Goodbye Iwo: I learnt, I grew, I conquered

Hello everyone! :)

Sorry about the looong weeks of silence, the last few weeks have been crazy.

I was feeling a bit lazy to do this post but then I felt that my service year would be incomplete without a 'Goodbye Iwo' post.

So, here we go!

I am actually a bit more emotional about the end of the service year than I had thought I would be, lol. I think it's almost impossible to live in a place for almost a year and not leave with one or two memories to last one a lifetime. For me, I am parting with an uncountable amount.

Peace out, Iwo!

With Toheeb @ his after-school hustle

Kenny and Tayo @ Passing Out Parade (P.O.P.)

The queue to get your certificate at the P.O.P. It wasn't easy, yo!...

...But we got it!

Life is really interesting; I've always found it funny how we imagine events playing out a certain way but then reality just shows up and you end up with something you never expected or imagined. Case in point: serving in Iwo. Everything definitely didn't go according to plan. Ok, there actually wasn't a plan or much expectation. Except that I expected to have a ridiculously fun service year, and to serve as a French teacher. When neither of these worked out (i.e the kind of fun I had wasn't what one would typically define as fun; In several situations, I had to do a lot of lemonade making. Also, I didn't end up teaching French like I'd have liked, I taught English instead which I think was by far more fulfilling than teaching the former would have been), I decided that the best thing to do would be to just throw myself into the experience and take it all in. This sums up my attitude throughout the service year. 

Firstly, I am super thankful for the idea to start this blog. It gave me something to be excited about and look forward to, and as weird as it sounds reads, blogging has taught me one or two things about myself. 

On friends: I've also formed some wonderful friendships; ones that circumstances forced upon me, yet choice has sustained. NYSC brings different kinds of people your way. Some cool, some okay, and some you usually wouldn't approach or even like at first sight, but after a few months of living together, attending CDS together, and teaching together, magic happens and you find yourself forming the most unlikely friendships. 

With Jane @ P.O.P.

Eniang, Ola, Ephraim, Moses, Okhai. Last night in Iwo

On teaching: If you think you're patient, try teaching the students at Anwar-Ul Islam. They'll prove you wrong. Imagine spending an hour teaching a topic, explaining in English AND Yoruba. Then you ask if everyone understands what they've been taught, even begging them to ask questions. They say they have none because they believe they understand. Then you ask them a question and they can't answer correctly. Spending 2-3 lessons on a one-lesson topic; dragging one's feet on lesson notes because you don't want to teach the next topic without first making sure the last topic was well-understood. The same process repeats itself EVERY class. 

They literally almost pushed me down!

"Aunty!!!"

"Aunty, camera us!"

On NCCF: Life with a group of young people who are passionate about the Gospel. A lot of sacrifices were involved but I had peace knowing that God was pleased with the little we accomplished. We literally lived on faith and seeing it yield fruits.  There were times where we needed things and after all our efforts, all we could do was just believe, and God never let us down. There was a lot of spiritual and mental growth, we learnt patience, we learnt endurance. I had no idea that my service year would be so God-centered. It was indeed a chance for me to learn about service to God, about giving, about sharing God's love with people, the power of prayers, of worship, the realness of God. These were a few of the many life lessons I'm taking with me.

Gerald (G-FinSec), Funmi (G-Mama), Patrick (G-RuggedPrayo), Imah (G-MD)

The cheesy but true bit

There are several other experiences to share and stories to tell but I want to keep it short so I'll end it here. I'd say that the main theme of the Iwo experience for me, was SACRIFICE. Jesus explained that there's nothing special about giving when you expect to be repaid. I have learnt/I am learning to inconvenience myself more often just to see someone smile; the importance of doing things for people without even waiting to hear a "Thank you"; and showing love to people who aren't easy to love. It's the little things that matter. Do something little for someone everyday. It will make a difference, I promise. Also, live. Just live. Do something unusual, something different, every now and then. Throw yourself into experiences and just enjoy it. Start something and don't quit until you see it through. Do it. Just do it. Live. Just. Live.

