While in college, I would always think my life was extremely busy. Then, I’d go home to Maine with my parents for Summers or Christmases… I was always impressed with everything my parents were involved in. Whether it was service to their neighbors and other church members, work at my dad’s company, or planning fun activities around the East Coast, I found myself struggling to keep up with their busy lives. After having the opportunity to visit them in Liberia for the past two weeks, I can say their busy lives have been turned up 5X, and I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open past 10:00 PM (though the jet-lag might have been a factor as well). 

As long as I can remember, my parents have been serving and leading. I’ve seen them in action as they teach lessons in church, shovel snow off of neighbors’ driveways, visit the sick in the hospital, counsel and comfort those who are struggling, and the list goes on and on. But to see my parents in Liberia was eye-opening, and I gained a greater admiration for them. Their world was really turned upside down when they made their way to Africa. In a completely new environment with tons of new responsibilities and with nearly all of their comforts left back home, the task of leading thousands of church members and hundreds of missionaries can be daunting, but they are doing amazing. Those they are leading are so fortunate to have them, and you can sense that others feel my parents’ love for them. Seeing my parents work together to unify the mission and build up the church was one of my favorite things about my visit. Is it weird for their kid to say, “I’m proud of my parents!”? 

Ok, enough bragging about them… I wanted to share a bit about my travels and the stories I had while in Liberia because most family and friends reading this blog likely won’t be picking Liberia as their next travel destination. I apologize if this is lengthy, but like I said, my parents are busy and a lot happens.

The journey to Liberia can be long. From Salt Lake to New York, and then with a 14 hour layover in Morocco, I decided it only made sense to explore along the way. I hired a taxi driver/tour guide to take me around Casablanca. The driving in the city was definitely more crazy than in the States, but it was good preparation for what was to come in Liberia. I was also surprised at how civilized and clean Casablanca was. The driver took me around the city for six hours. The highlight of my pitstop in Morocco was the Hassan II Mosque, which is the largest mosque in Africa and 3rd largest in the world. Set along the ocean, it truly was an incredible building. 

After being dropped off back at the Casablanca airport, I waited many more hours until my final flight would take me to Monrovia, Liberia – or so I thought. When the plane landed at 2am, I texted my dad to let him know I had arrived. He replied he was on his way. About five minutes later, I heard someone say something about Freetown. I then texted my dad and said, “Wait. I may not be here. Can you check my location on our phone and see if I’m here?” He then replied, “Oh. You’re in Sierra Leone. I’ll see you in a few hours when you get here.” Sure enough, the plane stopped, unloaded, and reloaded with new passengers to then go to Liberia. It was a long journey, but I eventually made it.

Traveling alone can be exhausting, so it was a relief to see my parents pull up in their car. We headed to the nearby hotel where my parents were staying (one of the nicest buildings I saw in the country) to get a quick hour of sleep and to change clothes. I couldn’t sleep much though because I was excited to see the country.

After we checked out of the hotel, we left to go to a church service about two hours away, out in what they call “the bush” (the rural areas). We drove by the rubber tree farms that the Firestone company owns. I had no idea they tap rubber like they do sap from maple trees. Coming from the desert of Utah, I quickly noticed how green the country is. It’s more of a jungle though than like the forests of Maine. Despite it being rainforest, I hardly saw any wildlife because unfortunately, during the civil war in the 90s, they killed off most of the animals for food and survival.

I have to say that having served my mission in some rural parts of Mexico, the poverty wasn’t a huge shock to me, but to see poverty on such a large scale throughout the entire country was surprising. Despite this, the people were so friendly. Everyone we waved to from the car in the passing villages would have a huge smile on their face and wave back. 

Once we made it to church, we were greeted by the missionaries and I was quickly taught the Liberian handshake, which every person knows and does. We were then greeted by every church member as they arrived. While I could understand most people’s English, there were times I would stare at my mom to see if she understood. Sometimes I’d just nod and smile and people were fine with that. I loved how welcoming everyone was. Everyone wanted to shake our hands and would smile and thank me for coming to Liberia. 

A lot of the church buildings are humble buildings. They have one main room with a few smaller rooms to the side. They use a speaker in the front of the room with a microphone. There is no piano, so they sing acapella very loudly. With this congregation, many members went up to share their testimony of the Church. One thing that stood out to me quickly is how everyone said, “I’m grateful to be alive another week.” What’s crazy is you know they mean it. They don’t always know where their next meal is coming from or if they will get the care they need if they get sick.

