Surgery Update

So today was the big day for Blessing. We traveled to Firestone Hospital (Duside Hospital) at 7AM to have Blessing there and ready for the team here from Children's Surgery International (CSI) and Smile Train. The team arrived last Friday. Had two days for screening Saturday and Sunday, and have been performing surgeries since Monday. When we originally talked to the doctors back in September they were hoping to perform 60-70 surgeries in 4.5 days. In an unofficial count by one of the staff they are estimated to have performed 130+ surgeries by the time the pack up tomorrow about noon (to catch their flight out tomorrow evening). So many hernias, cleft lips and other problems fixed.

So without further ado...here are a couple final pictures of Blessing while waiting in the pre-op room.

After getting her ankle IV. Does she look nervous?

While waiting during her procedure, I took a few pictures around the hospital. You know you aren't in Washington anymore when the satellite dishes are pointed straight up.

A picture on the wall outside the surgery theaters of the rooms during the civil war...

The first picture post-op. She wasn't real happy, but after being cut on and not eating for over 12 hours we all get a little fussy.

After a bottle and a little time to relax in the pediatric ward. She still has more surgeries in her future for her palate and nose, but an incredible job to fix her lip.

So many other children there. It was such a joy to get to interact and play with them. This little one knocked a large pot of boiling oil onto herself a little over a month ago. Despite the serious burns over much of her body she is slowly healing and had a good time with the CSI nurses and staff.

The Ped ward we were in at Firestone...very nice.

A couple other surgery recipients resting.

Blessing resting.

Couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a picture of an odd construction. It looks like the toilet flange was a little too close to the wall so they sunk the toilet into the wall.

From left to right: Dr. Keith Chapman (assisted with Blessing's surgery), some woman in the hallway who wanted her picture taken, and Dr. Kofi Boahene. Kofi was born in Ghana but currently works with Johns Hopkins and was the surgeon for Blessing's operation. Thank you Kofi and the rest of the CSI/Smile Team.

And one final picture of the scenery on the way to Firestone Hospital on the Firestone rubber plantation. If you kinda squint you might think they are grape vines in Napa.
Thank you for all your prayers.

Friday

I started out thinking I'd make a Facebook post about my trip to town today, but decided it would be far too long. So I decided I'd just rundown my entire day on the blog to give people an idea what I do on any given day.

I woke up about 6AM (not counting getting up with Blessing at 4AM when she decided it was time to eat). Got in the shower and was happy to see we had water pressure. Yesterday I turned on the shower to find a trickle running out. Only one of our 4 well pumps were working. We were able to get two of them fixed though and they held through the night. Ran up to the powerhouse at 6:30 to switch generators before the smaller generator that I left running overnight overloaded.

After our 7:30 devotional I went to the hospital with our plumbers to figure out why there was not water in two of the OB rooms. After crawling through the attic for 10 minutes we came up with a plan to fix the issue. On my way out of the hospital I was stopped by our masons who were trying to figure out how to fix a collapsing septic tank(Really more trying to figure out how to empty the contents so they could fix it). Then it was back to the powerhouse because we were getting low on fuel and the generators were having trouble. The next few hours were spent running between the carpenters, plumbers and masons trying to solve problems and deliver materials. Oh, and a call from out dental clinic that our plumbing fix had flooded the hygenist's room.

After a 30 minute meeting with the executive director and a lunch meeting with a couple other missionaries...our weekly fuel truck showed up. Always the lowlight of my week. 40 minutes +/- of arguing over what 1,000 gallons of diesel looks like. Last week one of the guys asked me to set him up with an American girl and left me his phone number. If anyone out there is looking for a single Mandingo male who works the hose on a diesel truck let me know.

After a quick lunch I went with our plumbers to ELWA Junction to get a proforma for boots, gloves, coveralls, a "nose thing" and safety goggles. With the E.D.'s help I was able to convince them earlier to take on the task of emptying the solids out of the septic tank at the hospital. After a couple more stops I headed to town to buy a few things.

Downtown Monrovia is around 30-60 minutes from ELWA depending on traffic. I tried to stop on the way for some fuel at the Total gas station in Congo Town but they were out of gasoline (and diesel too). There's been a fuel shortage the last couple weeks, so I try to get gas whenever possible. I arrived downtown on Randall Street around 4:00 and was able to exchange some auto parts that I picked up last week for some that will hopefully fit one of the hospital pickups.

