Mission Trip

Mission Trip Travel Tips

G-Free Travel Rating

5/10

Major Airport

Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS)

Official Language

English

Currency:

Naira

Power Outlets:

Types D & G

Nigeria is not used to many western travelers nor are they familiar with dietary restrictions. This was even challenging in the compound where we stayed because not only did it have to be communicated with our hosts, it also had to be clearly communicated with the chefs. Each meal we would go over the ingredients with what was in each dish. While there are naturally occurring starches in their diet (yams and rice), it is common for wheat flour to get mixed in to add variety and different flavors to the dish. One of Terry’s favorite dishes while we were there was sugar with rice pudding. This was one of the first lessons we had with making sure we had enough gluten free snacks with us so he wouldn’t go hungry.

Mission Trip Experience

This trip was a different type of trip as it was part of a medical and educational mission. This was the first medical mission myself or Terry had been on so we weren’t sure what to expect. We had heard a few things about Nigeria prior to flying there but didn’t research much as we were going with a church group (LifeBuilders).

We joined the local Pastor who started a missionary community just outside of Lagos which included a school, hospital/clinic, and living quarters. He housed 11 of us for ten days. They took care of meals, transportation and even bought a generator so they could run air conditioning for us. When the generator and AC were running, the locals would always complain how cold it was. They definitely spoiled us while we were there.

While there, we met the doctor who oversaw seeing patients at the hospital as well as the teachers at the school. My husband and I stayed by the treating physician and helped see patients, but mainly spent time educating. Some of the most common things we saw were sexually transmitted diseases, cataracts and malaria. We started to run out of the anti-malarial medication so we had to save it for patients who were truly symptomatic. Headaches were also common and everyone came in asking for acetaminophen (which we ran out of).

Looking through their pharmacy (stockroom), the medications they used were medications that we no longer see in practice in the United States. Nigeria used to allow donations that included expired medications; however, recent changes said they couldn’t be expired anymore, making donations more challenging.

Seeing that the compound also housed a school we gave all the students and teachers anti-parasitic medications. While classes/daycare were in session, we walked around to each room to give them their medication. Walking into the classrooms was a unique experience. The younger children were very curious as to who/what we were; some had never seen a different ethnicity before. The older children were more challenging to give the medication as they did not like the taste and kept trying to spit it out.

On a different day the medical professionals took a trip to a fishing village where we attended a church service and then saw everyone we could in the timeframe we were there. Again, we saw the common things mentioned earlier. We did see an interesting case with an infant that looked like she was infected with worms so much to the point of seeing a sac near the belly button.

This village looked worse than the pictures you see on television when they are asking for donations for starving children. It was truly sad to see the environment some people are living in. The most amazing thing was that they were incredibly grateful for the services we provided. They dressed in their Sunday best during the service singing as loud as they could. It was refreshing to see people in such high spirits while conquering some of the hardest struggles.

Making Friends

We’re going to dive into a little deeper writing here and talk about a specific case we witnessed. The clinic has been following a teenage girl with seizures and burn wounds for years so we were able to ask for donations ahead of time for her. Unfortunately, some of the donations were IV that she would have to take orally and we had to show her and her brother how to take this medication orally.

She came to the clinic but her brother was still at their home, so we walked with her backed to her house while the medications were driven. It was a lifechanging experience as she wanted to walk down the road hand-in-hand with ME! Despite never having any interaction with her previously, I was the person she wanted to show her home. Her spirits were contagious and we walked down the road together.

The medication was driven to her home to decrease the interest from the neighborhood and safety reasons. Since we were Americans and there were a bunch of us, we stood out and it was a very big deal for them to be hosting Americans.

Time to Commemorate the Experience

The day before we left, the students put on a performance for us to say thank you. The Pastor invited the King of the Nigerian state we were in to come and celebrate our visit. That was an experience of a lifetime. We had to bow (lay on the ground) to the king one by one. Previously he had named our friend as an official Chief, which is an honorable title to hold. We had two mother daughter combinations that came along for this mission trip and both mothers were made Chiefs because the King was so happy they were able to give this experience to their children.

After the honors, which were rare, they did a ritual dance. And, for better or worse, each of us were able to participate in the dance. While Nigeria is not a typical vacation spot, it is a great country to see how happy people can be without money and belongings.

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