Chapter 38 oh no!

2012-02-16T04:03:00.001-08:00

I was just going to upload a bunch of new pictures while I had good internet but I realized that I edited them all on my computer last week...which also DIED last week!

SOOOOO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!

Ok. My venting is over.

So plan B for photos. (not sure what that is yet...) :)

For a brief moment I have good internet...

2012-02-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

Lucy and I are taking advantage of an opportunity for decent internet access. Alex and at Beth are babysitting for a Missionary Retreat at a hotel/beach resort. It also happens to be next door to our house.

It's funny that we forget this place is here. Life in Africa can swallow a person up and sometimes the daily tasks of just living take so much focus that the old kind of enjoyment we used to experience is forgotten.

But today we had to walk Beth and Alex over here. So we decided to stick around (you know, to be sure they were alright...hahaha).

The view is beautiful. And although the beach is just a few steps away from the beach we live close to, it seems as though at this beach it is easier to forget about the rest of this city when you look out across the waves.

Oh, and there's air conditioning. That is dreamy.

It reminds me of Jake's praise during house church on Sunday. He said that Africa has made him realize what he took for granted in America. He said he is so much more grateful now for the things he has in America. We live with so little here, which is not to pat ourselves on the back, but to push us to the realization of what really are "needs" and what really are "wants." Instead of living in the prideful flesh of saying "we live with so little here" we say thank you Jesus that you are teaching us here.

For instance, without a vehicle we haven't purchased beds. The house we are renting was a guest house prior to us moving there. We are renting the current furniture temporarily until we can get a few small furniture items.

Thus, our beds are 3" foam on plywood. The first few nights I struggled to sleep. Although we were purely exhausted I still woke up throughout the night with restless discomfort. For a couple of weeks my hip bones felt bruised during the day and my back ached.

But now I sleep like a rock.

Occasionally, when I first lay down, I remember what my bed at the farm feels like. Even though it was a hand me down from somewhere I now have a romanticized feeling about it whenever I picture it.

But something so small like a bed...we've taken for granted. When we are really put to the test we realize what our true needs are.

Can a 3" foam really be called a bed and give rest to the weary? Yes. Especially when I look outside my window and see such deeper problems in this country than my bed. It is a reminder of what we take for granted and how misconstrued our wants and needs had become.

It is a depth of thankfulness we've never experienced before.

Especially for a place to rest our heads...and faster internet.

Jerry

2012-02-07T16:09:00.000-08:00

One of the cool things about living where we live is that instead of being walled off by a cement block fence we have an African version of chain link that allows for us to still be able to see everything that goes on outside our compound and live life with our neighbors.

I love it this way. We didn’t plan it but God chose this for us and it’s one of those times when we look back and see how he provided what we didn’t know we wanted.

I love it this way because the community well is right outside our gate. It’s the social hub where children gather morning and early evening to collect water.

We’ve spent many hours at the pump getting to know our neighbors, especially the kids. I love the kids. We’ve tried to memorize each and every one of their names and learn where they live and what they are about.

One kid in particular, Jerry, has always been so friendly. “Hi brother Eric!” “Ma Pam!” “LUCY!” “Alice” (they say Alex in a special way) and so forth. He comes from the palm bushes where people are squatting.

Last week was different. Jerry was quiet. His eyes showed a story but his voice was silent. We asked him if everything was OK.

He shook his head yes.

This went on for several days.

Finally, I stopped him on the other side of the walking bridge and talked with him. I asked him again why he was so quiet.

He didn’t say anything. He just shook his head as to say yes when I asked if he was ok, just like before.

I noticed he had something curled up in the bottom of his oversized shirt. Leaves of some sort.

What they were for? I inquired.

By this time one of the teenage boys from the neighborhood, Emmanuel, stopped to talk with us. Often times the older boys will help me communicate with the littler ones because the words we use sometimes have different meanings than Liberian English and the younger kids don’t understand.

Emmanuel said the leaves were for infection. Malaria? He was guessing.

Jerry shook his head no.

I questioned Jerry a little more.

