A Day Touring Monrovia!

On Friday evening, after all the campers had returned home, Olu took the staff out for dinner at Golden Beach. We all headed straight for the beach to play in the ocean and take pictures together. We laughed and reminisced about the wonderful week we had and the memories that were made. For dinner we consumed about seven pizzas, and sat too full to move. This was the first time Alice has had pizza! We all stared, laughed, and took pictures as she tried her first bite. Yes, she liked it!

Holly, Sheik and I took the guys on a site seeing tour on Saturday. We spent the morning walking around the Hotel Africa and the conference center. Hotel Africa was a five star hotel, built in the late 70’s, and was destroyed during the war. We walked in the shell of the building, across rubble, and up broken stairs. We found the elevator shaft, and the remnants of the lobby staircase and fountain. The walls were covered in graffiti, electrical wires hung from the ceilings, and broken tiles covered the floor. Behind the hotel we saw the swimming pool that is in the shape of Africa. There were a bunch of local boys climbing palm trees and eating the coconuts out by the pool. They ended up showing us parts of the hotel and telling us what they knew about the history. Under all the rubble, we could tell that Hotel Africa was a beautiful building before the war.

After a nice lunch we went to the highest point in Monrovia, the Ducor International Hotel. This was also a very nice hotel that was destroyed during the coup in the early 90’s. The view from here was incredible. We could see West Point, Providence Island, the bridge, and most of central Monrovia. It was beautiful! We met a man named Moses, who has been working at the hotel since 1976. He walked us around and described what the hotel used to look like. Unlike Hotel Africa, a lot of the rubble had been cleared away. The UN has people stationed at the hotel because the UNMIL radio broadcast is on the top of the building. My favorite part of the day was meeting Moses, and hearing just a little bit of his story. He even showed us an old brochure from the hotel that he had laminated. It looked like a place that attracted tourist from all over. Moses told us that the government is planning to rebuild Ducor, and that he is excited about being around to see it happen.

We had a lot of fun today, but there were also moments where I saw, smelled, and felt the effects of war. I am constantly amazed at what this country has been through, and what they are doing to rebuild Liberia.

PASSPORTLiberia 2010

We officially kicked off PASSPORTLiberia on Friday, January 8^th with a busy day of training with the Liberian staff. Friday evening Holly and I went to the airport and picked up the four guys who arrived from the US. Josh Brooks, Mike Young, Josh Speight, and Walt Windley, along with all of the luggage, got into Monrovia around 7:00pm. We had dinner at the Royal Hotel and then headed back to campus to sort through camp supplies and make plans for the next day. Saturday was a long, intense day of training with the entire staff. From the moment we all sat down for breakfast there was an amazing staff dynamic. We laugh, sing, play, dance, and work together in a very unique and special way. Sunday morning was spent rehearsing celebrations and worship in the chapel, and setting up bible study rooms. After lunch camp officially started with registration!!

Students were to arrive between 2:00 and 5:00, but in Liberia that means most of them came between 5:00 and 7:00 (or later that night or the next morning). We had the sound system set up on the front steps of the school building and the staff danced and sang as the campers arrived. We assigned each student a bible study group and a dorm room. We put them in a dorm room with people from their bible study group, and encouraged them to spend time getting to know people they wouldn’t normally hang out with at school. The staff agreed this was a great way to help them build and form community.

Campers all gathered in the chapel on Sunday evening for Opening Celebration, a time that is led by the staff to introduce the theme and activities for the week, go over the rules, and get the students excited about camp! We ended the night with Vespers, the first worship service of the week. Josh Brooks led the music and did a fabulous job. Music is a big part of the Liberian culture, and the songs are really engaging and allow the students to express themselves. There are no words to describe the singing that is taking place in Washington Chapel this week. The students sing so loud and have this freedom in their voices that is unexplainable. The voices echo all around campus every time we sing together. Josh Speight gave the sermon about how we are free to be free, and did a fantastic job. We closed the night by singing Amazing Grace. There is no doubt that the presence of God was felt in this moment.

Each day the campers are participating in bible study, missions, and recreation. They stay in their bible study groups for each of these activities. Our mission project is building three incinerators around campus. We have groups building at both the girls and boys dorms, and at the school building. The goal is that the Ricks community will use the incinerators to burn trash. Right now the trash is just thrown in the bushes or put in a pile on the grass. So far the foundation is completed and groups are building up to form the door. It has been exciting to watch the students do something they have never done before. Very few of them have had experience laying bricks. They are learning something new and giving something back to their community.

For recreation the students are learning how to build trust and teamwork. Bible study groups are doing part of a low ropes course each day. It has been a learning experience for the campers to work through frustration and cooperate with their peers. They are beginning to understand that good communication is necessary to complete the tasks before them.

We are at the end of Day 3 and getting ready for worship. Holly is preaching tonight on freeing others from false fences. For the party tonight we will learn the Grand March, which is a traditional Liberian dance done at celebrations. We are all very excited!!