Wednesday, March 14
- The rest of our team (seven persons) arrived at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) in Harbel. Delta Airline Flight 134 landed around 4:30 PM as scheduled with Jason Toler (worship music leader and businessman from Indiana), Kevin Young (businessman) and his son Corbin (from Tennessee). Immigration and baggage claim (the craziest part of arrival) lasted for over an hour. Then Jason stepped outside the terminal, looking around as a lost soul in no man's land. Then I yelled his name, and ran to greet, hug, and welcome him to Liberia. Kevin and Corbin followed close behind; it was my first time meeting them, so Jason introduced us briefly.
- We moved swiftly to stack their luggage in the Toyota Sienna minivan and Kia Sportage compact SUV, then went to the airport's only restaurant where we waited for the second flight, coming from Brussels, with Brother Ron Miller, Charlotte Nichols (dentist), Heather Hodges (all from Kentucky), and Joe Walker (from Tennessee). Their flight touched down around 6 PM, and about an hour later they had survived immigration and baggage claim, as they showed their faces outside the terminal after 7 PM.
- Our guests' luggage could not all fit into the two vehicles driven by Martin Curlon and his mechanic, AB, so we chartered a station wagon for the 45-minute drive from Harbel to Monrovia. Arriving at the ELWA guesthouse, we spent another two hours or so to get everyone into rooms: Joe and Bro. Ron each had his own room; Jason, Kevin and Corbin shared one room with three beds nearly jammed one next to the other; Charlotte and Heather shared one room with one bed, and they didn't seem to mind. It seems this group is ready for the African mission field. The guesthouse is located right on the beach; they really love that.
- It was after 10 PM when the two drivers (Martin and AB) took us to the Golden Key Hotel and Restaurant for a late dinner. Some team members made use of the wifi Internet connection at the hotel to catch up on email, while we wait for our expensive meal orders to show up.
- I briefed the team on the our compact schedule of events; it will be quite hectic, but then this is not a tourist vacation; this is mission WORK. I went over the financial needs yet to be met, relating to the cost of meals for conference attendees for three days at $383 per day. Also costly is transportation cost, which includes rental fee and gasoline for two vehicles that will be available to the team throughout our stay. Upon hearing my concerns several team members quickly offered to contribute. Relief came over me, and I quietly thanked the Lord for the generous hearts on this team.
- Some things have become very expensive in Liberia. Part of the reason has to do with the rocketing cost of gasoline. With post-war Liberia importing just about everything from food to building materials, it is easy to see how gasoline at $4.52 or higher per gallon can fuel rising prices for nearly all goods and services. The word of hope is that oil has been found at several points along the Liberian coast. Gasoline price could fall dramatically if Liberia's leaders require Chevron, which now has an office here, to not only drill and extract the oil but to refine it into gasoline, diesel, etc, right here on Liberian soil.
- By the time our team got done eating and returned to ELWA, the gate to the main entrance was shut. The American missionary couple who orientated team members to the guesthouse did not inform us that the gate would be locked. Isn't it ironic that people who work with a radio broadcast campus fail to communicate such important info to foreigners on their grounds? Fortunately, we found a second entrance which remained open, and we made it back to the guesthouse the long way. I doubt the team will get enough sleep tonight, owing to the difference in time zones between GMT here in Liberia and Central Time where our team members came from in the US. But I am confident this bunch will do just fine, little sleep notwithstanding. ~End Blog 7 ~
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