One thing I’ve learned about the Africans I’ve met is they will answer my questions but won’t add to the information. If I ask if they have the same mother (assuming they have the same father) they won’t divulge that they also have different fathers. Thus, I ask questions until I can get to the root of things.

Finally, after several questions about Malaria, whether or not he felt ok, if he was safe at home, etc, Jerry showed us a festering sore on his leg.

I looked at it, bulging out of his skin, crusted over in filth and infected scabs. I took a deep breath and convinced him to come home with me. He was crossing the bridge anyway to go boil the leaves to treat his infected leg.

At the house I quickly gathered supplies and found Alex, who is our first aid expert. She tenderly disinfected Jerry’s wound and dressed the area. Jerry gave a story about falling into a fire and burning his leg. His 2^nd degree burn (according to Where There is No Doctor) happened over a week ago and he was carrying the secret pain that long.

I gave Jerry a banana and a cold drink of water.

As we finished up I asked Jerry if anyone would be vexed with him at his house for coming here. He said his sister would be angry with him. It was more of a jealous anger.

I decided to walk Jerry home and explain the situation to his family and ask their permission to continue treating Jerry.

Because our security team has voiced concern with the area where Jerry lives, I took the day guard with me.

As we walked back there under the shade of palm trees I could smell the weed, or “grass” as they call it, wafting into the air. The rumor of drugs confirmed.

We saw a small cleared area with 3 thatch walled houses. An older man sat in the middle of the area holding a tiny baby. It was Jerry’s father, holding a grandchild of his.

I introduced myself and explained to him how Jerry had been so friendly to us and then his demeanor changed this week. I told him how we cared for Jerry and wanted to be sure he was safe. I explained what we uncovered and how we could help.

Apparently his father didn’t know about the burn and scolded him for not being open about it.

I asked his father to be sure Jerry was safe and if we could continue treating him.

His father shared how much he appreciated our help and that his children are my children and vice versa. Whew. I was nervous and afraid for a bit that he was angry with us.

In the end we’ve been able to see Jerry several times already to clean his sore and re-bandage it.

Today I asked Jerry if he could read, knowing he isn’t in school. He’s 7 so it is still early for reading here.

He said he couldn’t so our family is praying we will be able to teach him to read and have an opportunity to learn from books even if he can’t go to school for now.

It’s so funny. Since the first time we treated Jerry’s wound, several other children have come to Alice for their sores to be cleaned and for band-aids. Yesterday, one little boy came so we could fix his bug bite. J So cute.

I’ve learned the whole purpose for living in a neighborhood or community, wherever you live, is so you know people. Knowing your neighbors and truly caring about them opens the doors to also know when something is wrong.

We are so thankful that Jesus gave us the opportunity to love Jerry this week.

****** UPDATE: I wrote this post a few days ago but limited internet access prevented me from posting it. Jerry's leg is healing very well and he started reading lessons. Before we left the US God gave me the idea that we would teach kids to read in our home. When Jerry came today and I was working with him and he was really into learning. I was so very grateful that the things God laid on my heart were coming to fruition. I can't even express how much I enjoyed sitting next to that little boy today and watching him try so hard. Sometimes I wonder if this is how Jesus feels when he walks beside us.

We're Not MIA!

2012-02-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

Don’t worry. We haven’t gone missing in Africa! J

On New Year’s Eve we finally moved out of our one room at the guest house and into a rental house sandwiched between a fresh water lagoon and the ocean. We were so, so relieved and anticipating life to “even out” and routine to set in.

Two days after we moved in we had a construction crew show up to replace some broken tiles. This turned into three weeks and every tile in the house torn out and re-set! At one point we were back to living in just a small space surrounded fully by a foot of sand under toe. In Africa, they layer sand and then cement before setting the tiles.

One night as I stepped over a mountain of sand dumped in the living room for the next days’ work I was startled by a crab running out in front of me. Oh my.

At the same time Eric had a crew outside building a fence around our house and securing our area.

We were on cultural overload, surrounded by 20+ Liberians all day for 3 weeks without a house to go into. We were exiled to the yard where we tried to stay busy.

