HELLO: Helping Encourage Liberia's Little Ones

December 31, 11:30 AM

Yesterday we went to the Trumpet of God Institute with a couple we met at the Lutheran Compound, where we are staying. Eb and Janelle Flomo are the co-founders of HELLO, Helping Encourage Liberia's Little Ones. They invited us to go with them to TOGI to pass out book bags with school supplies for the teachers and Principal Olive.

Janelle is a middle school teacher in Minnesota. She had her students write to the students at TOGI inviting them to be penpals. While we were there, the students wrote letters back to Janelle's students in Minnesota. We took pictures and videos of the students so that Janelle's class can see who their penpals are.

The students in Liberia have a month off of school, from mid- December to mid-January, so they were on vacation when we came. There were only about 50 of the 200 students at TOGI there. The school was nothing like what you would see in America. I cannot imagine having over 200 people in that small space at one time. The classrooms are open, with no doors and open hallways. It is very hot, 90F on average, and they do not have airconditioning.

There were chickens running around the courtyard and into the classrooms. Also, one of the students had a "pet" rodent called a duk. It was wild but Eb told us he was "taming' it to be a pet. One kid was holding it and it seemed content but when the other students would come up and try to pet it or touch it, it would bite at them and make awful noises. It was scary to be close to but it didn't seem to bother them.

HELLO brings paper, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers and other school supplies that we would consider basic. The students' ages are much higher than we would expect for their grade levels. This is because the civil war significantly disrupted their education. HELLO came to this school in 2006; there were some students that were there then and they got up and spoke. In the three years, many of the students had excelled 4 or 5 grade levels.

I found a razorblade on the ground and quickly picked it up so that it wouldn't get into the wrong hands and someone could cut themselves. I found out, this is what they are using to sharpen their pencils! They have children in kindergarten using razorblades to sharpen pencils?

We had a lot of fun helping the kids with their letters and even explaning to them what snow and sledding is. Before we left, Janelle taught them a song, "Come and Go with Me to My Father's House." They then thanked us for coming and some individual students got up and said thanks.

The school motto is, "Building character for a better future." They also had a lot of encouraging phrases painted on the walls; including, "Knowledge is more valuable than silver and gold."

The biggest problem HELLO has is funding. You can visit their website at:

http://www.helloliberia.org/

-bekki

Taking Care of Business

We have been taking care of a few items of business around town. It is interesting to see the people and the city. There are a lot of buildings that were damaged during the war, but there is also a lot of re-building going on. The streets are crowded with people in the open air markets, there are lots of taxis, few buses, lots of people walking. The old is mixed with the new. I saw some brand new John Deere farm equipment on the side of the road, and new gas stations being built. Then, I saw gasoline being sold in glass one gallon jars (like pickle jars) on rickety tables by the side of the road.
I'm about out of battery power on the laptop, so I have to go for now. They don't turn on the electricity (or, current, as they call it) until 7 pm, so I'll have to wait to finish this. See ya!

Greetings from Monrovia!

We are here in Monrovia, staying at the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL) Compound. We arrived on Sunday night from Brussells. We haven't had good internet access, so I'm sorry that I haven't posted for a few days. I'll keep this short to be sure that it gets posted, and then I'll try to add more. Things are going fine. We are trying to get acclimated to the heat and trying to rest up after the trip. We're still not sleeping well at night due to jet lag. So, it's good that we have this time before we head off to the Kuwaa forest. Our Liberian guide, Chris Kowula, met us at the airport. He is the pastor to the Kuwaa people and will be leading us on the trek through the 16 Kuwaa villages.
I'll post this now, before the Internet fails! and, I'll try to get you some photos soon.
Cindy & Bekki

Change of Plans

Mother Nature doesn't always keep our plans in mind. She changed ours on Tuesday. We went up to the airport for a 9:10 am flight, but the airport was fogged in. We didn't get out, so they re-routed us. Actually, it's the same routing, but different timing. We leave today (12/24) at 1:15 pm, go through Minneapolis, and get to Brussels at 2:15 pm on Christmas Day. We have 2 days in Brussels and then fly to Monrovia on 12/27.

