As soon as Adri and Russ learned they would be living in Nigeria for six months, we told them we'd be coming to visit them. Actually, we would have gone to visit them wherever they went to live!
Our adventure started by going to get our very expensive yellow fever shots before we could apply for a Nigerian visa. Our next stop was at the building below, which is the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC. I went in one day during lunch time and picked up Kent so we could drop off our visa applications. We'd been told some horror stories about how long it could take to get the visas, but we were told to pick them up in exactly three weeks, and sure enough, they were ready right on time.
We flew out on a Thursday evening. Our plane was packed, mostly full of Nigerians.
When we arrived in Lagos after we went through customs we were met by some security men employed by Chevron. They waited with us until our checked bags came and until the Chevron bus came to drive us to their compound.
We took this picture outside of the airport as we waited for the bus to come. It was so interesting to see the people walking with loads on their heads. And if you look closely you'll see that the woman with the red bag on her head has a baby strapped to her back.
It was about an hour drive from the airport to the Chevron compound. The houses on it reminded me of the Sagamihara housing area we lived on in Japan. We arrived on a Friday evening just as the Lees were sitting down to dinner. Good timing for us!
The next day we went to a conservation area near the compound. It was a lush, jungle area.
Grace doesn't seem too sure about riding on Granddad's shoulders in this picture!
I thought this was a cute picture of the three Lee girls.
Here we are chilling in one of the grass huts like the one behind us in the next picture.
We saw quite a few monkeys in the trees as we walked through the park.
As we were leaving they got more bold. You can see Sophia wasn't too thrilled to be so close to a monkey!
Here Russ is trying to make friends, but most of us were worried they might bite and didn't get so close.
The other two animals we saw at the conservation are was peacocks,
and this big tortoise. And that (besides seeing lots of lizards) was the extent of our African "safari"!
The next day was Easter Sunday, so we were up early and ready to go to church.
Here's a picture of Grace in her Primary class.
This was the only picture Adrianne could get of Sophia in with her age of Primary children. She looks so reverent!
For the Easter program in Sacrament meeting the Bishop read from the scriptures, and the ward choir sang several songs. There wasn't a piano so the choir and congregation sang acapella. I was especially touched when the choir sang, "I Believe in Christ". Here are the girls coming out of the door of the church building.
The church members were very nicely dressed, and many members of the congregation greeted us by saying, "You are welcome."
The building was surrounded by a high wall topped with barbed wire, but the sign was the same as it is throughout the world. Some day I'll make a list of all the countries in the world where we've attended church.
The picture below is of the street where the church was located.
This was the scene right next door to the church, so you can see it wasn't in the most prosperous part of town.
After church we were invited to a potluck dinner that one of the families on the Chevron compound was hosting. Here's Grace letting us know she was ready to leave.
When we got home the girls painted Easter eggs. I love they way Sophia and Grace are so focused on their eggs!
Below is the Lees' backyard.
I can't believe dark-haired Adri has two blonde girls!!
If you exit the gate from their backyard, this is what the walkway looks like to go behind the other houses and to the sidewalks along the streets.
Here are the girls ready to go to the Easter egg hunt at the community center on the compound on the Monday after Easter. Adri helped to set it up and decorate for the activity. Love the bunny ears, rain boots, and big smiles!
There were some crafts and activities for the children to do before the egg hunt.
Grace got to paint another egg!
Another cute photo op.
The kids from the Chevron camp lined up before the egg hunt began.
It Grace a while to get the hang of collecting eggs. She was just glad to be there.
Sophia knew just what to do. Notice the legs behind her; those are Kent's legs.
He took this picture of Adri and me while we were taking pictures of Sophia.
It was fun to help the Lee girls celebrate Easter in Nigeria!
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