It was a challenging few weeks. In the end the new floors are much better and our house is finally beginning to feel like a home.

School is in full swing again and we’re working double time to catch up on the missed weeks. The kids are loving this part…ha!

I’ll try to post some pictures soon. Right now the only internet access we have is a USB stick, which is SLOW. Alex’s glorious photographs will have to wait.

We also don’t have running water…yet. We are working on that. Digging a well is a new experience for us. But so is carrying 15 – 20 buckets of water a day and taking bucket showers. Really, it was just an adjustment and now it’s just how it is. We’re used to some of the crazy hard things.

Eric and I joked last night about how there was a dead fly on my plate and I just ate on the other side. No big deal.

And the lines of termites on the walls…those were gross when we moved in but now no big deal.

Or the mice. Those are still gross. But then the kids reminded me we had mice at the farm. And in Olathe. So why is that such a big deal??

Life here is really hard sometimes, and yet this is where we seem to come alive. Never before have we felt so smack dab in the middle of God’s will.

Our New Pet

2011-12-26T14:13:00.000-08:00

Remember how I bribed Typhoid Lucy at the clinic?? I promised a new pet??

Well, conveniently the guest house proprietors are going to the States next month for almost a year. They brought a baby Mongoose home from the bush a few weeks ago. They needed someone to take her in.

Alex calls her Brat...for Brown Rat. She does kinda look like a mouse.

She's kind of cute. I mean, she's kinda growing on me.

And Eric. Well Eric LOVES the Mongoose almost as much as Beth and Lucy (bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha). :)

Her real name is now Mae. And I am promising myself I will not be bribing with pets any longer.

But she is kinda cute.

My New Friends

2011-12-25T16:33:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 + weeks we've been living across the hall from our new Nepalize friends.

They make the best food. I love Indian food and it is much like Indian food.

I named each of them because their real names are very difficult to remember and pronounce. There is one named Head Cook, one named Assistant Cook, Commander and Newlywed. The fifth guy is someone they work with and he comes for dinner a lot but doesn't live here.

Many nights they walk out of the kitchen with an extra plate for me. :) Did I mention I love their food? (oh, and by the way, please do not look at me in that picture. It's a horrific picture. but feel free to look at my new friends.)

It's like our new Nepalize family. When they began their new assignments around the country I felt like a Momma having to watch her kids leave. I was so sad to see them go.

There's still two of them left. But they are leaving soon. :(

They are so proud that Alex wants to be a doctor in India someday. They already told us how to find them when she gets to India.

It's pretty cool that God would bring these new friends into our lives. Who knew we'd come to Liberia to make friends from Nepal.

Typhoid Lucy

2011-12-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it took us 4 weeks to finally get sick in Africa! (and another week for me to blog it)

Lucy had a headache a few days in a row. She would go lay down in the middle of the day and ask me to block out all the sunlight. She had chills too.

Then one night we noticed she had a fever. It was just starting. Alex and I pulled out "Where There Is No Doctor" and we were able to narrow it down to what we thought she had. We took turns monitoring Lucy's temperature through the night and kept a log.

The next morning the fever was a bit higher and had been climbing through the night. We knew it was probably Typhoid so we took her to a clinic.

Someone had recommended this German clinic and we were so glad they did. It was unlike most of the clinics here.

Although it is a "German" clinic, the German doctor trained the Liberians to run it. They were very professional and the clinic was really clean.

We didn't have to wait very long at all. Much unlike America. :)

I was glad Alex and I had done our research as they were going to test for Malaria but not Typhoid so we asked them to test for Typhoid.

Eric and Alex waited outside while Lucy had her blood taken. She was dehydrated and after the first little dig the lab tech decided to do a finger prick. I was glad.

This is Mohammad. He was the lab tech being very patient with Lucy who hates needles and Mommy with many questions. I asked if he was going to put on clean gloves. I asked about clean needles. He was so kind to me and walked me through all he would do and every time he picked up something he showed me it was sterile.

