And the Winner Is.....

(continued from 2 previous posts)

There were a few good guesses as to what the mystery pictures might be.....

I think you have the idea now: new fronds growing on a palm tree!

But only one person got it right after yesterday's post:  Darrell's sister, Suzanne.
Way to go, Suzanne!!!
I know I had never seen a palm tree from these angles, but this one is right in our front yard. 
It is so short that I was able to get "up close and personal" for the first several shots.
This last picture was taken from our second floor porch.
I have asked what kind of palm tree it is but don't have an answer yet. 
All I know is that it is not a coconut palm or a nut palm. 
Anybody out there who can clue me in?
(The red in the pictures is blossoms that have fallen off the nearby "flame tree" (Flamboyant).

And It Is.....

(continued from yesterday's blog)

Now do you know what it is?




















And I'm not trying to be mean, but.....
this crazy computer won't upload the other 2 pictures!
I have tried several times without success, so I guess you'll just
have to try to figure it out with this one clue or wait until tomorrow
(at least I hope I'll have success tomorrow).

What Is It?

Any idea what this might be?
Scroll down for another look.

                                                             Now do you know?
                                   Scroll down for yet another look.

How about this shot?  If you know or want to guess, leave your answer either as a comment on this post or on Facebook.  (To leave a comment on this post, you must become a follower.....it's not hard.)
I'll let you know if anyone gets it right in my next post when I will also add more pictures so you can get a better idea what it is.  And unless the internet goes down, the next post will be tomorrow!

Pictures--Finally

I think I have finally learned the secret of adding pictures:  download the pictures first, then add script!

Darrell was getting everything set up to show a film at the open-air meetings: goal posts are great for hanging a sheet for a movie screen!
No matter what a person is doing, kids love to gather around to watch.

While Darrell was getting ready for the meeting one night, this is the view that caught my eye....

and this is the view the next night.

                                              


Kids love to have their picture taken! I had a terrible time trying to get the whole group, because as I moved back to get them all in, they kept crowding forward, with the bigger kids jumping in front so I couldn't see the little kids. We finally had a measure of success!

I didn't take pictures during the meeting because I didn't want to be a distraction, but there were many adults, young people, and children there.  We didn't try to count since it was dark!

No, We Didn't Get Thrown in the Soup!

A friend who reads this blog saw another friend and mentioned that it's been a while since I posted anything on here; he was wondering if we had been thrown in the soup!  From what we read in the news, I think those of you in the USA and Canada should worry about that more than we should!

Anyway, I failed.  I said in my last post that I wouldn't make you wait long to find out who called my name.  Bad, bad me.  I could make an excuse and say I'm getting old and I don't remember, but I don't think I'll ever forget that evening.

As I mentioned in that last post, Darrell had gone for several open air meetings on the other side of Monrovia where a pastor was working to get a new church started.  A couple nights we met on the neighborhood football (soccer) field and people just gathered as they saw the activity.  (Well, I thought I was going to add a few pictures, but it's not cooperating!  Maybe someday!!)

So, the person who called my name was the girl who had chatted with me right after the meeting.  She was very pleasant and an extremely articulate 12 year old named Shelly.  I was walking alone on the path back to the car when she spoke my name.  It was obvious then that she wanted a serious conversation about what she had heard in the meeting.

I am very careful, especially with children, that I don't put words in their mouth or push them into believing as I believe. That is easy to do with children who are apt to seek to please the adult with whom they are talking, and it certainly is easy to do here in Liberia where "going to church" is a popular thing to do. So I asked questions very carefully and listened very carefully as she asked her questions.

Shelly said she hadn't been taught the things she had heard that night. When I asked her what her church taught about how to get to heaven, she said a person just needs to go to church. I shared some verses with her from the Bible--well, from memory since it was dark and we couldn't see the Bible!--that explain that salvation is a free gift being offered to us by God. While going to church, giving money to the church, being baptized, taking communion, etc., are all good, they do not get a person into Heaven. Those are all things we DO, but God says salvation is FREE, not to be worked for.   Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9   We need the salvation offered through Christ's death on the cross because, as human beings, we cannot measure up to God's standard of goodness.   Romans 3:23   Shelly took all this in and asked questions of her own as we went along.

It was so obvious that she clearly understood that salvation is a gift that God doesn't force on anyone; He just waits for each one to reach out and take it. When I asked Shelly if she was ready to take that free gift by acknowledging to God that she was a sinner who couldn't save herself and that she wanted to accept His free gift, she immediately said yes and didn't hesitate to pray right there on that path.

The crazy thing about it is that I wouldn't recognize Shelly if she walked through the door because I only saw her in the dark. The important thing is that God knows her and heard her prayer. It was a very special night!!!

Surprises

The first surprise is NOT that we lost the internet again but that it actually came back BEFORE they said it would. After being without it for over a month in Jan/Feb, this time Darrell had already started looking for another provider and was about ready to sign us up when he got a phone call--surprise #2--saying that service had been restored. That was on Friday and they had told him it would be Monday before it was restored. Well, the first time he called they told him it would be the next evening; the second time he called they told him they didn't know when it would be. A few days later, they told him it would be Monday, so he figured he'd heard this tale before and they were just stringing him along. So, I guess it was more than a surprise--it was more of a shock--when it was restored 3 days ahead of schedule and we were notified by a phone call. Wow!!!

Another surprise was when it hit us that it had been almost 4 months since we had prepared an American meal. We thoroughly enjoy Liberian food and planned to eat lots of it while we're here, but it still was surprising when we realized how long it had been. And then I got a hankering for spaghetti, so that's what we had last night. It was yummy but I'm not ready to give up Liberian food anytime soon! Another 6 months should be about right!

Golden Beach was another nice surprise. No, we didn't go swimming. (I can't imagine struggling to get this sticky body into a bathing suit--YUK!!!) We had heard about Golden Beach so followed directions to the sign, headed down a narrow alley that looked liked it was leading nowhere, and came to a wonderful little restaurant. We walked right through the restaurant to the beach where tables were set up in the sand. There were several palm trees with tables under them for people who didn't want to be in the sun, but we went just before sunset and wanted to be right on the beach. It was beautiful! Ocean breeze, crashing waves, sunset, and then the moon and stars overhead. What a nice evening! And we never would have known about this place if someone hadn't told us.

The last surprise I want to mention will be a teaser for my next post. We were in another section of the city for a meeting and afterward a young girl came up to me and asked my name. We chatted a bit and then I headed for the car. As I was walking along I heard someone on the path behind me very clearly call my name. That was a surprise because usually out here I'm called Ma, Madam, Old Ma, Grandma--anything but my name. And since this post is already long enough, you'll have to wait until next time to find out who it was and what we talked about! (I won't make you wait too long!)

Success, Sweet Success

I told you he was cute; now you can see for yourself.  Of course, I'm not prejudiced!

                                              I love this shot!

The happy family!