Dave and Babs

Life in the Fast Lane

2012-02-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

The other morning, as we drove to church, it occurred to me that driving in Liberia is never a dull activity. Today, we saw a man on a motorcycle, driving with one hand, while holding a large fish in the other hand. I wonder if his mother had warned him about arriving at his sister's house for lunch without a hostess gift. We saw a man (old enough to know better!) on roller blades, holding onto the back of a motorcycle, whipping through Monrovia's streets. We saw a van that had rolled and was quite crunched. It had been full of cement building blocks.

Two boys, about age ten, were walking with a large table balanced on their heads. Maybe the Communion Table for a church somewhere? A man was pulling his reluctant goat down the street. I think the goat must have known this might be the last barbeque he would attend. Ladies dressed in beautiful African dresses, trying to hail taxis; little boys in clean white shirts and neat black trousers; girls with their hair intricately plaited and decorated with many bright barrettes and ribbons; dapper gentlemen wearing suits and ties. Many people were on their way to church.

As he drove, Dave had to keep a close eye on the road. Taxis stop in the middle of the lane to pick-up customers. Trucks pull onto the road without stopping or looking ("Right of Weight" seems to be the rule here). People crossing busy streets stand on the yellow line in the middle of the road, waiting for a break in traffic to dash across the remaining lanes. Cars pass on double yellow lines; taxis pass vehicles by driving on the shoulder of the road; brake lights often do not work, so there is no warning notice that a car is stopping in front of you. Joggers run on the road, and men pushing wheelbarrows full of lumber expect cars to go around them. Driving is not for the faint-hearted!

In the past month several new road signs have appeared. "Slippery When Wet" for a bridge, "Caution/School", "Curve Ahead", and so on. Earlier this week, I encountered a STOP sign where one had previously never been. I slowed and stopped. Two taxis whipped around me, honking their horns and one man shook his fist at me. Having the right of way, two motorcycles turned in front of me as I patiently waited, and they both honked and glared! All I did was stop at the STOP sign, as required by law. I was confused. But Dave told me that STOP signs are really just suggestions and that by actually stopping, I had spoiled the system. How was I to know?

Tomorrow, while you wait at the stop light, be thankful that every car is in a proper lane, and that all cars actually stopped for the red light. Be thankful that there are not twenty five people threading their way around the cars, selling newspapers, gum, potato chips, washcloths (yes, washcloths!), and loaves of bread. Driving in the U.S. might be a little more boring than driving here, but it is definitely more sane.

Have a good week.

---Babs

Getting Ready for Christmas

2011-12-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

Arks & Animals for the cottages

Here at the village, we are making plans for the 25th. The tree is up and the dining hall is decorated. The Advent Wreath is being lit every Sunday evening as we countdown to Christmas. Wooden nativity scenes are centered on the coffee tables in each cottage. The school children have been making gifts for the mamas, and a new dress for each girl is being sewn. Books and crayons are wrapped and labeled. Wreaths have been constructed for doors.

This year, each cottage will receive "cottage" gifts. These gifts are for use by all the people living in the house. Card games have been made and laminated. Matching games, rhyming word games, and math card games will be wrapped for each family and placed under the tree. Also, a wood carver friend has sculpted wooden arks complete with Mr. and Mrs. Noah and sets of animals. Each cottage will receive a Noah's ark set for Christmas.

Preparations for the annual Christmas Pageant are in full swing. We have plans to perform the pageant in the neighboring villages on Friday the 23rd. So far, practices have had the normal occurrences...an angel threw up; a Roman soldier and a shepherd got into a fist fight; one wise man has terrible stage fright and he cannot remember his five word line; one of the innkeepers just giggles. Yep, pretty normal.

Our Mary lovingly holds the baby Jesus each practice. She tenderly wraps the cloth around the baby. It is the sweetest thing to watch! And after each the practice, the baby Jesus is still the center of attention, as the children gather around and they all want to touch the baby doll.

This is our Christmas wish for you this season: May you still be in awe of the One in the manger, and may you wish to touch Him. He wishes to touch you.

Merry Christmas!

Dave and Babs

Not Just a Scrap of Grace

2011-11-21T13:09:00.001-08:00

If I were to write a book about our experiences in this country (not likely to happen!), I would have a difficult time picking a title.

Several good titles present themselves every week.

Such as "There is a Gecko in My Bible" or "Fish at the Gate" or "Just Another Dusty Road" or "OhnMineGoodness".

But today, the title would be "Not Just a Scrap of Grace". The idea comes from the story in Matthew where the Gentile woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus said he came first for the Jews, and she replied that even the dogs get the scraps of food from the table. Our Bible study referred to "scraps of grace", and it occurred to me that I have been given not just scraps of grace; I feast at the table! My plate is heaped full of wonderful gifts from God. He is truly a God of Grace.

Here is a list of things I am very thankful for:

---a nice bed in a safe, rodent-free house

---eyesight to experience sunrises and sunsets and awesome cloud formations

---the ability to read

---little George's smile and Romeo's "thumbs up" he gives me every morning

---family and friends who encourage us

---Internet service (how did missionaries survive before the computer age? I do not know!)

---100% cotton blouses

---pictures of Luke (grandson)

---the ability to reason and think critically

---parents and teachers who did their job (for critical thinking and reasoning skills!)

---laughter

---umbrellas

---electricity

---a nice clean shower with running water

---my Bible

---a sturdy four wheel drive vehicle

---a clever husband to fix sturdy four wheel drive vehicle

---Champ's hugs and Nehemiah's waves

---music

---Ibuprofen

---no current snake sightings

---ears to hear Martha's laughter across the play ground

---nail polish (hey, no ever accused me of being deep! I am pretty shallow. And proud of it!)

---insect repellent

---paved roads

---a good haircut (yes...shallow, remember?)

---flashlights

---employees who care to do their best work

---children who are happy and healthy

---eternal security through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, my Savior

See? Not just a scrap of grace, but baskets of blessings. What a gracious God we have!

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Babs

We Hate Meeces to Pieces!

2011-11-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

We arrived up in Nimba County at the small village of Mia Deah Play in the early afternoon. We handed our frozen chicken and small bag of rice to a local lady, and as we went off to assess children in the area, she went to work on supper. After visiting several children and their care givers, we walked back to the office where we would spend the night. The woman had supper ready, and it was delicious. The four pound chicken, served with rice, fed eighteen people.

Babs was tired. It was only 8:00pm, but it had been a long day, and she headed to bed. We use the term "bed" loosely, as it was a two inch foam mat on the floor. A mosquito net was hanging over the mat. We were thankful for the net, as the one little window had a screen that had seen better days! Obviously, it would not provide much protection from mosquitoes. When Dave came to bed at 10:00pm, our hosts turned off the generator, and the office building, which would sleep seven people in various rooms this night, became very dark and very quiet.

The scritching sound started about five minutes after all the lights went out. And it was loud. The rodent could not be in the walls, as the walls were made of adobe brick. It had to be at our door. We shined the flashlight at the door, and to our dismay, realized that a large mouse (think Mickey) was trying to get out of our room! Dave got up and opened the door a few inches, crawled back to our mat and turned off the flashlight. After a minute or two, Dave got up and closed the door. Mickey was out in the hall. Good enough!

Except, after a few minutes, the scritching re-started! Flashlight on again, pointed it at the door, and there was Minnie trying to get out! Oh, for heavens sake! Dave repeated the open door/close door scenario. Quiet again...for about two minutes. More scritching. Yes, now Mighty Mouse wanted out of the room. Once again, Dave opened and then closed our door. It was quiet for several minutes, and we were now pretty sure that the mouse family was happily roaming the office building, out of our hair!

After an hour's worth of sleep, the scritching noise was back. There were no mice on our side of the door, though. Apparently, the mouse family decided they LIKED it in our room and wanted back in! Not gonna' happen! But it was impossible to sleep with that dreadful scritchy-scratchy sound at the door. It was like a sound track from a bad Stephen King movie! We discovered that if we pointed the flashlight at the bottom of the door, the scritching stopped. And so that is how we finally slept most of the night, with the flashlight on, shining at the teeny crack at the threshold of the door. It was a long night.

The next morning, as we were packing up to leave our deluxe accommodations, we realized that several bags of rice were being stored in a corner of our room. Well, this explains why the mouse entourage wanted to get back in our room. They probably were coming with all their friends to party on! Next visit, we must demand a nicer room...like maybe the copier room.

We are not cat people, but having a nice Tabby along when we visit Mia Deah Play again might be a good idea.

Wishing you a rodent free day.

Dave and Babs

P.S. Since originally writing this blog post, things have come up and we need to return to Nimba County this week. Without a kitty cat. (sigh).

Round Two

2011-11-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Liberian presidential election was held Tuesday, October 11. Because of Liberia's past history of unrest and violence, the U.N maintained a formidable presence throughout Monrovia. The memory of Ivory Coast's ugly election situation just one year ago also had the U.N. very vigilant. Armored personnel carriers were positioned at the president's residence and near the U.N. building and at other key locations. Foreign embassies beefed up their security. Police manned major intersections and cops in full riot gear were present at all rallies and marches.

But all in all, it was rather peaceful. A party headquarters was burned to the ground and a radio station had a home made bomb tossed through a window. The chairman of one political party had his car burned one night. But, really, all in all, the marches and rallies and parades were without the mayhem and violence that had been feared.

It took a full week before the official results were announced, and no candidate received a majority of the vote. This was not totally unexpected. There were sixteen people running for president! Kind of hard to get fifty-one percent of the vote with the votes being split between so many candidates!

A run-off vote is scheduled for November 8 between the two top vote-getting candidates: President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and challenger Winston Tubman. The run-off is being called "Round Two". The U.N. personnel are still at their stations, and the police are still out in full force. Here we go again!

I See Dead People

2011-10-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

We had some incredibly fun mini missionaries come during the month of June for two weeks. (Not only were they fun, but they were cute, too!) Our daughter Kari came back to see us again, and she flew into Liberia with our nieces, Heather and Heidi. The girls were so helpful. Heather (an R.N.) helped with medical stuff in the mornings, and then she assisted at school in the afternoons. Kari and Heidi (educators) worked at the school all day. They tutored several students and taught the art class for two weeks.

For the art class, the medium was clay, and each student made a self-portrait. This was a project that took several sessions to complete, as the students had to form the clay person, then dress the person and add details (buttons, hair bows, belts, etc.). The last step was to paint their clay person after it had been hardened in the oven. Our kitchen became a kind of crematorium, with "dead clay people" laying all around, in various stages of being "cooked". It is a little disconcerting to open one's oven, thinking you are going to bake a casserole, and come face to face with six dead people.

This project was quite an accomplishment for many of the children. Most of the day students had never done anything like this before; they had never even played with play dough, so the experience of working with clay was brand new for them. It was fun to see the students enjoying the clay and forming details. Some girls made wild hairdos. Some boys carefully added belts and socks. Then they painted themselves. The finished articles were great! And the students were pleased with their work.

We had an art show, and placed the clay self-portraits on tables for viewing. We hung other art projects for display: chalk drawings, watercolor paintings, pen and ink designs. It was a nice art show and the budding artists were quite proud. Our Home Office personnel from Florida came for a visit while we had the art work on display and they were impressed with the quality of projects being made by our children. One does not usually consider Liberia to be cutting-edge in the art world, but we are going to change all that!

Sand Mining

2011-08-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Things are looking up here in Liberia. Crime is down! I just got the latest weekly update from our friends at the UN. Because you all pay for the gathering of all these valuable statistics, I thought I would pass on one of these reports to you. This is for the country of Liberia which is about the size of the state of Virginia.

"Crime Situation: During the reporting period two (2) armed robbery cases reported, a reduction from five (5) recorded last week. Firearm was reportedly used in one (1) of these armed robberies. Meanwhile, the number of rape, corruption of minor and sexual abuse cases decreased to twelve (12) from fifteen (15) in the previous week. Four (4) homicide cases were reported, as against six (6) recorded last week and one (1) mob incident reported, as compared to three (3) reported in the previous week."

Also mentioned in the report was that a group from the Ministry of Lands and Mines (for a long time I thought it was the Ministry of Land Mines, because their signage was not clear, but they have a new sign now) was issuing a "cease and desist" order to sand miners near our village (they haul loads and loads of sand off the beach to mix with cement for construction). The sand miners got angry and went after the government officials with knives and machetes. Fortunately, locals from a nearby village intervened and help the Feds to back out without losing any of their extremities.

Sand mining is not very complex. A dump truck of yester year, comes down the road, blowing it's air horn. Young men from the villages come running, shovel in hand, and jump up in the back of the truck. They proceed to the beach and the truck backs up to the most accessible place to shovel sand. The young men line up around the perimeter of the truck and fill it with sand, one shovel full at a time. This has been going on for four years here. What used to be a real nice beach is now a very large hole.

One might think that the Dept. of Land and Mines finally stopped this practice because soon there will be no beach. But, no, the reason they stopped the beach mining is because during the rainy season, the sand trucks destroy the dirt road so badly. Just past us about two miles, there are holes in the road in which an SUV could disappear into and not to be seen again until the dry season.

This shutting down of the sand mining in our area has left many young adults males out of work. Since they have no money, some have turned to robbing their neighbors and beating up people smaller than them. Since they no longer have an occupation that tires them out, they roam the roads around here at night causing much concern from yours truly.

Sand mining may not be the most environmentally correct thing to do, but it does give some pocket money to the young men, keeps them busy, and the hard work causes them to sleep at night!

Dave

Creative Spelling 101

2011-08-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

I have come to understand that correct spelling is just not important to many people. This can make things interesting sometimes. Once, when we were picking up a child from a government ministry, we asked how to spell the child's last name. We were given several different spellings. When we asked which one was correct, we were informed they ALL were correct!

Recently, a taxi was spotted with "God's Define Favor" painted on it's bumper. There is a "No Traspassing" sign on some property up the road from us. In downtown Monrovia, a man on the sidewalk was selling some colorful alphabet posters. They were quite large and printed on a good, heavy quality paper. I was thinking about buying several for the village until I spotted the spelling errors. For example, next to the letter "S", there was a picture of a pair of brown loafers and the word SHOSE printed next to them. OK, skip the posters.

A local school teacher was teaching a lesson about birds and wrote "fellows" on the whiteboard. And she then proceeded to teach about feathers. Not knowing how to correctly spell the word feathers was certainly no deterrent to teaching about them!

"A Wachted Pot Never Boil" and "Don Worry" are painted on taxi bumpers. A large house has a "Be Where Bad Dogs" sign on the gate. A local business sells "Used Trucks & Equipmant" and yesterday we passed a store that had "Mattresses 4 SAEL". There is a "Car Seat Repairler" on Somalia Drive, and the "Best Quilty Tires Money Can Buy" are sold off Roberts Highway. On SKD Drive, there are "Bangelows and Appartments For Rent".

Downtown, a nicely painted sign announces "Insurance Agenyc." I think they were writing what they heard ("a-gen-cee") but they also knew that someplace there was supposed to be a "Y" in the word. Yes, I guess that "close" only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and spelling!

Wishing you a letter-perfect day!

Love, Babs

Back In The States

2011-06-29T08:45:00.001-07:00

(We are in Florida for a week for meetings; then on to California to see family and friends)

This morning, I got a cup of coffee in a nice paper cup with a nice plastic lid from the hotel lobby and headed for WalMart. I walked for fifty minutes on a smooth sidewalk. No one honked at me or made smoochy sounds at me. There were no disabled vehicles alongside the road. I tossed my empty coffee cup into a garbage can sitting by the litter-free parking lot.

I walked into WalMArt. A lady greeted me with a cheery "hello". I shook her hand and told her she was doing a wonderful job of making people feel welcome. I think she might have called Security, to warn them that there was a demented lady in the store.

I found the lady's restroom. There was tissue and running water and soap. Commodes and sinks were clean; the floor was scrubbed. I saw the cleaning lady, and I thanked her for doing such a good job of keeping the bathroom clean and well-stocked. Possibly this lady called Security, also.

I shopped. The aisles were wide and clean; the store was well-lit, and the electricity was on the whole time I shopped. All items were clearly marked with a price. All items were in their original packaging. And there was more than one of each item on the shelf. I went to the check-out stand and the checker was friendly and efficient. I pulled out my credit card, swiped, signed, and I was ready to walk out the door. A nice stock boy helped me load packages into the taxi.

For someone who is a little retail-deprived in Liberia, this was a wonderful, wonderful experience. It is great to be back in the States!
And it is no wonder that many people in the world want to come to America!
See you at the mall-
Babs

A special birthday

2011-05-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

He came to live here at the orphanage in April 2008 after a pastor in his village became aware of his situation. His mother had passed away the previous year, and his aging grandma was attempting to care for him and his younger sister. Grandma, however, was unable to deal with an angry, confused boy and his baby sister. The pastor's first encounter with this boy was during church services: the boy would run through the church aisles, kicking the parishioners in the shins during worship. The pastor had heard of this orphanage, and recommended to the grandmother that both children come to us. When it was time to pick them up, it was difficult, because the boy had climbed a tree and would not come down.

At the orphanage, he would run away from his new mama. He would pick fights, and when disciplined, he would kick, scream, and bite. Often, he would do the exact opposite of what was asked of him. He threw things and broke items. He was a handful, for sure. But it soon became apparent that he craved consistency. He needed order, firmness, and love. He needed to know that the boundaries were the same everyday, and that he was not in control. He needed to learn that he was a little boy who could depend on the adults in his life. He was also extremely bright, and he needed to be challenged intellectually, also.

This wild little boy just turned seven years old. For those of us who have watched this angry fella' get to this point in his life, it is a wonder and a joy! Putting the alphabet and phonics together into learning to read was a turning point for him. He reveled in sounding out words for himself, and enjoyed the challenge of mastering sentences. This all made sense to him, and opened up a much bigger world. He is now a happy little boy.

