Here it is the middle of the night, can't sleep, so I guess I'll blog. today, or I guess yesterday now, was a relaxing day we didn't do much. Rusty went to work and we just hung out. We went for a walk down the beach, me, D'Linda, Jamie, Colton, Kobe and Blessing. The beach here is very nice. I have been to places in Mexico and Hawaii that don't have beaches this nice. We came across some fishermen coming in with their catch. They had some crabs and fish that I saw and offered to sell us some lobster. Jamie declined, she said they have a fisherman that comes by regularly to sell them fish. Their boat was a hollowed out log canoe about 25' long. It looked quite heavy, to get it up the beach they enlisted the help of some other fishermen close by. They got three on each end and took turns pivoting each end up the beach. It looked like pretty hard work and I didn't stick around to see how they got it up the steepest part of the beach where there were about 20 other boats.
Most of the fishermen were young and in very good shape, but probably not as fit as some men Kobe and I had seen a couple of days ago when we walked the beach the other way. We were walking and came across some women carrying sacks on their heads. They were filling the sacks with sand and carrying them up to the road to sell for making concrete. Most of the concrete in Liberia is mixed by hand. Many of the homes have stacks of concrete blocks in front of them for sale. The people have forms for the blocks and mix up the concrete on the ground and make blocks. Most buildings are built out of concrete blocks, a real cottage industry (pun intended for Rich). The sacks the women were carrying weighed about 50 lbs. around the point from there we came across some men carrying sacks of sand that had to be over 100 lbs. each. I didn't have my camera with me, but I tell you those guys were probably the most fit people I have ever seen. Probably 3-4% body fat, real physical specimens, better than those guys you see on infomercials selling the latest in exercise equipment. I could get some pictures and you entrepreneurs out there could sell some old feed sacks to people wanting to get in shape. One of the young men wanted me to try to carry one, I told him I was too old, it would break me in half.
As pretty as the beach is there are some hazards. Kobe and I saw a number of Portuguese man of war jelly fish on the beach, in fact latter that day he was stung by one swimming. It is good to have a doctor living next door, he had some cream that took the sting away. However a bigger hazard on the beach are little holes in the sand. It seems every morning a lot of people come out to the beach dig a shallow hole and defecate into it. When the tide comes in it takes care of it, but until then watch your step!
One last thing, the clothes here are a real mixture of cultures. Sunday people really get dressed up for church. The women wear beautifully colored dresses and the men have either western shirts and ties or colorful African print shirts. The rest of the time anything goes. You can buy tee shirts for fifty cents that come from all over, Rusty had told me that you often see people wearing really inappropriate shirts places. Well we experienced that first hand, The social worker in charge of one of the orphanages came to deliver food, was wearing a shirt that said (if your easily offended stop here) "tits and beer, that's why I'm here" on the back it had a tavern from Fairbanks Alaska. Rusty and I had a good laugh. I was planning on bringing back a shirt from Africa, what do you think?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Remarkable people
Well, I was really tired when I went to bed, but it still took me a while to get to sleep. I slept for about 3 hours but then i woke up and have been awake for about 3 hours so I think I'll try blogging some more. I'm not mad at God like I was last night. I was thinking about all those beautiful little faces I saw yesterday, those are what He created, he didn't create the conditions that they are in, we, man, did that. It is our failure to live as he intended and our complacency that has caused their suffering.
While I was lying here I was thinking about the many remarkable people I have met. Many of you reading this I consider remarkable. I have met a number in the last few days that are truly remarkable. Rusty calls them "Real" missionaries. Dr. Rick next door is one and Kieth the dentist down the road is another, I'll blog more about them later after I know them a little better, but I thought I would start a little closer to home. I already mentioned how proud of Rusty and Jamie I am, but I'm proud of all my children, they are all remarkable people. So I guess I'll start even closer, my wife of 39 years and 2 days is a remarkable person. I haven't always treated her as I should, I can be a pretty selfish, stubborn person. She has always been a good wife, taking care of me and loving me, far better than I deserved. As good of a wife as she is, she is a better mother. Her children all know that she loves them and would do anything for them, but as a grandmother she is off the charts. That is the real reason we are here, we missed Rusty and Jamie, but the boys, she hadn't seen them in almost a year. She LOVES her grandchildren. I am convinced that each one secretly knows that she loves them the most.
D'Linda has always had a way and a special place in he heart for babies, and all her grandchildren are here babies, even when one is 5'11 3/4". She worries about each one. Now that we have them scattered all over the place she misses the ones out of sight a lot.
It has been great to see the boys, they haven't changed much, you still have to tell them something three or four times before the do it or stop doing it, what ever the case. D'Linda has hugged and loved them and met Blessing. We don't know for sure if Rusty and Jamie will be able to adopt her, but it is obvious that she is a part of this family. The boys are very good with her, they all take turns caring for and playing with her. But seeing D'Linda play with her was great, she has adopted her already. I think Blessing already knows that she is really grandma's favorite, but don't tell the others.
