I am home, and exhausted! After 30 some hours on planes and in airports we arrived safely in Minneapolis on time. Our flights were very good and we cleared customs without any problems. It was the first time going on one of these trips that I was actually ready to come home. The weather in Nigeria was just unbearable. However, the people are pretty amazing. There is so much poverty, but yet so much hope. This is not the case in places that I've been before like Haiti. The people are extremely religious and spend their time focusing on God and family rather than material things (which they have none of). The only time that we really saw a lot of sadness was when women were infertile or when they became widowed. Women are expected to have many children and they start at a very young age. Many of the marriages are prearranged and they are married by age 12. They start having children as soon as they are married. The people there couldn't believe that Erin had been married for five years and didn't have children yet. They pretty much told her that her children are going to be deaf and mute since she's waiting so long to have them. She loved that!!!
Our trip ended on a great note. Our last day at the compound we left after singing and dancing in the driveway. It all started when Erin told Juliet (who is a Nigerian gospel singer) that I loved to sing Gospel songs (Erin thought she was so clever and funny). It was quite a sight watching the white girls try to sing and dance to African Gospel music. Then on our very last night in Nigeria we stayed at Queen's house. Her cousin's wife made a huge meal, we had Queen's family and friends over, and we all wore our native African outfits that were made for us. All of the people that we met during our time in Nigeria were very grateful for all that we did, and welcomed us with kind words, smiles, and open arms. They are all very proud of where they come from and can't thank us enough for coming to help "their people".
I will post some pictures either later today or tomorrow and update the blog a bit more. My parents are currently visiting so I'm going to visit with them, but I wanted to just post a little something to say that I made it home safely. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers, I appreciated them more than you know. Again, I will update soon with pictures which I'm so excited to share with you!
Love Always,
Steph
Counting out Ibuprofen and putting them in labeled bags for the village people that we had seen days prior in our clinics in Onitsha.
Queen had a dinner party with family and friends the last night that we were in Nigeria. We wore our Nigerian outfits that Queen's friend made for us. It was a great way to end the trip.
Me, Kathy, & Erin in our Nigerian attire. We had a little bit of difficulty trying to put our head wraps on properly!
Erin and I stopped by a school during a morning walk in Atta
This picture should be after the one below. The little girl carrying her sibling.
We ran into these two little ones during our morning walk. It just amazed me how well the children there get along and take care of each other. They play so well together, try to comfort the younger children when they cry, and always seem to be looking out for one another. I have to admit that I was not quite as nurturing to my siblings growing up! :)
I just thought this was ironic and funny
It's rare that you don't see a woman with a baby on her back
Doing assessments at one of our clinics in Onitsha
"Smash" our now deceased spider friend that was in Kathy's room
Onitsha shanties. Below that wall and railing is a canal filled with sewage and trash
An adorable village boy in Atta 
I was told that this woman was "sick". When asking what was wrong with her I was told that she was widowed.
I love these ladies! They were sitting in front of the clinic each day as we arrived.
I told the kids to gather around us so we could get a picture. Instead they kind of tackled us. They Loved having their pictures taken and would say "snap me". They thought it was so funny when they could look at themselves on the digital camera screen. These are the kids at the Manna school.
Our team. Queen, Erin, Kathy, me, Robert, and Mike. They were so much fun to travel with and work with.
A boy getting IV antibiotics at the Manna hospital
Erin and I checking spleen sizes on two of the Manna school girls
