Our first block training session started yesterday morning with 27 participants. Simon did a good job of beginning with the safety basics, overview of major machine components, and soil selection. Shortly after this, my stomach went into hyperdrive and I needed to leave the work site. So my only blog contribution is the few photos I… Continue reading Training Begins

Saturday seemed to fly by with project work and assisting James Woods make contact with the local villagers with whom I was friends. He has enlisted one of the boys, coincidentally named James, to be his guide and carry his personal possessions through the bush. Both Jameses appear to be enjoying each other’s company. Another woman… Continue reading Cultural Mea Culpa

A small photo gallery of beautiful kids (except one…you’ll know him when you see him). Click the images to scroll through…

Yesterday I drove to Monrovia (solo ride!) and, after loading a truck-full of supplies, met James Woods at the LCL Compound.  He had not eaten lunch yet, so I dropped him off at a small restaurant he knew on 15th St. and Payne Ave. while I went around the corner to purchase a tarp as… Continue reading Amphibious Anatomy

The workers brushing the land by the school foundation have been bantering with me that they need “cola nuts” to keep working hard. I remember back in October this same topic came up as I learned this was a tradition among laborers to receive cola nuts from the “boss man”.  They also told me they needed… Continue reading Seven years bad luck?

It’s that time again to direct your Thrivent Choice Dollars. If you have an insurance product with Thrivent Financial (you know who you are!) please call Thrivent (800-847-4836) or login to your http://www.thrivent.com account and choose Gbarnga Lutheran Mission Project, Inc. to receive your Choice Dollars.  I just did mine from Liberia…you can do it… Continue reading Thrivent Choice Dollars

Internet problems require me to make this brief…photos have been difficult to load…here goes: >  The blockmaking machine made it safely to its new home with a crowd of workers needed to unload it from baby Foton. >  Sand and lumber hauling continues….endlessly. >  More people have been hired to clear land around the school… Continue reading Brief Update-Intermittent Internet

I’d like to say it’s hard to believe but it’s not…the block machine did, in fact, arrive around 1:00pm instead of by 10am.  The trick was that it was in a big wooden shipping crate on a semi-truck without a fork lift.  I presented Albert with this query and his response was, “This is Africa,… Continue reading We pick things up & put things down

At 5:30 this morning I drove through a fog so thick it felt like I was passing through a large batch of “fufu” (a big dumpling-like Liberian food made from ground cassava).  I could hardly see a thing. I met John 2 at Iron Gate and we were off to Monrovia. It was an uneventful… Continue reading Bong County vs. Grand Bassa

The last few mornings have been cool which has resulted in a very heavy fog (they call it “dew”) blanketing the area. On these mornings it’s been around 65°…t’s been averaging in the low-70°s in the morning and mid-80°s in the afternoon.  Being only 7° north of the Equator, a full sun day makes me toasted pretty… Continue reading Measure Twice, Lay Blocks Once