ReedNews Update

As life returns to Liberian normal, I have some time to take a breath and look at my immediate surroundings.

Item: Deacon Reeves, who is our dear neighbor next door, has been diagnosed with type II diabetes. He now is taking insulin every day and still his blood sugar count is over 300 (It’s supposed to be under 126). He was in the hospital for a week, and he does not look so good. Every morning I help him check his blood and am learning to help with his injections.

Item: The huge international NGO Save the Children is in our community, organizing youth activities. Looks like it could be a good thing. They helped the kids with an election of leaders and Hannah was elected treasurer by acclamation. I was surprised, because there were about a hundred kids and it seemed like most knew Hannah and wanted to see her in leadership. I’m sure I was beaming a bit with fatherly pride.

Item: The rainy season is on us full throttle. In the last 48 hours, it has rained about 40, with probably ten inches of rain falling. Intense rain like this effects activities like heavy snow does in Michigan—events are canceled, people stay home, and we all wait for the water to go away. Huge puddles/ponds are everywhere.

Item: Renita is being asked to speak more. Last week it was a workshop on leadership for this community, and Sunday she was the guest speaker at a school graduation.

Item: The rainy season brings more than rain—the noisy patter on the zinc roofs makes a perfect cover for rogues. Sunday night they tried scaling our glass shard covered nine foot wall. They got some of our next door neighbor’s clothes off the line and draped them over the wall where the small gate makes it easier to climb. We heard them and they never got in. Today, we install our remaining solar motion detector light at the small gate and throw up razor wire over the top. I hate razor wire, but as the rogues go, so go the counter measures.