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A Place of Hope AFRICA
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P.O. BOX 833
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Hurst, Texas 76053 |
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817.319.9096 |
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A Place Of Hope - Africa Newsletter |
August 2008 |
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Dear APOHA friends and supporters,
Things are going well here and our children are continuing to stay
healthy! Chizoba (HOPE)of course has good days and not so good days,
but in general she is doing so much better. The advanced stage of the
disease in her body causes her to be susceptible to everything! But
so far, we have been able to treat most of the pains and ailments that
she has. She is such a sweet girl. She sings beautifully and has
become so very loving toward our family. She is very responsible and
helps around the house without being asked. Afam (DAVID) and Mesoma (LYDIA)are
also growing and their English is improving. Of course they are very
active and have enjoyed their long break from school. School begins
in September for them and we will be getting everything ready for them
then.
Some of you have sent us some "entertainment" and we are so grateful!
It has been nice to look at some magazines from the USA or a movie and
to drink a cup of Folgers coffee or a glass of Kool-aid has been a
real treat. The kids have also enjoyed the small toys and books that
have been sent for them!
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Jordan returns to the USA
Our son, Jordan has returned to Texas for school. He is a junior in
High school this year and is playing football. We have high hopes for
an athletic scholarship down the road. Jordan is living with my
brother Mike, who runs MQI an organization which takes youth and
adults on mission trips around the world.
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Wedding Ceremony
Pastor Williams
Pastor Williams was wed during a Marriage dedication ceremony at the
church on Sunday. He had completed all the village traditional
obligations and before the marriage could be finalized, they had to
have a church blessing. It was beautiful and we were so happy to see
him and Modesta join together to serve God.
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Things here...
Things here continue to go well as we wait on the equipment to grade
our road! But we have been continuing to look for other options
that might cost less than the $2000 we have been quoted. The final
paperwork for the land donation should be completed by the end of
the month. Please pray for this and for our resident VISA work.
Our resident VISAS, we understand, have to be processed while we are
in the U.S., therefore we will be processing all that is necessary
while we are in the USA.
One of our daughter's friends at Liberty University visited us for
a couple of weeks. Nate says he had a great time and we enjoyed
his visit as much if not more, than he did. He was able to see
missionaries at ground level initiating the work of caring for
orphans. He also got to be around our three children and learn
how important a small financial gift, a committed missionary and
love can make in the lives of these destitute children. He and I
were able to visit with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Nigeria. This visit went very well and Beverly and I are having
dinner with them soon. He also was very welcoming of our project
and offered any assistance he might be able to help with.
We will be having our second visitor from the USA at the end of
the month and perhaps one from Australia. This is always exciting
for us and I believe for those who come and see what God is doing
here. Our E-News volunteer manager will be coming. She has
gathered donated clothing, medical supplies and books and will be
bringing them. Her co-workers at KPMG (an accounting firm) have
collected many items and have graciously given to make it possible
for this gift to get to us! We are so thankful! Please pray for
Christy as she makes final preparations for her "adventure" to
Africa! She has been so gracious in helping us get the E-News
out.
Beverly met a man from Australia last year while waiting for a
flight home in Nigeria. He has been such an encouragement while
we have been here. He lives in Australia but has business in
Nigeria. He has battled with cancer in his body but God's grace
has been sufficient and he plans to be here in Nigeria at the end
of the month. He and his wife have been so supportive, and though
we have not all met, we are grateful for folks who are willing to
invest their love, time, energy and finances in A Place of Hope!
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Equatorial Guinea for VISA, Opportunities and Fundraiser for
APOHA
I had to exit the country for a few days in order to get more days
to stay in Nigeria. The closest, less expensive and no pre-arrival
VISA requirement country around is Equatorial Guinea. So I flew
there for a few days and returned. This is a costly way to renew
and was not in our budget, but was my best option. Malabo (the
capital of that country and where we lived 5 years ago) is only
around 350 miles from where we live in Nigeria. But it is on an
island about 80 miles from the Nigerian coastline and only reachable
by air. The ferry's are not dependable or safe, (many are lost at
sea) as they are just individuals who have large fishing boats. I
was able to visit friends and members of our congregation there. It
was a nice unexpected treat. I also was able to bring back some
cheese, chocolate chip cookies, French loaf bread from the bakery
and a few other goodies we can't find here locally. Everyone
enjoyed a grilled cheese sandwich!
