Homestay

We moved to Massa’s house on Tuesday. Massa is someone Eddie lived with for a time. Moving involved some packing and organizing our things of course (we stored some at the guest house) and with a little anxiety at what the three nights there would look like, we made our move.
Massa’s home is gated and very nice by Liberian standards. Her daughter and grandchildren also have a home within the little compound. Massa had informed me that she does not get home until about 7:30 each night (off at 5:30). So we were greeted by her “house help,” Ophelia and Amos. We have electricity, running water in the bathroom and a refrigerator. However, there is no WiFi or A/C. A double test of our strength! The first night we ended up eating chicken salads (those little snack packs) we brought from home along with some other snacks. We confess, our first night was a mental challenge. But we made the best of it, as we do!
In this heat, the A/C is by far the biggest

luxury. When I am leaving the guest house in the morning, I always think I can endure the heat and humidity with no problem, knowing what I will return to in the evening. These three days, knowing there isn’t a ton of relief at the end of the day is a little tough mentally. We have been at the school playing and teaching each day this week. We are sweaty and dirty from head to toe by the end of each day. My skin feels course because the dust clings to my sticky skin. But a cold shower does rejuvenate. And we are fine. Beyond fine really to have all that we have. It is hard to share even this little bit of our experience because it makes us sound us sound spoiled. None of our Liberian friends are going home to cool air and running water. But they never begrudge us or make us feel badly because we “need” our comforts. Over and over, Pastor Wesley acknowledges that we are not used to the climate and culture and we are not expected to handle it all as if we are Liberians. God truly designs us for the climate in which we live. They call me Liberian and maybe I am in spirit but not in this body!