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.

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.

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.

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.