Meanwhile, Back at the Homestead

With all the elections hubub, bub, we assure you life continues at home. Included: one of the neighbor girls, 12 year old Victoria, extracts a living bug-creature and its eggs out of Renita's big toe... I discover new ways to do two things at once in the humidity... the kids are piling on... hannah and Noah's class pictures... and so much more.

By the way, the world press has indicated there have been troubles here after the elections. Just like the press to ruin the beautiful by looking for the sensational. The elections were model for the world, and as for demonstrations, I've driven through two of them, and they are an inconvenience to be sure, but UNMIL has the situation fully in control. I believe things are going to get much better around here real soon.

Renita has just found out from Deacon Reeves that there is a creature living and laying eggs in her big toe. They call it a "jigger." Victoria, our other next door neighbor, prepares for surgery with a sterilzed pin. Eggs, egg sack, and mommy bug, must come out.

The operation has commenced. Note the many hands assisting the surgeon, Dr. Victoria. Deacon Reeves assisting on flashlight.

The toe in question. Not for the faint-of-heart.

Here is Noah and his art teacher-- Deacon Reeves again-- working on his sign project.

And Hannah working on her art project.

This is Hannah's seventh grade class. You can just make out Hannah leaning on the coconut tree.

Noah's sixth grade class picture. That's him in the center.

The attack of the local knuckleheads. They couldn't budge me.

And finally, I find a way to keep cool and dry my sweaty clothes at the same time. Thank God for our DC fans.

Election Update

The Presidential Elections are now over and the counting is all but finished. With 95% of the polling places reporting, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf leads George Weah by over 18 percentage points. Ellen Sirleaf has about 59% of the vote, with George Weah at 40%. There is no mathematical chance of a Weah victory. The Weah camp is suddenly claiming bias by the National Election Commission, but I suspect this will not hold as there were hundreds of election observers and thousands of party observers at the 3,000 polling places. By all accounts, the election was a model of civility and order. Liberia, the hobbling land emerging from two decades of strife and self destruction, has elected first woman head of state in Africa. It’s a big deal. I hope she seizes the moment.

CRWRC Executive Director Andy Ryskamp, visiting us for a few days on his way to Sierra Leone, had a chance to act as an official election observer, thanks to Sam Reeves, pastor of the Providence Baptist Church—and Andy and our former co-pastor in Grand Rapids as well. Renita and Hannah also were unofficial observers of the elections, accompanying Edith Bawn, a reporter for USAID. While here, Andy was a blessing and a handy fellow around the house. In between election observing and offering insights on theology and spirituality, he fixed our generator which was having fuel pump problems. Good dog trainer too.

Election Eve: Andy Ryskamp, Executive Director of CRWRC joins me for and evening chat on the porch.

Election Day, part 2: The lines moved quickly.

The run-off ballot. Two candidates, two futures.

Liberians exercising the franchise. A priviledge to observe.

A ballot box.

UNMIL peacekeepers watching the process.

At the end of the day, after observing elections and a cancelled flight to his next stop, Andy relaxes by fixing the fuel pump on our generator.

Update Time

Hello again, faithful Reader, time once more for some toothy tidbits from the ReedNews Network:

Item: The runoff presidential election is a few days hence, with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and George Weah blitzing the country with final campaign messages. The campaign is on everyone’s lips throughout each day. It is interesting to see the constituency of these two candidates. The educated, the urban middle class, the Americo-Liberians, and the established business people seem to be siding with Sirleaf, while the poor, the disenfranchised, the less educated and the ex-combatants seem to be favoring Weah. I think if George wins, his opponents will be afraid and anxious for the country, and if Sirleaf wins, her opponents will be angry and less willing to accept the outcome.

Item: Andy Ryskamp, the executive director of CRWRC is visiting the organizations interests in Sierra Leone next week, and is dropping in on us for the weekend. It is nice to have him, because he can see our activities here and also have conversations with CRWRC partners and former partners.

Item: On a sad note, Deacon Reeves dog was hit by a car yesterday. We brought her back to the house alive, but watched her die within minutes. She had ten puppies, so we allowed them one final milk meal from their dead mother. We think we can keep them alive, as they are nearly weaned. She was then taken around the neighborhood by wheelbarrow to see if anyone wanted her for her flesh, because nothing is wasted here. Someone offered the equivalent of US$4.00, and that was that. No one except our Hannah shed a tear, as the culture does not view pets with the same attachment as in the US. Her name was Survivor.

Item: Our garden continues to grow, with the radishes, lettuce, watermelon, cucumbers and peppers making appearances. We had been waiting too long for the tomatoes, so we planted some pineapple in their place, and I planted some tomato seeds in a baking dish to keep an eye on them, and several now have sprouted.

Item: The kids at the beach orphanage continue to be neglected and are getting sick frequently. Since we have been here, there have been several cases of cholera and malaria, as well as sores and poor nutrition. The other day, the orphanage had two of them selling rice by the cup in the community—bad enough I know—when a couple of older boys took the rice and their money, then dragged them into a nearby house for purposes no one needs to guess at. Fortunately they were rescued by neighbors. There are many times the children are completely unattended at the orphanage. Renita and I are working to get them transferred to a nearby orphanage which is much better supported and administered.

Below are some images of family life, as well as some interior shots of the orphanage.

The orphanage at the beach. A beautiful location. but without supervision, nutrition, clean water, or sanitation, no place for abandoned or orphaned children.