I have been here in Ethiopia for the past week. We arrived from Liberia friday night about 10:30 pm. We left at 6:00 am from Liberia. Once again we had a challenging time at the airport. Thankfully, we were there early. They don't have computers! The airline personal tells me that she can not find me on the list, shoves me the paper to show me that I am not on the list. I find my name, then she claims my ticket number is wrong. She does decide to process me, the line behind is growing. Finally, it looks like everything is done and we realize she only checked us to Accra not Addis Abba. Fortunately, our luggage hadn't been sent on the conveyer. The baggage tickets were changed and we easily make it through Immigration. The plane ride over is in a small commuter plane.
When we arrive in Accra, we have to get our boarding passes for Addis Abba. The computers are down in Accra so it is open seating on the plane. We were fortunate to get seats close to what had originally been assigned and we both had aisle seats. The lady who was in the window seat in my row was really strange. I was relaxing in my seat when all of a sudden I realized that someone was crawling over me. Instead of asking me to get up to let her get out she just thought she should crawl over me. I had to tell her that it was okay to ask me. To top it all off, after they finish serving dinner and come through with something to drink, she decides to go to the bathroom. Here I am juggling my tray. I think the flight attendants trapped her in the back. I was able to finish my dinner. It was a 5 hour flight to Ethiopia. There is a 3 hour time change from Liberia, bringing us in to Addis at about 9 pm.
It is the New Year, 2005. Ethiopia has 12 months of 30 days and the 13th month is 5-6 days depending on leap year. The year ranges lasts from 7-7 and a half year difference from the Gregorian calender.
In Addis they do not allow you to leave the airport without X raying your luggage. We get through Immigration. A friendly Nigerian chats with us along the way. We get 3 pieces of our luggage, the 4th the heaviest and largest piece did not come with the other 3. Elaine gets someone to check and fortunately the 4th piece is located.
It is a long line to get our luggage xrayed. You can guess which bag they want us to open . Elaine and I were carrying in 100 pounds of curriculum to Ethiopia. It was 10:30 by the time we got to the hotel.
The next morning we were picked up by the Village director to go to the village outside Mojo which is about a 2 hour drive in horrible traffic. It was worse than 2 years ago. The roads are not to great.
The country side is beautiful. It is the end of the rainy season and everything was in it 's prime. Ethiopia is very beautiful outside the city.
I really love the Village here in Ethiopia. The children are thriving. They have 45 children and 5 being processed for admission. There are 5 national mamas and 5 substitute mamas. They are very blessed here to have good national employees who are becoming more indepentant in there jobs. They have an excellent dependable head cook, kitchen staff and housekeepers as well as a strong dependable National as an assistant director.
I celebrated my 70th birthday here in Ethiopia. September 27 th is a national holiday, celebrating the "true cross" or Meskel. It also is the end of the rainy season.
On Wednesday, everyone gathered outside and they burned a cross. Seriously, this is part of the celebration. It has something to do with the finding do the cross that Christ died on.
Thursday , there was the coffee ceremony. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. The ceremony consist of roasting then grinding the beans and finally boiling them. The coffee is strong, it is sweetened with sugar and served in smaller than demitasse cups. Popcorn is also part of the ceremony.
The children were all dressed in the traditional garments. They did several skits and then invited Elaine and I to come to the front. Each cottage had made a picture to present to us. A special blessing.
We had dinner with one of the ROS family, I even had a candle. I will remember this very special 70th birthday.
We are back in Addis for the night. We are in our same room. They were going to put us on the 4th floor, but we requested the same room. We laughed because we had music from the bar till 10 pm. At least it was pleasant to listen to.
The traffic in the city was really bad, 3 cars driving where it is 2 lane. They were also doing a lot of construction.
It is the 29th here and this afternoon we will be at the Missions to the World Guest house. We have no idea what we will be doing but we are ready for our next adventure.