We are praying for an abundance of opportunities to share what we
are doing back in the USA upon our return. We are already booking
meetings in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia as well as our home
state of Texas. We are also planning our first annual APOHA
fundraiser in Arlington in November. We are grateful for our
friends and board members who are helping with this event. One of
our board member's wives is heading this up and doing such a
fantastic job! If all goes well, the Ugandan Children's Choir will
be singing at this event. We will let you know more about it as we
have more of the details confirmed.
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Again we ask that you pray for us as we continue to do
the work we believe God has called us to and the lives that are
impacted by our joint efforts. If you haven't contributed financially
and are able to, please do so as we have so much still to do. We
thank those of you who have given so generously.
God Bless you!
Joey, Beverly & Crew!
A Place Of Hope - Africa
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Our address in Africa:
A Place of Hope
P.O. Box 242
Nsukka, Enugu State
Nigeria, AFRICA
(please send all donations to the Hurst address below)
Phone: 011.234.803.678.3696
Please feel free to call or text us!
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A Place Of Hope - Orphan Update
June 30, 2008- We were not expecting to have children so soon,
but the Lord has blessed us with 3 siblings.
Let me introduce these children to you.
Their parents died of AIDS. Their father donated blood to Hope before
he died of the disease, 6 years ago. Their mother died 7 months ago.
They have lived with relatives until coming to live with us. We heard
the relative caring for them was not doing so appropriately and they
had been cast out into the street by a person they had been left with
by this person because of fear of the HIV. They managed to get to
another relative's home, where we found them. Both the younger
children have repeatedly tested negative for the deadly virus.
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HOPE
Chizoba (Cheese o ba* [Accent on the first syllable]) is 11. Her
English name is Hope. She is the oldest of the three. She is HIV
positive and her CD count if very low indicating that she is in what
they have called here the 3rd stage. We don't know how long her
body's immunity will be able to overcome the various assaults on her
health. One of the hospitals in Nsukka is providing her HIV
medications free of charge. We have to pay for any other meds we give
her, such as vitamins, malaria medication and all the tests that are
to be performed. She is a very intelligent girl and a hardy helper
when she is feeling good.
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LYDIA
Mesoma (Me So ma*[accent on first syllable) is around 7 years of age.
Her English name is Lydia. She is unable to read still and is a very
active girl and smiles about everything usually. All three of the
children have extended abdomens, a clear sign of malnutrition or
sometimes worms. We are treating them. They are hardy eaters and seem
to be adjusting well to their new surroundings.
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DAVID
Afamu (Ah fam [Accent on first syllable]) is between 4 and 5 years
age. He is wound up like a top. Loves to sing and dance. He keeps
rhythm like a professional drummer. We enjoy him, although we have
to keep an eye out for him constantly as he will "disappear" and if we
aren't careful will be into some kind of trouble. His English name is
David.
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How you can help:
We still need to raise $30,000 to build the first home on the
donated property. Other necessary expenses will be for the African
support staff. Please pray about these needs and if you are led to
support us financially, you can send your check and/or monthly support
to our PO box in Hurst, noted below.
In Christ,
Joey and Beverly
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| By Joey Starling |
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Well, I must have spoken too soon. Our landlord’s brother (the true owner
of the house we live in) was here for a funeral and while he was here, we
had running water in our upstairs flats. However, yesterday morning we
ran out of water in the tank on the roof which gravity feeds our water
lines. We turned the generator on and filled the water tank on the roof.
But, we still don’t have water in our flat. There is water downstairs,
but none up stairs and the tank on the roof is full. There must be water
bubble in the line somewhere that is not allowing us to get water and the
owners downstairs flat is where we need to release the air and it is
locked up. I’ll have to figure something out. So back to buckets and
hauling it up the stairs.
We have a cult that meets out in front of our compound. They start their
prayers, which sound more like a psychotic hypnotic episode than anything
godly, at 5 a.m. beating their drums, chanting and shouting. Then there
is constantly the sound of loud booms, like dynamite explosions. This is
actually the announcement of a death or the anniversary of a death. I
also learned people are buried here in their own “compound”. If the
family has money they will preserve the grave site, if not they will honor
the spot for a year or so and then farm right over it. So much for
remembrances!
“Déwo” means welcome in local Opi-Igbo. So not only do we have Igbo to
learn, but there are some local terms unique to Opi.
