Day 21 – Travel day
This morning didn’t start like all the other mornings, instead as we were still in our bedrooms we could hear rhythmic clapping and small voices. It wasn’t really loud, but I knew it was deliberate. I finished my reading and came out of my bedroom to find Renee saying they wanted us to go downstairs. Leo came out about the same time and we all came down the circular stairs where there were probably 20, mainly very young faces. Renee and I went to sit on the couch with children all around at our feet and Leo stayed midway down the circular stairs. None of us had our phones along and truthfully I’m glad we simply experienced this tender scene of quiet singing followed by testimonies from mainly the younger children. At first there was leading in prayer of thanksgiving for something. When the younger ones talk in the Liberian dialect of English and colloqua, you have to kind of guess what they say. Some are easier to understand than others. Many simply stood up stating that ‘they are thankful to God for…’ with reference to the ‘team’ or something like that. We were moved by their genuine confession of thankfulness towards us. Some would stand up and simply quote a Bible verse. This was followed by wishes of safe travel and reunion with our families. Emmanuel came out and sat beside Renee and me and he led things through from there. We ended, after many kind words, with a prayer for our travels. We dispersed and headed back upstairs. Renee and I enjoyed an omelette with onions and cut up tomato slices along with our coffee. Leo is still nursing an upset stomach so he skipped the breakfast. Thankfully he’s feeling better now.
As I sit here in the airport with Renee and Leo, we feel a special bond as together we were loved and cared for by people across the ocean, over 5000 miles from our homes. The day would pass too soon and yet take forever. I packed my suitcases to be ready, but I wasn’t going to complete until I had my shower and could finalize my packing. I believe Renee was ready 2 days ago, not because she was anxious to go, but she plans better than I do. Leo lives an easy life and for him to get ready to go took probably 5-10 minutes.
Since Leo wasn’t feeling up to walking today I went for a walk by myself. I came upon a girls kickball game and I watched an inning of them playing. The green team scored many during the inning, while the white team went scoreless in that inning.
As I walked around I heard the occasional, ‘Dr. Robin’ called out to me, letting me know that they recognized me from LCMI church. It was fun to hear this.
When I returned to the yard, I sat outside and visited with many. One past friend stopped by to greet me and headed back out.
I decided to head upstairs where I found Renee sleeping by a fan on the couch. I didn’t disturb her as I headed to my room to shower and finish packing. Leo was downstairs showing pictures to the children.
When I cleaned up and packed, I came out to see Meko talking to Renee, sad that we were soon leaving. This would be hard for all of us. many tears began to flow as the time drew nearer. Before we headed downstairs to pack the car Titus and Mercy stopped by to say goodbye as well. They shared some gifts with us and even brought Renee some fried plantains for a last taste before leaving.
It wasn’t long and we headed downstairs, carrying our 5 bags and 3 backpacks. We left 3 empty suitcases for them to use since we didn’t need any room for our things.
Once downstairs, the car was packed pretty quickly with long faces all around. I took advantage of this to request to sing a song with them. Matthias got out the keyboard and started to play ‘I’ll Fly Away’, a song I was able to teach them 14 years ago. They know mostly the chorus, but it was fun to sing with them.
Such a sweet time.
We will be boarding our plane now so I’ll finish up. So thankful that we’ve been able to travel this road together.
Day 20
Let me first start with the fact that we are exhausted. So much that I even looked up synonyms. This list may explain how we (or at least I feel).
all in, aweary [archaic], beat,beaten, bleary, burned-out (orburnt-out), bushed, dead, done,drained, fatigued, jaded,knackered [British], limp, logy (alsologgy), played out, pooped [slang],prostrate, spent, tapped out,tired, tuckered (out), washed-out,wearied, weary, wiped out, worn,worn-out
Any, or all of these define tonight. We had a great day, with another trip into town to gather information on internet and what is available to both Emmanuel and Titus. We gathered good information and possibly it is something that can be acted upon in the future. Along with the trip into town, we had the party this afternoon. I’ll get to that in a bit.
After breakfast (very sweet cinnamon rolls) and coffee, Leo and I decided to go for a walk before we headed into town. We walked past the school and the new church. This is one that was started at the foundation level 14 years ago on our first trip. I know I’ve shared pictures in my past trips, and the project has stalled a bit as the next phase is the roof. This is being worked on a little at a time. Emmanuel has contracted a welder who makes metal truss rafters and as they have enough money, they try to pay towards another truss. This is a large building, as you can see.
Leo and I looked around more at the structure and then headed out further for our walk. We heard many times where people recognized us and called out. That is always a good feeling. Every bit of scenery that we see has its own story. Here are a few people we encountered.
We finished our walk, I had time for a shower and afterwards we headed out at 10:00. We didn’t need too much, but the trip to the store regarding Internet was way downtown. The trip took us 3 hours, but we’ve come to expect things like that. We picked up everything we needed and got home in time to eat lunch after 1:00 PM, knowing the party would start around 4:00. We know this is Liberia, so we didn’t expect to eat right at 4:00. Leo and Renee took a little rest and I sat down in the yard to visit. I was able to go and see the WOP ladies working on our meal for the party.
Now it is time for the party to begin. Titus and his family arrive and we all sit down for a fun program with dancing, singing, and laughing.
The party went till about 7:00 with sitting around and talking till we all came up to bed. That will be enjoyable tonight.
Day 19
Each day brings so many memories and things to share and I only seem to cover a few of them. Today will be no different. We started the day with farina (cream of wheat) for breakfast. This along with a muffin and coffee was a good start to our day. Our plans were to head to the beach at ELWA (missionary compound) where we could swim privately. Renee, Leo, Emmanuel, Wintee, Meko, Princess and I headed out to the beach just after 10:00 AM. We arrived as the heat of the day was starting to set in, so it was a great time to begin swimming. Little did we know that our 4 friends that accompanied us had never really ‘swam’ in the ocean. What a good time it was helping them to get used to the water and the mild waves that caused a little bit of apprehension.
As we left the beach I went ahead to get the car. We left it at the guesthouse we stayed the first time we came to Liberia. Those who traveled may remember this house.
We left the beach well exercised and well burned. Renee and I got the worst of it. We feel it tonight, but we’ve been sunburned worse before. We hope it cools down by tomorrow.
We came home to cabbage soup over rice. It was good after our beach excursion.
Shortly after lunch I took a cool shower to settle the burn and then we were off to Red Light to shop for tomorrow. We plan to have a family party tomorrow afternoon with Titus and his family invited. Mother Wintee had her list so I headed out with her, Philip, Meko, Princess and Elizabeth. This trip to Red Light was to shop for food, so it was different than when Leo and I went there to buy fabric. Here are a few pictures.
The last thing we wanted to do was to pick up a mattress for Princess. She has been sleeping on a little pad on the concrete floor, so we headed there. Of course Red Light has this too. After we purchased the mattress Philip went to secure a delivery to Emmanuel’s home. I came outside and what do I see. I told the shop owner this is crazy and he simply laughed at me. This too is Liberia.
Of course when I returned I found Leo out watering the plants. They will miss him when he leaves.
Now, Leo and I are eating a little something before bed and Renee already went to sleep. The beach does tire you out. We look forward to the party tomorrow afternoon.
Day 18
We are winding down in our trip with less responsibilities and more time to simply build our friendships. This is a good time in our trip. Today was a good day to enjoy all the people that have made our stay enjoyable.
We are really enjoying our morning breakfast with each other. We have time to reflect on the past day and look forward to what is happening today. Today is also a holiday here in Liberia. It is Armed Forces Day, honoring all who served and sacrificed in the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). Schools are closed and the markets are closed somewhat. A reminder that everyone here sells something, and that continues regardless of holidays.
After visiting over breakfast and taking our time getting going, Leo and I went for a walk while Renee decided to go through everything in her suitcase and to plan for packing to leave on Saturday. I’ll do this Saturday afternoon 🤓.