My wife is getting older, and she frets about gray hair and wrinkles, but she is just getting more beautiful to me. If she catches me staring at her she gets embarrassed, but I just see a beautiful remarkable wife.
My prayer for all of you is that you could have the second best spouse in the world.
While I was lying here I was thinking about the many remarkable people I have met. Many of you reading this I consider remarkable. I have met a number in the last few days that are truly remarkable. Rusty calls them "Real" missionaries. Dr. Rick next door is one and Kieth the dentist down the road is another, I'll blog more about them later after I know them a little better, but I thought I would start a little closer to home. I already mentioned how proud of Rusty and Jamie I am, but I'm proud of all my children, they are all remarkable people. So I guess I'll start even closer, my wife of 39 years and 2 days is a remarkable person. I haven't always treated her as I should, I can be a pretty selfish, stubborn person. She has always been a good wife, taking care of me and loving me, far better than I deserved. As good of a wife as she is, she is a better mother. Her children all know that she loves them and would do anything for them, but as a grandmother she is off the charts. That is the real reason we are here, we missed Rusty and Jamie, but the boys, she hadn't seen them in almost a year. She LOVES her grandchildren. I am convinced that each one secretly knows that she loves them the most.
D'Linda has always had a way and a special place in he heart for babies, and all her grandchildren are here babies, even when one is 5'11 3/4". She worries about each one. Now that we have them scattered all over the place she misses the ones out of sight a lot.
It has been great to see the boys, they haven't changed much, you still have to tell them something three or four times before the do it or stop doing it, what ever the case. D'Linda has hugged and loved them and met Blessing. We don't know for sure if Rusty and Jamie will be able to adopt her, but it is obvious that she is a part of this family. The boys are very good with her, they all take turns caring for and playing with her. But seeing D'Linda play with her was great, she has adopted her already. I think Blessing already knows that she is really grandma's favorite, but don't tell the others.
My wife is getting older, and she frets about gray hair and wrinkles, but she is just getting more beautiful to me. If she catches me staring at her she gets embarrassed, but I just see a beautiful remarkable wife.
My prayer for all of you is that you could have the second best spouse in the world.
2nd day in Africa
My second full day was much better, I eventually got a little sleep last night, maybe two hours, but I was pretty alert all day. We started the day with church. The one we went to on the ELWA campus lasted about two hours, which is short for Liberian standards. I enjoyed the colorful attire and the enthusiasm of the mostly Liberian congregation. We went to Monrovia for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant. Then we set off to visit another orphanage, as is Rusty and Jamie's practice, I was not looking forward to it. This orphanage was larger and a little more spartan than the one yesterday, but they had no special needs kids there. The 49 children there were all enjoying a large bowl of rice when we arrived, which Uncle Rusty, as he is called, said was good to see because in the past they had gone a day or two at a time without food. Rusty lanced a boil on one boy and checked the injuries on a little girl he had taken to the hospital in the middle of the night last week. Rusty, Jamie and the boys were all busy greeting, holding, teasing and loving all the little ones there. The children were all excited to see them and play with the squirt guns they brought. There are some health concerns there, but the don't seem to be serious, it was still hard knowing that many of the children are waiting to go to loving homes just because of slow bureaucracy.
Rusty is a very respected man here, the director of ELWA has stated that he was going to contact the U.S. State Department and have them revoke his citizenship so that he couldn't leave. The security guard sang Rusty and Jamie's praises for a good ten minutes tonight Telling me how proud of them I should be. He said a lot of the whites look down on the Liberians, but not Rusty, he is just like a black man.
I saw some disturbing things today, but not like yesterday. I have decided to not think about anything sad tonight so I can get some needed sleep. I plan on posting often so you can keep up with our adventure.
Good night Jack
Rusty is a very respected man here, the director of ELWA has stated that he was going to contact the U.S. State Department and have them revoke his citizenship so that he couldn't leave. The security guard sang Rusty and Jamie's praises for a good ten minutes tonight Telling me how proud of them I should be. He said a lot of the whites look down on the Liberians, but not Rusty, he is just like a black man.
I saw some disturbing things today, but not like yesterday. I have decided to not think about anything sad tonight so I can get some needed sleep. I plan on posting often so you can keep up with our adventure.
Good night Jack
Saturday, February 6, 2010
My first report from Africa
This is my first "blog" from here, it went out as email, but I wanted to put it here so all who read this would get it.