The lemons became lemonaide, if you ask me. Christmas in Brussels? Not bad at all. And 2 days to recuperate from that flight before getting on the next one. I like that, too. And the best part was having 2 days at home when everything was already done! A two-day staycation. I made Christmas sugar cookies, had friends over for dinner, Bekki decorated the gingerbread house, and we played Quiddler. I cleaned the house, too, which felt good. I hate to leave a messy house.

The weather looks good for a departure today - darn good, with a temperature close to zero F.

Many Thanks

My thanks to all of you for your prayers, financial contributions, for feeding me and giving me a place to stay during my road trip, for running errands for me, giving me great suggestions, taking care of my cats and my mail, and so much more.

Flight Details

We are approaching the deadline on getting things done before leaving! Yikes! We leave tomorrow, Tuesday 12/22 at 9:10 am from Billings and arrive on Wednesday at 8:20 pm in Monrovia. The time difference is 7 hrs. Here are the flight details:

Blgs-Mpls 9:10 am - 12:08 on Northwest/Compass Airlines

Mpls - Amsterdam 3:25 pm - 6:40 am Wednesday on Northwest / KLM Airlines

Amsterdam - Brussels 9:45 am - 10:35 on KLM Airlines

Brussels - Monrovia, Liberia with a stopover in Abidjan, Ivory Coast 12:00 noon - 8:20 pm on Brussels Air

It sounds like a long flight. I hope we can sleep. Bekki usually has no trouble sleeping, but I don't do as well. I'll be ready for bed when we arrive in Monrovia. Chris Kowula, the Liberian Lutheran Pastor to the Kuwaa people, will pick us up at the airport and take us to the Lutheran Church of Liberia (LCL) Compound guest house. I'm getting pretty excited!!!

Gifts

I am bringing gifts to the Kuwaa people from America. It was fun picking them out and thinking about what they would find useful. I'm a real bargain hunter, and I found some good buys. I'm bringing some binocculars, pocket knives, flashlights, head lamps, bandanas, jelly shoes, and reading glasses.

I will also buy gifts in Monrovia to bring back to the villagers in February and March. I'll get basic needs such as salt, sugar, and chicken boullion cubes. That really brings home how spoiled we are in the U.S. How would we feel to get chicken boullion as a gift? A lump of coal would be better than that. The villagers would probably really like a lump of coal.

I feel blessed

Have I said how blessed I feel having this opportunity? I really am blessed. It is such a wonderful opportunity to help people in need. I had been looking for something like this for a long time. And it is such a great group of people that I'm working with. The people on the Kuwaa Mission Board are great! They have a sense of humor, they're committed to the cause, and they're a lot of fun to be around. I also trust them with my life (and Bekki's).

Thanks to all of you, too, who are following my story. And please keep us in your prayers as we travel, asking for safe travels and good health.

Ngala de na fande.

Kristen is Cat Sitting

Most of you know that I have 2 cats - Kuching and Sassafras. Well, I had been trying to figure out what to do with them while I was in Africa. I can leave them for a weekend, but 4 months is a different story. And, that's way too long to impose upon friends to look after them. Well, I have the perfect situation. My second cousin, Kristen, is stationed in Billings with the Army for a short time. She needed a place to stay, and she loves cats. So, we are roommates! My cousin, Gretchen, on the other side of the family, works with Kristen and she put us in contact with each other. Thank you so much, Gretchen!!!

So, Kristen moved in the first week of November, and the cats love her. She took good care of them while I was gone on my road trip. She will be here until the end of March, and then it won't be long before I'm home.

I am so thankful to have her living here, taking care of the house, and watching the place. We're having a good time together, too. In fact, she's making dinner for me right now! What a deal. I'll do the dishes.

Visiting Jensen's family in Chicago

I had the pleasure of visiting Jensen Seyenkulo, one of the Kuwaa Mission Board Members, in Chicago on the weekend of November 21-22. Jensen is Liberian, and he lived in a Kuwaa village as a child. He moved to the US when the civil wars started. He is a Lutheran pastor, now working at the ELCA office in Chicago. Jensen is married to a Lutheran pastor, Linda Johnson Seyenkulo, and they have 3 kids. I had the opportunity to go to Linda's church with the family, and Linda introduced me to the congregation.

