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
