6 months out!

This past week has been quite busy but eventful.  We held two zone conferences in Ibadan and at the stake center in our mission office compound.  Penny and I had major responsibilities for the logistics and the training.  The Ibadan conference consisted of four zones (56 missionaries) from the most distant part of our mission.  Unfortunately, we did not make hotel reservations thinking the huge hotel where we wanted to stay would have plenty of rooms, but we were wrong.  We drove around with the mission president in the dark for over an hour trying to find a safe, secure hotel.  We finally found the one where we had stayed before called “His Grace Hotel and Suites”.  We were just happy that the toilet flushed, there was a sheet on the bed (one that is) and that there was water (unfortunately cold) to shower.  The second zone conference consisted of eight zones (110 missionaries).   This conference proved to be a difficult one, not just because lunch arrived an hour and a half late, but because the former mission president and his wife wanted to participate.  He was released five months ago for medical reasons.  It turned out to be very disruptive because of a number of issues.

We also attended a tribal wedding and two days later the western version of the wedding for the same couple.  It was very elaborate, unusual and educational.  We will share more of this experience in our next installment.

We are in the process of trying to find mosquito nets for the missionaries to use over their beds.  We have had no problems in the past, but now cannot find the type we need.  This is a necessity because the missionaries sleep with their windows open and mosquitos carrying malaria are a severe problem, even with all of us taking anti-malaria medication daily.

Our last excitement was visiting a “Johnny Rockets” restaurant on Victoria Island, which is the wealthy part of Lagos that we rarely see.  It was just like the ones in the USA…art deco 50’s style.  The food was great, but very expensive as is all western food here.  (If we could live on pounded yams and rice from local markets we would be set, but for a variety of reasons that is not possible.)  A milkshake was approximately $12 and a hamburger was $15…nothing special, just a regular hamburger.  When we arrived at the parking lot, the attendant asked where Elder Brown was as he remembered him from a previous visit.   He asked about the Mormon Church and was delighted when Elwood told him that the missionaries would come to his home to teach his family.

The mission is progressing, we are having more baptisms and the missionaries are becoming more spiritual and working harder.    We love the work.

The start of the Ikotun shopping area.  Notice the slight incline.  The yellow taxi buses have a hard time getting up this grade - they burn rubber.

Ikotun shopping area

Fresh fish for sale

Open area of Ikotun shopping area

This is the dwelling under the "rock" where people hid and lived during the tribal wars of the 1830's.

This is Elwood taking a short cut to the top by hiking through a slit in the rock. 

Sign indicating where the church is 

Penny and Elwood and the Adebayo children while at church. 

Both sister Brown's.  This lady came up to us at church and said she too was a Sister Brown, so we took her picture. 

Children at Ijebu-Ode District Conference (church meeting)

Members of the church

Brothers and sisters dressed in the same fabric  

A young church family

Long time no see!

We have been busy the past two weeks opening up new areas to accommodate the large numbers of new missionaries who are now going on missions because of the recent change in age.  This requires finding new apartments, putting new companionships together, etc. This week we have missionaries going home and new missionaries coming in which requires interviewing and training of new missionaries.

Last week we visited a missionary apartment in a rather remote part of our mission.  The missionaries told us that the previous evening they were chased into their apartment by a black cobra snake.  They were really frightened.  Two days later they killed a green mamba snake.  Both snakes are quite deadly.   Our missionaries endure many challenges such as primitive living conditions, travel difficulties, and an unsanitary environment.  However, they continue to work hard and use their time wisely.  Last month our mission baptized a mission high of 156 people.  We are moving in the right direction.  We have fasted and prayed that our missionaries would move forward in a more positive and productive manner.  As you can see, we are on the move.  It is thrilling to be part of this great work.

We spend a lot of time trying to make the missionaries more comfortable.  We have spent three days shopping for their needs; buying such things as eating utensils, dishes, irons, ironing boards, emergency lanterns, generators and freezers, etc.  The markets are huge and many of them sit in open dirt areas surrounded by permanent structures.  If you want a unique shopping experience come to Lagos, Nigeria.

We continue to be blessed in our service.  We love what we do.  We are developing stronger bonds of friendship and loyalty with the missionaries.

Our love to you all.

Elder and Sister Brown

Penny serving pasta to Lanry and Toule Adebyao, the mission President's children.

A typical LDS church in outlying areas of Lagos.  The town is Ikorodu. 

Lekki Market: Penny and Sister Jennings at the jewlry shop.  We have bought our wood carvings at this market.

Lekki Market

String art for Jeff and Angie; hope you like it.

String art for Shireen and Brett; hope you like it as well.

Wood carvings.  Most are for the grandkids.  We hope they like them.  They are carved 

from Ebony wood' very hard and heavy.

A pretty lizard on a rock.  This area is full of lizards, some very beautiful. 

4 Sister missionaries at Ogba, Nigeria.  Good missionaries! 

An old lizard caught by Elder Mbong.  We thought the kids would like the lizard pictures

The old lizard.

4 Elders at Ojodi, Nigeria.

All dirt streets in this town, except for the main road.  Okortun, Nigeria.

Same town, everything is covered with dust from the dirt streets.