While on our walk we ran into a gentleman busy working. What we saw him doing affected me on my first trip here as Leo understood once he saw this himself. When you think your life is difficult, or your job is too hard, look at this picture.
We were humbled by his work ethic as he continued to smash rocks after we left. This will stay in our minds long after we leave.
We walked for awhile further, saw the end of a local football (soccer) game that ended in a 2-2 draw and walked back to Emmanuel’s home. By now the heat of the day was upon us. That didn’t mean nothing would be done. The questions were being asked, when would Leo make the blondie that Emmanuel spoke so highly about. It was decided that after a lunch of palm butter with chicken, kissmeat (spiny snails) and fried beef skin, that Leo would show how this was made. By the way, I couldn’t talk Leo or Renee into trying the kissmeat. I tried one, just to say I did. Renee gave some of the beef skin a try.
After lunch Leo planned to begin the blondie, with Philip, Meko and Princess watching to see how this was made. They were interested in what he was doing in the hopes that some day they could make it themselves. I’ll include the following pictures to tell the story of Leo’s work.
I almost forgot, I was asked to fill in and lead the Wednesday Bible study this afternoon. Luckily I could use my sermon at Pastor Titus’s church as talking points tonight. Since it was a holiday there were only 7 of us at the service.
Tomorrow is beach day. We invited Philip, Meko and Princess along. They have been so graciously serving us during our stay we want them to come along as we enjoy the cool water. By the way, none of them can swim so they won’t be going in too deep. Emmanuel won’t be going in at all. He says he doesn’t like the water. We’ll be sure to get some pictures of our trek. We may shop for our Friday party that I’ll tell you more about in the future.
As I finish (10:15 PM), there is a house yard a couple of houses down having some type of church healing service. They keep it going pretty long. This is the third night. I pray not too many people don’t attend because they aren’t following the Bible with any of their activities. It is Liberian style to play music very loud and talk close to the mic, making everything sound muffled. They do that well though. Music stopped after I finished writing the above paragraph. Looks like sleep will be easier.
Day 17
Another day is done here in Liberia. It was less hot today, but humidity always is high. As I think about our time here, I think about how back home we live with the cold and don’t think about it so much because we know it is there day by day. Much like our experience, everyone here knows it is hot and humid each day and they simply accept it. For us, not used to this weather, it takes its toll and wears us down faster. That is why it was nice to have a little break in the heat.
Our plans for the day began with breakfast and talk of our upcoming kaekae ride. This was planned for 10:00 AM and just after 9:00 we saw a kaekae waiting already. We all got cleaned up and headed across the road before 10:00. We weren’t sure what to expect for cost, but like everything else in Liberia this led to disagreement and loud discussion that, once it gets going, I can only understand a portion of the conversation. Mother Wintee led the initial discussion where each driver wanted $40 to carry us to the Exclusive Super Store, Walmart style. It is about 4-5 miles away. This price was not acceptable to Mother, and she let them know. She offered them $20 each and they weren’t happy with her. It seemed like a sticking point was that they came early and because of this they were missing their whole day of driving. I listened for a bit and then I started to argue with them telling them we asked you for 10:00, if you come early, that is on you. I’m sure they wondered about this big white man arguing with them. I knew we were being taken advantage of, but I offered $25 each and I held my hand out to shake. Liberians respect their handshake very much. They both shook my hand and we boarded for our trip. Incidentally, I was speaking to Emmanuel’s brother, Reuben about this later and he said they were probably celebrating all day over that one. We did have a good safe ride and we even bought them an ice cream at the store as a treat. Here are a few pictures from our ride.
Once at the store we were able to find everything we needed for the blondie. Leo will make this tomorrow with Philip. That will be fun for Philip, and Leo.
We made it back in one piece and Renee even said she had fun on the ride. We paid the drivers and that trip was completed.
Leo still had the 4:00 PM meeting with the guys across the road. We ate our lunch, okra soup over rice and fresh pineapple. That was from Renee’s purchase yesterday. It was so good, like candy. we were fine in enough time to relax for an hour or so before the meeting that we didn’t know what to expect.
Just before 4:00, we headed across the road and there were chairs being brought over and surprisingly there were many people coming to sit and listen. The moderator started by welcoming all and then Leo began sharing the Gospel and his thoughts about what he believes. The idea of the day was to have a few comments and then questions so a discussion would flow. It was very interesting. We had one gentleman that considered going to a mosque, but he knew the Bible well enough that he couldn’t get himself to go. We encouraged him to just Emmanuel’s church. Emmanuel came over about halfway through and aided in the discussion. Liberians love to have deep discussions and this one was so interesting to see the interest in our thoughts on the Bible and why we think the Bible is the true way. This invite came because Leo took the time to get to know some of them and anytime they’d see Leo eating on the porch or walking by, you’d hear them call out to him. His used Leo’s friendly manner to lead to a deep discussion on the Bible with the clear testimony of salvation proclaimed. After we finished, thru said they hope to continue these discussions in the future and that anytime we are around they hope we will join them. They want to have a safe place to play checkers, discuss politics and religion and hopefully learn things. They want to keep out all drinking and anything that will detract from clear headed discussion. Emmanuel presented Bibles to them with some muffins and water yo share. They were all invited to join LCMI church with the promise that Emmanuel would pursue further interactions with the group. Here’s a few pictures of the meeting.
After the meeting I watched the girls (formerly from the orphanage) working on a rug with the loom built by Leo.
The girls were working all afternoon on this. They got quite far. Another WOP idea for them to make things using scraps, that they can sell. Earlier, while they worked I put on a couple shows on my iPad for the kids to watch. Madagascar and The Lion King. they loved watching these movies.
Leo had Aloysius stop by do they both went to work watering the gardens.
Now, it is after 10:00 PM and time for some sleep. It was a good day.
Day 16
As I start to write this post I am sitting in an Internet cafe run by a lady named Korpo Woiwor. She is a friend of Emmanuel’s and he trusts her to fill out paperwork for him. It is almost 9:00 PM local time. Korpo was working on his papers when LEC went out. I stood out on the 2nd floor balcony and watched as the city kept going. The stoplights quit, but they don’t always mean much in Liberia anyway. At least not around the busy intersections (junctions, as they call them). Just before LEC went out I took a short video. I watched as lights came back on as businesses started generators to get their lights working. Across the road on a big screen in a bar/restaurant of sorts, I noticed a soccer game being broadcast. This is all off generator at this point. Either that or they had to switch to solar if they have this with the batteries charged.
Well, Korpo had to wait for fuel to arrive for her generator putting her back to work. This doesn’t phase Liberians, as this is an almost daily occurrence. She is finishing up some documents for Emmanuel, an updated visa application for Emmanuel and Wintee, so if they can work things out they will again travel to America. He just wants it available in case the opportunity arises. The new visas are for 3 years, which make things so much easier if you can get one.
Our day began with a cooler feel to the day and the humidity seemed down just a bit. We had spaghetti and hotdogs with some scrambled eggs placed on top. It was pretty good.
After breakfast Leo and I decided to go for a walk and we went quite a ways. We took many pictures along the way. Occasionally people will get angry and say we should pay for the pictures. We explain they are for our personal use and we are not influencers trying to make money off these images. Most are okay with us then.
When we were leaving on our walk a group of men Leo got to know called him over. They wanted to invite him (and now I’m included) to a discussion about Christ tomorrow at 4:00 PM. We aren’t sure what that will be like since they don’t attend Emmanuel’s church, even though they sell across the road from it. It will be interesting. We accepted and we asked them to plan a couple of kaekaes for us to ride tomorrow. We told them to have them arrive by 10:00 AM. We’ll see how these plans work out. The kaekae is a 3 wheeled (small wheels) motorized vehicle used as a taxi. Renee didn’t want to ride in one, but Mother Wintee said she’d go with Renee so they, along with Leo and me will go for a ride tomorrow. We want to go to their Walmart type store called the Exclusive. We want to find ingredients for a blond brownie that Applebees used to serve with a maple glaze over the top. Emmanuel loved it in the states and Leo has Patty’s recipe so he is going to give it a shot with the coal oven tomorrow. I’ll have a report on how this turns out.
