Life in Liberia: part two

Here are a few more photos and stories as we get ready to leave our friends. 

The time I ate mud: although I consumed a lot of strange things these last few months, this one had to take the cake (oh how I wish it was just cake). Emmanuel and Pee-Wee, our driver, had been telling me all about the outrageous customs of Liberians. When they moved to the topic of their food, with frog soup and ghost peppers on the menu, I wasn't prepared to hear that people ate mud as a treat. They were so kind to send one of the kids to buy me a bag and all gathered around to watch the spectacle. Here is Emmanuel taking the first bite:

 As a small child, I had consumed a fair amount of mud, but it has been a few years since I had indulged that far. But with the pressure of forty kids and a few grown men heckling me, I tentatively took my first bite. It was hard as a rock and tasted, well, like mud. Smokey, charcoaly mud. Not what you want in your mouth. After laughing at me as I attempted to get the foul taste out of my mouth, the kids clamored around me for my leftovers. Thank you Liberia for a wonderful culinary experience. Don't think I will be coming back for seconds.  

 The kids are doing really well with their reading, and one of the next projects is a library at both homes. We all think it should be called "Grandma's Reading Room" in honor of our one Kay Knapp. It is hilarious to me that almost everyone we meet calls her Grandma. 

 

Thankful for the time with these four crazy people. It's amazing to see the rich relationships between them, what a partnership across cultures can be, and how a common faith and heart for the kids can bridge differences across thousands of miles.