Debriefing.......Part 2

Well, it's been quite an interesting couple of weeks -- lots of ups and downs -- I feel like a yo-yo, emotionally.  Enjoying sweet little Brenna, hearing about extended family health issues, Annie and Garret getting engaged, my boss whom I love and respect announcing her resignation, spending the day with my mom in the hospital, good enrollment numbers at work, my car in the shop for expensive repairs......up and down and up and down..... 


I've tried to blog several times but have realized that blogging is no fun unless I'm inspired and not over-tired.


I'm still experiencing a special after-glow from my trip.  As more and more pictures are uploaded by others who were there with me, I get the warm fuzzies every time I can say "I was there, too."  "I touched that."  "I saw that with my own eyes."  


So.......Monday


Sunday night, my body shut down before it was bed time, but that was the only jet lag I experienced for that trip.  Spending the night in Ghana with Lee and Michelle probably helped.   My feet swelled up pretty nicely -- they took about two days to reduce to their normal size.  


Monday morning after a light breakfast of Nene's quickbread and fresh fruit from Christine Norman, we connected with ---oh shoot, I can't remember her name--- she was helping with the festival, trying to compile a list of local pastors in an Excel spreadsheet and was having trouble.  I was able to do some formatting and fixing.  Then Kevin, Sally and I were able to finish up all the data entry over the next few days.


Right after lunch, I moved from Kejr's into the guesthouse so I could be with the team more.  It was a hard decision because I so enjoyed Carol's company and hospitality on Sunday.  But it was the right decision....


My new room was air conditioned which was nice, but I did miss listening to the ocean like I did on the first night -- you can see pictures of the room at http://s1103.photobucket.com/albums/g474/Eaglemomo/ELWA%202011/ELWA%20People%20and%20Places--March%202011/ELWA%20Guesthouses/
It had bunk beds, a single bed and a full-size bed.  The bed frames were simple wood platforms with 2-inch pallet mattresses.  I was alone in the room one night, then Judy Thompson was my roomie the rest of the time I was there.  Our other roomies were a cockroach who only showed himself once and several spiders of various colors and sizes.  I strung a clothes line between the closet door and a random nail in the concrete wall.  I happened to be right in front of the air conditioner which helped our wet swim suits and towels actually get mostly dry over night.  We all had quite a bit of cash with us, as credit cards are pretty useless in Liberia.  I stuffed my money under the mattresses to hide it.   The bathroom, which we shared with several other guests, was right across the hall.  Sometimes there was toilet paper---sometimes not.  The door didn't latch -- there was a bent nail that held the door shut, but anyone who tried could peek through the gap between the door and the door frame if they wanted to.  I never knew if the door was actually going to stay shut as I noticed it standing open at times with other guests were showering.  Ok, so I didn't go to Africa to protect my privacy!!  :-)   (All in all, a better bathroom than my favorite campgrounds here in Colorado.)  One evening, I heard a lady's shrieks in the hallway and found John Schindler trying to trap and catch a crab that had frightened a guest in the bathroom.  (See a picture of a similar-looking one at http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/05/30/ghost-crabs/)   He had a bucket and was trying to trap the crab, but if you've ever tried to catch a crab, you can imagine the scene!!  He tried to convince her that the crab wouldn't hurt her and she should just ignore it, but she was not about to share her bathroom with that crab.  I grabbed my blue plastic fan (a gift from Carol Kejr that I used A LOT during the week) and gave it to John who used it to scoop the crab into the bucket.  It was missing only one or two legs at that point.  The morning I left, a pretty friendly and, may I say handsome, young crab shared my morning shower time with me.  I let him keep his legs.


The guesthouse I stayed in was my friend, Karen, home as we were growing up.   The Ackley's living room was a huge room where we kids spent many hours playing board games (Risk and Monopoly).  We also had hymn sings and Christmas carol sings and piano recitals in that room.  Every time I went into the kitchen, I thought of Aunt Sadie...her famous cinnamon rolls, her joyful countenance and her gracious hospitality.  The back part of the house has been remodeled but from what I could remember, I tried to figure out where Karen's room had been--where we had sleepovers and played Barbies.  Karen's dad, Uncle Pete, who just recently went home to heaven, used to give hair cuts on their large back porch.  That porch is not nearly as big as I remember it, but I can still see Uncle Pete and their dog (General, a black Basenji, if I remember correctly) on that porch.  I could also envision the bamboo thicket that used to stand beside the garage and the rubber industrial tank that we used as a swimming pool at one time.  It was sort of surreal at times to be in Karen's house -- still familiar and a happy place even after 36 years.


Back to Monday...