Everyone's been asking, "What's next?", "What happens to thetownofIwo?". I say, stay tuned, people :). You will hear from me reeeeal soon.

Peace and Love. 
Btw, stay strong in Christ, Heaven in real ;)

PS: It's still a town, not a village! :P

The dusty foot journalist: Vous parlez Francais?

(You like my unoriginal blog title? I looked down at my feet on my way home from this trip, and they were extremely dusty. The first thing I thought about was rapper K'naan's 'The Dusty Foot Philosopher'. I tweaked it a bit, and...voila! A blog title is born!)

      

Since being here in Iwo, I haven't really had many opportunities to put my journalism degree to good use. So on Friday, I created one. 

During the town cry (where we went into the streets of the town to inform the villagers of our arrival and invite them to the programme) at the ZRRE programme we held at Iwo-Oke in November, something cool happened. I met a villager to whom I spoke in Yoruba but responded in English. Then I said, "Oh ok, you speak English then?" and he said "No, my English no too good. You speak French?". In my head, I'm thinking, 'Where does this man think he is?' lol, but I was also very excited at the opportunity to put my French to work so I ran with it.

Anyway, after the ZRRE programme, I was narrating the French-speaker-guy encounter to the 'Chiefo' (refer to last post for meaning :P) of NCCF Ejigbo sub-zone, when she paid a visit to the Iwo family house, but it didn't surprise or excite her like it did me because there's apparently a 'French-speaking people invasion' in Ejigbo. She explained that in Ejigbo, you'd find at least one French speaker in almost every house. This intrigued me so much that I decided that I'd take a trip down to the town some day to check it out.

After several weeks, I finally found time to take the trip yesterday. I wanted to do some research on this French-speaking population and find out why it was so. So, I set out. I had called Chiefo to inform her about my plan so once I arrived, she met me in town and volunteered to be my tour guide. We went to her house first, where I met her landlord. He would be the first of the many French speakers I would encounter that day.

After confirming that he did speak French, we went right into it. I introduced myself and asked some questions. He explained that he was into construction and that it is what brings him to Ejigbo from time to time. He also explained that he is originally Nigerian but having spent his life in Abidjan, he and his family have settled there. I looked around the town to take in the scenery and I noticed how much land there was and coming all the way to Ejigbo for construction work started to make sense to me. I thanked him for his time and we said our goodbyes. 

Chiefo was on her way to the Ejigbo NCCF family house, which I had wanted to see anyway so we headed there. However, on our way, we made several stops at the houses of the French speakers in the neighbourhood that she was familiar with. 'Mama' was the next person I met. She sells charcoal to Chiefo. Like all of the other French speakers I met during this trip, she is also originally Yoruba. She lived in Abidjan for about 30 years but moved back home 2 years ago with her grandson following the death of her husband. She was very nice to us. She told us not to 'forget her' and to bring her whatever we could as she is old and poor. 

                           

We continued our journey to family house. We made two more stops on our way. Mutiu's house was one of them. He's been back from Abidjan for over 10 years. Like Mama, he's also just trying to survive, it seemed. He is a cobbler. I think he thought I was weird, or maybe it was just surprise 'cause he's not used to the kind of attention he received from me. I told him I was a writer and needed his photograph. To my surprise, he allowed me take one. 

Mutiu 

Our final stop before family house was 'Mama 2's house. This was the funniest encounter for me. Chiefo had actually never met this woman but as we walked, we saw her sitting on a bench outside her house and I said to Chiefo as a joke, 'I bet this woman, too, speaks French'. To which Chiefo replied, 'It's possible o!'. So, I asked the woman, and she said 'Yes, yes, mo gbo French ati Yoruba'. I laughed so hard at the randomness. I bet the goats in this town speak French, too! She was also very nice and was probably the most excited interviewee of all. On my 'But why Ejigbo?' question, she explained that if you went to Abidjan, you'd find that it works the same way. I.e. you'd find an 'Ejigbo people invasion' there, too.

