South Africa Vacation:

In April, we met David for two weeks in South Africa.  It was a much needed break from life here.  We enjoyed hikes, a safari, lots of fresh fruit, a zip line course, and being in a cooler climate.  On our last day, we were even able to go shopping and outfit our growing boy with some much needed new clothes.

Winter:

In May, Winter finished her second year at Liberty where she is studying American Sign Language.  This summer she is working at a family camp in California where she has learned to drive a golf cart among other things.  Her job as assistant to the director has been a fun change of pace for her.

David:

David has finished his 11th grade year at BFA and is now a Senior.  He enjoyed volleyball in the fall and being a soccer manager in the spring.  David will arrive in Liberia on Father’s day.  We are looking forward to spending the summer with him.  This summer he will be working with our deputy director helping her with communication via social media.  He is excited about working on his photography and graphic media skills.

Noel and Teresa:

We have been in Liberia for over a year now.  Noel has four regular flights each week with other flights added as needed.  In addition to leading his aviation staff, this spring Noel with the help of our ops manager, created an i-form and trained a few of the staff on how to use iPads to track SP’s cargo.  Now with just a touch of a button the staff can find out if their cargo is at the warehouse, hanger, or has reached its destination.   He has also been working with one of his local guys on ground school.  Ground school is the classwork that is needed in order to get your pilot’s license.  The hope is that this guy will be able to go to the states in the next year to train to be a pilot and eventually coming back to fly here in Liberia.

This spring, the Fouts guesthouse has had many guests come and go.  Due to our extra rooms, we house the aviation guests and sometimes guests from the projects side.  With the airstrip work going on up country,  there was a lot of coming and goings.  Virgil in the picture below was one of our regulars over the last year.  He was in charge of the both the airstrips that have been completed since we have been here.  His experience is invaluable.   He is a wealth of aviation knowledge not just airstrip construction.  I always make sure to have some sweet tea ready when he comes through.

This last week we had two IT guests from headquarters.  They worked on problem solving internet issues as well as installing new equipment. Next week after David arrives, we will be getting an aviation intern for the summer.

School ended at the end of May for my teenage students.  I was proud of how they finished strong.  As I wrote up the comments for their report cards, I enjoyed seeing how far they had come this year in their writing and math skills.  They were a great bunch of students.

This summer, I am continuing with a kindergartener who just joined us a month ago.  Due to transitions, he has not been able to do as much school this year as his parents would have liked.  He is at school for 2 hours each morning.  Then two afternoons a week, I am tutoring a boy named Samson.  If you are Facebook friends with us, you may have seen a video we posted about him.  He is behind in his education due to an illness that caused a growth on his face resulting in him losing one of his eyes.   Also once a week, I am tutoring my house helper.   She wants to learn to read better so she can read one chapter of her bible every day.  I am building on the foundation that another lady laid years ago.   It is kind of ironic that this math teacher is teaching three people to read.  At least I have good books to help me.  Even though my summer busy, I am finding the margin to start to work on a few projects, read a few more books, and get together with friends.

Rainy season is here.  It came in with a bang, literally.  This last weekend, lightning caused some havoc with our electricity and damaged the ELWA’s radio tower.  Luckily for us, our power was only out less than a day.  Our office had to deal with a burnt cable that affected the power going into the building as well as damage IT equipment on the tower.  Our water is still on and off but thankfully it is enough to get things done and not be stinky.   As the season progresses, we will still have rain but usually not much lightning until October when the season is winding down.

Noel and I celebrated 25 years of marriage this week.  Can you believe it?  We went out to eat Sunday night at an Asian restaurant to celebrate.  Most evenings we take a walk along the beach road after supper.  It is a way for us to reconnect after our day without distractions.  Here is our view from one of our walks.

That’s it for now.  Would love to hear what is going on with you this summer.

Many blessings, Teresa