After moving my stuff into the guesthouse, I went for a swim.  The beach line looked and felt very much the same, but has eroded back several feet exposing rocks that were never there before.  


We had a wonderful supper of Greens, Palm Butter and Eggplant stew hosted by Steve and Carol Kejr and Will and Jenny Elphick (SIM Country Director).  Cork Loken and Alan Shea were able to join us---(they had been working at Bethesda.)  Steve shared some ELWA history--things he lived through during and after the war.  Then Will shared his vision for ELWA and some encouraging stories.  I was so touched by these two couples who are sacrificing for the sake of ELWA and SIM in Liberia.  Steve Kejr is a quiet hero.  I believe ELWA might not even exist today if not for Steve.  I look forward to hearing more from Will and Jenny.  I wish I had had more time to spend with these very special people.


After supper, we were to have a festival meeting at Kendeja, a beautiful resort just up the beach from ELWA.   (Check it out at http://www.rljkendejaresort.com/)   In my very first post, I noted the contrasts I saw in Liberia.  Kendeja is not too far from the orphanage I visited.  A beautiful, modern, exclusive resort so close to a place where children live and learn in the most basic, bare necessity conditions.   -----has given me much to think about.....    
After the meeting, which ended up not being much of a meeting, Dan and John Morris and I visited the internet cafe.  We were there for 2.25 hours and I was able to send two emails, and never able to log on to Facebook.  There a picture at http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g474/Eaglemomo/ELWA%202011/Monrovia%20and%20Liberia/220Monday--InternetCafe.jpg.  It was HOT!  and the computers were SLOW!!  But it was a fun experience.  I decided that email and facebook wasn't that important.  I got a cheap phone and decided my time and money was better spend making phone calls home.


Well, another day recorded for posterity!
More soon!


----just passing through.....
Robin

Debriefing.....Part 1

Well, I've been home for six full days:  unpacked, two days of jet lag, went back to work, did some laundry and cleaning, and welcomed my second granddaughter, Brenna Lynn, into the world. After resigning myself to probably missing Brenna's birth, I ended up getting to see her less than an hour after her birth.  She is precious, beautiful -- a genuine gift to this family.


I'm working on getting my pictures labeled---it's a slow process.


So how do I begin to tell about my trip?  I guess I'll just start at the beginning...


Friday-Saturday:  
I left Colorado Springs at 6:30am, flew to Atlanta, then to JFK (New York).  I missed my flight at JFK but with Delta's help, was able to book another flight at no cost.  So I took a detour through Amsterdam and ended up spending the night in Accra at Lee and Michelle Sonius' home.   Thanks, Lee, for transporting me to and from the airport and thanks, Michelle, for your hospitality and homemade granola for breakfast!


Sunday:
Although Delta had promised that my luggage was checked all the way through to Liberia, I decided to check again in Accra, just in case....   Sure enough, there were my suitcases, sitting all by themselves in the baggage claim area.  I checked them in and paid for the 8kg overage---not bad.


As we landed at Robertsfield Airport in Liberia, I found myself a little emotional...  I was realizing a dream---something I've wanted to do for 15 years!!  


I had just stepped up to immigration when an airport official walked up to me and asked me if I was Robin.  He then escorted me through the rest of the process in the airport and outside to where Dan Snyder and Steve and Carol Kejr were waiting for me.  (Dan had arranged for my special escort.)  


I feel like my eyes were popping out of my head as we drove away from the airport.  So much to see.  Some familiar scenery---some very unfamiliar.   We drove around the ELWA compound slowly while Dan, Steve and Carol told me about each house.  Most of ELWA was immediately familiar to me.  I had to laugh, though, that so much was smaller than I remembered.   Either ELWA shrunk, or I got older.  


After having a lunch of palm butter (Liberian food) and rice and getting settled in my room at Kejr's house, Dan and I went swimming -- ELWA beach!!  My childhood playground; one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!  We connected with Walter Bliss and Alan Shea and Steve _____ (Alan's friend from his church) as we swam.  It was great to talk to Walter and compare our experiences.  Steve and I let Alan and Dan swim out to the reef.  As I drifted in the ocean, I kept looking up toward the familiar row of houses that line the beach road thinking "I'm at ELWA!  I'm really, truly, actually here at ELWA swimming in the ocean!!"


After my swim, I enjoyed a wonderful long talk with Carol on her front porch.  After a little supper, I lost my battle with my body clock and headed to bed to sleep to the sound of the ocean.


Wow...I only got through Day 1 at ELWA.  I guess there's going to be a part 2, 3 and maybe 4.  


As for now, I must get to bed.  My body clock is still a little off and I get the sleepies about 8:30 every evening.
More soon...


Just passing through....
Robin