Arrival in Liberia

Where to begin!? Well we’re here in Liberia and the past few days have been a very surreal experience. There have been so many changes that mentally adjusting has been a full-time job! And I’m sure that that will be an intensive process for some time to come!

We left Winston-Salem on Tuesday in some really bad weather and I was really hoping that traffic would keep moving. About 20 miles from Charlotte and our flight out, we ran into a traffic jam. Well, I was able to call my father in Laurinburg and he was able to go online and find a very specific route for us around the jam. It worked beautifully and we got to the airport in plenty of time! Technology still amazes me.

So we said our goodbyes to Jenny’s parents (who have faithfully supported us in a multitude of ways for which we are very grateful!), got our 10 bags checked in and got on the plane.

Some 24 hours later, after brief layovers in Chicago and Brussels, we arrived in Monrovia. I was delighted to see that they had luggage carts available there! We had an airport employee help us with our checked bags, which all arrived intact!!, and were very grateful for his help! There was hardly room to move in the baggage pick-up area, but we somehow were whisked through and sent on our way. As soon as we left the airport we were completely swarmed with folks wanting to help us with our bags in hopes of being tipped, and my cart was promptly, almost forcefully, taken from my hands. I was practically asleep on my feet at this point and not really able to deal effectively with the situation. As our bags were being literally jammed into several of the mercy ships vehicles simultaneously, and tip amounts were being suggested to me on all sides, I recognized that my desire to maintain some control over our belongings and the situation would need to be completely surrendered. I followed the suggestion of a mercy ships staff member there, politely thanked as many folks as I could and kept the money in my pocket. After being threatened by one self-appointed porter, I closed the door and we were on our way.

On the drive in from the Robinson Airport to the ship a taxi got too close on the right and the tire of our 4wd vehicle apparently rubbed his rear fender. We pulled over and, after a brief shouting match through my window, our African driver, Isaac, got out, with the vehicle still running, and went to get the situation straightened out. This basically consisted of, as I understood it, a simple apology on the part of our driver and we were on our way again. That could have been very unsettling if not for the peace of knowing that God is in control.

Soon afterward it began to rain heavily and we met the Liberian vice president’s motorcade on the road. At dusk we arrived at the dock to be greeted by a band of friends from the gateway program in Texas, some of whom had been soaked by the rain. It was such a wonderful reunion!! We were so delighted to see our friends again, especially in the setting we had all prepared for. They helped us carry our bags up the gangway and onto the ship. We were fed a meal of pasta and collapsed in our cabin, the door of which was beautifully decorated with welcome signs and treats.

Our cabin is very nice and the kids really like their rooms. Below are photos of the views outside our windows.

The walls are a bit thin, but that hasn’t presented any major problems so far. The ship is huge and there are lots of things for the kids to do and explore. They started school on Friday and really enjoyed their day. The school is literally 15 steps from our cabin door! I don’t think it could possibly be any closer! They have already had several phone calls from kids in their class and meeting with them after school involves only a short walk. Being so close to everything on the ship is great, but I’m sure as time moves on there will be some difficulties with living in a big house and work space with hundreds of other people. But, so far, so good. It is taking quite a while for everything to sink in and I know we have a long way to go.

Jenny and I will be starting work on Monday. Jenny will be scrubbing with Dr. Parker in the O.R. and I will be trying to get a handle on my job during a bit of a tight spot as one of the photographers will be gone for the next couple of weeks.

I was able to go, without Jenny and the kids this time, on a walk into town on Saturday with a friend of ours from Texas, Michael Young. He showed me the ropes at the Duala Market in Monrovia, about a 45 minute walk from the ship. Having never been to Africa before and being in the middle of it like that was a very overwhelming experience! A bit scary, really, at first. We stuck out like sore thumbs. I didn’t take my camera today, but I hope I can gather enough courage to take it with me sometime soon.

Love to All,

John