Mama 2

After this, we finally reached our destination. I said my hellos to the Ejigbo NCCF family and left for Iwo.

 

Ejigbo family house common room. It trumps Iwo's, yo!

This trip would definitely be on the list of 'My top 5 experiences in Osun' if I made one. I loved every bit of the trip and it made me wonder why I wasn't posted to Ejigbo. In deciding to serve in Iwo, I had considered the fact that I'd be teaching French as a reason to come because I believed that teaching the language would help me stay in touch with the language. Only to arrive in Iwo and be told I'd be teaching English instead because if we did start French as a subject, there'd be no French teacher to carry on after my service year ends. But God knows best. No regrets, just wishes. :)

PS: I think we'll call this one a town-village.

You asked for it...

I promised a few posts ago to do a post on the NCCF nicknames. So, here we go:

In most NCCF houses, every member of the executive committee (ExCo) of the fellowship has a nickname for his/her post. In fact, at the Iwo family house, it is prohibited to address ExCos by their real names; you are required to use their nicknames. The reason for this is to reinforce that 'family' vibe. However it is important to note also that using these nicknames during official ExCo meetings is prohibited. In scenarios of that sort, we have to keep it official.

Co-ordinator - Papa

Secretary- Uncle

Asst. Secretary - Aunty

Sisters' Coordinator/Welfare Secretary- Mama

Asst. Sisters' Coordinator/Asst. Welfare Secretary - A.Mama

Bible Study Secretary- Rabbi

Evangelism Secretary- Rugged (before you ask, we use 'Rugged' because our evangelism 

programme is called 'Rural Rugged')

Prayer Secretary- Prayo

Publicity Secretary- Publo

Financial Secretary- Finsec

Treasurer- C.B.N.

Musical Director- M.D.

Drama Director- D.D.

Transport and Organising Secretary- Landlord

Chief Medical Director- C.M.D.

Asst. Medical Director- A.M.D. 

Chief Usher- Chiefo

Whenever there's a post of an assistant, 'A-' would be added to the original title. As you'll see is the case in 'A.Mama' and 'A.M.D.'. There are some posts that never have 'A's, though, like 'Papa' and 'Uncle'. Every other post is 'A-able'. Also, while you might find some of these posts occupied in some other NCCF zones/sub-zones, they may not exist in others. For example, here at NCCF Iwo, we don't have a 'Chiefo', and our 'Aunty' is also the 'D.D.', while our 'A.Mama' is also the C.B.N.

You're allowed to laugh. We all found the names hilarious too when we first got here. Now, everyone's gotten used to it. It's crazy, I bet you some of our Batch B (June intake) corpers don't even know most of the ExCos' real names. Lol.

PS: It's a town, not a village! :P

How beautiful are our feet - Follow-up

L-R: Eniang, Kenny, Me, G-Prayo, Christy, Rugged.

Kenny

Saturday was a really good day. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the ZRR evangelism programme we held at Iwo-Oke. Well, it hasn't ended. The main programme has ended but the follow-up which is equally important, continues. Asides winning souls, part of the ZRRE plan is also to start a project in the chosen evangelism site, whether it's building or constructing something. For ours, we decided to do a borehole project.

In the past two weeks following the programme, we've kept in touch with the villagers of Iwo-Oke. We call it 'Rural Rugged follow-up', the aim is to ensure that now that they are newly borns in Christ, we put them on the right track, encouraging them and guiding them on how to grow their faith.

I missed the one that happened two Saturdays ago but I was fortunate to be at Saturday's. Our evangelism secretary emphasized the need for Yoruba speakers in counselling the villagers. In my head I'm like, "erm, it's one thing to be able to speak Yoruba, it's another to be able to preach in the language o!" but I went for it. 