The next stop was to a household goods store to pick up an air conditioner. This was my third attempt. The last two times the unit wasn't there and the owner wasn't able to go to his warehouse on Bushrod Island, the second time because he was allegedly in a car accident. This time I arrived and he said the type I wanted were hard to find and he didn't have any right now. But he took me to a neighboring store that was supposed to have one. The owner of the new store told me he had an almost new unit that he'd sell me for about 1/4 the cost of new. I told him to bring it out so I could see it...an HOUR later his driver came back with the unit from their offsite warehouse (maybe caps wasn't really enough, we're talking an hour of waiting in a hot humid store with no AC and not much else to look at). I wish I had my camera. This thing looked at least 3 years old, had graffiti on the outside and was missing the inside panel so you could see the condenser from inside the room. They tried to plug it in but it wouldn't come on. After removing the casing from the top they discovered the fan wouldn't rotate because there were "so so" rat's nests built around the fan. After politely declining to purchase the unit I headed back home...

After delivering some cement to a couple of our masons who were working late I headed home for dinner. We got a call then that the Chapman's were watching Wayne's World with some of the guys from Orphan Relief and Rescue so we headed over for movie night.

So now it's time to get to bed. Blessing has her screening tomorrow with the team from Smile Train/Children's Surgery International that just arrived. I'll leave you with some pictures of her in a classic "Johnny Jump up" that we borrowed from our friends the Ngendas.

New ELWA website

A group of former missionaries, missionary kids and ELWA supporters have started a new website, http://www.elwamausa.org/. Check it out.

Also, if there are any electricians or high voltage linemen out there who would like to spend a week or three in Liberia, we are putting a team together. The last week of February and first two weeks in March we will be making some major changes to the power system here at ELWA and could use the help of people experienced with power systems. If you're interested or know someone who might be please contact me.

First post of 2010

Today we drove back to Marshall for the day. We went with a group of other SIM missionaries with plans to take a boat across the river from Marshall to an island inhabited by research Chimpanzees. Through a series of circumstances we ended up not going to see the chimps, but it was still an eventful day.

We walked through the village and then back towards the car when Jamie ran into the midwife who had delivered Blessing. Blessing's mother lives in a small village across the river from Marshall, and when she went into labor in the middle of the night the midwife delivered Blessing in her house. She was very excited to see Blessing and how well she was doing. Lots of other women from the village gathered around to take a look...


Marshall is a fishing village on the ocean at the mouth of the Farmington River. With very few Liberians having access to refrigeration, the fish are placed in large drums and smoked.

A couple fishermen putting a fresh coat of paint on their wooden boat. Notice the Beckham shirt.

Marshall might be 90 minutes from Monrovia and 15 miles down a dirt road, but that doesn't mean the men don't keep up on the latest soccer games and news.

A listing of the upcoming games at the video club.

On the way back we stopped at Caesar's beach. Here we are in front of the other vehicles in our group heading down to the water.

Before the war Caesar's Beach was home to Caesar's Beach Hotel. A impressive structure, even with no roof. It looks like it's on the market if anyone is interested... complete with 46 rooms and room for a nude beach.

And one random picture thrown in with a creative church name.

To Kpayellay and back

Today we went to Kpayellay Town. I (Rusty) work with a man named John Eddie at ELWA Technical Services who's family is originally from that town. A few weeks ago John asked us for some help with a project in his home village. The village is remote and he has been trying to fund a school for the children that live there. We asked if we could go see the school and village, and John happily agreed to take us.

For most of the month of December Jamie's sister, brother in law and family are here visiting. We decided while they were here it would be an excellent time to take the hike to John's village and explore a little of the interior. The 11 of us, along with John Eddie and our neighbor boy Kelvin (who watched the vehicles while we hiked to the village) headed out around 7:30 this morning.

To reach the village you pass through the Firestone rubber plantation. Firestone has operated a rubber plantation in Liberia since the 1920's. They have almost 200 square miles of rubber trees that are tapped for natural latex. Here are a couple pictures of the rubber trees and the harvesting of the latex.

The end of the car road comes at the Farmington River. From there you have to set out in a canoe that ferries people and goods across the river.

Once on the other side of the river you hike about 45 minutes to get to Kpayellay. Along the way we crossed 5 or 6 creeks, saw a trail of army ants and lots of other flora and fauna.

Newly planted rubber trees near the village.
Army ants
One of the stream crossings.

Once we reached the village we were greeted by the town administrator. He took us on a tour of the village and surrounding area. Then we were treated to a traditional Liberian meal of rice and pumpkin soup. Afterwards we gathered for a discussion with all of the town people (around 100 people live in the town). They let us know how excited they were to have visitors. Nobody there could remember the last time they had white people visit the village, if ever. They were very gracious hosts, and concluded by giving us a large rice bag full of plantains and a dead monkey that the chief had just brought back. We decided we didn't know any good monkey recipes so we took the plantains and left the monkey with the chief.

A floral arch they had decorated for our arrival.
The village. It is ringed with banana, plantain, Kola nut, and breadfruit trees.
Niece Cori resting after the hike.
The boys resting with some coconut they gave us to drink and eat.
Where the town performs blacksmithing.
The school. Approximately 29 children learn with no books or writing instruments. They do have the small blackboard that the teacher uses to give the lessons. The teachers are a couple men from the village who sacrifice valuable farming time to provide this basic education.
One of the boys enjoying some stick candy.

