Arrival in Nigeria

We arrived in Abuja in the early morning at approximately 5:00 a.m., Nigeria time (5 hours ahead).  We had been on the move for about 24 hours. We got through immigration and collected our bags and were met by George, Bishop John’s right-hand man, at about 7:00 a.m.  People and bags were loaded into the Graceland International school van and our journey to Gusau began. ​

A view of Graceland International Hospital from the school exam hall. The vacant lot is school property and is currently being used to grow rice as a cash crop.

We traveled about seven hours in the van, arriving in Gusau at about 2:00 p.m. After a lunch break, we headed over to Graceland Hospital to scope out the traffic flow for the medical outreach, scheduled to start the next day.  

At 4:00, we headed over to the Graceland International School to meet with the team of volunteers who will be working at the outreach.  We were surprised to see many old friends from Kaduna who graciously volunteered their time and talents in support of this initial Gusau medical outreach.  In addition, Gusau volunteers consisting of school personnel, local community members, and area doctors and nurses. We all met in the school library and discussed logistics and gave out assignments.  
After the meeting, we convened upstairs to the hall and shared a meal together. What an amazing site to see - there had been a transformation since our last trip in August 2017. The hall fully functioning and is beautiful!

Logistics meeting held in the Graceland School Library with volunteers, in preparation for the medical outreach.