After much prayer and thought, and after talking with Mom and Dad, I made the decision to return to Nigeria to be with Eriye. My heart was torn between feeling that I might be of some benefit to my parents by staying in Canada, at least through the winter, and of supporting Eriye as her husband back in Nigeria.After making the decision to return, I felt a load lifted from my shoulders, though I still was concerned about Mom and Dad. I went to the local travel agent and asked about flights. The first suggested date was less than a week from when I made the decision, but i did not feel that I could get everything organized quite that quickly. In the end we settled on flying by KLM through Amsterdam, leaving Toronto on 3rd February and arriving in Abuja at 8:15 PM Thursday night.
When I told Eriye of my decision she was very excited. She had said that she had not realized how difficult our separation would be on her. She immediately thought of Mom and Dad and wrote them to apologize for taking me away from them again. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hard on both of us, I think, maybe even harder than when we didn't know what we were doing next. Counting the days made things real but also made the days seem to drag by.
I have spent the last few days saying goodbye to family and friends, and trying to get things organized for packing. Today was spent getting things into two bags with an individual weight of 23 kg or 50+ pounds. The first iteration both bags were just barely over the limit. So I went back through my clothes and was a bit more harsh in deciding what to take and what to leave behind. The first iteration everything went in the bag. The second iteration several items came back out because I knew already that chances are I would never wear them in the heat of Nigeria. At any rate, I have both bags under the limit now, and with even a little to spare to compensate for any difference between my scales and the airlines.
The next update to this blog will come from Nigeria. I don't keep this updated that often but will try to do so. If you would prefer to receive a more regular newsletter update, let me know at david.perry.ghana@gmail.com and I will add you to the distribution list.
I am now watching Episode 1 of the last season of Lost. It is too bad to start the series knowing I might not see the end of it until later this year when it becomes available in Nigeria. This is a series that many seem to watch regularly (on DVD) in Nigeria. I think Eriye saw only about half of the previous season, so she will be anxious to see the ones that I have with me, and anything I have of the new season.
I didn't tell you what the picture is. Last Sunday we had a meeting after church and that was preceded by a soup and salad lunch. The "church photographer" was kind enough to take this snap of me, Mom and Dad.