It is the middle of the night here and I can't sleep. It is hot and humid, but we do have air conditioning in our room that gets the temperature down to the high 70"s, but that isn't why I can't sleep. I have been crying, there I admitted it, I'm a grown man I shouldn't do that. I have been laying here thinking about our visit to an orphanage today. Rusty, Jamie and the boys took us to an orphanage that they regularly visit, I don't want to mention the name because it isn't about that particular orphanage, in fact Rusty says that it is the "Ritz Carlton" compared to most. When we entered the courtyard surrounded by high walls with razor wire on the top we were greeted by 10-15 happy children in clean, if well worn clothes, Gail was the first smiling girl I was introduced to, Rusty said she was deaf. Teddy was the next, I didn't notice at first that he couldn't walk, he walked on his knees dragging his feet behind him, He was smiling and so excited to see Rusty, Rusty had picked him up, that is why I hadn't noticed his handicap at first. After visiting with the kids in the courtyard we went in to see the babies. There were maybe 6 or 8 children there in clean cribs with mosquito nets hanging over them, they seemed quite happy. Jamie and Rusty knew all the kids by name and took time to touch and talk to each one. Then Rusty took me into the special needs room, there were three boys there, two with very swollen heads, Rusty told me the name of the condition, but i can't remember and even if I could I couldn't spell it. The third had "cerebral palsy" Rusty says that is what they call everything that they don't know what the child has. One of the boys with the swollen head was in obvious pain just lying there moaning. He was about 1 1/2 and Rusty said he had people waiting to adopt him and even thought there is a moratorium on adoptions the special needs children are proceeding, but Rusty doubted whether the paper work be done in time. We went back to the court yard where candy and glow sticks were handed out to great joy. The children sang some songs to us, one about how God was always with them and cared for them, Right there I wanted to jump up and swear something at God. I knew what the writer of some of the Psalms must have felt like when he shouted "Why God do you forsake your people!". I must say most of the children were healthy and well cared for, but I can't get that little boy out of my mind, with a loving home waiting for him why does he have to suffer there. Teddy with the brightest eyes and long eyelashes also has people waiting for him, and he will probably make it, but why does he have to crawl around building ugly calluses on his feet and knees? Why God why do the little ones have to suffer? They didn't commit any sins, there is no evil in them. I know that this world is fallen, that it is not how God created it, but it still hurts. I have to believe that it hurts God more than it does me, I have to, but it doesn't help. What can I do about a corrupt system that profits on suffering children and doesn't care? What can we do? I wish I knew, but I do know I'm very proud of Rusty and Jamie and the love they show to these children. Please pray, it is the only thing I can think of that can help this horrible situation. Pray that these children can get to loving homes, especially Teddy. By the way it is our 39th anniversary today, one I won't soon forget.
Jack
It is the middle of the night here and I can't sleep. It is hot and humid, but we do have air conditioning in our room that gets the temperature down to the high 70"s, but that isn't why I can't sleep. I have been crying, there I admitted it, I'm a grown man I shouldn't do that. I have been laying here thinking about our visit to an orphanage today. Rusty, Jamie and the boys took us to an orphanage that they regularly visit, I don't want to mention the name because it isn't about that particular orphanage, in fact Rusty says that it is the "Ritz Carlton" compared to most. When we entered the courtyard surrounded by high walls with razor wire on the top we were greeted by 10-15 happy children in clean, if well worn clothes, Gail was the first smiling girl I was introduced to, Rusty said she was deaf. Teddy was the next, I didn't notice at first that he couldn't walk, he walked on his knees dragging his feet behind him, He was smiling and so excited to see Rusty, Rusty had picked him up, that is why I hadn't noticed his handicap at first. After visiting with the kids in the courtyard we went in to see the babies. There were maybe 6 or 8 children there in clean cribs with mosquito nets hanging over them, they seemed quite happy. Jamie and Rusty knew all the kids by name and took time to touch and talk to each one. Then Rusty took me into the special needs room, there were three boys there, two with very swollen heads, Rusty told me the name of the condition, but i can't remember and even if I could I couldn't spell it. The third had "cerebral palsy" Rusty says that is what they call everything that they don't know what the child has. One of the boys with the swollen head was in obvious pain just lying there moaning. He was about 1 1/2 and Rusty said he had people waiting to adopt him and even thought there is a moratorium on adoptions the special needs children are proceeding, but Rusty doubted whether the paper work be done in time. We went back to the court yard where candy and glow sticks were handed out to great joy. The children sang some songs to us, one about how God was always with them and cared for them, Right there I wanted to jump up and swear something at God. I knew what the writer of some of the Psalms must have felt like when he shouted "Why God do you forsake your people!". I must say most of the children were healthy and well cared for, but I can't get that little boy out of my mind, with a loving home waiting for him why does he have to suffer there. Teddy with the brightest eyes and long eyelashes also has people waiting for him, and he will probably make it, but why does he have to crawl around building ugly calluses on his feet and knees? Why God why do the little ones have to suffer? They didn't commit any sins, there is no evil in them. I know that this world is fallen, that it is not how God created it, but it still hurts. I have to believe that it hurts God more than it does me, I have to, but it doesn't help. What can I do about a corrupt system that profits on suffering children and doesn't care? What can we do? I wish I knew, but I do know I'm very proud of Rusty and Jamie and the love they show to these children. Please pray, it is the only thing I can think of that can help this horrible situation. Pray that these children can get to loving homes, especially Teddy. By the way it is our 39th anniversary today, one I won't soon forget.
Jack
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