He has come into his own. He is one of the best readers in his class. Often during reading time during school, he has two books open: the one the class is following and the book he has checked out from the library. The reader that the class is reading is not challenging enough for him, so he has another book he is reading simultaneously, careful not to lose his place in the school reader. After class, he tutors a newer classmate, and he reads to his brothers at home.

He is taking piano lessons, too, and is one of the better piano players. He practices diligently everyday. He also loves to play soccer and he is good! He is incredibly fast and makes a great goalie. He hates for a ball to get past him! We keep this guy busy and engaged, as that is when he is happiest. From kicking worshippers to kicking field goals, he has made good progress!

He is a smart boy who has been chosen by God for great things. His constant frown of past years has been replaced by a smile of contentment and confidence. We praise God for bringing him to this place.

Dave

Restoration of Hope

2011-05-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hard to describe this place...a swamp, a landfill, low cost housing. This is where our hunt for two children led us. We had heard about a boy and his little sister whose parents were killed in February. The parents were doing business in the Ivory Coast, and got caught in a village that experienced fighting between the rebels and the army. War is usually hardest on the young and the old, and here, too, both were affected. An aged grandma now had total responsibility for her two young grandchildren. She could not afford to care for them. This was the swamp where Grandma lived. The pictures say it all. There is no money for clothing, food, and school. There is a whole community out here, living in tin and thatch shacks on stilts. Amazing!

So we met the children: a boy five years old and a girl, three years old. They were sweet kids; polite and thin and hungry. Taking them for medical exams, we fed them. Bananas, eggs, and crackers disappeared quickly. Neither child had ever been to school, and the prospects of them attending school while living with Grandma were slim to none.

They came to the orphanage the week before Easter. The boy knew immediately that this place was better than the swamp. His sister was not so sure. But when she was bathed and dressed in a pretty dress and she received shoes and new underwear, things began looking better! She played with brightly colored blocks her first afternoon while her brother joined an impromptu soccer game. That first night, she snuggled in her clean bed with her own new baby doll. Yes, this might be O.K. after all!

Now, a week later, the boy is attending school. He is learning the alphabet and how to print letters. He is learning the words to songs and finger plays. His sister is learning that there will be food again in a few hours, so she does not need to scarf everything on her plate in two minutes flat! They both have energy to run, a sparkle in their eyes, and a joy in their faces that was missing that first time we met them.

These children now have hope for a future.

We think it is fitting that they arrived Easter week, as that is the time we celebrate the restoration of hope that has been made available to us also. We have been reminded that we were picked up out of our personal "swamp" of hopelessness and separation from the Father, and brought to a safe place of joy and security with a restored eternal relationship. Easter is officially over for another year, but we do wish you the peace and hope that Easter symbolizes every day.

Blessings to you all!

Dave & Babs

Do You Know the Way to Sanniquellie?

2011-04-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

We met Tony about three weeks ago. He had called us after hearing about the work done here. Tony works for a NGO that works in remote areas of Liberia. His organization works to prevent child abuse, promote education, and they set up day care facilities for children while the parents are out working on the farm. Tony is focused on their objectives, but like us, he sees so much more that needs to be done. Tony is a concerned Liberian with a heart for his people. In the town where they have set up office, there are many orphaned children. The road that leads there is very rough. When there are medical emergencies, there is no way to get people out to a hospital quickly. Many women (and babies) die during childbirth.

While Tony was working on his office in February, a young lady with a three month old child came up to Tony, asking for money. She offered to clean his office, haul water, or cook for him; anything to try to earn a little money to buy food for her and her baby. Every time she would pass by, she would talk with Tony and proudly show off her baby. Tony would give her a little money from time to time.

In March, Tony heard of a girl who had been bitten by a snake on her way back from the farm. She had died within hours of being bitten. Later, Tony discovered it was the same girl who had stopped by to talk to him on many occasions. Now, her baby daughter was another orphan added to the thousands of orphans in this country. Tony began looking for someone that could take care of this child. Who would be this child's advocate and caretaker? How would this child grow up well and healthy in a place where everyone had too many children of their own to sustain? Tony went looking for someone who would be the answer to these questions and he was pointed in our direction.

After meeting with Tony, Dave asked Babs how she would feel about driving six hours to go see this child , and what day would work to make a trip up there. The baby was located in the most northeastern point of Liberia, close to the Ivory Coast border. Monday would not work: the kitchen was out of rice and powdered milk, so a grocery run was needed. Tuesday was out, as there were physicals scheduled on three prospective new children from Monrovia. Wednesday was not going to work as generator oil needed changing plus a myriad of other items needed attention. O.K., Thursday was the day.

However, Thursday morning everyone at the village had "important"needs that needed to be dealt with, and so it was 10:30 am before we were going down the road. Not a problem; even if it took us seven hours, we would be there by dark.

We picked up Tony up at his office in Gbarnga, which looked about half way on the map. We had been traveling for four hours. As soon as we left Gbarnga, the roads deteriorated considerable. When we got through a town called Sanniquellie, it was getting dark. Not a good thing. We had been traveling a total of seven hours now.

An hour later, it was very dark and we were on a road that had an unspoken speed limit of 5-10 mph. Rocks, crevices, mud holes, narrow wood bridges, oh my. After going through mud hole after mud hole, one can get a little complacent, and then you drop into one where the muddy water rolls over the top of the hood. That wakes you up! At this point, Dave was not asking Tony how much further, because he had heard "about one more hour to go" several hours ago. When we went through areas where the brush had completely covered the road overhead, it seemed as though the head lights dimmed as the light was soaked up in the darkness. The noise of the crickets, frogs, and multitude of various other insects and creatures became so loud, we found ourselves talking louder in the car to be heard over the noise. Babs was sure she heard raptors in the distance, and she kept waiting for a T-Rex to appear. (Did anyone else see "Jurassic Park"? ) About this time, Babs asked Tony if he is sure we are on the correct road. Tony replied to Babs, "I told you it was far". Dave just kept driving.

When we reached the village where Tony's regional office was located, it was well after 8pm. We were given a lighted room with a mattress on the floor. To Babs' chagrin, the latrine was about seventy five yards away from the house. We were given hot water in a bucket for a bath that was much welcomed after ten hours on the road. (What happened to six hours!?!) We were informed that the generator would go off after 11pm.

While sitting in the yard of Tony's office, some brave girls sneaked up to our circle of chairs to get a closer look at the white people. They brought their bench and sat nearby. They were scared of us. It was explained that they had seen white men before but had never seen a white woman (and now one with red hair!) After a while, Dave motioned for one of the little girls to come over to him. The three older ones pushed the youngest out front; she advanced toward him with great caution until she got within an arm's reach. Dave pulled her onto his lap. After a few minutes she relaxed and fell asleep. Now the other girls were envious.

The next morning we were up at seven. Bath water had once again been prepared. Dave had to escort Babs to the latrine. After he got her there, he thought his work was done so Dave returned to the circle of chairs where many of the world's problems had been solved the night before, only to find out that Babs was having trouble with the latch on the bathroom. Walking back to the latrine to fix this door problem, Babs pointed out to Dave that the whole village was watching. That Babs exaggerates so! Except, sure enough! the whole village had lined up their chairs and benches to face the yard where the white people were staying. Dave told Babs she better make it work this time or all of northeastern Liberia would think that white women had problems going to the bathroom!

By 8:30 am we were doing child assessments with the town officials looking on. One place we visited is one of the oldest missions in the country. It was built over a hundred years ago. This was a very beautiful site with houses and a school that had been built well, but now suffered from years of neglect. We saw several needy children. By 11 am, we were done doing assessments and bouncing our way back to Monrovia.

Back through the water, dust, sludge, rock, ruts and pot holes. A nine hour trip home (NOT six hours!). The next day our bodies reminded us that sitting in the same seat for nine bone jarring hours is not easy. Then there is the thought of the paper work, and hassles of getting good medical exams on the children, and then more paperwork.... If we pursue these children, it will mean at least two more trips to this village, and the adventure aspect will diminish expediently with each trip.

But the lives of children are at stake here so we will try to make time for this adventure again, soon. We just feel bad for our car. It needs some work before we can do the next trip. It, too, is not as young as it once was!

Dave & Babs

Taxi "Wisdom..."

2011-03-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Taxis are often interesting sources of entertainment.
Here are some sayings on car bumpers you will probably never see in the USA.

Breakfast With Ofelia

2011-03-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

I had breakfast with Ofelia today. Ofelia is a day student who attends the school we have at the village.

In order to have full classes, we take in community children who would not have an opportunity to attend school otherwise. Free public education here is not free: there are student fees, and uniforms to purchase, and school supplies. Plus, all students are required to wear shoes to school. Sometimes, this final requirement is enough to keep a child from attending school, as after purchasing uniforms and supplies, there is no money for shoes.

At our school, we do not charge fees, and we provide uniforms and all school supplies.

We do ask that the parents provide shoes for the students. And we do require the students attend school when it rains. It seems that in most Liberian schools, attendance is optional when it is raining! Apparently, it is perfectly acceptable to miss school when the humidity reaches 100%. This makes it difficult for continuity in education as this country receives almost 200 inches of precipitation a year! That makes for A LOT of "rain days".

But Ofelia never misses school. She is in our kindergarten class, and she loves school. She is the first one of her family to attend school. Both her parents cannot read or write. Ofelia is going to break the cycle of illiteracy in her family! Her father tells me that she is up and dressed for school by 6:30 am, because she does not want to be late. She is at the village gate at 7:30 am. A guard walks her and the other day students to the dining hall for breakfast. We feed the day students breakfast and lunch.

Dave supervises breakfast

Ofelia loves breakfast. She eats pancakes, or muffins, or a bowl of hot cereal with gusto. When Ofelia first began coming to our school, she looked thin and tired. Now, her eyes shine and her hair has a good color to it. Ofelia has put on some weight and looks healthy.

And I had breakfast with her today. Ofelia sat primly at the table. She shook her cloth napkin out and carefully spread it across her lap. She used her utensils neatly and with confidence. What a difference from the first time a year ago, when she looked at the fork and spoon and knife in amazement and wondered what to do with the napkin. In her world, sleeves were for wiping mouths and fingers were for shoveling in food! This morning, she deftly held her fork, and eating like a little lady came naturally to her.

Pancakes are enjoyed

I sipped tea and asked her about her night. She politely answered me. After breakfast, she carried the dishes to the kitchen window and washed her hands at the sink. She looked happy and content. Today, she told me, they were going to learn about the letter U. And probably color a picture. It was time for school assembly, and with a little wave and a sweet smile, she was off to the great halls of academia.

Ofelia

As I finished my tea, it occurred to me that Ofelia is a good reason to be here, in this place, doing this work. Someday, Ofelia might be a research doctor and develop a vaccine to prevent malaria; or maybe she will be a judge and make honest, fair decisions for Liberia. She could be a mother who will read to her children and teach them to read and write. Hey, maybe she will become a scientist and discover a mascara that does not smear in high humidity conditions! That would be awesome! Oh, the possibilities are endless and it is a big world out there! With education comes hope and a future. And now Ofelia has both.

Wishing you a wonderful day, filled with hope and promise.

Babs

Note: in these pictures, the tailors have not finished making all the school uniforms yet.That is why most of the day students are wearing regular clothes instead of uniforms.

Decoration Day

2011-03-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

The cathedral was packed. It was standing room only for the funeral of the Bishop. A large choir made up from several different congregations throughout Monrovia sang "The Hallelujah Chorus" and also a beautiful rendition of the Twenty Third Psalm. As it was an Episcopalian service, this was high worship: incense was smoking; Mass served to all; several long processionals; robes, tassels, hats, and uniforms; responsive readings and great hymns sung by the congregation. Pastors from different denominations participated. Many dignitaries were in attendance, as was the President of Liberia.The service lasted for five and a half hours. Yes, five and a half hours!

The Bishop died in January, in the States, after a short illness. His body was flown back to Liberia, and about a month after his passing, this "celebration for his peaceful home-going" was held.

After the hundreds of people spilled out of the cathedral, the crowd took to the street. The parade of humanity surrounded the hearse as it inched down the avenue. The people stayed with the hearse for several blocks, and then the body was driven on hour out of Monrovia, to a church-owned cemetery for the Bishop's final resting place. It was a magnificent send-off for a man who had lived a full life of service to the Lord.

Death here, is a regular occurrence. Yesterday, at a local hospital, in a ward of seven beds, two young children died two hours apart. Right now, as I write this, we hear wailing coming from a neighboring village; someone just died. This past week, two employees attended funerals of relatives: a groundsman's cousin was buried, and a mama's aunt died. Both of these people were buried within 24 hours, as those funerals took place in the bush. No mortuary was involved, and so then there is no way to keep the body from decomposing quickly. For this reason, burial is usually done soon. It occurred to me as we sat in the grand sanctuary of that impressive cathedral, attending the Bishop's funeral, what a contrast this event was to most funerals in Liberia.

Often times, in a village, there are tombstones right next to the huts. The tombs are really monuments and there are graves scattered throughout the jungle. Most every village has a few tombs tucked nearby. We have seen the tomb of a beloved school principal right in the middle of the school playground, and we have observed a tomb three feet from the front door of a stick hut in the bush. There does not seem to be zoning laws for cemeteries or burial plots! It seems that if you own the land, you can bury your loved ones.

Next month, it will be Decoration Day. Prior to the holiday, people will clean up the grave sites. Weeds will be cut or pulled; crypts will be painted bright colors; flowers planted nearby. And then families will come to visit the graves on Decoration Day. They might stay for a short visit, or some families might have a picnic there at the grave, lasting for hours. On Decoration Day, the dead are remembered and mourned again.

"Quick, Robin! To the Bat Mobile"

2011-01-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

We have seen many interesting sites here in Liberia, but one of the creepiest things we have seen is the "Bat Tree."

This is a tree in downtown Monrovia that is home to thousands of bats. These are not cute little bats that are the models for cuddly stuffed animals, but the big nasty vampire ones that look like they could suck a person dry in a few minutes (OK, maybe that came from too many late night thriller movies, but these guys are creepy!)

Our first experience with the Bat Tree was a trip to Waterside Market. Julie and I were walking down the sidewalk, and we looked up to watch a large flock of crows swarming overhead. Only they were not crows! Yikes! Hundreds of huge bats flying through the air. Something had apparently spooked them, and they left the tree to fly around downtown Monrovia in the middle of the day and scare innocent, unsuspecting white women out fabric shopping!

A gentleman pointed out the Bat Tree to us, and sure enough, the large dead tree was covered with what looked like large dead leaves...except that these "leaves" would spread their big ugly wings every now and then and fly away. They would soar around the tree and land in a new spot, and return to hanging upside down. I wondered why the bats just leave and fly a little bit and then return to hang out. I wondered if it was kind of like us walking around on an airplane trip, to prevent embolisms and leg swelling. Just a random thought!

We finally got some interesting pictures of the Bat Tree (via son-in-law Robert's very nice camera!) and thought you all might like to see what bats do for fun here (besides scaring white women). The pictures also make a good case for dead tree removal!

Have a good day!

Babs

An Exciting Christmas Gift

2011-01-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

(Another blog by Kari, Dave & Babs' daughter...)

During our time in Liberia with Dad and Mom, a rather exciting project took shape. There had been a need for some play equipment on the site for some time, and having Robert around to help Dad meant it was the perfect time to tackle this project!

Dad and Robert disappeared into Monrovia for a couple days to get supplies and to find an expert welder. Apparently, the guy doing the welding was very motivated because he had the agreed-upon equipment welded in about 24 hours. It wasn't long before this very unwieldy load was headed for the site:

After a couple days of setting the equipment up, a playground took shape.

A play set with slide, swings, climbing wall, and sandbox:

A "big kid" swing set:

A "little kid" swingset and merry-go-round:

Monkey bars:

Dad made sure to test all the equipment to make sure it was safe and sound for the kids. At least, he claimed to be working...

Robert and Dad worked very hard on this playground:

The kids were eager to use the playground. For days, the kids asked Mom and Dad when they could go play on the new equipment. The building of the playground created quite a stir on the site! Finally, it was time for playground's grand opening...

Success!

For most of these children, a playground was a new concept. The idea of a slide, swings, a merry-go-round, and a climbing wall---all new. We had to spend a little time helping the kids learn how to use the equipment! Dad spent a lot of time teaching the older girls how to swing. The idea of pumping your legs so you could move yourself was a new concept!

Some of the kids were quite content to let Mom push them on the merry-go-round:

These two enjoyed a new pint-sized picnic table, built just for them:

The new playground also included a soccer field with real goal posts:

The monkey bars were a new thing, too:

The grand opening of the new playground was a lot of fun. Not sure who slept better that night, though...the kids or the adults?

---Kari

The Most Amazing Rescue in History...(by a "guest blogger")

2010-12-28T08:44:00.001-08:00

The Annual Christmas Pageant was a smashing success! The kids performed for two neighboring villages and despite distractions (a few talkative audience members, a couple friendly dogs, and a handful of roaming village chickens, to name a few), the show went on without a hitch! The children sang from the heart and lines were recited with gusto.

Robert and I enjoyed being part of the pageant this year. The kids' excitement was contagious, and even in hot, muggy conditions, it really started to feel like Christmas.

