Do you guys like to go to cool places where something used to be happening in the way distant past (like a ghost town), or where something might go on in the future (like an industrial site that's for sale)? Do you like to go camping, swimming, or hiking? We got to do all those things the first weekend of the year, when we joined the Waines clan (Dave, Audry, their kids and a couple of their EQUIP volunteers) on a weekend camping trip to Yekepa, a town on the border of Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Guinea. Yekepa is the site of the largest iron ore mining operation Liberia has ever hosted--at that time (in the 70s and 80s) run by LAMCO. Just recently, Arcelor/MITTAL, the iron and steel giant, has signed a contract to reopen mining operations in Yekepa, including rebuilding the town, revitalizing the railroad from Yekepa to the port of Buchanan, and resuming mining operations sometime within the next few years. African Bible College has just reopened their school in Yekepa--we are friends with some of the folks involved in the project there.
For us, it was a terrific weekend which included a swim in the big, man-made lake; a scramble to the top of Mount Nimba, and some sweet fellowship while roasting marshmallows around the campfire. And... just for a bonus... it was nice and cool! Must have gotten down to 68!
Here's the group, taking a breather about half way up Mt. Nimba....
And here they are on their final scramble to the summit....
Jared claims the summit marker for his own... All in all it was a great weekend. On the way out of town, we got a little tour of Yekepa, including a "swim" in the "pool"----- Love, Rick for all of us....
1 comment:
No diving in the shallow end!
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