Goodbye Lagos

We have just come to the end of our two year contract teaching here in Nigeria, and so it is with much sadness that we farewell our life here.  We will head off to New Zealand for about 12 days, before we embark on a new adventure to Surabaya, Indonesia.

There is so much I could say about our two years here, so much more than I could write here, but to keep it short and sweet, I will do a bit of a summary. 

Things I will not miss about Nigeria

1. The roads - the potholes. I have raved about these before. The depth of hole has not changed, neither has the amount of water which fills them up. I will miss driving through the thigh deep water and splashing cars as I drive past (or when Caleb forgets and totally sprays people walking down the street... its mean to laugh, but it is so funny)

Our street

2. The police - there doesn't seem to be as much harrassment from the police as there was two years ago when we arrived, but I still won't miss them.

3. The impatience of other drivers - everyone is SO FREAKING IMPORTANT, that it makes it okay to cut into massive queues of traffic, even REMOVE barriers just so they can push in.

4. Our apartment - in the last 2 weeks, our washing machine died, our internet died (and they wouldn't fix it), the marble benchtop broke, the kitchen floor is leaking upwards (?), the shower door fell off, Neriah's AC which was broken was 'fixed' and now it is broken again, our bathroom which has had a leak the last 2 months, has been fixed THREE times by the plumber who obviously has no idea (it's the tap, it's the seal around the bath, its the shower hose - which by the way, he replaced UPSIDE DOWN so now the shower head doesn't fit into the freaking holder) or is just trying to rip off our school, one of the fuses keeps blowing so we have no hot water in our shower (luckily we do have 2 other bathrooms). I could write more, but I am keeping it to the last two weeks remember.

Our apartment compound

5. The local food - blehhhhhhh not to my tastes at all. 

6. Trying to do three chores in town and it takes five hours because of the state of the roads and the amount of traffic.

7. The price of everything, except petrol.

Things I will miss about Nigeria

1. Our friends' epic beach house with the huge coconut plantations and huge dumping waves which tumble and toss me to the point sometimes I think I will die, but instead I just roll with it and then come up smiling.

2. Some incredible friends I have met - being in an expat community, I have friends from all over the world. Indonesia, South Africa, Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka, UK, Bolivia, USA, India, Zimbabwe, and, of course, Nigeria. I also have friends as young as 8, and as old as 55. It has been an amazing experience and one I am so grateful for. 

3. The people on our street - the small kids who wear clothes too small, or clothes far too big, who have hardly anything to their name, yet run out to give us a piece of chewing gum when we drive past. 

4. The tropical fruit, mangos, pineapples, pawpaw, yummy, yummy.

5. Our apartment - as much as it annoys me because of the poor workmanship, this has been our home for the last 2 years, and Neriah's first home, and we have had so many amazing times and experiences here with so many different people. I will miss it.

6. The friendliness of the local people.

7. My women's bible study group - I started this with a friend when I first got here, as a way of having time of spiritual refreshment, support and prayer with others while sharing the challenges and joys of Nigeria . We have had so many women come in and out of this group, as they have moved away and been replaced by others who are arriving, and this group has really sustained me during these couple of years.

 

Highlights of the last two years in Nigeria (in no particular order)

1. My first classroom of kids - who were absolutely adorable, and I loved teaching them.

2. Going to a church service with between 800,000-1,000,000 people under one roof.

3. Backpacking around Nigeria.

4. Amazing holidays to Europe, Zanzibar, Ghana and South Africa .

5. Waterskiing on a river filled with abandoned and sinking ships.

6. (and the best of all) Having a baby, of course, and all the joy that Neriah has brought to us  :)

So, with that, goodbye Lagos. We have learned so much about ourselves, about God and about the broken systems of a broken world and for that we are ever grateful. x

Dear Fusion Youth...

Dear Fusion Youth,

To those who have been here from the beginning, who were part of the first four, who were pushed into cars on a Friday night against their wishes. Who spoke to us in fake accents or who didn’t want to speak to us. When there were so few that you could have the couch to yourself, to those who have laughed with us, laughed at us, swam in their clothes, have eaten nasty things, made new friends, brought along a friend, came along with a friend, or who have only come along once before and are wondering what’s going on.

 You have been a part of Fusion Youth, and for that we are forever grateful. For the last time,

Welcome to our home!

But this letter really starts with a thank you.

