Just another day in the bush....

As usual I arose from a pleasant night of rest about 6:15 am, and by 6:35 am I was out the door and headed the 1 kilometer on my trusty Nigerian bicycle to school. I had a 7:00 am class with my 10th grade Physics students, 37 of them. After the school's daily 15 minute assembly, I headed toward the classroom. I was met with the usual "Good Morning Sir." The topic for the morning was Electric Fields. I felt the class went very well. The students seemed to be grasping the concepts. (Always a good thing when teaching.) It was a double period which meant that I taught for one hour and 20 minutes. I had a break before my next class began, so I decided to ride home for a bit of breakfast. Eggs weren't going to fit the bill, but a couple of pancakes with cinnamon and sugar would hit the spot. I whipped up a batch of homemade batter and made four of the best pancakes I?d ever made. (That isn't saying too much because I've only made pancakes about three other times, but these were really nice by any standard. They didn't even stick to the pan.) After my award winning pancakes, I decided to spend about an hour reading. (I've turned into a bit of a reader since I've come to Nigeria.) The book that I was devouring at that moment was a book about the role of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. The book was quite interesting, and I enjoyed it. I had never thought about it much, but we often say, "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost" but where is the Holy Ghost. It seems often left out of the picture, but that is for another discussion. Back to my day......

I rode my environmentally friendly transportation device back to school to teach the same group of 10th graders a little Technical Drawing. Just before I went into the class a missionary showed up to ask for a book that I was proofreading for his wife. (They were Germans, and I was helping with the English.) I went to the computer (thankfully, electricity was coming) and saved the file onto a floppy disk. I was a few minutes late for class, but no problem. I grabbed my compass, metre rule, chalk, and book and started for class. Well, I only made it about two steps before I was given a letter from a neighboring high school. I opened and read the letter. It was a response to a letter I had written the day before with regard to an invitation to play a football (soccer) match. "They could not make it the week I had given them, but the next week would be great. Please respond if this is acceptable." The messengers that brought the letter were waiting for the response, so I took five minutes to write it. "We look forward to meeting you on the pitch. Games Master, Matt Messick." Finally I made it to my class. I had planned to teach them two constructions. I finished the first with ten minutes remaining in the period. Just enough time to get the second construction taught. I was about half way through the explanation when a fellow teacher popped his head in the room and said, "The President wants to see you." (Not the President of Nigeria, but the President of EYN-- the Nigerian church.) I quickly finished up my explanation of the construction and took my instruments back to the staff room.

I went and leaped on my trusty bicycle and rode the 300 metres to EYN headquarters. I met the President and was greeted with the usual warm smile and "Sannu, Ya ya aiki?" (Greetings, how is your work?) My response was, "Sannu, lafiya. Ya ya gida?" (I'm fine and how is your family?) We exchanged a few more moments of personal conversation, and then he asked me a question, "A young lady from the United States has just arrived. She's going to be spending about a week and a half teaching at the Nursery School. Could she stay at your house for that time?" I hadn't known she was coming, but in Nigeria you learn quickly to roll with the punches. "Sure, it would be great to have someone around!" A few moments later I was introduced to Alyssa Short, a 10th grade student from Indiana. Well, I jumped back on my trusty steed and pedaled home. As I was riding, I could see some rain clouds rolling in. I returned in a car, as quickly as the dirt lane would allow, to get my newfound roommate and her luggage. About ten minutes after we had arrived at my house the sky let loose. It was the hardest rain I had seen in the ten months since I'd left Pennsylvania, lots of rain and hail. (Yes, hail in Nigeria!) Well, the rain was very much needed. It was the beginning of the rainy season, and the crops cannot go in the ground until a few rains have fallen. The rain is truly appreciated here.

After the beautiful storm of wind, thunder, lightning, rain, hail, and all, Alyssa and I went to a birthday party for a two year old daughter of German missionaries. Yohanna was the little girl's name. We shared the house with her two older sisters, their parents, a retired couple from Colorado, a daughter of Swiss missionaries, and about five or six Nigerian children. A nice time was had by all. After the rains stopped the children went out to inspect the mud puddles. (I'm sure every mother knows what that means: muddy, happy children.)

Alyssa and I returned to my house and were greeted by the couple from Colorado. They are my house mates, Lyall and Vivian Sherred, who serve as teachers at Kulp Bible College. Vivian told me that the banana tree that is in our backyard had been knocked down by a rotten papaya tree that fell during the storm. (I was not happy.) I have been waiting for a long time to eat a banana off of that tree, and some rotten papaya tree had the audacity to go and fall on my tree. Well, I grabbed a stake and staked the 6-foot banana tree just like a tomato plant. I hope it survives!

Dinnertime was rolling around, and Vivian had prepared a pizza topped with fresh tomatoes and onions to celebrate the arrival of our special guest. What a treat! It was good eats. (Something I forgot to add, the electricity had been off since about 40 minutes after I copied the book onto the floppy disk, and it had still not returned. We were eating by the light of a 12-volt lamp. About ten minutes before we finished eating, the lights came back on.)

The day was coming to a close, and everyone except me went to bed at about 8:00 pm (6:00 am comes quickly.) I stayed up to respond to a few letters that I received about a week before. I've turned into a bit of a letter writer here. I wrote one to a relative in Hummelstown, PA, and another to a fellow BVSer in Normandy, France. As my day came to a close, I brushed my teeth, and said a prayer giving thanks for the wonderful opportunity to expand my view of the world and God's love.

Matt Messick