Walking hand-in-hand with one of the group's slowpokes, I ended up at the end of the pageant caravan. As we walked from one village to the next, I could look in front of me and see every child and adult involved. I began to think about the word "rescue." When someone asks Robert or me what my parents are doing in Liberia, we rarely use the word "orphanage." Instead, we say, "They are working with an organization that rescues orphans in Liberia." We have learned to word it this way because the word "orphanage" seems to conjur up pictures of hundreds of kids packed into sleeping quarters together. "Orphanage" does not really explain that the organization that Dad and Mom are working with is committed to true rescue. These are children pulled from the depths of horrible situations and then given love. Their needs are met with a loving home environment, health care, nutrition, education, and the good news that Jesus loves them and is their ultimate security.

As the little slowpoke and I made our way at the end of the line, it struck me that these rescued children would be performing the first act of the most incredible rescue ever staged in history. These kids, dressed as Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and the heavenly host were going to perform the Christmas story for a group of people who had perhaps never heard this true tale of rescue. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us---to pull of from the depths and show us love like we had never known. How undeserved and how amazing!

From Liberia, Merry (belated) Christmas, and Happy New Year!

(Kari---Dave & Babs' daughter)

Dress Rehearsal

2010-12-20T23:41:00.000-08:00

So this is the scene:

Two shepherds sock each other in the arm when they think the director is not looking in their direction.
Mother Mary giggles at Angel Gabriel instead of acting frightened.
Narrator #4 always loses his place in the script.
Caesar Augustus will not raise his voice, and so the decree is only heard by his bodyguard.
The innkeepers all memorized the same lines.
Joseph and Mary do not want to stand next to each other.
Two of the wise men have to go to the bathroom.
And Angel Gabriel keeps sneezing.

Yes, it is a typical Christmas Pageant Practice!

But then it is time to sing "Silent Night" and as the children gaze on the little baby Jesus, they are perfect angels!

The Rafiki Traveling Roadshow Christmas Pageant will be performing for local villages this week, with the premier performance being delivered on December 22.

It is Christmas and we are blessed among peoples. Hoping you can say the same!

Merry Christmas!
Love, Dave and Babs

Always something to see...

2010-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some interesting sights we encounter as we travel around Liberia:

A "More Often Than Not" Day

2010-11-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

A.J. and Gabriel with Grandpa, Grandma, aunties and uncle.

Today was one of those typical "I'm going to get some work done" Saturdays. The difficult-to-work-with child care director had a list of items that she had given me Friday night that would only take two or three hours to knock out. So, out the door bright and early! I am gathering up a few tools and I run into my lovely wife who informs me that the dining room septic tank is backed up and running down the side walk. This is not the first time this has happened, so I know the routine: call the maintenance guys to pull the covers off the tank and we will have this fixed in a jiffy. No problem.

We just get the covers off and the gate guard informs me that there is a gal there to apply for a job. She has an appointment with Mrs. Veneman at 10 a.m. It is now 8:30 a.m. Mrs. Veneman is having Bible Study with the mothers until 9:30am, so I guess that leaves me to escort her in and get her an application.

While I am walking her to the clinic, where she can fill out an job application, some family members arrive at the gate to visit their two nephews/grandsons. These boys have been at the village for six months now, and grandpa, grandma, uncle, and two aunties want to see how they are doing.

So after I get the potential new hire situated at the clinic desk, I escort the five family visitors to the dining hall and inform Mrs. Veneman that visitors are here. Interrupting the Child Care Director in the middle of her Mother's Bible study is not a high productive move ordinarily, but there are exceptions. She is happy to hear about the family visitors.

Back to the house to get an application for the girl applicant; back to the dining hall to see if our five guests are doing OK; and then back to the septic tank, that is conveniently located in the middle of the dining hall, the clinic, and my house, to deal with the two yard maintenance guys who have been watching me walk back and forth, while leaning on their shovels. I tell the maintenance guys to get the pump and pump some of the water out of the tank so we can possibly see where the obstruction is while I go back to the clinic to check on the potential new hire.

Babs, now done with her Bible Study, is with the family visitors and calls me to please get the camera and take a picture of the boys and their family. So, back to the house to fetch the camera with a stop at the septic tank to answer some high tech questions about why the stuff is not running downhill at the moment. With camera in my hand, I head back to the dining hall and take two Ansel Adam quality pictures of Gabriel, A.J., and their extended family, and I am headed back to the house to print and laminate two award winning photos for the family to take home with them.

Back to the dining hall to deliver the pictures. The maintenance guys again leaning on their shovels is not lost on me. I am beginning to think these guys must have trained with CalTrans. The family is incredibly grateful for the pictures, and so thankful for the care being given their two precious children. We are confident that one of the boys, and possibly both, would not be alive if it had taken two weeks longer to get their paperwork through the Ministry of Health. Even after the boys arrived at the village, they scared us at how long it took for them to respond to good nutrition and meds.

As Babs and I walked this family to the gate after the visit was over, the grandfather said that if he dies now, he will be at peace because they did the right thing by letting the boys go. His wife was doing a Liberian dance, thanking Jesus that their boys were alright. All this is happening while the maintenance guys are leaning against their shovels (again), wanting me to come over and talk to them about the septic condition (again). But that is not to happen yet, as I head to the clinic to interview the job applicant to determine if she would be a fine addition to our staff. The maintenance boys look quite dejected.

The 23 year old applicant has completed her application quite thoroughly. We find that she has finished high school and speaks understandable English. Babs thinks she would like to hire this candidate for the kitchen, so that means another trip to the house for the whole hiring kit (paperwork). On the way by, I make a stop at the septic tank and the "boys" and I embark on some genius level conversation about why the stuff is going down the sidewalk instead of the drain pipe.

After the trip to the house to get the hiring kit, I am back at the clinic explaining what it means to be an employee here. Little things, like actually coming to work, and letting someone know when you need to be gone for three days to attend a wedding or funeral. The one rule that is quite precious to me is that after each pay day, an employee is expected to come back to work even though there might be money left over in his pocket.

Following our little talk of why we pay employees once a month, it's back to the house to print off her passport photos so she can get a police clearance letter. I bring the photos to her in the clinic. The master plumbers are now tired of the whole septic tank thing and inform me that they are going back to what they were doing before (cutting weeds). I inform them that if they can leave the whole area as they found it before starting on this project, they can go. They concur, but first it is time for lunch. And they leave for lunch. They will finish the septic situation after they return.

And so goes my morning. Nothing accomplished that I had on my list. This is a normal day.

Have a good, productive day!

Dave

Count Your Blessings

2010-11-08T16:50:00.001-08:00

Thursday, November 4, was Liberia's Thanksgiving Day. We had a simple Thanksgiving service with the Mothers and the children, and then we headed to the ocean.

Here are some of the things I am thankful for:

I am thankful for a cloudy, almost-cool day.

I am thankful for a fun, safe time at the beach this morning with all the kids and mamas.

I am thankful that Manny saw his first kite flying and was almost overcome with excitement.

I am thankful that Isaac actually got a kite up in the air for a few minutes.

I am thankful that A.J. did too.

I am thankful for the sweet spirit of children who shared toys and played together.

I am thankful for Faith's laughter, as we jostled our way home on bumpy roads.

I am thankful that Dave can fix almost anything (this I was thinking as we were bouncing over those roads!).

I am thankful for eyes to see the thunderclouds billowing over the ocean; to see glowing sunsets and green palm trees.

I am thankful for ears to hear the birds calling, the frogs croaking, the crickets "cricking", and the children singing.

I am thankful for internet connection in order to be able to communicate with folks I love back home.

I am thankful for a dry bed, for a cozy house, for shoes, and for plenty of food.

I am thankful that I can read.

I am thankful that I own a Bible.

I am thankful for good hymns that tell of God's faithfulness to His people.

I am so very thankful that I am one of His people.

Wishing you days full of thanksgiving this November.

Babs

The Name Game

2010-10-30T12:54:00.001-07:00

The cooks at the village call me "Mother". The children call me "Mrs. Veneman" or "Mr. Veneman" or "Mistress Veneman". The Mamas here call me "Sis Barbara". The people in the neighboring villages call me "Oma" (for Old Ma. That used to hurt my feelings, until I was informed that it is a sign of respect. OK, whatever! It still is painful!). The guards just call me "Sir!"

My real name is Barbara. My parents named me Barbara with the intent of calling me "Babs" as they liked the cute nickname. And so, since birth, I have been called "Babs". Only the bank, creditors, and telephone solicitors called me Barbara.

Until I came to Africa.

Liberians have a difficult time pronouncing "Babs" so I soon learned it was easier to introduce myself as Barbara. It made life smoother, as when I call myself Barbara, I do not have to repeat my name several times as confused people try to pronounce that odd, foreign name of "Babs". Barbara is a name that is more familiar to them, although it is not real common in Liberia. The nationals we see regularly call me "Sis Barbara".

(Where is she going with this, you wonder.) Well, Melvin, our social worker, had a baby. A sweet baby girl who is four months old now. She is darling. And Melvin named her "Barbara". Hm-m-m-m. We are not sure how this works here, but we might be on the hook for four years of Liberian college tuition someday! Rats.

On the other hand, I think Barbara Kiazolu is a good name! She could go far with a name like that.

Wishing you a wonderful day, without creditors or phone solicitors!

Sis Barbara

Sneaky Snakes

2010-10-06T18:40:00.001-07:00

The girl rushed into my home and announced that she had seen a green mamba in her house. Of course, Dave had just driven out of the village, and technically, I was the person "in charge". So I bravely grabbed a bath towel ("Why a bath towel?", you ask. I do not know! It was handy!) and I called Zubah the guard.

Zubah, carrying a shovel, and myself, carrying a bath towel, carefully entered the house. We headed to the back bedroom, where the vile creature had been last seen. Brave Zubah looked under the bed, under the rug, and slowly opened the closet door. I supervised his movements from my perch on top of a dining room chair in the hallway (yes, holding my towel).

There was a lot of clanging and banging as Zubah located the disgusting critter in the closet, and beat it with the shovel. Zubah is my hero! This is not the first time Zubah has saved me from the deadly jaws of a snake. Once he saved me from a twelve inch garden snake. (I probably could have handled that one myself, except I forgot my towel.)

Zubah carefully searched the house for more snakes, but did not find any, and I thanked him as he carried the still writhing behemoth out the door (it was about 24 inches long). All was well again in the village. Yes, I had everything under control!

Later that day, I was back in the girl's house, reliving the life and death experience for Dave, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted another green mamba, as it was tucking itself behind a broom in the corner of the front room. (And me without a towel!) I calmly rushed out of the house and allowed Dave to do his manly thing and kill that creepy crawler. It was not quite as long as the first one, but it was thicker. Now Dave is my hero.

Have a wonderful, snakeless day!

Love, Babs

Melvin update:

2010-08-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note here:

Melvin got sick. He claims it was malaria, but I am not sure.

Melvin eats monkey...Melvin gets sick. Coincidence? I think not!

Stay well!

Babs

More Shopping With Melvin

2010-08-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

We went into the interior to check on three children whose father died last year. Melvin, our social worker, went with us to do background checks and to help with transporting the children to the local clinic for medical exams. The area we ventured into today was Melvin's old stomping grounds. He grew up in a village in this county. In fact, the physician's assistant who helped us at the clinic was Melvin's cousin.

As we left the clinic, Melvin asked if we could make a small detour on our way home. Melvin assured us it would only be a fifteen minute detour.

Thirty minutes and twelve hard, bumpy miles later, we arrived at his home town. All the villagers were happy to see him! Everyone knew Melvin. He was greeted with shouts, smiles, handshakes, and hugs. They gave him a large bag of garrah (ground up cassava root that cooks up to the texture of oatmeal) and a dead monkey. Yes, you read that correctly! A dead monkey. Dave dutifully stashed the garrah and the monkey in the back of the Land Cruiser.

We then headed back to the main road, but first we had to stop beside a stick jammed in the dirt by the side of the road. It had a plastic bag tied to it. "What is this?" was hardly out of my mouth, when Melvin jumped out of the car and ran about ten feet into the jungle. He returned with a large sack of fufu. His sister had stashed it by the side of the road and marked the spot with the stick/plastic bag. Another gift for Melvin. Fufu is fermented cassava root. It has the texture of play dough; in my opinion, play dough tastes much better than fufu. Now, the car smelled like rotten cassava. I jokingly made some comment about having a little monkey stew with the fufu, and Melvin almost got giddy with excitement! Apparently, monkey stew over fufu is the best!

One more stop before we reached the main road...for two large sacks of charcoal. Melvin is a bargain shopper, and he always gets a good price on charcoal when he goes away from Monrovia to buy it. The price is especially good when he and the charcoal-maker are childhood friends.

The back of the vehicle was now full. We delivered the children and uncle back to their village, and we headed home to Monrovia with Melvin, monkey, and fufu. It was a good day for Melvin. But a bad day for the monkey.

Wishing you all a good day, enjoying whatever foods you like best!

Babs

More Rain...

2010-07-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

It is raining.

As Liberia receives about 200 inches of rain a year, I guess this is not unusual. But it still seems novel to me that it is pouring rain so hard we cannot talk to each other in the house as it is too noisy. And it is July. Back in California, it is hot and dry. Here, it is hot and wet. Even after two years, it still seems odd to me.

The rivers are all swollen and running fast. The swamp land is flooded. Now would be a good time to survey land for a prospective land purchase, as one could tell if it floods. For those who did not do their homework, there are newly-built homes that are surrounded by large bodies of water! One fellow down the road recently built a four foot wide cement sidewalk to the door of his store. He built it about eighteen inches tall. There was such a large lake around his new store building that customers could not come in, so the new sidewalk goes to the edge of the highway.

The roads have become muddy rivers. People walking down the road get splashed on by cars driving by, as tires hit mud puddles. Walking anywhere becomes a challenge to stay clean. The mud is slick, red, and tenacious!

In this current storm, it has already rained for thirty hours straight, without ever completely stopping. At times, it was ferocious, with strong winds and deluge downpours, and then it would calm down for a few hours to a steady drizzle before again getting angry and unleashing another round of unrelenting precipitation. We have new streams on the village site today, and the regular drainage streams are overflowing. It is a rather impressive Liberian storm.

I do not mind the rain. Neither do the frogs, as there is a constant symphony coming from the swamp area around the compound. They all sound happy; it is a choir of throaty, cheery songs.

Hope you all stay dry today (oh, that's right! You will stay dry...it is July! I forget.)

Babs

So Many Children...

2010-07-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last night we got word from our social worker that signatures had come through from the Ministry of Health on a child that we have been waiting to pick up for the last two months. This morning, at 6:30 am, I met the social worker to get the signed documents. The boy’s family did not have a phone, and the neighbor’s phone was answered by someone who did not speak any English, so I then drove into town to notify the family that we would be back at 10 am to do the final paper work and to take the boy to his new home. I returned to the village to collect Babs and the house mother who will receive this boy into her cottage. The three of us drove back to Monrovia. We parked the car on a dirt lane that had not seen a vehicle in many days. As we approached the grandmother’s house where this young man was residing, a crowd started to gather.

It is not too often that white people visit this area. We were a novelty! A few minutes later, our social worker showed up so we could get down to the business of getting their signatures on the documents. Aunts, uncles, and grandmother were all there, with the exception, of course, of the uncle who is the boy’s legal guardian. This uncle was working on a pipeline project a few miles away. Things were explained to the relatives and papers were signed. Grandmother offered a prayer for the boy. Now we were off to get the signature of the legal guardian. As we piled into the car, the little boy’s Grandmother began to cry. Grandma knew the reality that she would probably never see this grandson again. He will only be an hour away, but when every dollar is spent on food and necessities, the chances of Grandma coming to visit are “slim to none.” There will be no money for a taxi ride.

Now, where is uncle? How do you find a man in the middle of a work crew when you don’t remember what he looks like? Once again, we just played the part of “stupid American” and everyone was helpful. We have had lots of practice of playing “stupid American” here in Liberia. Uncle saw us coming and climbed out of the ditch to greet us. He was pleased to sign the documents turning over his nephew to us. He now had one less mouth to feed on his wage of three dollars a day. He shook hands with his nephew, and we headed down the road, to a new life for this little boy. So, one more child has been removed from the masses of children that are left to live in squalor, lacking the basic necessities of life.

We try to not get overwhelmed by the many children we see living in hopeless situations. What makes this possible is that we see God’s hand in the process of acquiring new residents for the orphanage. We see how God places specific children in our path, and then God orchestrates the pieces to make all the investigation and background checks happen. He assembles the people necessary to make the decisions to change these children’s lives. He moves bureaucracy and governmental agencies to action. He causes family members to be in agreement. All these events are certainly by His doing, as in this country, few people agree about anything, and to get government agencies to complete paperwork is very difficult. Our new resident will be fine. He already was playing “football” (soccer) with his new brothers this afternoon. He enjoyed a good lunch; was delighted with an afternoon snack; ate a hearty supper. Clean pajamas and a cozy bed. This place is alright! We cannot help every child. But we are privileged to be able to help some of them. And what a thrill to see God at work in children’s lives.

---Dave

Turn Left. No, The Other Left!

2010-06-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some more interesting vehicles we see as we move around Monrovia.

We feel sorry for anyone who is trying to learn how to drive in this town, as often traffic laws seem to be "for the other guy" and the lines painted on the roads are just suggestions, not really lanes. We do give student drivers a lot of room on the road. We are not sure what seasoned drivers are going to do, so a student driver is really a scary thing!

Born to be Wild

2010-06-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Motorcycles have become a big thing here in Liberia in the past two years. When we first arrived, there were few bikes on the road. The Chinese begin importing them into Liberia, and now motorcycles are everywhere.

The bikes are relatively cheap (about $900) and often a entrepreneur will buy a bike and hire a young man to drive it for him. The driver gets paid per day and and for a fee, taxis people around town. It is a prestigious thing to be a motorbike driver. One must have nerves of steel, reflexes of a cat, a sense of immortality, and probably the intelligence of an artichoke to drive a motorcycle on these roads! These guys are crazy!

