March 19, Bags Are Packed, First Trip, ELDA

This year my first trip to Nigeria this year will be with a group from the Evangelical Lutheran Deaf Association (ELDA). Four of us will be leaving from Minneapolis and two from Philly. We will meet up in Paris on Tuesday. 

The group from the ELDA will be Pastor Beth and her husband Bill, Deaconess Dorothy, and Karen and Bob. They will be visiting the last couple days of school for the LCCN Deaf Center School and then attending the Annual Regional Camp for the Deaf in Jimeta. Between these event we will visit some local sites.  I will be splitting my time between the ELDA group and the LCCN Health Services Board for the first two weeks. Then after they leave I will stay another two weeks.

The burgundy bag is mostly books for the children at the Deaf School I have been collecting over the last year. The larger black bag  are my clothes, some canned foods and spices I cannot find in Nigeria. I am traveling a little heavier than usual. The smaller bag is over 40 pounds. I will be paying overweight charges when flying from Abuja to Yola on Wednesday.

The 40 foot container of medical equipment from Global Health Ministries (GHM) has arrived at the Demsa Health Referral Center. I will be reviewing the installations and taking photographs of the renovated facility when it is fully functional. This has been a six year project. Design, re-design, re-design, and more re-design. Demolition, re-design, construction, re-design. Now time for equipment installation. It may involve ...... re-design.

We are hoping to hold a water pump repair class at the Demsa Training Center that was built last year with financing by GHM and the 25-40 Foundation.

First Lutheran Church of Crystal is sending over funds to help the people of Pastor Joseph Umar's village rebuild after a group of Fulani herders attack the village and burned many buildings.




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