This week in Nigeria

Did a lot of shopping this week at Balagun Market and another smaller market for missionary apartment items. Balagun is enormous...would take 3 or more days to walk through even without buying anything. It is packed with people, stalls and moving vehicles squeezing through narrow passageways. Items that are carried are on people's heads...usually women's heads. After making our purchases, it took 7 women with 3 large boxes balanced on their heads to carry everything to our car...quite a caravan!

We love Skyping with our children and had a double dose with Shireen as we talked to her again on her birthday this week. 

This week we had missionaries depart and arrive. At the departing missionary dinner the missionaries shared their testimonies and talked about what their mission meant to them. One missionary said, "I am free from guilt, free from shame, free from sin because of our Savior." This was quite touching. Another said, "The Book of Mormon brings tenderness to my heart."...Interesting way to express his feelings. Spent a long day training and interviewing new missionary arrivals. We were very impressed with their enthusiasm and spirit. 

No end to missionary excitement...We were called one night by some panicked missionaries who had two snakes in their apartment and didn't know what to do. This week our mission helped in training nurses, doctors and caregivers how to care for newborn babies. Five medical people came from the States to lead this training with missionary assistance. The infant mortality rate is very high here because medical people have not had sufficient training in newborn resuscitation, etc. This is part of the Church International Humanitarian Outreach Program.

A hotel where we stayed in Akure.  Looks great from the outside, but not so good inside.

A papaya tree

A cattle yard near our mission office (15 min away).  Seems as many people in the yard as cattle. 

Another hotel.  Loved the name - "His Grace Hotel and Suites"

The restaurant we have told you about: Seven Eagles Spur

Penny's Fajita dinner

An unexpected downpour.  Streets were really flooded. 

Balogun, Lagos Island shopping for missionary needs.

Penny and local shop keepers.

Women transporting our purchases; seven women in all.  Mostly kitchen goods.

Penny following the transporters through a very narrow street/alley 

 Ready to unload the goods.

We just returned today... and no one even tried to kidnap us!

Tuesday morning, Elwood and I went with the mission president to visit several branches and groups of missionaries in our mission.  (Whenever the mission president leaves Lagos, there is always an additional vehicle that accompanies the one in which he is driven.  Again, because of security issues.  In case one vehicle breaks down, he would not be subject to highway bandits, which are quite common here.)  The president interviewed individual missionaries while we trained them on planning their time, appropriate missionary behavior, dedication to their work, etc.  We traveled Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; returned on Thursday, and then traveled Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

I know we should be used to the highways in Nigeria... giant pot holes, drivers continually changing and creating extra lanes, okadas (motorcycles providing public transportation) weaving through traffic, people casually walking with small children or animals in the middle of the road, and hawkers carrying large loads on their heads attempting to sell their wares to passing vehicles.  I must admit that when our driver decided that our side of the divided highway was too congested and headed up a steep embankment to the other side, facing oncoming traffic, we became a little nervous.  He drove along the side of the road until the appropriate side was a little clearer, and then cut across the steep divide and back into traffic.

We first went to Abeokuta, which is about 3 hours north of the mission home, for our initial meetings. On Wednesday morning we awakened to find that we had no water.  We called the hotel desk a couple of times to inquire when the problem would be fixed.  The second time they told us that we would have water in 15 minutes.  Sure enough, 15 minutes later we heard a knock at the door and were handed a bucket of lukewarm water.  As we frequently say, "Welcome to Nigeria."  We pressed on to Ijebu-Ode and then returned to the mission home on Thursday.

That afternoon we went to the village of llewo-Orile.  There is a church branch in the village as there are not enough members for a ward, even though there are about 10,000 people living in the village.  We examined problems with the church building as well as a potential apartment for missionaries.  When we stopped to get the key to the building from the branch president's house, he was preceded out of the house by a chicken.  Frequently, goats and chickens share space with families.  This village is on the church list to have a bore hole as their only water supply is a stream, which is used for washing, drinking water, etc.  They now carry water to their homes and to the church in buckets on their heads for all needs.

Friday evening celebrated three senior missionary birthdays.  Went to the Jade Chinese Restaurant...  Was great and a real treat since we rarely go out in the evenings because of security issues.

On Saturday we left for lle-lfe for more interviewing and training of missionaries.  We drove through lbadan, which is the second largest city in Nigeria.  It seemed very much like Lagos with makeshift market stalls, small houses, battered looking apartment buildings, many shanties, open ditches along the side of the road for waste water, and gas stations with no petrol.  As we continued on, we saw many fires by the side of the road as people were burning their trash.  Roasted plantain mixed with spices, a delicacy, was sold in some areas.  Went on to Akure where we spent Saturday and Sunday nights.  While there attended to the usual missionary business and other church activities as well as attending church.  See pictures below for some adorable children that wouldn't leave our side on Sunday.  Drove home Monday, which took a little over 4 hours bouncing from one pothole to the next.  Glad to be home.

Woman street sweeper.  Very typical in Nigeria.  They are everywhere.

Kids playing in stream in llewo-Orile Village

Village kids at play

Villagers resting under the shade tree

Carrying water from the village stream

Bathing, playing, washing, going to the bathroom, and getting drinking water from the same source

Fruit and vegetable stand.  These are everywhere.

Cattle in a pen next to the house

 Woman and a goat in front of the church in Akure

Victor and Victoria, former branch president's children and Elder Brown 

Children with Sister Brown

Victor and Victoria and Elder Brown.  They were intrigued with my watch

 Big cattle yard outside of Lagos