Back Home to a New Routine

Weather: Monday the 8th welcomed us with very dark skies and heavy rains for the first day of school. Unfortunately, with the generator failing us, we resorted to education by candle light. We got about an inch in the fist half hour, then another over the course of the day. Very light winds out of the West, with temps in the upper 70sF.

It felt great to be home together again-- for all of us: for Hannah after three months visiting a dozen homes and two summer camps in the US and Canada, for Noah visiting some but mostly overdosing on video games and his own imagination with the infamous Steenwyk Brothers, for Yers Trooly after bouncing around for a month from Nigeria to Italy to Belgium within the context of a medical emergency that literally became a big headache, and for Renita jetting around even more, from Liberia to Nigeria back to Liberia, then rushing to me in Milan, joining me in Brussels after a Liberian flight got canceled, then awaiting all of us on her lonesome back in Foster Town.

We began our last semester of home schooling today, as well as our normal Liberian life. The routines are similar, but there are important differences. My work with Mother Patern College is finished, at least my active duty with them. This leaves me free to share more home schooling duties. Renita continues her activities with LEAD, but as she hands off more and more to her Liberian colleagues, the nature of her day-to-day changes as well. With every activity, there is a sense that we are finishing something here. So its familiar, but its different.

For these are our last three months in Liberia.

This is the first we’ve told you, although some of you know. There are a couple reasons we are leaving this land, and we’ll spend a post discussing them soon. We have mixed feelings about moving on, mostly because there is so much more to be done, and we’ve grown fond of the people and the life here. It has become home to us and we will miss it. But we are confident that it is time to go. So sometime in November, we’ll fly out of West Africa. We’ll keep you with us during the whole crazy process of leaving Liberia. And of course, the process of making a new home in, er, ah, now where was it we said we are going?

We didn’t. That’s for another post too. So stay tuned, thanks for welcoming us back, and for keeping us company while we were away. Seeya with more news soon.

We're Baa-aack!
Back to the ol' routine too-- fillin' water, washin' dishes, making hot water on the stove.
Our generator was out Monday morning and it was very dark outside with the heavy overcast-- so its back to school by trusty candle light.

Then the skies opened up. Had a nice refreshing shower. Like I said, back to normal.