A Day in Effiong’s Life
From the Field June 28, 2014
In 1988 my wife Mary and son Kurt wrote a booklet(Never Too Young) to encourage children to know about our mission work among the people in Nigeria and to pray for it. “A Day in Effiong’s Life” and the next “Life in a Mudwaddle” are from that booklet.
A Day in Effiong’s Life
Effiong is a ten year old boy who lives in a mud wattle house in the Nigerian bush. He has three sisters and a baby brother. Effiong’s father works in the city and is only home on the weekends. Effiong’s mother works hard on their farm and she also raises goats. Grandma lives with them, but she is crippled and blind, and cannot do any work.
Because Effiong is the oldest son, he is expected to do a lot of work. Every morning he gets out of bed at 5:30 to attend the morning devotion at church. His mother, sisters and little brother also attend. His father is not a Christian and he does not go to church. Effiong hopes that some day his father will believe in Jesus.
After the morning devotion, Effiong eats and then begins his work. The goats need to be fed and taken care of. Some of the goats are used for food, while some are sold. The ground around the house must be swept and kept clean. Effiong and the girls help their mother with the farm work. They weed the vegetables and bring in the ripe vegetables and fruit. There is much to prepare with palm fruit, yams and cassava. Effiong also brings in water from the creek when it is needed. Each day firewood must be brought in, so it can be used in their daily cooking. Effiong and his sisters take turns washing clothes. The clothes are washed by hand in a tub of water, and hung over shrubs or laid on the grass to dry.
Since Effiong’s school is not far away, he walks there. His teacher has 40 students in the class. The school building is made of cement, and there are several rooms. There is no glass in the window spaces, and no doors in the door spaces.
Some children do not go to school everyday, but Effiong and his sisters do. They hope to attend college and find good jobs. Every child has to pay a school fee. That is one reason why their father is working in the city. Some children can not go to school because their parents are too poor to pay the school fees. Because Effiong is the oldest son, he will be expected to help pay for his younger sisters’ and brothers school expenses.
Effiong knows that he must study hard and learn well. He also wants to do what Jesus says. Jesus wants Effiong to serve Him and to help others.
Romans 12:10a Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love,….