Today we plan to go to the APOHA site and hike down to the waterfall
“uheré”. We’ll measure the distance to the waterfall. They say it is
far, which means it is probably a couple of miles. I’ll let you know.
The village of Opi where we live is called “uwelu - ibek”. “Obózara”
“umu-oula” is where the church is located.
We have to find a good teacher of Igbo and begin our classes. I don’t
know how much faith I have in learning it all, but eventually, I guess!
Word by word, phrase by phrase.
“Quecaróguete” Que = how, “caroguete” = your health
Is your health good? “Arogue odema” answer “aromm-odema”
Did you sleep well? “Iqueurórua ofmma” answer “eklum of mma”
I am going to Nsukka. “Eje com Nsukka”.
Go = Unu fuea - (plural) Fuea - (singular)
I live at Uwelu - Ibek. “Ebum uwelu-ibek”
Frog - “éwo” White Hair - “ewó”.
I am amazed at the difficulty people have here, just to surive. The
unclean surroundings and the like.
May 21
Somethings to add to your list.
1. Underwear for small boy or girl. Just a few pair.
I need to know what to take should I get Malaria. I don’t remember what I
should take, dosage and for how long the meds should be taken.
2. A can of foam sealer. You press the knob on the top of the can and it
sprays a sealant which expands in the hole to seal it. We have many holes
in the ceiling that need this before painting it.
3. I can get the mosquito nets hear for a 10 USD. I’ll get them here.
Waterfall was beautiful; wish place of hope was closer to it. Be nice to
go down every once in a while to “refresh” and would be easy to pump water
up to the place! But it would be a bit far from the village. Plus there
are no big plots of land around. We might be able to pump water all the
way up to APOH, but it would take a mile of pipe. Not sure of the cost of
doing that. Catching rain water will work some of the time, but not
during the dry season and we’ll have to go get the water ourselves; which
we could do from the water fall if we clear a road.
Well, Anna is going to see William’s parents today and then we’ll go to
Nsukka to send this.
Back To News |
Dear
Friends and Supporters,
At last, I am in Africa! My journey here was without very many hiccups or delays. After a mad rush to finish everything that had to be done on Monday and after a 10 hour flight from Dallas, I arrived in Amsterdam. There I met up with Pastor Eric from Virginia, who will support me as we locate and make adequate adjustments to a rental house for my family to live in while A Place of Hope is being built and whose church is helping A Place of Hope become a reality. After a 6 hour layover, we took our almost 6 hour flight to Lagos, Nigeria.
In Lagos, we spent the night with our attorney Emeka, who graciously opened his home for us. He carted us to and from the airport and provided a delicious meal of chicken, rice and fruit juice. On Tuesday morning back on a jet for the one hour flight to Enugu. After collecting our luggage, (7 pieces) we met Pastor Williams and the van he had rented for the two hour ride to Nsukka. At last we were in Nsukka. We unloaded our things at Pastor Williams's brother, Sylvester's home, and then rested for a few hours before going to speak to the owner of the house Pastor Williams had spoken to me about.
I sent Pastor Williams to exchange money and to purchase a motorcycle for our transport. Upon his return we went to meet his cousin Christian, the architect who has helped us in the design of the homes to be built at A Place of Hope. All of us then went to meet the owner of the house to be rented to view the house and discuss the terms.
As it turns out, the house is really 4 apartments under one roof. Each has 3 bedrooms. One is occupied by the owner's brother, who only returns from where he lives in Lagos during the Christmas holiday, and the other 3 are vacant. We toured the apartment and saw that it is spacious and the bathroom and "toilette" room are nice. The roof is set up to catch the rain water and channel it to a large cistern, which makes use of the over 100 inches of rain per year that falls from the sky in the region. The house is "wired" for electricity (this is not the case with many houses in this part of Africa) and we only need to install a pump and generator.
We decided to rent two apartments with the agreement that the landlord would not rent the third to anyone but us, if we decided later we wanted it. The owner told us he wouldn't even rent any of the apartments out, except that Williams is a family friend and explained that we were in need of a place. The rent here is paid by the year so we had to fork out just over $1000 for the rent of the 2 apartments for the year!
