
Friday, 6 Lovely morning, felt like singing hymns – 46-48. Enjoyed the line in 47: “For all the joy of morning light…” It was indeed a lovely light this morning. Even NEPA was on and so I enjoyed an early cup of tea! (Well, would you believe it; I have just typed that line, and NEPA went off – how does it know when best to tease and upset!? Perhaps I should have expected it because the rumble of thunder indicated that a storm was on its way and now it has broken out upon us, with wind, rain, thunder and great flashes of lightning.) Now – after 20 minutes of pitch darkness, apart from the flashes – where was I? Yes, enjoying the early morning. It is really lovely here in the warm morning sunshine. I tested all the participants this morning, and then taught them for another hour straight afterwards; really quite exhausted after all that, and greatly appreciated the mid-morning tea break, today with a sweet freshly baked bun. Did my marking, and Oh my goodness, some of them don’t have a clue. Most have done quite well, and some extraordinarily well, with one person getting 96%!! It looks as if I will have to give some a bit more tuition; but if the weaker ones turn out to be among the older men who want to concentrate on translating the Old Testament, should they worry? Should I worry? Probably not. Used the afternoon to prepare for Monday morning. There are more and more coming to see me about specific queries about the phonetics of their language, and I’m happy to arrange to sit down and talk them through the issues. Nutella sandwiches for tea, followed by beniseed soaked in honey, and then a cup of tea. Just right! Then called for some more fresh bread and exchanged it for some biscuits for the children, and strolled around the compound while the insects suffocated under the chemicals sprayed on them in my room. And now here I am writing up my diary for the day.
Saturday 7 Took me a long time to get up, but I was drinking my cup of tea at 7. Breakfast at 9 today. I left books and magazines for people take if they wished – and they were gone in a trice! Then spent an hour with Bulus on Jju phonetics, and then another hour almost with AAA on his book on the Alago language. After lunch spent time preparing my sermon for Sunday. The clouds came and so did the rain after a beautiful morning, and it rained and rained all day, with one brief interlude of sunshine. No NEPA! Read more of the adventures of young David Balfour in Kidnapped. Spent an hour with Katy and Ann as it was Ann’s last evening before she travels. Rang Charlotte afterwards. Learnt that my preaching engagement had been postponed a week.
The rain kept up all night, with thunder and lightning, waking me up quite a few times!
Sunday, 8 Oh dear! Felt really quite tired after such a disturbed night – glad now that I was not being called upon to preach! After a “shower” and honey bread for breakfast, with NEPA being kind enough to be on long enough only for a cup of tea, I waited and waited for Adamu. At last he came more like 8.45 than 8, because of the police checks that had been intensified after an awful incident in a nearby town yesterday, and he and his friend, an architect, Elia, took me to the church at Gura Top – or often spelled with double
Well, the first of week of teaching has been completed. I am grateful for health and strength, and for a measure of success in teaching. I am grateful for all the material things I have, the good fellowship that there seems to be among everybody here, the security that we have experienced, and for the enthusiasm and interest of the participants – alas, not matched by success in the test in the case of some, unfortunately! I am grateful for all God’s provision for us all here as an indication of His love for us.
Monday 9 Oh what a beautiful morning! After a day that was mainly dull and rather chilly, today blue skies, bight sunshine with real warmth – all morning. The rains came as expected this afternoon. Taught solid for an hour and quarter this morning, leaving me quite exhausted at the end. After the tea break, had frustration with the computer because the mouse seemed stuck; switched the machine off and started again, but still it was stuck. Being an ignoramus, I asked God for help, because computers are no problem to Him, and two more knowledgeable colleagues came to help, but to no avail. So one of them called their chief technician, who promised to come as soon as he could after 12. So I left it at that, but half an hour later, tried the computer again – and it worked as if there had been no problem at all. Quietly rejoiced in God my Helper! How happy I am when things work! But why couldn’t the technician come before 12? That was because a curfew had been set between 6 this morning and 12 noon because of the dreadful incident that had occurred on the Saturday and the Sunday in a town within Plateau State. It also meant that some who had travelled could not get back, and the ladies who work in the laundry could not come. So now I have to plan carefully what shirts I wear for a couple of days! Delighted to have a visitor, who arrived also after 12, Rev Ben Gaina. He is a Tera man, whose wife is crippled with polio. He trained at NBTT in 2004 and has been very productive in writing small booklets in the Tera language. He also has heart for evangelism among the Muslim population and has written a booklet for that purpose and hopes to organize workshop with SIM blessing. It was joy to see and spend just a bit of time with him. He hopes to be able to raise enough money to take his wife to India and see if she can be treated there; she has been in a wheelchair for 23 years. Spent the afternoon preparing for tomorrow, but had a chance to relax with Kidnapped too. Nutella sandwiches for tea, and called for some more fresh bread. Took a stroll around the premises while the spray was doing its job against mosquitoes, and just as I was getting back to my room, guess what! NEPA went off, and I’ve been stuck in total darkness for an hour and a half. I always try to use such productively, by meditation and prayer.