We had a nice visit. They fed me Liberian food and Chicago-style pizza. They're both delicious and altogether different! Jensen recorded some Kuwaa language onto my laptop, so that I can learn a few phrases.

Thanks to Jensen, Linda, and their 3 kids for sharing their time and home with me.

Bethany Lutheran Church, Slidell, LA

I had a wonderful visit on November 15 with the congregation at Bethany Lutheran Church in Slidell, Louisiana. They are the congregation that is sponsoring the Kuwaa Mission. I gave them a short presentation about what we are doing this year.

During the month of January, we will walk from village to village and do an assessment. We need to determine the needs, the best locations for wells and latrines, and the pulse of the villagers. They will need to do a lot of work to get the wells and latrines installed. There are no roads into the villages, so they will have to carry materials on their backs. After we complete the assessment, we will return to Monrovia and report to the Kuwaa Mission Board. They will decide upon our plan. Bekki and Stan will go home at the end of January, and I will return with Pastor Chris Kowula to the Kuwaa Chiefdom. We hope to get 2 wells and some latrines installed.

We are bringing 100 portable water filters to the villagers. We will use the filters to clean the water before we use it, and we'll show them how to use them. They are called Sawyer Point One Filters. They remove bacteria and protozoa, using membrane technology. The filters can be backwashed and re-used, so they will last for a long time. Everything that we do will be low-tech, since the villagers will have to maintain it when we leave. If you would like to buy a filter for a family, send a check to Bethany Lutheran Church and earmark it for filters. They cost $40 each. There is a link at the bottom of my blog to the Kuwaa Mission website, where you can find Bethany's address.

The main thing we want to accomplish this year is to give the Kuwaa people hope for a better future. I am really thankful that I have this opportunity to make a difference in their lives.

Spaghetti

Spaghetti is what I think about the Interstate Highway system. Without my GPS, I would be in trouble. It has been 20 years since I lived in the lower 48 states, and there are a lot more traffic and a lot more roads. I'm suprised at how bad the roads have become. They are so bumpy, especially the concrete insterstates. Some have huge holes in them. I'm glad to see the stimulus money being spent to repair them. And, I have seen lots of construction.

I'm thankful that the weather has been so good. And, I have been able to time my travels to miss big cities during rush hour. I hope the weather holds out until I get back to Bilings.

Traveling in the motorhome has gone well. It's nice to carry my bed along with me. And being able to cook is great. I have had 2 close calls. I stopped at a rest area, and I heard a hissing noise from the back tire when I got out. I called the Good Sam Emergency Road Service, and it was going to cost me $500 to buy a new tire. Along came a truck driver and he aired up the tire, and told me that he thought I could make it the 20 miles into Memphis, because it was a dual tire, on the rear. So, with a prayer, I slowly went into Memphis, where they fixed the tire for $37.05. I'm so glad that I stopped at that rest area when I did, I'm glad I heard that hissing, and I'm glad that the truck driver came along. It could have turned out much worse.

Walking a tightrope

I finally got used to driving the motorhome. It took some getting used to, though. The first hurdle was the radio. I had brought some audio books from the library, to entertain myself during the long drive. I accidentally got the CD player on shuffle, and I couldn't quite understand what was going on in that book!

My biggest hurdle was at a toll booth in Oklahoma. It wasn't really a hurdle, it was more like a tightrope or a balance beam. Yes, most like a balance beam. I came up to an unmanned toll booth to get a ticket, and when I opened my window, I realized that there is a screen on it. That's different. And, no door by the driver. That's different, too. So, I had to go out the side door, as it's the only door to the motorhome. Well, they don't make those toll lanes very wide, and I couldn't even open the door all of the way. There was a 2.5 ft high concrete barrier in the way. I sucked in my gut, squeezed through the door, and stepped on top of the balance beam. I walked along it to the end, jumped off, and got my ticket. Jumping off proved to be easier than climbing back up, but I made it. By that time, there was a long line of traffic behind me at the toll booth. No wonder that people hate motorhomes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
I am at my sister's house in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and we're going to my Aunt & Uncle's house tomorrow for dinner. Of course, we will have turkey and all the fixings. If the weather is good, I'll drive the motorhome up and then head out from there towards home on Friday. However, the weather isn't looking that good. It's been 35 degrees and raining all day, and it's supposed to get colder tonight. That sounds like snow to me. And, I'm not driving the motorhome on snowy roads. So far, I've been lucky with the weather and road conditions (except for bumps).
I hope that you all have a great holiday.