Caleb: When I came to Lagos I had my issues with the church and was not particularly fond of it. I loved Christians and was a leader for Christian Surfers, delivered food to poor communities, mentored at risk teens, but none of it was through the church, I was allergic to church, happy to sit and listen and happy to leave. I wanted to learn more about God but that was all I wanted from the church, a lesson. So when the chance to take the youth came up we were super quick to say no thanks. We joke about you guys being reluctant to start coming along, we were the first to start that trend. I remember when Rebecca turned to me one evening before we went to sleep and said “I think we should do youth” my reply was very unmemorable “ok, but we do it together” then I went to sleep, I don’t know if my lovely wife had any idea of the rollercoaster she was getting on. But spending time with you has taught us about faith in action, not just doing what you want to do, but what God wants you to do, and when you put your heart into it, it becomes what you want to do. This is also the reward of faith and I have expanded this to other areas of my life and it is now more a part of us and our family than it ever was, but why did Rebecca say yes…

Rebecca: Mrs Tate asked us on our first ever trip to LCF if we would be interested in taking Youth. We laughed as we shook our heads, no way, we were both teachers and the last thing we thought we wanted was to give up our free time to spend with a bunch of teenagers. But as I watched a few of you, and saw the struggles that you were facing with school, with relationships, with peer pressure and the struggles of living in a city like Lagos, I began to hear the small quiet whisper of the Lord as he started to put a supernatural love for you in my heart, which I knew I couldn’t ignore. Oftentimes God calls us to things which at first seem ridiculous to us, and go against what we think we want. And that’s where the importance of obedience comes in. Because we said ‘yes’ to God, it meant saying ‘no’ to other things. It meant saying ‘no’ to spending Friday nights doing other things, it meant saying ‘no’ to travelling some weekends because we had Sunday church – but it meant saying ‘yes’ to something far more important. You. We said ‘yes’ to you. We said ‘yes’ to learning about self-sacrifice, we said ‘yes’ to learning far more about God than we ever could have imagined, We said ‘yes’ because God wanted you to know that He loves you more than anything else. We said ‘yes’ to the joy that comes from spending time with you. So, thank you.

We have only ever struggled to know what to do at youth twice maybe… the rest of the time the plan would just appear and we could go to work on it, we have a big bible and a big God after all. Do you know how many different thoughts, interpretations and angles there are out there about everything! Wow, it is exhaustive. If we are looking up a verse of scripture for you guys we have essays, thesis’s, commentaries, sermons, just ask Google, the world is available, and the world has a lot of strange opinions. Many made to suit their own needs. But faith in action needs no interpretation, and always looks like a humble serving heart, something this group has in abundance.

It is cooking pies, painting the walls, writing a card, giving out shoe boxes, doing action songs, teaching card games or snakes and ladders for hours, praying for your brother, bringing snacks, feeling someone’s hurt and celebrating their successes. It is making your own values, and being a community, when your group is the answer to the prayers of the group, God is working in you.

In this group you made something happen, it was too small to just turn up and do nothing, you had to invest. You sang, danced, acted, made dads laugh and mums cry, YOU are fusion youth.

So thank you, thank you for turning up, for filling the couch, the chairs, sometimes the floor, for not using your phones, for leaving your shoes at the door, for greeting us with hugs, cleaning up, and praying with us. You have blessed us and our house beyond measure.

Now your lesson, our parting advice. The final take home message.

When we looked back over the themes of our youth nights this last two years, they can pretty much be summed up with two statements.

     1)    Life is an adventure best spent with God on your side.

     2)    You were blessed to bless others, forgiven to forgive others and loved to love others, so show the world God’s, blessings, forgiveness and love -giving him the credit as it is due.

We have tried to teach you about a big God, who holds all things including us in an unconditional loving embrace, we also tried to teach that leaps of faith need to become normal and are essential, how else do we grow, how else did we end up in Lagos! We have tried to teach you that “there is nothing you can do to make him love you less” and that the God who got you this far will walk beside you and can take you the rest of the way, “you are going to make it” if you walk with him on the narrow path.

How did we do? Did we teach you these things? and more importantly did you learn from your time with us that Jesus does not go out drinking on a Friday night, that the world will not like you when you don’t give in to the MTV lifestyle, that how you live is more important than what you say (or listen to on a Sunday). That you are amazing, and well loved…

Did you also learn from us that these cravings inside of you can only be satisfied by the overwhelming love of a God who poured out his love for you? That you will never find wholeness in money, in the things you do, by getting good grades or in another person? If you have learned these things, then we are able to leave satisfied that our mission with you is completed. If not, then we pray that God would continue to do a work in you so that one day you WOULD know and remember always that you are well loved.

Now the big question, what will happen to fusion youth…?

Fusion youth is not a thing, it is a people, it is you. So what will happen to Fusion Youth? It will change. Change is inevitable and essential in growth; some of fusion youth will go to college and have more control over their own lives than ever before. They will be confronted with situations and choices which they never had before and the quality of their choices will be a reflection on the time and effort others have invested into them and they are now responsible for themselves, free to lead or follow others. Others of you will go to new schools and to a new grades, you will also choose every day to live as a Christian and shine your light, or, to not. Others will be here and will still carry the name of Fusion Youth, or maybe they will change the name, but they will still meet and they will still pray, still eat things never meant to be eaten and laugh together.

You will get to meet the new leaders (God willing) before any of you leave, test them out and get a feel for what you are in for next year. But there will be 9ish less of you and you will never sit in these seats as a group again, you may never hold hands and pray together, or you may. As long as you are here as long as you play and pray together fusion youth or whatever it is called will go on.

And as for us, we will be praying for you, each of you, all at different places of your lives, who joined us at this place in our life so we could move forward together for a season. You are well loved.

