Back Home

Well I am back in the States after a very taxing trip back. We left the ABC campus Thursday morning and didn't reach home til Saturday night. We did spent most of Friday seeing the sights in Monrovia which was quite fascinating and sobering. Then we took off from Monrovia around 9:30 PM and landing in Brussels around 4AM. Then a seven hour layover there, followed by flight to DC, and finally our last connecting flight to LA which touched down just before 7PM.

In the midst of the mental haze I can say for sure it was a great and enriching trip. One, I am sure, I remember the rest of my life. It was so rewarding to see the library finished and seeing the beaming smile on Grandpa's (Verl's) face as the library was getting dedicated was great to see. I know it was a very satisfying and emotional trip for him. And to top it off he was made a chief of the county by the ABC professors (more on that in a later blog entry).


It was quite humbling and eye-opening to see what the Liberians have gone through and are still going through as a result of the 20 years of civil war. Seeing how excited the students, and professors were to have books to read and a place to read, you realize how much we as Americans take for granted. Most of the current students at ABC have had little to no access to books up to now. For the whole two weeks we had students and workers saying, "Thank you" as we passed.


I will post more later this week as get more time to work through my thoughts and reflections on the trip and a little more coherent. With more photos and hopefully video in the near future.

Finishing Touches

Well believe it or not we are almost done with the library. We are putting in the last shelves and books, and I am double-checking all the network lines to make sure they work. After that we clean up and make everything look good. So hard to believe we are almost done. And with time to spare. Not a whole lot,we leave Thursday morning, but it's nice not to have to hurry things through.

As for the lost computers, it looks like the school lost 31 computers. Thankfully we have 18 to help absorb some of that loss. Still working on recovering some of the data on a few of the key computers.

Tomorrow I should have photos to post of the finished library. Back to work.

Out Exploring

This entry was supposed to go out Saturday, but time just slipped away.



Moving past the computer fiasco (looks like about 20 or so are gone) we finally went out and explored the area a bit. Joni, our Samaritan's Purse leader, took us out to see a few sights in Yekepa.

We first stopped at a nearby orphanage. Man, talk about humbling, seeing what little these kids had. The orphanage was a collection of all the orphans in the county, from toddler age to 16 years old. As soon as we got out of the car the kids instantly ran up and started shaking our hands and hugging us. They then took us on a tour of their facilities, including a newly built living area, the local school building, and the church where they worship. Our hearts break seeing these kids bantering for our attention. The most heartbreaking was the older kids who, you could tell, don't get the attention that the younger kids get from visitors. We could almost see the tension in their eyes how they so wanted love and affection, but at the same time were so guarded, as though they'd been hardened over all the years in the orphanage.



Afterwards, we went to a plot of land the contractor who had helped with the rebuilding of ABC last year had purchased for all the workers that had worked with him. He bought it with the expectation that the workers would use the skills they had learned working on ABC to build their own little town, start their own shops, and start practicing their trades. Pretty amazing. I never met the guy but everyone here has high praise for him.

We then went to an abandoned train yard that the mining company had used before the civil war. Man it was incredible. I could have spent a month there taking pictures. It was so surreal seeing all those locomotives stripped down and abandoned. I guess they were all only a year old when the civil war broke out. Once I get back I will have a whole series of shots from this place, I am sure.

Ummmm...

Well we have had our first technical difficulty. Yesterday afternoon right before dinner the voltage of the generator on campus went rapidly up and knocked all the power out. After restoring it we found that almost all of the computers that were plugged in, even those powered off, were gone (as far as we can tell right now). Talking to Bryan, our on call electritian (Thanks Bryan) we are trying to figure out what happened and how best to prevent it from happening again. Thankfully I had only plugged in two of the library computers at the time, and all the rest of the computers will be behind UPS backups which should help protect the computers from future incidents.

So today I am trying to assess the damage and figure out how many functioning computers we have on campus. We're praying for the best. I was able to take some good pictures, but not sure when I will get a chance to look at them. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to post, since we won't be working tomorrow.

We Have Lights!