Following this service, we left to another church building about 30 minutes away. My dad has to go around to multiple church services on Sundays to meet and interview people for various reasons. As the church is growing rapidly in Liberia, there are many new congregations. One of my dad’s responsibilities is to direct many of these congregations and build their leadership up.

Following this service, we eventually went back home for the rest of the evening. The mission home is nice and comfortable. Located in a compound with similar houses, I can see why this place feels like a sanctuary for my parents as it’s quiet and clean. They also have a little furry friend named Bingo who visits them every now and then. He is one of the neighbor’s dogs, and I think it helps my parents not miss their dog, Calvin, as much. I took a video below if you’re curious what their place is like. See if you can spot Bingo on my tour!

I won’t go into every detail of my trip, but I do want to share a few other stories of my time there. About five of the days I was visiting, we spent hanging around the mission office. The first floor of the mission office is where a lot of the offices for the church in Liberia are located. Here they help make decisions for the church buildings, travel plans, direct the Seminaries & Institutes, have the Humanitarian missionaries’ office, direct Church Finances for the country, and have a small Distribution Center. Upstairs is where my parent’s offices are located. While here, my mom would give many missionaries haircuts while my dad would meet and check in with each individual missionary or church member that visited. In between all of this, my parents would have conferences with the missionaries in each of their assigned zones. I have to admit, I felt like a missionary again, dressed in a white short sleeved shirt and tie. One day I decided to set myself apart by wearing a blue shirt. 😆

There were certain things I never realized that mission leaders do to help the mission. For instance, my mom would get food for the missionaries for these zone conferences. They catered sandwiches, but she’d pick up fruit from the nearby fruit stands (the pineapple and bananas are SO good) and make cookies. One day, while I was there, my mom asked me if I’d help make cookies. I said, “sure, how many do you need?” She replied, “400…2 for each missionary.” I quadrupled my recipe and made 75. My mom said she’d help take care of the rest. 😂 These types of things made me even more grateful for my own mission president and his wife that I served with in Mexico.

Between all of these conferences, I was able to meet a good portion of the missionaries serving in the Liberia mission. I met the senior couples serving, as well as the younger missionaries. They come from all over the world but are primarily from other countries in Africa and the United States. I found one missionary from Nigeria named Elder Obuma who was born the same day as me! My mom said we were her twins. Can’t you see the resemblance?

I learned quickly it can be difficult to make plans in Liberia. One of the days I was there, we planned to visit a beach far from the city. As we were getting ready to leave, we learned an elder who had been sick for a few days wasn’t getting better. His diagnosis never confirmed Malaria, but all signs pointed to that being the cause for his sickness. This can be a scary thing if not treated, so we were happy to be able to get him in a clinic where he could receive an IV treatment every 12 hours. This missionary and his companion hung with us at the mission home for a few of the days so he could recuperate. After about three or four days, he felt well enough to return back to his area.

While we didn’t get to go to the beach we planned, we did discover one nearby. If you can look past the trash and old car tires, it really is a pretty beach! After walking around, we went to some nearby shops where craftsmen were selling souvenirs.

Besides visiting clinics and attending zone conferences, I also had the opportunity to attend one of the mission office’s security guard’s wedding. They held it at a stake center, and it was supposed to start at 11:00am. We arrived right on time, but Liberian’s sense of time must be a little off because they didn’t start until 1:00pm. We hung around the chapel for a bit and said hi to some of the other guests. It was a nice wedding service, and they even packed up some food for us to go since the reception and party was likely to last the rest of the evening. They gave us some pepé fried rice and chicken. Besides the fruit, this was probably the only Liberian food I had while visiting. My parents have to be extra careful with the food they eat because they can’t afford to get sick, so most of my time I was there we had food my mom cooked or food from restaurants that was safe to eat.

My second Sunday I was there, we attended two services that were at the same building in the Totota area. My dad had lots of interviews to do, so we stayed around and met with the church members. Again, the members’ dedication to the Gospel is amazing. One man walks four hours every Sunday just to get to church. 

