Trip to Bambur

          In February when we went to Bambur we had Bitrus, the driver take us to Lau. We stopped at the Lankaviri junction where the road to Lau meets the road to Jalingo. There we picked up Rev. John Wesley and his wife. He is to be the principal of the Banyam Theological Seminary after Rev. Wolfgang and Gerlinde Bay {pronounced bye} go back to Germany. They were going over to be a part of the "send off' services on Sunday. Rev. John Wesley and his wife are a delightful couple. From Zing we took two women. One was Ibrahim Sati's wife, Mary. She had their nine-month-old son with her. The other lady was a friend of hers.

           When we got to the river we tried to find a motorized canoe for us, but it was far too expensive. That was probably because we were along. Whenever people see the color of our skin, prices often go up. We went to another part of the river in order to get a canoe that is poled. I was really grateful that we had everything in our backpacks. Whenever we go anywhere like that we never go without taking drinking water with us. We had our two-gallon Coleman jug with us. Mrs. John Wesley kindly carried it on her head for us. I was so grateful. The driver took us as far as he could, but because the river is low right now, we had to walk across the sand till we got to the water. It seemed like two miles, but because of the time it took it was probably more realistically 1/2 to 3/4 mile. Walking across the deep sand in the noonday sun can be challenging. Our daily exercise time plus the wide-brimmed panama straw hats we brought with us were so helpful.

	We look for a motor boat to cross the Benue River. None was available.
	We trek across the sand to the ferry boat.
	The walk seemed longer than it actually was. It was hot in the noonday sun.

           When we got to the edge of the water there were many, many canoes, two or three rows deep. The canoe that was filling up was out in the water some distance. We took off our shoes and socks and waded through the water until we got to the canoe. Because I was wearing a mid-calf length dress I had to pull it up so that I would not splash it with water. We sat on the boat quite a while until the boat filled up. I guess that is the price one pays for a less expensive ride.

	We found the ferry -- A large canoe.
	Very carefully the ferry is loaded.

          While we waited we got to enjoy and admire the young men who poled the canoes to and fro across the river. They stand on one end of the canoe with a long pole. They put the pole down into the river and when it touches bottom, they push and thereby move the canoe. It is not as simple as it sounds, I know, but it looks simple. It was beautiful out there on the river. The wonderful breeze made the heat of the day quite tolerable.

The engine is a man with a long pole!

          When we got to the north side we had to walk up through the hot sand in bare feet until we found a place to sit down- an old tractor tire. The Nigerians had no trouble with that because they walk around all the time with bare feet and their feet are tough. Our feet are tender. Many Nigerians wear flip-flops because they are inexpensive. They can easily be slipped on and off. Bakari was there to meet us. We drove across the swamp. This was the first time since we've been back. I remember in times past when we could see many kinds of wildlife. This time all we saw was herds with cows, sheep, goats, and donkeys. We did see a gray heron on the way home on Saturday. It took about 1 1/2 hrs. to get from Zing to Lau and another 1 1/2 hrs from the river to Bambur plus the time waiting on/at the river. These were two full days. On the return trip in the canoe, someone was continually dipping water. We made it just fine.

---

Duff Street Home Page/ Mission News/ Nigerian Missionaries/ Arnetts Arrive in Nigeria/ Medical Emergencies/ Visit from Chuck, Jr./ Christmas in Nigeria/ Necessities or Conveniences/ Nigerian Church Services/ UMCN Women's Meeting/ Children are Fun! Road Trip to Jos