Something's Awry...

Sometimes I like to challenge the ... how do I say it without using the key words ... the impenetrable curtain that prevents me from enjoying cyber-based social freedom.

How do I challenge it?

By attempting to go to places on "the other side." You see, I'm currently VPN-less. Indefinitely...or, at least until I can afford to renew it. So for now I have to live "on this side."

But the grass is greener on the other side. So today, after seeing a blog in my blog feed (I can read the texts on my google home page but can't get to the actual blogs, can't see the pictures or videos), I decided to click on someone's video. And it attempted to play, then told me that an error had occured.

I was frustrated that my hopes had been lifted, only to be smashed. So I copied the URL and tried to go directly to the video site...which has been on "the other side" for a very long time. And, to my surprise, the page loaded. Not that particular video, but I was able to watch a different video (ironically, a Chris Tomlin one...though not a Lent one). Strange.

FB-still a no-go.

Someone's personal blog- hey, it worked! My own personal blog-hey, it worked too!

So what do I do? Get on my blog and blog about being able to blog! ...but it won't last...something's awry...there must be someone important in town...or someone has left their "desk" for a bathroom break.

Goodbye, greener grass...hope to see you again soon...you look nice. But, you know, grass is just for looking at here...it's not for walking on. ;)

School

One week ago I arrived "home" after spending two weeks in Liberia. I've gone back to my normal day-to-day stuff. And even though my entire life is mnstry-based, it's hard to see the progress made in this type of setting. Short-term trips (esp. in non-sensitive areas) have easier-to-measure accomplishments. So today I want to commemorate what we accomplished in Liberia.

This is the school we helped...their old building. The small building, near the flag pol, is the kitchen where the children eat lunch.

There are 117 students, 57 of them are orphans. The rest come from extremely poor villages nearby. There are five teachers in the school. They've been working without pay for years to help these children receive education that very few in that area have available.

So we bought a piece of land down the road from the current orphanage property and school property.

We had foundations laid.

We bought two shipping containers...

...had them placed on the foundations. SO thankful for the Chinese company down the road who gave us the use of their crane for free (cranes are extremely hard to find, almost impossible to get permission for use if you do find them, and really expensive once permission is granted).

...put a roof on top to cover both containers...

...had a wall built between the containers, forming a large classroom in the middle. Each container was also divided into two rooms (4 rooms total, plus the large central room between the containers): 2 classrooms, 1 library, and a storage room/office.

We had the container cut out, windows & doors welded in place and secured with bars...

...peeled all the letters & numbers off the containers....

...painted...

And then we celebrated...

...from room to room...

Tomorrow (Monday) the school will begin having classes in the new building!

Back to My Favorites :)

One week ago I was shopping for juice boxes and snacks to give to each of the 50+ kids at the orphanage as a celebration/goodbye party at our new school.

So I decided to take a look back at the first day I met my favorite new friends...our first full day in the country. We went to the orphanage, spent some time with the kids, then they walked us through the bush to the garden/farm that we'd sent seeds and agricultural experts to train them how to manage it.

Here's the farm. The oldest kids, along with some adults, help maintain the farm.

The kids showed us around and told us what has been planted in each area: corn, cucumbers, peppers (various kinds), pumpkin, collard greens, okra....and SO much more.

Hot peppers are popular there and grow well. So the orphanage is able to sell some of these to help bring in much needed money for food for the kids.

We had brought stuffed animals for all the kids, which is why you see them all carrying them...and, of course, their new toys had to pose for the camera too!

My buddy decided to show off his tree-climbing skills to pick a Paw paw. Not super flavorful, but every time I was offered a piece, I found myself eating it again.

These are mud bricks, for building. They're a very strong, natural, and economic way for people to build their homes.

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE these kids?!?

The Country

Taking a break from "my favorites" to show some scenery. Sunday afternoons were times for us to go out for a drive to see more of the city.

Here's some random shots from around town.

A bus stop.

This is the road I lived on. It was hard to find at night because there's no lights to see where the road actually is. Our driver missed it a few times.

Here's the not-so-pretty side of town...the not-yet-rebuilt side. Sunday afternoon the streets were empty, but during the week...yikes. Lots of people.

In this part of town, you can still see the marks of years and years of conflicts on the buildings...

...and on the streets. In the last couple years, the major "highways" have started to get redone.

We went to a soccer game one Sunday afternoon in the not-so-pretty side of town. This stadium is a place where people would gather to pr. for peace during the unrest.

Not a ton of people in the stands.

The two teams were both local. One team was made up of members of the church we went to on Sundays.

These are the buildings we looked at if we looked out beyond the stadium.

You can see there's still a lot of rebuilding to be done.

Here's the ocean. Friends have told me that the beaches have just been cleaned up in the last couple years...they used to be really trashed. Literally.

So beautiful!

Next time...more of my favorites! :)

More favorites...

Today I'd like to introduce you to... my cling-on. This boy is not actually an orphan, but lives next to the land that we built the new school on. His father is the principal of the school and really loves all the kids (56 of the 117 students are orphans, the rest come from extremely poor villages nearby). This boy has two younger brothers who also clung to me.

My team leader didn't remember this boy from past trips. At the beginning of the trip he wouldn't even talk. But he would literally fight other kids when they came to be with me...he was so desperate for love and attention. By the end, he would talk with me and was a bit more content with me being with other children.

One day when I came back to the work site after going and getting water for the workers, my little cling-on shouted "Mama's back!" And from then on he called me Mama.

Here's my cling-on and his younger brother. Their youngest brother is about 1 1/2. One day I took these two to the clinic because cling-on has ringworm (look at his forehead in the above photo) and so sick with malaria that he would just lie on the hot cement in the sun. His little brother had a gaping, open wound from a burn and it was dirty and desperately needed proper care and better dressings than we had.

And here's my cling-on in a moment of independence...hard at work. Look at the sweat he's working up! (ok, so he probably spilled water on himself)

And lastly, here's my little cling-on when he found his voice and started talking. He had a lot to say on this day, so I took advantage of it by quizzing him on his ABC's.