"Stop and Shop"

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

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!

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"

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!

(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...

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

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