12 Days: Countdown to ELWA

Two weeks from today I'll be at ELWA.

Last I heard, I'm going to be staying at this house, known as the Weber house.  The ocean is right behind whomever is taking this picture so I will sleep and wake to the sound of waves on the beach.   There is no air conditioning.  

I have had a pretty productive weekend....  

• Hobby Lobby is working with me on sewing supplies for the orphanage and two generous people have promised to send me money to help pay for it.  I'm hoping to collect a little more money to buy some baby and children's clothes for the orphanage, also.   
• I made a haul at the ARC and Goodwill for some traveling clothes that I will be able to leave at ELWA.  I'm planning on not bringing anything home that could be used in Liberia.
• I bought a bunch of fun little stuff at the Dollar Store to carry with me to give as gifts to children as opportunities come up.
• I balanced my checkbook and found that I'm while essentials for the trip are covered, there is no excess.  So from this point on, I won't be able to purchase anything else to take with me unless I receive money gifts.   This is all in God's hand.  I'm grateful for what I have been able to do and will be blessed if I get to do more!
• I got a good laugh when Toto's "I Miss the Rains Down in Africa" came on in one of the stores as I was shopping.
• Of course, I had to do some housework because those needs never quit.
• I ordered a small fan from Amazon.com that works both with batteries and with electricity and weighs only 3 lbs.  The D batteries needed to run the fan weigh more than the fan itself!

Please pray that my Passport and Visas will come tomorrow.  That is my biggest concern at this point.  Also pray as I prepare spiritually--that I will have mind and heart prepared with a sound answer for every question and an encouraging message for every opportunity that comes up.

A little history:  ELWA, where my family lived from 1963-1975, was a compound of around 50 expatriate families from around the world.  The main function of the compound was the Radio Station: ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa).  

My dad had his own program called "Talk with the Pastor"  Here he is dressed in Liberian clothes.

 More ELWA/Liberia history next time....

I have been thinking a lot about Brenna, my grandbaby who is due right about the time I leave for Africa.  I think it would be so special if she came a tad early on my birthday!   But most of all, I want her to be born on the exact day that God has ordained just for her.  If that means she is born when I am gone, so be it.  As much as I want to be able to participate in her birth, I trust God's perfect timing.  And even though my grandma's heart is pretty tender in this area, I refuse, for Katie's sake to ask God to hold Brenna's birth until I get back!   

Ben, Katie and Ella--all ready to become a family of four!

....and I always have to leave off with an ocean view.

This is the area of the beach that was most popular.  I circled what we called "Diving Rock."  (I hope I have this right--my memory is a little fuzzy.)  At low tide, the water level was below the top of the rock.  At higher tides, we would get up on the rock, get a toe hold and see who could stay on the longest as waves kept rolling and crashing in one after the other...    Maybe two weeks from today, I will stand on that rock again....oh wait, no swimming on Sunday, right?   (We were missionaries, after all....)

....just passing through....

Robin