When we finally got our visas to go to Nigeria we were excited to know that we would be going to the Memorial in Africa. It was our first Memorial out of the country. There are so many experiences about the amazing attendance figures in other places and we were so happy to see it firsthand.
On a shopping trip we had purchased some Nigerian fabric and were hoping to be able to wear our matching outfits for Memorial, however mine wasn't ready. Matt's was though:
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| I always stand on my tiptoes to try to be taller. Matt just gets on his tiptoes now, too. |
Thanks to my wonderful friend Tera I did have an African outfit to wear though. So at least our colors coordinated. His and Hers matching outfits is a big deal in Nigeria!
Our Memorial was the second one in our hall, so it was completely dark when we arrived. However, we still got some pictures:
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| The girl I'm with is named Blessing, she was my bible student in Nigeria. |
The other congregation was finishing with their Memorial so we waited outside until they were through. We tried to be somewhat quiet as all the windows were open wide! It felt funny to be watching another Memorial that we weren't a part of ourselves. Soon, it was our turn. And the rush was on for the good seats!! We ended up sitting to the left of the stage on wooden benches. At first I was excited to be able to lean against the wall, but then later on I noticed the bugs and lizard coming through the window in another window. So I sat up straight after that.
The stage looked similar to how we set it up back home:
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There were cork circles on the wine glasses to keep the bugs out.
If you don't remain in your seat prior to the program you are apt to find someone else sitting in it so all were seated and stayed that way before the program:
Children made up a large part of our audience: |
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| Cuties!! |
At the end of our program it was announced that we had 434 in attendance. Our normal attendance had been around 100-160. All the studies and interested ones came. It was an amazing sight, and we will never forget it!
