That second Monday was the first day of July. The men worked on their projects in the morning as much as they could, although it was very wet. After lunch, they went to the leprosy and tuberculosis rehabilitation colony to shop for souvenirs. I helped Kathy with a watercolor paint class in the morning and a Bible study for women in the afternoon.

The quote I’m going to share isn’t actually about the trip; it’s about my writing process.

“I’m not speaking to Oliver (one of my characters). The idiot won’t listen to me and we’ve been arguing all day. Stupid boy.”

I’ll be the first to admit it; it’s a little embarrassing. But I talk to my characters, even argue with them. More often than not, I lose those arguments. Fortunately, I can claim I’m a writer rather than crazy. It usually works. 😉

I’m not saying that I actually think any of my characters are real; I just have to get to know them so intimately as their creator that they take on unique and intricate personalities. Arguing with them actually helps me build their character; if I know how they’ll react and what they’ll say to me, it makes it easier to figure out how they will react to situations I put them in.

With every story I want to write, every idea I come up with, I reach a point of decision. Do I keep developing the idea or scrap is as not enough to actually spend time with? I’ll think about the story and there is one way to tell. When the story starts playing like a movie in my head, when the story tells itself  to me and I no longer decide what happens, that’s when I know I have something worth pursuing.

So there ya go folks! A peek into my creative process, confusing as it may be.

I know. This is long overdue. I’ve been home almost a week, and I’m finally getting back to this. I’d say I’ve been busy and stuff, but let’s face. I’m just lazy. Can you all forgive me? I hope so! Anyway, the most recent post is up! Enjoy! And comment. That way I know what you think. Also, that way I know people actually read this stuff. I’d hate to think I’m just rambling on the internet. Thanks for your patience!

Sunday, June 30^th was a very interesting and special day. Our group split up and attended five different churches in Ganta and surrounding villages. We spent a leisurely afternoon chatting together and simply relaxing after a week of hard work. On the way back to the guest house, we stopped at Liberia’s northern border with Guinea and walked across for a few minutes. While there, I received a marriage proposal that I’m sure was only a little bit serious. It was a slightly unsettling experience, but I can laugh about it now. Mostly.

I don’t have a quote for this day, just a phrase that I wrote at one point during the sermon. It had to do with my attitude as I walk through life. I’ll ask you the same question I asked myself: Do you walk with your hands out, up and open? I’ll walk through each option.

As we walk through life, we can keep our hands and arms close to our bodies or extended out in front of us. The first is easier, safer. The second is more risky, but it allows us to reach out to others around us.

We also have the choice of which way we point and push ourselves and those around. We can point and encourage either upwards or downwards. Often, if we find our hands facing down, it’s unintentional. That doesn’t make it any less hurtful to us and others, though.

Finally, we have to choose whether to open or close our hands. Again, keeping them closed is easier and safer. But unless we open our hands to catch the things that God rains down on us, we will miss incredible blessings. Granted, we will get cuts and bruises from the pain we will also catch. But we have to choose to catch the bad with the good, or neither at all. We can be exclusive.

I promise I’ll keep doing this daily until the trip is over. So, until tomorrow!

I’m traveling this weekend, so I’ll be postponing the rest of the recap until I get home on Monday. Sorry guys!

Our first Saturday was pretty busy. We got to sleep in a little, then boarded the bus to go visit another college about two hours away. We returned, ate a quick lunch, and had our last VBS. It was a smaller one, with only 40 kids attending. We had 80 come the night before, which was quite chaotic. Unfortunately, I didn’t journal much that day. Nothing noteworthy to quote, but overall, it was a good day. Busy, but fun.

The weather in Africa the first week we were there was dry and hot. But on Thursday night it rained. It rained and it rained. I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever heard it rain so much.

Here’s what I noticed Friday, June 28:

“The rain gauges say we got five inches of rain last night (most of it in about two hours). And there weren’t even very many puddles this morning. The mud is almost dry.”

I thought that this was also a really good representation of the people I saw in Liberia. They are so thirsty for knowledge, both practical and spiritual. They eagerly soak up any chance to learn.