Sometimes, there will be three, four, and even five people on a motorbike. Often a young child will be in front of the driver, and other children will be sandwiched in between adults. Other items transported via bike include: lumber, bags of coal, baskets, vegetables, brooms, and fish. We once spotted a full drum set being taken to church Sunday morning, and we have also seen a goat on a bike. We managed to get a picture of the chickens and ducks (fast food?) and the guy with the keyboard on his way to Praise Team practice.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water"

2010-06-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

I consider myself a rather supportive wife, who over the years has silently (yeah, right!) and graciously (hah!) suffered through many of Dave's "good ideas". I have gone chukkar hunting in Nevada when I was eight months pregnant; I have gone fishing in
northern (unpopulated) California when I was eight months pregnant; I have sat on the back bumper of a AMC Hornet to give it traction on a muddy hillside; I have flown in teeny airplanes; I have climbed ladders, sat on roofs, ridden in trucks bearing over-width loads; I have driven in remote Mexican areas; and now I am living in Liberia.

However, I refuse to drive over bridges that do not seem very safe to me. Plunging into a raging river/stream in a foreign country without Medi-flight available is not my idea of a good time. Since we have been here, I have chosen to walk over some of the bridges rather than ride over them. It seems like a a good plan that one of us be able to tell the authorities what happened! This suits Dave just fine, as then I can take some pictures of him in the Land Cruiser, creeping over the unsafe bridge. He always seems so pleased. What it is with men, anyways? Are they nuts? My theory is that estrogen causes rational thinking, and testosterone...not so much.

Wishing you all a good day. Be safe and, fellas, be reasonable, O.K? For pity's sake, think it through!
Babs

This is what I get for not writing the blog on fun and exciting bridges that I was going to write.
Dave

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day.

Mother's Day is taken quite seriously here in Liberia. Most churches had nominations and voting weeks ago for "Mother of the Year" for their particular congregation. Today, in churches all over Liberia, the winners of those ballots, as well as ALL mothers, were honored in worship services.

Today was a day when ladies dressed up in their finest dresses. Many women had new outfits for the occasion. Matching shoes and handbags, hats or head wraps, lace, brocade, satin, bright colors, big jewelry...it was a good day for those of us who enjoy a well-coordinated outfit! The ladies of Liberia looked very lovely today.

I felt a little dowdy in my brown skirt and apricot blouse! I was hat less; not wearing heels; no necklace or dangling earrings. I had felt pretty good about myself before I left the house this morning, but inside church, I looked rather plain next to all the gorgeous women in the building!

Our mothers at the village were all dressed up, too. And the kids were excited. Before breakfast, they had given their mothers cards and gifts they had made at school this week. The children knew it was going to be a special day at church.

Hope your day was special and memorable, also.

Babs

Down By the Sea

2010-04-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Living half a mile from the ocean gives opportunity for regular walks on the beach. Coming from the California central valley, this is a treat to often stroll the sandy edge of the ocean. From time to time we take some of the children with us on these outings. The kids are losing their fear of the water. It is fun to see them enjoy getting their toes wet, and of course, it is always fun to slide down a sand dune! Here are some pictures of our most recent beach walk with a cottage of boys.

Meltdown

2010-04-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

She sobbed in my arms for forty minutes. She had arrived at the orphanage 48 hours earlier, and all of a sudden it became too overwhelming. I let her cry; just held her and rocked her. I had no words. Life is hard sometimes, and in her six years, she had learned somethings about heartache. She never knew her mother; ma died giving her life. And seven weeks ago, her daddy died. She had since been living with an auntie, who did not have enough time, energy, or resources for another child. Auntie had even less food. Life was not all that great with auntie, but it was all that she knew. Now she was in a strange place; it was so different, and she sobbed for the loss of her previous existence.

As I sat with her, I thought how typical this was of many of us...or at least me. I get comfortable and used to a certain routine and way of life. It might not be great; it might not be the best; it might even be bad; but it is what I know. So even if something comes along that might be better, I can be rather resistant and hesitant and experience a sense of loss. O.K., there could possibly even be some kicking and screaming involved!

She finally calmed down and we continued to sit in silence. It was good to just be together. Then we talked; about her new dollie, and about her favorite song. When she was ready, we joined the rest of her new family outside. It was soon lunch time. I watched her get in line for the dining hall, all evidence of sadness gone. Sometimes, one just has to let it all out and acknowledge that things are difficult and life is scary. That seems to work for me, too. Here, in this place, I find myself many times sitting in the lap of God.

That was four days ago. Now, she is enjoying life. She has played dodge ball; made a paper butterfly; ran relay races; learned how to play "Duck, Duck, Goose"; enjoyed story time; memorized the words to the song "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round". Today, it was a joy to see her laugh as she attempted to bounce a large ball to her team mates and do "The Hokie Pokie". She is figuring it out that sometimes change is good. Sometimes, change is the best thing!

She still has her sad times, when she misses her daddy, but the big meltdown is past, and life is not so overwhelming now. She does not know it yet, but someday she will: God has His hands around her and it will be O.K.. She can sit in His lap anytime she wants!

Praying that you, too, know where to go when life gets to be too much!
Love, Babs

A Big Scary Day

2010-03-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

This month we accepted fifteen community children to attend the village school. They are the sons and daughters of some of our employees and they range in age from five years old to eleven years old. These ladies and gentlemen fill out the classes that we have going now with the children who live at the orphanage. These day students have been placed in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, or first grade.

In the first picture, you see some of the new students being led by a security guard to the dining hall. This was scary, coming into our compound; some of these children had never had any contact with white people. They were led to the dining hall where they were told a little about our village and the classes they will attend. Paperwork was completed.

They were given a tour of the school and the facilities were explained. Yes, it’s called “Bathroom 101”. This was really scary! What would happen if you fell into the white well while someone pushed that silver lever? Perhaps you can remember the fear invoked, starting a new session at school when you were a new student. Having to use the bathroom did not tend to make you relax in your new setting. Well, in two or three days, the scariness of the commode has been conquered; it has become all fun and games, and the excuses to go to the bathroom are quite resourceful.

The other thing that happens the first day they come to the village is that they are examined by a doctor. Ministry of Health says that all employees and children that are involved in an institution such as this one must have a physical exam and regular checkups. A U.S. doctor who was volunteering in Liberia for a couple of months agreed to come out to our village and exam the new students.

In the second picture, there are four kids waiting for their exam in our clinic. Babs came in with a camera and asked the girls if they would smile for a picture. They were not in the smiling mood, and just stared at Babs. So Babs tried to be funny, hoping to solicit smiles. Finally they looked at each other and giggled about the strange white lady. None of this is lost on the two boys in the background. They find the whole thing hilarious. I think we have some very normal kids here.

Hope you can smile at whatever is going on in your day today.

Dave

Ohn Mine Goodness!

2010-03-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

From the communities surrounding our village, there is a group of young men who have formed an athletic association. Early in the evening, several times a week, they practice football (soccer) in a sand lot across from our village. They challenged the employees of our orphanage to a friendly game of football. And we accepted the challenge!

Some guards, a cook, and a gardener made up the heart of our team, but we were a few members short, so friends of the guards (read "ringers" here) filled in the open spots. Dave wanted to play, but as the village health manager (and his loving, caring wife!) I told him that he could NOT play soccer with those guys! I have watched them practice, and is anyone else aware that soccer is a full-on contact sport? Only without the protective pads and helmets of American football? Oy! I reminded Dave that there is no Medi-flight helicopter here in Liberia. So he became the unofficial team captain!

A day and time for the game was finally agreed upon by both teams: a Sunday afternoon. Of course, two days before the Big Match, I was informed by the official team captain who is our Head Of Security (also officially known as "Supreme Commander"...no, I am not kidding here; that really is his title!) that our team needed uniforms. What?!? He must have noted my reaction (this is why he is the Supreme Commander, as he can read body language so well), as he then suggested that at least the same color shirts for the whole team would be good. Which is still a daunting task here in Liberia...fifteen matching adult shirts?

But we are resourceful people, and off we went to town, in search of matching shirts. With the help of some Liberian personal shoppers, we finally found new white tee-shirts in the market at Waterside. We stenciled our village initials on the shirts. They looked quite nice, and the team was pleased to be wearing official game shirts.

It was a fun game, with our unpracticed but very spirited team putting on a good show. We attracted a little crowd of spectators, some of which were children and mothers from our village. The mothers enjoyed cheering for our High Commander whose name is Charles. Now Charles is a very proper man and a bit intimidating in size and demeanor. But that did not stop the mothers from yelling at "Charlie" to make a goal! Wow! Never before thought of him as a Charlie.

There was a man at the game who had a bull horn. He graciously did a running commentary throughout the game. His favorite phrase was "Ohn Mine Goodness!" as the ball flew from one side of the field to the other. The crowd cheered every good kick and block, no matter which team executed the play. It was an enjoyable afternoon with our neighbors. Of course, we let the athletic association win (which really means we got slaughtered!). Bottles of water and good natured remarks were exchanged at the end of the game, and our team promised to play them again!

Monday, it was back to work as usual. All the team shirts were handed in, and "Charlie" was Charles again. The medical clinic was a busy place though, as I handed out Ibuprofen to our battered and hobbling football players. And the theme that kept recurring in conversations throughout the day was "Next time, we'll show them!" The competitive spirit is alive and well in Liberia!

Wishing you all a good day!
love, Babs

Very Vexing

2010-03-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

I am vexed! This is a normal term in Liberia. We hear it all the time: Comfort is vexed when she cannot open the washing machine; Isaac is vexed that he is not able to go to school yet; Benjamin is vexed because it is not his birthday. Dave had a gentleman tell him that he did not want to vex Dave. And now I am vexed!

Why, you ask? I paid over $8 dollars for three navel oranges! They were big and juicy and looked so yummy; I had to have them. But what a shock at the checkout stand! It was hard for us to take, spending over $2.60 per orange, as we have lived pretty much our whole lives with access to wonderful fresh oranges we pull off our own trees. In fact, our sister in law has the Best Orange Tree in Stanislaus County, and she sometimes would let us have some of HER fabulous oranges.

On this shopping trip, we also paid $4.62 for two bell peppers and $6.70 for four zucchini! No, we do not often buy items like this, but sometimes we just crave fresh fruit and vegetables that are familiar and it is very exciting when one finds them in the supermarket! Just so you know, we opted to NOT get the box of Froot Loops for $36, nor the bag of Nestle's chocolate chips for $18! That would have been just too vexing!

We will savor and enjoy every tasty bit of our extremely over-priced, but "worth-every-penny-because it feels like home" oranges, peppers, and zucchini!

Have a great day, and enjoy the produce aisle at your grocery store.

Babs

Big, Scary Spider...

2010-02-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

I do not move too quickly first thing in the morning. I never have been a ball of fire right out of Sleep Land, but as I get further from my original birth year(sigh), it seems I am even slower. Well, this morning, I discovered something that gets me going!

After rolling out of bed, I stumbled to the sink and washed my face. As I pulled the towel off the rack and lifted it to my face, I found myself eyeball to eyeball with a racer spider. I guess he was napping on the cozy 100% cotton. Racer spiders get pretty large...just a little smaller than my hand! And they move FAST (hence the name "Racer" spider). They are pretty harmless, but that thought does not compute well before 6:00 am.

I screamed, and scurried into the bedroom and leaped onto the bed. Poor Dave! He was still in Sleep Land, and this was definitely a rude awakening. Apparently the racer spider was as disoriented as Dave, as the spider headed in the direction I went. I am still screaming, and Dave, now quite awake, is trying to tell me that the spider is trying to get out of the light and into the dark bedroom. I do not care WHY he is following me....I just know he is hot on my trail. And moving fast (almost as fast as I moved). It now looked like a very bad movie: the spider was back lit in the opened bathroom door (someone forgot to slam the door shut when she escaped the nasty spider's evil clutches the first time!) and he paused to locate his prey (this possibly was only my perception). He then proceeded to head straight for the bed. Did I mention racer spiders move very fast?

Luckily, Dave does move quickly in the morning, and he hopped out of bed and smashed the spider as it made it's final approach. Dave is my hero! And I will always check the back of my towel now before drying my face. I do feel a little bad about the spider's demise, but it was either him or me! One of us had to go... that bathroom ain't big enough for the both of us!

---Babs

And She Goes On and On and On...

2010-01-28T21:21:00.000-08:00

Every once and a while, Babs jots some of her closest friends and family a “little”note that just goes on and on. I thought that I would paste sections from one of her notes on the blog (and add some pictures) so more of you could empathize with those folks that dutifully read these letters and then respond with encouraging words time after time.

---Dave

Saturday night

Hi, all.

I will start this tonight, knowing that I will have to finish it tomorrow. Probably, as I write this, many of you are attending Frances’ funeral. Thinking about you all today...especially Al and Patty, Noel, and Shea. Frances was a special lady.

It has been another very busy week. We are in the process of opening up the school to day students. We are going to accept children of employees first, into our kindergarten and new first grade class. We will add a new class every January, and that is how we will grow the school. The children have to fit certain criteria, like know certain things to qualify for kindergarten or first grade (numbers, colors, alphabet, shapes, etc.) so we are in a screening process. This morning we were supposed to interview about 8 children with parents. One child with her older sister showed up. Tomorrow afternoon, we are supposed to see three more children. I suspect we will be seeing the rest of the ones tomorrow, also, who did not show today.

We received delivery of school uniforms for our kids this week, and then some of the uniforms had to be altered. It is bad when the necks are too small for the heads to get through the jumpers, and arm holes are too snug! We changed tailors again…third time: first guy could not deliver anything on time EVER, and the second guy delivered early, but his workmanship stunk! This last tailor delivered on time, and mostly his workmanship was good. Just need to get the neck holes and arm holes a little larger!

Also, we recently received a delivery of school furniture for the new first grade class. Some of the desks rock 'n' roll a bit, and the tops of a couple of them are quite friendly (they wave), but all in all, for what craftsmanship is available here, it is good stuff. Today, white boards and bulletins boards were delivered. The rooms are looking great.

We do have a teacher problem. Like we do not have enough teachers! Miss Roberts retired after the December term was finished. So we have Ms. Rennie, a national teacher, and Julie McKeighen, our educational director. That is it for four classes right now. There is a fella who has applied that looks quite promising, but he needs to find a copy of his teaching degree. The war really messed up records here. Many records were destroyed. He thinks there might be a copy of his degree at his old homestead in Kakata (three hours away from here). Of course, he is not working, so he does not have income for a taxi to get to Kakata...

Anyways, I will be teaching the pre-kindergarten class for two hours every day this week. Hopefully, by the end of the week, another teacher will be in the works, and I can slip out of that role. It has been fun setting up the room, and getting materials organized, copying worksheets for the kids, planning learning activities...yeah, I know...I should have been a grade school teacher! So that is fun; however, I really do not have the time for this! There is a huge possibility that we might receive another child next week. And that takes a lot of time. I have to prep the mother, and dig up clothes, towels, bedding, shoes, etc., and then have to watch him for medical issues and just be around close by, as he adjusts to life here. And then of course, there's the paperwork...

He is 3 1/2 years old, and been orphaned for only two months. His dad died before he was born, and his mom died in November from malaria. This place will be a huge adjustment for him, as his uncle got him from deep in the bush, and he still just stands by the road in town to watch cars go by. It is a novelty to him. He is a cute guy, and pretty with it. He has never been to school, but knew several colors, and could count to five with a little prompting. I think his momma may have taught him as best she could. Momma was only 19 years old when she died. Dave and I made the jaunt inland to screen him, and take him for a medical exam. He only has an ear infection, some lung congestion, is malnourished and anemic...pretty healthy considering what we have been getting lately!

Ok, the latest news on our newest arrival. Timothy, age 22 months, was pretty sick when he came three weeks ago. He just finished his second round of antibiotics, and is feeling much better. So this is the big news: he is walking...a lot. He decided yesterday to take some steps on his own, and then he decided that this beats crawling, and today he was walking every place he could! And always with a big grin! It is too cute! He laughs often; except this afternoon, he was ticked that he had to stay in his crib for rest time.

I think he thought he should be allowed to walk around the house while everyone else rested. He was still pouting about it after rest time was over. I went to the palava hut to talk to his momma, and he was standing to one side, looking away from us. Ma told me that he was angry, and called his name. He turned his head toward us, but closed his eyes so he couldn't see us! Both Ma and I started to laugh, which he did not like either! But it was pretty funny! Yes, I think we may have a strong willed child here. That's ok; we like them with spunk!

And, I saw three dead snakes on the road yesterday! Yikes! Yes, you are saying, "Well, Babs, at least they were dead" and I AM thankful for that fact! Except, what if they really were not dead, but only pretending, so they could grab on to our tire and flip themselves up into the undercarriage of our car, and sneak up to the front seat and attack my scantily clad feet (flipflops!)? Huh? Did you ever think of that?!? Because I have!

Julie and I made a foray into the local market on the Firestone plantation this past week. As we were driving up (still some distance away, though), Julie remarks, "Oh, this is like Shipshewana!" I laughed! I have always wanted to go to Shipshewana, and almost did go once with Aunt Loretta when I visited her in Michigan, but I never got the impression that Shipshewana was ANYTHING like the Harbel outdoor market. After purchasing four pairs of used children's shoes, several yards of material, never locating shoe laces, having small children poke us in the butt to get our attention, arguing with two men over the price of a pair of kids' Nike's, and having a saleslady try to make us feel guilty for not buying shampoo from her, I think Julie might re-evaluate her comparison to this market and Shipshewana. I am not sure that it is even right to use "Shipshewana" and "Harbel market" in the same sentence.