We arrived at the village at about 4.30PM. Armed with our 'korope' (a mini-bus), drugs (the villagers had requested for), Yoruba Bibles, and a megaphone, we kicked off with a town cry which was led by an ex-corper and important member of the fellowship, Ondo-bred 'G-Prayo' (Don't ask. I will do a post on our nicknames one day, I promise!). He urged the villagers who had decided to give their lives to Christ two weeks ago, when we first held the programme, to meet us at the same venue as we had 'something' for them. Some of our corpers had gone ahead of us to the venue to welcome those who would show up.

After the town cry, the four of us: Myself, Kenny, G-Prayo and Patrick, went to join the other corpers. 

To my surprise, quite a few people did show up. I thought, 'OK, they are just showing up for free drugs', but after speaking to them, I realised that they were serious about their decision to follow Christ.

Counselling began. I started by asking my 'clients' what 'following Christ' meant to them, why they made the decision, what some ways of worshiping God were. I explained the importance of a relationship with the Trinity, which far supersedes religion.

Then I spotted a group of four girls. I'd say they were about 9-ish years old. I sat them down and asked if they were part of those who had given their lives to Christ, seeing as they had shown up at the venue, and that was the criterion for attendance we had provided. Nafisat was a believer, the other 3 weren't. So, I sat them down. I asked if they knew who Jesus was, only Nafisat did. Then I asked if they knew Adam, they said no. I'm thinking 'Whaaat? who doesn't know Adam' ? lol, so I had to go over the creation story, through to Adam's sin and then God's sacrifice, Jesus. We discussed how to become 'Jesus' child' through faith and what being one means; and being a new creature and letting go of old things. The girls were very attentive and intrigued. Idayat especially. It showed on her face.

After talking, I asked if they had any prayer requests we could pray about as a group, and they mentioned a couple, but before this I had asked if they were willing to become believers, explaining the importance of believing in the God one prays to. They said that they wanted to but their fear was in the danger of serving more than one God as they would still have to be at the mosque later that evening. I told them I understood. So we prayed about school; protection from danger; and for a better understanding of who God truly is. Then I asked them if they needed drugs medication for anything and referred them to where the doctor corpers were seated. I think what made me smile the most about my conversation with this particular group was their willingness to listen.

There was another group that got me excited. The one that showed keen interest in taking their journey to the next level by owning a Bible. They begged us not to forget to bring them Bibles next week. I assured them that we won't.

I went into these counselling sessions reluctant from feeling unqualified, to be honest, but I came out feeling good. 

Yo, preaching in pure Yoruba- not Lagos Yoruba that permits the addition of English terms here and there- is not beans, but it went really well. Far better than I had expected. God was present. God is real. God is faithful.

PS: This one is a village.

JOStified part 1 by Ephraim O.

Ephraim was among the many who made the trip to the NCCF headquarters at Jos, for the national conference which marked the organization's 30th anniversary. Unfortunately, I was unable to be there. Below is the first part of his account of the experience:

Exhilarating best describes the feeling. You could sense it in the songs chanted in unison, the smiles, jokes and comedy bouts, history told by comrades, knowledge shared in the midst with accompanying affirming knuckles and hi fives given to him/her whose statement you best concurred with. 

It was my first 18-hour trip (I wasn't alone in this novelty of a trip) heading from Osun to Jos in a Toyota Hummer bus packed filled with corps members and their luggage. Consequently, considering the spate of insecurity in this part of the nation, our decision to make this death-defying, terror-shaming trip was birthed from a passion for upgrading our spiritual O.S.

We stopped at almost every state we got to (for annoying reasons best known to the drivers) and soon we had exhausted the limits of our vocal chords, with tiredness setting in, we began to take differing anatomical positions for what we could make out of sleep. With the exception of the lady that had fallen travel sick, and a few of us that burdened ourselves with knowing our location on BlackBerry map and occasional sign-posts, most of the other fellas had fallen prey to sleep by evening.

                                       

War against hunger wasn't as fierce as imagined. Light feeds, small chops and soft drinks came in handy, keeping the mouth busy and hunger at bay. The tactic was to avoid any attempt to greet the bush for "piss offerings" or any other form of offering. 