The line to have our luggage xrayed is long. Elaine and I are carrying in 100 lbs of curriculum in to Ethiopia. You can guess which piece they wanted us to open, the heaviest. We finally get to the hotel around 10 pm. We are pretty tired to say the least.
The next morning we are picked up for the 2 hour trip to the village. Did I say that Monrovia had bad traffic?
The countryside is beautiful. It is the end of the rainy season here, everything is lush and green. It is the height of the season. We had a rainstorm come through on Sunday, but we have had beautiful weather here. This is a huge contrast from Liberia .
The children here are precious. They are healthy and thriving . They now have 45 children with 5 more being processed to come in. There are 3 cottages of boys and 2 cottages of girls. They have 5 national mamas.
This is my favorite village. It is a thriving village. They have been blessed with good workers who are requiring less and less direction.
I celebrated my 70 th birthday here. The 27th is a national holiday. It is the celebration of the "true cross" or Mesker.
Now, Elaine and I have 100 pounds of school curriculum for Ethiopia, we get all our luggage through the Xray. You can guess which one they want to have us open.
We spent the night in Addis in same room we always get when we are here. It is clean and comfortable and we are tired.
The next morning we do some shopping and about 10:30 we are picked up to take us to the village. The Village director takes us to a nice place to shop, we have lunch at our favorite restaurant before leaving Addis. It is a 2 hour drive to the village. Did I say Monrovia was bad?
Other than the traffic, it is beautiful in the countryside. It is the end of the rainy season, everything is lush and green. The contrast is stark from Liberia.
The week is spent doing physicals on the children and staff. The Ethiopian children are thriving and joyous. They have grown a lot since we saw them 2 years ago. They have 45 children. I love being at this village.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Monrovia
Last night it rained and rained and it was still raining this morning. Today was a trip to Monrovia to evaluate a couple of boys for the orphanage. The rained stopped so the drive in was okay. We didn't have to navigate the large pothole.
The traffic makes the list of the second worst I have been in, Uganda was the worst. It is amazing there were not any accidents. People are just stuffed into the taxis. There was this small car that must of had 14 men it. They were 8 in the back seat. The double lines that divide the roads are used by the motorcycles both ways.
The city of Monrovia is crowded and dirty. The streets are narrow. Everything is black from the mold due to the high humidity here. Some of the buildings have been painted. I 'm told they have to do this every couple of years. There are nice areas, but this is basically a slum. I have seen bad areas but nothing like this. The city is coming back from the destruction of the war. The locals say it has improved over the last couple of years. For me it is hard to imagine it worse. There are some markets and craft areas which were non existant a few years ago. There are many United Nations people living here. We did stop at a grocery store that was full of American type groceries.
One thing I really miss is the fresh fruits and vegetables.
In all this poverty there is a bit of humor. I am convinced that if I bought a lottery ticket here I would have a good chance of winning the chicken feet or the wings. One of the prizes was a case of Heineken Beer or some rice. I tried to get a picture of the sign but only got half of it.
When we got home we got another deluge of rain and temporary waterfront property. The rainy season will be ending soon and then it becomes hot and dry. I n many ways this is better then when the temperatures are triple digit.
Emotionally, this was tough day. It is hard to imagine what the Liberians have been through with the war and rebellion, the poverty . The world they live in is what someone called "peaceful unrest.". The President here is an American educated Liberian . Her name is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. They say she is working at bringing the country back. As in so many countries, corruption is high.
Tomorrow , we leave for Ethiopia, with the still very heavy luggage. We are praying that they will not hassle us. We can carry 30 kilos, I have over 40.
We will overnight in Addis Abba before heading to Mojo.
The traffic makes the list of the second worst I have been in, Uganda was the worst. It is amazing there were not any accidents. People are just stuffed into the taxis. There was this small car that must of had 14 men it. They were 8 in the back seat. The double lines that divide the roads are used by the motorcycles both ways.