Then we had to go for a urine sample. When we got in there there was a lizard in the toilet. He was trying to get out. Lucy was already a bit traumatized from the needle digging and finger prick and I already had to bribe her with a new pet. But she couldn't sit on there with a lizard in the toilet. We had to get Eric to come in and get the water (no running water) and flush the lizard down the toilet.

We waited a few minutes to be sure he wasn't coming back up.

And in the end it came back as Typhoid along with a couple other little things. We caught it early and she was vaccinated in the States for it. Because of this she didn't get it as bad as she could have. I was so thankful. Thank you, Jesus.

Oh, and when it was all said and done, the appointment, labs and medication all came in around $17 US. This clinic charges white people the same as Liberians. I was very impressed.

Eric is 40!

2011-12-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

Big E turned 40 on the 11th!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy E!

The Ocean is Still Here.

2011-12-25T15:28:00.000-08:00

just in case you were wondering. :)

My important job us to hold onto all the glasses.

Food update.

2011-12-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

I can now cook

1. Potato Greens
2. Fried Okra
3. Ground Nut Stew

:)

An African Wedding

2011-12-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

Miss Alex was the official photographer. She did a great job. It was FULL cultural immersion for my little introverted photographer. :)

These fancy little people are the bride's children plus the ring bearer.

Junior. :) We always have lots of pictures of Junior.

Then all those little people, plus another, loaded into a taxi with us. We thought we were fully loaded on the trip TO the wedding with 11 of us plus the driver in a little 5 seater with a hatchback. But wait until the end of this post. :)

The wedding started a couple hours late. But the ceremony was nice. More good pictures...

After the ceremony Alex and Eric went with the wedding party to go take formal pictures. The rest of us found ourselves waiting at the church for a very, very long time. :)

But, within minutes we were totally surrounded by about 40 kids. The kids scream and giggle when I tell them Jake is 15. Or Lucy is 10. Or whomever of my children I'm referring to. We grow 'em much taller and bigger in America than in Africa.

The kids sang their school anthem to us. And took us on a little tour of their school (attached to the church). Then they sat me in a chair in the shade (a sign of respect). They stood around me in a huge mob. I loved it. :) They touched my hair and asked me a ton of questions. They wanted to hold my hand. They wanted me to know each of their names. I did my best to repeat them and remember them.

Then I made a little mistake and showed them a gray hair. They were touching my hair and I plucked one. And then about 4 different boys began plucking my gray hair. It was pretty funny. And painful. :)

Alex took some wonderful formal pictures.

And captured some candid shots.

They returned from taking pictures and then served a big meal. It was nearing dark and we started the day around 9:30 am with photos so we were all wearing out.

Our taxi showed up to take us home so we said goodbye. But those cute kids needed a ride home so they came along too.

And just to make it memorable (ha!) we added 2 more people in the little taxi. Amos and Sackie jumped in. Amos squeezed in the back seat with Alex, me, Jake and 3 kids. Sackie sat on Eric's lap in the front. It was very comical to watch the driver use the stick shift. 14 people in a little "Sunny".

Not long after leaving the wedding most of the kids were out like a light.

It was a great day!

Food. :)

2011-12-15T06:37:00.000-08:00

I finally made my first Liberian meal all by myself. Well, ALMOST by myself. I might have ran outside about 10 times to ask questions to the Liberians who work at the guest house. But I did it! :) And then I forgot to take pictures so you'll have to believe me (or ask my family).

Alex is keeping the seeds to different produce we buy at the market. Right now we are sprouting the Avocado seed and Watermelon seeds.

Alex is also making cream cheese and whey out of some fresh yogurt. She is hoping to make enough to bake Eric a small cheesecake for his birthday. He turned the big 4-0 this past Sunday. But the cheesecake may be another week or two since this process takes a bit.

I think she got this idea from Nourishing Traditions.

Just before we left the USA Alex found a copy of The Maker's Diet at Goodwill. She was so happy because she has been asking me for it for 6 months or longer. She practically devoured it and it is also very useful here.