When we got back from our walk Emmanuel wanted to check his new car out for a problem, and there was some shopping needed for Wintee and Meko. Anytime you go to ‘town’ it is interesting. Emmanuel left early on a motorbike taxi and Philip drove me, Renee, Wintee and Meko, first of all to find Emmanuel and then on to the stores. Meko planned to buy a ‘DK bag‘ (colloqua for a bundle of used clothing from another country that they buy, breakdown and sell in pieces). They are a good size and they sell for $100-$200 US dollars. They have three grades of quality that determines the price. Meko bought a bundle of women’s underwear that she will breakdown and sell. I was at the house when she opened the bundle. That’s a lot of underwear! She said they sell for $100-200 LD (Liberian dollar currently exchanging at 182/1 US dollar).
Well, we got the car checked (looks like it will be fine), the DK bags (Wintee bought one of men’s white shirts) and Renee bought some pineapple and limes from a street vendor and we headed back. They too have rush hour traffic and things move slowly. We got home about 5:00 PM and had our kidney beans soup over rice with fresh pineapple and some lime squeezed in the water. Leo did a lot of reading while we were gone.
After eating and waiting for the sun to cool down, Leo headed out to water his gardens while Renee and I watched the bake of underwear get opened. They just started to dig into the pile when Emmanuel said he wanted me to go with him to the Internet cafe. We arrived here before 7:00 and now it is after 9:30 as I wait for them to finish.
I’ll add pictures another time as the cell network isn’t so good here. I’ll try to post this update as written. Thanks for following.
Day 15
Today is our third Sunday in Liberia. We are all so blessed to be able to be here and visiting with our friends. The morning started like most days with breakfast, oatmeal today, and coffee. Because we were visiting another one of CBC’s missionaries, Pastor Titus Namen, we were going to travel to the church. The church is about a 30 minute drive from Emmanuel’s home. Titus Pastor’s the United Liberian Inland Church in the Sinkor community. He’s been at this church since October of 2024. This congregation is new to all of us from CBC. It was good to meet the people from this church. Here are a few pictures of our visit to their church as well as a short video of the choir. Reminded me of the movie ’Sister Act’.
After the service we headed outside and Renee said she was a little tired, so we made plans to drop her off at Emmanuel’s home so she could rest and Leo and I would got to Titus and Mercy’s for lunch. We were able to get a picture before we headed out.
We got back to Emmanuel’s, Renee went to lie down and I changed into shorts and flip flops. We then headed to Titus’s home. Leo and I enjoyed a lunch with them and we got a few pictures from around their home.
We then decided to stop and visit a friend we’ve known for 10 years. Elizabeth Mulbah has a home close to Titus and Mercy. She is trying to make things work, but life is pretty hard sometimes. She would like to build a home someday. She said for $8000 she could build. We pray along with her for something to work out someday. Elizabeth is a mom of 8 (2 daughters live with her and one granddaughter) and a grandmother of 4.
After a short visit with Elizabeth we headed back to Emmanuel’s. Titus and Mercy followed because they wanted to see Renee. It was sweet of Mercy and Yeitoyee to stay with her awhile. It was also nice to see two of our missionaries together, visiting and catching up with each other’s life.
Day 14
We awoke this morning after a much needed rest. Renee, Leo and I woke up at the guesthouse early and went to the dining area as workers came in for the day. They serve breakfast with each room, so we were the first to be served scrambled eggs, bread and pineapple. This along with a couple cups of coffee made for a great start to our day. The rooms were reasonably priced at $60/ room, except Leo and I, who shared a room, ours was $70. I forgot to take a picture, but our room had a loft with 2 twin mattresses on the floor of the loft. The stairs were a little shaky and wouldn’t pass code as they are narrow and the risers may not all match. The half wall railing in the loft was made from 2×2 size and was a little wobbly. I didn’t push on it to avoid the problem of explaining the broken wall. Overall, we all enjoyed the rooms. There was air conditioning that kept the temperature down to manageable. We also had a shower with hot water.
We sat and talked for awhile at breakfast and then Emmanuel & Wintee joined us and had their breakfast. After breakfast, Emmanuel had a young man wash the dust of the roads from the past few days off the car. Once this was done we packed up the car and headed back towards Monrovia. We had only one stop, in Kakata, where one of the ladies from the WOP chapter met us at a gas station to drop off some butter cookies, peanut cookies and banana muffins. I can say that all were good.
What did happen for me was that I received a message from Pastor Titus as the car was being washed. I didn’t check until we hit the road from Ganta. Once in the car, I noticed the message on my phone that said, ‘We need your text and title for your message tomorrow so that we place them in the bulletin’. I showed Leo and Renee the message and asked the question of them…’Did you hear Titus ask me to preach on Sunday?’ After they confirmed I did not miss this in the conversation, I chalked it up to ‘This too is Liberia’. I now had the ride to pick out a passage and a sermon title. I don’t mind. Pastor Mike reminds the Elders of the Christian maxim, ‘to be ready to preach, pray or die, within 5 minutes’. This gets lived out in Liberia often. I didn’t even mention anything of the surprise to Titus. I’m sure his assumption was matched by his assurance that he informed me. I’ll tease him after the service tomorrow. May God be glorified in my humble, rushed attempt to ‘preach, pray or die’.
On our ride home, after coming up with a passage, Job 42: 1-6 and a title, ‘God is God, We Are Not’, I sent the information to Titus and prayed over what God would lead me to say. Job’s confession tells us that he understood the sermon title in his life.
Leo and I enjoyed pointing out oddities along the road that we could catch pictures of. Leo got more than I did. I’ll share some of his and Renee’s pictures another time. I did get a couple, not so odd, but interesting to me.
I didn’t get many pictures as this was our return trip and we’d passed by this way before.
We arrived back at Emmanuel’s, greeted by so many as the long missing members of the family. It was good to get ‘home’. We had a good meal of cabbage type soup and chicken over rice. It was very good.
After the meal, I headed to my room to work on my sermon, Renee went to work on creating a rug with the homemade loom Leo built for her and Leo waited a bit for it to cool down so he could water the plants. After a few hours I felt I would be ready to ‘preach and pray’, but I’ll wait on the die thing till God arranges that for me.
We got back together on the porch for some supper and afterwards Leo headed to bed, Renee went to work on her loom and I went downstairs to visit people we hadn’t seen for a few days.
I did want to reach back into past pictures to share and add stories not related to today, but interesting nonetheless.
Tomorrow we head out for Titus’s church with Sunday School starting at 9:30. We are going to have Philip guide us there. It’s hard to tell how long it will take so I asked Philip his thoughts on when to leave. He first said, maybe 7:30, then 8:00 and finally no later than 8:30. I asked if we leave when we say, will the time estimate change? He says, ‘Oh, yea, we can leave at 9:00 AM’. I told him we will plan for 8:45. That gives us 15 minutes of Liberian time to float.
Good day for now…
Day 13
It is 7:00 PM and we are riding in the car headed to Ganta…back to Ganta. Our day began in the bucolic setting in Yekepa, right across from the chapel I told you we were at just the night before listening to the choir practice.
We woke up this morning to a quick breakfast of coffee, bread and bananas. It was enough to hold us over for the beginning of our day. After breakfast we walked to chapel, listened to the choir’s ‘actual’ performance, and enjoyed a short challenge from:
2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
This gave a mindset of sharing the gospel in all we do, and there was a lot to do.
We visited a short time after chapel and said our goodbyes as we headed out to Ganta. Of course this meant stops along the way. We stopped In Sannequellie to visit a small WOP chapter. We prayed with them and they shared a good fried dessert that we ate on our way.
