Ammon:
First of all, I woke up to no AC because we had run out of electricity, and had no breakfast, so we decided to go to the airport 4-3 hours early. Finally the stand opened and we could go to the lounge. Had some nice food, and learned how engines and transmissions work from a video because I was curious. I also learned how jet engines work! Then we boarded and we had a 2 hour flight so I decided to read my book for an hour, then play on dads phone for an hour. Then we landed (the airport was an old military base) and had a 1 hour drive to our apartment. Then tried to watch Karate Kid II but the internet was slow.
LaReita:
I woke up to the sound of massive rain fall on the aluminum roof, and the A/C no longer running. During heavy rain storms, Ghana Electric Company shuts off the power grid (because it was built in 1960’s and there have been limited upgrades.) To clarify Ammon’s statement, Ghana Electric Company turned off the supply for everyone.
We had planned to leave for the airport at 11am. However, since there was no electricity, we might as well go early to the airport where there is uninterrupted electricity, and sit in a lounge. Good thing we left at 9am, because it took nearly 2 hours to get to the airport due to flooding on the main road. Once at the airport, we were so early, we had to wait 1.5 hours until the departures counter opened to check-in our bags.
Finally, we got through the passport and security processes, and on to the lounge to eat a good breakfast of Ghanaian style food. Our 2 hour flight was half-full going to Monrovia, Liberia. Interesting side note: the roads from Ghana, through Ivory Coast, and to Liberia are mostly unpaved, and no bridges to make a bee-line from capitol to capitol. This distance is either
a) a 2 hour plane ride –or– b) TWO full 24-hour days in a bus.
We got our bags, and as we began to exit, we had to go through ANOTHER security scan. This was a first for me. We’ve already been through Ghana airport security (2x) on our departure, but Liberia was doing security again as we exited the airport. Interesting.
Our agricultural trainer met us with his taxi driver. Another guy met us to receive a missionary back-pack full of American comfort items for an American missionary serving in Liberia. I was a little annoyed in taking the items, but we had the space so I relented. My personal feelings is that a missionary grows as they make sacrifices by leaving the comforts of home. Additionally, mothers need to let go so their missionary can grow.
Roberts International Airport (ROB) is in the middle of the country (not in a city), so it took about 1.5 hours drive to get to our apartment rental I found on VRBO. We arrived and there was no toilet paper and only 1 bath towel. I knew something like this would happen at one point, so that’s why I always travel with TP and a hiking quick-dry towel whenever I come to Africa!
Other than that, the apartment rental is quite nice (A/C and running water!), operated by a Syrian family, who have been in Liberia since 2015.