The city of Monrovia is crowded and dirty. The streets are narrow. Everything is black from the mold due to the high humidity here. Some of the buildings have been painted. I 'm told they have to do this every couple of years. There are nice areas, but this is basically a slum. I have seen bad areas but nothing like this. The city is coming back from the destruction of the war. The locals say it has improved over the last couple of years. For me it is hard to imagine it worse. There are some markets and craft areas which were non existant a few years ago. There are many United Nations people living here. We did stop at a grocery store that was full of American type groceries.
One thing I really miss is the fresh fruits and vegetables.
In all this poverty there is a bit of humor. I am convinced that if I bought a lottery ticket here I would have a good chance of winning the chicken feet or the wings. One of the prizes was a case of Heineken Beer or some rice. I tried to get a picture of the sign but only got half of it.
When we got home we got another deluge of rain and temporary waterfront property. The rainy season will be ending soon and then it becomes hot and dry. I n many ways this is better then when the temperatures are triple digit.
Emotionally, this was tough day. It is hard to imagine what the Liberians have been through with the war and rebellion, the poverty . The world they live in is what someone called "peaceful unrest.". The President here is an American educated Liberian . Her name is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. They say she is working at bringing the country back. As in so many countries, corruption is high.
Tomorrow , we leave for Ethiopia, with the still very heavy luggage. We are praying that they will not hassle us. We can carry 30 kilos, I have over 40.
We will overnight in Addis Abba before heading to Mojo.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Rainy Season
This really is the rainy season. Here it is like a monsoon. It rained hard all night with thunder and lightening. There was water everywhere this morning. It didn't stop us from going to church. The road that takes us to the main highway is not fun. There is one huge pothole filled with water that we had to drive through. The water is up to the door, and you pray you can make it through.
After church we went for lunch at a beach side resort called Murtle Beach. We did walk up to the beachfront. It is very beautiful, it is the Atlantic ocean and I have been told that many of our hurricanes originate in this area
We arse back at the village. The rest of the day should be quiet.
After church we went for lunch at a beach side resort called Murtle Beach. We did walk up to the beachfront. It is very beautiful, it is the Atlantic ocean and I have been told that many of our hurricanes originate in this area
We arse back at the village. The rest of the day should be quiet.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Building From The Bottom Up
If by chance you wonder what that means you only need to come to Liberia. Liberia was once a beautiful thriving country, then came the revolution, a generation was destroyed.
Liberia is a very poor country, apparently number two in the world. It still is beautiful, lush and green, but most of what I have seen is shambles. The Rafiki grounds are adequate but to maintain the grounds and cottages is a challenge. What were are told is that many of the educated or craftsman were killed or left the country. Few were left to carry on from that generation. The highest level for most people is the 3rd grade. This is even true of those who work in the hospitals. They have a difficult time finding people to work because they have few skills, which even includes some of the most basic skills.
Even though today is Saturday, Elaine and I spent the day working. We saw 16 of the young girls and 3 of the Mamas. This evening we had dinner with the ROS. This is always a highly educational time as well as a time of camaraderie. Elaine and I feel this is also a time of bring encouragement to those who spend their lives out in the mission field. These are truly remarkable people, they love what they are doing despite the huge challenges, long days and hardly a glimpse of the end result. We all agreed we will not see the fruit of our labor on this earth. It is a long, long road.
Tomorrow we will go to church and if the weather prevails we will go to the beach. I understand when it rains, it literally is a deluge. They get about 200 inches of rain a year. Malaria season is all the time. I am taking my Malaria medication. I hate the stuff but I do not want to get malaria.
The skies are very blue with some of the most wonderful clouds. It is humid and I am drenched in perspiration yet there is something pleasant in the ocean breeze and the smell of salt air. I feel very far away from my world in Littleton. Liberia tugs at the heart.
