Week One WeighIn

June 15, 2006

Wow, so this is my one week anniversiary since arriving. I am adjusted and sleeping in again, just the way I like it. This morning at 7:30 I was laying in bed, still half asleep when I was rudely jolted into full consiousness by my nephew Josh who took it upon himself to wake me. He had a balloon filled with air and was letting it out slowly through a thin hole...creating a very high pitched screech. Yeah, I am not a morning person, I don’t know why....I claim it is genetic (yes, a feeble excuse)
So, I am sure everyone is dying to know what I have been up to. It has been a bit of a different week. Last Saturday night we hosted 15 peope (13 of them engineers) from the US and Canada who were over here working on a Library/school project for a mission headed up by a friend of Kathleen and James (my sister and brother-in-law). They were only here for a week. We made some great fish and seafood chowder (well Kathleen did) Joy and I made chocolate cake and biscuits. Mmm. I had a nice visit with a girl from New York City who is a Engineer Student.
Monday was my first day of official “work”. I met with Kathleen and she gave me my job description. I have a few projects.
1. Interviewing disabled people to assess whether some of them can be resettled, and what their needs are.
2. Develop and teach a conversational english class...to be held twice weekly. I am relying on a lot of help from Kathleen on this one. (yes, this scares me a bit....the teaching, not getting help from my sister...can I do it? )
3. With any free time, work to organize and begin cateloguing books...there will be lots more coming when we recieve the container we are shipping on June 24th
4. Starting up or working along side another person doing a weekly kids bible club. This should be a lot of fun, and definately something I have had a little more experience with. I always worry though, about being able to communicate well with the kids, and of course, if they will like me. I know I am silly!!

So that is my stuff. I will be taking one step at a time. I need lots of prayer and help from God to be able to do this all. I think it will be quite a challenge.

Tuesday I went with Kathleen downtown to where I will be going to interview people. The first place is called the Group of 77. There are two buildings when you drive in the gate. One is for administration and training, the other is where all the people live and they have a little school for the children. There are 130 people living at this facility, all with physical disablilities. I met two children, Boima and Patience...Boima jerks all over, but has never been diagnosed...I think he is perhaps 9. Patience apparently doesn’t speak. I don’t know if anyone knows why. They were very cute. There are adults there as well, missing limbs, or in wheelchairs. The needs in this place are so many, but it was encouraging to see that they have a little room set up as a clinic with a nurse, and one or two people that are counsellors on staff. Words don’t do justice, so I will have to take some photos for next time.
After leaving there we drove down to the very end of the road, practically on the beach. I thought we were going to a place called Coconut Grove and was thinking, are we lost? People all standing around staring at us in our car, very obviously out of place. Yep...this was the Coconut Grove...not so much of a grove really, but more of a shanty town. All these shacks, occupied by disabled people and their family, living on the edge of the beach, with garbage everywhere, everything is sand. Lots of children in rags. We went and visited with one lady who has withered legs...she gets around by walking on her hands and feet. These are the people we need to be helping. Can you imagine being in a wheelchair and trying to wheel home through the sand....not easy.

Wednesday I went with Kathleen to her Literacy classes. She teaches two, one for adults who can’t read, and one for teachers. It was nice to see what it is all about and to meet her students. In the evening we hosted a reception for two diplomats from the Canadian Embassy in Ivory Coast and maybe 8 Liberian leaders from different areas...like a pastor, a business men, several government type people. Yeah, it was a bit different for me, never having met a diplomat before and here they were in our home. I spent most of my time with the children and in the kitchen. I felt a little underdressed for the occasion and did not want to offend anyone. Socially I always feel awkward here, I am afraid I don't know all the rules and will end up saying the wrong thing, or wearing the wrong type of clothes. I guess I really just need to get over myself.

Today I completed a newsletter for Grassroots Ministry (the mission I am with here) and I started working on my Anatomy and Physiology. Yay. Finally. I am such a bad procrastinator. Yep, studying sudoriferous glands and the such. Good times.

Sorry this is so long. I feel like my blog will become more interesting though, I promise, I know I know, I think I have said that before.
It is sort of funny, when I see men here that I knew before, we greet each other, the usual nicities. But when I see women (this has happened several times) they tell me, “your big, you put on weight” I say, yeah I know, I went back to Canada and got fat. I take it as a compliment...really how else would I want to take it. You know, the big booty is popular in this country. I did tell James and Kathleen though, if I go back to Canada weighing more than when I came, I will not be impressed. I feel like all I have done since coming is eat. I’ll keep you updated...I need a measuring tape :) BEC