Life in a Mud-waddle – Nigeria
From the Field July 13, 2014
This is taken from a booklet “Never Too Young” by Mary and Kurt Koenig
A mud-waddle is a house formed with sticks and poles. Mud is then plastered over the sticks. The roof is either made of metal or of palm branches. There is a building behind the house where meals are cooked in kettles over an open fire.
Ekom and her five sisters must work hard in the kitchen so their family can eat. The three brothers do not work in the kitchen very often, because they are busy cleaning and sweeping the yard, bringing in wood, and helping on their farm.
Mother and the girls have much to do every day. They must dig the large yams and pound them until they are soft. Pounded yam is their favorite meal. They also must make a soup of fish, chicken or goat with hot peppers and other spices. Special leaves must be picked and cooked in this soup. Then a piece of the pounded yam is rolled up, dipped in the soup and swallowed without chewing.
Another favorite meal is rice with a chicken curry sauce over it. One of the brothers catches the chicken in the morning. Ekom and her sisters prepare it. The rice is bought at a local market, but they must wash it many times because it is dirty and it has stones in it.
Palm oil is used in cooking. Palm fruit is cut from the top of palm trees. The fruit is separated from the core, and then it is crushed. After that, the oil is boiled. It is now palm oil, and it is stored in a container and used almost every day for frying foods.
Ekom has never seen a stove, a toaster, a refrigerator or a microwave. She only knows that she must work hard with her hands so that her family can have food to eat every day. Mother says that work is good for her, and that Jesus wants her to work instead of being idle. Many times the work is difficult and tiring, but she knows that is what Jesus wants her to do. What does Jesus want you to do?
I Corinthians 10:31b ….whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.