Tuesday - March 10, 2020

Greetings from hot, humid Liberia!
There was a shower this morning which cooled things off for a short time only to make it worse later.
We left the hotel about 9 am and traveled to the Methodist Compound where I lived while a missionary.  Several of our friends are still there who worked with security, maintenence and grounds.
Kelly they send you greetings and Flomo says your chicken is still doing fine.  I gave him small money to continue to purchase food for it.

Then off to Waterside to do some shopping for fabric for a new dress for Sunday.  Found two lovely fabrics  - one a purple print and the other a very brightly colored geomectric design to be used for the back of a quilt - or so I thought.  We stopped along the street and purchased cards for our Liberian phones so we will be able to use them here to communicate.  At the same time we walked down a few stores to see some old friends at the BK Pharmacy,  I purchased 100 Cipro, 120 doxycylene capsules (we take this as a preventative for Malaria, and some adult Malaria medication just in case.  All this for $15.00 USD.

Off to spend more than an hour and half in traffic to travel maybe 2 miles to another store to greet an old friend we did business with.   We spent some time with Harris at the National Hardware store and had a cold glass of juice and got caught up on all the news from Liberia according to the business world.  He also has a new son who is just turning 3.

Then to head out the the house to see family.  Again 1 1/2 hours to drive maybe 10 miles.  The roads are being reworked, paved, and limited to 2 lanes rather than expanding to 5 during high traffic areas.
It was interesting to note that with the new design for traffic flow, that if traffic got heavy and people wanted to move faster, they would just move across the boulevard and drive  the wrong way in the traffic flowing the opposite direction.  It was very unnerving, especially after dark.

When we reached the house people came flying from all directions.  Children launched themselves into our arms for giant hugs.  I was amazed at how much they had grown - of course it has been 6 years since we last saw them.  Often, we would have to look and try to figure out who they were and just plain ask.  We met a few grands born after we left and 2 great grands.  One was terrified of me and the other was very nonchalant  seeing he had a white woman as grandma.

The afternoon was spend visiting, visiting, visiting after neighbors and friends heard the news and stopped by to greet us and visit for a bit.  Annie, a mother to several of Timothy's children had come down with malaria and so, of course, I gave her some of the malaria medicine I purchased plus water and oral rehydration packets to keep her hydrated.

Our teenage grands have matured into wonderful, caring, adults who are taking responsibility in the family to step in with help as it is needed.  My beloved little Sausee has grown to almost as tall as me.  He was constantly by my side touching me to make sure I was still there.  Several of the neighborhood children were there as well so we went through all the pictures on my phone and who, what, where they were taken.  It was fun trying to explain snow to them as well as the cold weather.

Riley was curious about grandson Riley in the United States and the fact that he was studying music in college and would be a teacher and direct a band.  Edwin was fascinated to see pictures of my brother Edwin who was a teacher of history.  Each wanted to hear stories of the person they were named after.  Three little girls in the neighborhood were fascinated by the fact the children had an grandmother who was a white woman and were mesmorized by my skin and hair.  I'm sure they had never spoken to a white person or touched one.  They played with the hair on my arms and head feeling the softness.  They probably had plenty to say when they returned home later in the day.

Granddaughter Faith was fixing palm butter and rice for the evening meal which is one of Timothy's favorites.  A bowl was sent home for his supper.  We stopped along the roadside and I got a loaf of Foola bread.  It is like French Bread but very coarse and crusty.  A stop at the local supermarket for some peanut butter and honey and my evening meal was complete.

It is now about 9 pm.  I want to take a nice shower and clean the dust off my body, and fall into bed for a long nights sleep.  Jeff will be by about 9 am to pick us up for tomorrow's activities.  Tomorrow is a  holiday, Decoration Day.  So it will be spent cleaning and washing the graves of the family and then a grand meal.  It will be my favorite - potato greens and rice.

Sweet dreams.

Anne

Safe arrival 3.9.2020

Facebook post:
Greetings friends

We arrived late last night for us.  About 4 pm your time.  We have a wonderful room with hit and cold running water, air conditioning and such.

Breakfast this morning - egg, french toast, fried plantain, watermelon, mango, and......  Gold Coast coffee.  Yum!!!
Off to start the day.  More later.  God bless

March 8, 2020 A Return

For those of you who have been following the work and life of my mom, Anne Girton Kumeh and Poppie, Timothy Kumeh, this blog will begin to see more posts over the next few weeks.  Mom and Poppie have gotten the opportunity to return to Liberia for a short visit.  Today they began the flight first to Chicago and then to Brussels before arriving in Liberia tomorrow.

