Children + Water = Fun

This past week has been busy (again)! We had two holidays, back to back, so we had to plan special activities to keep fifty six children occupied. Oh, boy!

Wednesday was Decoration Day. It is sort of like the U.S. Memorial Day, as Liberians honor their dead relatives. The day is a family day, with extended family members gathering at burial plots for weeding and painting the tombs and remembering.

We used the day to walk to the beach. It seems that every time we go, we have a few children who have not been at the village very long, and they have never before seen the ocean up close. For some children, seeing the ocean for the first time is kind of scary! But it does not take too long and they are enjoying the outing like all the others. Sticking toes in the cool water, chasing sand crabs (somehow, Caleb always manages to catch one!), building sand castles, and scouring the beach for the "perfect" shell are great ways to enjoy a holiday from school.

The ocean was beautiful. Some local fishermen in dugout canoes bobbed on the water just beyond the breaking waves. Birds dove into the surf looking to score lunch. We met a village employee carrying two nice fish. He HAD scored lunch and he was on his way home to cook it!

The walk back to the village was on a dirt path through an area that is overgrown and jungle-like. The kids saw a herd of goats, some guard dogs, and many kinds of birds. It was a fun day for a beach walk.

Thursday was J.J. Robert's Birthday. Good ol' J.J. was a past president of Liberia. To celebrate his day, we had Pool Day. The blow-up pools were set up and filled via several garden hoses. Good natured water fights occurred; "holding one's breath underwater" contests were held in some pools; some serious "swimming" was attempted; the biggest splash-makers were noted; more water fights ensued. A small football was tossed from pool to pool, and little George (age two years) spent his time trying to empty a pool, one cupful of water at a time. Yes, children + water = much fun!

Wishing you a splashing good day!

---Dave & Babs

Not Your Ordinary Construction Site

A new school building is being built at the village. There are many things that one doesn't normally see at a bulding site here. Like the homemade ladders, and the septic tank that was dug and formed six weeks ago, but never has had a lid built yet (it is empty, but it is also an eight foot drop for the unsuspecting person walking at night!).

And then there is the monkey. He is a pet of one of the construction workers so he is on a leash. The kindergarten teacher asked to have the monkey moved to another place on the site, as her class (easily distracted anyways!) had a difficult time ignoring the chattering creature next to their windows. I am not a big fan of the primates, and this guy is not a big fan of white women, so we both try to pretend the other one does not exist. So far, it is working.

But the most interesting item so far on this building site was the bomb. It was discovered as the guys were digging a trench between the new and the existing school buildings. Someone's shovel hit something hard. Looking closer, it was an 81 mm. mortar shell. They tossed it out of the trench, onto the sand. Dave gingerly carried it away from people and buildings and he called the U.N. authorities.

Someone immediately came out to make a report. ("Found: one bomb.") We were told to make sure that it was in a secured place so our neighbors could not take it away. Apparently, this is a real problem with unexploded ordinances. People are unaware of the danger, and take them home.

The next day, several trucks and an ambulance pulled through the gate. The U.N. personnel were Pakastini explosive experts. (I think there might be a joke here...) Soldiers with rifles stepped into place around the perimeter of the area. The shell was moved into the jungle behind the construction site. There was some discussion; sandbags were brought in; wire was laid out into the jungle; there was more discussion; we were all told to move back; a loud whistle blew; and finally a large explosion. It was rather impressive. The blast threw rocks, dirt, and leaves onto the roof of the new school building. We silly Americans applauded the Pakastanis, who smiled back at us silly Americans. The crater in the jungle was about eight feet in diameter and trees surrounding the hole were scarred.

And now all the boys here at the village have a new goal: to become Pakastini explosive experts! What's not to like about a job like that? Bombs, playing with matches, loud explosions! A truly great occupation.

Wishing you a nice, quiet day.

---Babs

Life in the Fast Lane

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

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

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!

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

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!