July 23

On Thursday we go to see a Fulani village! We traveled with our neighbors to the EMS Retreat Center that they run (EMS is the Nigerian Missionary organization SIM is affiliated with). The center is a place for Nigerian missionaries to come for conferences and retreats. It’s a beautiful place about 45 minutes outside Jos. Our neighbors invited us to join them for hiking and a picnic. Our other neighbors, The Camiolas, and the Birks also went to the center. It was a “compound outing” of sorts.

While at the center we hiked about a half a mile to visit a Fulani village. The Fulani are traditionally a nomadic people group who raise cattle, but these villagers are farmers. We stopped by the compound of the chief to greet him and his family. The men and Caden went into a room to greet the chief, while us ladies went into another building to greet the women. This chief has 2 wives and 14 kids. We sat in the room and tried to chat. This family did not speak any English (I think the children spoke some) so we were thankful that our neighbor speaks Hausa and could communicate. We all really enjoyed our visit. They brought us freshly picked guava to eat…yum!

After visiting we walked down to see their water source which our neighbor had helped create. On our way back, wife number one met us and handed us a bundle of a type of plant that is like spinach. We were going to split it to carry it but instead I put the bundle on my head. I figured I would hold it there and carry it back. Then, I got brave and took my hands away from the bundle…it stayed! I thought, I can do this…so I walked the entire way back with a bundle of spinach on my head (and no, it was not tied together)! I felt like this was quite an accomplishment.

After our walk we enjoyed a nice lunch in the gazebo at the retreat center before heading home. It was such a nice, relaxing time.

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