As I sit down to read this, I have realized that for anyone who may be reading these, I have been a bad blogger. On several occasions I have intended to stop and take a few photos that I could share, and then that thought is promptly pushed out of my mind by something else that comes up, or a question asked – or maybe I have more the memory of a goldfish. But in any event, I have no photos to share so far. So imagine in your mind’s eye what Nigeria looks like, and we’ll pretend that’s close…

Today was a rather laid back day, which is needed at this point in the trip. There were several people who were to come meet us at the hotel at 11:00 am, so Cody and I both decided we were going to sleep in. As a safety net I did set my alarm for 9 am just in case, never figuring I would sleep anywhere near that late. I remember waking up briefly at some point in the middle of the night, but rolled over and went right back to sleep. And the next thing I knew it was nearly 8:30 am!! Cody told me later that he didn’t wake until 8:45 (so I guess he is slightly more the slacker than I was J). But I can tell you that extra sleep felt really good!

I didn’t expect our visitors to arrive at 11 because traffic in Lagos is unbelievable. But when 1 pm rolled around and we still hadn’t heard anything I called Cody’s room to check and see if this sort of thing was normal. He said yes, getting around in Lagos anywhere is a nightmare, so this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.

Finally about 2:30 they called and wanted more directions to our hotel. I had to go down to the front desk and have one of the fellows there give directions, because I don’t know anything about where he is, and little more about where I am. They were finally able to make it to the hotel by 3:30 pm. I discovered they left home to begin their journey up to see us at 12:30 pm. That would help explain why they weren’t here at 11…

There were two fellows who came to keep the Feast of Tabernacles with us this past fall, and the wife of one of them. It was good to see them again, and we went out by the pool (the quietest place I could find) and had an enjoyable talk. Part way through one member who also lives in Lagos came by, so we five enjoyed talking.

They were unclear about some basic doctrinal points such as the immortality of the soul and going to heaven or hell after death. So we spent nearly two hours going through the scriptures and answering questions. I did have internet out on the patio, and since I had my tablet with me I was able to pull up the Life, Hope and Truth website and took them to several articles I suggested they read.

I also suggested they go through the Journeys study. If any of you have not gone through them, I’d highly recommend them. Once on the main page of Life, Hope and Truth click on the orange box in the upper right-hand corner of the page. The first thing you will find is a link to the Journeys. No matter how long you’ve been in the Church, I think you will find them interesting and helpful.

By 5:30 they felt they needed to get back on the road. With evening traffic it will take them two hours or more to get home (and as the crow flies it can’t be much more than 10-12 miles, based on what I can see on the map).

After they got back on their way home, Cody and I reconvened at the hotel restaurant for dinner and some good conversation. After dinner I was able to call a couple of members back home, and also talked with my wife – always one of the highlights of my days over here!

There is the possibility of us having another visit in the morning before we head to the airport to hopefully catch our flight out to Benin City. I’ve already received notification that the flight has been delayed an hour, which is OK. If it is cancelled completely, then we will not have time to make the trip by ground transportation tomorrow. It is very unsafe to travel the highway after dark, and one could not make it all the way to Benin City before dark. That would mean we’d need to find a hotel for the night here in Lagos and then try again on Wednesday. But we’ll pray that the connections actually do happen.