Ebb Today, Flow Tommorrow

Weather: Mostly sunny and hot during the day, with thundershowers during the night. Locally heavy rains for brief periods. Highs during the past few days in the upper 80s, lows in the upper 70’s. Today (Monday the 8th) begins very bright, and should be sunny most of the day. Nice breeze out of the east, 10-15mph.

We’ve had a bit of a breather these last few days, which has been nice. More time to sit in the yard at day’s end, more time to visit with some of our community and church friends. As the rainy season transitions into the dry, we are afforded lovely sunsets and in the evening, refreshing off shore breezes.

But it’s a brief respite. Beginning late this week, we enter a few weeks of intense activity. Renita’s work with LEAD will have her—and the rest of the Reeds-- traveling deep into the interior to Lofa County. Lofa is NNW of us, on the Guinea/Sierra Leone borders. Because of the road conditions, even though our destination is less than 150 miles away, we will take all day to get there and have to spend the night. Renita is traveling to Lofa, and also to a place called Bong Mines in Bong County, to evaluate two agricultural projects that LEAD is considering as investment prospects. The Lofa project is a coffee plantation, the Bong Mines project is growing bananas and corn. The Reeds just purchased a well maintained 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser from Mother Patern College, so we’ll see what she can do in the Liberian bush. We would never attempt these journeys with the old Pathfinder, which we are hanging onto for backup. Anyway we should have some great pictures for you of a very different Liberia upon our return.

I will also be revving up. In addition to acting as driver and comic relief for the two LEAD trips, starting October 15 I will be conducting a sixty hour seminar on counseling skills for a group of Liberian counselors from several organizations. Basically, I get to be in front of the class for two weeks, Monday-Friday, from 8:30am to 3:30pm. It’s a gauntlet, but I am looking forward to it. I find I enjoy talking about the craft, especially with those who are practicing but know they need more training. I get to impart my know-how and tricks of the trade while they get to share their experience of field work in this deeply challenging culture. Hopefully, everybody will leave enriched and more connected with each other for future support.

Around town, some road work is beginning. For a couple weeks now, it has taken us up to an hour and a half to get into or out of town as the government works on building up secondary roads to act as bye-passes for the really big job just around the corner. They will be resurfacing the main road through Monrovia, out right past our house all the way to the airport, thirty miles from here (forty five miles from downtown Monrovia), then beyond the airport all the way to Buchanan, some eighty miles away. Obviously, even with an army of equipment, I don’t think this can be done in one dry season, but I think they’ll get a good portion of it done. Unfortunately, this will mean demolishing homes, schools, and businesses that have built too close to the road. Some of our friends will see their homes and business structures vanish before the wrecking ball. We’ll keep you informed.

A bit o' the morning routine. Homeschool includes P.E.. Here, Noah tosses a perfect spiral to Hannah during real football practice.Meanwhile, the Pathfinder's fuel lines are corroded and pouring gas. The mechanics from Mother Patern come to do what they do best. That's Mohammed in the wheel well, lead mechanic Mohammed observing, and MPCHS driver Matthew keeping company.

More of Renita sharing toothy tidbits. "Use your Brain more than your Back." Amen.

Last night, facing due NE, sittin' in the yard with the sun setting at our left shoulder, lighting up the papaya tree on the left with the new Land Cruiser on the right. In the background a storm is a'comin'.

Liberian English

Liberia is classified as an “Anglophone” country. Despite its 15 active tribal languages, the official language of the country is English. This makes it easier for us to work here, obviously because we did not have to learn a completely new language upon arrival. I said it makes it easier, but understanding the Liberian version of English is not always easy, and even after two years sometimes it is impossible. Being the amateur linguist that I am, I’ve been able figure out what is behind this difficulty in understanding my native tongue when uttered by many Liberians. It is not simply a matter of accent.

First, and most obvious to the listener, is in the way Liberians pronounce many words—the end of many words are left off. “House” becomes “haw”, “dog” becomes “daw”, “serious” becomes “seria”, and so on. Sometimes even each syllable in multi syllable words are deleted, so “redlight” might become “re’li’”, “everything” is “e’ry’tin’, or ” kool aid” is “koo aye.”

To complicate matters significantly, Liberians use different English words than most North Americans choose. For example, “reaching” means “leaving” as in “I’m reaching to my hou’,” “finish” means “to be out of something,” As in “the rice is finish,” or “flog” instead of “beat,” as in “My brother tol’ me he wou’ flog me.” Finally, Liberians finish many words randomly in “O,” as in “fini-o” for “finish,” or “daw-o” to give “dog” a little more panache.

Therefore when you combine words pronounced differently with word choices that are different than what you’ve lived with all your life, you get sentences that are just a little beyond reach until you understand both the usage of the word and the pronunciation of all the words in the sentence.

So, putting these factors together, we might have the following sentences—see if you can figure them out:

1. “Trokon carry mah own sef pla’ toe to hi’ hou’.’” (Literally, “Trokon carry my own self play toy to his house,” or “Trokon took my toy to his house.”)

2. “Dea’ ca’ be sweeo.” (Literally,” Deer can be sweet-o,” or “Venison is delicious.” )

3. Leh ca’ta’ eh sleepi’ bah da’ pi’ hou’ (Literally, “the carter it sleeping by the pig house” or “The carter (a clothe pad used to cushion the head when carry things) was left out all night near the pig pen.”)