Our host and guide, John Eddie.
Exploring the village with Cali while we waited for lunch.
Roofing material waiting to be used. Like all roofing in Liberia, it is called Zinc. In this case it is called "Country Zinc".
Visiting with the locals in the palava hut
A great picture that Royce took of one of the local women with her twins, Prince and Princess.
And last but not least, our monkey...

Liberian Artisans

Through our adoption journey we've met a number of incredible people. There are a couple different online groups that we've been members of the last few years that have put us in contact with dozens of other families who either have adopted or are still waiting to bring children home. We were able to meet one of these families, the Glanvilles, a couple times before we left for Liberia. They have since started a non-profit to help Liberian artists sell their wares in the US. You can visit their website at www.fourcornersmarket.com. With Christmas just around the corner, I'm sure everyone can find something on their website and help to support Liberia.

I recently visited some of the people that Peter and Amber purchase from. here's a picture of the wood carvers busy making different projects.

The finished products.
Some of Yassa's baskets.
Some paintings from vendors near the US Embassy.

I almost walked past these without taking notice. One of the vendors is making these cars...out of old slippers (what Liberians call flip flops). They are really pretty neat.
A helicopter made from slippers. Complete with a working rotor tied to the wheels.

A few other non-artist pictures from my travels this day. There are no ready-mix concrete companies in Liberia so all concrete is mixed by hand with 50kg cement bags. The bags are delivered by vendors who load and unload hundreds of bags from trucks like this, typically into roadside shipping containers that serve as retail stores for local vendors. The guys that provide the muscle typically pack the bags on their head. It is a little hard to see, but the guy on the right looks like the typical laborer...covered in cement dust by the end of a hard days work.
An interesting ministry name.
and an even more interesting business name.

squirt guns and bubbles

November Update

Greetings from Paynesville (who's motto I just found out is "Sanity and Greatness" ...hmmm). We're starting to have more days of sunshine as we transition from rainy season to dry season. By most accounts we're having a wetter November than usual, but most of the rain comes in the evening or overnight. Even with the rain, my plumber last weekend told me "the ocean was looking dry". Take a little while and see if you can figure out what that means...

We don't have a lot of pictures from the last few weeks. The latest STS container arrived with all kinds of things that we had shipped over for ourselves and for our orphanage visits. We brought bubbles to Acres of Hope a couple weeks ago and a fresh supply of glow bracelets to Addy's Hope. Unfortunately while we were at Addy's I also locked out keys in the car. The orphanage is about a 20 minute drive from our house so it added a little time to our stay while everyone waited for me to catch a ride home and return with the spare.

The boys have been busy working on their video skills taping Blessing. They brought me the camera today and it had 70 clips they wanted me to upload. Most were too dark or shaky to see much, but I've uploaded a couple that turned out pretty good. The camera also had a few clips from the past couple months so I've added a couple clips from the Tae Kwon Do ceremony and a bonus clip from a few months back...

Bomi Lake

I took the day off today and we drove up to Bomi Lake. It is an old iron ore and diamond mine formerly operated by an American company about 2 hours from Monrovia. It almost got a lot longer when we were stopped at a checkpoint and realized we didn't have passports for Jamie and the boys. Luckily the Immigration official let us through with a warning.

The UN now runs a couple operations out of the area. A battalion of Pakistani troops is stationed in the area (Pak Bat) and fixed up an observation point and recreation area. Both are starting to fall apart now, but still provide good areas for pictures and swimming.

Here's a view from the "Pak Point"

The swimming area. The water is very clear and there are quite a few Tilapia swimming around through the rocks. There's even an old wood diving board that we were able to dive off.
The sign says "Pakistan Gazebo, const by Pak engr 7"
They even have a Pineapple orchard...or at least used to.
The boys playing in the water.
A group of Nigerian and Pakistani UN staff came by and wanted pictures with the family. You can see one of the Pakistani soldiers holding Blessing. He said he has a one year old boy back home that he's missing.
A view of nearby Tubmanburg from the Pak Point observation area.
Christopher and Colton...not sure what they were doing.
The view north into Gbarpolu County.
An old sign in Tubmanburg on an old Bomi Evangelical Church. SIM started as "Sudan Interior Mission" but later changed to "Serving In Mission".

Christopher's Bday and Blessing update

Christopher turned 14 on Sunday. He didn't want to make too big of a deal about it, so we didn't really have a party for him. We went out to lunch after church and then to Kendeja to their pool to play around. Here are the boys in the pool.

Blessing and Jamie sunning poolside.

Another picture of Blessing and Jamie before church.

Saturday night gathering at the Chapman's. Every other Saturday they have worship with other expats and Liberians. Worship is lead by the hit duo, Dr. Doctor.

The boys preparing for worship time...