For the Love of Liberia

AFAA Mission- Day 6- Our Final Day... so we thought...
It was day that no one really wanted to come so fast. We had all fallen in love with the children and the workers. We had built new friendships. We had come to call the orphanage home, but at last it was time to say goodbye. While the team packed and finished up a few odds and ends projects I used the morning to pay each of the workers privately. Some of the harder, more trustworthy workers we asked for their contact information while the others we simply thanked them for working so hard. We made a deal with one of the men to come back and keep doing general construction for a trade of new battery powered tools. While we finished up with these things though the construction crew outside had already taken off the main gate and had busted a large hole through the side wall to prepare for the gates reinstallation. They first had to discuss a large pineapple tree that was in the middle of the way and the main electrical challenges, but they soon figured a way around both of these problems. No words can express the pain of saying goodbye. For some of the team members it was a simple pat on the back while others it was nearly torture as they had formed a genuine relationship with the children at the AFAA house. For these team members they knew that as they left that final time their hearts would in some way remain with these precious children. For me it was harder than I had hoped to say goodbye. With my two beautiful adopted children at home that had once lived in this home I now understood the hope and hopelessness that many of these children were facing. They just wanted to go home and since this was the third time I had seen some of them I wanted that for them as well more than I could ever express to them. When the time came to walk through the broken walls of the new gate location to head out many tears filled the eyes of the team and the workers. What we had experienced in a short week could never be explained, but it was time to make our way home.
Our first stop was at Karen's apartment. We would each take a hot shower and relax in the comfort of a couch for the first time in a week. After nearly 2 hours of being at Karen's we made our way to the Royal Hotel for some pizza. By the time our pizza had arrived we knew that the time for getting to the airport was drawing very close, but we had planned to make one more quick stop for shopping. Several team members had hoped to get certain items and because of the demand of the projects and never leaving the orphanage they hadn't had a chance to buy anything from the local sellers. We left the Royal quickly, but unfortunately took much more time than expected to drive downtown to the embassy before heading to the airport. Since I had been through the airport for departure two different times I knew that it was a small place and would not take as long to get through security as an American airport. What I didn't calculate was that instead of 45 minutes to drive to the airport we instead took 75 minutes! When we arrived at the airport for our departure it was 5:05 PM. It was then we learned that the ticketing office closes at 5 PM! No exceptions! Our flight didn't leave for another hour and 25 minutes but the longer we waited to talk to Delta reps the more evident it became that we weren't getting on the plane. Throughout the ordeal the team remained in great spirits, but you could tell we felt defeated. We had said our goodbyes and we were ready to head home. However, we learned later that God was not ready for us to head home.
On our way back to town we made the decision not to stay at the AFAA house. All of us had showered and were in much need of a good night's rest. We chose instead to stay at a hotel. At first we went to the Royal, but they did not have room. They sent us to The Great Wall hotel owned by a Chinese family and assured us they would give us a good rate on our rooms. Since much of the team had left the house, my uncle Dennis had decided to stay and work on a few other projects and to clean up in different areas. Myself, Adam, and Jeff returned to the orphanage for the night while the remainder of the team stayed at the hotel. That night we all slept peacefully, but the next morning would bring the greatest surprise of the trip. At the hotel the team was eating breakfast and was informed of the cost per room. They were also informed that the hotel does not accept visas and that it would only be accepted in cash. Together the team gathered a little money and told the clerk what they had. They were then met by the owner's son in a more than generous way. Throughout the night they had learned that we were a Christian mission team doing God's work at an orphanage. They had decided that they would not charge us anything for the room the night before. They then also invited us to a private room to tell us their story. A year ago their father who owned the hotel had been murdered. Since they were Christians and he was hindu they prayed for God to forgive him and give him another chance to be with their family for eternity. Over the past year they had been very discouraged and wanted to sell the business. They had asked God specifically to send them encouragement when all of a sudden a Christian mission team from America walks in their door looking for a place to stay. In that moment tears filled the eyes of everyone in the room. We then prayed together in English and Chinese and sang a song of praise to our great and powerful God. Then, we left the hotel and headed for the airport! We weren't going to miss our flights again!!!