Sunday, February 22

Today was yet another emotional day. I think I've cried every day since I've been here. There is so much that grabs your heart and you do your best to be strong throughout the day and when night comes you can't hold it in any longer. We said goodbye to our dear friends at the Monrovia United Christian Church today. I'll never forget my brothers and sisters here! Matt and I gave Tofi a bible today with a message and some scriptures to keep tucked away for him. He is such a joyful young man! What a great smile and heart of gold! I'll never forget the first time I saw him running along side our van beating that drum and excited to see us that first night we were there. He has a smile you could never erase from your memory! There were 348 chilren at church today! Normal attendance for children is about 50 Bee said. They were all blown away. They all sat so quietly because they had a switch looming above their heads if they so much as made a peep they knew they'd get it! We ate lunch with the church family: Some gross looking stew stuff, I think it had fish eggs in it or something like that???? I didn't try it. But I did try the peanut butter soup and rice. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either! I ate alot of fruit :) After lunch we had a women's conference where I got to meet alot of wonderful sisters! I never knew how much the war had an effect on these people until talking and hearing their stories. In my small group alone 1/2 the women had lost their husbands in the war. Many were shot trying to run and flee Liberia. One woman has 13 children and is a single parent now. I can't imagine being a single parent to 13 children here in the US! They are struggling being a single parent in Liberia! I pray God watches over them and gives them strength and support! I pray he shows them He is their provider and their Heavenly Father! We talked with a man named Bob Z. I can't say his last name so I just call him Bob Z. He is a friend of Sam's from when Sam was in Liberia many years ago. He's a superintendant, equivalent to a govenor, in Liberia. We told him of our situation with the adoption. He said he wished he would have met us 3 days ago and he could have set up some meetings or something, but it was too late for that now. He asked us to give him all our contact information with our agency and he would see if he could help us out in any way. I don't know if he will or not, but it's worth trying???