Miles In Missions

I will never forget my melt down on my Fathers deck a few weeks before leaving for Nigeria. The unanswered questions were starting to create anxiousness throughout my entire being. My Dad asked me, “Do you need your questions answered or do you just not trust that God knows what he is doing and will take care of you?” I had to really do a basement trip on this core issue and discovered I didn’t trust him. I had always taken care of myself. This time I couldn’t prepare, I couldn’t control, I couldn’t even envision what was coming because I had never even been to Egbe. Once I repented of this sin and handed it over to God a Peace came over me and the anxiousness went away. My white knuckled grip of everything familiar loosened and I am enjoying the ride. The funny thing was, once I said yes to him and walked through the door, all those unanswered question were answered.

Riyom Attack that we drove through about 30 minutes prior to the attack.

Some of my questions were;
1. Will we be safe, Nigeria has a lot of unrest?
2. Will my children have friends, there are no other families there?
3. Will Lenny and I be lonely, there is only 3 Missionaires there?
4. What will I (Patrice) do all day?
5. What will we eat and will we like it?

1. Will be safe? I continue to see Gods hedge of protection around us through snake encounters, whalla in the town, nail boys on the road and close encounters of unrest as we travel to and from the North. Our family is at peace about his protection here.  We almost forget sometimes we are in Nigeria.

2. Will my children have friends? Haha…I laugh at this one. Everyday you can look out the window and see children trekking to my house. It amazes me how my kids have adjusted thier play to Nigerian style and have so much patience and grace for these kids. They love being teachers and showing the kids new things to do and play. They even have a “Nigerian Playground” as Cason calls it where they set up chairs and play make believe and ride bikes.

3. Will Lenny and I be lonely? God has blown us away with this one. See who is coming in this picture! We are so excited to introduce you to the Egbeites as they are calling themselves. In less than 6 months we will have a medical director, surgeon, hospital administrator, 2 nurses, family physician, elementary teacher, fire fighter, mait manager and a music teacher. Wow and I thought we would be lonely!

4. What will I, Patrice, do all day? Another one to laugh at as I was worried I was going to be bored. As compound manager, volunteer coordinator, guesthouse manager, school teacher, wife and friend….there is never a dull moment. I still ask that you pray for God to reveal ministry opportunities to me. We get glimpses here an there of how he is using us in the community but I know he has something more in store then the above job descriptions.

5. What will we eat and will we like it? I love, love, love Nigerian food. I miss our vegetables but Lenny and I love the food. Spicy red sauce with meat over rice and sprinkled with ground nuts, Jollof rice with chicken mixed with cabbage, tomato, cucumber and ranch dressing is like Nigerian Qudoba, Oh and pounded Yam with Egusi soup I cannot even explain the deliciousness and last but not least I dream of Duro’s sugar cookies that she makes….they are amazing! The kids….well what kid likes food unless it is coated in sugar. They eat but it’s the same as it was in the US….every meal is a battle…some things don’t change no matter where you live.