The Liberian life

Hi.

So here is an update of the Mumfords life in  Liberia.

We have been here over two months now and are slowly getting settled. We are getting used to the culture- the accents and understanding how things work. I love it when Liberians  want a little bit of something or it is going to rain just a bit , they say ‘small small!’.  I even hear myself saying ‘small small’ when I want just a bit of milk in my coffee for example or to try a bit of food. 

Andrew is enjoying the flying and getting used to the differences here in terms of the operations compared to Chad. He finds him self hand writing many tickets at small airstrips for for next sector that day or taking their flight money. He is getting good at guessing baggage weights when he hasn’t got scales available  at remote airstrips and telling passengers they have way too much luggage weight and need to leave things behind, along with telling other passengers the flight is full and they can be on standby next time- and then remembering and writing down heir names to pass on when he is back at the office....... all of this has been done most often whilst standing in the pouring rain! And when it rains it rains..... not much of the glamorous pilot life here..the flights are so full and booked up it is wonderful to think that Maf have only been flying here for a few years and the need is so great. They are looking into expanding flying in to Sierra Leone and Guinea from here in Liberia so that is very exciting. We are blessed to be given the opportunity to serve here. 

So apart from it being wet here so far, and we are approaching the dry season apparently for the next six months ish, it is very hot and humid. By 7in the morning the house is at 29 degrees and 70percent humidity. But we are blessed to open the windows and doors and get the breeze from the sea- as well as hearing the waves and seeing them. 

We now have a car which is great and the traffic here is busy busy busy! It makes us realise how built up Liberia is compared to Chad. To get to school in  morning it takes us an hour just to go 8km..... Andrew tells the kids it would be quicker to walk but they aren’t so keen to try that out! The men for the airport  leave home at 6ambecause of the traffic otherwise it can take 1.5hours to get about 12km and a bit of a waste of time. For those that know Andrew well early mornings and him aren’t such a good mix but Chad prepared him well and  he is managing to get out of the house on time! The kids are slowly settling into the American International school and finding a whole new world for themselves in computers and different teachers for different subjects in different classrooms and the need to be organised! Not to mention homework..... and lots of it. Remember them in your prayers please, especially Zack , as they adapt to a very different environment and life.

We have a wonderful house help a few days a week who works for us called Fanny. She loves Jacob and he her, and is great round the house. She also cooks Liberian food for us once a week- palm oil sauce, potatoe greens with chicken, pumpkin sauce to name just a few. We are enjoying experiencing these Liberian traditional dishes.

Jacob remains at home with me but we have started to look for pre school for him. There isn’t much around and the only real  option is near the airport so travel time for me taking him and picking him up , around the other twos school would be long. Please pray for this decision for him and other factors we have to consider about him going to pre school. 

Zack and Andrew have started surfing lessons- before we even knew that  there was a vacancy in Liberia and God would call us here, God was preparing Andrews heart as Andrew said to me one day ‘wouldn’t Liberia be a good country for us as we know nothing about it but we could learn to surf!’ Andrew and Zack head off on public transport(which Andrew is very good at getting now as he uses it to run errands from the office into town) which is called a k-k here ( perhaps you know them as a tuc-tuc or rickshaw) and they go to a beach avkut 6km down the road with a restaurant and sun loungers on the beach and have their lessons- I believe they also sample a plate of chips and some coke too! 

The mission community is more spread out, smaller and we feel harder to get to know people here. Please pray for us as we make friends, especially for  the children. I attend a ladies bible study once a week and this is a blessing to get together with other Christian ladies and study the bible and pray together and share life in Liberia. 

Thank you for remembering us in your prayers. We have many things to be thankful for as we continue to settle into life in Liberia and serve God in our work here. What a privilege.

Blessings,

Andrée, Hannah, Zack, Esther and Jacob. 

New life in Liberia

So three weeks ago we began our journey to start our new life in Monrovia, Liberia. 

We left the UK on 15th August and we met another MAF family,who are also serving in Liberia, in Amsterdam, and took our last flight together here to Monrovia and now we are neighbours. They have been amazing helping us to settle in giving advice showing us around, along with the other MAF family that is here. We feel very welcomed. The kids are all enjoying playing together too- 10 children in total. 

Zack and Esther are now approaching the end of their third week at their school, AISM, (American International School of Monrovia), about 9km from home. It has been a rocky road as they try to adapt to a bigger secular school with different classes and teachers, making new friends and being at school for lunch and the afternoon. Yesterday was our first good day for both of them and we are thankful for many people here showing them grace and patience as they transition. There is a school tuck shop, a totally new concept for them, and they get so much to spend each week and they love choosing what snacks they want. It has been fun to see them so excited about that. 

Andrew is in the office learning how things work for MAF Liberia and supporting the pilot. He went for a flight a couple of weeks ago but with flights in high demand, and a waiting list, there often isn’t space for him to go to gain experience here. That will come! He heads off to Uganda on Sunday for some training and is looking forward to flying again. When he returns he will have a check out flight here at the end of September and then should be ready to go! He is looking forward to serving here at a pilot.

Monrovia has proved very wet!!!!! Some days it literally rains all day and all night! We make the most of it when the rain stops and head out to the beach. We are blessed to live on a compound, more like a private road with expats serving with Samaritans Purse and SIM and Liberians with a Liberian school here and a hospital-praise God we haven’t needed that yet except for when I donated blood for an expectant Mum. The compound has one side on the beach and we can see and hear the sea from the house making it about a three min walk to the sea! We brought body boards with us so the kids, and Andrew and I, enjoy those when weather and free time coincide. 

I attended a ladies bible study which will meet every Thursday morning and was it was a joy to meet with other Christian ladies. The mission community here is a lot more spread out over the city than Chad. 

We have started employing a house help, called Esther also. She needs a lot of instruction and although we both speak English, we find it hard to understand each other’s accent. Jacob and her seem to get in very well and she has a lovely serving heart.

Many of you know I didn’t like the driving in Chad. Here I still don’t like it as the police do lots of checks and ask for bribes, but it is more organised and generally less random than Chad, with fewer motorbikes,(as they aren’t allowed on the main roads), but more traffic.  It can take us anything from 20 mins to an hour to get to school. Andrew leaves at work at 6am to avoid the traffic too.......

Shopping here is more straightforward too. There is lots of choice for things, except for fruit and veg,and a few supermarkets to choose from but prices are very expensive. We have seen products shipped in from the UK with British pound amount on but they are sold here for two or three times that amount. Jacob has a real liking for Liberian donuts! We went with friends after attending a Liberian church on Sunday to a coffee shop with wonderful choice of donuts. The kids were very happy.

We have attending a couple of churches. A big one in the city but it is very loud but the teaching has been good. And it is lovely to understand an African church service! Also we have been to a smaller church, more like a house church, so there are options.

Thank you so much for you support and prayers. We have lots to be thankful for as we settle into life in Liberia and pray that God will use us here as he chooses and no doubt in ways we don’t expect. 

Praise and prayer points :

For the MAF team here serving so hard and yet finding time to welcome us so warmly and helping us settle in Liberia. 

Pray we find the right church for us as a family. 

Thankful for good schooling for Zack and Esther. Pray for them as they continue to transition to their school work and building friendships, and they can be a good witness. 

Pray for Andrew as he travels to Uganda on Sunday and for the three flight tests he has next week. 

We are thankful to be able to use a MAF car until we find one of our own. Pray we will find the right car for us.

Thankful for being able to enjoy  time with Jacob and for the ladies bible study that meets weekly. 

Praise God for good family time at the beach. 

God bless 

Andrew, Hannah, Zack, Esther and Jacob