Next stop was Ganta, where Mother Wintee got out of the car at a corner to walk to meet the waiting women at the Ganta chapter. The rest of us headed over to our guesthouse to drop off our bags and get back to the WOP waiting. It was decided first we would get some lunch at the guesthouse where we were assured it would be 15-20 minutes for our food. After 30+ minutes Emmanuel said Wintee was waiting for Renee, so we headed out without our munch, telling the staff we’d be back to get it.
We got Renee over to begin a day’s training and there were over 30 women and not enough material for the project planned. Emmanuel, Leo, Dennis (Emmanuel’s uncle who showed up in Ganta) and myself headed out to buy another 5 yards of black material for the backing of the project. We found some at the market and Emmanuel figured we should go and pick up the food we ordered. The only thing was they intended to serve it on their good plates. So, we sat down to eat with Dennis accepting just a coke. They forgot to prepare one of the meals, so we clarified what we needed packed up for takeout while we ate what they served. It was good food with leftovers for Dennis, but we were feeling we should get back to Renee with the fabric. We arrived just in time as she had need of it. She didn’t have time to eat what we carried, but kept on teaching the ladies. Leo helped Renee by holding the flashlight and answering what questions he could answer. I found a group of kids and had a good question and answer session with them about America. After another 1-1/2 hours we were informed the ladies at this WOP had some lunch ready for us. By now Renee was quite hungry so she took a break and all of had more to eat. I told Renee our next stop was to take a trip to Saclapea to meet another WOP chapter. We were to leave at 4:00 PM to drive the hour there to greet this chapter. Since she was already at a stopping point, she said she’d wrap it up in Ganta and we got on the road by 3:30. After the visit in Saclapea, they also served us some food…and NOW we are on the road back to Ganta. I’m not sure I’ll have coverage to upload photos, but I’ll try a few. If not, this will be the update.
We will head back to Monrovia tomorrow morning. It sounds like we may make a stop or two on the way back. That is yet to be determined.
As I end, we’ve arrived at our guesthouse. Time for a needed rest.
Day 12
Being in Yekepa is like being in Stephenson compared to Milwaukee when thinking about Monrovia. The weather up here around the mountains is also at least 10 degrees cooler. It is so pleasant in the morning and even later on, although it’s like a hot summer day back home, it’s not so unbearable like it can feel in Monrovia.
This morning I woke up early with a headache, but I didn’t come out of my room until just after 7. I think it was 7:06. Leo was up in the living room along with Emmanuel. I came out in my shorts and T-shirt and Emmanuel says, ‘Are you going to chapel?’ I started to say he didn’t tell us for sure if we were and I just asked what time. He says 7:00 o’clock. Leo and I looked at each other and I went to the bedroom to put on pants and a collared shirt with shoes (I am normally in flip flops). We walk outside and wonder where Emmanuel went. We are right across from the chapel, but I don’t hear anything. It is around 7:20 and then we see Kenneth Williams, an American teacher on campus, walking towards chapel. We walked down by him and I asked if he was speaking today. He said he was and I asked when chapel started. I thought the college would be more time controlled. He said 7:30, so we were good. I wasn’t sure if Emmanuel didn’t know, or he gave an earlier time in case we acted Liberian. Either way, we made it to chapel on time and we really enjoyed this 30 minute service.
After the service we got introduced or reintroduced to so many people. They are all so friendly. I have a picture for the first team members that traveled to Liberia on 2012. Look at the picture for recognition before reading the name below.
After church we had a good breakfast with fresh rolls, pineapple, papaya and cucumbers left from supper last night. They were even good for breakfast. Emmanuel, Wintee and Renee headed over to WOP training again while Leo and I visited with Britta and Milton. Milton was formerly from the orphanage as well and he pastors a church nearby. It was called New Yekepa Baptist Church. I believe they’ve changed the name, but I don’t remember what it is. I’ve had the privilege of visiting his church before and speaking while Mama Betty (Emmanuel’s mom) served as a translator to speak my sermon in Mano language. Bobbi Buckley also shared her testimony another time at this church with Mama Betty translating for her as well. We had a great visit. Before we were ready to leave, another man, Nathaniel, stopped by because Britta had arranged for us to carry a computer along from the states for a student here. Nathaniel was that student and Britta presented it to him while he thanked all.
After this Leo and I started our walk to WOP. It was a beautiful day to be walking and at 10:00 AM it still wasn’t too hot.
We arrived to check on Renee, as we met Emmanuel and Wintee as they drove back to the guesthouse. Renee had everything under control. Leo and I decided to walk to a local store and while Leo bought a cold drink for both me and Renee, I purchased some suckers to hand out at WOP. Both were a hit. Leo and I got a chance to sit and talk while checking in on Renee every now and then.
Leo and I could tell Renee had things under control, so we decided to walk back to the ABC university. We walked around the grounds and I explained what I could remember about the campus to Leo. We were really impressed with the pigs and how large and how many there were. I can remember when they just had a few pigs and they were very skinny. Here’s a few pictures of the different pigs that were there.
After the farm walk we stopped in our guesthouse and got some water and headed back to the WOP. Renee was still guiding her flock. Lunch was ready so we all took time to eat.
The afternoon consisted of going to WOP, dropping off Renee and Wintee and we headed to the market to again buy more lapas for materials. Renee kept running through it because the ladies all enjoyed the project.
When we arrived at the market, Moses, our past nurse for the CBC Clinic, drove up on his motorbike with his son, Caleb Robin Saah. I am privileged to have a namesake in Liberia. He stayed with us quite a while and would hold our hands, but he was a little shy to speak.
We headed back to the WOP building and Renee was just finishing up. We saw and bought some finished products. The ladies were so happy to do this project with Renee.
Afterwards we headed back to our guesthouse and relaxed for the night. We thought we were done, but we had a knock on the door from Sharon, Emmanuel and Wintee’s niece. She asked if we wanted to ‘witness their choir practice’. Renee was busy cutting more cloth for class in Ganta tomorrow, so just Leo and I went over. They will be singing in chapel tomorrow morning. They are so good to hear. We came back and told Emmanuel we weren’t leaving until AFTER chapel. He laughed and agreed.
It’s almost 11:00 and everyone else is asleep. I need to get up for chapel tomorrow to hear the choir again.
Day 11
New location tonight. We are now in Yekepa, near the Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) borders. We are staying in a guest house on the ABC University campus. The day began early as we wanted to get in the road around 6:30 as the trip takes 6+ hours, depending on your stops. Leo, Renee and I all got up and we were all packed…silly us, this is Liberia. Really, Emmanuel overslept a little bit. We did get on the road around 8:00 AM. Not too bad, really. Here we are in the back seats, while Emmanuel and Wintee sat in the front seats.
We enjoyed watching all the growth in Liberia as we travelled along the road towards Yekepa. Our plans were to meet a couple of WOP chapters along the way. First stop was Kakata, about an hour from Monrovia. There is an LCMI Church and a WOP chapter located there as well as a school connected, called Mother P. Jonah School. We stopped to greet the kids at the school, took a few pictures, and had the WOP ladies that could make it say hello and we took a few more pictures.
We left there and headed to the next chapter in Gbarnga, about 1-1/2 hours further along our way. When we arrived there the women were so happy to see Renee, as cat least one had attended the class in Monrovia the week before. Thus LCMI church and chapter is one of the poorest ones. Here’s there church. Jenny and I were able to visit them 2 years ago as well and I remembered some people.
Renee was able to speak to the ladies after they sang some songs, and Leo prayed for their church. Emmanuel mentioned, as he introduced everyone, that it looked like they needed more chairs, as they had a couple of benches and broken school desks as their pews along with the traditional plastic chairs seen in most churches, and everywhere. While walking out, Renee said they really do need chairs. As we were outside taking pictures, I went back in and counted that they could use at least 16 more. We were able to give them a gift and they purchased 20 chairs later in the day. They were very happy.
