Written by: Tiffany Wilkinson,
A2S Communications and Development Manager
It’s hard to believe it’s here….
After months and months of planning and preparing, myself and a group of 6 other brilliant minds took to the air for Nigeria. I’ve known from the beginning that this was a special group. The culmination of applications, team meetings, a fairly spontaneous visa trip, Empowerment Camp planning, etc made it very clear that this group was unique, easy going, strong….and maybe most of all, vulnerable in such a way that unity comes easy. And it’s only getting better.
Day 1: There is no bonding quite like travel bonding. We all arrived at the airport around 1:30pm. I feel like the waters parted the moment we got past security. There were no issues what-so-ever, allowing for lots of laughter and light-hearted excitement. We made our first flight to Atlanta without a hitch. Once arriving in the ATL, we had some time to spare. We graced a TGIFriday’s and did some team building and went over trip logistics. After dinner, we had a few quick hours to relax before boarding our 11 hour flight to Lagos. Once on board the Big Guy, we had a minor delay, but then we were off!
Day 2: started somewhere above the Atlantic. Several movies down and a few quick naps later, we landed, got through customs, got all of our bags just in time to turn around and see family! Andrew was able to pull some strings and made it into baggage claim. Everything from that moment on was just a whirlwind of the most wonderful emotions. I spent some time living in Senegal in 2008, and even though Nigeria is full of it’s own beauty, the sounds and smells and colors all felt a little like home. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, and neither could the rest of the team. We made it to our hotel in Lagos, had team dinner, watched a little World Cup action, and just talked about how smooth and wonderful everything has been thus far.
Day 3: we got up early for breakfast and then headed for the airport to catch our flight to Benin City. Traffic in Lagos is something special. It took us about an hour to get from our hotel to the airport, which was approximately 3-4 miles away. It was honestly so wonderful to just take in the sites and smells. We made our flight and got in to Benin with, quite possibly, the best greeting in the world. A2S family was right outside of the airport, ready to greet us with the biggest hugs and so much love.
We are currently sorting boxes and getting ready to head to the After-School Academy!
There’s so much more to come, but meanwhile, know this….
The Lord is doing some amazing things. He’s paved the way and made our travel easy. I can’t wait to share more of what He’s doing in and through A2S!
