Saturday in Buchanan

We took a day trip to Buchanan this weekend. I've always heard stories about Buchanan and seen pictures of the beaches, but this was my first visit. We woke up around 5:45am and were expecting the rest of the crew around 6:30am--supposedly there's something magical about being up before the sun and frying bread by candlelight. (Note: I am in NO way a morning person!) After a quick breakfast, Team ORR, plus two friends and a driver loaded up two 4Runners and hit the road.

Buchanan is southeast of Monrovia, and it is the 2nd largest port in the country. To get to Buchanan, you have to drive towards the airport, and go into Firestone, and then back out of Firestone at Cotton Tree, and you stay on that road all of the way to Buchanan. We had heard different things....Buchanan was 1.5 hours away, while someone else said 45 minutes or so. We were also told that the road had been fixed. I was in the car with the Liberian driver...let's just say we hit our heads on the ceiling a few times and felt either carsick or tense often. It took us 3 hours to get to Buchanan, and then another 30 minutes to get to the farthest away, most secluded beach. We actually took a dirt road (and our own jungle road) until it ended at the mouth of the river.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!

We spent the afternoon hanging out on the beach (under our LoneStar umbrella), swimming in the ocean and the river mouth, playing with the village children, reading our books under the shade of palm trees, getting some hammock time...and then there were those who surfed and bodyboarded. I would absolutely love to go back...even a weekend camping trip. I think next time we might not go all of the way to the end of the road because there's a small village right there. Not only did we feel like we were invading, but our R&R was invaded by all of the children who wanted to play. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time playing with the kids, telling them stories, swimming and some even got to take a ride on a bodyboard. But a quiet beach trip is nice too! After changing a flat tire (there always has to be some problem with one vehicle), we headed back into town to get the tire repaired and grab a cold coke. We left Buchanan around 5 and got back to our house around 8. The road was so dusty (and our driver insisted on following sooo closely) that by the time we got home I told Momo that I had gone to Buchanan for the day and turned Liberian. I was covered in dust!! My hair turned into mud when I got in the shower! It was a great Saturday at the beach!

[Jungle road. Stay right at the "sculpture garden".]

[Beach all to ourselves. Where the river mouth meets the ocean.]

[This is what I looked like after only the dusty road from the beach back into town. Imagine what I looked like 3 hours later!]

Gifty Update

I thought that I'd share some pictures with all of you Gifty fans out there! The most recent report is that Gifty is adjusting to life with her new family in the tundra of Wisconsin...much different from life in Liberia, eh? She is happy, healthy, always eating and gaining weight! Her doctors are hopeful that Gifty will get a liver transplant in the next few months. I don't understand how it all works, but she can recieve a partial liver transplant, when and if one is made available. Gifty needs an O+ donor! Please be in prayer with us....that Gifty will continue to thrive and that she will stay healthy while she's waiting for a liver and that a matching, partial liver will be made available. I know Gifty's life has always been in His hands (she's our little miracle), but I also know that when an army of people are praying for a little Liberian girl in Wisconsin, His glory will be revealed when our prayers are answered.

Back On the Ground

Just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely back to Liberia! I got in around 8:30pm last night. The flights were pretty uneventful--except by the time I landed in Brussels I was sick (sore throat, stuffy head, etc.) and by the time I landed in Monrovia my left ear was completely plugged up. I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night, so I ended up taking a 3 hour nap this afternoon. I'm hoping to sleep better tonight!

It's been so great being back with everyone! And it was wonderful last night when the generator went off and (after Debbie and I laid in the dark talking for over an hour) I could fall asleep listening to the crickets and waves crashing! I've been very surprised by the weather--not as hot as I was expecting...it's actually been quite comfortable--I woke up almost chilly this morning!

I'm really looking forward to starting the full on tour on Monday and getting to see all of the kids! Thank you all for your prayers and support!

My Last Night

So, it's been a crazy day. I've been packing and organizing and cleaning. I went and saw Slumdog Millionaire (really good with just pictures showing real life--and I want the soundtrack) There's been tornado warnings all night with softball sized hail (for real! Deb, now I know, when you hear the sirens, you run outside with an onion in one hand and a knife in the other to watch the hail hit your car--I was making collard greens for the family). I had the traditional "last supper" with my family and best friend and her kids (tonight's menu: lasanga, good crust bread, Liberian collard greens [for the fam] and a big glass of cold milk--all things that I can't get in Liberia).
It's 12:30am. The house is quiet (except for my iTunes). My bags are not packed. My room is a mess. I still have to pick up a few things at the store. There are no sheets on my bed. And, I have yet to list on my flight from Atlanta to Brussels.

That's normal for me. The worst packing procrastinator.

Normally, I would stay up til 4:30am packing. Making lists. Checking them twice. And one more time, just in case. But not tonight. I've decided to turn on my electric blanket for the last time. I'll put some fresh sheets on my bed after I post this. And then I'll crawl into my comfy bed for one last night of glorious, deep and quiet sleep. The next time that I will be in a bed, I will be under a mosquito net, (probably) sweating, listening to crickets and waves and car horns. Oh Liberia, here I come!

But, the other day, Debbie sent me an email, and this is what it said:
This should get you through the next week of craziness... just remember HE is waiting for you. :-)

Yes, Koiboy is waiting for me! And I can't wait to scoop him up and give him a big hug and kiss!

Kid Books Recommendations

Time for alittle participation! I have a gift card to Barnes & Noble to get some kid's books for my Love for Liberia Book Drive. I spent over an hour in there today on the floor with some books, and came out with one. I know some of you have already done all of the leg-work....so I'm asking for your help. I'm looking for good books that I can buy for the kids in Liberia that cover topics like: West Africa, Liberia, life in Africa, being special, character building, God's love, being African (ie, like the book Nappy Hair), or just really good, classic kid books (Where the Wild Things Are, Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom) etc.

Here's what I picked up today. I've been meaning to order it off of Amazon, but never did. It was the only book they had in stock that's in my Amazon cart.

Ok, time to cast your votes!!

The Liberian Librarian

That's me.

I spent some time today going through and organizing the first big donation of children's books. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't even think I've told you about the other big donation drive that I've been doing. The kids at my church are doing a children's book drive to send books to the kids in Liberia! They are tying it into their Valentine's Day party and bringing "valentine's" (books) for Liberia. Anyway, after church on Sunday, I picked up about 10 boxes of books from a woman who's office had chipped in and bought books off of Craigslist. Well, now I have 492 books to ship to Liberia!!

Here's a bullentin board that I made at church to advertise for the book drive.

And here are today's books!

And, I swear someone raided my bookshelf from the 4th grade!

Update on Adoptions in Liberia

President Sirleaf gave a State of the Union address this past week and she briefly mentioned the state of the adoption program in Liberia. I am only reposting this because so many people contact me and ask me about adopting from Liberia.

"The gross mismanagement of the adoption program (which aims primarily at placing orphans in homes in the United States), by both Liberian and U.S. personnel in the concerned NGO is the subject of a report by a Special Committee which I appointed for this purpose. Essentially, we have discovered that many of the children in these orphanages are not in fact orphans but children taken from their living parents on the promise of support and a good life in America. Moreover, we found that young children were being sexually abused at some of these orphanages, while others including officials of government, have used the program to extort money from potential adoptors. We have thus suspended the adoption program until laws, policies and proper guidelines have been established and we have asked our concerned friends and partners in the United States to be patient as we try to correct the serious malpractices which exist. We expect the National Social Welfare Policy and National Adoption Act which will be submitted to you during the course of the year, will provide guidance and prevent such abuses in the future."