After sitting, discussing and coming to an agreement regarding the house, we rode the motorcycles back to Nsukka, about a 20 minute ride (the house is in the village of Opi closer to the land). We stopped at Christian's home to meet his new baby girl. There he offered us malt soda; this soda is what they consider the best and costs more than coca cola, and avocado from his avocado tree. This is the season for mango and avocado, and they are delicious and plentiful right now. When it began to rain lightly we rushed out and rode our motorcycles back to Sylvester's home.
Sylvester and Cornelia were back home from work (he is a high school administrator who has just finished law school and will begin to practice with his wife, Cornelia, who specializes in issues pertaining to land disputes) They greeted me with great hoopla and lots of smiles and hugging. They also made Pastor Eric feel very welcome. They had a delicious meal prepared for us; rice with a tomato base much like Mexican rice with vegetables mixed in, and cooked chicken.
After supper, exhausted from the day's events, all the traveling and the time changes, we made our way to bed. During the night, the rain increased and the thunder woke me many times, but overall I rested and today I am ready again for another adventure, as I clean the apartments, purchase beds, a generator, a small water pump, oil lamps, stove, and the like and get them delivered to the home. I hope to be able to spend the night there tomorrow evening! The inside of the apartments will have to be painted, but that can be done later.
The rain continues this morning. This is after all, the beginning of the rainy season. It is just a steady dripping rain. I will need to get the seeds in the ground soon!
Sincerely,
Joey Starling
Dear
Friends and Supporters,
I want to express my gratitude to you for your prayers and support during
this important visit to Nigeria. I feel so blessed to have you partnering with
me in this endeavor. The need to care for the orphans there is so great and I
am so anxious to be able to gather all the funding necessary to be there on the
ground, gathering the orphans off the streets and caring for them.
I
know some of you prefer a brief
report, so below you will find an overview of the trip, results and our needs. The more detailed articles that follow will provide you with many interesting
facts and explain more about the events, issues and needs that I encountered and
discovered while there.
OVERVIEW:
- Donated land of three smaller lots in
various parts of the village exchanged for a plot of land larger than 8 football
fields.
- Pastor Williams directs the making of
cement blocks by locals.
- Radio Interview with Popular Radio Nigeria Personality provides awareness of
our efforts to communities and cities in Nigeria. Nigerian officials encourage
our efforts.
- Water supply is still an issue - Water Engineers from the University of
Nigeria are gathering information regarding water-table and local well-drilling
for us.
- Met with Nsukka & Enugu Police Officials to alert them of our efforts.
- Three Interviews with Orphaned Children filmed.
- Purchased a Motorcycle for transport in and around Nsukka and the villages
of Opi.
- Met Local Construction Contractor and gathered info on costs, materials and
legalities in the area.
- Older used Pick-up will cost around
$7,000
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 Surveying the
Land
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purposes for traveling to Nigeria at this time was to focus on the land that had
been donated and preparing it for building the first homes. I purchased a
motorcycle so Pastor Williams and I could travel back and forth from the city of
Nsukka, where I was staying with the Onah family, and the village of
Ogbozalla-Opi (we just say Opí most of the time) and throughout the village. Transporting yourself in Africa is easy and relatively inexpensive, but the
schedule may be a problem, and comfort is really not a major
concern.
Top L -
our brand new motorbike Top R - Bus seats 19
Bottom - The inside behind me two rows, my row and in
front of
me two rows for a total of 4 rows of 4 persons
and front row seats 3
persons
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arrival to the village and after surveying the land, I found the donation to
actually be three large lots in various parts of the village. I was not sure
how I should approach the leaders to explain that we were not ungrateful to
them, but our need was really for a large plot all in one location, even if it
was not right in the village. I shared this with Pastor William and with his
brother Silvester and then Silvester shared it with several of the leaders. They
all agreed that what A Place of Hope needed was land in one location large
enough to house all the future projects (school, clinic, orphan homes, farm,
etc...). There was a planned meeting of the leaders living in the village and
the landholders who lived outside the village the Sunday I was due to leave. In
this meeting, APOHA's land issue was a topic of discussion. This Elite group
along with the Village Elders decided that there was a portion of land that
would be better suited and would be donated instead of the three lots. The land
is being surveyed by a professional surveyor for exact measurements, but we know
that it is larger than eight football fields. I did not get to do any clearing
on this trip due to the change, but Pastor William will be doing some clearing
and cinder blocks are being made so as to begin the construction. The cost of
each home, which will house 8-10 children and 1-2 adults takes
approximately 1,850 cement blocks with a cost of
about $1600 USD. We believe the total cost for each apartment to be around
$15,000 USD. This is just the structure and does not include basic furnishings.
