From Norm Baird in Jos, Nigeria
How's in going back in the States? We're having an incredible experience here in Nigeria. We spent almost the entire day yesterday touring the Faith Alive Clinic here in Jos. Our tour guide, Pastor John Mark, is himself HIV positive, and lost his wife to AIDS two years ago, and is now raising their kids on his own. What a testimony! We toured all the programs within Faith Alive, including the Reception Area, the medical filing room, the exam rooms, the general and special labs where all the HIV testing is done, the Pharmacy, and the counseling rooms. By the end of the day, they even had us counsel with and pray for HIV patients at the Clinic! Talk about a humbling experience............then we toured the Transitional Living Center (or as we've dubbed it, "The Pink House"), where teenage mothers live with their children that have been disowned by their own families due to their HIV positive status. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as they shared their testimonies, and the way that they're "living positively" (which is how they describe living a victorious life in spite of being HIV positive).
We've been eating all our meals in the home of Dr. Chris (who founded Faith Alive) and Dr. Mercy Isichie (Chris' wife), who are the most gracious of hosts. They're making a point, I think, to feed us the most Americanized food, figuring we'd be the most comfortable with that (we had "Nigerian" spaghetti last night). We're staying in a secure housing complex about a half mile from Dr. Chris' house. We are living comfortably in a five bedroom guest house, with a large front room for devotions and prayer time at the end of the day. We've had such an incredible explerience here already!
This morning, we had the priviledge of visiting the Mt. Carmel Christian School, where both of Dr. Chris' kids (Emily-4, and Prince-3) attend. It was an awesome experience! We observed Chapel with the entire student body, ranging in age from 2 yrs. old to 6th grade, singing worship songs in English that we sing every Sunday morning at FBC! A phenominal worship time!
Driving in Jos is truly an adventure! You've got three lanes worth of traffic trying to fit into two lanes of road, with motorcycles and scooters shooting in and out, and hundreds of people walking along the side of the road, narrowly being missed by the cars (by 6 inches or so)! It's like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride....I'm sure glad I don't have to drive.
Well, I'd better get this to you. We're about to head out on another adventure. Keep us in your prayers.