Our Home
Nigeria is located in West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon. It's slightly larger than twice the size of California but it is home to more than 128 million people, making it Africa’s most populous country. Approximately 40 percent of the population is Christian, 50 percent is Muslim and 10 percent have indigenous beliefs. The official language is English but there are more than 250 ethnic groups (with their own languages), the major ones being Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo.
The city of Ile-Ife is in the heart of the Yoruba land, about three hours north-west of Lagos, the former capital and location of the nearest airport. Yoruba civilization began in Ile-Ife, and though the city is still recovering from civil conflict in the past few years, it continues to be the cultural center of the Yorubas. It is a university town, housing one of the largest Nigerian universities, Obafemi Awolowo University.
The Seventh-day Adventist Hospital in Ile-Ife has a gated and guarded “compound” which contains the hospital and housing for various employees, including the missionaries currently working at the hospital. Our home is a spacious three-bedroom house with a large front and back yard, a small guest house, and banana, mango, avocado, papaya, and guava trees.