My parting advice, when in doubt stop talking and start praying, then keep praying, and when you finally speak, do it with a quiet voice, with the authority of one who has had their prayer answered and a God who is alive.

Finally we want to end the letter with a confession,

After countless games, lessons, Nooma, prayers, waves at the beach, meals, hugs and hours together…

… we are going to miss you guys. Our house never feels so full of life and love as when you are here, we will miss you. You are well loved and will be well missed.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may he make his face to shine upon you, and may he give you peace. 

 Love Caleb and Rebecca x 

South Africa Part 2

We went back to Cape Town for Easter this year so that Caleb could take part in the Two Oceans 56km Ultra Marathon. He had done a lot of training for this event, and even though Lagos lacks the hills which made up a lot of the final event, Caleb did really well. So proud of you babe!!

The other awesome part about this trip was that Caleb's mom was able to come and meet up with us. It was her first time meeting Neriah and they bonded easily!

But wait, there was actually a few other awesome parts... like... SHARK CAGE DIVING

and eating delicious food with great company in beautiful weather...

and taking part in the International Friendship Fun Run before Caleb's ultramarathon.

Yes, it was fun. I love Cape Town. It rules.

At home with Neriah

Being at home with Neriah is so much fun. Yes, we may not have easy access to any outdoor spaces or playgrounds, but I can try and create some good learning experiences for her inside. Here are a few things we have done at home.

Yoghurt and food colouring on the floor. Whee!

Learning about colour.

Gloop - cornflour and water mix. It's hard AND soft.

Mumbo Jumbo!

Zanzibar!

In the name of science, Caleb and I took a bunch of students to Zanzibar where the students, and I, completed our Open Water Dive Certificates. This has been on my bucketlist since the movie came out, so I was really stoked to have the opportunity to go.  

Zanzibar is so different from deep dark West Africa... it is just as lush and green, but there doesn't seem to be the feel of oppression and heaviness that I sense in Nigeria. The beaches were stunning, and the food was delish!

P.S They actually say 'Hakuna Matata' here.

P.S.S They also say 'Mumbo!' and you respond 'Jumbo!' - everywhere you go it's just 'mumbo jumbo!'

Terrible photo - but this is the kids dancing with the Masais.

Christmas in Nigeria

While we didn't spend the actual Christmas Day in Nigeria, we did manage to feel festive. A huge thank you to our friends Emily and Monty who donated us their Christmas tree when they moved back to the States. Christmas isn't Christmas without a tree! Here's a picture of our place all Christmassed up.

Including a cute little button playing

Not actually that Christmassy... but hasn't our house come a long way? We're gonna be leaving it all behind in a few months! :(

 We also got to have an early Christmas with our adopted Tate family. Such a nice time and Neriah got totally spoiled!! 

Johnny Jump Up from Calli - woo hoo!

Opening presents

Thanks Steve and Jodi for the Bumbo!

Neriah and Jodi

Enough presents now guys!

Christmas in Ghana - Part 4

From Ezile and Busua Beach, we started making our way back to Accra, via Cape Coast (probably the biggest tourist destination in Ghana). I hadn't seen as many white folk my whole time in Ghana!

There were a few lowlights/highlights in Cape Coast.

1. The Boabab Tree Cafe/Guest House - after hearing great things about this vegetarian cafe I was super excited to try it. We met a random Aussie guy, who was on a self-appointed mission to get Europeans to apologise for their part in the slave trade. It was obvious he was passionate about it, but um... they have? And actually, it seems like its the West Africans that need to apologise, since they were dealing in slaves before Europeans even came to West Africa?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8356357.stm

http://across.co.nz/Apologyfo%20SlaveTrade.html

Anyway, the most annoying part about this place was that after an hour of waiting for our food (c'mon guys, I have a 4 month old baby who needs naps, etc) we found out they hadn't even started cooking it! They were just hanging out talking... and as we looked around, NO ONE ELSE had their food either. We cancelled our order (a sandwich and smoothie from memory) and walked to a food-is-ready and had beautiful rice, beans, plantain for about a 1/4 of the price and it was INSTANT. 

2. Cape Coast Castle - this tour was definitely worth it. Cape Coast was the main British hub for the trading of 'commodities', and hundreds of thousands of West Africans were held here in the dungeons, and those who stayed alive, walked out through the 'Door of No Return' onto the boats that would take them to a new land and a new life. It was so eerie to stand in the very places where so much cruelty took place... and to walk along the very path they walked.  I walked out through the 'Door of No Return' and I was struck by the sight of the landscape... this was their last glimpse at their homeland before boarding those ships.  In 1998, the Ghanian government encouraged black people everywhere to return to Ghana to receive a sense of healing. On the opposite side of the 'Door of No Return' is a another sign... 'Door of Return'... welcome home....

The Door Of No Return

The bustling fishing port outside the door

I'm smiling because an old lady was telling me to give my baby to her. Sorry lady.

Neriah missed most of the tour

 And, pretty much, that was our trip. We had the most awesome time and are so grateful that we were able to go and explore. We are also thankful that we have the most precious little girl who travels so well.