Briefly we waited at Kaduna for two buses from our convoy of seven that had lost their way somewhere around Keffi in Nasarawa state. We were lucky to get a Mallam who sold a miserable meal of sun baked bread and over-salted omelette at about 11:39pm for dinner.

                                      

I learnt two critical lessons from my sight-seeing trip to Jos. First was what I choose to brand not as foolishness, but trust and a unique way of life in that traders left their oranges and Irish potatoes shaded on the high way with no fear of theft. Wow! That wasn't fairytopia, I saw it live in Kaduna and in Nigeria.
Beware; do not try this in Lagos, Benin or Onitsha.

The second was that we had always found slight condemnation for our Foladele friend who always held small chops in her bag. But on this very trip I discovered its relevance and so rescind my decision. Choosing to rebrand the action, 'Hunger back up'. 

To be continued...

PS: It's a town, not a village! :P

How beautiful are our feet

Well, not literally. I'm only referring to Romans 10:15.

You could say we were fulfilling the Word when last weekend we camped out at a rural area for our Zonal Rural Rugged Evangelism (ZRRE) programme.

Off we go!

A bit of background info

The Nigerian Christian Corpers' Fellowship (NCCF) was birthed 30 years ago with the aim of taking the Gospel to several parts of the country. The idea came in the form of the prophecy: 'A time will come when Nigerian youths will be paid by the government to take the Gospel to several parts of the country'. It's why at NCCF, we believe that in the hierarchy of importance, it's NCCF first before PPA. So, at the very core, evangelism is what NCCF is actually about, and the ZRRE programme is a result of that. Over the years, NCCF has grown into a huge organisation with branches in every state in Nigeria (as in, NCCF Akwa Ibom, NCCF Lagos, NCCF Osun, and so on); and even little branches in almost every local government in each of these states. For example, in Osun, there is NCCF Iwo, NCCF Osogbo, NCCF Ola-Oluwa, NCCF Ife Central, NCCF Ede South, and so on. NCCF Osogbo is our oga at the top, so we report to them about any and everything and they are usually in charge of organising the State Rural Rugged once a year where every zone and sub-zone in the state is expected to be present. Then there's Zonal Rural Rugged which is smaller and as the name suggests is usually organised by zones in conjunction with their sub-zones.

Last weekend was the Iwo zone ZRRE. Being sub-zones under the Iwo local government, Aiyedire and Ola-Oluwa teamed up with us. We gathered together our mats, megaphones, generator, plates and spoons, our doctor corpers, hair-savvy corpers, our welfare secretaries AKA 'Mamas', and every possible hand we could get, and we set out for Iwo-Oke; a very small, pre-dominantly Muslim village in the Ola-Oluwa local government. Our camp site was a secondary school building. The only secondary school in the village. We arrived there Friday afternoon and would be there 'til Saturday afternoon.

"The main, the main"

We kicked off the programme with a session of worship and prayers, then a film show followed. Some more prayers took place after. Then dinner (we had cooked in Iwo and brought it along, alongside utensils and foodstuff we would require to make the next day's brunch) and lights out followed. 

From 12.30am-2.30am, we held a prayer chain where each zone/sub-zone were awoken to come out and pray as a group for an hour each. So, the Aiyedire corpers prayed from 12.30-1.30, then Iwo followed from 1.30-2.30 and Ola-Oluwa from 2.30-3.30. Hence, prayer chain. HATED getting woken up at 1.30am, or maybe it was the how I hated (megaphones should be banned :) ) but it was well worth it. The peace God's presence gives is beautiful, I tell you!

The next day was "the main thing". We had gone out for a 'Jesus march' the evening before and early that morning too; which just means a walk into the village to inform the villagers of our arrival and invite them to the programme. We told them that there would be a film show that Friday evening and the next day, there would be gifts, counselling and free medical check-up. Most of them had promised to come and they did. Jesus marches are super cool and are usually made lively with our chanting and singing.

