A brief update today…
I met my new driver, John 2, at Iron Gate this morning and the day was off to a start with sand hauling. I did some layout work for the bathroom plumbing and got toasted in the full sun today, despite the 30SPF that was reapplied after sweating.
The big surprise for today (as if a day doesn’t pass without one!) was when two gentlemen arrived on their motorbike to tell us to stop hauling sand from their land. Two local guys that provide day labor help for us have also been digging sand from the nearby swamp. These gentlemen wanted it stopped and to not buy the sand that was theirs. I told them the sand had already been purchased (some of it in November) but we would no longer buy from that swamp on their property. They continued the conversation by telling us the school and warehouse are on their property as well…the entire area (410 acres) was theirs and they have been in dispute with LCL over this. The cast concrete cornerstones have “LCL” molded into them so I’m not sure the truth in what they’re saying. Nevertheless, I referred them to the Bishop to work it out because we were assured the land had clear title (one of the criteria included in our MOU). They departed but I’m not sure that’s the last of them.
The good news is I received email authorization for the Lifewater Liberia team to create our hydrological survey report. When I spoke to our contact person, he said they may be able to have it ready by Tuesday so I can pick it up on my return trip from Monrovia. That made my day!
When I got back to the guesthouse, I cooked up some Ramen noodles with veggies, cut up my fresh pineapple, and popped in the “Patch Adams” DVD I found on the bookshelf. While watching, I had a knock on the door and it was Jim Foster visiting. Jim is my mentor on how to navigate construction in Liberia and the man who introduced me to our contractor, Sam Bundo. He’s staying the night at the neighboring Phebe guesthouse on his way north to his next project. We chatted a bit and I tried to absorb some more of his wisdom accumulated over about 12 years of coming to Liberia. It was a short visit because he had other social appointments for the evening but it was great to see him in person (I last saw him in January 2014 but have emailed over the 2 years since.)
Gbarnga Mission | Liberia - West Africa 