"Welcome to Africa!"

As my plane was descending, I saw the palm trees and lush green landscape of the rural parts of Liberia covered in a mist. When I saw those trees, I couldn’t help but think, “I am finally in Africa!” I landed in Monrovia over an hour late from my scheduled flight time. Then, tired and discombobulated, I made it through baggage and customs, which was really chaotic, but fortunately, my host mother, Jennifer, saw me when I walked out of the doors of the airport. After traveling alone for about 40 hours to an unknown place, there is nothing better than hearing someone calling out your name and having a ride home.

Since the airport is an hour and half away from Monrovia proper, we—Jennifer, Pastor Sam, Alice (Pastor's wife), and Arthur (Jennifer's cousin)—drove back toward the main city. Then we dropped off Arthur, Pastor Sam and Alice, but Jennifer and I got stuck in a very bad traffic jam while we were trying to get to the house. We sat—not moving—for over an hour and a half at this intersection. People were getting out of their cars and yelling at each other, cars were breaking down, and it was absolute chaos. As we were waiting in the car, Jennifer said, “Welcome to Africa!” Jennifer said that it was unusual for that kind of traffic on a Sunday night at 10 p.m., but traffic is a very big part of life here. In order to get to church everyday, I spend about two to three hours on the road--even though the distance really isn’t that long. The roads are only two lanes and are full holes from the rain.

I live with my host family: Jennifer; her son, Diamond, age six; her daughter, Golda, age eight; her step-daughter, Rubina, age fourteen; May, a distant relative who comes and goes, age twenty-seven; and Gotomo, Jennifer’s husband who is currently abroad for work and returns in July. We live in a fairly nice house, but we don’t have running water and only have electricity, which is powered by a less than reliable neighborhood generator, from 7 p.m. until 6 p.m. Out of school and very outgoing, Diamond came with me to church on Thursday and hung out with me. My host family is awesome and is such a blessing! (And it's nice to get hugs from Diamond and Golda when I get home each day.)

Right now, I’m working as an intern at Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia. The 2,000 member church sits in the heart of Monrovia, was site of the signing of the Liberian Declaration of Independence, and has been around since 1821. At this point, I will be working with all of the ministry teams but will spend a little more time in the Music and Worship Office. I will help out the choir with some basic vocal technique and will assistant direct a little bit. At this point, I am working with the church's Christian education and family ministry departments and am bringing some new ideas into the summer Wednesday night family ministry and the month-long youth Vacation Bible School. (Both programs start in July.) Hitting the ground while running, I am also preaching this Wednesday at an evening service and on this coming Sunday. The church has been very warm and welcoming, and the staff is a great group of people. I am meeting so many people each day and am hearing, “Welcome to Africa!” quite a bit. Since everyone has been so warm and friendly, I feel very welcomed to Africa!