4. “De ro’ he wah a bri’ one and dryo.” (Literally, “The rogue he was a bright one and dry-o,” or “The thief was light-skinned and very thin.”)

5. “Leh pum’ eh spoi’. Le’ carry de jeep to tow’ fo’ new pah.’” (Literally, “The pump is spoiled, let’s carry the jeep to town for new part,” or “The pump is not working, so let’s take the 4wd vehicle into town for a new part.”)

6. “Boieh! Boieh! Boieh!” (Literally, “Boiled egg, boiled egg, boiled egg!” which children shout as they carry hard boiled eggs for sale on the street.)

7. “Unca Bah, I juke mah foo-o. Plea’ pu’ plasti’ on mah cuh.” (Literally, “Uncle Bob, I juke my foot. Please put plastic on my cut,” or “Uncle Bob, something jabbed or poked into my foot. Please put a band aid on my cut.”)

8. “Eneh, i’ yaw wais’ wateh on ma’ trouseh, I weh sureleh blow yaw mouf.” (Literally, “Enoch, if you waste water on my trousers, I will surely blow your mouth, “ or “Enoch, if you dump or spill that water on my pants, I will certainly punch you in the mouth.”)

9. Deh worsha’ weh fi’fi’. We gettin’ yaw puh-lenti!” (Literally, “The worshop was fine, fine. We getting you plenty,” Or “The workshop was very good. We understood you very well.”)

10. “Whi’ ma’, plea’ buy suh’ re’ oi’ fruh me. One hundreh LD.” (Literally, White Man, please buy some red oil from me. One hundred LD.” Red oil is palm nut oil; LD is Liberian Dollars—in this case about $1.80 US. )

11. “Sis Renita, I cuh’ to spe’ to yaw.” (Literally, Sis Renita, I come to speak to you,” or “Sister, Renita, I dropped by just to say hi.”)

Not everybody speaks like this, but these phrases reflect a large portion of the people with whom we live and work each day. Some people, such as government or business leaders speak very similar English to me, with only what I call the attractive “African accent” distinguishing us. Others speak a version of English so different in cadence, inflection, pronunciation, syntax and vocabulary as to require interpretation. Most children are harder to understand than adults. In our neighborhood, English is a second language to Bassa for many, and a significant minority speak virtually no English. So getting to understanding each other always takes a little extra time, even for simple things. Bu’, we ah tryin’, sma’ sma’, wid dis talkin’ ting he’. An’ soo’, we wi’sureleh be gettin’ e’rybodeh puh-lenty clea’, an den’ we ha’ a googoo ti’ togeddeh.

The East Wind: Harbinger of All Things Dry

Weather: After about eight inches of rain this week, the wind did something it has not done since June—it shifted from West or SW to the East. It brought us at almost two glorious days of bright sunlight in cloudless skies— all day yesterday and today (Saturday) until about 3:00pm. This is rare in Liberia. There are less than ten really cloudless days all year. Even in the dry season months, the sky is almost always hazy with humidity and partly cloudy. So to have this in September of all months is great. Hi Temps upper 80’s, Lows upper 70’s. Afternoon rain Saturday, about one half inch.

Renita is performing quite the juggling act. For LEAD she is managing two new contracts—the World Food Program’s Women with HIV microfinance project, the International Labour Organization Waste Management project, two new regular LEAD 12 week classes of 35 businesses each (one in Buchanan, one in Monrovia), keeping track of 60 loans from LEAD grads, and preparing for a new agricultural partnership—along with the Grand Rapids based Nehemiah Liberia Group-- in order to generate long term income and sustainability for LEAD. This is in addition of course to home schooling three days a week and the community development activity with FACT.

The FACT market continues to grow. We are witnessing more women selling diverse wares, a new sign board, an administrative office, and a good board running the operation. The Reeds shop there for five out of seven main meals.

“Reed Drive” is almost finished, and we’ve got a problem. If you look at last week’s pictures, you can see the gate is covered over top with blocks. The clearance is low--exactly six feet. Our Nissan Pathfinder only needs 5’8”, and most cars need less, so we thought we’d be fine. Oh how foolish! We are just about to purchase another vehicle to replace the beaten up Nissan. The new used vehicle is a 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser. It requires a clearance of 6’5”. It don’t fit, man! So, we are today busting out the overhang, welding extensions onto the gate, and putting razor wire on top. I’ll go snag a picture for you.

Here are some of the week’s pics.

The new LEAD office in Buchanan. Two counties down, thirteen to go!

Renita sharing toothy tid-bits with some of the LEAD staff.

A couple new LEAD businesses. Now does this look like a Father & Son business or what?

The mini-mart, Liberian style.
The other day it rained crazy all day...
... Hannah was a bit bored...
... Noah went slip-slidin' away... at 7:00am!

This mornin', the day broke bright and clear. Henrietta was awaitin' for her breakfast slop.
Down at the market, the new sign is up-- the small print says Foster Town Association for Community Transformation-- Where Transformation is a Matter of FACT" Catchy, huh? All mine.
No, Enoch does not have some tropical wasting disease-- this is after his red clay fight with Trokon. He lost. I told ya-- he looks like "The Thing, Jr."
The new new gate. Just a few hours ago.

