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.