Tuesday 10 Dull start to the day; no sunshine and no electricity. Always got to look on the bright side however! The curfew is still in force; it actually extends from 6pm right through to 12 noon – 18 hours; so no traffic for that long period. Not sure what the army and police hope to achieve by this. But it does mean that kitchen staff cannot easily get in to do breakfast, so today we had to be content with bread and margarine! Lunch was fine, just late: jollof rice, a piece of fish, with coleslaw. Teaching went fine. Big thing today: a visit from the Tera team – how wonderful to see Babayo, Yohana Baro Difa, and Mr KK again. They came to greet me and talk to me and Katy Barnwell about plans for the future. They are completing the first draft of the whole of the NT and hope to get it ready for publication next year; in the mean time, they would like to get all four Gospels printed too. They have distributed the Reading and Writing Tera booklet in all the villages for people’s comments, and they hope to launch the final version next April – and they would like me there at that time! The local government and the local cultural leadership, emirs and so on, are all positive in their support, but it seems that little money is forthcoming with that support. They would like me as a respected academic professional to encourage local support for a literacy programme. They have a draft hymnbook, and a draft collection of Tera traditional songs. They have designed the first booklets on teaching Tera in the schools, and they know that Rev Ben Gaina, a Tera man who lives in Jos, has written up traditional stories, and so they are laying the groundwork to show the local government that they are ready to begin in the schools. They plan to have people here for making up a dictionary, a job that is already well under way, and others to come for the literacy training in September. They appear to be the leading project among the Nigerian Luke Partnership projects, and Katy B would like to see them become an example to others of what can be achieved. They travelled all morning to meet us for an hour, and then they had to leave in good time to get back before dark, such is their commitment. Spent the rest of the day preparing material for additional practice and for the lesson tomorrow. A lot of rain again this afternoon, but a pleasant evening. We don’t really feel the effect of the curfew because we are all fairly well self-contained within our premises.
Wednesday 11 Rained all night, it seemed, and was still raining at 6am. And there was no NEPA either! Again, have to try and look on the bright side. The curfew has been relaxed a little; it is now from 7pm through the night to 6 the following morning. It means that no one should be out and about between those hours – that’s absolutely no problem to me, as I have more than enough work to keep me going within the perimeter walls of NBTT. But it means no evening meetings, for instance. The idea is quite clearly to prevent any retaliatory action following the assassination of two politicians last Sunday; a third lies wounded in hospital. We all pray, and encourage ourselves to carry on with the work and study in readiness for future service. Busy morning with teaching and looking at the pronunciation systems of two languages. Then after lunch I conducted a revision class for those who did poorly in the phonetics test last Friday and for those who came to the course late. Felt quite tired after that; so had a little rest and wished for a cup of coffee, but no NEPA to boil any water! So I went and begged hot water from one of the families, from Canada; they have three boys and a little girl, but they also have a kitchen with a gas cylinder stove and a kettle – so they obliged me with hot water. Then got down to preparing for the following day. Still pretty full from lunch: potatoes for the first time! But with beans and hot pepper, and the standard one chunk of meat. They always seem to call the potatoes “Irish potatoes”, presumably to distinguish them from sweet potatoes, but why Irish? Were they the ones who began to import them and plant them? A good day. The sun came out around breakfast time and shone warmly and it has stayed fine all day. My only mishap was water slopping from my bucket when I fetched it back from the pump; had to change my trousers!! Just enjoyed the singing of the birds on my way back after the afternoon teaching. And guess what! As soon as I typed “enjoyed” the electricity went off. How does NEPA know these things!?
Thursday 12 Busy day with quite a few visitors. Teaching went well again, I’m glad to say. First visitor was from TASTE, the charity started in Sheffield by a Nigerian Christian, to provide technical help in Nigeria, mainly in the form of bore holes in rural communities, which provide an opening for the Gospel to be heard. He wanted me to carry a piece of drilling equipment back to UK so that a factory in Sheffield could make others like it. It weighs 12.5 kilos, he tells me. I have the space and a willingness; I just hope I can carry it well enough! Then Yakubu Yila and his wife Rista and one their sons appeared. She and their son were on their way to Abuja, and he was returning to Gombe. They were just glad to see me and greet me, but he wanted to ask me to help get his money from his LloydsTSB account in Cardiff to him. Anyway, it transpired that his son was going to Hungary to study, and that a money transfer would be easier within Europe – so that is what I hope will happen, without involving me! Then later, Adamu turned up, to greet me, and he eventually helped me to gain extra credit on my phone so that I could phone you this weekend! He has arranged to take his wife, Lydia, and Katy B and me to the Adives for lunch on Saturday – a nice prospect. So, busy in between all these visits, trying to get as much work done as I could while there was any NEPA to help me! I donated three copies of my Nigerian handbook on phonetics to the NBTT library. One more day of teaching now! Just getting the test on Monday ready! The curfew from 7pm to the following morning is still on, but it is not really affecting me directly, but it does most people in Jos.
