Miles In Missions

” Good afternoon Ma. Follow me.”  Ayo directed. These were the first words I heard when exiting the airport on August 16th, 2013. Ayo, a large Nigerian man with an amazing smile on his face was waiting for us. With all our carts of luggage and two kids we quickly followed his lead through the crowd of people and parking lot. He loaded our bags gave us instruction on what to do and how to do it. I immediately fell in love with this gentle giant. His calm spirit but in control attitude made me relax.

Once in the car we headed to the guesthouse. Ayo navigated the roads professionally giving me all the confidence in him as a driver. I never will forget giggling in the back seat at Ayo as I would hear him talking to all the passengers on the road through his closed window. He still makes me laugh when he does this.

The next morning before starting our 8 hr trek to Egbe, Ayo handed our group a paper to read aloud from the Egbe team. It basically said Ayo is in charge. Don’t do anything unless he tells you to. If you get stopped for any reason keep your mouth shut and let Ayo handle everything. It was refreshing to know that Ayo was the man, but also a little concerning of what the Egbe team was trying to hint at.

After a few hours of getting to take in all the sites and passing through several police checkpoints with no problems….we hit the nail boys. I will never forget those 10 seconds. The car stopped…Ayo launched out the door…the gentle giant turned into the giant….. gave them a piece of his mind in Yuroba or Hausa (he knows both) and then jumped back in the car and we were off. I now call him my Night in Shining Armor.

Ayo was born and raised in Egbe. He left for Ziaria, Kaduna State, 34 years ago to take a job as an airplane mechanic. After 32 years there he retired and returned to Egbe. He is now our compounds driver and mechanic. He is a man of God and has been married to his beautiful wife for 26 years. He currently has 5 children. Mubo who is 24 years old and at Ziaria University, Tobe who is 22 and waiting for admission to university, Kola who is 19, Belumi who is 15 and Bolu who is 8. His family and Egbe hospital keep him busy enough but somehow he finds time to have a Kassava farm and work on his home he has recently built.

Ayo since then has driven us so many places in Nigeria. I always feel safe with him behind the wheel. His amazing laugh bringa a smile to my face everyday he greets me. He is one of the many Angels in Egbe our family gets to experience daily. He cares for my kids and has so much patience with my family for potty breaks, throw up breaks and more. When and if you come to visit Egbe…this is the face you will see waiting for you when you arrive.