Abigail
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

Abigail is amazingly adaptable and engaging and loving. All Nigerians seem to love kids. And our blond little Abigail is a big attraction at the market and everywhere she goes. Everyone greets her, touches her hair, and wants to shake her hand and hold her. She draws the line at being held, but is great with all the rest. She just turned two and her vocabulary is rapidly expanding, so she is also learning the Hausa greeting "Sanu." She is now wearing her local Nigerian sandals, and won't leave home without "my shoouuss." She just seems to have a way of bringing a smile to the face of everyone she meets.

Learned cultural fact of the day: don't throw away any match boxes, as all stool samples must be turned into the hospital in a matchbox; and since Abby has had an ongoing intestinal disturbance for over a week, this may be "news you can use."

Cultural News
Topic: Language & Culture
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

In cultural news: I (cindy) have decided not to learn to drive here for now. As I have a very hard time even keeping my eyes open when someone else in navigating the traffic, it is best I don't drive. The alternative to driving is public transport. I have been figuring out how to use this system of taxis and drop off points to get around town. It costs about 20 cents to go most places (the really far places are 40cents!) The cars are all small by American standards and before they will go any where they have to have 6 passengers (2 in the front with the driver and 4 crammed into the back). I have met some interesting people and have been amazed how much stuff you can ram into one small car (live chickens have to ride in the trunk!) I think using transport will help me when we get going in our language as most of the drivers don't speak English.

Family News
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

Austin and Allison both seem to be doing great overall. The school is wonderful and the kids love it. They had spiritual emphasis this week. The theme was "I am the salt of the earth." They talked about ways to be salt. It seemed to have had an impact as Allison even got up early one morning and made every bed in the house announcing that "she is the salt of the earth!" I hope it is a long lasting lesson. I (Cindy) filled in leading a discipleship time for the 7th grade girls at Hillcrest. We talked from Esther about how we are blessed to be a blessing. Each girl shared how they have been blessed and how that could be used to bless others. This is quite an impressive group of girls from at least 5 different countries. One already feels called to be a missionary teacher in China. Each had a good idea of how they had been blessed. Please pray for these girls, several who board at the school and are separated from their families.

Surgeries This Week
Topic: Mission
Posted on behalf of the Anthis family:

Thanks to all who have been praying for Joel's surgeries this week. Two smaller cases on kids went well earlier this week. The one man from Niger with the huge maxillary/palatal tumor did not show up for his surgery on Weds, so time will tell if he returns or not. The young 25 yr old girl named Pasima from Niger did come for her surgery today. In summation, medically speaking, it was a difficult day. The tumor had eroded the majority of her anterior neck skin, but did not reveal itself to be unresectable until much later in the case. There is no such thing as a CT scan or MRI here to give advance warnings and guidance. The power went off during the surgery, as did the cautery machine and suction intermittently. This is all part of the reality of missionary medicine in most of the world, but knowing that doesn't make the transition any easier. We as physicians in America are accustomed to delivering the results that our patients expect - as I am used to and as it should be. So it was certainly discouraging to tell this young girl's mother that although we were able to remove a large part of the tumor, we had not cured her daughter, and there was no surgical cure available for her here in Nigeria. The patient and her mother both speak Hausa predominately, the language we will be studying starting next week. But for now it is frustrating trying to discuss complicated surgical details, and to try to discuss spiritual issues through a translator. Please continue to pray for Pasima's physical and spiritual condition.

Eating Out
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of Joel:

It is now Friday afternoon, and the afternoon rains have ended. We are going out to eat tonight - this is, of course, Cindy's favorite pastime in Texas. We have been invited to dinner at the home of one of the Nigerian physicians, Dr. Paul Ushe, who works at the mission hospital. Reportedly he serves the spiciest food on the hospital compound - we'll see how it compares to Texas and Louisiana spicey.

Topic: Website
In case you're wondering, the reason I'm posting these entries on behalf of Joel and Cindy is that their internet connection is slow and expensive. They have to be connected to the internet to write a post, but email they can write offline and connect just long enough to send.

Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of Joel:

Abby is the most amazing kid. She is sooo happy all the time, and is a huge hit in the market with Nigerians who all want to talk to her and greet her.

To market, to market. . .
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of Joel. . .

We went to the market yesterday, on Saturday Sept. 20th, with the whole family. The kids wanted to see what it's like to barter. We bartered for clothes hangers, bananas, plastic chairs, and a potty seat for Abby (we had to leave the clothes hangers bc they wouldn't come down in their price). It was fun. Each day brings more confidence that we can perform the activities of daily living - but we still have a very long way to go.

We went to a Nigerian church's English service today and heard a one hour sermon on sexual purity. It was encouraging to hear, and with AIDS on the rise in Nigeria, is vitally necessary. The kids did well all things considered and held up for the 2 hr service.

Garage Sale Success
David and Ruth Mason had been storing some of the Anthis' things since they left. The Masons also took donations of items from others. This morning they put on a garage sale to sell the stored and donated items. They had some help from Roxanne Zieschang, Diane Jerome, and John and me. In the end, the sale raised almost $500! What a blessing!

Sending Packages - Not a Good Idea
Although the website includes an address for sending mail directly to Joel and Cindy and the family in Nigeria, please don't use this address to send packages, at least not via USPS. Customs is really a problem, and items either will never arrive or they would have to pay huge fees to release the items from customs.

If you really must send a package, use FedEx, UPS, or DHL. Shipping charges are very high, though, so think twice before you send it.