Life at Bishop's Court

Last April Bishop Inyom moved from the house on the property of All Saints Cathedral to a new setting. The new place has about two acres of land as well as a house with four bedrooms. In spite of being somewhat removed from the city, this place rocks. A few examples:

Over the last three days no fewer than 30 people have been here for one thing or another, for half an hour or as house guests like Julian Linnell and me.

Two of the guests were Pentecostal missionary leaders. One was an Anglican bishop on his way to a meeting who just needed a place to spend the night.

Several are children who have been entrusted to the bishop and his wife for their upbringing.

Several just seemed to appear and then disappear.

The young man who helps us often is named Meshak. Yes, he has two brothers and a father whose name is Daniel.

One had an onset of malaria. Charity, the bishop's daughter, who is a doctor, administered three pills and assured the person that all symptoms would disappear in a few hours.

Mrs. Inyom is a farmer at heart and an entrepreneur. On the site are cashew trees, goats, teak trees, turkeys, cows, construction of an outside kitchen, chickens, an outdoor fire where yams are pounded and transformed to fufu. There are two kinds of turkeys and two kinds of chickens. Each has a different market destination. She has several years supply of rice and corn for meals, and a stash of yams that won't last as long as we might imagine. Nigerians start eating "pounded yams" before school and never outgrow the love of the dish. It comes as a kind of mush that is rolled into a ball and dipped in a bowl of okra, meat, or spinach. A very large bowl of it will disappear easily.

The worship bell rings at 6:00 AM for morning prayers. This is so the children can be present before their breakfast and before going to school.

The bishop holds endless meetings here, most of which are unscheduled. He gets his thinking tiime in the middle of the night.

All this with electricity some of the time, mosquitoes all the time, and sporadic rains. And all at a slow but deliberate pace.