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Today looks like another lazy day. We can use it even though we
recuperated from the trip back in yesterday.
Breakfast is our usual oatmeal with honey and granola but we
also have scrambled eggs, bread, jelly and hot tea.
Robert and I spoke by phone yesterday and he’s to come over
sometime this morning to go through items that we are working on. In addition, we have obtained funding
for a full time operations manager to assist Robert in the work that he
is doing with STS.
Oogie
Ogden found and purchased 3 books about Liberia through Amazon.com. They each give a unique perspective of
Liberia and help you to gain historical perspective of the issues that
lead to the 14 years of civil war.
It’s so easy to lose objectiveness when you primarily deal with
only a few people’s ideas about Liberian history. I’ll get the titles and authors and
post them here for you if you’re interested in acquiring them.
I spend most of the morning lounging around and reading. Gayla and Cathy want to go into town to
visit the markets and see if there are items they might bring back that
are uniquely Liberian. So we
arrange for them to go into town with Darlene and Lynn (who’s going to
assist Darlene at the Isaac Davis school). Moses, the driver not the sea parter, will go with Gayla and Cathy to watch over
them (I’m tempted to give him $100 to not take them to the market but
that probably wouldn’t work). So I
feel confident that they will be taken care of. Plus Gayla is getting more and more
comfortable in Liberia. It
generally takes you a few times before you really feel at ease in the
hustle and bustle of Monrovia. So
off they go after giving Fred and I about a hundred instructions of Do’s
and Dont’s.
Finally we will get some peace and quiet… maybe.
Robert calls close to noon and says that he’s on his way
over. So about the time he gets
here it’s time to each lunch and he joins us for a quick bite. Then he and I work through the primary
things that are on our agenda.
They are:
1. The Tear Fund truck auction (just looking to see if
a bargain can be had on a Land Cruiser)
2. The empty container that Livingwater
Canada is buying from us
3. The container due in at the end of this month
(originally due in at the first of the month)
4. Getting the refrigeration container moved to the
Equip lot so we can get some ice production underway.
5. Planning for the 12 Stone mission group arriving
Dec. 27th. Robert and
the board will help to place each person in the area of service that most
interests them.
6. Adding an additional, full time operations manager
to assist Robert with a heavy workload at STS
Robert and I, as always (at least for me), enjoyed our time
together and we decided to go over to the TearFund
office to take a quick look at the vehicles they are auctioning off. While there we hope to make contact
with the LivingWater folks to coordinate their
purchase of one of our empty shipping containers. We also hope to catch the Chapman’s at
home for a quick visit and then spend a few minutes on the beach as Cathy
has never been here and it’s been 4 years for Fred.
Things happened about as planned and we have some pictures
showing the beach and the TearFund visit. We also got to see the Chapman’s new
house which is under construction on the ELWA beachfront. It’s a nice, large home with 5 bedrooms
and a great view of the ocean. I
think they mean to stay. I’m glad
they do.
We decided to head back home and Gayla remembered that there was
a roadside house that sold baskets on the way back. So we stopped there for Cathy and her
to take a look. They ended up
buying some of the large, very shallow woven baskets that are used by
Liberians to separate the rice from its husk. I think they have a name but I don’t
remember it. Anyway, they got a “bargain”
on them and bought a few. Robert
came back laughing because a couple of guys standing nearby wondered
aloud what white American women would do with them since they didn’t have
to grow their on rice. I’m
wondering what they are going to do with them as well but doing it quietly.
We make it back to the Norman’s compound and Robert heads
home. Since we’ve worked so hard
already today we rest a little more and, sure enough, dinner is
ready. Tonight it’s rice with a
fish stew plus plantains and paw paw
baked. I think there was something
else but can’t remember what it was right now.
After dinner Alvina came over and we all visited for a little
while until she returned to the house to do more work that didn’t get
finished at the office.
Other than updating the website I’m about done for the day. Have a good night.
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