One day this week we entertained the Episcopalian bishop and her entourage. She is from NYC and was visiting Liberia for several days. The Episcopal Church donated the land here for this site, and they wanted her to see the facility. Nineteen people came for this visit. They almost outnumbered us. Julie made a nice program for the kids to present, and the kids sang and recited well. As the visitors arrived at snack time, we had a yummy dessert ready and served them with the families. It was nice...many of the guests sat at tables with families and visited with them. Then they had the village tour.

One of the ladies from NYC who was traveling with the bishop was in a wheel chair. Our kids were fascinated. Three year old Obadiah could not keep his eyes off of her. He was like in a trance! The kids had never seen a wheel chair before! I guess when you think about it, where would they? So I asked her to talk about her chair and show it to the kids. She was great! Talked about how she gets around NYC with her motorized wheelchair (this one was a push one), and then she had her picture taken with the kids. When she was leaving, she gave Nehemiah a ride on her lap to the car. Great fun! The bishop was a nice lady, but her friend was the big hit as far as the kids go!

We have been showing "The Sound of Music" after supper again this week. It is back by popular demand! This is the fourth time we are showing this film since we began showing movies regularly to the kids (since last August). They love this movie...so do I! We all sing "Sound of Music" songs during the day (The mothers forbid singing during the movie! Rats!) It is fun to hear the kids singing "How do You Solve a Problem like Maria?" and "I am Sixteen, Going on Seventeen". Ben laughs before events happen, like when they all fall out of the boat? Ben starts laughing as soon as he sees the boat come into view. He loves movies! He really gets into the emotions...even of the cartoons we show. I love watching Ben.

It is dry and dusty here right now. The road that goes past the village is dirt...red, silty dirt, and there are taxis and sand trucks that barrel along way too fast. The dust just billows up and drifts into our buildings. It is gross. Everything has a coating of fine, red dirt on it. I know that I can hardly believe I am saying this, but we need rain. It has been several weeks since we had a good shower. We are due.

Dave has had several plumbing projects this week. He had two sinks leaking in the men's staff bathroom (there are only two sinks in the men's staff bathroom!). As he was working on them, the main sink in the kitchen began leaking so badly we had to shut that sink down. And then the shower in the woman's bathroom began leaking. Plumbing fixtures are junk here. Dave tries to replace things with a better quality junk, but it is difficult. He has a pretty good attitude about it (usually). "It is what it is."

Well, I need to go! I have some lesson plans to study. Wow, can you tell I needed to chat? Thanks for letting me bend your ear (or eye, or whatever).

Oh, one more thing...what have I learned about God this week? Well, He enables us beyond what we ever imagined we were capable of doing, and He is the "Great Stretcher Of Time", as we do not have enough time to do it all, but He somehow makes it all get done enough to keep this place afloat! Amazing!

Have a great week. Missing you. This "conversation" would have been much more fun face to face.

Lots of Love, Babs

Members Only Allowed

2010-01-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

In the California Central Valley, hardy folks spend New Year's Day at a local lake, vying for membership into the elite Polar Bear Club. To become a member, one must venture into the cold lake and water ski. Here in Liberia, we have our own version of those who venture into the water on New Year's Day. We are calling it the Polar Cub Club! The kids all enjoyed pool time on New Year's Day morning. The weather was perfect; it was HOT by 9:00 am. The kids splashed the morning away. All twenty one children are now official members of the Liberian Polar Cub Club. Not a bad way to begin a new year.

Wishing all of you a fabulous and blessed 2010!
Dave & Babs

Traveling Road Show

2009-12-26T11:07:00.000-08:00

Even though Christmas 2009 is officially past, we thought you might enjoy the adventures of the Traveling Christmas Pageant Troupe:

The children had been practicing a Christmas play about Jesus' birthday. They learned their lines well, and memorized the verses to several songs. They attended rehearsals and subjected themselves to costume fittings. Finally, they were ready to share their Christmas production with the world!

There are two villages near our site, and a few days before Christmas, we took our show on the road! We gathered up the shepherds, the wise men, townspeople, angelic hosts, and the holy family, and went to share the Good News with our neighbors. First stop, Zorkpah Town, where we performed under a large mango tree. The performance went well, except for one minor glitch when one of the shepherds refused to kneel before the baby Jesus after his staff was confiscated due to improper staff usage. This shepherd had a little discussion with the village director on the way to our next performance arena, and he willingly adjusted his behavior, and later even got his staff returned.

Our second performance was at Boy'sTown, where we were ushered into a large hut that was the main meeting hall for the village. It was very warm in the hut, but we were acting professionals, and the show must go on! The children gave another fine rendition of the first Christmas Night, and the audience was appreciative.

Our last stop on our tour was the orphanage down the road from us. We performed for about thirty children and ten adults. Once again, the show was flawless, although one of the angels was rather distracted by the water tower's wind mill. And then we sang Christmas songs on the way back home. It was a fun afternoon, and we hope God was glorified by His little traveling troupe of Christmas actors.

Joy to the World!

2009-12-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

The older girls have the privilege of helping in the kitchen/dining hall after the noon meal. Today, Patience was wiping tables and sweeping the floor. And while she was doing her chores, the wrapped presents were placed under the tree. Patience no longer was just sweeping the floor, but she was dancing while sweeping! What fun to see the excitement of a child who has never before experienced a Christmas such as this one! Patience has never had a Christmas tree, nor a wrapped present. She quickly identified a package with her name on it, and that is when the "dance sweeping" began.

Sometimes, in the middle of the mundane things that need to be done to keep this place running smoothly, one loses sight of what we are doing here. And then Patience sees her Christmas gift, and begins to dance and sweep and sing. And we remember that we are here at God's request, to help children live...to live abundantly...in His grace.

We wish all of you a wonderful, blessed Christmas, and it is our prayer that you, too, experience the joy of the abundant life in Christ.

Happy Christmas!

Dave & Babs

Shopping With Melvin

2009-12-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

I love taking our social worker into the interior with us to investigate leads on children because Melvin is a shopper! I am a little retail-deprived here in Liberia. I am married to someone who rates shopping right up there with getting a root canal, and so it is difficult to get Dave to stop at shops that look interesting.

But Dave stops for Melvin! On our last trip to Buchanan with Melvin, we made several stops on the way home, so Melvin could load up with goodies.

We stopped at the crawdad boys. Melvin was not impressed, because the crawdads in the basket were not as large as the ones they were waving about to get our attention as we drove past. Melvin did not buy any crawdads, and chastised the crawdad boys for false advertising.

We stopped at the fella' holding the large grouper. It was a beautiful fish, probably 8 pounds or so. The guy wanted $5 U.S. Melvin said that was way too much..."drive on, Dave."

We stopped at the guy holding a large ugly creature by the tail. It was an armadillo, except the Liberians call it an "ant bear". Melvin said this is a delicious animal to eat; kept saying the meat is "sweet", whatever that means! And it would make great soup or barbecue. But Melvin did not buy the ant bear, as the man was charging twice as much as Melvin thought it was worth. That is a problem Melvin has when he is with us...because of the color of our skin, all prices go up!

We stopped at a market where a man wanted to sell a live fawn. It was so cute, and Melvin told me that it would make a great pet. If the guy had been selling a Black Lab, I would have gone for it, but I have a hard time seeing me playing fetch with Bambi. And do deer bark at strangers? I don't think so.

(Dave and Melvin take some time out from shopping to tinker under the hood)

Melvin bought two bags of coal, as the price is much better on coal the farther away from Monrovia one gets. And Melvin had Dave stop at the sugar cane stand, so he could bring sugar cane stalks home to his kids as a treat. Another stop for cassava, and yet another stop for cucumbers. By the time we got Melvin home, he had coal and food for his family and neighbors. What a great shopping adventure!

Wishing you all a great day at the mall!
---Babs

With Fond Memories of Vella's Fruit Stand

2009-12-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess the fruit stands in the California Central Valley have pretty much closed for the winter. It is always a little sad when the last stand stashes the empty lug boxes for the season and shuts the doors against the rain and fog. However, here, in Liberia, the fruit stands never close! The growing season is never over and the fruit stands stay open all year round.

When we drive inland, fruit stands are a regular part of the scenery. They are small "Mom and Pop" stands, owned and operated by people who live near the main roads. Most homes offer something for sale along the side of the road. Often, only one type of produce is available per stand, and often, there is not much of that item. Mostly, it is whatever is leftover from the garden/orchard after the family eats. Sometimes, there will be a pile of cassava, or a little pyramid of cucumbers. The neighbor's stand might have two pineapples on the table, and the neighbor across the road might be offering a pile of palm nuts or a bunch of bananas. Down the road, there might be three papaya , with some sugar cane.

We often stop on our jaunts into the interior for bananas and pineapples and watermelon. It would be difficult to find fresher fruit at a California fruit stand, although more variety per stand would be nice. There are some things that are impossible to find at these family stands, like tomatoes and navel oranges and lettuce and nuts. But then, mangoes, edo, and coconuts are not regularly found at the roadside stands in Modesto, either, so I guess it all evens out!

Customer service is a big thing, for as soon as the car stops, produce is pushed through the open window, with the salesperson loudly stating the price. One can buy all the produce offered by the road without ever leaving the car. It is sort of "drive by shopping." If more than one fruit stand is in the vicinity, the car will be mobbed with people from every stand, hawking their wares. It is not a shopping experience for the timid!

But even as convenient as it is to get fresh fruit here from the roadside stands, no one offers a cup of coffee and a fresh-baked goodie from the bakery. Oh, I miss Vella's Fruit Stand. That place is a Modesto treasure!

Anyways, here's wishing you happy banana shopping!
Babs

"Oh, What A Night"

2009-11-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

WOW! It was a doozy of a storm!

Last night, just before midnight, the rain began. To say it was raining was like saying the Grand Canyon is a nice valley. Just when it seemed that the rain could not get any heavier...that no way could the air hold any more water droplets! and then the rain would ratchet up another notch! Within minutes, the ground surrounding our house was flooded.

Soon after the precipitation started, the lightening/thunder show began. We were at the epicenter last night, with several booms hitting at the same time as the flash. Lightening lit up the sky continually for an hour, often within seconds of the last bolt. It was wild. Now if you are a person who was raised in the Midwest U.S., this storm may have been "normal" for you; but for us native Californians, it was crazy. I am getting braver about the storms (the choice was get used to it or go totally insane!), but this storm was in the "Top Ten Storms That Can Freak You Out".

At one point, the main generator cut out and the whole village went dark. (Well, as dark as it gets with lightening bursting all around. It was like a crazy black light show!) The generator is wired to a GFI. For those of you who are not technologically in the know, that means Ground Fault Interrupters. I personally have had this explained to me several times, and still do not understand! But apparently, last night there was a lightening strike close enough somewhere to cause the switch in the generator to know that for it's very survival, it had better shut down NOW or be fried.

One of us bravely ventured out into the wet, saturating night to re-start the generator in order to restore power to the security lights while the other one of us stayed inside, nice and dry (one of the perks of being technologically ignorant!) The storm raged overhead for an hour before slowly moving to the west. What a night!

I asked the children at breakfast this morning if the storm was scary. Most of them slept right through it! Lucky kids.

Wishing you a pleasant, dry day, with no interruptions to your "current" (electricity).
Love, Babs

A Sunday's Drive

2009-10-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Because of Liberia's close ties with the United States, many buildings and areas are named straight out of U.S. history books. A county is named Maryland. A town is named Hartford. The public medical facility is "J.F.K. Hospital." Monrovia itself is named after president James Monroe. So Sunday, driving through the New Georgia area to get to Louisiana Baptist Church did not seem odd.

(A beautiful mansion in it's day)

We were checking a reference for a possible new hire at the village. In the process of finding this lady's home church, we discovered territory that we had not previously driven. We only got lost twice. Pretty good for us!

As we drove along the unpaved road, we asked people for directions. We were told to "continue on" and "just axe further down" and that we would see "the bulletin by the road." We balked at crossing a bridge, but a gentleman declared "the bridge-o fine." As we got to an intersection in the the road, and had to make a decision of left or right, we were advised to "go down" and later were told to "bend here." And we understood all these directions! Our Liberian English skills are improving!

(This bridge has not been retro-fitted for anything!)

Forty five minutes from the main road, after dodging pot holes, creeping across two bridges, and sliding through several streams, we found the church on the top of a hill. What a lovely place for a church! We enjoyed worship with this small congregation who so warmly received us into their midst. How wonderful that our common faith transcends language and culture and skin color and hand-clapping abilities! (We still have none!)

(All dressed up for church)

It was a joy to worship our great God with newly found friends at the end of a muddy road.

Dave & Babs

A Hard Life

2009-10-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

A Liberian cemetary

We met an older gentleman who was recovering from stomach flu. He went on and on in great detail, about how he had "the diarrhea" and how he was dehydrated and it lasted more than a week, but now he was better and gaining his strength back a little each day. "Thank the Lord" he said. It seemed like an odd conversation to us, with someone we hardly knew, but he was very pleased to have survived this bout with stomach flu and wanted to share this fact with us.

We all know people who are overly "in tune" with their bodies. Every ache and pain is a big deal that they seem to enjoy sharing with anyone who will listen. Upon our arrival to Liberia, I at first thought that this place was full of these types. Not so. Every illness, infection, accident, has the potential of being life-threatening. And Liberians are painfully aware of this fact. When they are recovering from some ailment, they freely praise God for healing. When employees return after an illness and we ask, "How are you doing?", they usually answer, "I am better; praise God!" or they will say, "Trying small; praise God." "Trying small", in this context, would mean they are slowly getting better.

One of our employees had a baby recently, and she called Babs within hours of the event and said, "Mother, I have given birth and I am OK!" (The nationals call Babs "Mother.") In a country where the maternal death rate in childbirth is one of the highest in the world, it is an accomplishment to give birth and be well. She was happy to have had a baby and to be alive.

Last month, one of our maintenance men took a day off to bury his brother in law. The brother in law had a fever, and hailed a taxi to go to the clinic for treatment. In route, the taxi rolled over, killing him. He was thirty five years old.The next day, another employee had a niece die from unknown causes. Her niece was thirty four years old. Two days later, one of our mother's had an older sister pass away. She was in her fifties, "a good age." And then another employee lost a ten year old nephew from unknown causes, and a cook buried an uncle who died from malaria complications. It was a rough month.

Yesterday, we were reminded again how hard life is here in Liberia. I had to go into town. Going into Monrovia is not an activity I enjoy. It is much work! But I could put this chore off no longer. We were out of some essentials in the kitchen. At 8 a.m. I was out the gate, dodging pot holes filled with water from the overnight rain. About a mile from the highway, ten young guys flagged me down by standing in the roadway. The spokesman of the bunch said that they needed help getting their friend to the hospital. One of their cohorts was being transported in a wheel barrow. I was informed that he had been "chopped" in the head and was not doing well. Would I transport him to the clinic? Sure enough, this young man had taken a "chop" with a machete, right in the middle of the face. Being the gracious Samaritan that I am, I said, "You can put him in the back seat. Keep him from bleeding on the upholstery," and off we went. This young man did not need a clinic; what he needed was a trauma center and a neurosurgeon, but today the local hospital would have to do. His buddies informed me that everyone had been robbed in the area where they worked, and a neighbor thought this guy was the thief, so he chopped him. When we arrived at the hospital some 30 minutes later, the victim was alive but not responsive. If he lives, his life will never be the same.

This is how it is here. If you get sick and have "the diarrhea" and you put off the visit to the hospital too long because you know the visit will use up all the money you possess, you die. If you deliver a baby and everything does not go well, you most likely will die. If you get into an altercation with a hot headed neighbor and you do not have friends that will run the neighbor off and load you in a wheel barrow and stand in front of a white man's car, you will die.

So, when I ask that question, "How ya' doing today", and they answer, "Doing well, praise God", they are not answering flippantly. They are quite serious! They are alive today, by the grace of God.

Dave

More Expressive Cab Drivers...

2009-09-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Road Hazard Ahead!

2009-09-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

On any given day, one can come upon some driving situations that are far removed from anything we have experienced in the California Central Valley.
Here are some traffic hazards we have encountered recently here in Liberia:

---How many guys can stand on the back bumper of a Toyota pick-up?

---Nothing like a parade to cheer up your day! It was not even a holiday! You gotta love a country that can muster up a parade on a regular weekday.

---We were hoping this fella did not have to go far with his load of poles.

---Miles of mud, lots of jungle, and no cell service! Sounds like the beginning of a horror movie to me!

---Home Depot delivers!

"Let us go to the house of the Lord" Psalm 122:1

2009-08-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday morning and Babs and I are "on duty" this weekend. This means that we will stay on site while the other staff and children leave to attend church. It becomes a ghost town around here shortly after breakfast as all the children are old enough to now attend church with their mothers. So this morning, everyone is gone...well, all except Obadiah. He has had malaria since Tuesday. Malaria is not that common with the Rafiki children since they are in cottages with screened windows and they sleep under mosquito nets. Last year we had one confirmed case of malaria with the children and it was about this time of the year.

Every morning, two year old Obadiah has been saying to his mother and the medical manager (Babs) that he is all better as he laid listless and feverish on his bed. The closer we got to the weekend, the more he tried to convince them that he was all better and that he would be going to church. These kids love going to church!

The "outing" of attending church takes an effort. At breakfast, they are all be dressed in their Sunday best. By 8am or 8:30am they leave through the front gate. They walk a mile down a muddy road to the the "junction" where they hail a cab. This morning it is raining. I think it rains every Sunday morning. Hailing a taxi is a process, as there are more people than cabs to transport them into the Monrovia area. It is not uncommon to see adults verbally fighting over who will get the empty seat when someone gets out of a taxi. Our mothers and children have an advantage because they can fill the whole cab and pay for each person riding. More children can fit into the cab than adults; a lighter load too. Taxi drivers like that!

