Miango Break

We just returned from a three-night holiday at the Miango Rest Home. It is a retreat center that was established in the 1940’s as a place for SIM (our organization) missionaries to vacation and get out of the heat that oppresses the rest of Nigeria. Miango and Jos are on a 4,000 ft plateau so the temperatures are much milder. Most of the year temperatures are 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit, though it is fairly humid most of the time. It is very pleasant if you are sitting in the shade with a nice breeze. Miango is in a lovely location, about 50 kilometers outside of Jos, where we live. It is next to a small village in a rural location surrounded by weather worn granite formations and farmland. We found it a nice change from the city living. The constant beep-beep of motorcycle taxis was noticeably absent.


The retreat functions more as a group retreat center now and not as many missionaries come for rest only. Two missionary groups were having regional conferences while we were there. We were one of three families there for rest and relaxation only. Activities included, tennis, hiking, volleyball, games, movie-watching, shopping, car driving lessons, teenage hanging out and goofing off, reading, and much visiting. All meals were provided, so Lisa had a nice vacation.


Highlights of the trip for me included a hike to the top of a nearby small dormant volcano with a panoramic view of the plateau. We packed 16 adults, teens, and kids into the van and drove a couple of miles down the road for that little outing. Another highlight was the tour of the Miango Rest Home and Kent Academy , which is the boarding school that was established in 1945 and part of the campus. The guide was Dr. Bill Ardill, who was born in Jos and went to school at Kent Academy. He is now the general surgeon here at Evangel Hospital, where I am working. His knowledge of the area and history of the mission is vast.

The most poignant part of the tour was the small cemetery behind the chapel. SIM missionaries who died in Nigeria are buried there. There are many stories of children and adults who lost their lives. There is a pilot who died on a test flight. Also buried is a four year old boy who drowned in a small pit that had been dug by the gardener without the knowledge of the parents. An elderly woman missionary who died in her sleep is there; she was known for always walking the long road between Miango and Jos. Two of the first known cases of Lassa fever are buried here; one was the missionary patient, the other was the physician who cut herself during the autopsy and contracted the disease. Several infants were buried there, including the Ardill’s own baby who died at birth. Many of the names on the tombstones were familiar to us as we have learned the names of the SIM community. It is clear, that there has been sacrifice among the families that have served in Nigeria.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13

Michael Mitchell, MD