ReedNews Update

The weather in our part of West Africa continues to defy prediction. In spite of the fact that September is considered the second wettest month of the year, the weather has been great for over a week. Relatively low humidity with mostly sunny skies. We are thrilled because every day we get closer to the end of the rainy season so we think that the worst may be behind us. But we do need some rain, otherwise the dry season will really hamper us, so a very wet Friday was ok. We saw about four inches. Today, Saturday, is sunny again.

Now to tidy up some news loose ends and create a couple that will need to be tidied later:

Item- Noah is fine. We took him off one kind of anti-malaria medicine, started him on another, and his nausea promptly cleared up. We appreciate the concern some of you expressed, even though it was never more than an annoying condition.

Item—The data in my hard drive has been recovered. Thanks to a team led by creative computer dude Steve Colthorp working with the guys at Compucraft in Grand Rapids, almost all the data was salvaged. The most urgent has already been emailed; the rest will follow on DVD. Thanks too to Kris Vander Stelt and Janette Vanderveen for their support.

Item— Hysterical dog pregnancy? It sounds weird, but I think Niki may be faking it. There is now a running debate in the Reed home. I know I’m in the minority, but I think she’s not pregnant at all, the lil’ faker. We’ll keep you posted on this developing—or not developing—story.

Item—Home school for Hannah and Noah has started, and I’ll be joining Renita as instructor, taking on the subjects of History and Logic every Tuesday and Thursday. I am not teaching at MPCHS this fall, but I have some training big gigs coming up. Being at home these two days allows Renita to get into Monrovia to keep up with rapid developments with LEAD.

Item—Speaking of which, LEAD has another big contract, this with the UN’s International Labour Organization and the Monrovia City Corporation, working on a project to establish 40 new waste management businesses. Waste management has huge ramifications for health and is essential for the future of any developing nation. This effort will hopefully provide jobs and clean up the greater Monrovia area.

Item—I have been as busy as ever this week, and I never left the yard. The short version of a long and convoluted story is that the owners north of us are building on their property, so our large car gate on the north wall must be moved to the south wall. Not only is there no driveway along the south wall, most of the area is swampland and will need to be built up to support SUVs coming and going. All day everyday this week I have been supervising a large home engineering project for which I am, of course, unqualified. Tons of crushed rock and clay had to be brought in from the truck, then hauled by wheel barrow and spread by shovel. But based on the work, I seem to know as much as the workers. See, my grampa Cain was a road man, so maybe I got some natural skills from him. Anyway, it’s been a gauntlet of stuck trucks and cars, red mud and cement, good workers and bad, but today, Saturday, we finish the job. The saga is illustrated below.

July 24, 2005: Our first day in Liberia. The southern view off our front porch. No wall, but the low land is full of silt and swamp, especially to the right. People fished it for crawdads.

January, 2006: Same view. The wall is complete, the grass is brown, and the warriors are tugging. (Our christmas party)

This week: A bi' ho' has bee' bus' out. (Liberian for "a big hole has been busted out" of the wall to make room for the gate currently on the north wall.

Current: The gate is up and getting finished while Enoch and Trokon play marbles with ones they made out of the red clay we are using for the road we need to build.
Mohammed, Steve and Tom finish the gate job while twelve year old Eastman supervises.
The view outside of our gate and wall, with Deacon Reeves' wall further down and the swamp and stream to the left. The road building has commenced, and the dump truck is stuck in the distance.
"De tru' is heesh." ("The truck is 'hitched-'" another way of saying "stuck.") It took them three hours and another dump truck to haul them out. Note the road behind taking shape. See, my grampa was a road man...

The dump truck was not the only victim of the partially finished road. One of us-- I won't say who-- got it hopelessly mired on the way in. Here our neighbors work to jack it up in order to get something solid under the rear tire.
There she goes! By the way, Hannah is taking these shots-- Yers Trooly is in the mud behind the right rear tire using his weight advantage, pushin' for all he's worth. Renita is at the wheel. Finally got out after an hour.
The red clay arrives on the road, now covered with tons of hand spread crushed rock. The clay is a mucky mess when it rains, but we'll lay sand on it. I've got a great shot of Enoch covered in it after a mud fight with Trokon. He looks like a mini version of the "Thing" from the "Fantastic 4" comic book characters.
The North gate that became a wall. the two-track goes nowhere now, but you can see where the gate used to be.

The Mother Patern BSW Program Launches

I am honored to tell you, many of whom have supported and looked to this day, that today, September 10, 2007 sees the beginning of the first and only professional level Social Work program in Liberia. Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, a Catholic college within the Stella Maris Polytechnic Institute, has been working to develop this program, with the support of two Reformed Christian Colleges in Grand Rapids, USA: Calvin College and Kuyper College. This ecumenical effort gives the people of Liberia the highest level psychosocial or mental health related program in the country. The first class has 20 students, and we are confident each succeeding class will be larger as the word gets around.

As you know, Liberia has seen enormous damage in communities and individuals everywhere. The recovery of a destroyed Liberia requires concerted efforts on all fronts. Resurfacing roads, assisting with job creation, conducting workshops, or digging wells are all necessary but insufficient without working to resolve conflict and provide mental health and community intervention. A rural mother of three, traumatized by rape and/or the death of her husband, shackled by illiteracy, will not recover simply by employment and good access to the cities. Nor will her village. Community workers, trained and supervised by graduates of the Mother Patern professional social workers, will provide tools to help her work better with her family, her neighbors, and with her own internal roadblocks.