Saturday's programme was divided into departments. I was in charge of the children section, which Jane helped me with. It was lots of fun; we spoke about God's love, played games, danced, and gave them biscuits, clothes, books and pens/pencils. We asked if they wanted to give their lives to Christ and a lot of them showed interest. We had a set of Muslim twins present in our circle, one of which initially raised her hand to indicate interest but after catching her sister's eye of disapproval, put down her hand down. Jane and I smiled as we reminded them that salvation is a personal decision.

The programme setup went thus: As the children walked in, they were immediately sent to the children section. While the children section fun was in session, the children who wanted to get a haircut were selected and sent to the male haircare section, and after, were brought back to join us.

Female hair care section

Male hair care section

For the adults, they were registered upon arrival at the venue. After this, they were sent to the one-on-one counselling section where they were told about salvation, and offered general advice. After this, they were sent to the Faith Clinic for one-on-one prayers, then sent to the classroom the doctors had occupied for free medical check-up and free drugs. Then, they were led to the welfare department to receive free clothes. The female hair care section was beside the gift section so after receiving their gifts, if they wanted to 'ko' their hair or plait it, they could just go straight through. For the children, after talking and playing with them, we sent them to the welfare department too, to receive clothes, books, pens, biscuits and sweets.

Medical section

Faith clinic

After all the villagers had left, it was time for brunch. Some of us had been exempted from the Jesus match earlier so we could prepare the brunch. After eating, the NCCF family formed a closing circle where we thanked God for the success of the programme, sang the family song, and parted ways. The buses were on ground to transport us back to our locations.

ZRRE was short and sweet, yet powerful. Not that I'm surprised at the success seeing that we spent several weeks praying for the success of the programme. God is faithful indeed.

Iwo-Oke for Christ, yo!

PS: It's a town, not a village! :P. Ok, this one is a village sha. Lol.

House of the family by Ephraim O.

Yes, the guys help out...every now and then

I've been meaning to dedicate a post to the NCCF family house, my second home in Iwo, but I keep procrastinating 'cause it feels like one of those posts which would require a day or two to put together. I fear omitting important details as there are endless things to write about. One day, though. One day.

In the meantime, Ephraim, a former housemate, has put one together. Check it out:

Stolen times could be pleasurable especially when it is from the thick of a headache-inducing chore. On this particular day at my workplace, it wasn't a classical case of increased workload but boredom from the routine. Immediately the call came, I didn't bother getting the details from the caller. "Excuse me Ma'am, I've got an emergency situation to handle," I muttered hurriedly, creating an atmosphere of urgency.

Ten minutes later, I was done. It only required penciling down my name and signature. I gazed at the bare floor like an old man afterwards, submerged in thoughts of what to do with the next thirty minutes. Returning immediately to work wasn't an option. The atmosphere of angst still needed to be retained at work by a little delay. Then the thought hit me like a hardball, 'House of the Family!'

When we first got to this town, it was the only place we could call home. And even after most of us have found our various houses, it's still the place we can call home outside our home. The NCCF (Nigerian Christian Corpers' Fellowship) family house. The place Housemate Emma Blu nicknamed 'house of the family', and it stuck like glue. 

And true to my expectations, the house bubbled with excitement and pomp of corpers, not a few. We had 'Bobo' or OmoBOLANLE, as she prefers to be called. Despite her lively nature, she has the knack for defending her beliefs with relentless passion. You want to see the full glare of her gesticulations? Engage her in a debate or argument.

Also present in the house was the cake making trio of DiDi, Rabbi (in trousers) and Kenny. This DiDi guy teaches ladies cake making and other wedding accessories. Though Iwo may not boast of a single fast food joint, a well baked cake from this trio combined with one chilled Chivita. . .who needs Tantalizers or Sizzlers?