Liberia is a very poor country, apparently number two in the world. It still is beautiful, lush and green, but most of what I have seen is shambles. The Rafiki grounds are adequate but to maintain the grounds and cottages is a challenge. What were are told is that many of the educated or craftsman were killed or left the country. Few were left to carry on from that generation. The highest level for most people is the 3rd grade. This is even true of those who work in the hospitals. They have a difficult time finding people to work because they have few skills, which even includes some of the most basic skills.
Even though today is Saturday, Elaine and I spent the day working. We saw 16 of the young girls and 3 of the Mamas. This evening we had dinner with the ROS. This is always a highly educational time as well as a time of camaraderie. Elaine and I feel this is also a time of bring encouragement to those who spend their lives out in the mission field. These are truly remarkable people, they love what they are doing despite the huge challenges, long days and hardly a glimpse of the end result. We all agreed we will not see the fruit of our labor on this earth. It is a long, long road.
Tomorrow we will go to church and if the weather prevails we will go to the beach. I understand when it rains, it literally is a deluge. They get about 200 inches of rain a year. Malaria season is all the time. I am taking my Malaria medication. I hate the stuff but I do not want to get malaria.
The skies are very blue with some of the most wonderful clouds. It is humid and I am drenched in perspiration yet there is something pleasant in the ocean breeze and the smell of salt air. I feel very far away from my world in Littleton. Liberia tugs at the heart.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Traveling Light? Not Really.
Here I am in hot and humid Monrovia, Liberia after about 36 hours of travel. I have been duly warned of the poisonous snakes. My big dread. It will be just fine if I never encounter any. I could use some prayers in that direction.
The trip getting here was far from uneventful. It seems I can never leave without some event. I arrived at the airport via Kathy's van loaded with the last of the stuff from her move to Billings, an unhappy cat, a recently spayed dog, and to top it all off, a lawn mower tied to the roof of her van. (I don't think anyone noticed). When I got out of the van I lighten it about 300 pounds. We are taking 100 pounds of school curriculum to Ethiopia.
It took forever to get checked in, my carry on bag had some unidentifiable objects in it so it was searched. I get on the plane with about 20 minutes to spare only to find out the flight was delayed because of mechanical problems. An hour later we leave for JFK and on arrival, there is no place to dock so we are loaded unto a people mover to be brought to the terminal.
Elaine and I met at JFK and thanks to her, I was able to be her guest in the business lounge. We left for Liberia @8:30 pm, eastern time and arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon, Liberian time.
The village isn't to far from the airport and I hear it is a 20 minute walk to the beach. It is the rainy season and the rivers have overflowed. It is hot and damp but as the evening rolled in there is a gentle breeze. We have electricity here only during the night and lunch time.
We will start work tomorrow, hopefully it won't be rainy. One thing, this going to be a fast transition to the natural look, forget the make up and I am so thankful I got a wash and wear haircut.
The trip getting here was far from uneventful. It seems I can never leave without some event. I arrived at the airport via Kathy's van loaded with the last of the stuff from her move to Billings, an unhappy cat, a recently spayed dog, and to top it all off, a lawn mower tied to the roof of her van. (I don't think anyone noticed). When I got out of the van I lighten it about 300 pounds. We are taking 100 pounds of school curriculum to Ethiopia.
It took forever to get checked in, my carry on bag had some unidentifiable objects in it so it was searched. I get on the plane with about 20 minutes to spare only to find out the flight was delayed because of mechanical problems. An hour later we leave for JFK and on arrival, there is no place to dock so we are loaded unto a people mover to be brought to the terminal.
Elaine and I met at JFK and thanks to her, I was able to be her guest in the business lounge. We left for Liberia @8:30 pm, eastern time and arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon, Liberian time.
The village isn't to far from the airport and I hear it is a 20 minute walk to the beach. It is the rainy season and the rivers have overflowed. It is hot and damp but as the evening rolled in there is a gentle breeze. We have electricity here only during the night and lunch time.
We will start work tomorrow, hopefully it won't be rainy. One thing, this going to be a fast transition to the natural look, forget the make up and I am so thankful I got a wash and wear haircut.
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