Viewing Archives
Topic: Website
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Language Study
Topic: Language & Culture
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

Hausa language study has begun. Joel and Cindy are meeting with Maluum Garba each day in the morning, and practicing what they learn in the market, on the station, and around town during the day. So you will start to learn with us as well. "Sanu" = hello. "Yaya uwargida" = How is your wife? Cindy tried this Hausa phrase out on a man in Abuja. He replied in English, "but you have only asked me about my first wife. You must say "Yaya amarie" to ask how is my new wife." So let us say "Salamu alaikum" to you all, which means "Peace unto you!"

Church in Abuja
Topic: Language & Culture
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

While in Abuja we went to church for what we thought was a standard 2 hour service. We ended up at Wuse zone 3 ECWA church's annual choir day service with visiting choirs and a visiting pastor. Allison chose to go to Sunday School instead of sit in the service. She did great. We were the only bituri (Hausa for "white people") in the church, and Allison didn't seem to notice. Three hours into the service Joel said surely it will end soon. The theme of the day was "God will not be mocked." One choir then sang a song about hypocrites. This was a very upscale church in the capital city, and had a video monitoring the service. During the hypocrite song Austin said "Dad, look you're on the TV screen up front," and sure enough there was the balding "bituri." At the four hour mark Abigail was fading, and we discretely made our way out the back.

Update:

Trip to Abuja, cont.
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

We went to Abuja, the Nigerian capital, over the weekend to pick up a fellow Texan couple coming out to Jos for one week. This is just a short trip before they return home for support raising, bible school, and all the preparation necessary to move out here as full time career missionaries next August. It was great to be present and see things with the freshest possible eyes, as the wife had never been out of America before. After all, we have been here a month already! We are old-timers. It is funny what really does change in only a month. Joel couldn't help but bust out laughing when the wife asked how to work her hairdryer in the Anglican guest house in Abuja, and why the toilet just didn't seem to flush all the way. When faced with looking at how we were a mere month ago, it is shocking how we are somehow starting to accept as normal the plumbing and electricity quirks, dirt, vehicles spewing exhaust fumes, motorcycles carrying 3 people and their luggage going the wrong way down a crowded road and many other differences btw Texas and Nigeria.

Trip to Abuja
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of Austin:

We went to Abuja on Saturday and came back on Monday (today).

At Abuja in the middle of the night the air conditioning did some thing wrong. The air conditioning started shooting ice chunks and got my mom and dad all wet! On the way back to Jos some people pulled us over and said that we did something wrong and that we would have to pay some money but when they were pulling other people over our driver secretly drove us away and we got away

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Topic: Website
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Passport Adventure
Topic: Family

Remember the snake?
Topic: Family

New Pictures
Topic: Website
New pictures have been posted on the website: www.anthisfamily.com. Go check them out!

BSF in Nigeria
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of Cindy:

I have been blessed to continue in Bible Study Fellowship here in Nigeria. Abby will attend with me and she is the only non-Nigerian child in the program. We had our first study this week and it was awesome. Abby did very well in her class and enjoys having her own school to go to like big brother and sister. My group is made up of awesome Nigerian Christian women who love the Lord and struggle with the same things I struggle with. I love how a relationship with the Lord bridges many cultural barriers. I am praying that God will teach me more of Himself and Nigerian culture through this time of Bible study.

While the study format is the same as BSF at home the surroundings are some what different! My discussion group meets outside the Church under a Mango tree. We were interrupted as we started by a group of stray dogs that decided to rest in the shade under the tree. Once they settled, we began. We had to speak up because the electricity in the church went out and a man came out to start the generator that happened to be in a shed by our Mango tree. Several chickens made there way across the court yard during our study and some goats were tied up near by. But we opened the awesome Word of God that is the same regardless of where you read it.