Well the lights are now working in the Library. Thanks to James and Brad they cranked though the remaining lights and even installed all the blinds. We were also able to set up the network in the library as well. Next step is to set up the computer room and finish up the network inputs in all the other rooms. Things are starting to take shape. Doug and Judi are still trying to get all the library software squared away. It's always fun trying to contact customer service from a remote place like this. And Grandpa furiously put on all the switch plate covers. So furious in fact he broke some glass doing so (you'll have to ask him about his phenomenal strength).


Interestingly, we didn't have the local workers today because it was a national holiday, Decoration Day. It's a day to go the grave sites of you family members who had died in the wars over the past 20 years. It is quite interesting working with the locals. I could spend a whole post on that.


As we were wrapping up this afternoon we got bombarded by a major rain storm. In fact as I write this I have lost my internet connection so I am going to have to wait to post this. Quite dramatic rain here. We now have some little ponds around the campus, not sure how long they will stay. As the rain started to come down, James took on one of the students in a game of 21 (basketball) at the gym. They wagered James' T-shirt, which he lost. The student was so happy to win a T-Shirt and James had to retreat back to the house shirtless. Now he doesn't need a shower tonight.

That's all for now. Hopefully we can post photos of some completed rooms soon.

First Day at ABC

Well we made it. After 3 days of travel we made it to the campus. Quite a grueling trip though. Seven hours in Brussels seemed to be an eternity. And the 3 hour technical stop in Ivory Coast en route to Monrovia was a bit tiring but we made it. And were greeted by muggy muggy weather. The city is right on the beach, in fact our night in the guest house in Monrovia was about 30 yards from the beach. We fell asleep to breakers which was nice (the A/C was even nicer). Yesterday was a 7 hour drive up to Yekepa, which wasn't bad, but man it felt good to be finished with the travel for awhile.

Today we start off running. Quite a bit of the library was already done which was nice. The drop ceiling, most of the tile work, and all the walls were already done. I was busy working on the network lines for the computers. James spent the day putting in all the lights, Doug and Judi spent the day conversing with customer service for the software company that made the library system. Brad went in between both James and I helping whoever needed the help at the time. And Grandpa (Verl) had the most important job of the day, supervising all of us to make sure we did it all right.

That's all for now as it is starting to rain. Hopefully it will remove all this muggy weather. Next time I am aiming to include a picture if time permits.

First Leg Down

Well we made it to Washington DC. Now we have a 5 hour layover before heading out to Brussells. The above picture is light-mural-thingee (that's the technical name) that is just across from our terminal. My next chance to post will probably be Monday night or Tuesday when we get to the school.

Now we have to find something to fill the 5 hours.

One Day Away

Just over 24 hours away from embarking on our journey to Liberia. I doubled checked my list and I think I am set. I am all packed. And belive it or not I actually have some space to spare. That never happens. Course going minimalistic I am only taking the bare essentials.

Saturday is going to be quite a day. First we leave for LAX at 3AM for a 6AM flight. Then we should touch down in Washington DC with a four hour layover. After that we head to Brussels where we have an eight hour layover (yes I said eight). Then on to Monrovia where I believe we're suppose to arrive in the 10PM Monday, and crash at a guest house. Then the final leg is a 7 hour car drive into the jungle on a completely neglected road. Figured this would be the perfect time finally sit down and read Brothers K. I just hope I don't get too stir crazy in those two days.

Here are some before photos of the library. Hopefully I can take some more once we get to the school.

More Washington Photos

Eagles Aflight (2009)

Well I was able to squeeze some time out yesterday to finish a few more photos from my Washington trip a few weeks ago. The above photo was taken on San Juan Island. As we were winding down our day on the island we ran across six bald eagles in the trees just off the highway. So naturally we pulled over to take some shots. As you can see I got a few good shots. Such magestic birds, you really do have to see them in person to really appreciate them.

I also finished a shot of the rocky shore on the island. I still have a few more pictures I think I can pull from the bunch, but they will have to wait til after I get back from Liberia. Course then I will have even more photos and video to sort through. In the meantime enjoy the photos on my Flickr account. Some will be up shortly on my main site.

Bald Eagle Overhead (2009)

Rocky Shore - San Juan Island (2009)