We continued on our trip with a stop in Ganta for gas (It is $3.83 a gallon). We also stopped and booked 3 rooms for our trip back which will be a full day stop in Ganta for Renee to work with the WOP chapter there.
We arrived in Yekepa just after 2:00 PM. We went to ABC University and dropped our things off, only to find out we had a meal ready for us (one waiting at the Yekepa WOP chapter as well). We hadn’t eaten all day and it was a great meal at ABC. We then went to the local chapter building and Renee got to work. They understood we already ate, so we saved it for later on. It was good then too. It was a long day and I’m going to end with a few more pictures.
Day 10
It is hard to believe how fast the time is going. Today we all thought it may be a day to prepare for travel. We will leave for Yekepa early tomorrow morning. Of course we’ll have one or two stops along the way, but the plans are to be in Yekepa in the afternoon so Renee can meet with WOP and start some sewing training. This will continue through Thursday and we will stay for two nights at ABC University.
As I said, I thought we’d prepare for the trip, Renee working on a quilt, Leo making a couple of loom frames and I would have the opportunity to visit with some others here that I haven’t had time to just sit down and talk. Well, Emmanuel…seems like the plans always change with this start to a sentence. Well, Emmanuel teaches at Liberia Baptist Bible Seminary on Tuesdays. He asked this morning if we’d come to the school for their chapel service after he teaches his class. Chapel begins at 11:00 AM, and of course we are honored to go there. I’ve had the privilege of preaching at the chapel service in the past and I really do enjoy visiting the campus. So we enjoyed our breakfast of pancakes and enjoyed visiting with each other until it was time for us to leave. We needed to leave shortly after 10:00 to be there on time.
I forgot to mention that we had rain during the night. It rained really hard, and if you remembered, we didn’t have AC or fans. The night was a little muggy in our rooms, but it was nice to hear the rain. The rain actually was on and off during the day. Leo got the day off from watering the garden.
We all enjoyed seeing the Seminary. We arrived in time to visit a few people and then head to chapel.
On our way back to Emmanuel’s home we needed a few things so we stopped at the market. Renee had plans, so her and Philip headed out to get the things she needed. Leo wanted a couple of shirts and possibly some shorts for going to ELWA next week where we can go swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. Leo and I wandered around the busy market and after a while, Leo found what he wanted. I didn’t take pictures at the market because it was so busy.
We headed home to palm butter soup over rice. We ate our fill and then some GB was brought up. Leo and I had this. I’ll fill you in more another day. We didn’t eat until around 2:00 PM. At our late lunch it started raining real hard again. Not to regular at this time of year.
After lunch is when Leo and Renee got busy with their projects. I took care of a few things that I needed to do and then Leo and I headed down to hand out some candy treats. Leo had licorice and I had tootsie pops. Of course we had everyone come around us as they realized we were handing out candy.
A little later Emmanuel returned from preparing to leave in the morning with a couple going through premarital counseling. Well, Emmanuel said I and Herrietta Bestman, a lady from church and the preschool teacher, should help out with this counseling. We went into the conference room and began. As we were going through this Mother Wintee came in to say there was an emergency with a woman with high blood pressure and Renee, Emmanuel and Wintee left to take her to the hospital. Leo may have gone along, I’m not sure. Herrietta and I were left to finish the counseling session. There were 2-3 sections left and of course one of them was titled bedroom / sex management. So, sometimes being a Pastor gets you prepared to handle whatever comes up. The couple was really sweet and it was good time of training.
We do pray for the lady with the medical emergency and I’ll update you tomorrow. We leave early in the morning. Pray for our trip and this lady.
Day 9
Today was an interesting and educational day. It started off with a breakfast of oatmeal and muffins along with a steady stomach. That is a great combination. Our planned 1st stop for the day was LCMi school. We walked down from Emmanuel’s house to the school, a short 200-300 yards. As we entered the school yard we were greeted with all the children lined up in formation by class with the teachers along the side.
All of the teachers introduced themselves and each of us greeted the students. Leo went first and he said a sweet prayer for them. Here is that prayer.
After all the greetings, the kids returned to the classrooms and we went to visit the preschool class. This is taught by Herrietta Bestman, a sweet lady from the LCMI church.
Here are a few quick pictures I took of the classrooms as we passed by.
They do not have full financial support to pay the teachers a salary regularly. The budget (after expected student contributions) is around $1,400 / month for 10 months of the year. If anyone is interested in helping out, please let me know and we can work out the details.
For all back at CBC, the teachers all expressed gratitude for the Christmas gift we sent them. Many thanks were given for this timely gift.
It was hard to leave as we want to know so much more of how the school can work. They have over two hundred students enrolled. For the younger grades, they charge $3,000 LD (Liberian dollars / semester. At the current exchange rate of 184 LD to $1 US dollar, this is $16.30 / semester for the young ones and $6,000 LD, or $32.60 US / semester. Even at that rate the parents can’t pay and the school does all they can to allow the child to stay in school. They want to see the parents trying to provide some for the good Christian education. We also heard about their need for a school printer / copier that can handle the paper printing they need. They currently have a 4 year old personal printer that cannot keep up with the need.
From the school visit we headed to downtown Monrovia to visit the equivalent of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. They have a meeting place that is currently used for special meetings, funerals and some holiday services. This was to be our day at school. It was very enjoyable to get more history of Liberia. Here’s a quick link to give you some information on their history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia
Here are a few pictures from our visit.
After going through their Independence Hall, we went through an attached museum. This cost $5 per person and they did not allow photography. We did get some pictures of past President’s cars.
Charles Taylor was later convicted of war crimes and is serving a 50 year prison sentence in a Sierra Leone prison. You can read more here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberian_politician)
Also outside was a statue that signifies each Liberian helping each other.
We got back to the house between 2:00 & 3:00 PM and had a late lunch. we kept ourselves busy, Renee with more prep work for WOP visits coming up, Leo with his watering and I had fun playing with the kids.
As I write this it is 11:40 PM. The power went off and they are running the generator for lights. No Air or water for the night. This too is Liberia!
Day 8
Sunday’s are always good days, especially when you can attend a Liberian church service. You will no doubt clap, sway or dance a little bit. Even the most conservative Baptist will admit to tapping their leg during the music. Today was no difference for us.
My day started with less sleep due to an upset stomach that started the day before. I recognize my frailty during this and for today, since I was to preach, I prayed that I would feel well enough to be at church. When morning came I was able to eat some breakfast and it tasted good. Renee convinced me to start my Z-Pak course of antibiotics to aid in recovering. After eating I took both my malaria meds and the first dose of the Z-Pak.
After this, we all headed to church for Sunday School. They have 3 classes for the adults broken down by your birth month. Renee and I were in the same one and Leo being on his own with another leader. We all study the same text and today’s was John 15 talking about Christ being the true vine. We had some good discussions during our class.
After Sunday School, we start the morning worship. Today was also Communion Sunday. I’m not sure I’ve been here for that before. It was good to be included with this. To make all the conservative church goers feel better about being so active in a Liberian church, I recorded one verse of a song I’m sure most are familiar with that might lead you to consider visiting Liberia since there wasn’t much dancing for this one. It was great to hear the singing of our Liberian brothers and sisters in Christ. We don’t need to be from the same country to worship the same God.
Although my stomach wasn’t feeling great, I was able to preach without any discomfort. I’m very grateful for that. As I preached from Colossians 3:12-17, I enjoyed unpacking the text to present to the church. As I said it is so good to be from different countries, but believing in the same God.
Following the preaching we moved on to Communion where I had the opportunity to serve. What a great experience to ‘Do this in remembrance of Me’ here in Liberia.
After the service ended (sometime after 1:15 or so), there was much greeting and laughter as pictures were taken by many. Sometimes you didn’t even know who you were getting pictures of, but that didn’t matter. We all wanted to be in them.
