After One Week

Tomorrow night marks one week of being back in Liberia. Even though I spend 11 out of the 12 months of the year in this country, there are still things to get used to after spending a few weeks at home!

My time at home was fantastic! I had a blast seeing family and friends, being able to do some traveling to Cancun with my family, even being snowed in at Christmas! It was definitely cold while I was home, but the snow was so beautiful, and such a drastic change from the humidity I'm used to in Liberia. Pictures soon to come.

My flights back to Liberia all went well- no delays, no interruptions at all! I kept thinking how much it differed from my trip back last year, when I was stranded in Lagos, Nigeria for 22 hours. I arrived to a temperature in the mid 80's... laced thick with humidity! Unfortunately that humidity didn't disappear once at my house, since our air conditioning had been broken for over 3 weeks. No AC means not only hot sleeping quarters, but moldy clothes in the closet! But all is fixed now, and we're hoping it lasts a lot longer this time.

Jet lag was definitely an issue this time, which is not something I usually struggle with. Two nights in a row I was up until 3:30 or 4:30... extremely frustrating, but I was able to get a lot of work done during those times! I've been able to sleep through the night for 2 nights now, so I should be back on schedule.

Monday was officially my first day back in Liberia... I didn't go into the office so I could unpack at home and get re-organized before the chaos began. I was outside of my house when a man on the beach started jumping and yelling, "JONI! JONI! WELCOME!" The sun was directly behind him, so I couldn't tell who it was- I looked at our security guard and asked, "who is that guy?" He was also unsure, but by his enthusiasm, I was certain I should recognize him. As he got closer, my excitement dropped. It was Eric, a man who had first visited me in December,as I was trying to relax and have some time to myself on my front porch. I had been reading in the hammock when he and his teenaged daughter were two feet in front of me, watching. (Where are the security guards now???)

Really wanting and needing a time of relaxation, the temptation to not look up from my book was there, but I put my book down to hear a story that seems to be all too familiar. Eric began to explain how he didn't have a job, and his two girls were unable to return to school unless their school fees were paid. He had no funds to cover this, he could barely make his 800LD ($10 US) a month rent of his 2 roomed house. "I beg you Ma, please help my daughters go to school. I have nothing to give them."

Feeling bad for his daughters, and knowing how important education is for an African girl, I went and got the money to pay for their school fees (usually I don't give in to complete strangers, but I was feeling generous that day). The following day I left for my homeleave in Iowa.

Monday, January 18, Eric was back. He welcomed me back to Liberia, and again asked for a job and something to help the girls. He spoke about how he had to give the girls a dollar each morning in order for them to pay their transportation to and from school, and with that, he had no money for food. He honestly didn't know where the next meal was coming from.

That is when it hit me. The drastic difference between home and Liberia. Never once at home did I not know where my next meal was coming from, or hear parents talk about how keeping their kids home b/c of no money for education. The big worries I heard were about mortgages, not that it wasn't affordable, but that it was there. About 4 bedroom houses being too small, about needing upgrades on cars. North Americans (myself included) are ignorant on how incredibly blessed we are. Granted, we know we are blessed, but we don't have a full understanding at all. I think that we take it for granted.

(I am reading the book "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert- shedding light on how to properly care for those in need, since in most situations just giving them money is actually hurting them more... more thoughts on that later)

It was like a sock in the gut after such an enjoyable time at home, where I let all the comforts we have sink in deep, and thoroughly enjoyed them all. It was a slap back in to reality, and how the majority of the world really lives.

Wednesday, January 20, I walked to the office at 6:45 am to prepare for our trip to Robertsport for an Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Distribution. I was asked to photograph it for our Ministry team. Time of departure was 7 am. But our vehicle was no where to be found. Turns out, one of our staff took it home for the evening (our expats take them at night to go home and back to the office) and wasn't expecting to be at the office until 8 for our morning devotions. Since we had to drive for 2 hours, photograph and return before 1:00, we didnt have much time to spare. So we planned for a vehicle swap- take a vehicle from the yard and swap it at her house at 7 so we can leave on time. Except the vehicle in the yard wouldn't start. So there we sat waiting. At 7:50 the car showed up and we piled in. Traffic was a bit heavy so it took longer to arrive from what we were anticipating. Boakai had been calling the lead pastor in Robertsport to check on how they were doing. His answer every time was, "Everything is great and ready to go!"

We arrived at 10:15 and parked along the street. But I didn't hear the usual cheers or laughter of hundreds of children that I usually do at OCC distributions. We walked up to the church and there were stacks of boxes, and about four pastors.... and no children.

Boakai's first question to the pastors was, "where are the children?" They all looked at each other and didn't say anything.

The lead pastor turned to Boakai and said, "I'm confused by your first question of "Where are the children?"

With no possibility of a distribution happening that day, we loaded back up and headed back to Monrovia.

At least I got a nap on the way home. :)

This too, is Liberia.