This is just the beginning of the Mother Patern BSW program. There is much work to be done. Most of our students will not receive their degrees and licenses until spring 2011. Her partner colleges, Kuyper and Calvin, have committed to provide more support, including sending instructors to liaison with the staff and teach courses. Someday we hope to exchange faculty and students, or at least have students from the US programs visit us.

For me, this is a huge moment. This is in part why I came; to help facilitate this event. But of course, it is not the biggest moment in my effort here. It is not, as the French would say, my raison d’être-- my “reason to be” here. My biggest moment will be on that rainy day in August 2011, when the first of many graduating classes march out of the Monrovia Pavilion, degrees in hand, on their way to help Liberians all over the country-- including that mother, her three children, and her village-- find their way to wholeness and freedom.

That is the reason I came.

The 2o first year BSW students plus most of the incoming students who just received their Associates degree in Social Work for a total of around 26. Pioneers all! The director of the program, Joseph Kpukuyou on the left, Yers Trooly on the right.

Weather: Rain this morning-- about two inches, followed by high but solid overcast. Temps in the low 80s, but with a 15mph wind from the North. Could indicate the first break in the armor of the wet season, as the winds prepare to shift from the west to the easterly direction of the dry season. Tuesday the 11th, Bright sunshine, hot and humid. Light winds from the South, then West, temps in the mid 80's.

Spirituality in Liberia

Weather: Sunny, warm and low humidity Monday the 4th. A wonderful day. Temps in the mid 80's during the day, low 70's overnight. Rainy and overcast Tuesday the 5th. High temps in the mid 70's, upper 60's overnight. Rainfall Tuesday about an inch.

Even after more than two years in this land and feeling adjusted to “Liberian normal,” we still live with a constant awareness of how different West Africa is from North America. The climate, the post-war culture, the way people treat each other, the sense of time, the views on family and business—all are daily reminders that this area of the world operates under a different set of rules than in the West. We have not, however, talked much about the spirituality/faith systems of Liberians, even though Renita and I believe faith is the most important factor in any human being’s life. What lies at the core of our values, what we actually trust to be most important in life, determines all of our actions every day. It has taken us this long to sort through the rhetoric of faith which exists here to get a sense of spirituality in Liberia.

People who study people tell us that between 40 and 60% percent of Liberians say they are Christians, about 15% say they are Muslim, and between 25% and 45% say they have “traditional beliefs.” In Liberia, traditional beliefs include participation in "secret societies," the conviction that the invisible world is very active with powerful beings and ghosts, and that certain people can, among other things, make people sick, change themselves into animals, and perform miracles that defy the laws of nature. Traditional beliefs come with their own set of prescribed rituals and symbolic behaviors, every bit as sacred, complex and—to an outsider—incomprehensible as any Christian or Muslim ritual.

What we have found is that these traditional beliefs permeate all other faith systems, including Christian. In Foster Town, it is completely typical for our Christian friends, including pastors, to be part of a "secret society," to believe they can be cursed or hexed by witches, to believe that when a person is sick or dies it could be the result of an enemy. Many seem to believe this spiritual reality is far more active and powerful than their stated Christian beliefs, and most of the time they speak of it with fear.

One of our Christian friends here is a Liberian who talks about this socio-spiritual phenomenon. He says, “Christianity in Liberia is a mile wide and a half inch deep.” He means on the surface, it seems everyone is a Christian. Christian phraseology is universal, churches are everywhere, and every other taxi cab has a Christian slogan painted across its bumper. But underneath professions of Christian faith, there lies a foundational and more strongly held conviction that real spiritual power lies beyond, in another realm. Scratch the surface of a Liberian Christian (or Muslim,) and you get a “traditional spiritualist.”

This is not unique to Liberia or West Africa. Christianity in America is wide but shallow too. Scratch the surface of most Western Christians, and you get something else as well. Americans are as full of easy rhetoric as anybody in West Africa.

The difference is in the specifics of our respective “traditional beliefs.” The traditional beliefs of the North American Christian are entrenched in the empirical world: they are rationistic, materialistic and decidedly non-spiritual. Most Americans don't really believe the spirit world has much to do with daily life. For Liberians on the other hand, the unseen world is full of power and mystery in the here and now. Professing Liberians may not believe any more than American Christians in the power of Christ, but, unlike Americans, they do understand power of the unseen. And we have learned from them.

The challenge for Renita and I is to figure out how to use this deep certainty in the unseen world as a starting point to bring about a more integrated understanding of this Christ who rules over all spiritual forces and powers in the universe. We wish our friends to know the One who “even the demons obey.” We wish our friends to know how unnecessary it is to fear the spiritual forces of this world. We have from them a glimpse of the power of spiritual reality, our hope is to return to them a glimpse of the power of ultimate reality: the love of God through Jesus Christ.

ReedNews Update--Updated

Weather: August 8 was our area’s last day with any notable sun. Since then it has been cloudy with most days seeing a low, heavy overcast. In the 19 days since August 8, there have been 228 hours of daylight. Of these, there has been an aggregate of less than 6 hours of sun. The rest of the time-- overcast. Some rain every day, with average per day totals about a half inch. Westerly to southwesterly wind every day.