As she is able, Mom will be sending me updates and pictures documenting their trip.  I will post those updates and photos here so that there is a common location to get information.
If anyone has questions or needs anything, please feel free to contact me here in the comment section of the blog, through email kellyjurkowski@gmail.com, or on Facebook.

Coming to Indiana

Dear Friends,
It has been quite a long time since I have sent you any information.
We are fine and planning to return to Indiana on Thursday, June 5th for Riley's graduation.

We are so looking forward to seeing lots of friends, getting medical check-ups and telling you all about our work here in Liberia.  It is really getting to be exciting as crops look better, yields are better, and people are really interested in what we are doing.

Housing and all has been taken care of.
However, we are in need of a vehicle to use for approximately two months while we are in Indiana.
We will service it and fill your gas tank.
Alan has already obtained insurance for me to use on any car I would drive.
If you have something available I would be able to use, please let us know.
It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just some transportation.

Peace and joy,
Anne and Timothy

        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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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

May 2, 2012

May 2, 2012

We are doing fine.  Timothy is just getting over a really bad cold because of the change of season.  We are going into the rainy season and the nights get cooler and the air gets wetter.  We have just had a really strong thunder storm go through and it is probably now in the low 80’s and feels very pleasant to me.  However, everyone is going around in long sleeves and flannel pants.  We have Sawsee covered up on the floor with fleece blankets.

Rolf is curled up on a pillow fast asleep and enjoying the quiet time.  There have been lots of little children (under 5 years of age) playing around here today and he just has a fit.  He is so very protective of the house and our grandchildren.  He barks his head off if anyone he doesn’t know or he doesn’t like to smell of when they come around.  Some people he is not fazed by and others he goes crazy.  I trust his instincts and for those I don’t know, we just duck inside the house.

The trees and flowers are beginning to bloom.  There is a lot of a tree that goes in AZ and in the south.  They vine up and around and are yellow, pink, red, and purple.  I can’t remember the name – ah – bougainvillea vine – although they are trees here.  There is also a tree that has beautiful purple flowers that hang like lilacs but only larger.  I don’t know if there is a fragrance because the flowers are high up on the tree and I can’t reach them to smell.  Lots of beautiful hydrangeas in all different colors as well.

There are several different kinds of lilies but I think my favorite is a white flower that blossoms like a white lily only it feathers rather than having six leaves like the lily we know.  There is also an orange one.  I had lots of them at the compound but don’t have any here.  I haven’t been able to get flowers to grow here as yet.  I want Kelly to bring me some 4 o’clocks and some other hardy flowers to see if I can get them to grow.  The lizards like to eat the Zinnias I planted as soon as they came through the ground.  We have a couple of pepper plants and some pineapples that are growing.  We also have palm nut trees.  The blossom is a very big and stiff hanging almost like a huge pine cone where the edges come down and overlap in a smooth formation rather than the traditional pine cones we see at Christmas, etc.  Then, as they grow the seeds or palm nuts grow under the “leaves” of the cone.  Once they pop out, you can see them as large red orange fruit.  When you cut the bunch down from the tree, you pull the palm nut clusters out of the stiff pointy cone – they can really do a number on your hands if you aren’t careful.  Most of the time the small girls do it because their fingers are so small they can get in a grab them without being stuck.

Then, after a day or so, you clean the hull off the palm nut, wash them and boil them in water for a few minutes to loosen the outside covering of the nut.  Then, you put time in a mortar and pestle and pound them till the oil and butter loosen.  Then, back in the pot to boil and strain the fiber from the liquid that is creamy.  The liquid is then boiled with meat, fish, pepper, onion and served over rice.  It takes almost all day to fix it and is very labor intensive.  However, it is the staple of Timothy’s tribe so we have it about once a week.  People from the interior eat it every day and it stains their hands an orange color and even their skin has an orange cast to it.

This week I have been doing some of the cooking with some modified American recipes.  I like to cook ground corn beef with cabbage, onions and tomato sauce.  We put this over rice and they really like it.  I also made potato soup with a variation of adding cut up hot dogs to it.  They love it; I just eat around the hot dogs.  Or cook potatoes, onions, green beans and hot dogs together.  One other thing they like is spaghetti, so I try to fix it every couple of weeks.  Hamburger is like $5.00 a pound here, so we don’t fix it very often.  Chicken and fish are the main things.  Their fried chicken is awesome and I finally learned the secret.  They parboil it first and then fry it.  They put seasoning in the water when on the inside.  Fish is generally fried and then added to their soup.  Since I don’t like it that way, they hold out some of the fried fish for me to eat separately.

Breakfast is generally bread with peanut butter and honey drizzled on it.  It is nutritious and tasty.  The little ones like it and it will hold them until they can fix cream of wheat or rice for breakfast.