The ever conventional Nonso, popularly referred to as 'Uncle' was also present. Hmmm! I can say volumes of him and not be bored. He is a passionate fellow. You may not fancy his persona at first, but you can't deny his importance. I'll describe him as a bone that can neither be chewed nor swallowed.

Emmanuel AKA 'Emma Blu' was also present. Hilarious, principled, unassuming, give him a pair of drum sticks and you have won a spot in his heart. 

What can I say of this enigmatic icon. Folz, Dele, 'Aunty', the names are endless. I'm still yet to find a razzer LADY (note the adjectives and the emphasis) than this. Hardworking, caring, sharing, a good cook, playful, serious (Folz, don't edit any part of this article). She's been a wonderful friend since our first step on Iwo soil. 

The list of housemates still includes the likes of Gerald, Pastor Patrick, Ogbeni of the Federal Republic of Family House AKA Olusegun, Super Shy Mama Eunice, A.Mama Grace, Favour, etc

I had to leave after sharing shouts, songs and teasings with folks present. House of the family…hmm! The only sane place in Iwo with many 'insane' people.

Go to Iwo by Ife A.

Last week was a really good week. My best here so thus far, I'd add. My good friend, Ife, came down from Lagos to spend a couple of days with me here in Iwo. While it seemed to me that she enjoyed her time here, I figured the best way to be sure would be to get her to write about the experience. Below is what she sent in:

‘Odo Ori’. ‘Odo Ori’. ‘Odo Ori’. If there’s one place I will never forget in Iwo, it is Odo Ori. Never mind that my pronunciation of it would interpret as ‘water of head’, which is a big fail. Anyways, if you can locate Odo Ori, you can probably navigate your way around Iwo. That’s what I think.

Five highlights of my trip to Iwo exist. 

Of course Odo Ori market features. The trip ended up dousing my eagerness to go to the market, but it was still a highlight. One can’t expect much from a village (sorry Foladele :p). It was interesting (because of the ‘apo kan’s and the ‘muri meta’s – it gets deeper than that o – rather than the boring N200 or N60 *yawn*), but more exhausting. Everyone and everything was everywhere and anywhere. So you keep asking where you can find an elero or elegusi or something. For some reason, they don’t congregate in one place in the market.  Fair enough, competition may be intense that way but mehn, the effort of asking and going round and round yo! If you're feeling brave and ever want to go to Odo Ori sha, market day is every four days.

Highlight number B. The NCCF Family House. As my friend plays a key role (she's called 'Aunty'. Don't get me started on the titles), we attended the prayer meeting that night. Might I add that it was yummy. I needed that session, I needed that presence, I needed that opportunity. It was a yay. Also got to meet other members of the NCCF family that were present. Generally cool peoples. :) 

Highlight letter 3. Iwo River. We walked to the river. It was a goofy journey. We got there and encountered a security guard whom, like many others in Nigeria, was power-hungry. Sometimes you're better off massaging their egos and moving on with your own life. Or the river, as was the case here. It was still, it was serene. The Psalmist knew what he was saying when he said 'He leads me beside the still waters'. I'd spend more time there if it weren't surrounded by bushes and insects. If you can handle both, go there, and stay there for a while :) Don't fall in sha o! #OYOsturvs

Highlight numero quatre. Random worship sesh with Ephraim and planned prayer sesh with Ola. God shows when He wants to show. Just be prepared and stay open. That's what I learned from these two encounters.  

Highlight number last (but not least). CDS. Just when I thought I had paid my own dues, I found myself at a secretariat for CDS again. Cos Foladele dragged me along. After, from 10am to about 1pm+, there was NCCF fellowship. I was like 'Lord I love you, but these guys are just taking the piss now, like!'. It was good, learned a few and was inspired, but kai, it was long and I was starved. People prolly didn't like me very much by the end of it. Or the other way around! ;) 

Go to Iwo though!!! Oranges are cheap, Okadas are cheaper and they have lots of kulikuli. If you know someone there, even better! Go visit! 

PS: It's a town, not a village! :P