December 24,
2013 Barnersville, Monrovia,
Liberia
Greetings to
our friends and family,
First of
all, I thank God for the internet since it would be impossible at this date to
send each one of you a Christmas card.
Even though I wasn’t very good at getting them in the mail early when we
lived in Indiana, now it would be next to impossible.
It is hard
to believe this is our 3rd Christmas in Liberia. The weather today is 90 degrees, the sun is
very bright and there is very little breeze.
However, the Christmas spirit is in the air in the neighborhood. Small Children are touring the area, beating
pans with spoons, blowing whistles, and singing at the top of their lungs to
gather small money for treats. The adult
girls are wearing Mardi gras masks and dancing to an I Pod to earn some extra
money for Christmas. Neighbors are going
house to house greeting each other and we are hosting a community gathering at
our home tonight.
We have had
an exciting year as we began the Liberia Self Reliance Program. We started with about 20 acres of land which
was completely depleted and have worked to restore it bit by bit with compost
and other organic supplements. Some of it has been turned now 4 times and we
are beginning to see the results with healthier plants and a greater
yield. The beekeeping, moringa, honey,
sheep, fish pond and SRI programs are keeping the staff busy. We are developing tire and sack gardens and a
line of cooking stoves that can be used in different environments. Next year looks to be even more
exciting. Our needs include a pickup
truck, small air conditioner for the clean room where we process and package
moringa and honey, tools, and a small tractor for the ag center. There is also a need for funds for our bunk
room, office and library area.
Our children
are all doing well. Alan, Lisa and Riley
are still in Russiaville and doing well in their respective lines of work. Riley will graduate from Western High School
in June and has been accepted at 5 different Indiana colleges to date. The winner will be the one with the best
scholarship package.
Kelly and
Bob are in Wheatfield. Bob had bypass
surgery earlier this year and recovered faster than the doctor’s
expectations. He is back to work full
time, losing weight, and getting really healthy. Kelly is learning with her 3rd
graders as she does every year and loving every minute of it. She has started work on a PhD in Education
and enjoying her studies very much.
The children
in Liberia are doing all right. We have
added another grandchild, Jesse Kumeh, named after my grandfather. My family names are being added to the Kumeh
family and the children are encouraging us to do so. They now include: Riley, Jesse, and Edwin
Kumeh. No little girls to name although
we already had an Anna, and Anne.
I traveled
back to Indiana in May for a couple of months to do fundraising for LSRI and
visit some family and friends. Timothy
and I plan to return to Indiana in May 2014 to do medical checkups and attend
Riley’s graduation.
We wish each
and every one of you a Blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year filled with
wonder, peace and joy.
Timothy and
Anne
