We got home from Liberia late last Thursday evening.  What a trip!  To those who have never been there - believe me when I tell you that we certainly live in the "land of plenty" to be sure.  We are so blessed here in the Western world.  Never again will I take for granted the good and plentiful food we have here and the clean water. 

The African people have done without so much.  It's also heartbreaking to see the devastation caused by years of strife in Liberia.  It will take decades to rebuild that country.  Where once there was faucets and light switches, they are now only hollow reminders of days gone by.  Devastated buildings stand - now bullet-ridden and decrepit-looking.  It's absolutely heart-breaking and also a little scary for me - knowing that the war has only been still for a brief 5 years.  Gasoline is sold in one gallon jars along the side of the road. 

Vendors struggle to be the first to try to sell something to you as you drive by in cars - especially if you are white skinned as they know that the whites have money.  I was almost ashamed of my skin colour.  Absolutely heart-wrenching is how I would describe Africa.  Some statistics:

Average life expectancy for women:  43  For men:  39  Unemployment rate:  90%.  68% of the population is under 25 - a very high percentage have lost their parents to the war. 

On a brighter note, and the reason why we went to Africa, was Anika.  She is a beautiful 12-year-old girl adopted by my dear friend Connie and her husband.  They adopted her brother a year ago, and this was our trip to bring her home.  She is a bright-eyed, intelligent, happy and beautiful child.  She has no inhibitions such as the ones we carry in this Western world.  It was an absolute joy to spend every moment with her for 8 days during our stay in Liberia and Ghana and then on our journey home.  A true blessing from God.

Do you have any idea how helpless it feels to be sick or caring for someone who's sick in a 3rd world country???  My friend, Connie, became VERY ill while we were in Ghana.  (We had to travel to Ghana because there is no Canadian Embassy in Liberia to complete Anika's Canadian Visa).  I thought Connie was going to die - and I'm not joking in the very least.  Luckily, the lady who ran the guesthouse where we were staying, knew of a clinic that has good practices and is safe.  It turns out that Connie was dehydrated.  The symptoms just were confusing so it didn't appear that's what the problem was.  Even though we were drinking water every few minutes the entire time we were there, it still happened.  A bout with diarrhea was all it took.  She went from very healthy to barely able to lift her head off the pillow in 12 hours.  We called home to get the prayer chain going and God answered our prayers.  She is healthy again - in fact, once she was seen by the doctor and given some treatment, she bounced right back within another 12 hours.  She was in a very weakened state due to her ordeal, but mostly healthy nonetheless.  We ended up leaving 24 hours earlier than scheduled just to get home. 

The heat is Africa is indescribable.  It's absolutely opressive.  Another reason why we westerners can get dehydrated so fast. 

We had lots of once-in-a-lifetime experiences on our trip.  I wouldn't trade the time spent in Africa for the world, but I sure wouldn't want to live there.  You should try it sometime - but drink lots of water - and pray!