Friday 13 Great day! NEPA has done wonderfully well; has someone been praying? Nice early morning cup of tea, warm water to wash and shave! Only trouble is that my watch stopped in the middle of the night! Last session of teaching this morning. I must say that I feel that my teaching has gone well, and although it is tiring to teach for an hour first thing, I have really enjoyed it. We have covered all the vowels and consonants that we know occur in the languages of Nigeria, and that included, today, certain variations that can occur to the consonants; such as simultaneous [y] with any consonant (told them about palatalization), and simultaneous [w] (labialization), and how even some languages manage to get [y] and [w] simultaneous with another consonant (labial- palatalization). Then there is affrication like English at the same time and then follow it with a Welsh (or German) Saturday 14 Rained heavily in the night, which together with all my thoughts, kept me awake. The alarm went at 6 as usual, but slept on until 7.30. I think the full days of teaching and preparation and everything I have tried to keep up had left me feeling quite exhausted, and since there wasn’t the need to be up and doing, I didn’t! Read Matthew 10; much to consider in that chapter. Nigerian cornflakes for breakfast!! The rain kept up and turned into a really nasty storm; grateful for a good roof and shelter over my head. Started packing. The drill bit fits neatly into the small case; don’t know what they’ll think at the airport if they see it! Coffee with Katy, as much as anything to check what the arrangements are for Monday’s travelling. All in hand. Just after 12, Adamu and Lydia called for Katy and me to take us for lunch at the Adives. What a lovely time we all had. I took my new Jju NT with me, since I thought that maybe Lydia and Martha Adive had not seen it, since it was published only in May this year. Neither of them had, so they were pleased to see it. Well, then came my favourite Nigerian meal: chicken, rice and plantain, with plenty of vegetables around the strips of chicken. Absolutely delicious, the best meal I’ve had this visit; then we talked and talked – the awful situation in northern Nigeria, but also the hope of the Gospel, ways of evangelism (don’t do mass evangelism rallies in the North, personal witnessing being much more effective, because a Hausa person by themselves is much more reasonable), progress of Bible translation, God’s mysterious ways and so on. I gave John a book by Prof David Crystal, which I had got by mistake, and he was delighted because he had been taught by him at SOAS and still held in high regard. No NEPA all day until now, 5pm, and so I’m taking advantage of it to write up my news, and try and email as well. Sunday 15 Up at 6; glad to have electricity for a cup of tea and a warm “shower” and shave. Read and prayed, rang Charlotte and then Adamu was here to pick me to go to Gura Topp. I’m glad to say that the service went well, and I enjoyed time with Peter and hi wife, and visited Iliya’s home and met their daughter who is studying linguistics. Popped in to see inside Adamu’s house – not very grand inside; last time in 2008, they had just purchased it but had not moved in – now it is their real home. Back at NBTT, Fred had just arrived and we spent some time together. So had all my Nigerians friends at one go! No NEPA, so invited myself for a cuppa with Katy B, who was kind enough to offer me a bowl of hot accha with honey – couldn’t refuse that! Joined a group of others in the hope of seeing the second half of the Acts film, but they showed a film about the geography and climate of Israel instead, but that was interesting enough. Monday 16 The rains have kept falling, and the morning was particularly dark and bloomy, and no NEPA still to lighten the beginning of the day. Boiled egg for breakfast and three pieces of bread. Conducted the phonetics test first thing, and marked the dictation part of it, and left Nelson to mark the rest. Then I was honoured in front of everyone and presented with not jus one, but two Nigerian suits. The photos galore; it was like a meeting with the press! Had my lunch a bit early so that I could leave at 1, and then enjoyed a pleasant drive down to Abuja. Plateau scenery is quite lovely, with the plains of lush green stretching far and wide on both sides of the road, and mountains of peculiar shapes in the distance. People working in the fields, animals roaming around and everything looks at peace. But saw the refugees from Barakin Ladi area at Riyom – far from peace for many. Enjoyed the change of scenery as we left the Plateau on to the flatter parts en route for Keffi, but still there are hills in the distance to make an interesting picture. The rivers are full, rice field look soggy; all the rain has done good to the farming.