Only a knife knows what the inside of a coco-yam looks like.

That's a good ol' African proverb for you, meaning that those who investigate and research something understand the subject. I've got be honest, I have yet to see the inside of a coco-yam. BUT, I have been able to check out some other nifty things this week and maybe, just maybe, I'm beginning to understand something more about Nigeria.

POUNDED YAMS

Everyone always wants to know "what do you eat?!?" whenever one travels to an unfamiliar country. Understandable, we like our tummies to be happy. I have been pretty curious too because the first few days I just bopped from one missionary family's house to another for meals, enjoying the perks of being a newcomer and consequently, I've eaten fairly normal food made mostly by non-Nigerians. One meal, I had the pleasure of partaking in the most quintessential Nigerian meal: pounded yams. Now, there's good reason why I haven't had this yet: it takes serious work! You have to peal and cook the yam, which looks like a really dirty potato on steroids (about as big as my leg from the top of the knee down and almost twice the diameter). Then you put the sucker in this overgrown wooden mortar and pestle (pictured with me) and just go at it for hours. I guess you'd call the process-pounding :) Well, there are a couple more steps, but you end up with rounded lumps that are cross between a dumpling (you northerners might not know what that is), mashed potatos, and raw dough. The proper Nigerian way to eat pounded yam is to break off a chunk, dip it in your soup, and the shove it in your mouth...no utensils required. See Corinne's lovely demonstration in the picture. We had this amazing soup called agusi...I've got to remember it the next time I buy food from one of those street vendors. SO, that helps to answer your question of what I might be eating for the next 2 years, and answers my question of what in the world you do with that monstrous potato-like vegetable sold every 5 feet in the market.

THE TRANSITION HOUSE

In leiu of the camp being cancelled for this week, I had the opportunity to see a couple of SIM's other ministries in Jos. So one rainy morning I jumped in a van and headed over to the Transition House (TH) for boys. When we arrive, what do we find, but a rousing game of soccer of course! I'm telling you, I've seen the exact same scene in Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines and each time I can't help but smile at the inexplainable joy this game brings people. By the way, just as a sidenote, Nigerian just won the Under 17 World Cup this past weekend. That's a big deal, especially in helping the morale of these young guys to know that Nigerians can measure up favorably with the rest of the world. Well, these boys were having a blast and I watched them for a good half hour while hearing what TH is all about. Essentially, these boys chose to come off the streets at some point through the ministry of Gidan Bege ("House of Hope", another ministry of SIM), make a decision to permanently leave that way of living (stealing, begging, etc.) and work towards a better life. Each boy attends school and all kinds of programs run by TH such as Bible study, computer training, and choir. An older boy named, Tunda gave us a tour and repeatedly said, "I am so thankful for what this ministry has done. The ministry has done me much good." As we stood out on the porch talking with a couple guys, I was floored by their stories and their passion to serve God. Some want to be electrical engineers, some professional sports players, but all desire to share Christ's love in whatever they do with their life. I nearly teared up to hear about their dreams, knowing that so many boys their age have no real expectations of reaching their dreams and so they stifle them. Also, many of these boys had attended the camp program I've come to be a part of and shared how it was really foundational in their understanding of Christ. One boy said, "I came to camp, and I didn't know anything about Christianity. Soon after I left camp I came to know Jesus personally." Wow. That's why I am here in Nigeria: that these kids may know Christ and His love more than before and then be about the business of making Him known. By His grace, that's what I'll do.

SIGHTS AND SUPERvisor Finally, at long last, I've been able to hang out with Claudia (pictured with a weird look on her face...she has a great smile normally:)), the current camp coordinator who I will be working VERY closely with for the next 2 years. We've spent some great time together already, getting to know each other and her beginning the transaction of oodles of information about the camp over to me. We took a little drive up to the campsite just outside of Jos and I saw the natural beauty of the area with delightful mountains popping up all over the landscape. It's not called the plateau state for nothing! As fun as the city is, I felt myself relax a bit more when we were surrounded by the mountains and fields. I imagined myself taking afternoons to climb up the rock bolders and explore the rock formations. Such a beautiful country...you should really see this, because only a knife knows what the inside of a coco-yam looks like :)

And your Hausa for the day is: San Juma = "see you later"