We came home (across the road) and I changed to get shorts and T-shirt on. Just as we sat down our other missionary, Pastor Titus Namen and his family came up the stairs to visit. We had a short visit with them before we ate our lunch. They came after their church services to see us and we made plans for next week to go to their church and spend some time with them.
After saying our goodbyes to Titus and family we went upstairs to eat. I ate a little bit and it seemed to be okay for my stomach. Since my night was not so restful I decided to lay down for awhile and after a couple of hours I felt better. When I woke up, Leo was done watering the gardens and Renee had left to go to a concert for Christ Life, a group run by the young people (Philip, the young man who helps with the cooking as well as Blessing, Emmanuel and Wintee’s daughter). Renee came back later and said it was good. Loud, like you’d expect from young people, but God honoring and enjoyable.
While Renee was gone, Leo and I went for a walk. There is beauty in everything if you look for it. Here’s a few pictures I took on our walk today.
Tomorrow we have plans to visit the school and then go into Monrovia to visit their historical museum. I can’t wait.
Day 7
Today was a much needed day of rest. We all took things pretty easy today. So easy, in fact, that I don’t have any big news to share. I did sit down inside the gate to Emmanuel’s home and the children took this as a sign to come by us as well. Leo was at the well, pumping water and I sat with the children. This isn’t much, but it was a lot when you think we were given this little time to rest and enjoy these children.
I do want to share how Leo and I were able to witness conflict resolution in a church done in a very good manner that was very God honoring.
Leo and I were all set up go for a walk after a late breakfast when Emmanuel came up to us to request our presence at a meeting with a local Pastor and the board of deacons. Of course we said we’d ride along. As Emmanuel drove to their church, he filled us in on there issues causing conflict. The details are unimportant to the results. As we rode I looked up verses to help with conflict resolution, not knowing if I would be asked to take part. I was all set with Ephesians 4, Romans 12:18, Matthew 5 & 18, having them bookmarked in my digital Bible if necessary.
When we arrived they welcomed us as if we belonged and we were all given an ‘order of service’. As the young meeting leaders laid out the ground rules for the meeting I could tell they were well thought out. In fact, all the Scripture references I hastily looked up were mentioned in the meeting guidelines. The issues were read out loud with both ‘sides’ able to make statements regarding the issues. I still wasn’t sure if this would turn out well or not. They went down their agenda, allowing only acceptable attitudes and tone of speech, or the meeting would be suspended. They came to a break where people got up and walked around and talked a bit. After 5-10 minutes, the next step was suggestions for resolution, which would be followed by each side either agreeing or disagreeing. There were 3-4 more items on their agenda when one deacon got up and went to the disagreeing person and (I couldn’t understand all the words) basically said that they loved this person and hoped these steps would lead to full restoration. The other person begin to quietly drop their head and then the sobs of understanding and relief were evident. This brought all the board together, crying and hugging. What Leo and I witnessed was Biblical conflict resolution at its finest. I didn’t need my words or verses, we just marveled at how God showed us how this was done.
The meeting concluded right then with prayers of praise and a restored leadership. May God continue to use this church to reach their community for Christ.
We returned after the church meeting…I did receive a text from Renee on where Leo and I were. She was in her room when we left and as she was out and about, going through supplies for WOP, she realized we weren’t around. Once she found out we were with Emmanuel, she didn’t worry, knowing we’d be done when he was done.
The late afternoon turned into a time of rest and I laid down and slept a little, but with no power on (typically off during the day) it was very hot. I got about an hour of rest when I woke up and realized LEC was back on, so I turned the air conditioning on and stayed in the room a bit more to cool off. I had a little upset stomach so I skipped eating anything for supper. Leo and Renee are doing well, although Renee realized today that after her intense week of training she was exhausted today. It was a good day.
I look forward to church services again tomorrow. I am privileged to preach again and I hope to feel refreshed and ready tomorrow. We will see what tomorrow brings us.
Day 6
As I write this, it is after 3:30 AM. Yesterday (Friday) was such a busy day that I even forgot to post about things when I went to bed, only to I remember in the middle of the night, so here goes in a shorter, somewhat groggy review of a great day.
Friday morning seemed to start things a little later as Leo and I had time to head out in the community for a long walk. We simply kept taking different roads (trails in some cases) until we realized we should head back since Leo was doing the devotional for WOP and we didn’t want him to be late. It was after 8:00 AM when we turned around, remembering most turns and we made it back. Here’s a few pictures of things we saw.
When we got back breakfast was ready and Renee was up and ready. We ate and Leo waited for his turn to share the devotional.
Leo finished, I took a baby from one of the ladies to help her and we headed down to Leo’s care of the garden. Here are a few pictures of this and the baby ‘Emmanuel’ as we helped out.
Our afternoon seemed to go slow and relaxed as I read through my notes for the final class on Biblical Counseling. Emmanuel had mentioned that he wanted to visit a lady from church whose foot was hurt and made it difficult to walk. So, around 2:00 PM he says let’s go. He says it is nearby when I mentioned we start the class in 2 hours. It turns out it wasn’t so close, but it was great to go. Leo and Daniel (one of the school teachers and ‘son’ of Emmanuel & Wintee) came along as well. I didn’t get a picture of the lady, Deborah, but I did get a picture of where we stopped and walked the rest of the way.
We visited with Deborah for awhile and prayed with her and headed back, making it in enough time for me to shower before the class.
The last class went well and we were all informed we were to be part of the WOP celebration following the class. The ladies, who were from chapters of WOP all over Liberia, were all getting together to celebrate their accomplishments that Renee had taught them.
These ladies were a happy bunch as speeches of appreciation were given. There were gifts given out to all of us during this celebration time, followed by music and dancing.
We’ll have to share some of the videos of the speeches and dancing later as uploading videos here takes longer.
We followed this up with a meal on the porch of American type pizza and fritters with hot pepper sauce on the side. (This may explain my waking up in the middle of the night.)
The music and celebrating continued in the yard as everyone ate and danced around, enjoying the completion of a long, intensive week of training.
The celebration for us three Americans was the ability to go to bed to get needed sleep.
Now as I finish this ‘later’ update, I look forward to a relaxing day without any classes or responsibilities…yet.
Day 5 – Anniversary Day
Every day before it begins, we wonder if it’s gonna be busy or not. We should know not to expect a light day. Renee planned on getting up early to cut out the patterns for WOP She woke up early but wasn’t able to get into cutting the patterns because LEC (Liberia electric company) was off and the solar had run out and they did not start the generator up right away in the morning. All three of us woke up early and Philip came into my room to flip a switch to allow the generator to run so we could have current as they call it here once Philip came in to flip the switch. I decided I might as well get up and I came into the sitting room and Leo and Renee had the same idea. It was before seven and it starts getting light around seven. The power went out around 3:30 in the morning. Since it was beginning to get light, Renee started cutting on the patterns for the work with WOP. We noticed that each day gets a little bit later for everyone to get going as the week progresses.
While Renee was cutting I read through a devotional with both of them and just as I was finishing up there was singing taking place downstairs. There is something special about hearing a group of Liberians singing. The upstairs echoed with ‘Great things He has done, greater things he will do…’ we listened as they sang and prayed. After that they brought up our breakfast and Emmanuel came up and told us, ‘Guess what, it’s my anniversary, and I was just reminded!’ He shared that he and Wintee are celebrating their 21st wedding anniversary. Turns out the singing was for their anniversary. We were very happy for them and this led to other things happening during the day.
Once breakfast arrived, we took our pictures and had our fill.
After breakfast it started to get busy quickly, although a little later than the days before. Leo headed to the garden to dig holes. I watched as he used the tools he was given. We do have a new hammer, but he wanted to use what Aloysius (garden guy) gave him.