After the second service, my mom and I wandered around the church building. We stopped by the primary room. The kids told us their teacher wasn’t there, so my mom and I decided to teach them. Now as I mentioned, these buildings are far from the quality we have in the States, but they work for the purpose of having church services. Usually during the meetings there are chickens walking around the floor and geckos scaling the walls. In the Primary room, there were three or four cockroaches climbing on the wall by the door. One of the cockroaches eventually fell on the floor and was scurrying around. Without any hesitation, this four year-old girl in a little princess dress stood up, walked to the cockroach, took off her shoe, and smacked it dead. Of course since cockroaches don’t really die, it came back to life and was squirming around on it’s back. My mom then said, “Ew! Someone kill it.” Again, without any quarrel from the kids, another little kid stood up and slid their shoe over the bug to make sure it was dead. The remaining part of the class the kids were eyeing the other cockroaches, waiting for them to drop. It was funny how matter of fact the kids were about the cockroaches and that they weren’t grossed out over them.

Besides that, it was so fun to be with the kids and sing Primary songs with them. Despite being in a different continent and living entirely different lives in different cultures, these kids sing the same songs and learn the same principles Jesus taught.

Following this church service, we drove to some of the missionaries’ apartment so my dad could check in with them. While my dad was with the missionaries, my mom and I waited in the car. There were three pick-up soccer games going around, each one based on age group. It was quite entertaining to watch all these kids playing. At one point, the middle aged group of kids kicked the ball, and it went under our car. You could tell they were apprehensive to approach the car with these random white people in it. Eventually, one of the kids volunteered and hesitantly came up to retrieve the ball. I rolled down the window, waved, and said hi. Then my mom asked if he wanted his picture taken. The kids love getting their picture taken, so he then invited all of his buddies to come over, and we took their picture. 

I also have to say that it is impressive the things people carry on their heads. While waiting in the car, there was a little boy struggling to lug around a car battery. My mom commented that at least he wasn’t carrying it on his head. About 10 seconds later we saw him swing the battery up, load it on his head, and walk off. 

That same day, my dad also did an interview for someone who is preparing to go out on a mission. We met at a church building that is just a roof. Their Sunday School classes are held under the nearby trees. My mom and I decided to take a walk while my dad proceeded with the interview. It was fun to go deeper into the bush and see the locals. Liberia really is a beautiful country when you get away from the city. We stopped and talked to some of the kids, and they showed us their games. Some kids would roll around tires, and others showed us their dodgeball-type game where they have to organize the shoes in the center without getting hit. The kids there are really cute and make fun even with so little. 

While a good amount of my time was following my parents as they fulfilled their responsibilities as mission leaders, we were able to have a little “vacation” while I was there. My parents really haven’t had any time off, so it was good to take a bit of time with them to see other parts of the country for a day. They did have to answer calls and respond to texts and emails, but for the most part, they were able to relax. 

We found this small eco-resort about an hour and half from the city. It was in a really pretty location. Right along the beach, they had lodges that made you feel like you were in a tree house. It was so relaxing to just sit outside and hear the ocean waves. We went out near the beach, but didn’t get in the water since the waves were so strong. They also had pools and a lazy river – though it was quite lazy since there were no pumps…

Down a path at the property was a lagoon with a boardwalk. We stayed just a night and then spent the morning and early afternoon on Valentine’s day (and my mom’s birthday!) playing in the pools and the lagoon. They had kayaks that my mom and I took out. The guy handed me a paddle. Then the guy handed my mom a paddle, but it was only half of a paddle. My mom said, “I think there is supposed to be another side.” The guy then responded, “Oh. It’s spoiled.” (That’s how they say broken). Since I was in the back and steering, I took the “spoiled” paddle.

After the resort, we went back to Monrovia and went to one of the three nice restaurants in Liberia to celebrate my mom’s birthday. We finished the day with presents back at home.

As my dad mentioned in the last post, we also went to dinner at some people’s house that work for the US Embassy. The couple showed us the view from their roof. Every evening, bats would leave where they sleep to go out to the swamps to eat. They then return the next morning. There were tens of thousands of them. When the couple told us about the bats, we weren’t expecting much, but it blew us away. 

For my last day of the trip, we headed back to the hotel near the airport. They had some really nice pools right along the river, so we hung out and talked as we watched a nearby storm coming in. Early the following morning, I said goodbye to my parents and was dropped off at the airport to head home. The airport check-in process isn’t quite as official as it is in the States. Instead of scanning your passport, they look at it and write your name on a wrinkled piece of paper. But hey, it works.

I’m grateful for the experiences I was able to have in Liberia. It really is a beautiful country, and the people are so friendly and have the biggest smiles. It was humbling to see how happy they can be with so little. And those in the Church truly live for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While it is a sacrifice to have my parents across the world, I’m grateful for the things they are learning and the service they are providing. I know they are making a difference.