Weather Update, September 1: August 28 ushered in four days of partly sunny skies and little day rain, although we had about a half inch every night, and Thursday night gave us the loudest thunder we have ever heard here, and two inches of rain. But the sunshine was heavenly. Today brings overcast and light rain. Winds SSW.

Around the Reed home, the loss of our friend Norm Katerberg along with constant overcast tests our ability to see the proverbial glass as half-full. But loss and dark skies are the everyday story of our Liberian neighbors, so, like they do, we simply continue on with the next thing. Eventually the skies will brighten and the sharp sting of loss will fade. And there are breaks in the clouds even now.

Item- Niki, the oldest dog in the neighborhood—she’s two—is pregnant! That’s right, our licking-coward-turned-faithful-barker discovered that seven month old Max has what it takes for fatherhood. This is good news for us and even our neighbors. Because the country lost so many of its dogs in the war, and rogues continue roam the country side, good dogs are in demand. We will raise them for a few months, keep the female of our choice, and find good homes for the rest.

Item- Summer is the time Renita ramps up her out-of-home activity. She continues her dual LEAD responsibilities with the regular program and the WFP training for women who are also HIV positive. The other day, she left for Buchanan at 7:00am and did not arrive back until 10:00pm. Bad roads, long interviews with LEAD loan applicants and a flat tire conspired. She finally made it back after giving out 17 loans, and promptly crashed.

Item- I’m still in a slower summer mode, composing emails to be sent, watching the kids while Renita ventures, puttering around the generator/solar scheme, trimming coconut trees with the boys, and occasionally going in to Monrovia to meet with MPCHS staff—including a new PhD in psychology sent by a German INGO to work with us for a couple years. We continue to refine the upcoming BSW program and will be interviewing our last batch of candidates next week. Correspondence and planning with Kuyper and Calvin Colleges continues.

Item- Noah is feeling sick and has been for about ten days. His only complaint is nausea so we think it’s a result of his anti-malaria medicine, so we’ll switch it tomorrow to see if it works.

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Item Update 9/1-- The Corrosion Beast has struck again! On Tuesday, I could not get into my computer, but the evidence pointed to a failure in the operating system. With help, I would be able to retrieve my data, files, and folders, and get back to work after reinstalling Windows. No such luck. On Wednesday, Mr. Tanu, the MPCHS computer guy brought his data retrieval gismo and we learned together the gut punching truth: the hard drive was shot.

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Item Update-- The Fallout. There was good news and bad news out of this blow ragarding my computer. Renita and I had backed up almost all our data elsewhere. The very bad news was, even though both of us could swear we had seen it backed up, all of my most important files-- the courses and workshops I'd developed, my MPCHS work, my Mental Health Task Force work-- in short all of my work over the past two years-- was not backed up. Plus our email address book was gone. The data exists now only on my broken hard drive.

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Item Update-- The Plan. We need to get that data off the hard drive. We have heard of people here who can do it, but if need be, we will DHL or FedEx it back to the States to get it back.

Sometimes it comes straight, sometimes at an angle, but every day it comes.

Renita and the women in the WFP HIV-AIDS program.

On top, a trim, vigorous Niki "before." Below, heavy with pup. "Wha' is happening to me"?

...and as Noah and Trkon fade into the East headin' toward their fishin' hole, we wish you a fond farewell.

Norm Katerberg: A light gone out of the world

Norm Katerberg, a friend and colleague in ministry passed away Saturday night. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor while we were in the USA. When the chemotherapy quickly destroyed the cancer, we all rejoiced. And then, just when things looked so good, pneumonia came and took him.

Norm was a partner in ministry with the Reeds for the past ten years, first when we were deacons together at Madison Square Church, then in the work at Restorers and Madison Square Counseling Ministries, and then here in Liberia. Norm was one of the most selfless people I have ever known, one of those pure hearts that are so rare to find; a man who seemed to have no hidden agenda, only to do good and to be good.

He was a fixer, a problem solver. I loved working with Norm –I often told others that I could almost visibly see a light bulb go on over his head as an idea came to mind. Whenever there was a problem, and in ten years of doing ministry with the poor there were plenty of challenges, Norm would scratch his head and say, “You know, I wonder if…”, and often his wondering became the solution.

Norm came to visit us here and stayed in our house. He swam with Noah every day in the ocean, made repairs around the house, and played with all the kids in the area. It was no different than anyplace else with Norm and kids —they loved him, and he loved them back.

And now, suddenly, this good, gentle, generous light is gone from us.

When we heard about his cancer, Bob and I made sure we visited him and Mary. There were some things I wanted to say to him—probably more for me than him. He hated being praised, and avoided even being thanked. But I just wanted to tell him something about what he meant to me. I think he received it.

Goodbye for now, Norm. What are you going to do in a place that doesn’t need fixing? Maybe you’re splashing in some heavenly ocean with kids from Liberia.

Renita

Our last picture of Norm-- looking so healthy on the right with Mary as we share with them about the work in Liberia. This during our Grand Rapids in June.

