Our new location

Do you like it? I think it's pretty. I'm kind of getting into this web stuff - I've even been working on our geocities site and I'll let you know when it is worth looking at again.

Unfortunately, our digital camera does not seem to be working, so there will be a serious lack of visual aids for a bit. But let me refer you to a friends' blog which has some amazing pictures of the rain... http://reedsinliberia.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_reedsinliberia_archive.html (by the way, this is a great blog and if you are interested in mission work, you should check into it regularly )

There is really nothing that can give you an idea of what the rain here is like, not even Bob Reed's pictures. We thought we were going to get off easy this year - in July and August we had lots of sunshine, and one bad week in August when it drizzled and was windy and just damp, but no real heavy rain. But September and October made up for whatever grace we received in the "summer". Day after day of rain delayed the work that was being done on the building where we are moving our SIM office, laundry didn't get done, roads became impassable. I bet we got 30 inches in one week in October. After saying that I thought we'd have a light rainy season, I think we ended up having one of the heaviest of all the years we've been here. But thank God for our friends and family in America, it didn't seem to be the kind of rain or storms that spawned hurricanes. And the dry season feeling is in the air finally.

Today was a holiday here - Thanksgiving Day. It is actually kind of a forgotten holiday here - when the kids' school made up the schedule for the end of marking period tests, they actually overlooked it and had to rearrange the whole schedule. So I am wondering what the real history of this holiday is in Liberia- whose idea was it? They don't forget the holidays that really mean something to them- their former presidents' birthdays, or their Independence Day, or Decoration Day (like Memorial Day). My theory is that this was someone else's idea (not a Liberian) and there really isn't anything behind it for them, but I would like to know. One year we had a nice service at church, but we haven't done that again. I will admit it is nice to have a long weekend.

Today we went to visit some friends who have just moved into their new house - it's not finished, but there is a roof and windows and doors. No bank mortgages here in Liberia, so you just work on it "small-small" as you can find the money and time. Anyway, it happens in America too, doesn't it?

That's all for now from this side -- more when there's something to say. Debbie