End of the Road

+23:00 Zwedru~

I've reached the end of my week in Zwedru. It is unfortunate my time here flew by so quickly, but I am glad to have been able to experience everything I did. This is also the first time I have celebrated my birthday away from family or friends. I knew this going into the trip, and I don't regret it, since I think this has been a wonderful gift.

Birthdays are not celebrated in Liberia. When you don't keep records to the degree Americans do, it is hard to celebrate such an occasion. There are some who keep track of birth dates and death dates, but it is not common enough. Instead, they keep track of how long they've been alive in years. When the next year comes around, they add a year to their age and move along.

So, today was a day to experience a new church. I was prepared for some aspects - the longer time in church and the heat - but others were quite new and enjoyable. The music was really amazing. Because I was there, most of the songs were in Krahn, instead of the half-English and half-Krahn song selection normally presented. Most of the music was accompanied by a single drum, with a keyboard providing help from time to time. It was all completely exotic for me, exotic and beautiful.

The service is set up in a manner quite different from any Lutheran service I have been to previously. The men sat on the left while the women were on the right, the children occupied the center. Whenever a woman entered the building, she would have her head covered. This was either from a headdress or a simple cloth to cover the head. Two people would walk through the aisles to monitor the members, making sure no one was asleep and providing water to those who needed it.

They provided a spot for me up near the front by the electronic equipment, so they could have a fan blowing on me most of the time. This was a blessing, since we were in the building for nearly 4 hours. It didn't seem like that long, however, since I spent so much time listening to the music, none of which I could compare with what I've heard in a church service before.

When we returned from church, I had what became my favorite meal in Liberia; pumpkin soup with rice. As some people know, pumpkin is my favorite fruit. When fall arrives, I will do whatever I can to indulge in anything pumpkin, from breads to lattes, soups to pies (and even the occasional muffin). It was a real treat to enjoy this meal, which came from a type of pumpkin I had never seen before.

The rest of the day was similar to previous ones; time for reading and enjoying each others' company. But when the day turned to night, I was given a great treat. Instead of turning on the generator shortly after sunset, we opted to keep the lights off a little while longer, giving me a chance to see a true night sky. When the nightfall was in full view, I could see stars only viewed from planetariums in our cities. The Milky Way galaxy's band brightly shone in full view. To add to the wonder and beauty, Venus and Jupiter were perfectly aligned in the sky. It was an amazing painting, with everything coming to life on the dark canvass.

As I mentioned earlier, my time is nearly finished here. It has been a great experience and I have learned so much. The people have gone through so much and lost so many close friends and family from war, either by death or relocation. But with all that has been lost, there is still so much in store. Their beauty has not diminished, their love of life not tempered. Everything I have seen has proven that true happiness can be found everywhere in this world. My exposure to this new land has only heightened my enjoyment here. I have never been through so much and learned so much in such a short time.

I am a bit sad to leave this town, and the great people I have come to know. But, at the same time it is good to start my journey back home. Tomorrow, we leave to Monrovia as I begin the long journey back. But not before I heard some good news from home. As a gift for me, Joe called his wife and had her look up the Oklahoma-Texas Tech football score. How great it is to hear about OU's big win while I was so far away!