Wading Through the Dead of the Rainy Season

Weather: Low, dense overcast daily for a week. Two hours of sun since August 8. Rain on and off every day, averaging about 1.5 inches per day. Hi Temps in low 70s during the day, lows in the low 60s at night, but with a steady southwesterly to westerly breeze of around 10mph and constant rain, it feels cooler. Meteorological background: The warm equatorial ocean throws billions of tons of water vapor into the air. The trade winds that blow from the west half the year move this saturated air over the coast where it meets the relatively cooler land, creating condensation everywhere, but especially in the atmosphere. The result: A giant rain machine. And it rains frequently, about 200 inches worth, from late May until the winds shift 180 degrees, usually sometime in October. The rainiest months are July and September.

Back in Michigan, I used to call mid January “The Dead of Winter.” The air was coldest, the snow was piling up, the days darkest, and spring was still months away. It seemed like everything was longing for relief from the merciless weather. I think I’m in the “dead of the rainy season.” I like occasional sun. I may even need it. When I don’t see it or feel it, my mood is affected. I get down, more negative and impatient. We haven’t seen the sun or felt its direct warmth for a week, except a couple hours late Sunday afternoon. Plus everything is damp. Clothes not aired out stink of mildew. Electronics act up and short out. On the roads, the potholes are now deep everywhere and our 12 year old Pathfinder is being shaken and rattled to death. We cannot keep up with its repair needs. It takes 45 minutes to drive 12 miles into town. We are supposed to get some dry weather soon for a few days if memory, folk lore and science all serve. Renita predicts one more day of wet, then two days of sun.

This week, I’m mostly at home, writing reports and emails. The emails get sent whenever I get to an internet café. During breaks, if it’s not pouring, I might mosey down to the market and tease the ladies. I was needed at Mother Patern College Monday, and I’ll need to be there again Friday for planning meetings with Grace Boiwu, head of the MPCHS Women’s Development Program. On Saturday, I’m conducting a workshop on parenting for the Foster Town community.

Renita is in town and in front of people every day this week. Monday through Wednesday, she’s conducting an orientation for the growing LEAD staff. Thursday and Friday, she’s conducting the LEAD training workshop for the WFP. Like I, she gets a bit anxious before times like this where she has to do a lot of presenting But she’s relieved and in a good mood when it’s over.

ReedWorks

Weather: Heavy overcast with light rain. Hi Temps in the upper 70’s during the day, the lows in the upper 60s at night. Light breeze from the west-southwest. Rain totals the last two days less than an inch.

Renita and I are in the middle of a full week. She is back and forth to Monrovia clarifying and re-clarifying LEAD’s contract with the UN World Food Program—which seems to change daily as WFP adds more conditions. They need to get it together soon though, because the class starts Thursday the 16th. In the midst of her WFP wrangling, she’s teaching the LEAD class, attending community meetings and stubbornly running all over Monrovia trying to find birthday presents for her decidedly birthday-challenged husband.

As for me, I also have a plate full of Liberian morsels. When she's around, I'm offering my pithy insights and suggestions to Renita for the WFP gig. In Monrovia, Mother Patern College is interviewing prospective social work students as it prepares to launch the program. (Look for the official announcement in September.) The interviews are an honor to conduct with the Social Work staff, and I never forget there is something sacred about the task. Back at home, I’m writing whenever I get a few hours at a time. The CRWRC West African Ministry Team wants a comprehensive report on all of our work up til now. And always, I’ve got another Blog to crank out.

Hannah is finishing her first job, helping Christ Friend Children Academy get organized. She is interesting to watch—a mixture of her mother’s dogged thoroughness and her dad’s ability to guiltlessly put the work down and go play. Procrastination and productivity in one package-- how appropriate!

Noah is involved in a yard project. He, with buds Trokon and Eastman, are digging, hauling and spreading about 40 wheel barrows of sand and dirt on an area in our yard where the rains are washing away the existing sand. The kid has become a dirt-dynamo. He shovels it better than his dad-- er, dirt that is. Some stuff I'll be the champ at shovelin' for a while yet.

I Am My Brother’s Keeper Meets Mind Your Own Business: Percy’s Solution

Weather: After seeing over ten inches of rain Tuesday the 31st, Wednesday and Thursday are dry. Thursday is mostly sunny with high clouds and a light westerly breeze. Temps in the 80's.

One of the most obvious differences between African culture and North American culture is in the way people relate, how they view each other. Americans act from a more individualist perspective, Africans from a collective or group perspective. Typically, when Americans speak of family, they mean what sociologists call the “nuclear” family— comprising parents and children. In Africa, “Family” includes the “extended” members—grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins—but also close friends or even long-time acquaintances. Also, the concept of “ownership” is more fluid, and likely less clear-cut to an American eye. In America, what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours. Don’t ask me for what’s mine and I won’t ask you for what’s yours. In Africa, what may begin as yours may be requested by me if I have a more compelling need. In the LEAD business classes, we see these cultural norms in constant conflict as LEAD participants try to make their businesses work while a steady stream of “family” members lay competing claims to business profits. One of the principles Renita has tried to hammer home to her LEAD business people is: “If you give away your profits for “family” requests—your business will be affected accordingly. Actually, the money is not really yours to give—it is the business’s money.”

Easier said than done, and sometimes our business people become poignantly creative to trying to be good business people and good friends.

Take Percy for instance.