Church lasts for about two hours. Some of the churches have Sunday school for the children; but some do not or it is sporatic because they have a hard time getting people to lead Sunday school. After church, it is back to the street to find a cab to get back to the village.

This whole process of going to church can take hours to accomplish. Somewhere in this process the children and mommas eat their sack lunch that they took with them. Any time between two and five o'clock the four families will come walking back through the gate. We have voiced our concerns to the mothers about walking out into the mud when it is pouring rain. The mothers replied, "This is Liberia; it will rain. The children need to go to church". What a good attitude!

So, this morning everyone is at church except Obadiah and the auntie who is with him. He is bummed. He is feeling better, and has been without fever for twenty four hours. The duty personnel are thinking that they may show Obadiah a video when the power comes on at noon. It will be our secret; hah! like it is possible to have a secret in the village! But I don't think we have to worry about the children faking malaria to stay home from church to see a video. Going to church is too big an adventure!

Hope you enjoy going to church this Sunday!

Dave

Sweet Dreams

2009-08-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

There's a scene in the movie "The Sound of Music", where Maria looked at the Von Trapp children in their stiff uniforms, and asked if they had play clothes. No, she was told, the children had uniforms!
Later, Maria eyed some curtains slated for replacement, and then in the next scene, all the children are wearing new play clothes made out of old drapery fabric. Good recycling, right?

We had our own recycling program here. Every child needed new pajamas. For one week, we were blessed with a clever, gifted seamstress from the States. She took an overabundance of crib sheets, and operated her own little sweatshop out of a vacant home here at the village.

Voila! Nine sets of boys' pajamas, and nine nightgowns for the girls! All out of crib sheets! The woman is a genius! Plus, she also made seven dresses and two skirts: a new Sunday outfit for each girl! The dresses are not made out of crib sheets, but fun African prints. The girls felt very pretty going to church this past Sunday.

Don't you love how God gives different abilities to His people, and then uses them so creatively?
Babs

P.S. In the pictures, the children have had their evening baths, and several of them have baby powder rubbed all over. That is the "white" on their necks and chest.

Fire Ants vs. Babs

2009-08-07T16:46:00.001-07:00

OK, it was a perfect day to get some serious yard work accomplished. A breeze was blowing in from the ocean, and the sky was overcast. I donned my official gardening apparel (capris, ratty tee-shirt, gloves, flip-flops) and grabbed my favorite gardening tool, a eighteen inch hoe/chopper thing. The gardener's here call it my "baby hoe." It is a tool from Smith and Hawkins' store. I recently found out that Smith and Hawkins have not made it through this economic downturn. I am sad. I will miss their good garden items.

I began hoeing weeds around the hibiscus with my "baby hoe." All was going well...I was happy, the hibiscus was happy...until I stepped on the ant hill. The ants were not happy.

Our village is situated on a huge sand hill and ants love it here. So we always have many, many of them around, and when the rainy season begins, they get especially cranky. I guess they do not like having 180 inches of rain flooding out their tunnels. So, now, having size nine flip-flops standing on top of their village made everyone of them come boiling out of the hole...and right onto my foot.

Being completely absorbed in my weeds, I did not noticed until my foot was covered and the little guys were heading up toward the kneecap. At that moment, some General Patton ant gave the word: "Bite now!" Yikes! That got my attention.

I began to do the "Fire Ant Shuffle!" With arms and legs flailing about, it only took 15-20 seconds to get all the little monsters off my leg, but it seemed forever. It got the guards attention (could have been the screaming). The guards were concerned, as I now had several ant bites all over my foot. Well, so much for gardening. I soaked my feet in the tub, rubbed on the aloe gel, and generally felt sorry for myself.

My question is: How is it possible for such a tiny creature to inflict such a painful bite? And why? Yes, I did remove my foot from their home, but then I sent Dave out with the ant spray. So, really, who won?

My advice for the week is: Do not step on the ants.
Have a good one.
Babs

School Daze

2009-07-26T01:57:00.000-07:00

Hello, again.

For the last two weeks the weather has been very nice. Usually in the lower 80s and the humidity has not been too bad. It rains on and off throughout the day.

We are all reeling with new job assignments because our Education Director and our Child Care Director have finished their term of service and returned to the States. They left two full time jobs that need to be absorbed by the four of us who are left here in Liberia. Home Office has assigned our village two new staff members who should arrive in October. We will be counting the days!

In the meantime, Babs is doing the Child Care. She just returned from the doctor's office after sitting there for four hours with a little girl. Thank goodness she had an appointment!

The question you might be asking is that if Babs took over the Child Care, is Dave going to take over the Education? To be a Director of Education, shouldn't one have some sort of degree and maybe a little experience? I must admit I do have a little experience when it comes to education, but it was not an especially good experience and I think it was worse for my teachers. My degree is one from "The School of Hard Knocks", something that we are trying to spare these young children.

Each morning, I meet with a capable staff of teachers. We pray together, and then I leave them alone so they can teach! This morning, there was a class of boys that was rather rowdy, so I popped into their classroom and said "hi" to the students. I gave them the old line that they have a good teacher who is here to teach. That is a very important job, so she should not be wasting any of her valuable time on students who did not care to learn. Those students who did not wish to behave and learn from her, she could send them to me! In my younger years, when I was pretending to be a student, that line usually got my attention. As I left the room, it was quiet, as several pairs of big eyes watched me leave. Maybe I did learn something in school!

Dave

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

2009-07-13T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it is raining. The rainy season is here with a vengeance. Like "two-inches-of-precipitation-in-two-hours" sort of rain! In case we have never mentioned it before, Liberia gets about 180 to 200 inches of rain a year. As Liberians say, "Plenty!"

People plan their lives around the rainy season. Many roads become inaccessible. Trips to the "interior" are minimal, as dirt roads become massive puddles and hardy four-wheel drive vehicles often save the day! Perfect country for an International Scout (motto: "Everything Else is Just a Car"). We do not have a Scout, but a very functional Toyota Land Cruiser. Good thing, too, as one of us likes to drive through mud and sand just so he can use the four-wheel drive capability as often as possible. One of us is very excited that there is a lot of mud around these days.

The seasons really should be called the mud season and the dust season. We exchange clouds of red dust billowing off the roadway for red mud splashing up over the hood and windows of the Land Cruiser as we venture into town. And we are never too far from an umbrella, as it can go from sort-of-cloudy to torrential-downpour in five minutes. One always needs to be prepared (another Scout motto!)

Wishing you all a pleasant day from drippy Liberia. Stay dry!
Dave & Babs

More Shopping!

2009-06-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Fresh pineapples travel to market.

Various vegetables are neatly displayed for sale.

Need a new bucket?

Clothes are hung up for easier shopping.

Unique Boutiques.

Colorful flip flops should sell quickly.

A Good Day for Most...

2009-06-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of a fish delivery. That fish weighed in at 27 lbs.
She was glad to get it off her head;
the cooks were happy to clean and cut it;
we were happy to re-stock the freezer!
Everyone was happy!
Now, that is a good day!
Although, all things considered, it was not such a good day for the fish.

Hoping you have a good day,
Babs

A Year in Liberia...

2009-05-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

We have now been living in Africa for one year.

It seems appropriate to mention some of the things we have been privileged to enjoy in the past 365 days:

---An abundance of fresh pineapples, mangoes, and bananas.
---Sitting by the ocean in our camping chairs, not another person in sight for miles.
---Missing all the political ads that bombarded the U.S. from May, '08 until November, '08.
---The joy of rescuing children from severe poverty and hopelessness.
---An endless variety of multi-hued bugs and moths.
---Being clueless as to what Britney Spears is doing.
---Playing soccer with enthusiastic preschoolers.
---The "Chicken a la Belle" at the Firestone Plantation Country Club. Very tasty dish of spicy chicken and Liberian rice.
---Daily hugs and smiles from children.
---Being saluted by the security guards and being called "Sir." Yes, both of us are called "Sir."
---Meeting people who are so different than us, and yet so much alike.
---Incredible cloud formations, brilliant lightening, booming thunder.
---Colorful fabrics and interesting African attire.
---Worshiping with a wonderful unity of the Spirit; worshiping with folks who do not seem to mind that we have two left feet and can't clap.
---Good health and many laughs along the way.

Dave & Babs

Not in Kansas Anymore...

2009-05-10T12:58:00.001-07:00

It occurred to me today that there are several things I do now that seem quite normal in my daily routines, but which actually are new and incredibly different activities in the scope of my many years; things that I never dreamed I would be doing even a year and a half ago! This deep thought came to me this afternoon as I not only was I doing laundry for many children, but in the process of doing that laundry, I was dismantling mosquito nets in order to throw them in the washer. I can honestly say I never washed mosquito netting in California.

I always scan the sidewalks, lawns, sand, and verandas for snakes as I move around. Early in the morning, I carefully open metal security doors throughout the compound, watching for large spiders, frogs, creepy insects, and, of course..always!...snakes. Again, not typical Modesto-type actions.

When I drive, I use the horn freely. I honk at the taxi in front of me, as it pulls half-way off the road without blinker or tail lights. I honk at the people who are walking on the road pavement (no sidewalks). I honk at the trucks barreling towards me with their tires on the white line. Never was a big honker before Liberia. Now, it is a matter of survival! Actually, one of the first questions a policeman will ask at an accident site is, "Did you use your whistle (horn)?"

I find myself imitating the "Curly bird." That is not it's real name; I do not know what it is actually called. But it is a big brown and black bird whose call is the same noise Curly of the Three Stooges made...you know, "Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop"....Curly's signature sound, which usually led to Moe bopping him on the head! These birds go through a series of "whoops" , and hence, we have named them "Curly birds." And this is the annoying sound I imitate when I hear the Curly birds calling to each other as they flit from tree to tree. Yep, I never did that in the Central Valley.

When someone complains of fever, radiating back pain, general body aches, chills, or cough, my first thought is "malaria?" I also know the cause and symptoms of typhoid fever. I have mixed several liter bottles of Oral Re-Hydration Solution (ORS) to offset the effects of "runny tummy." I have seen, and treated, scabies. Whenever people have been in Africa for a time, they take malaria and parasite medicine before going back to the states. These conditions are not regular health issues in the U.S. and may not be readily diagnosed there.

I marvel at the sky daily: clouds billowing up into the high heavens. Thunder in the distance is noted, but not a huge concern. Coconut trees bending with gusts of wind and the sound of ocean waves colliding with the beach are normal background events. Swallows circling the house at dusk and crepe myrtle bushes growing wild in the jungle are expected. Papaya and mango trees loaded with fruit; tidy rows of pineapple plants; nicely hoed cassava farms: not what one would encounter in Stanislaus County.

It also occurs to me what a big, diverse world our God has made. With THAT deep thought, I think I will pack some fresh pineapple and mangoes, and talk Dave into sitting at the beach for awhile. Time to enjoy God's goodness!

Wishing you all a wonderful week,
Babs

Fun and Games

2009-04-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy, busy week here. The children are on school break, so different activities were planned every morning to keep little hands busy (and also to prevent mommas from going crazy!)

Some of the fun stuff we did was finger painting, beach volleyball, play dough art, water games, and drawing lessons. One morning, the boys flew kites on the beach. Another day, we began our fun with a rousing game of kickball.
We also tried our hand (or rather, feet) at some line dancing. It was a busy week which everyone enjoyed. At closing ceremonies on Friday, the kids received an official "Certificate of Completion" as they had participated in all activities with great enthusiasm, laughter, and good spirits.
It is Saturday today. We are exhausted...kids and adults. Thank goodness for weekends!
Dave & Babs

"Stop and Shop"

2009-04-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

I miss shopping. I miss meandering through malls, scouting cosmetic counters, ducking into messy changing rooms. I miss the smell of new shoes, the bustle of large department stores, the quaintness of small boutiques. I even miss giant food warehouses. I miss Roseville Galleria, Arden Fair, Stone Ridge in Pleasanton, Walnut Creek shopping, Santana Row....yes, my list goes on and on! There is a large structure going up down the road from us, and I was so hoping it was a mall! I would give anything for an Ann Taylor Loft and a Pottery Barn. But, no. It seems to be something in conjunction with the new brewery being built next door to the village. (sigh) Like the world needs another brewery. Not so! We need a mall!
But what Monrovia does have is a portable market. I like to think of it as "Wheelbarrows R Us". If you own a wheelbarrow, you have unlimited access to customers. Goods are piled high and pushed around from markets to street corners to parking lots. A wheelbarrow store is highly specialized; the ultimate specialty shoppe. There is usually only one type of commodity per "shop." Our favorite purchase from a wheelbarrow store is bread. "Wheelbarrow Bread" is a soft french bread and rather tasty.
Here are some of the products seen being sold from wheelbarrows: tennis shoes, nail polish, fabric, stationery, cassette tapes, pineapples, socks, rice, jewelry, canned sodas, smoked fish, men's golf shirts, coconuts, watches, flip flops, telephone accessories, cornmeal, toddler's clothing, DVDs, blue jeans, stuffed teddy bears, men's skivvies, watermelons, crackers, plastic bowls and buckets, ladies sandals, toothpaste and soap, onions, sugar, women's underwear (kind of a rolling Victoria's Secret!).

Well, until I can find an Anthropology or J.Crew or Target, I will continue to enjoy scouting out the portable markets.
Happy Shopping!
Babs

Oh, by the way, the most innovative use for wheelbarrows I have observed is transporting patients to the hospital. Just flop your buddy into the wheelbarrow and push him to the nearest ER! I have also seen patients being discharged from the hospital in wheelbarrows. Hopefully, they were on a lot of Vicodin, as it seemed a rather uncomfortable ride.

Babs at Hope and Restoration Home

2009-04-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Attached is a picture that I took of Babs holding a baby named Surprise.

This past weekend we went on another road trip again. We were asked to visit an orphanage by a social worker that visits a lot of these homes all over Liberia. She had been up there the week before, investigating this particular home because an orphan had been raped and was now pregnant. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare found out that there were people interested in adopting this pregnant girl. The people interested in adopting her were pedophile types that were not interested in this child's well being. Adoptions have been put on hold because of horrible situations like this.

Anyway, when the social worker was there, she noticed this scrawny little kid. The name given him was Surprise. The reason that name was given him was because it was a surprise that he lived; no one thought he would. The father brought him from deep in the bush, and brought him to the lady that was running this place. She refused him because it was obvious that this baby was going to die, and she was afraid of getting in trouble from the authorities. The father then brought the baby to police who in turn took the baby back the this home for care. The lady then accepted the baby because the police now had a report on the child and knew the circumstances.

The "father" who brought Surprise said the mother had died at child birth and there was no one to care for this three week old baby. The lady at the home thinks that the child was much older because he was able to handle the food that she had for him. So now, the social worker saw this child and some sort of bond developed between them. (The little buggers have a way of doing that!) She would like to see this baby at Rafiki, and so would we, so we are working through the process.

Surprise has been in this home since November. The manager there says that Surprise's biggest joy is eating. They say that he eats more than some of the older kids. He has a ways to go to catch up to what his weight should be, but he is giving it a shot!

In the picture you can see Surprise working his magic on Babs. Now there are two women under this little turkey's spell. We will keep you informed how things progress.

Dave

Hosanna!

2009-04-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

In a country where there is no shortage of palm trees, Palm Sunday decorations abounded. Every church we drove past on Sunday was decorated with palm branches, as were grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and private homes! Churches had processionals with the whole congregation waving branches. It was a festive day. We decorated the dining hall with palm branches, too. Our cooks showed us how to braid the palm fronds. Looks great.

This Friday, Good Friday, is a national holiday in Liberia. It is officially called the Day of Fasting and Prayer. Most people will be attending church services Friday afternoon from noon until 3:00pm...the same hours that the sun was darkened while Christ suffered on the cross. It will be a somber day; it is not a celebratory holiday.

The celebration is saved for Easter Sunday. Churches will have longer services, filled with extra singing. Sanctuaries will be decorated with more palm branches and flowers. People will dress in their finest clothing. Choirs will sing many special arrangements they have been practicing for weeks. It will be a glorious day of praise to our wonderful Savior. Sounds like churches here and in the States celebrate the grand event of the Resurrection pretty much the same way!

Wishing you all a blessed, hope-filled Easter celebration.
Alleluia! Jesus has risen indeed!
Dave & Babs

"Goin' to the Chapel, and Gonna Get Married"

2009-03-22T12:14:00.001-07:00

I love weddings! I love the celebration of love and happiness. Add pretty dresses, wedding cake, and dancing, and I think it is about the best party ever!

Our Liberian friend's wedding had it all and more! The bridesmaids wore dresses of different colors with co-ordinating head wraps. They slowly danced their way down the aisle. They each carried a wooden bowl that contained different kinds of vegetables (like okra or rice). No, I have not learned what that symbolizes yet; just am told it is an old African custom! The groomsmen were waiting at the front of church in outfits that co-ordinated to the girl's dresses.

The groom, in white, matched the beautiful bride. She carried the traditional African hand bouquet of rice stalks, and she also danced slowly down the aisle to her beloved. They exchanged vows, rings, and publicly signed the official registry as husband and wife.

The minister talked about love being patient and kind (good words we all need to be reminded of, no matter how long we have been married!) and pronounced the couple "Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jefferson!" (Yes, that is Jefferson's full name.) Clapping, rice throwing, hugging...all the regular wedding stuff completed the ceremony.

