After our adventures at the internet cafe in Monrovia yesterday afternoon, we packed in the car and headed to Swaggart Island, where UCA is located. Even though school wasn’t in session, it didn’t take long for the word to spread that we arrived and soon enough, the kids started flying in! We got a good session of the hokey pokey going, along with a couple rounds of duck duck goose. I was amazed and excited that the kids remembered the songs and games I’d taught them over a year ago…as soon as we arrived, there were requests for “Skinamarinky dinky dink,” haha. After enjoying time with the kids, we sat down in a classroom with members of Fuel Youth Liberia and others for formal introductions and to set the agenda for the rest of the trip. Eddie set the tone for the meeting, as always, reminding everyone that everything we’re doing is for the purpose of the children of Liberia. Following our meeting, a reporter from STAR radio whipped out his tape recorder and began interviewing the four of us for his radio program. It was amazing to be able to discuss our visions of FUEL youth, why we’re in Liberia, and what we hope to accomplish in the future. We’re not quite sure when the program is going to air, but we do know that people in the US can access it via STAR radio’s website.

Following another dinner at P.A.’s rib house, the girls - Christine, Katie, and Ali - relocated to stay with Sean, who had more spacious and cooler accommodations. Christine promptly passed out, while Katie, Sean and Ali waited for the generator to kick in so that they could have light. While sitting in the living room and the dark, we notice a crowd gathering outside the window, which soon spread to a bigger crowd that wrapped the side of the house to the front door. The children were amazed by the presence of 4 white visitors in their neighborhood - they didn’t know how to handle it. When Katie and Ali approached them to say “hello,” the children erupted into a fit of awkward giggles. Oh Libera!

Today we have a little more down time, so we are going to spend it by planning our surprise New Year’s party for the children at UCA and walking the city.

More adventures to follow.

-The FUEL Youth Team

P.S. One of our favorite activities is spotting awesome t-shirts, here are the top two so far:

1) Worn by an 8 year old boy: “It’s one thing to be a father, it’s another thing to be a dad”

2) “One by one, the penguins are stealing my sanity”

Greetings, everyone!  Alison, Sean, Christine and I (Katie) landed in Liberia yesterday at 8pm and with most of our luggage! Eddie arrived a day earlier.  Our connections in Munich and Brussels were smooth (Sean connected in Amsterdam and we all met up in Brussels), and I was surprised to see that there were more lingerie stores in the Munich airport than there were newstands.  We are having a great time - everyone has been incredibly welcoming (especially the little girl living next door who has latched onto Christine pretty tightly).  Christine, Ali and I are staying in Sinkor - a community right outside of Monrovia, we “slept” (maybe an hour?) “comfortably” (in the same bed, in an 88 degree heat-box) and are feeling “great” (sleep deprived and incredibly sweaty). No, but seriously, we are so happy to be on the ground here in Monrovia and are enjoying hanging out with the FUEL Youth team here.  This morning we had breakfast at P.A.’s Ribs - a restaurant walking distance from where we’re staying and with flush toilets! Yay! Christine and Sean had the “Liberian Breakfast Platter” with fish, cassava, and biscuits, while Alison and I feasted on plantains and a biscuit - Nescafe’s all around! Later today we will be headed to UCA for a quick visit. We’re not exactly sure what lies ahead of us the next few days, but we trust that we will be well taken care of.  We look forward to meeting with the Cape Mountanian Student Association tomorrow, getting the rest of our luggage on Wednesday (fingers crossed), our children’s New Year’s party on Thursday, and Messima on Saturday! We will try to post a couple more times during our trip, so stay tuned! 

Best,

FUEL Youth team (minus Mike)

PS: Mike - we miss you!!