Update from this Side...

After two months, I'm back and ready to write. It's gotten pathetic lately as I just have totally forgotten about posting anything the past little while. It's been a great couple of weeks, and lots of exciting things have been happening.

First off, I was able to travel to Ghana with a friend of mine, Ethel, who traveled over for a visit. The holiday was exactly what I was needed, and it a came at the perfect time. People have kept asking me what I saw and what I did while I was in Ghana, and the reality is not much. Other than shopping, it was sleeping, eating, swimming, reading, and relaxing. OH yeah, and getting a brutal sunburn the first day.

The visit with Ethel was a lot of fun as I was able to show off some of the work that we've been doing here in Liberia and get a chance to enjoy having a good friend from Canada here to lighten up life. We got up country twice, and almost got stuck on the road on one of those trips, but it was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who sent letters, and gifts...

Most recently, in fact last night, we all got to take part in another historical event here in Liberia. The Samuel K. Doe stadium was the home to over 50, 000 refugees during the war, and last night after months of renovation, the stadium re-opened. I kept thinking the whole time that it must have been pretty emotional if anyone was there that made this place home during the war. It was truly a historical event, and even though Liberia lost 2-0 to Sierra Leone, it didn't really matter as it was more the significance of attending than worrying about the score.

The most "interesting" moment of the night was the storming of the gates. There were literally hundreds of people outside the gate, wanting to get in, but not having the money to attend. Suddenly during the second half there was a flood of people coming into the stadium and we began to wonder what happened. Turns out that people stormed the gates, broke through and rushed into the Stadium to watch. IT had happened once earlier in the night on a lesser scale, but it was the Boy Scouts and the UN, yes the Boy Scouts, who swatted people back with sticks to hold the line. Unfortunately, they were not as successful the second time.

Regardless, it was an enjoyable night as our group enjoyed a night out to watch a bit of football. Not only was it's historic significance memorable, but on a more selfish level, it was even more nice to have a night out watching live sports. It's going to be fantastic to have future games here, and I look forward to seeing more live games. It's again another big step towards indicating that things are returning to normalcy here in Monrovia.