Saturday, 3/27
The trip to Todee brought back memories off the arduous journey to Tzekepa. The roads were so bad I had no illusion we would be able to get equipment into the village to clear the land. Almost every farmer burns the foliage off the land but that kills many of the good organisms and all the fruit trees. We had determined to clear the land but leave the important trees and the roads were terrible. This is one of the great shortcomings in Liberia. If you can’t get equipment in progress becomes virtually impossible. We were headed to the village of Yeabah Town but before we arrived there we stopped at another village and met the chiefs and elders. They were very excited to have us and showed us all around their clinic built by the chief with his own money and he had a right to be proud. It was still under construction and would be a fine facility. Some of the elders were Muslim but were still attentive and helpful even though I mentioned Jesus and his miracles from the New Testament. Sylvester rode in the front, Isela and I in the back. Robert Bimba, had wanted to accompany us so he rode in the back with us. Just before we arrived in Yeabah Town we crossed the railroad track less than a mile from the town. We would be able to bring in equipment on the train without having to repair 20 kilometers of road. Thank the Lord.
The 100 acres he was giving us was well wooded ground with a swamp at one end that does not dry out. Typically, if you dig a fairly large lake, you could provide irrigation for the entire farm from there making it a much more versatile property.
From there we returned by different but equally bad road. Soon we joined the Todee Road Rehabilitation Project by USAID. Though the road was washboard bumpy, it was wide and ditched on both sides and the bridges were strong. This road went all the way to the St. Paul River, the location of the other property. When we arrived it was breath taking. The river was wide and strong and this was the dry season though it had been raining very hard of late. It brought North Carolina to mind with its large igneous rock outcroppings. We immediately fell in love with it and were imagining all the possibilities while jumping on the rocks to get as far out into the river as possible. It was a deep river and with some care you could navigate upstream to this point from the Atlantic Ocean, making it possible to deliver goods here more easily. If we had to choose Todee or St Paul, this was a far superior choice and we gently told Sylvester
As it turns out, Sylvester is running for the District Representative in this area and has a wonderful relationship with the community. Everywhere we stopped the entire town would pour out to meet him as if he were their long lost relatives. It was nice to see.
When we left St Paul, he had his wife and niece join us for the trip back though he remained in Todee to handle business. We had hoped to go by the house Auntie Pea had offered but that will have to wait till next time. Robert Bimba’s wife was pregnant and ready to deliver while were out in the bush so he was trying to stay in constant contact with home. We dropped him off first and around 2 am his third daughter Was born. We were preaching at his church the next morning and he called us early to share the good news.
Wow,
Fred and Isela