So what do you thirst for? Do you soak up opportunities to learn and grow? Or do you let the chances slide by you?

Our first day of VBS was on Thursday, June 27. We had 60 kids attend. We had three classes, where the kids made salvation bracelets, a mural with painted hand prints, and tambourines. Afterwards, we came back together for a skit, a lesson, worship, games, and refreshments. I was in charge of the tambourine station, and it was a blast! We sang songs together and made music.

“VBS is over and what a success it was! The kids started with some sort of meeting. It was surprisingly official. The tambourine making went well. Worship was amazing and the games a hit.”

It was so much fun to interact with the kids of the community. They had never been to a Vacation Bible School before and it was so neat to see the wonder and excitement on their faces. It was a joy and a privilege. 

Wednesday, June 26 continued in the same fashion. Breakfast, work in the library, lunch, work in the library, dinner, and back to the guest house. I cataloged roughly 130 books.

I had a big epiphany that day. I was reading Psalm 56 and verses 3 and 4 caught my attention. Here was my thought process.

“(Verses 3&4) When I am afraid I put my trust in you, in God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? (End verses) I’ve definitely been clinging to that. I don’t fear physical harm; I doubt myself. And that doubting God, in a sense.  After all, He made me the way I am. Doubting myself is like questioning that He knows what He’s doing. And He does. He always does.”

I’m not going to lie. Like most people, I have to deal with insecurities. And I struggle with how to defeat them. It hit me while in Liberia. I am exactly who God intended me to be. That is an eye-opening thought. Because if I believe that God is sovereign and all-powerful, which I do, then I have to believe He didn’t make a mistake with me.

I don’t know about you, but I find that extremely comforting.

Tuesday, June 25 was a pretty low-key day. I worked in the library all day. After cataloging 63 books the day before, Enoch challenged me to get 100 done on Tuesday. So I did. The grand total from the day was 122 books!

Thoughts from the day : “It’s amazing how much got done yesterday! The greenhouse’s frame is up after one day! It’s going to be great.”

I chose this thought because, after all, I was not the only person on the trip. There were multiple projects going on at the same time. A greenhouse was being built, a few people were working on repairing cabinets, a field was cleared, leveled, and planted, and we held a few craft classes and a VBS. It was an incredibly busy two weeks.

No deep thoughts or profound insights today, I’m afraid. I can only take so much soul-searching at a time.

Monday, June 24 was probably the busiest days of the trip for me. We left for the college at 7:30, ate breakfast, and got to work. I spent the first hour or so in a storeroom with Gina, sorting children’s clothes. Then I helped unpack library supplies I brought over. I got a short tour of the library and, after learning the software, got to work. I stayed in the library until 5, with a short lunch break, then had dinner and went back to the guest house.

My job was pretty simple. I took one of the new books that had been donated and entered information about it into the software. For about half of the books, the information was nice and neat and all in one place in the front of the book. For the other half…not so much. That first day I managed to catalog 63 books. It was something that the library staff could do, but I could do it faster. I am, after all, a writer and a quick typist.

A thought from the day: “I seriously feel like such a stupid American. These people speak my language, but I still can’t comprehend half of what they say.  I wonder if they have trouble understanding us.”

This entry got me thinking about how I listen to people. Do I really make an effort to listen, really listen, to people when they are talking to me? While I was in Liberia, I had to make much more of a focused effort to listen to the people speaking to me. It’s so easy here at home to get distracted by the sheer amount of multitasking opportunities. As Americans, it is almost expected that we be doing at least two things at once. When was the last time I gave someone my full attention when they were talking to me? I certainly would like to have someone’s full attention, so it only makes sense that I do the same for others. But more often than not, I find my mind wandering to other things. And that sends a message of “My problems, my priorities, are more important that what you are saying to me.” I don’t know about you, but that’s not the kind of message I want to send people. I want my friends to feel like they have my complete attention when they tell me important things, that I really care about what they’re saying. Because it’s true.

So that’s something I’m going to be working on.