Arriving

I'm here!! It was a long trip, and I'm just trying to take it all in one minute at a time, but this place is amazing. We spent over 24 hours in travel...from Cincinnati to Chicago to Frankfurt to Abuja. In Chicago I had a 5 hour layover so Pete and Jocelyn picked me up from the airport and we got lunch. It was a huge surprise to be able to see them before I left. When I got on the plane I met Zak and Emily. I was relieved to see that they were sitting right next to me...which means I didn't have to search very hard for the other two people that were coming to Nigeria. (I believe there was supposed to be one more with us who dropped out at the last minute for one reason or another). Anyway, after an 8 hour flight, a 4 hour layover and another 9 hour flight we landed in Abuja. From the beginning it was "welcome to Nigeria" with a convenient (read the sarcasm here) power outage while we were standing in line for immigration. But it was soon over and we got through customs with no problems. We spent the night in a Baptist guest house in Abuja and got up this morning to travel the 3 hours to Jos.
I can't describe the scenes between Abuja and Jos. Abuja is a bustling city with people moving everywhere. Most looked like they has some sort of purpose. The traffic is something like I've never seen. There are lines in the road but nobody really follows them...sometimes there were 3 cars in two lanes. Honking is a must because it lets the person know you are coming from behind. There are no crosswalks and people just walk out into the street...and surprisingly enough they don't die.
Anyway, as soon as you leave the big city, everything changes. There are shacks and huts and small places of business that line the road. And people walking around everywhere. Little motorcycles are everywhere (which are actually "taxis" and are not allowed within city limits so they stay outside the city.) The picture that sticks in my mind is one of the little taxis carrying a woman who had a sash around her body and a baby in the sash on her back. No helmets, just riding along, with cars dashing in and out of the lanes, passing the cycle with no more than 5 feet in between. As we sped past, I looked out of the window and this beautiful little boy looked at us. He was georgous. And I fell in love without even knowing him. The people here are beautiful. I cannot wait to meet the people in the village and the children in the homes.
Once we got here we had lunch and then training...I'm not sure I heard half of it because by this point my eyes were kind of glassed over. I think it's time for some rest. Tonight is down time and then tomorrow we get to go to CLAPAI, a school that we work with. Next week the Vineyard is coming with 15 people....so excited to be a part of it. Thanks for all your prayers!!