Today I boarded a motorbike with Pinkie, who is David’s niece. Pinkie was the most popular person there due to my white skin. Haha! I followed her through the market as we stopped to get small portions of fresh fish, dry fish, pork, and chicken(wings and feet). We also got potato greens, an onion, and of course peppers. I bought a piece of fabric to wear as a skirt like the Liberian woman. They call it Lappa. We got back to Pastor David’s house and started to prepare potato green soup. I helped the little bit I could (which wasn’t much). It was actually very delicious! I also walked with Pinkie to what they called the “Store” which was a small shipping crate somewhat set up as a convenience store. They had some essential items that are common for cooking in Liberia. Pinkie shared with me that she is 19 and will finish high school next June because schools were closed due to the ebola crisis. She moved in with David and Wilma after her mother passed from high blood pressure. Such a beautiful young woman to learn from and spend time with.
We also ended out the day playing Mexican Train. It was a nice time bonding and laughing together. It was an awesome way to get to know everyone! None of them knew how to play it, but by the time we were finished they were all pros!
Jesse attended a bible study at the church with two men, Sunday and Abraham. During their walk to the church they were able to talk about Jesse’s career in electrical wiring and they were so excited because that’s what they want to learn! They’re both 21 and will be going to school to learn the trade but asked Jesse if he could teach them. They’re going to come to the Beaulah Center and help Jesse do the work. This will give Jesse a chance to not only teach what he knows about electrical, but also have some really good peer relationship and be a spiritual mentor. Jesse is very excited to get to know Sunday and Abraham more.
As you can imagine it will take us quite a while to get adjusted to living in a completely different culture. Everything is different and strange to us. Its uncomfortable. There is so much that we need to learn in this first 3 month period. Right now we are like babies.We cant speak or understand liberian english very well, we are accompanied by someone everywhere we go, Its hard to sleep at night because of the extreme heat and unfamiliar noises, and we don’t know our way around anywhere. We are slowly picking up the Liberian english and should soon be able to speak it a little bit. As we get more comfortable with our surroundings here we will start to adventure a little bit more and be able to talk to more people. Pastor David, Wilma, Hannah, Nosh, and Pinkie have been very welcoming and accommodating. They’ve been helping us to learn slowly and have been very patient with us. Please pray that in our season of learning that the Lord would help us to be like babies and learn by making mistakes. And also that he would continue to be with the Snylder family as they help us to become Liberians.