This too is life in Nigeria. Yesterday Team Nigeria arrived in Calabar hot and hungry. After checking into a hotel , buying our air tickets for Lagos, and eating a tasty Chinese dinner, I wrote a newsy blog piece for our friends on wels.net. Just finished a page, started to locate a picture to send, and the power went out. All was lost. This is how we live.

Electric power in Nigeria is a fickle thing. Not so with the people of our two sister synods. They make us so very welcome. Individuals break into a broad smile when they offer a hand of welcome. And they are so eager to see which people come along with me as new visitors to Nigeria.

So who joined Team Nigeria this time (January 2009)? Prof. Ken Cherney, health officer Jason Paltzer from Zambia, Cameroon Missionary Dan Myers, and WELS sister Beth Correll.

Our time in Ogoja visiting All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria was very enjoyable and productive.  We met with the synod board of directors, finance committee and pastors’ conference. We met church members who are health workers and a women’s leader who wants to guide the synod to start a Lutheran school. We worshipped at Bankpor on Sunday morning and ate with Pastor Mathias and Mrs. Alice Odey and their grandchildren that evening.

Everyone welcomed our new visitors and asked about our previous visitors by name. It is a good thing to visit our Christian family in Nigeria. They have often expressed their thanks for the love and support of their WELS family.