Ahh chocolate cream pie. I think I had chocolate cream pie for every birthday celebration until I got married and was drawn to the dark side by the likes of cream puffs, cherry pies, German tortes, and carrot cake. The choices were varied and my tastebuds were guaranteed to be satisfied no matter the selection.… Continue reading A Birthday Wish

Some people have penetrating smiles that consist not just of a plethora of pearly whites but of a brightness in their eyes. Olivia, a 10-year old girl who recently came to Deanville, has one. Though her face glows with apparent joy, it belies the difficulties of her short life story. Her mother died of yellow… Continue reading And Yet She Smiles

Every time I come to Liberia I learn something new. Food: A woman sitting in front of her market stall tried to describe some of the items that were unfamiliar to me. Each item is in a small plastic bag about the size of 2 tablespoons. From left to right in this photo: 1) Country… Continue reading God’s Children United Savings Club

As a nurse, my wife loves to watch TV shows that gross me out. These include “Untold Stories of the ER” and “Monsters Inside Me”. It’s the latter program that kept me on edge for the last several days. I was lying in bed Tuesday night, under the mosquito net, and suddenly a small insect… Continue reading Put a bug in my ear

Ah the wonders of “just add water” cooking. I reconstituted some freeze dried peaches and mixed up some Aunt Jemima “Complete” pancake batter for some delicious peach pancakes to start the day. Mmm mmm good! Then off to Ganta to meet my friend Nathan about corn growing and poultry feed. Along the way I asked… Continue reading Tomato Camp

“And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.“ Mark 1:13 On my first solo trip to Liberia in 2015 to begin our school construction, I vividly recall the feeling of walking from the village, being led down… Continue reading Looking Up for Lent

This morning I printed out drawings of the proposed new classroom building and discussed the concept with Sumo. He requested relocation of the current library so we could reassign that room to its original form as a classroom. Then a larger library with an office and storage room could be created in the new building.… Continue reading And on his farm he had some rabbits

This morning Sumo and I finally had some concentrated time together so I could give him his new laptop and go through a brief tutorial on Windows 10. After installing the print drivers and transferring his old documents, he went to work creating a new registration form. While he took this technology test drive, I… Continue reading Stitchin’ and Complainin’

As soon as Kathy and Marsha arrived back in the US, the weather got even hotter and more humid. It rained overnight while I was in Monrovia and my guesthouse windows were open so I returned to puddles under my bed. It rained again last night making the humidity thick. Sleeping is much more difficult.… Continue reading A Visit With Kalalee

Liberia is in a difficult economic situation right now and the prospects for improvement are not bright. The value of the Liberian dollar continues to fall, the availability of Liberian money in the banks is limited, the cost of staples like rice are rising, government workers like teachers have not been paid, wages for workers… Continue reading Chicken Plucking and Lima Beans