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| Officials
Encourage Our Efforts
| My visit
involved several trips to Enugu City. I visited Radio Nigeria to gather
information on broadcasting locally about our efforts or some kind of service to
alert the communities about A Place of Hope. This way when children are found
abandoned, someone will have heard about A Place of Hope and will know to carry
the child to the Police and they will notify us. As I was inquiring about all
of this and Pastor Williams was interested in me speaking on a religious program
he wanted to broadcast, Mr. Aka Eze Aka (Known as "Aka The Last") asked to
interview me on his national radio show. His show is a type of "Good Morning
America" in which he interviews Nigerian actors, singers, politicians and more. I was glad to have the opportunity to share with him and all of the listening
audience about our exciting venture to help the children. Our interview after,
the editing, lasted about 20 min. and gave me a wonderful opportunity to share
my message of hope. I have been notified since, that many people have called
the station to find out more about us and what we are doing, many of them are
influential people in the area.
In fact, a woman I met on my flight to
Enugu from Lagos, emailed me to inform me that she had heard some of her friends
talking about the interview. She told them she had met me on the plane and that
I had told her all about the plans. Madam Uche, as she is known, is an Enugu
business woman, who farms and exports casava and other tubers, she also is
heavily invested in livestock. After I shared our hopes of having a strong farm
with livestock to help provide food and agricultural training to our orphan
children, she smiled and said she would love to be a part and would gladly help
with livestock. She said she had helped an old Irish priest with the needs of
the impoverished community where he lived, but he had recently died and she was
troubled about where she could help, and now "God has sent you". "I have
received my answer so quickly". In her email, she let me know how she has heard
that influential people are looking forward to our coming.
After the
radio station, I also visited the Police Headquarters in both Enugu and Nsukka. There I met with officials to make them aware of our work. They took note of
who we were and our visit and purpose. They were very cooperative and helpful
as we related our needs and desire to cooperate with the local
authorities.
I was unable to visit with the Governor, as I had desired to
do, but Pastor William will be taking a formal letter of introduction to him in
the coming days.
I also went to the University of Nigeria at Nsukka to
meet the Chancellor. We have an interest in being a resource for the
Universities Medical students as they perform their Social Service. Our
children could receive medical attention through a teaching program that
together we could develop, which could also benefit the Opi
community.
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| Blessings
& Burdens
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I had the opportunity to film my interview with three of the street
children. "Emeka" the youngest of the three was only
five years old. He was with a beggar
woman sitting outside a religious compound. When we asked the woman about the
child, she said he didn't have parents. As I interviewed him he shook his head
indicating he would gladly go to a place where he would be fed and cared for.
One of the girls I interviewed was 10 years of age. She spoke with a
fearful look in her eyes. She must have been warned about staying and talking
too long to strangers. There are so many stories of children being taken as
slaves or sold into prostitution. Other stories tell of women from northern
Nigeria taking children from the south to then push into oncoming traffic, then
when injured claiming they are their children and making the driver pay a large
sum of money to cover the child's death. Such sad and very scarry stories. But
later that same day, I saw her selling water in the market and she smiled a kind
and sweet smile. I hope we can find her. Pastor William and I have devised a
plan to help these three until I arrive. As we have inquired about them, we
have found the beggar woman to claim she is Emeka's legitimate mother (he helps
her make her money begging), and the other two girls, may have moved to another
towns market. As, Pastor William said to me over the phone; "you almost "have
to take them when you first see them, for they are fearful". He is still
looking for them.
My burden for the children of the streets has
increased. I saw a mentally disturbed child of around 15 years of age roaming
the streets of Enugu naked. As we passed by in the bus I was riding in, people
acted as if they saw nothing. They are used to this... I am not. I trust it
long disturbs me. I hope I cannot forget the image of the "Emekas" of Nigeria. Upon my return to Lagos, I spent the day commuting around the city. I was
directed to a church where some children had been brought by the police. The
church has a homeless shelter... and yet now they are housing 5 infants... who
were found abandoned. My heart cried for these children. I don't know what you
feel or imagine in your heart and mind, but Beverly and I know this is where we
need to be... and the children need you and I to help them. |
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My recent visit was filled with many exciting and humorous events and
situations. I only could smile as many people turned their heads to assure
themselves of what they were seeing as a white man drove a motorcycle with a
Nigerian man riding with him. This is not common, because the motorcycles, are
for the most part used as taxi services, white men are not usually seen on them
and when they are they are not driving... For those of you who know me well,
know that I am not afraid to drive anywhere.... As so many turned their heads,
their mouths would cry out "oniocha okada" which means "white taxi driver". I
enjoyed myself greatly and felt like I was back at home on the dirt bike I rode
in the villages of northern Mexico where I grew up. Most of the time it beat the
crowded bus ride!