I got sidetracked after talking to Leo and waiting to give the devotional to WOP. This is what sidetracked me.
As I waited I went in to the lower level of the Fred Haberland Training Center to see what they were selling today. Fresh muffins and fish meat pies. Although they look and smell good, I’m not sure I would try them (not being a fish eater).
There was also another WOP table out with soaps they had made and they were packaging them for sale.
I also promised a picture of how women use the Lapa to carry their children. It didn’t take long to have a lady stop by with a child in tow.
I went upstairs and gave the morning devotional on Psalm 127:1-2. Afterwards we took a couple pictures and left Renee with her class.
I went downstairs and let Leo know, after letting Renee know (while they worked), that I was going out with Emmanuel and Wintee for their anniversary dinner. I told them I would go along if I could drive, like a chauffeur. Emmanuel agreed, and we headed out. If I thought they would understand the context, I would have said this is like the movie, ‘Driving Miss Daisy’, only it would be ‘Driving Mother Wintee & Emmanuel’. Doesn’t have the same ring to it. I was seriously honored to be part of their anniversary. We went to a beautiful restaurant located on the 5th floor of a hotel (I believe). I wasn’t prepared to go to a nice restaurant in my shorts and T-shirt, but at least I had shoes and not flip flops. I was told to change them before I left because a man, Peter Kanway, told me I’d get arrested if I drove with ‘slippers’. He rode with us part way to head to Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary. Nobody took a look at my feet, but I did hear Emmanuel in the backseat telling me to slow down. He ended up driving home himself. Maybe that is why.
After a good meal, we headed downtown to pick up a few things. I had my instructions from Leo-a belt, and from Renee-a pair of scissors. While Emmanuel and Wintee were in a shop I walked to a couple other shops and found both the items. Emmanuel told me I paid too much (of course). I told him that I don’t care if I was overcharged a bit, and he just laughed at me. Emmanuel won’t let people take advantage of you if you’re a visitor and he can help it.
We got back at 3:40 PM or so with my class starting at 4:00. I was able to shower and get in the conference room by 4:00, but just barely.
After the two hour class I had another meeting with Emmanuel, and when we finished I set out to look for Leo and Renee. I found Leo carrying water buckets and Renee was still in her WOP training.
Leo and I waited for Renee to complete her day to have our supper. She had a long, but enjoyable day. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Day 4
As I begin writing this, it’s hard to believe that we are only on day four because we packed so much into the first few days. Today I woke up hearing the cutting of materials in the common area outside my room. Renee was busy cutting cloth getting ready for the WOP training that she is doing. Yesterday we bought 10 yards of black material with 3 colorful Lapas, which are around 2 yards of materials each. (Lapas are Liberian wraps used by women as a skirt or holding their baby on their back. I’ll have to post a picture of the ladies carrying a baby using the Lapa.)
As I said, Renee was cutting the material preparing for class and once she got started, it turns out there were 23 in her morning session. Today they were making table runners. Each runner used a half a yard of the black with part of the Lapa. Needless to say she ran out of material pretty quickly, as she had 8 ladies in the afternoon. Here are some pictures of the finished products.
So what did Leo and I do when Renee was busy with the WOP, you may ask? This morning at breakfast Emmanuel let Leo and I know that we will both be giving the devotional, Leo on Thursday and me on Friday for the WOP. Our morning ended up being a study time to find an appropriate devotional to give to the ladies during our turn. I was not surprised by Emmanuel‘s request, but Leo was a little surprised. I’ll give him this, he didn’t say no, he just said he will come up with something. Leo also went out and watered some of the plants to begin the morning.
After we finished preparing our devotional, I suggested we go out for a walk. Leo and I headed away from Emmanuel‘s home just to see what may be interesting. As we walked, we watched some young men making concrete blocks. We talked to some builders who were putting in a foundation (forgot to get pictures), and we greeted many people on the road. Here are a few pictures of some of the things we saw.
When Leo and I walked for a while, I received a text from Emmanuel saying we were to come back because lunch was ready. We came back to some collard green soup over rice and fresh fruit. It was then that Emmanuel explained something he told me earlier, but I misunderstood. My time of teaching is from 4 to 6 PM and Wednesday night there is midweek service at the church. Emmanuel planned that I would do my teaching in the church from four until church started at six and continue teaching until church is over at seven. The evening ended up being quite busy for me after all. After our late lunch I had time for a quick shower and begin teaching shortly after 4 and we finished just after 7 PM. Immediately after the service the garden guy, Aloysius, was there to begin the watering from 7:30 till just after 8 Leo and I carried water so the plants could get watered this evening. It may not seem like a difficult thing, but the water comes from a hand pump and is carried to where the plants are growing and the humidity is really high. When we finished both Leo and I were soaked with sweat. This too is Liberia.
We finished the night with our supper together and talk of the next day. My alarm will be Renee cutting fabric again to begin another day.
Day 3 – Early addition
It is 10:30 in the morning here and things are already busy. Renee started her classes with WOP and she need supplies so Leo and I headed out with Phillip as our driver and guide. We headed to Red Light. For those who wouldn’t know what Red Light represents; this is the marketplace that originated with the first stoplight long ago. I guess the theory is that traffic stops and you have the opportunity to sell to people passing by. Now Red Light is the name only, and the marketplace, let’s just say, is busy all the time, with or without the stoplight.
Renee was underway teaching, wondering how she would handle things today since the participants were going through the fabric she brought from the states quite quickly. One of the items we were picking up was more fabric for her class. she was concerned how she could slow them down and take more time in teaching. She shared how she prayed for an idea of what to do. Enter the unreliable electric current in Liberia. The power went out before she even got started and all the sewing needed to be done by hand, giving her the chance to teach since things moved at a slower pace.
Apple iPhone’s memories of today showed off the morning pretty well.
It is later now. As for the rest of the day, it was busy but enjoyable. The class went well and you’ll see the beginning and ending pictures below.
Overall, we are really enjoying things. We’re still getting used to the heat (doesn’t sound too much of a problem compared to what you in the states just went through). It is 9:00 p.m., I’m the last one up and I’m also headed to bed. Of course the locals aren’t headed to bed. Here’s the activity still happening.
Day 2
As I write this post it is 10:15 p.m. another long day with its own interesting things happening. One thing I just realized, the power didn’t go off today. I think this may be the only day it didn’t go off in all my trips here, or if it did I was gone and didn’t experience the shut down.
I knew Renee would be especially busy in her first day with Women of Purpose. That turned out to be very true, but Renee just stepped in and kept going. We all watch out for one another, as the heat here is not normal for us and we need to watch out for letting the heat get to us. Even though we have power, air conditioning isn’t as available. The Fred Haberland Training Center does not have air conditioning. In fact we picked up a floor tower fan and a ceiling mounted fan to be used in there to keep air circulating. Leo and I started our day after breakfast with devotions with the ladies of WOP (all future reference to Women of Purpose). I was able to hold a little boy of one of the women attending. I’ll take that any day.
After the devotional time we left Renee and the group of women alone so we didn’t get in the way.
Leo and I headed out with Emmanuel to the hardware store to pick up the fans and other items needed for WOP. Both Leo and I were surprised by the assortment of items at the Liberian Home Depot. We found the fans, handsaw and masking tape needed. At a stop down the road at another store we found some nails and a hammer needed for a loom of sorts that Leo is making. We also stopped along the road at a crude shop making desks and other furniture. We asked about some 1×2’s for the frames needed. They were able to cut them for us so Leo has everything he needs to make these. He will simply do his best to make these looms with the materials he now has.
I forgot to mention the set of barbells that we found at this furniture manufacturer. They were made from concrete in a coffee can with the bar set in place in each can.
Leo loved the amount of vehicles on the road from cars, to motorbikes , to K-K’s, or 3-wheeled carts. it is always chaotic out there. Not to mention all the people.