The reception was held on the porch of an elementary school. We had a tasty Liberian dinner of spicy rice, chicken, spare ribs, potato salad, and a bread/cake thing (it was pretty good!). Jefferson thanked everyone for coming and expressed his great love for Cristiana. They cut the cake for the photographer and received greetings from friends.
I think there was dancing next, but we did not stay. One of our riders was our very pregnant laundry girl and she was tired and wished to go home, so we loaded her and several others into the car and went back to the village. But it was a fun, enjoyable celebration for Jeff and his bride. Glad we were invited. Even Dave enjoyed himself. But next time, we will stay for the dance!
Hope the pictures will inspire anyone making wedding plans. We thought especially of Brian & Stacey, and Nick & Erin. The headdresses in the U.S. would make quite a statement, I think. Hey, go for it! Oh, there was also an offering in the middle of the ceremony. Dave thought that was a great idea to defray wedding costs!

Have a great week!
Babs

To Buchanan and Beyond!

2009-03-17T15:18:00.001-07:00

(Here is one of the sweet little girls we are hoping will join us at Rafiki)

(This little boy made his own truck! Pretty smart, isn't he?)

It has been a busy week!
We headed to Buchanan at four a.m. on Monday to meet with two local pastors at seven a.m. They rode with us all day, directing us to villages in the bush. We bounced along dirt roads surrounded by palm and coconut trees, bamboos groves,and dense undergrowth. It is beautiful country. Once in a while we would get a glimpse of a small farm, but mostly the land out there is undeveloped. We met with village leaders and a district commissioner, explaining our search for true orphans. By the end of the the trip, we had a letter from a Grandmother who is trying to raise a three year old grandson, and some good leads on a group of children in village deeper in the bush.

We returned back into Buchanan around two p.m, and transported seven children to the local Catholic hospital for physical exams. We had screened these children on our previous visit to Buchanan. Exams and lab work took a couple hours, so Dave went back into the bush with the pastors and a social worker to investigate six other children we also met last week. Once again, Grandma caring for grand kids! Life is difficult enough for an aging person in Liberia; toss parent less grand kids in the mix...well, it is too much!

After finishing with exams and delivering all children to the correct households, we had one more stop to make: a prospective mother interview. It was getting dark by then and the last part of the interview was done via flashlight. Back in the car and we jostled our way home for 2 1/2 hours. We staggered into our house at ten p.m. An exhausting day, but hopefully a productive one. Made some good contacts and furthered the process on a few possible new orphanage residents!

Tuesday was a regular day, as we attempted to catch on stuff that we neglected from the previous day (food service, gardening, maintenance, paperwork, etc.).

Wednesday was a holiday here in Liberia; Decoration Day, which is similar to our Memorial Day. The nationals go to cemeteries and clean up the family plots and decorate with wreaths and plants. It is a day to remember loved ones who have passed on. We were on duty, so for us it was a regular work day, which was good, as we were still behind because of our Marathon Monday!

Thursday, we went into town rather abruptly at 9:30 a.m. when Dave received a phone call about a meeting that would begin at 10:00 a.m. for all those interested in the new social welfare policy manual. This document has been under construction for three years, and this was the public unveiling. It seemed a good opportunity to meet some social workers that we have been trying to touch bases with for a few days, so we headed into Monrovia. We arrived just before coffee break. Perfect timing! We made the contacts we needed, had coffee and a hard boiled egg, listened to a lecture and slipped out at one p.m.

Unfortunately, at our next stop, things did not go as smoothly. We dropped into the office of the airlines where we are purchasing tickets for a flight later this year. Seems there was a problem with the credit card process, and our credit card company denied payment halfway through the transaction. We are glad that VISA is diligent about watching transactions, and coming out of Africa, they are especially vigilant. But it took two hours and three calls to the fraud division in the U.S. before we could get things resolved. That was an ordeal! We are sure that the girls in the airline office are still wondering why those cranky people did not leave and try again another day, but it did not seem prudent to leave the office when we had only paid for half a ticket!

Today is Friday. Once again, we are trying to catch up on stuff we did not get done yesterday, as we were in Monrovia all day. We are looking forward to the weekend. Saturday, we will work around the orphanage and Sunday after church, we will attend our first Liberian wedding. One of our guards is getting hitched! We are curious to see what that celebration will be like. We will take pictures and fill you in on local wedding customs when we write next week!

Hoping your day is productive,
Dave & Babs

More Musings...

2009-03-04T10:43:00.001-08:00

So, we are driving down the road, and Dave says to me, "What do you think about the situation?"

My mind reels: which situation is he referring to?
---The beautiful vegetation and ocean scenes on the Chinese embassy road?
---Does he mean the orphanage with 30 starving children that we visited two weeks ago?
---Or the crippled beggar whose home is the bus stop?
---The fact that we cannot find a Mexican restaurant anywhere?
---Or maybe he is talking about the taxi in front of us with the words "Mama's Boy" painted on the bumper?
---Or that all of our watermelons in the garden have been eaten by some kind of large rodent?
---Maybe he wants to know my thoughts on the malaria outbreak that is plaguing our national workers at the village?
---Or why car owners seem to think that brake lights are a sign of weakness and should be disconnected?
---Or is he thinking about the guard who had a rat (followed closely by a cobra) race between his boots one night?
---Could he be talking about the incredible sunsets viewed from a perfect, deserted beach?
---Or how do the white egrets know to stalk eighteen inches in front of a fire line to scarf up escaping bugs?
---Is he talking about the armless beggar who beats his head against our car window when we go downtown?
---Or is he referring to the little girl, Elizabeth, who lives across the street from our village, who always has a cheerful "hello" for us and yet is terrified of white people and will scream if we stop the car?
---Maybe he means the huge crop of mangoes that are hanging on every mango tree in this county?

So I say, "I don't know, honey. What do you think?" but he does not respond as he is busy avoiding large groups of people walking on the highway, and I get side-tracked looking at beautiful cloth in the roadside shops; so it is still uncertain as to which situation he was referring.

Wishing you all a day with only good situations, and hoping you find a Mexican restaurant tonight.
Babs

Another Month

2009-02-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Each month, we are asked to fill out a monthly report form to send to the home office. Basically, we are asked to give a recap of what has happened in our life, both positive and negative, as we strive to accomplish certain goals within our area of responsibilities. The following are some of the things that were recalled in the past month:

---We have been working and praying about a young man named Jonathan for some months now. Our social worker introduced us to him. He lived at another orphanage and was the apple of the proprietor's eye. This caretaker had given Jonathan his own last name, as no one knew Jonathan's family. The war has caused this scenario to be repeated often. After the caretaker visited our village, he wanted Jonathan to have the opportunities that were offered here. Everyone is in agreement---sounds like a slam dunk, right? Well, there is bureaucracy and paperwork and forms and bureaucracy at each turn of the road. Did I mention the bureaucracy? Waiting begins...

---At the village, there is a certain amount of maintenance that is required to maintain the status quo, and besides that, we try to take a few steps forward as we develop this new facility. As plant manager, I try to stay ahead of the expected light bulbs burning out and doors falling off their hinges. Then there are the unexpected things (which has become more expected the longer we are here). This month an "unexpected" was a fire that crossed our side of the fence to the east. It burned up to the edge of the school but the only damage it did was rob us a few hours of sleep while we monitored it.

---The next weekend, while we were out of town, a fire came in from the west. This is the area where I had an encounter with a very large cobra. The grass was very high. Unknown to all, under the grass, about 15 feet of the PCV pipes from our water tower had never been covered with dirt. So, when the grass burned, so did the PCV pipe, causing some leaks. This was another fine use of duct tape, as it took about four days to locate the pipe and fittings necessary to repair the leaks.

---The following Friday, we were in Monrovia, interviewing potential mothers for the village. You may have seen one of those movies where everyone's pagers go off at the same time because of some catastrophe? Well, this is kind of how we felt. All kitchen and laundry personnel buzzed Babs, while the security staff called me to report that a taxi had lost control and plowed through the chain link fence at the village. No one was hurt, and now we are still looking for fencing to fix the thirty foot hole in the fence as quality fencing is in short supply here. In the interim, we have covered the hole with razor wire. Not a good look for an orphanage!

---We are also in the middle of a malaria outbreak. Malaria comes in phases, kind of like the flu season. One person gets it and more soon follow. (Sneaky mosquitos.) We currently have 6 security guards with malaria. They will miss only one day of work, or maybe none, as they do not want to miss a day of work. This is an impressive work ethic, but it also adds to the cycle of infecting more people as mosquitos go from person to person.

---Well, this past Monday we got the word: The long-awaited letter was ready for us to pick up. With that in hand, we could go pick up Jonathan. Two ladies who had invested much effort in this process would be the ones to pick him up. They left at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning with eager expectation for the four hour round trip while things were being readied here.

At 11 a.m., the ladies called me; the letter was not what the orphanage proprietor had in mind. He felt it was not specific enough. I was resigned to the fact that Jonathan would not be arriving on Tuesday after all, but the ladies would not give in so easily. They went right back to the government office for a more personal letter. (Yah, right! It only took a month to get this letter, thought one pessimistic village director). After a prayer, they went in and found the case worker and her boss in her office. "Yes, we will write the letter right now" was the response.

So, with the new and improved letter in hand, back to the orphanage they went. Everyone arrived back at the village some 8 1/2 hours after leaving that morning. Jonathan is happy, playing with his new brothers, and adjusting well.

So, there you have it: another monthly report! We are thankful for God's protection this month and for blessing our village with a new child.

Dave

A Fishy Tale...

2009-02-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

The children at our village are served Liberian dishes for noon meals everyday, and they eat a lot of fish. Garden Egg soup, Fried Potato Greens soup, Groundnut soup, Okra Stew, Pepper soup, Pam Butter Soup. These dishes all call for fish and are served over rice.

We are fortunate to be living so close to the ocean to have wonderful, fresh red snapper available. The locals go out in dugout canoes. Yes, on the ocean! At night! Dave asked to fish with them, and they told him he was too wide for their boat. Thank goodness!

After a successful night of fishing, they bring their fish to the gate at daylight. Often around fifteen to twenty pounds, these fish are beauties. We can purchase them for less than market price as then the fisherman does not have to transport it to town. So we get very fresh fish at a great price, and the fishermen get to go to bed. It is a "win, win" for all!

Our cooks clean it, cut it up into steaks, and throw them into the freezer for a week of good eating. The cooks tell me that the head of the fish is the best part, and is a favorite in Pepper soup and Palm Butter soup. I personally avoid the kitchen on those days, as I find it disconcerting to have an eyeball looking at me while preparing a meal. Kind of creepy.

Above, you can see Dave pretending that he caught the big catch of the day.

Below, you can see two of the cooks cleaning a red snapper.

---Babs

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2009-01-26T18:06:00.001-08:00

It has been cool here for the past two weeks. Well, 'cool' is a relative term; we are still wearing short-sleeved shirts and flip-flops, just not perspiring as much as we usually do. The nationals are chilled, though. Our guards wear parkas, the laundry girl keeps a knit hat on all day, and the mommas have been requesting hot tea with supper! Here is a picture of two of the cooks all wrapped up for the "cold snap" we are experiencing.
Part of the reason for the cooler weather is the harmattan winds. This is a winter wind (late November through March) that starts in the Sahara Desert and blows west, picking up dust and dirt. The Harmattan arrived in Liberia this past weekend. It kind of looks like afternoon winter tule fog in the central California valley, except the haze is not fog, but dirt! So a better analogy would be like living right next to an almond huller during the month of September! It is dusty, dusty, dusty. But the plus side to this weather is that it is cooler, as the dust stops the intense rays of the equator sun from beating down on us. See? A silver lining in everything!

Hope this finds you enjoying your weather, whatever it is today!

Dave and Babs

Water World Rules!

2009-01-19T09:22:00.001-08:00

On a warm afternoon (oh, who are we kidding? They are ALL warm afternoons!), we huffed and puffed into two blow-up swimming pools; added two large plastic wash tubs, and set them all under two lawn sprinklers. Behold the extravaganza called Water World!

It was a fun afternoon, with much splishing and splashing by everyone. Someone even started a water fight (who would do such a thing!), but of course, the man with the garden hose won!
Several hours later, as sand was rinsed out of swimming suits and dumped out of pools, the day was declared a complete success. Water World will return someday soon!

Look Out, Dakota Fanning! Here's Competition!

2009-01-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

The first ever Christmas Pageant here at the orphanage was held on December 24, 2008. We had wise men, shepherds, an angel, Mary, Joseph, and two guys who were the "official star holders". It was a traditional pageant that retold the story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

All things considered, it went very well. One of the star holder guys kept dropping the star on Joseph's head; an exuberant wise man excitedly proclaimed her memorized lines, plus the lines of the other two wise men; a little girl in the audience wanted to hold the baby in the manger; carols were sung a little off key. Halfway through, Joseph and the two star holders decided they were finished wearing their costumes and tore them off. Yes, sounds like a typical children's Christmas pageant to me!

But the songs were sung with great gusto; the children were happy to share the story of the baby Jesus; Mommas were proud to see the children perform. It was a joyful experience and a wonderful gift to the King!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

This morning, at 5:00am, God treated us to a marvelous display of His fireworks! Liberia had their first storm of 2009, complete with heavy rain and an awesome lightening show, accompanied with grand, booming thunder. When I went to open the dining hall at 6:15am, the rain had lessened, and the sounds of drums and singing were coming from one of the nearby the villages: the locals were officially welcoming the new year!

Our youngest cook wandered into the kitchen at 6:30am. She had been to an all night prayer meeting at her church and did not go to bed until 2 am this morning. Of course, the thunder woke her up earlier than she had planned to awaken this morning. Hm-m-m-m...three hours of sleep. Ah, youth! Many churches in Africa celebrate the beginning of the new year with all night prayer vigils. A pretty cool way to start 2009, but difficult to manage if you have to work New Year's Day.

We have discussed what we would like to see happen this year: Dave is praying that God will grow this village with more children and that we will be instrumental in doing what He has planned. I would like to get some curtains hung in the clinic and lose ten pounds. Yes, I am shallow and Dave is a much deeper thinker than I am! But we all knew that! But we both agree that as hard as it is sometimes to be away from dear family and marvelous friends who support this head-scratching adventure we are living...as confusing as it is sometimes to be separated from everything we know as "normal...this is where we are supposed to be right now. We have full assurance that God is "the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas" (Psalm 65:5). And with that hope, we are O.K.

So we wish you all a Happy, Blessed, Full-of-adventure, Hope-filled New Year! Please excuse me now; I need to go hang curtains in the clinic!

Dave and Babs

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

2008-12-22T00:05:00.001-08:00

Monrovia is getting into the holiday spirit. The city is full of people, as folks pour into town from the "interior" for the Christmas season. Purveyors of decorated artificial Christmas trees carry them down the street for easy shopping. Dave is pretty sure this is the perfect way to purchase a Christmas tree...right in the comfort of your car! Don't have to go into any Christmas tree lot and look at 50 different trees before settling on the first one you saw. The trees come to you! Talk about customer service!
Christmas decorations are hawked on the sidewalks and people with tinsel around their necks walk through the massive traffic jams, selling some holiday cheer.

This Santa looks a little different than jolly ol' St. Nick. Makes one wonder what he has in his bag.

Most churches here will have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship services, and later in the day on the 25th, the beaches will be full of people.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, as the birth of the Savior of the world is celebrated everywhere, in many different ways.

Dave & Babs

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (that's us, folks!)

1 Timothy 1:15

And We're Back!

2008-12-10T18:40:00.001-08:00

It has been three months since Dave pulled the plug on the old satellite dish and began the simple five hour project of assembling the new dish.

Three months, three receivers, two BUCs, two modems, and a partridge in a pear tree later, it is finally up and running! Yea!

It is nice to have Internet access on site again. Although we will miss having the weekly excuse to go to the Firestone Rubber Tree Plantation

Country Club to use their Internet. That visit usually included dinner. We will miss the Chicken MaraBelle (yummy baked chicken on a bed of

Liberian spicy rice), but we will trade chicken for connections with the States any day!

Here is a picture of Dave battling his nemesis. This picture will make any OSHA safety inspector go into full cardiac arrest, but here, in Liberia, where

it is not uncommon to see four men sitting on the hood of a speeding car or two men perched atop a 30 foot metal frame, no ropes, just welding away

without goggles, Dave's safety violations see rather tame. Still, though, we do not suggest you try this at home!

Wishing you all safe day!

Dave and Babs

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T16:20:00.001-08:00

Things we are thankful for:

--for dry beds at night.

--for English teachers who expected us to use proper annunciation and grammar.

--for children who actually seem to miss us! (or at least fake it well)

--for the ability to read and write.

--for wonderful family and good friends.

--for the health to work hard.

--for a rich Christian heritage.

--for the occasional Pop Tart.

--for hair coloring (thanks, Diane S.)

--for ministers, Sunday school teachers, catechism instructors, Bible leaders who taught us Truth.

--for avocado trees that are actually growing.

--for nationals who like us even when we do something really stupid.

--for internet access.

--for eyesight to enjoy the awesome Liberian sky.

--for the laughter of children.

--for air conditioning at night.

--for Liberians who model such humility and honesty in prayer

--for plenty to eat.

--for indoor plumbing.

--for sunscreen.

--for Adirondack chairs.

--for the assurance of salvation and the joy of life now.

Hoping your Thanksgiving Day is blessed and full of thanksgiving to our wonderful God, the Great Provider of all good things.

Love, Dave & Babs

On Being Healthy...

2008-11-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed with a germ-impervious body. I rarely get sick. It is a hearty Dutch model, and has served me well. When I was a kid, friends of my parents would say about my sister, “Oh, she is so pretty” and then they would look at me and remark, “And she is so healthy-looking!” Yes, that summed it all up!

When you are 6 years old, healthy-looking is good. And useful. I did not have measles, mumps, or even chicken pox, even though my siblings were hit with those illnesses. At 16 years old, looking healthy was certainly NOT the goal, but so it goes. What do ya’ do?