Last week for my birthday we had a big party.  It actually was the one that Timothy promised me in 2007 and then spent all the party money of fixing up the house, and then there wasn’t enough for the party.  We probably had 75 people here and served fried chicken, potato salad, and jollif rice which is rice with a variety of meats, tomato sauce and onions all cooked together.  It is really tasty and can be stretched to meet the needs of a crowd of people. We got coke, sprite, and orange for the adults and fruit punch mix for the little ones.

We had a great time, and I received 3 beautiful dresses, material, and 2 pairs of African made sandals to wear when I go out of the house.  

Alan, Lisa and Riley all went to Alabama to visit friends over Spring break.  They had a good time and decided that all of them would go to Disney World together for Christmas.  Last year Alans’ went to Arizona so they want to do something different.  Since I am not there they are not committed to a family gathering.  It is reaching the point where Riley will not be around much longer before college.  It just doesn’t seem possible that he is growing up so quickly.  In addition to band, he is running track and cross country in the spring.  I guess he is pretty good at it and really enjoys it.  I know it probably keeps him in shape for band so that when they start marching again he won’t be so sore.  Plus he has built up his muscles from marching and that has helped with track.  Lisa is doing so well with her new business that she has hired two additional people to work with her.  She does the books, marketing, etc. for small businesses where the owner doesn’t have enough to hire someone to do it, but too much for one person to do.  Alan is doing well with the insurance too.

Kelly and Bob are doing all right too.  Kelly will be here from July 4^th to the 23^rd. She got her Lilly grant to do research on folk tales from Liberia and the similarities to American folk tales.  She will do a bit of teacher training and is bringing a couple of other people with her.  The kids here are really excited that she is coming as well.  She wants to help Patient in the kitchen and learn how to make authentic Liberian dishes.  Bob loves Liberian food and it is good for him.  He is back selling cars again and is very content.  I don’t know why he ever stopped in the first place.  I think he was just tired and Kelly didn’t like the hours he was putting in.  Now that they have been married longer, she is pretty much ok with it.  They try to save Sundays to do things together.

Well, it is growing late and I need to get my beauty sleep  Ha!

Peace and joy,

Anne and Timothy

Sunday 3-4-2012

Greetings to you all!!!!!!!

News! News! News!

1st - my news. For all of you who were waiting for it to happen - well it happened! Earlier this week Timothy and I were at the John Koffi Asmuth United Methodist Church for the dedication of their new school. Now this was important for several reasons. Boswell UMC has donated hymnals to this church because they were singing from four different hymnals because they didn't have enough of any one hymal for their congregation. Wouldn't that be a terrible problem, to have a congregation so large that you didn't have enough hymnals? Well, Boswell helped them out and they are now ready to sing any song in the Methodist Hymnal and all on the same page! Also, Brookston UMC donated choir robes and now they are all the same! How awesome! No more mix and match! The dedication was for a new 3 story Elementary/Jr Hi school in Westpoint. Westpoint is the poorest area in town to live. And they saying is "that nothing good can come from Westpoint". Well now, thanks to the Illinois Great River Conference the possibility exists by having the first school in Westpoint available to Wespoint children! Why do we care? First, we have 4 grandchildren attending that school and church, 2 of our son's helped with the carpentry and masonry in the construction, and my former houseboy (Sam) was the School Board Presdient and in charge of the construction process! I am so very proud of all of them.
Now, to the news - Timothy and I, plus Bishop Innis and the District Superintendent Jerry Kulah, were walking from the church to the school. While doing so, Bishop appointed me as the Counseling Elder for our church, Johnson G. Nyan UMC. So - now you can all breathe, I am back to work again! However, this time, I don't have to do all the preaching, visiting, etc. Of course, in exchange for all this grace, I don't draw a salary either! Doesn't God have a wonderful sense of humor!
Also, Boswell UMC donated hymnals and Brookston UMC donated robes to our church as well. They arrived just in time for the District UMW Conference last November and the church (and the women particularly) were so excited they had robes when the choir of our church was called on to sing. There was a mass choir made up of about 6 different churches. Our church would have been the only one without robes but for this wonderful gift. In addition there were enough hymnals for the 300+ women in attendence at the Conference. This is not a one day affair but lasts for 5 days. Our women were the hosts for this district conference at our church.