We got home and Leo set out to work on the loom frames and I went to study more for my first Biblical Counseling training. I was still feeling a little tired from our travels and the heat and I laid down after studying with a timer set for 45 minutes. The timer I got was a little boy named Thaddeus (mentioned in an earlier trip), who walked in and said, ‘Dad Robin, Mother says the food is ready for you now.’ Although he surprised me, I couldn’t help but smile at him and tell him I’ll be right out. It was around 1:30 and I wasn’t thinking about eating. Well, we all took the time to eat and it was some form of Lentil soup over rice with fruit and cucumbers. All in all it was very good.
After the late lunch, both Leo and I told Renee not to overdo it in the heat. She enjoyed the time to teach these ladies. Leo also called it quits on the frames as the afternoon is the hottest time. I took a shower and prepared for the class that started at 4:00. At about 4:20 (Liberian meeting time), the class began. We had probably about 10-12 people in attendance. When we finished at 6:30 I counted 23 people. One man showed up at 6:10 for the class that was scheduled for 4-6. This too is Liberia.
I didn’t get any pictures during my training, but Renee shared some from hers.
After my training time that Leo also attended, the garden guy (Aloysius), had Leo come out to care for the plants.
After talking to the kids for a while I decided to show them the elephant video from Thailand we took a few years ago. I got my iPad out and the video drew a crowd. 23 kids laughed at the elephants squirting water at the people.
I will do a special segment on all the kids here. Leo and Renee are enjoying them as well. So many children.
We finally ate a late dinner of omelette and fried plantains. We talked, unwound and decided it was time to head to bed. I needed to do this blog so I laid propped up in the bed to begin when someone knocked on the door. It was Emmanuel saying that he is counseling a young married couple and he wanted me to come out and speak with them. (this too is Emmanuel 🤪)
I guess I need to practice what I was teaching. The couple was very sweet and accepting of my ‘American’ but Biblical advice. I pray that this couple continues to work through the difficult times.
Now it is 11:20 and I will get some rest. I am unsure what tomorrow will bring, but it will definitely be another busy, but enjoyable day.
Day 1 done
I did not publish last night because we had a typical travel day into Saturday. It was long, leaving Green Bay at 2:30 p.m., with a stop in Chicago and the boarding for Brussels, Belgium around 5:30 p.m. Friday. This was a 7-8 hour flight that had us arriving in Brussels around 8:45 local Brussels time. I sat next to Leo and Renee was across the aisle from us. This flight was uneventful, but like any long flight, sleep was difficult. Upon arrival in Brussels we were able to wait at the gate we exited from the US as the gate was one section down.
The second flight we did not choose our own seats, they were preassigned to us. I was located the furthest back of us three, in the middle set of seats in the very middle. Jenny knows how little I would like this. Leo, a few rows up and in an aisle seat, offered to switch with me. That was nice of him and I declined, only to find out the single seat next to him (a window seat) was empty. He slid over to the window and I sat in the aisle seat. The plane was not fully loaded so it worked out well.
We landed in Freetown, Sierra Leone and waited on the plane as those stopping in Freetown got off. The wait turned quite long and we wondered why. The pilot announced that because of the storms in the US they weren’t allowing anyone traveling to the US to board because so many flights were being canceled. The weather in the US delayed a flight from Africa. I found that a small reminder of how small the world really is.
We did take off an hour later for the short 40-50 minute flight to Monrovia. We arrived, got our passport stamped, met Emmanuel, and finally made it through customs and back to Emmanuel’s home. We arrived here local time around 10:30-11:00 p.m. we were greeted by many, and of course we were fed on our arrival. We got to bed around midnight where we all pretty much crashed. It had been a long trip and the rest was needed.
Sunday morning brought the enjoyment of seeing everything in the light. It was fun to meet so many old friends and to watch Leo as he sat in amazement that he was sitting in Africa.
We got to Sunday School as they were teaching from Matthew 7:13-14. As we were sitting in class the church slowly begin to fill. This is the culture in Liberia. People tend to come in a little bit late.
As the church service was about to begin, I was busy greeting old friends and watching Leo and Renee make new ones. Since I was to speak today, I went to sit on their platform with Emmanuel and some of the other deacons/elders. Renee and Leo sat in the front row with an older woman between them.
As the service began I could tell that Leo was moved at what he was watching. The people, the singing and the dancing, it all left him appreciative of worshiping the same God in Liberia that we worship back home. Leo even got up and had Scripture reading.
I was privileged to preach to a familiar crowd and we enjoyed the time at LCMI church on a Sunday morning worship service.
Afterwards we ate some lunch and I took some time to set up a Starlink mini to see how it will work. So far, so good. The cell coverage can get weak, especially in the evening. This seems to be a good solution for allowing each of us access to back home as well as Emmanuel and maybe some others to have internet regularly during our stay. As I was finishing up the Starlink I looked up and saw Mother Mercy walking up along with Yeitoyee Renee, Pastor Titus and Mercy’s daughter. Mercy also had Seth, her sister’s son along. Titus and Mercy are now parents to Seth after her sister died during childbirth. They graciously welcomed this little boy as their own. He is growing well and is now 5 months old and quite a little chubby boy. Pastor Titus is at his church (ULIC) denomination’s national convention in Ganta until Friday. He will be the speaker at the convention tomorrow night. He will travel back on Friday. We will catch up with them more when he returns. After giving them some gifts, I saw them off on the motorbike. I’m not sure many would like to send people off like this, but ‘this too is Liberia’
Leo got very busy in the afternoon helping out with the plants/gardens that are part of the church ministry. I’ll get some pictures later and I’ll have Leo tell you in his own words how his time is going.
I can’t fit every experience in a short blog post, but I want you to know that we are well…well fed, well loved and well blessed. What a great start to this little adventure. Tomorrow will bring Women of Purpose training for Renee, more plant care for Leo and Biblical Counseling training for me. We all have a busy day planned.
God bless all who read and follow along. We are privileged to be the ones here, but we hope you all take part in praying for fruit both from us and to us as we serve in Liberia.
And so it begins! 2026
It is with great anticipation that the day for leaving has arrived. The day, beginning in Wallace, started with a temperature of -17 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a day like this that makes us happy to travel to the warm climate of Liberia.
There are three of us traveling together…Renee, Leo and me (Robin). This trip marks my eighth time traveling to Liberia. For Renee it is her third time, and then we have Leo, the newbie of the group. As we left Wallace with my brother Kevin’s large van, to carry the 8 checked bags, the 3 carry-on’s and our personal bags, and to carry the three travelers, I am grateful for my wife being willing to ride along with our friend Nancy to drive the van back. We left Wallace to pick up Leo first. After saying goodbye to his wife and son, we headed to Renee’s house. We arrived, backed the van up to her garage (all the pre packed suitcases were stored there) to load up. We walked in the door and we were greeted by Renee, all the suitcases at the door and a big smile on her face as she remarked slyly, ‘You don’t think I’m excited to go?’ Of course, me and Leo share her excitement on this new adventure.
We packed all the bags in the van, prayed over our trip, and began what we know will be a great adventure.
Leo, while contemplating the reason ‘why’ he is traveling to Liberia, related to us that after months of asking why, he realized he was asking the wrong question. He said, ‘I should be asking what. ‘What?’ does God want me to do’. As he said this we all realized that that is the question for all of us. We may not fully understand the ‘What?’, but we are simply to be willing. Willing to be pressed, willing to be challenged and willing to be used by God in whatever manner He chooses. That is our prayer and we encourage you to pray along with us.
We are all checked in at the airport with plans of connecting thru Chicago, on to Brussels and finally to Monrovia sometime 24-26 hours from now.
Arrived back in Green Bay
Our travels from Monrovia began more than 24 hours ago. The travel was good, but we’re tired and anxious to return home for a good night’s sleep.
The trip was such a blessing to both of us and we’re so glad that God allowed this trip to take place.
God bless.
Liberia Mission Trip 