I am not bitter…really!

But now I find that, at my current age (you guessed it, 42!), healthy-looking is a good way to be. Except since we have arrived here in Africa 6 months ago, I have been sick 5 times! Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of orphanages to screen some children. Two days later, I was sick. Like for four days! This sturdy Dutch body is apparently no match for sneaky African germs. Guess it was the flu….again. I was given a malaria-detecting test and tested negative. That is good.

Malaria is a constant concern here. Most of the nationals know right away when they have it, because it is not their first bout with it. Some have nausea, some headache, some achy joints. A fever is present, but it might be constant or intermittent. That’s one of the the problems with malaria: symptoms can vary so from person to person.

Malaria is a big killer. World-wide, it will kill millions of people again this year. Almost half the world’s population is threatened by this disease. Young children, older folks, and anyone with a weakened immune system are at greatest risk. Malaria comes up in the course of a conversation regularly, as it is a part of life here. Right now, we have two guards suffering through it. That brings the number to 14 of people (staff and children) that I am aware of who have battled malaria since we arrived in May. And it is just the beginning of mosquito season!

This Thanksgiving, be thankful that you live in a malaria-free part of the world.

And pray for those who don’t.

Babs

The Little Truck That Could (Almost...)

2008-11-12T12:06:00.001-08:00

Here in Liberia the contractor who built this village is finished with this phase of construction and is finally moving his equipment and left over material. All of us at the site are glad that we can say good bye to the construction crowd and the mess that has seemed to accumulate as a by-product of their labors. One of the things that needed to be removed was a container. It was used to lock up tools and valuable items. It has been an eye sore for as long as we have been here, prominently positioned in the middle of the facility. Today all that changed! We got the word that the truck had left Monrovia (10 a.m.), and would arrive to pick up and move the container to the contractor’s main office on Bushrod Island. Bushrod Island is the harbor area next to Monrovia where all goods are unloaded off the cargo ships. Everything comes into this country by ship! Bushrod Island is always bumper to bumper with trucks and cars.

So the truck finally arrived at about 4 p.m. The drive to Bushrod usually takes about 1½ hours by car. Of course it would take a little longer with a truck, especially when the driver does not want to chance getting a ding in his paint job or bumpers. Maybe someone can help me figure out exactly what year this truck is (or was), but my best guess is that I was about 10 years old when it was new.

This fine vehicle (‘58-‘60 Dodge?) came with a driver and 3 attendants. One of the fellows worked the crane. He sat behind the cab, in between two huge gears that were part of the crane that was mounted on the back of this trusty vehicle. One of the other guys would crawl underneath and engage the power take-off when needed. The third fellow was responsible for hooking up the cables. A well oiled machine!

Finally it was backed up to the container and cables were being hooked up. This was an arduous process as the turning radius is huge because the front wheels do not turn very much. Also, the clutch was wore out, or maybe it was because of all the oil going past it; anyway, six of us had to push when it was in reverse because the truck could not move on its own power. Woe unto you if you were down wind when the engine was put under a load; the smoke was breath-taking!

O.K.! We got it now. Small problem though: now the truck will not go through the sand with it’s load. Every able man on the site had to push to get it this far. Well, except for the three helpers! They had to sit on the front bumper in an effort to keep the front wheels on the ground. At this point, just when one thinks this is not going too bad, the truck runs out of diesel. Not to worry, there is more in the can behind the cab. The main fuel tank is sitting on the passenger side floor board. Why it doesn’t get filled before it runs out is a mystery; nobody knows! Now the injector pump needed priming; a 30 minute ordeal.

Well, it’s only 6 p.m. and the truck is cadillacing down the main street of the village, heading toward the main gate. The security guys have the front gates opened w-i-d-e. We are close, so close, to getting rid of this thing.

After a 16 point turn through the gate, it is on the road. Note the wheel that is off the ground as they pull onto the county road. That is the tire that had all the cords showing. This is how they will most likely keep it from wearing out on the way back to Bushrod Island.

This silhouette of the container going down the road is a pleasant sight for us. One has to wonder though, with it going to be very dark in one hour, and no lights on the truck or container, what are they thinking? Two weeks ago, Babs and I were coming home from the internet café and came up behind this very thing in the dark: an unlit container on a truck. Fortunately, the car in front of us saw it and then we saw their tail lights. If per chance one of his three tires that were down to the second layer of cords blows out, they will park it in the middle of the highway, since there is no shoulder to pull off on, and return in the morning to deal with it. Such road hazards are the norm here.

The Rest of The Story:

After months of talk, we were promised that by Sunday the container and all the debris would be removed from the village. The container left Saturday evening, and most of the debris had also been hauled off. It is now Sunday morning, and after church we left town, and headed inland out of Monrovia. The joke was that I should be careful not to run into the back of a blue container that may have been dumped in the middle of the road. Well, sure enough, we were not quite to Red Light Junction, (named for the red stop light that used to blink there before the war) and there it was! They seemed to have had some tire issues and now the truck will not start. They made it half way home (10 miles) in 18 hours. I have no doubt they will make it the rest of the way. The people of Liberia are hard workers and very resourceful with what they have to work with. My heart goes out to them; this has been a hard way to make $200, but that’s trucking. Been there, done that!

---Dave

Bed, Bath, and Way Beyond... (or, "Babs Decorates")

2008-10-29T09:30:00.001-07:00

Finding the perfect piece of furniture...
This store is great! Note how one can even purchase fish for dinner here.

A done deal! (The lady behind me is not happy that I would not buy her bananas, but I was totally focused on buying my towel shelving).

Doubling the purchase price.
Never before have I painted against such a beautiful backdrop.

Perfection! I love it!

Winter in Liberia

2008-10-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Here we all are, over half way through the month of October. For the most of our lives there have been events, mostly linked to agriculture (almonds bloomed, peppers were planted, cabbage was harvested, almonds knocked, and after many loads of peppers delivered, the year was about shot) and weather that marked the year’s passing; first cold, then hot, and then things cooled off again. Here, it is very different.

In Liberia we are just finishing the rainy season. September is normally the wettest month of the year. This year was no exception. September averaged 20 inches a week for the month, raining almost every night. The school aged Rafiki children recently took a field trip to the airport. One of the places they visited there was the weather station. They informed us that the rainy season is officially over the 15^th of October. So, here we are trying to remind ourselves that it is the middle of October and the year of 2008 is coming to a close.

Time always seems to go faster and faster but here, in Liberia, it is especially hard for us to wrap our heads around the fact that summer in the states is over and Christmas is just around the corner for us all. Instead of cooling off as it is doing where we have always lived, here it is just hot and getting hotter and steamier. The months of June, July, and August, what we have always thought of as summer, is now our “rainy season.” We are finding out why the rain is enjoyed by those living here; it brings a little cool with it. Today, after 3-4 days of being dry, it rained 2-3 inches and was a nice relief!

When we arrived in Liberia in May and the first torrential rain storm came, we were told by the nationals “that we had not seen anything yet”, and we hadn’t. Now we remarked about the intense sun, and were told “you haven’t seen anything yet”. In church this morning there was a group of people from Illinois. They were fanning themselves and looked like they were going to wilt. We were quite comfortable. We may actually be acclimating!

October is the month that everyone here is planting their gardens. Up and down the highway we see villages preparing their ground for planting. Yes, we also will give farming another go. With the arrival of our container the 2nd week of September, we now have a lot of vegetable seeds to plant. Dave is watching the neighbors to see how it’s done here. We will keep you posted.

Wishing you a bountiful, cool fall.

Dave & Babs Veneman

More Disturbing Car Statements

2008-10-12T16:17:00.001-07:00

Here are more car statements that we found interesting.

Kind of makes our cars in the States boring, don’t you think?
(You can enlarge each photo by clicking directly on the picture).

A Bug’s Life---Here are some interesting creature specimens we have encountered so far:

2008-10-07T16:59:00.001-07:00

Our little frog friend was hanging on the back door one morning.

This guy decided to dress as a leaf for Halloween. Good costume.

He has an attitude going on here.

Great color for a beetle: emerald!

Isn’t this moth cute?

He is less than a half an inch long…antenna included.

Oops! There Goes Another Rubber Tree Plant...

2008-09-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hi.

Well, here we are, week three of being out of touch with the rest of the world! Our satellite dish has not been working. It is Monday evening, September 29, and today we were supposed to receive, via DHL, new components for the dish. But this is Africa, and so “the plane for DHL did not land today”...whatever that means! For us, it means still no easy internet access. Difficult to find a high-speed internet café in Monrovia.

Let’s see…what is new? A couple fellas from the Department of Forestry came by on Saturday morning to plant 55 trees. Very exciting, as this place can use all the trees it can get! Counting the ones they stuck in the ground, over 135 trees have been added to this site since we arrived in May.

The gentlemen arrived by taxi. So did the trees. It was pouring rain (of course) so we did not get a picture, but the yellow cab contained two large men and 55 trees. It was just something that you don’t see everyday!

The rainy season should last for about another month, so all the new plantings have four more weeks to get established before the faucet turns off. As we walk past the new trees and bushes, we say encouraging things, like “looking good” and “hey, you have some new leaves.”

Unfortunately, Dave has been overheard threatening some of the less aggressive plants that he “will pull them out by the roots if they don’t do something!” And then we have to go back over our sensitivity training and remember that plants have feelings too, and some are just a little slower than others! Yeah, same as people.

But we are wishing some of these trees would become full-grown overnight because we could really use the shade in the dry season. The sun is intense here at the equator!

So that is about it from Monrovia today.

Wishing you a great day!

Dave & Babs

A Vegetable Order to Remember!

2008-09-15T17:58:00.001-07:00

One of the cooks called me into the Village pantry to show me something. As we were peering into the darkened pantry (the electricity was off), I suddenly realized that she was telling me there was a snake in there! "Exit, stage right!" As I slammed the door of the pantry shut, I said in my most adult voice, which was sounding oddly shrill, that I would get Mr. Veneman.

Dave asked the important questions...size, color, etc. Well, it was small (18 inches long) and skinny (about 3/8" diameter), just a baby snake; those were the good qualities. Unfortunately, it was bright green, which meant it was a green mamba. All the staff (cooks, cleaning girl, guards, laundry girl, and groundskeepers) agreed it was poisonous and said "be careful". Suddenly, everyone became very busy (most industrious anyone had been in days!), and no one could help Dave. Sure, let the white guy deal with the snake!

So Dave donned his boots and gloves, and welding a bonifide snake-killing stick (old mop handle), he entered the pantry. As Dave rummaged through the buckets of bananas and bins of fresh produce that had been delivered the day before (yes, that seems to be how the sneaky snake came to reside in the pantry), he suddenly realized that the bugger was behind him, skulking behind the rice bin. It was probably waiting to catch Dave off guard! Snakes are so devious!

But Dave fought a valiant fight and emerged the victor, holding the limp snake aloft. As my still rather shrill voice was voicing concern if it really was dead or just sleeping, Dave took it outside and disposed of it. I then calmly climbed down from the kitchen counter, and proclaimed Dave the hero of the day!

Just another day in Liberia!

Wishing you all a reptile-free day (except for you, Loren, and may all YOUR reptiles be non-poisonous.)

Babs Veneman

"A Time To Weep..."

2008-09-11T15:59:00.001-07:00

This is a hard country. Life here is not easy for the Liberians. Access to healthcare is often limited, and any infection has the potential to be life-threatening. Malaria always is a concern, as is safe drinking water, clean produce, and fresh meat.

We have been in Africa four months now. In that time, four of the national staff here at the Village have experienced the death of a close relative. Two workers lost their brothers. One brother was 42 years old, and the other one was 45 years old. Our laundry girl's sister passed away and left four little children, the youngest being only 6 months old. Two weeks ago, a groundskeeper's daughter fell and died. She was just over a year old. No ambulance, no medi-flight, no trauma center available to those out in the bush.

We have had the privilege to hear several of these people pray during morning devotions, and usually they begin their prayers by thanking God for "waking up this morning." If you ask someone how their night was, they will respond by saying, "I have life, thank God." These sayings are not trite phrases, but come from a realization that life is tenuous. Only by the grace of God are they alive today.

A thankful heart in the midst of hard times...that must make God smile.

Wishing all who read this a day full of thanking God for life.

Dave & Babs Veneman

"A Time to Plant..."

2008-09-02T21:12:00.001-07:00

Hi. Here are a couple pictures we took today when we got back from another expedition into "Jungle Land". We wear boots when we tromp around in the wild, grassy area at the west end of the site. Just in case of sneaky snakes. Very brave thing to do, I might add, walking in snake territory. Or stupid. Could go either way....

We were in search of the illusive "paw paw" tree (papaya). We were trying to find some seedlings, but only found big trees, too big to transplant. We have a small paw paw orchard planted (two rows, four trees in a row) behind the house, but we need a couple of replants. Two trees, which showed such promise at first, just up and died. Sad.

We did find a few crape myrtle bushes and transplanted them in front of the school. The timing was perfect! Thirty minutes after we finished digging them into the ground, the sky opened up and watered the new transplants.

This soil is very humbling for a couple of Californian farmers. Our garden seeds got washed away in one of the first rain deluges in July. Total crop failure! And the orphanage is built on a sand hill, which is just beach sand; few nutrients and the sand gets hot quickly. If something grows here, it is one tough plant! So some of the plants and trees we had high hopes for did not make it, like the paw paw trees. (sigh)

Dave located fertilizer in Monrovia; not an easy feat! He has sprinkled some by everything we have planted. All the plants smile and wave when Dave walks past. Dave is their friend.

Dave has a little nursery growing next to the house. He found some old wooden boxes, and hauled them to the house. They are now filled with good dirt from "Jungle Land" and are under the eaves to protect them from downpours. He has planted tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, peas, and, of course, bell peppers. We had to purchase a red bell pepper to get pepper seed, and they are growing quite well. The challenge is to keep the ants and beetles away from the baby plantings, and believe me, in this country, that is a huge challenge!

Hope everything you plant grows!

Dave and Babs Veneman

"ALL HAIL, LIBERIA, HAIL! (ALL HAIL)"

2008-08-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today is Flag Day in Liberia. Actually, it was really yesterday, Sunday, August 24. However, as the holiday landed on a Sunday, today, Monday, the 25th of August, is the celebrated day. The president requested all institutions and schools to observe the holiday with a program, so at 8:30 am we all gathered at the flag pole. Even though there was no school today, the children arrived wearing their school uniforms. They look so good in their uniforms; so neat and tidy and orderly. Uniforms can be very deceiving!

The kids all wanted to stand in front of us and we were feeling rather loved, until we realized that they just wanted to get out of the sun and stand in our shadows! So much for that warm, fuzzy feeling of being loved!

All national employees working today were also invited to the Flag Day program. We said the Liberian Pledge of Allegiance (very close to ours in the States); sang the official flag song (yes, there is an official flag song); and then we sang the national anthemn (nothing like ours!). Prayers for unity in Liberia were offered by some of the children and staff. We ended by singing the first verse of the national anthemn again. A nice little celebration, all in all.

The mommas took the older children on a walk to the beach this afternoon. The beach is about a half a mile from the Village. That was a special treat, a walk to the beach! This evening, to finish the special day, sardine sandwiches were served for supper. Babs did not care to sample the cuisine, but Dave really wanted to taste a sandwich. He asked Martha the cook for the recipe. Guess we will be having sardine sandwiches some evening...well, maybe one of us will just have a nice salad while the other one scarfs sardines.

Wishing you a Happy Flag Day, too!

Dave and Babs Veneman

Bugs in Liberia...

2008-08-20T17:17:00.001-07:00

Well, we are learning that things are different here in Africa. Back in California, butterflies are happy little creatures, flitting blissfully from flower to flower. Here, the butterflies are scary, the praying mantis's look like they have been taking steroids, and the beetles have claws and seem rather aggressive!

The butterfly in the picture was hanging out around a neighbor's front door. I guess the snakes on it's back are part of it's natural security system, as it's predators will think it is a snake and leave it alone. Worked for me; I left it alone! I do feel rather badly for the butterfly, though. How sad to go through life with bad tattoos, just for protection. Just doesn't seem fair. Even the life of a butterfly is hard here.

The bodies of the African praying mantis are about 6 inches long. Add the length of their spindly legs to that number, and you have a formidable bug. Not a big fan of any bug, but large, formidable ones kind of creep me out!

Which reminds me of the beetle that stalked me yesterday morning. It was waiting for me in the dining hall. As I walked around unlocking doors, it followed me. No matter where I walked in the large dining hall, he was scurrying toward me. I would walk behind him (wa-a-ay behind him) and he would turn around and head right toward me again. Creepy! Straight out of a Stephen King movie. All I can figure is that the fella' could sense fear, and knew it was a sign of weakness. He was going for the big kill! Man, I do not need to end up as a trophy on some beetle's rec room wall! And people wonder why I walk around with a can of bug spray!

Wishing all who read this a wonderful, bug-free day!

Babs

PEOPLE SWARAY FOREVER!

2008-08-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi, Friends.

Liberia is a interesting place, especially if you think you have a good handle on the English language. As folks who have always maintained that words mean something, the sayings we read throughout this country make us wonder about that truth. Many times we have scratched our heads, looked at each other in confusion and said "What does THAT mean?"

It is the custom to write a statement about life on your taxi....or maybe after too much happy juice, it seemed like a good idea to make a public statement! Either way, we are enjoying reading bumpers here in Africa! Makes driving much more an adventure. And we are re-thinking our earlier stance....maybe words really don't mean anything at all!

Wishing all who read this a fabulous day! And remember: A Wacted Pot Never Boil!

Dave & Babs
(click directly on each photo in order to view them bigger)