Trinity Lutheran Church presentation in Boulder

I had a wonderful time visiting Don and Karen at their home near Nederland, CO, and on Sunday, I gave a presentation to their church in Boulder. It was at Trinity Lutheran Church, and they had a lot of interest in the mission. I want to thank Don and Karen, Pastor Mark, and all of them for giving me the opportunity to speak to them. Stan Olsen, a Mission Board member from Anchorage, also was there. He had been visiting his brother in Denver and came up for the presentation. Thanks, Stan. He brought me one of the filters that we are taking to the Kuwaa people. I'm impressed that it is so small. It will be easy to carry. And, it removes bacteria, cryptosporidium, and giardia. It's approved by the EPA. I want to buy one for myself. We will take the filters with us and use them while we're there. We have 100 to distribute. That will go a long way towards keeping people healthy. Such a simple thing! It's called a Sawyer Point One filter, and it uses membrane technology.

Boulder, Colorado

I have arrived in Nederland, Colorado, and am staying with my friends from Anchorage, the Lamprechts. What great weather we're having - in the 70s, and their 2 ft of snow from last week is almost gone. I'm glad that I missed that. The trip down went fine, although a little windy. I have climbed to an elevation of 8650 ft, so it's downhill from here.

Tomorrow I will give a presentation about the Kuwaa Mission at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Boulder. Then, I'll be on the road again. They are expecting another storm on Sunday night, and I need to miss that. Maybe the wind will blow me right to Oklahoma.

Road Trip

I'm leaving tomorrow on a road trip to raise funds for the Mission. I bought a motorhome (since I don't own a home any more!), and I'm driving it to Louisiana and places in between. The organizing congregation of the mission is in Slidell - across Lake Pontchatrain from New Orleans. I'm giving a presentation on this Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, at the Trinity Lutheran Church. My friends, Don and Karen Lamprecht, set that up for me. Thanks, Don & Karen! I'm looking forward to seeing them. The weather has been great for the last few days, and most of their snow has melted. This area of the country had snow very early - the first week of October. But in the usual fashion, it has melted already. It's supposed to be 70 deg. tomorrow. A great day to start a road trip! I don't know when I'll have Internet access again. I plan to spend the night tomorrow at Walmart in Casper, Wyoming. But, I will catch up with you again. Please pray that I have safe travels.

Supplies

I have been busy acquiring the supplies that we will need in the bush. One thing is a mosquito net. I found one at the Army Navy store in Billings. I also got some light weight, water proof, breathable backpacks for both Bekki and I. The backpacks we have are more book bags and probably not tough enough to withstand the trip. We will be walking between villages, through the tropical forest. I'd better get some more mosquito repellant, too. And sun screen. I have a hat and some sun-blocking clothing from Orvis and Eddie Bauer. It's strange to think that not all clothing is sun-blocking. I'll know more about that when we get back.

Pin Cushion

I got the rest of my shots yesterday: typhoid, tetanus-diptheria, and measles-mumps-rubella. I feel like a pin cushion. But I think that's all the shots I need, unless the doctor recommends more.

Getting shots

So, I have been getting prepared to go to Africa. There are a lot of shots required. I got the yellow fever shot. It made me a little sick, but not as bad as H1N1 flu. I mean the flu, not the shot. I still need a few more. I have to plan when I want to be sick from a shot. It's hard to plan a time to be sick. I have other priorities than being sick. Have to do it some time, though.

Hi there!

Hi there!

I'm starting a blog to let you know about my upcoming trip to Liberia, Africa.  I am leaving on Dec. 22 and will help some remote villages in the Kuwaa region develop potable water and sanitation facilities.

Cindy