Frustrations and Blessings!

Most of my experiences here have been fabulous, but there are certain frustrations that I encounter here which are typically pretty inconsequential. After a few of them are compounded, I have to consciously look for the positives (which are always present) to keep the right attitude!

Frustration
I was really excited for computer training on Friday. The generator was to have been fixed, more computers had been found, tables had been scrounged and then NEPA even came on! It was a time of disappointments. The generator wasn’t fixed. Then, I had hoped NEPA would come on, but it didn’t for the first class at least. When NEPA did come on, it proved to be even more frustrating. The two new desktops acted like they had power because the monitor, speakers and mouse were getting power, but the CPU wouldn’t turn on, probably due to low voltage. Then, we realized that the charging cord of the new lap top I’d brought had been fried and would no longer charge the lap top that was completely out of battery. This makes me really nervous that the power strip we have is going to blow out other pieces of equipment. Then another computer that was plugged into the wall directly was receiving no power. I found out that despite the appearance of many outlets, a number of the outlets have no fuses, and therefore have no power.

Blessing
Habukuk, the maintenance person at school, said that he’d check the outlets for me. When he found one that worked, it was on the other side of the room so he had to make an extension cord by crudely wiring two cords together to reach, now one more computer has the potential to have power! (Today, Tuesday, we had training and the computers are now hooked up to a stabilizer and we had 8 functioning computers! So exciting!!!)

Frustration
When I got home, I was going to go to the little store right outside the compound to get some water, since we were completely out and return my pop bottle. Henry, the owner, wasn’t there. There are plenty of other stores down a little further, but I had bonded with Henry and like to frequent it!

Blessing
My friend owns the store next door, so it was nice to get to chat with her for a bit. A little while later, a friend of hers came to my house to let me know that Henry had returned. I got two big bottles of water from the store and then also got some biscuits (that taste just like shortbread Girl Scout cookies!) and little chocolates that he had purchased just for me!

Frustration
Then when I got to the internet café, the generator was out of fuel so I had to wait about 45 minutes for fuel to arrive. Then the internet was sickeningly slow and I wasn’t able to access my Facebook page during the two hours that I was there.

Blessing
However, I was thankful that I ran into Liatu and was able to chat with her while waiting for fuel. She spent 7 years in the U.S. and so she’s as close to an American perspective that I can get.

Frustration
When I got home, I tried to turn on the big generator to pump some water as the pressure was getting quite low and it was dark. Though the generator seemed to be running fine, it wasn’t giving my house any electricity! I tried troubleshooting the best I could and made 3 trips back and forth to see if it had worked and was unsuccessful. I had to turn on the little generator meaning that I had lights and charging power but no fans or water pumping.

I ran out of water on Sunday morning because the big generator still wouldn’t work. When Ronald came over to “fix” it, it appeared to work fine for him (I think it’s because NEPA was on when we were testing it), because again it wouldn’t provide me electricity on Sunday night. When I tried to turn on my small generator, it was out of fuel.

Blessing
I’m SO thankful that James was here to help me solve these problems the first 5 weeks! Now that he’s gone, I know that I’ll have to do more troubleshooting on my own as well as be more dependent on Ronald but thankfully, I feel settled enough and confident enough in my surrounding that while these situations are frustrating, I am in a position to deal with it and survive okay. I learned that NEPA (city electricity) has enough power to pump water to my tank when I shut off the other tanks in the compound, which is valuable information to know and should prevent me from running out of water again even if the generator doesn’t work!

Throughout these situations, “…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. As my shower trickled to a stop on Sunday morning, I can’t say that I was rejoicing. But when I was able to see the people of my church literally bringing their first fruits of the harvest…yams, ground nuts, eggs, chickens, goats…to the alter, it brought the scripture in Deuteronomy 26 alive in a way I could have never imagined! I was then able to praise God for such an authentic and spiritual experience. My paradoxical Nigerian experiences continue!

Here is a link to some pictures of my Nigerian home!
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35042&l=d4f33&id=501312909