I also was invited to be the guest speaker at a
Evangelistic Crusade Pastor William and some of his friends organized. I shared
how I had come to have a deep in personal relationship with God through Jesus
Christ. I shared how my life had been in shambles, I was so torn on the inside,
yet on the outside everything seemed fine. I shared how the God didn't ever
leave me, but reached down to me and worked with me through all the "stuff" in
my life. He brought Hope to me and would do the same for them, if they would
trust Him.
It all turned out well and was a great blessing. There were
some humorous moments (to those of us who live different culture). All of these
I am putting on our blog... and you can find many more photos and hopefully,
video in the coming weeks, as I learn to upload these. http://aplaceofhopeafrica.blogspot.com/
Thank you ("Danu") again for all your
support
Joey Starling - APOHA
A Place Of Hope - Africa
Back To News
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| By Joey Starling |
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Joey will be visiting Ogbozalla-Opi (ogbósala opí) in October. Joey will begin clearing the 20 acres that have been donated, gathering exact measurements, viewing the topography, planning the layout of the facilities, gathering necessary data for legal processes, meeting with attorneys and meeting with well-drilling company. He will also meet with a local building contractor in the nearby city of Nsukka to get updated material prices and labor costs. As you can imagine it is quite a large task. While there, Joey will not have a vehicle, and will be dependant on the local motorcycle taxi’s and the rental of a local car (someone who has a car and will give up their days to drive him around). Plans are being made to meet with immigrations attorneys in Lagos, and attorneys that will assist in the formation of a Nigerian “Non- Governmental Organization” which will be the Nigerian counterpart to A Place of Hope-Africa. This is quite a task and his time in Nigeria will be limited to 10 days.
The plan will also include a few speaking engagements to include a crusade in Ogbozalla-Opi, as well as in Nsukka, and we would like to have the opportunity to speak at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka. This would grant Joey access to the teaching staff of the University as well as to the students with the message of salvation, and with the news of the APOHA project 20 miles away in Ogbozalla-Opi. There is the potential for other opportunities at a local radio station, elementary and high school in Nsukka.
Joey will also be documenting the age, and the life stories of as many of the orphans as he can find and convince, to speak with him at the market place in Nsukka..
Please Pray this upcoming visit
in October. Back To News |
| By Beverly Starling |
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We made it to Africa.
It was a long an rather grueling trip as we were delayed in London with
the deluge of rain that flooded the Thames river and our Heathrow's
runways. When we finally got off the ground there (3 hrs. later), we
knew we would be overnighting in Madrid, for the only flight to Malabo
would be gone. The next evening we were placed on the only flight to
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, but after boarding and waiting for over an
hour, we were asked to de-board and told the crew had too many hours
and we would have to overnight again. Finally the next morning around
10:30 we were off the ground in route to Africa.
When we
landed in Malabo, we were surprised to see the changes. A new airport
and improved streets and highways along with many new buildings. But
our greatest joy was to see all our friends and those we love so dearly
there.
We met mamá Carmen on our first trip to Africa almost 7 years ago.
We visited with the Abundant Life Church near "New Building", a shanty town in Malabo.
We
were able to go to several villages and into the mountains, where we
played and taught the children. The inexpensive inflatable beach balls
were such a huge success with the kids.
We had such a good time there. Anna had an opportunity to visit with her friends and play some basketball.
After
saying goodbye to our friends there, we headed once again to the
airport to fly oover the short span of atlantic to Nigeria. We had
several stops along the route before arriving at the Enugu airport.
There we met Pastor Williams and his cousin Christian (who graciously
drove us during the week)and faced the fact that our luggage had not
arrived with us.(we were worried, but we did get it the next day)
We
spent our nights at Pastor Williams brother and sister-in-laws home.
They were so gracious. We spoke every evening in the Church of The
Savior in Ogbozalla-Opi, and had meetings with the traditional leaders
of the village.
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