Thursday, November 9, 2006

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Today we awoke from a good night’s sleep to the day before the Pastors’ Conference with only a couple of things to get accomplished.  We want to show Matt, Andre, Fanie (pronounced Farnie) and Jan (pronounced like John but with a Y) some of Liberia.  David and Gayla (I keep lumping them together like they are married – but they are actually so much alike that it’s more like siblings) needed some things for gifts back home and the rest hadn’t seen Monrovia.  After that we would go to Providence Baptist for the final meeting of the Pastor’s Committee before the conference and to make sure the electrical equipment was working properly.  At 7:00pm tonight we’ve been invited to dinner with some other guests at the compound and some of the LBTS board members.  Seems like an easy day.

We had a breakfast of oranges, grapefruit, bread with jam, plantains, fruit juice and hot tea/coffee.  We had time to relax and talk, bath and get prepared for our trip into town which was scheduled at 10:00am.  We left with a van and driver from the Compound and headed into Monrovia by the scenic route.  The driver gave us the tourist info on each of the major buildings we passed until we reached the market area.  There we parked and walked by some of the shops.  Elizabeth and Rebekah… I could tell you what your mother bought you but then she’d have to kill me.  The streets were crowded but not like on the weekends.  We stopped by a peanut and spices shop to let Gayla take some photos of the colors and shapes that artsy type people like.  Then we went to some other stores that I can’t mention without the girls know what Gayla got them.  David did some shopping as well and is quite entertaining to watch.  He’s into bargaining now and may soon apply for his immigration permit to Liberia.  (No Karen, I can’t tell you what he got you either.)

Finally the girls got tired of shopping and we went to Providence Baptist.  They have an internet café but it will not let me upload files to the website (I’m doing this one at the Baptist Compound which I just learned tonight had internet access).

The meeting started at Providence and we enjoyed introducing the Crown – Africa team to the Pastors’ Committee.  The Crown guys were impressed just as Gayla, Dave and I had been.  Everything looks good for the conference with only some last minute checks to make sure the sound system and projector was working together.  We finished up around 4:00pm and headed back to the Compound where we lounged around in the heat (it’s starting into the dry season here) until time for the evening meal.  There was a total of 24 people at the dinner and Lincoln had prepared a salad, spaghetti and bread for the meal.  We also enjoyed chocolate cupcakes for dessert.  It was funny watching how much Gayla and Dave enjoyed the meal.  I haven’t experienced it the past two trips but the first two times I was here I began to crave any meal American about 3-4 days before I flew home.  They were both so excited to see what would have been a fairly normal meal back home.  You would have thought that they were eating steak.

The meal finished and I’m sending in the latest of the updates before bed (It’s 11:00pm here now).  Sorry for not getting more pictures up quicker but the internet situation has been horrible.  I hope to get some up of the conference tomorrow night.

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