Yesterday the kids watched Solomon, one of the men who works at the guest house, clean a Red Snapper for the family upstairs. It was fascinating.

Those eyes...they stare at you. It's hard for Momma to watch because I can't separate those eyes from the food later. :) I stayed inside.

But Alex stuck around for pictures.

She even took a video. But we live in Africa and I'm pretty sure it won't upload so I'm not going to try.

There's a lot of cool things to see here!

Comfort Food, FABRIC, and Sweeeeeeeet Babies

2011-12-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

We found some Avocados (aka Butter Pears in Liberia) in the market the other day. Alex whipped up some guacamole and we had some yummy comfort food for small small money. :)

The three girls and I also ventured to the market by ourselves. We needed a laundry basket and some fabric to make some skirts.

We used Christmas money from our folks and we bought around 8 yards of fabric for just under $15. The first 5 yards I was a swift negotiator. :) The last 3 yards I caved in negotiating because there were some men nearby yelling at the girls, "Hey, I want you to be my woman!" and other crazy words. I decided it was time to purchase and run.

We did get some beautiful fabric (or "cloth" as a Liberian would say).

The laundry basket has become a shoe basket so I need to go back to the market.

When we were in the market Beth carried this basket on her head. I wished I had a camera. We bought potato greens, bananas, fabric, peppers and green onions and put them in the basket on Beth's head. Someone yelled, "White African!" at us as we passed by. It made us laugh.

Then we had this sweet little visitor. His name is baby Dax and he belongs to one of the guys Eric works with.

Beth and Lucy have been babysitting a Mongoose. Her name is Bri and she lives upstairs with the guest house proprietors. The girls love babysitting her. Lucy even found a story in her Literature book about a Mongoose and how it eats snakes. She is convinced that we need a Mongoose of our own to protect us from snakes. I'm not sold on the idea. ;)

At first that little creature gave me the willies. But now, those eyes are kind of growing on me. But don't tell Beth and Lucy. :)

Ramblings from my week...

2011-12-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

One day this week, to help my horrible Liberian cooking skills, our friend Kolegar said I should make only rice...

And he would bring the rest.

Fried Plantains:

Potato Greens:

Yum!

The kids are reading a lot. The vehicle we are going to use is broken down and the parts are difficult to find here. Taxi's are expensive and we've explored on foot about as much as we can. I am so glad my kids read since things can get a bit boring during the day.

We had about 40 minutes near the ocean today on our rare outing.

My one and only son had to be brainstorming a book in his head while he enjoyed the remainder of the waves.

Today Eric worked a bit and then this afternoon we headed over to enjoy a Youth Bible Club at Samaritan's Purse. Our friend was giving his testimony and it was really, really inspiring. I love watching the local kids listen with intensity and I wondered what was going through their minds.

By evening we are all so exhausted each day. The heat and the constant sweating, the new kinds of "chores" and the emotional changes that have taken place all add to the exhaustion.

It's a little surreal, really. Today I was filling used water bottles from a jerry can just like we've seen pictures of so many times. Our family has loved participating in water projects through water4christmas and now our reality, on a small scale, is the difficulty of finding clean water...even with the funds to purchase it. It's available. But it's work. And my reality isn't even near the full reality so many in this country face each and every day, every hour, every minute.

This new chapter in our lives brings the water projects closer to home. This Christmas if you're looking for something different to give for Christmas, check out water4christmas or onebillionthirsty year round.

Tomorrow we've already planned to stay in and have house church. Alex is picking the sermon, E and Lu are picking songs. We need a little normalcy and refueling to ignite us for the week to come. Then the next three weeks, God willing, we are visiting more of the men's churches that Eric works with.

I'll leave you with a fabulous picture Alex captured today of an adorable little boy on the side of the road. Unedited. :)

Goodnight from Liberia.

A few more pictures...

2011-11-29T12:01:00.000-08:00

This is Rachel and several of her kids. Rachel's husband works with Eric.

This is Junior. He is a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. He belongs to Rachel.