Percy is a tailor. Like thousands of others, he toils long hours making clothes for little profit. Like thousands of others, he fends off daily requests from “family” to assist will real needs. Up until now, he gave in and the business took the hit. The other day, he shared in class that he was happy to have a recent accounts receivable of $150 US paid back to the business. He would not “eat” the money, but reinvest it—perhaps in material or even a second machine. However, that evening a friend of his came to tell him that the friend’s son was in the hospital, and that he needed money to pay for his son’s treatment. “Please,” said the friend, “I beg you. I will pay you back.” Percy faced a very familiar and difficult decision. The reasons to loan the money was, as always, a good one. Would he help another friend or protect his business? Percy looked at the money in his hand, looked at his friend, and thought about the class. If he did not begin setting limits, his business could never become profitable. He decided. “No, I cannot use the money from the business to help your son.” After pleading and cajoling for a while, the friend became sad and even insulted. “How can you do this,” he asked, and left empty handed. Percy felt the guilt most people feel when they try to establish good boundaries. He did not sleep well that night. He knew he was doing the right thing by not giving away the business’s money, but he cared about his friend’s son. The next day, he found his solution. He had a small television that might be worth something. He took the TV into town, sold it, and brought the money to the friend at the hospital. He honored his business, he honored his friendship, but the juggling act cost him a TV.

Renita says, “I find Percy’s solution moving. It makes it real that people in Liberia face difficult choices every day: to say no to your friends and relatives can risk their health and very wellbeing, not mention brands you as “uncaring” or “selfish.” However, to give money each time you are asked risks your livelihood and causes the eventual dependence on someone else to help you. There is a social and relational cost to moving out of poverty, and not everybody is willing to pay the emotional price attached. A frequent theme we hear at the graduation from LEAD's classes is that ‘LEAD made me to be mean.’ They say this with a smile on their face and in a positive way, but we understand the truth behind it.”

To make healthy decisions here sometimes requires the Wisdom of Solomon as Liberians weigh important new values with time honored traditions. Percy’s solution suggests that for Liberia to grow, new, creative ways will need to be found provide balance to competing values. But Percy’s solution also suggests that no matter the solution, it will come with a cost.

Our Two Year Anniversary

Weather: Tuesday the 24th, steady rains all day under heavy, low overcast. Temp in the 70's all day. Winds from the SSW 5 mph. Rain total over 6 inches. Wednesday the 25th begins sunny and dry. Light breeze from the west. Weather UPDATE: Thursday and Friday, rain all day with moderate winds from the west under heavy overcast. Temp in the 70s; rain totals 5 inches on Thursday, 5 Friday.

Yesterday marked two years since our Brussels Airbus landed in Liberia. The day passed somewhat uneventfully. We enjoyed rain for about twelve hours straight, then on and off until sunset. I spent the morning at MPCHS, chatting with Sr Barbara and Joseph about the fall BSW curriculum. We may have twenty five students! Then I was out shopping for charger number four for our solar batteries. The automotive chargers are much heartier than the delicate high tech units designed for our system, but the corrosion still kills ‘em just as dead in the end.

Renita spent the day preparing for her 2:00pm business class. When I got home, she left for class, so I spent the next few hours fixing our fancy-schmanchy solar refrigerator. As great as the horizontal Sundanzer is at keeping things cold will very little dc power, the spring mounted hinges are an engineer’s big idea gone bad. Within the last six month, they both have ripped themselves out of the refrigerator door. So now the fridge has two, plain, heavy duty door hinges. Not fancy. But they’ll work.

On her way home Renita stopped off at the local police station. Four women had gotten arrested for fighting at the market. Two of them are the same women who have been warned before by the FACT people and other women to cool it. They seem to thrive on chaos, even if they have to create it themselves. If I was in the states, I’d be thinking borderline personality disorder. Anyway, after providing some options to the FACT folks at the police station, Renita continued home. As she pulled in the driveway, the exhaust pipe promptly fell off. I’m surprised it lasted this long.

In the evening, kids played and ate coconut in the yard until dark, and with the call “time to reach,” (meaning “time to go home”) most left, but a few remained. We had invited our closest kid friends in for a rare treat— soft drinks, popcorn, Noah’s peanut butter cookies, and a movie. Everyone had a riot watching the African-based classic, The Gods Must Be Crazy. After the movie, we walked the kids home under our 3,000,000 candle power spotlight, returned with a song, cut the generator—and enjoyed a quiet night.

Thus ended our somewhat uneventful 2nd Anniversary.

On the way into town, at the corner of UN Drive and Carey streets, a street vendor, up over his ankles in city runoff water, tries to push it along. Good luck, dude!

Back home, the laundry hangs out to... rinse.

Last night, from left Nowia, Nancy, Noah, Eastman, Trokon, Victoria and Hannah glued to the TV.

Things Going Well for Market with a Well for the Market

Weather— mostly cloudy the past few days, but with little rain. Today (Saturday) starts off partly cloudy with morning temps in the 70s. Light breeze under 5mph from the west. Total rain this past week about an inch.

During the wet season, life and expectations slow. The steady heavy rains and flooding delay arrivals, causes events to be postponed or cancelled, and generally doubles or triples the amount of time it takes to get things done. So even though we have had a dry week, because heavy rains could return any minute, life slows down. Over at MPCHS, Grace will make no trips into the bush, so I won’t see Todee or Johnson Town for a while. And we are in summer break, so the college is in a quieter mode. Renita is in the middle of the fifth LEAD class, but even that is rather routine with the curriculum fully “in the can,” and no longer under development. So we are seeing more of each other.

