Nigerian Security System

Nigeria was incredible. We arrived safely back in Dallas at 2:00 pm Friday, June 16- A special day, our five year anniversary! A great day to be reunited. Diedra had some beautiful flowers on the table, and prepared some delicious food (steak) to celebrate. Home sweet home.

The morning of our departure, we got up around 5:30 am to get showers, pack our stuff, and leave. We were staying in a guest house established by the Lutheran Church in Nigeria. Early on in our stay we noticed a sign in our bungalow that read, “Guests are advised to stay inside between the hours of 10:00 pm and 6:00 am as guard dogs roam the grounds.” Duly noted.

As I was preparing to leave, I noticed we were without water. Strange, as we had not had any lack of running water during our two-week stay. The electricity was intermittent, but not the water. I’m thinking, “This is not good. It’s going to be at least 35 hours until I’m home, and it would really be nice if I could get a shower before we start the trip.” By this time John is up, and I let him know that we don’t have any water. We decide together to walk to the reception house to find out what’s the problem.

We left the bungalow and started down the path toward the reception house (about 100 yards away). My step was a bit more brisk than John’s, and I was ahead of him on the path about 20 yards. Suddenly these huge black shadows came out of nowhere, snarling and barking. Two German Shepherds, each the size of Martin Luther himself, charged me and knocked me down. Screaming, I scrambled in the gravel to get away. Miraculously, they let me up and let me run with John back to the Bungalow. Bleeding from multiple abrasions, I found no bite wounds. Thank God!

I washed my wounds with our bottled water and laid down, thankful to be alive. The water came on at 6:45 so I was able to bathe and get ready for our long day. I was able to teach my last class, and we left Jos around 1:00 pm. A bit more drama than preferable, but so thankful that it wasn’t worse. Some third-world international travel advice: heed the warnings in your room carefully!