One of the most gratifying experiences in our mission has been our interaction with the six assistants who help us train Church units about the financial audit process. Three assistants are in Nigeria and they each handle a heavy workload. There are 30 stakes, disricts, and missions in Nigeria with audit committees that oversee the audit process for 236 wards and branches. We met with the six assistants in July, 2004, shortly after arriving in West Africa. We had not seen the three Nigerian assistants since then, but we have monthly contact through mail, email and telephone. Each one has truly magnified his calling as a Local Unit Auditor Trainer (LUAT) assistant. We traveled to Nigeria at the end of May to meet with these three brothers to assess progress of the Nigerian stakes, districts and missions. The two Church Membership and Statistical Records (MSR) employees from the Lagos Service Center joined the session. Charles Ajeigbe, the Africa West MSR Manager, also attended. Charles is from Nigeria, but now lives in Ghana to work in the Area Office. MSR processes the Monthly Financial Reports from all Church units. They can readily see the impact of good training or the need to improve. The meeting was held on a Saturday since the assistants are not Church employees and have regular jobs during the week. The objective of the meeting was to make specific training plans for each stake/district/mission based on recent results. The team effort was very effective and the meeting was a success. Everyone left with a clear vision of what to do and how to do it.
Jason Nwokoro, U-kay Okereke, Celestine Nwoko and Elder Markham
Working so closely with these three brothers to start up a new activity in West Africa
has made us feel almost like proud parents of hard working sons.
To our children in the USA: Meet your new brothers!
Charles Ajeigbe, Charles Adebayo, Joseph Okoronko
Charles Ajeigbe is our manager in Accra.
We also work closely with Charles and Joseph in the Lagos Service Center.
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Elder Markham presented a new training module about integrity based on the life of Hyrum Smith. |
The whole group then went through reports from each stake, district and mission to develop a specific follow-up action plan. |
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| We had a working lunch. |
The food was good, but everyone stayed engaged in the meeting's purpose. |
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The only minor diversion was a discussion on the virtues of Malta drink. Sister Markham is not a fan, so comments to intice her included: |
"I like the wheat favor." "It is best warm, very healthy." "I like the packaging." Elder Markham is a convert! |
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After the meeting a few of us walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant. The food was very good. |
Sister Markham liked the variety offered by a shop across the street. Bakery, Supermarket, Furniture, Perfumes, Pharmacy, Electronics. It reminded her of Wal-Mart! |
A street hawker offered us a pirated DVD of the new Star Wars movie that had just been released in theaters. It was very well packaged and looked authentic. The price was about $3.00. Elder Markham was tempted (just to do a technical check of the quality of a street copy, of course), but Sister Markham said, "No!"
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Driving in Lagos is an adventure. Elder Markham was glad that Charles got a pool car and chauffeured. Celestine sat in the front, so we explained the American idiom "Shotgun." It applies here. |
Motorcycles (called Okadas) are common. This is not his girlfriend. She is a paying fare on an Okada Taxi. In rush hour a premium is charged since an Okada can get through the jam. |
After several trips in West Africa, Sister Markham has a hotel quality checklist. There is a very nice Sheraton in Lagos, but the best rate we can get is still over $200 a night. We opted for a new hotel we had heard about that is very near the Lagos Service Center. It passed Sister Markham's test.
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Here is the Holiday Express. It has about 12 rooms and a 24 hour restaurant. |
The first item on Sister Markham's checklist is "a private bathroom." Clean towels are also nice. |
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The next checklist item test is sheets on the bed. She prefers top and bottom. Clean is good, too. |
TV is not required, but flat screen with cable that includes CNN is nice. |
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A critical item on the checklist is a generator with a large fuel tank. |
The big surprise at Holiday Express was high speed internet in the room! This place gets a perfect score. |
When we return to the States, it will be very interesting to listen to Sister Markham call Marriot reservations the first time. "Is the bathroom shared, do you use top sheets, and what size is your generator?"
A Nigerian Wedding Party
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In the afternoon, there was a wedding in the Lagos Stake Center, located adjacent to the Service Center where we were meeting. |
While the bride wore a western gown, most everyone else wore African clothes. Even the cars got decorated. |
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Sister Markham liked the head wraps which are called gele. This is a grandma. |
An older sister |
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| A younger sister | The Father |
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Charles, who is a former Bishop and Stake President's Counselor in Lagos, knew the this family and most of the other guests. |
Since we were with Charles, we were welcomed by the group. It was fun. |
Favorite Memories from Nigeria
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U-kay, taking candy from the meeting for his daughters at home. |
Jason |
Celestine at breakfast in the hotel.
He traveled from Aba, 500 miles to the east.
His breakfast is a large finger bowl, a sauce of greens and fish
cooked in palm oil, and fried gari cake. Gari is a staple made from
the cassava root (same as tapioca).
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