Around Foster Town, the new market has attracted attention from the community and beyond, and there are still factions jockeying for control and individuals trying to manipulate the process for personal gain, but FACT (Foster Town Association for Community Transformation) is showing firm resolve to run the market fairly. The FACT leaders are struggling to figure out how to remain focused in the midst of disruptive elements passing rumors and falsehoods about them. Like Nehemiah, the Hebrew who rebuilt Jerusalem in postwar Israel, it seems as though the community leaders need to fight off enemies with one hand while they build with the other. But building they are. As I write, a new Lifewater well for the market sponsored by FACT is almost completed.

It’s the weekend, so Yers Trooly is the chef for today and tomorrow. We eat Liberian Monday through Friday, and return to “home cooking” Saturday and Sunday. Today its chips n’ chili. Tomorrow, barbeque wings with baked potatoes and canned green beans. Feel free to join us. We’ll save you a plate.

The Lifewater Liberia arrives to sink the new market well.

It's sinking!

Under the zinc in the market, the women are busy.

This gives you a sense of where the well lies compared to the market. Actually, out house is in a direct line over the well, about two hundred yards in that direction.

We haven't mentioned much about HIV and AIDS while here, but it poses a serious threat to Liberia's future. Sister Barbara Brillant, dean at the Mother Patern College of Health Science predicts that HIV-AIDS, if not addressed, will be worse on Liberia than the fifteen year civil war. Every major international organization seems to be attempting to address it, each from a particular perspective. It is unknown how many in Liberia are HIV positive, but estimates suggests as much as 12% of the population may be infected. Every year about 7000 Liberians die from the effects of the virus. A nurse at a local hospital tells us 2 in 10 women coming in to deliver their babies are testing positive for HIV.

Renita and are are just begining to find places where we can bring ourselves into the HIV-AIDS battle. I have been providing consultation to HIV-AIDS counselors at the hospital and the HIV-AIDS program at MPCHS, and just recently Renita landed a contract on behalf of LEAD with the UN's World Food Programme. The WFP is providing microbusiness loans to women infected with HIV. Renita will be providing the business training and support.

Like everything else, it's a few drops of water in a dry land. But when all you have is a couple of eye-droppers, it's the only way to go. And who knows? if enough of us show up with eye-droppers, we may be able to fill a bucket.

ReedNews Update

Weather: Very heavy rains all day Friday the 13th. Local flooding. Approximately 5 inches of rain fallen as of 1:00pm. Temps in the mid 70’s. Light wind from the southwest.

The rainy season is here, but it has been generally kind to us. Since July 1, we have only had two stretches of rain falling for more than 18 hours without let up—although if it rains 24 out of 36 hours like early this week, it seems like steady rain the whole time. Today it has been very heavy with flooding, and everyone is hoping it stops soon. I took some shots on the way into town for you.

In the News--
Item-- The honeymoon is over for the Johnson-Sirleaf administration, with charges of corruption and political infighting abounding in the sensationalist gossip rags they call newspapers. At times the president’s fight against corruption has turned violent; the other day the Liberian National Police were fighting the Freeport Police because the Freeport Police were supposedly diverting petrol shipments. Indeed Monrovia was “out of gas” this week for a couple days—the few stations with gas were charging almost US$5.00 a gallon.

Item-- We continue to see signs of upcoming major infrastructure development. Not far from us, a massive buildup of road working equipment has begun. The equipment is Chinese, and I’m told the Chinese own the contract to widen and completely resurface Robertsfield highway, which is the road from the airport to Monrovia, and about a hundred and fifty yards from our house. So I’m thinking they’ll start in October.

Item—The market is open, with about twenty women selling their wares, and more signing up each day. You can buy foo-foo, greens, turkey, pig meat, cow meat, kitali, bitter ball, pepper, spices, beans, as well as soap, some clothes and flip-flops. It still has a long way to go to compete with the market a couple miles down the road, but its coming. “Small-small.”

Item—It is heartbreaking to have to report this, but we returned to discover that the pangolin died while we were away. It apparently found a home in a place that it could not back out of, and by the time our friends found it, three days had passed. I’ve never seen a more inoffensive, gentle creature, and I’m still sad about the loss. But I got the message. We will no longer support the practice of bringing in protected creatures from the bush to sell to missionary types. We thought we were rescuing creatures like the monkey and the pangolin. What we were actually doing was encouraging an illegal and destructive trade.

Item—Hannah begins her first job next week—secretary to the principal of the local school—Christ’s Friend Children Academy. The school can’t pay her of course, so Renita will be appealing to her father and uncles to chip in to augment her salary. Why we are only appealing to her uncles, I don’t know. Renita said it just seemed like an “uncle thing.”

The ladies at the new market showing their stuff. More merchants coming.

On the way into Monrovia this morning. The work does not stop, and these guys hauling planks in a wheel barrow are two of thousands doing their thing in the deluge.

Streets in town flooding. This sight is not at all unusual during this time of year.

Neighbors homes flooding as everyone waits it out.
Back home, Max licks Grace-- "Hey-- she tastes like venison!"Last night before the rains, pets gather at day's end to munch turkey bones and discuss ways to show the humans how to get along.