Wednesday, January 16

Today was another exhausting, amazing, powerful day. Carol and Nicole hosted the second day of the teachers’ conference with a focus on story. What is life if not one big, beautiful narrative? We talked about the importance of using story in the classroom and how it can be integrated across the curriculum. I particularly enjoyed playing the part of teacher and reading one of my favorite books to my “students”: Henry’s Freedom Box. They were riveted! In the afternoon, Carol took over the kindergarten class and Nicole taught the 5th graders. Such fun!

While the teachers’ conference was going strong, Julie and Allan spent the day working on Eve’s visa. They started off at the lawyer’s office, moved on to the American embassy, found out they needed to fill out one more document, and ended up spending several hours at Samaritan’s Purse headquarters borrowing a spare office and a fast internet connection. They got it all done! Praise the Lord for continuing to smooth the path ahead of us.

Back at the orphanage, Brian spent the day on maintenance and repairs. His white t-shirt was brown by the end of the day, but it was fun to hear the generator running in the background and the sound of drills and laughter. The men at the compound love to run power tools! Jana stayed busy helping Nurse Sarah with the boys’ eye exams. As the grandmother of five little boys, she says she choked back tears the whole day. There is something about those tough little guys that melt your heart.

A long, wonderful swim in the ocean capped off our hot day. We love the beach! Liberia really is one of the world’s best kept secrets, and the beach rivals any exotic destination you can imagine. Best of all, when we were exhausted from the waves, we went back to the guesthouse and had an absolute feast. Lucia (a dear friend and the wife of a pastor we know) had cooked us a banquet. Liberian chicken in a spicy sauce with peas and onions, rice, papaya, pineapple, plantains, and her homemade banana cake. Bananas in Liberia taste like banana concentrate. Nothing compares. If only they’d let us carry them home on the plane!

Thanks so much for continuing to remember us in your prayers!