This little guy below is Bill. Right after this picture he basically fell asleep in my arms. He belongs to Rachel's sister. But in Liberia the word sister is used for many terms so I'm not sure if it is her real sister or not.

These are more of Alex's photos from the market last week.

Visitors and Local Fruit

2011-11-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

This afternoon just before supper we had guests! Friends we met in 2007 came by to welcome us (they are also relatives of our favorite Liberian in the States!)

My friend, Vickie, brought a bag full of fruit - pineapple, plantains, and oranges. Then minutes later our friend, Martha, a woman who works at the guest house, came with produce we asked her to buy for us in the market today. Liberians can get a way better price than we can on food!

(pictures taken with my small camera that doesn't capture as nicely as Alex's)

Sunday, Monday, TUESDAY already?

2011-11-29T11:15:00.001-08:00

Sunday we went to church with Eric's friend from work. It was a good service but the kids and I felt a bit out of place. :) They took Eric to where the men sit and the kids and I sat separately. It just felt odd to not be with Eric at church. We are learning cultural lessons.

I ended up outside after church memorizing the names of all the children. They kept looking at my hair and one boy dared to touch a small piece hanging in front of my eyes. I said, "You want touch?" That question opened up about 10 kids all over me fingering my hair. :) White woman hair is new and unusual.

Then we ate a yummy dinner at Eric's friends' house.

We came home a bit overstimulated as all eyes were on us all day.

Really, what we want to do sometimes is disappear into the scenery silently and just "watch" or "be". But since we are white we kind of stick out. HA!

So far everyone in the family is handling things very well. I have been amazed at times at how God's grace has been upon my kids as they navigate new experiences.

Yesterday, Monday, was just an "off" day. There will be days like this.

I am starting to read a book called, "The Art of Crossing Cultures" which has already put words to a few of the things we are feeling. It is nice that these emotions are normal. I'm also reading "Third Culture Kids" which has a chapter on grief that I've found fascinating. It has much that we can apply right now.

Eric has been working hard. Even Sunday felt a bit like a work day since it was with guys from work and they want to talk about work.

Today is a Liberian holiday, Tubman's birthday, so nothing is open and no work is going on. We are updating paperwork that fell behind the last two weeks. Jake and Alex went to a library in a local bible school to help organize books. Jake loves books and Alex loves organizing so this should be good.

Oh, and our friend Kolegar brought by "sauce" for our lunch today and fried plantains. My whole family was happy to eat real Liberian food.

A few more pictures from this last week...

None of the photos are edited yet. That's Alex's job. :)

The Scenery

2011-11-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

It is nice that the beach is so close because there is no other refuge in the city. Monrovia is loud except from about 2 am - 6 am.

The kids and I are trying to get out each day to walk around. I have made it my personal challenge to find the cheapest water in town. Today I found huge water bottles for $1.

The days are sunny and storms come off the ocean at night sending a cool breeze through the windows. It's perfect for sleeping.

The rainy season is ending and the dry season is coming, which means HOT, HOT, HOT. We are enjoying the decent days while we have them! (we still sweat standing still during the day now but it's nothing like what's to come!) :)

African Braids

2011-11-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

While Eric worked at the compound yesterday, Alex and Lucy had their hair braided.

Alex's looks really cool in a pony tail.

In the morning I asked Lucy to put deodorant on. She told me that she is African now and doesn't need to wear it (the driver the day before made her think this). I told her that many Africans now DO wear deodorant and it would benefit her (and us...ha!) if she wore it. I told her she couldn't be fully African.

Then she got her hair braided.

And NOW she says she is fully African. :) Crazy Lucy.

There wasn't enough time for Beth to have hers done so she played with the puppy.

And I held babies. I like babies. :)

Chicken Feet and Fruit so SWEET!

2011-11-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

Today the kids and I ventured out to the business compound where Eric works. He had left earlier in the day but called and asked us to come because they made food for our whole family.

The five of us crammed into a little taxi and enjoyed the sites along the way. The kids are loving getting out a bit instead of being cooped up in the guest house.

Lunch was my personal favorite: Potato Greens. But FIRST, there was a plate full of fresh oranges, papaya, and cucumbers. They are so yummy when they are fresh.

