Got up around 6:45am and headed down to see if anyone was awake. The other guest house (where we eat) was lock and there was no NEPA. Read some in my room and headed back down around 7:15am. After a quick breakfast Betsie and I went over to the chapel to catch Pastor Emmanuel (one of the chaplains) after the morning devotion with the nursing students. We established a time for me to meet with him later that morning – just after he finished devotion in the OPD (Outpatient Department).
I met with Pastors Emmanuel and Solomon from 8:30 until about 9:45. It was a good meeting. We discussed the daily chaplain schedule, yearly hospital schedule, and their vision for the future. I was able to get a feel for what needs they have and how I might be able to help. Pastor Emmanuel had prepared some material and has promised to make copies before I leave on Thursday. During the meeting, Femi from the World School of Missions came over to find me. We had talked earlier in the previous week about meeting sometime this week. It was decided that Pastor Emmanuel would call Femi once our meeting was over, so once our meeting ended I headed back to the guest house to get a few things for my meeting with Femi.
Femi and I had been in contact by email prior to this trip and I’m working with him to build a library for the School of Missions. I managed to bring about twenty five books this trip but will ship more via the container coming over with the Egbe Project. Femi returned around 10:40 and we put the books in his truck and made the very short drive to the School of Missions. We had a nice meeting – met for about 45 minutes or so. He shared his calling and vision for the school and we talked about how I could contribute. I could serve as a Facilitator/Lecturer and also be a resource to the adjunct facilitators they use. From what I could gather, there is an administrator and two facilitators there now in preparation for their first module which begins soon. Along with missions courses, they are offering French and Arabic. Eventually, they will have a hostel (being built) for students. He plans on having a two-week module every month. So two weeks on and two weeks off. Initially, only one course would be offered during each module but that would change as they grow. Femi was very adamant about focusing on quality over content and does not want the school simply to grow but wants to train missionaries. That is the goal as he sees it – missionaries for North Africa and the Middle East.
I returned to the compound around 11:45 and just waited for lunch. I sat in my room and made some additional notes from my meetings. I had about an hour break after lunch so I went over my notes and added some more before meeting Betsie, Abby, Sueanne, and Kirby for a house tour. They were actually in the process of measuring all the rooms in all the houses. So, I took a look at the Campion House (where the Shaibo’s live now), Mark’s and Abby’s house, and the Pharmacist House. Houses are named by the last person who lived there. I took pictures of all, but they will all be renovated before we move in. We need to decide where we would like to live so that renovation can begin and hopefully be completed before we arrive.
After house shopping, I went back to engraving for a bit before Betsie and Sueanne showed up to take me by the HELP compound. We took motorbikes – kinda like another tour. We went to two grocery stores (one we had attempted to see the other day) – both are really small but you can pick up a few essentials if necessary. Items in town are more expensive than in Ilorn. We also stopped by several furniture making shops to get contact info and see their work. A guy had stopped by earlier in the day and Betsie, Sueanne, Abby, and Kirby spent time figuring out what he could make and got some prices. They are looking at couches (wood frame with cushions) and table and chairs for the kitchen/dining room. Also talked about chester drawers. The houses will have some built-in closets and drawers but more will probably be needed.
After dinner I headed to the computer room to send email and do a little work. The internet was pretty slow, so mostly just chatted with Maureen.
McAlhaneys on Mission 