Gbarnga Mission | Liberia – West Africa

Without much of an agenda on a Saturday, the day seemed to pass slowly.  I had an unexpected visit from Rev. Weekie and Sengbey. The discussion started with an invitation to join them so I could be introduced at their LCL District meeting (9 parishes) just a walking distance away on the Phebe compound. The… Continue reading Guests at the Guesthouse

A six inch long “thousand legger” in my bathroom. Two rows of “army ants” crossing my path in the bush. Picking “fire ants” off my clothing near the property. Just a few of the special friends I encountered today. My wife, Kathy, may not like snakes but, walking in to take a shower and being greeted… Continue reading Earth, Wind & Fire Ants

First, some GPS coordinates for you…This is where I’m staying in Phebe (7° 1′ 32.12″N, 9° 33′ 6.67″W). This is where the property is (7° 1′ 12″N, 9° 30′ 25″W). Second, I have not been able to send emails since the weekend (I can receive fine, but outgoing emails are blocked). My theory is Verizon… Continue reading Week 1 – Charge, Rinse, Repeat

I just got an email and was able to direct my Thrivent Choice Dollars to Gbarnga Lutheran Mission Project, Inc. while sitting Africa…it’s that easy. If you’re a Thrivent member, go online www.thrivent.com and do it today! I had $21 which doesn’t seem like much but to me it’s 4 cases of bottled drinking water while I’m… Continue reading Direct your Thrivent Choice Dollars to Gbarnga Mission 

Last night was a rather restless night with intermittent sleep after not feeling well from my dinner.  One of my Liberian “friends” kept me visiting the bathroom. By noon I felt fine but took Imodium anyway to prepare for the 3 hour ride from Monrovia to Phebe where I’m staying tonight. Although I didn’t each… Continue reading Gbarnga or Gbust

A sunny Tuesday morning…yahoo.  I’m trying my new Kpelle on the cooks and they all laugh…I’ll spell it phonetically for you: ya-TOOO-ahh (hello to just one person), ka-TOOO-ahh (plural hello to a group of people), ya-OOOON (good morning…and again if you change the “ya” to “ka” it becomes plural).  Give it a try when you… Continue reading Culture Clash

It was a beautiful sunny day in Monrovia today.  I tried out the GPS coordinates on my iPhone and found it to be within 100′ of where I am actually sitting in my room (go to Google Earth and cut/paste this 6 17.23′ N, 10 46.58′ W and it will zoom right into the LCL compound). Surprise…I… Continue reading The Ministry of Finance cha-cha-cha

This evening’s sleep was punctuated by extreme bolts of lightning…followed of course by the rumble of thunder.  Ear plugs and functioning air conditioning after changing rooms helped me have a great sleep. Breakfast offered more conversation about sustainable development over rolls, hard boiled eggs, and PB&J. Around 10:30am I donned my yellow raincoat and walked… Continue reading Worship at St. Peter’s and lunch with Naomi

After breakfast, I was picked up by Albert who was tasked with driving me on my errands.  First stop was the fancy hotel across from St. Peter’s Lutheran Church where we got a new SIM card for my iPhone 5s that afforded me 24 minutes of international calls for 50¢, 2 gigs of internet data,… Continue reading Saturday errands and dinner at Rev. Dowah’s

The final leg of the flight to Monrovia went very quickly and we arrived 30 minutes early.  Upon landing and “deplaning” (I never understood that term…are we no longer “planing”?) we walked down the stairs and onto the rain-soaked tarmac, loaded into a bus, and drove to the terminal. Before entering, all passengers were greeted… Continue reading Arrival in Monrovia – Breakfast with Reinhard