Wildlife park

For those who don't know, Arin, my 9 year old niece had her finger nearly bitten completely off by a baboon at a wildlife park earlier this year. She comforted her entire family as she held her finger together, despite the shocking sight of blood and bone. Bravest 8 year old there ever was. After surgery, stitches and prayers from all over the globe, her finger is healing nicely with a gnarly scar and her fingernail growing at a weird angle. The other day, she got the opportunity to see the same baboon and confront him. He was a lot more subdued than the last visit but Arin had no problem summoning him by calling out, "Come here you stupid monkey", poking her tongue out and showing him the finger (the scar, not the rude one). Having prayed viciously over this brave girl, I was keen to see Ari stick it to the baboon.

I did feel sorry for it though, being in such a tiny enclosure. The whole wildlife park was depressing in that respect. I'm not an advocate for having animals locked up for the sake of entertainment. The elephant looked the saddest. I wanted to cuddle him and be company for the poor guy. 

The lion was potentially even sadder, fenced off entirely and just laying there so docile. Oh it was heartbreaking. 

The snake pit had a live white bunny hopping all around it. The snake looked like it had recently eaten so the bunny was safe.. For the time being at least. 

Jummai

She smiles while she cooks, hums while she works and sings as she mops. 

She makes spring roll wrappers by hand- literally by hand- on the stove; Spreading the batter and peeling the pancake from the pan with her bare hands. 

She makes fresh cinnamon rolls for us to have for breakfast

She greets me with a warm hug every morning when she arrives. 

She tried passionfruit for the first time the other day and loved it. 

Every time I think about saying goodbye to her, I burst into tears. I wish I could bring her home with me and give her everything she and her family needs. I feel so useless in this corrupt world. Why are there multi billionaires in this country (and every other country) and people going without essentials at the same time? And what on earth am I doing with my life to change any of that? I'm overwhelmed with harsh life realities and lack of direction. 

The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need. 

Braids

Yes! I got my hair braided. Bitris works at Grace Gardens, which is a ministry for women to learn a trade such as braiding or sewing. She was very friendly. Mercy (girl on the far left) also works there but I think she is just in training at the moment because she was handing Bitris the hair. Five and a half hours later, I am now one step closer to being Nigerian. 

The rain

Today, I got my wish of dancing and splashing in hard rain. 

It was right after we got the pool ready for the kids to cool down in. As soon as it started bucketing, I ran and got my swimmers on under my cotton Thailand dress and went out to join the fun with the older girls. 

The rain was cold but the ground was hot. Steam was hovering above the basketball courts as we lay in the warm water from the cold rain and hot cement.

(I had to wear a plastic bag over my braids because they stink pretty bad if you get them wet. So stylish.) 

The best kind of fruit

Passionfruit are in their element with Nigeria's fertile soil. The Walkers planted this vine when they arrived about a year ago and it is thriving! 

A lot of the local Nigerians have never tried passionfruit before so we have wen educating them. So far, everyone loves it and instinctively doesn't chew the seeds in the fruit (as some weirdos I know like the do...). 

Have a look at the size of them. Aren't they magnificent?!