Weekend adventures

It has been great to have a few days of rest and relaxation. I have been exploring the markets, beaches, restaurants, and local culture this past weekend. Saturday morning a few of my friends and I headed for a day of adventure. We asked other people on the ship how to get a taxi, they told us to contact a man named Alfred. We called Alfred on his cell phone and arranged for him to pick us up. The ship mandates that all people leaving the ship have a cell phone with them, so they loan us cell phones for the day. We had Alfred's number with us in the cell phone. He arrived with a friend in a taxi, he informed us that his car was in the shop, but his friend would drive us to the beach. We asked the price and the driver said a very high price. Before we even began to bargain, Alfred started speaking in a stern voice with his friend. They went back and forth for awhile. I didn't catch much of the conversation, but Alfred said something like, "these people are from Mercy Ships, don't you know what they are doing for our country, they are helping us, you cannot charge that much, it's not right." The driver said, "but they have money, they are American." Alfred told the man it didn't matter, we were working for free to help Liberia. So, a reasonable price was reached and we all loaded in the taxi to head to the beach. I went to CE CE beach, it was beautiful. It is connected with a hotel, so it is very nice and private. The water feels like warm bath water, the warmest Atlantic Ocean water I have ever felt! We spent a few hours in the sun and shade just relaxing. We then called Alfred to pick us up. His car was working by this time. He agreed to spend the rest of the day as our private tour guide and taxi driver. He took us to the market where we bought fruit and fabric. The women here wear the most beautiful dresses and skirts and there are tailors all over town who will make clothing for you. I am hoping to use some of the fabric I bought to have a traditional African dress made. I got 12 yards of fabric for $10. The fabric is elaborate and rich in color, we have nothing like it in America. Mom, can you guess what I want you to make with this fabric? I feel a line of African scrubs would suit me well. Next, Alfred drove us around town, pointing out local points of interest. He then took us to a supermarket. Finally, we went to a restaurant. Alfred said he would wait in his taxi until we were done. We invited him to join us for dinner. After we ordered, his phone rang, he looked as if he needed to go, someone else needed a ride. He reported he would return to get us when we were done. About 45 mins later he showed up at the restaurant with 3 more people from Mercy Ships. They had also called him to take them to dinner. Alfred is very popular and blessed by Mercy Ships even though, he is not a patient of Mercy Ships. He returned us safe and sound to the ship and agreed to drive us whenever possible. One of my friends is the current eye surgeon on board, she gave Alfred a pass to get his eyes fixed. Normally, our eye patients only get one eye fixed at a time because of the volume of people we have to serve and the limited resources of staff on the ship. The eye surgeon, Suzy, said she would fix both his eyes. No worries, he can still see enough to drive, or he knows the roads really well, because we made it out of his car alive. Sunday morning I went to a local church called Bethel Cathedral. It is huge and beautiful! The African church as a whole is so passionate and truly has the spirit of God in their hearts. We ahve a lot to learn from them. The worship is incredible! Think of the school choir in Sister Act II with Whoopie Goldberg x100. I tried to sing along, but couldn't catch all of the words. All of the church people were dancing and clapping. I tried to clap along, but white girls like me just don't have rhythum. The African lady that I came with was trying to help me clap. It was very funny! The sermon was long and powerful; complete with powerpoint. The preacher spoke about the story of Lazarus, and that God's timing is best. According to Martha and Mary, Jesus did not come soon enough, in their minds it would have been best of if Jesus would have arrived before Lazarus died. Yet, God knew best and his glory was shown because of Lazarus's death and resurrection. The preacher compared this to our lives and when we want something now, but we dont' see the entire picture, but when God completes the picture, things are so much better. I feel somehow that this is true of this being the right time for me to be in Africa. I wanted it so bad when I was younger, in school, or even last year, but God knew that this would be his time for me here. Thanks for helping me get here, thanks for your prayers that are keeping me here. I love all of you.