Sunday in Liberia

The cars came at eight this morning to pick us up for church. We attended Our Sister of Lebanon Catholic Church with Dr. Sanvee. It was a big church overlooking the ocean with a school attached. The service lasted a little over an hour and had contemporary music with drums and a keyboard. I knew that since it was it was a catholic service we wouldn’t get up for communion, so when the usher came and excused our row, I nodded my head no to her. She kept standing by me and finally poked me in the shoulder and said, “Offering”. So Dave & I promptly stood up and followed everyone down to the front where Dave deposited some money in the one of the three baskets.
Everywhere we go we run into someone of importance that Dr. Sanvee knows. Or we run into someone who says, “She (Dr. S) saved my life. On the way here from the airport, we gave a Supreme Court Justice a ride to his home and met his wife. At church we were introduced to the head the International Bank of Liberia. We are starting to recognize people that we have been introduced to earlier in the week, the sisters and some of the brothers from the hospital, etc. For the most part, everyone has been so welcoming and genuinely glad to see us. A few such as woman in the village where we had car trouble, was a little unsure at first (especially after I took her picture), but eventually she even thanked me. I just hope she took the curse off that she sounded like she put on me in the beginning of our encounter.
After church we all went home and changed into shorts. I don’t know why, but that was a treat. Then it was off to Thinker’s Village and Beach for some relaxation and lunch. The resort is owned by a man named Edwin, who after living in the US, came back to help rebuild the country by starting the business at the resort.
It was another beautiful day of sea, blue sky and clouds. Our lunch was ordered from the restaurant and we each chose something that sounded good. There were fish, chicken, sandwiches (which didn’t get eaten  because it had lettuce and tomatoes on it) and even pizza on the menu. It was nice, but it is hard to get excited about food, when everywhere you turn there are very hungry people. Never the less, we had a relaxing day walking on the beach, looking for shells and seeing “The House at Sugar Beach” which is in the book of the same name by Helene Cooper. It was just on the other side of the resort we were at, but we didn’t get up close as there were clearly squatters living in it.

Maintenance Meeting
Dave and Tony held a meeting Monday that has been in the planning stages over the last week. It was for all the people in the maintenance department, their supervisor and the hospital administrator. There was a group of about 12 people in attendance and it was well received. They talked about preventative maintenance and other things in the facilities realm. They also used it as a chance to voice some concerns, which was a big deal because they have never had a chance to do that. After the meeting, word got back to us that the maintenance men came as a group to Dr. Sanvee and told her how much they appreciated what the Dave and Tony had done for them. Apparently this has never happened before. The guys also heard about their need for safety equipment (just basic things like rubber boots, rubber gloves and ear protectors), so someone has donated money to buy those things. So hopefully Tony and Dave will go out today with Ghana Boy and purchase those items