Hello beautiful people!
I hope you’re week has been awesome! Can you believe it’s now just over four weeks that I’ve been in Nigeria?! Where is the time flying to? You know what they say about time flying when you’re having fun 🙂 I’m having fun.
These past couple of weeks at Open Door have been good. The class I am working with remain extremely cute and Praise boy has been showing off his skills majorly in physiotherapy. I should probably introduce you to the class:
Seth – a cheeky chappy who is really helpful. He goes to the snack shop to get his classmates a snack at break time and can quite often be seen helping out.
Longton – is rough and tumble, but i quite often find him in the classroom early in the morning finishing his workbooks. My favourite thing with him this week was looking at the world map and showing him where Nigeria is and where Uk is. We decided together that Spongebob lived somewhere near the South Pole. Loved the fact that halfway through the lesson he stood on his chair to show his teacher where Nigeria was.
Chidoke – this little boy has quite possibly the BIGGEST smile I have ever seen! Whenever I see him in the morning he’ll run up and give me a hug. But don’t be fooled by his innocent face, he’s quite mischievous when he wants to be. My favourite thing about him is when he finds the right piece of a puzzle or gets an answer right, there’s always a massive smile and a jump up and down that almost sends him flying off his chair!
Praise boy – you probably know most about Praise boy as I talk about him a lot! My favourite thing from him this week was his excitement at receiving homework, probably for the first time. I heard later from Uncle Jim the speech therapist that Praise had gone home and shown his parents, brothers and sisters and even the neighbours that he had some homework to do! I now can’t leave the classroom at the end of the day without him reminding me to put something in his homework folder.
Praise girl – this little girl joins Praise boy in the mornings and they count for each other as they do their laps on the bars. She is very inquisitive, likes to get her own way and is about as determined as Praise boy to be up and walking fast. My favourite thing about her so far is when she decides to do her catwalk strut down the bars and shows off using only one hand to hold on!
Simi – Simi is older than the others, probably around fifteen and is wheelchair bound. She is very intelligent and a good reader and writer. We often chat and have jokes at break times. She is quieter than the other students. My favourite thing with her is joking around.
Ebenezer – mischief. This little boy is the youngest in the class. At five years old he more than holds his own with the older kids. My favourite thing about him is his mischievousness. He has the cutest face too so he tries to get away with things!
Ephraim – is the tallest in the class, he likes to play games and is very bright. When I took the IPad into school last week for a day he was too good at navigating his way round it! He’s another quieter student and likes to help.
All these kids, and a few others have a classroom that is connected to the reading clinic, most of them have Cerebal palsy and all of them are learning reading, writing and maths skills.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been blessed to find a church, housegroup, have been to teas and dinners and lunches. I’ve been blessed to the extremes. I’ve had time to write, spend time with God and hopefully be a blessing to others. I’ve met parents and teachers, heard stories and testimonies, been to book shops, met publishers, bought cloth and seen tailors, negotiated markets and just generally done life!
Today I’m heading to the book launch for some amazing teaching resources that will be relevant for Open Door and I’m so thankful to those who have supported the work that I am doing here, it’s because of your generosity that I’m able to buy reading books and these resources that will help the kids and teachers.
So that’s my little update!
Please pray for each of the kids, and the others at the school. Open Door has over 90 children on their books receiving a variety of speech therapy, physio and teaching. They are continually looking for sponsors for their children so if you’re interested drop me an email and I’ll let you know the details.
I can’t stress enough how valuable your prayers have been over me! I’m safe, well, happy and healthy and I’ve been blessed beyond measure by some amazing missionaries who have gone out of their way to make sure I’m looked after.
Please pray for my friends the Gaiya’s this week as Pamela Gaiya and her daughter Gracie are heading home for a couple of weeks, bless them with safe travel and a refreshing time at home visiting family and friends.
Thanks again! Have an amazing Saturday!
Ginja
Trust without borders 