2nd - The Houseman Community well is coming right along. All the culverts were made with 2 extra - just in case. Yesterday, the boys started digging and were able to reach 4 1/2 culverts deep. It will be 8 culverts deep or about 25 feet. They reached the water table at about 3 1/2 culverts deep. That is great since this is the heighth of dry season. If we have that much water we will know that the well will not likely run dry. The community is so excited and some of the more able bodied men/boys were here to help. The digging is done by hand with a shovel that resembles 1/2 of a post hole digger. The dirt/mud is put in a bucket and lifted out. There is only room for 1 person digging and they almost have to flatten themselves against the side of the well to raise and lower the bucket. Tomorrow Jonathon will rent a water pump to keep the water out of the well while they continue to dig. Once they have reached the desired depth, they will then put gravel and sand in the bottom to filter the water. The pump will be set in concrete and sealed to the well, the water will be chlorinated and we will be in business. I have been taking pictures and hope to find some way to post them on the blog so you will have a better idea of what it will look like. The members of our community have stopped by several times to tell us Thank You! However, the thanks goes to Rev. Larry Houseman for taking on the fundraising for this project and all the congregations, friends and family who have helped support it. It will be wonderful to have clean drinking water available within 100 feet of our home and our neighbors.

3rd - The land issue for Timothy has still not been resolved. He reached his attorney on Friday and will meet with him again of Tuesday to have the complaint taken out of the Circuit Court and to the Superior Count for resolution.
He is still very concerned but is much more calm now that he has confidence in his attoney and the higher court.

4th. Christiana (our daughter) has had her ups and downs with her battle with cervical cancer. She was finally able to receive her first round of chemo treatments last week. She had to have 3 pints of blood to raise her blood levels before beginning the chemo. The Dr. was not even happy with that but went ahead to see how she would respond. If we are not able to keep her blood level up (it was 18%) he will discontinue the treatments. She received 4 different chemo drugs. We had to search Monrovia for one of them that was not available, but one pharmacy ordered it for us at the cost of over $400.00 USD. But - we have it and that is what is important!
She had the normal reactions to chemo but seems to be holding her own. Yesterday she even surprised us by making our bed and sweeping our room for us! She is ever tired but seems a little stronger each day. Please continue praying for her.
Another blood test was taken Friday and we will receive the results tomorrow. Wednesday we will travel back down to the Firestone Hospital to meet with her Dr. and learn what his prognosis is. We are also taking another daughter (Patient) with us for a check-up to make sure that she is ok.

General news and observations:
All our grandchildren here at the house with us are now in school. It gets very quiet during the day but is a welcome relief. Koyo (15) and Sawsee (3) are the only grandsons here. Granddaughters: Mary (14), Faith (10), Dena (7) and Candy Girl (8), plus daughter Patient are the others in school. As you can see - women rule! We have been working on this little bit by little bit since we arrived, and have finally achieved this goal.

Rolf is adjusting well and it well taken care of by the Grandchildren. One has spoiled him rotten by feeding him his food by hand. Now he expects everything to be handfed to him. He will just lay and look at you with "Well, here I am, do you expect me to move?" He loves to ride in the car, stick his head out the window and let his ears blow out from his head. People are always doing double takes when they see him. If we are not able to take him with us, he will meet us as we turn into our road and ride in the car to the house. Now Sawsee is doing the same thing. We have to stop and pick them up to ride that short distance. But they are both happy.

Today traffic was moving very slowly on the way home from church. We found out that a steer ( they look like Bramah bulls with the horns and hump behind their heads) was wandering down the street with a long rope around it's head. A car had driven onto the rope and stopped the steer. The driver finally was able to get off the rope, but the steer continued down the middle of the road for some time. Eventually, he got off the side of the road and the traffic was able to pass. I am not sure where he was going and no one was with him.
Another day, I was waiting in the car for Jeff while he was at the mechanics - this is an open air shop along the road. Next door is an open air wooden furniture shop, on down are other shops and/or businesses. Quietly walking through all this was another steer meandering his way to the area called "cow factory" where the slaughtering takes place and the butcher shops are located. We often stop along the way at the little carts with roasted cow meat. They take fresh meat pieces and roast it it in the carts. You can pick your piece of meat, have it sliced, and have onions sliced with it and seasoned. A serving will cost about $1.50 and is very delicious.
Another day we saw a man holding a full size mattress on the back of a motorcycle traveling down the road. Granted, they are made from foam rubber and are about 6" thick. They are doubled over and tied so they are portable. However, it makes for a very interesting ride in the traffic.
The Christmas tree that was put up 2 days before Christmas on the Blvd. was finally taken down this week. However, the tree and decorations are still up at the church. Maybe they will be down in time for Easter.
Yesterday I made French Toast for breakfast. The children loved it. 1 1/2 dozen eggs and 2 loaves of bread managed to feed us all. I hope to get a large skillet and fix pancakes one day. I did the French toast in a large dutch oven type pan over a charcoal fire.. Very interesting experence.
Life is good, God is good and all is well!
Love and hugs from the Kumeh clan.