I'm mostly vegetarian eating out in the States. In Liberia I stick to the vegetables and "stew" but the rest of my family dig into the variety of meats. We've had several kinds of fish, chicken, goat and beef already.

Today we had a first for the kids: Chicken Feet. Jake and Beth (and Eric, of course, but he's had it before) were the only ones who tried it. :)

Those toes (wait, do chickens have toes?) look like they might jump up and grab your tongue or something. EEEEEwwwwaaaa!

Other than the Chicken Feet the Potato Greens were delicious!

The rest of us may ease into Chicken Feet. But for now, I'm loving the fresh fruit!

Thanksgiving Still Happens in Africa :)

2011-11-24T22:23:00.000-08:00

We were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner by the people who own the guest house we are staying in.

Eric worked in the morning and the kids and I hung around the guest house to prepare for the evening meal.

I ventured upstairs to our Hosts home and asked for a job. They asked me to make pie. :) That was cool. I've made thousands of pie in my day but never in Africa. It cracked me up that I got to make pie the first week I'm here.

The Hosts' 17 yr old daughter planned and prepared the whole meal and the rest of us pitched in to help out. It was a huge spread.

There were 20 people invited (I think). It was fun to know we were in Africa and could still enjoy some comfort food.

I also made some good connections here for the things that make my heart beat. I'm excited for what God will allow us to participate.

Wednesday Observations

2011-11-23T22:02:00.000-08:00

- African babies are so adorable.

- I went on a walk and bought a SIM card and scratch card for my phone. They don't give the white woman with a 15 year old escort the best prices. I should've taken a Liberian with me. It was only $2 more but still annoying.

- Eric went to the airport to retrieve our long lost bag only to find out it didn't come. It should be in town tonight sometime. Crazy waste of time!

- A 2 inch cockroach got me out of dishes temporarily last night.

- There is a resident mouse who is fast but seriously comes out to play when we are all out and awake. We see him all the time but no one can catch him.

- Lucy has been trying to catch lizards. They are all over.

- I made fried plantains for dinner and they actually tasted good. Wow. I think it's because I used African plantains, not the kind you buy at Hyvee!

- It takes forever to cook a meal. F.O.R.E.V.E.R. :)

- We used SKYPE today for the first time since arriving in Liberia! Yay for talking to our friends! It was such a gift to my kids.

- You can see coolio pictures over on Alex's blog. She is an awesome photographer. And she's only 13! :)

- Jake has a future in Linguistics. On day 2, even in the midst of jet lag, he was noting the differences between American English and Liberian English on Facebook. He totally has it figured out!

- The bar outside the compound wall of the guest house we are staying in is playing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" really, really loud.

- We spent 1 hour in the ocean yesterday. Oh wait. Let's be honest. I watched my family spend 1 hour in the ocean while I sat under a palm tree. :)

Way Over Due

2011-11-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I've blogged I hardly know where to start.

This last weekend we embarked on a new Chapter in our life. One that took huge leaps of faith and much prayer.

I've been told this new chapter is a crazy thing. We left the Corporate American lifestyle and began selling off our possessions in preparation.

We moved to Liberia in West Africa.

It's a long-time coming. We were geared towards a different part of the world when God dropped this opportunity on us. It was amazing that every step of the way when we would doubt that this was God's plan and look at other possible open doors, God would confirm THIS path as THE path right now.

So we walked forward, striving for obedience over everything. Lots of people have said we are nuts. And maybe we are. But I'd rather be nuts when I meet Jesus than disobedient.

There are times when I still can't believe this is real. I've wondered about this day since I first heard about Liberia in 2006 sitting across the table from our Liberian friend, Tony, at our favorite pizza place, Salvatores, in Muscatine.

Our hearts wanted to move to Liberia where we fell in love with the people on our first trip in 2007. But we opened up to "anywhere Lord" and God is ALLOWING us to share this place we love with our kiddos. God is so very cool.

Thank you, Jesus, for your provision down this journey.