African lifestyle

So many things here in Africa are very very different from what we are used to in our home countries - and we want to take you on a little exploring tour to various african lifestyle impressions we saw this last weekend when we had the chance to go to Gbarnga again for the weekend - a town 4 hours drive away from Monrovia (this time in a good car from a friend - thanks Simon for taking us!!!)


Need gas? Well, you buy it in gallons, about 3,60 US Dollar for one gallon Diesel (what would be equivalent to 1 Dollar per liter) or half of that for gas. You fill it into the tank by hand - and the colors vary from red to yellow to brown or even green! This was obviously the red before-christmas edition ... (just kidding)


... the smaller the village or area, the smaller the "gas station"!

Next stop: The "God´s gift BEAUTY SALON"!


To be honest, I didn´t check it out.... smile.

Right next to it: the Photo Studio!

Let´s go shopping now:


Pick the toiletries you want! (And don´t forget to bargain!)

You need a new watch? Or sunglasses? Here you have plenty-plenty to chose from (just don´t expect quality and never ask where it comes from....)


Oh, you are looking for clothes? You are lucky:


They might have something for you... but if you look for a dress room to try it on....forget it!

Sorry to hear that you got a headache! I am sure you didn´t drink enough in this heat. But o.k., you can also go to the "Pharmacy" and look for some pain killers:


Or rather drink lots of water - and maybe buy yourself some fruit:


This boy is WAITING to sell some watermelons to you! Just don´t expect them to be like the ones you know in your country - there are more seeds than you can count!


If you like seeds too much stay faithful to the Africa fruit nr.1 and eat the sweetest bananas you can imagine!

Aaaa-right (hey, your liberian English is really improving!) - you regained enough strength to work small small, right?


Collect the trash on the streets then!
(This was the FIRST picture I saw of someone actually DOING it here in Liberia - is there hope for this country?)

The following picture you see alot though - at every river, lake, or even the dirtiest puddle of water you can imagine:


...washing laundry!


And this is the African dryer - free of charge! (but with free-of-charge-mango-lavae that come with it, entering your skin and make terrible painful wounds! ) You would have to iron EACH item that is dried like this, but that is not really happening....

After all these African impressions we get really hungry - and decide to look for ingredients to make something that reminds us of Germany - Käsespätzle (a south German delicacy) and Marmorkuchen (marble cake):


We found flour and sugar at the market...


...and also onions and eggs.

But no butter in Gbarnga, no milk (only milk powder),no cheese, no fresh vegetables (not the season) for a salad!

Luckily we had brought milk and butter, cheese and other ingredients from Monrovia, so our cravings for some homestyle food were put into action:


The best "Kaesespaetzle" ever!!!!


The dream Spaetzle-team!


And for desert....


A wonderful marble cake! (Marmorkuchen)

Our resumè: When you are far away from home, you realize how much you are "different" - and even though we really enjoy to experience the African lifestyle (with all its pros and cons) it is great to have some moments that feel "like home"!
And to have friends like you that stand behind us! We are glad that we can share all of this a little bit with you!

Culinary experiences

I heard you are hungry???!!!

Well, can I invite you to have a culinary delicacy I was offered at the orphanage "God´s childrens home" with me?


These are so-called bamboo worms and are supposedly very delicious once they are fried - and contain lots of protein! So... want to join me in this experience?


So this is the ultimate test for you whether you are able to live in a different culture! Welcome to Africa....

So just imagine opening your mouth, taking one of these little nice delicacies....

.... enjoying the crunchy taste and the adventure ride of your taste buds...


.... and listen to the thankful expression of your stomach for so much precious protein! YUMMY!!

To verify this story a little bit: Because the worms were not fried that time I was there I still "wait" for the day when they invite me to have this culinary experience - I really wasn´t brave enough to chew on the living crawling worm...... smile! Would you have been?

But we had some other interesting culinary experiences lately, and I am happy to share them with you:


In the teenage girls group that I and some others of the ship lead at God´s childrens home orphanage we have valuable social times together, study the bible together, teach them practical things - and sometimes all of that happenes at the same time!

We invested some money to buy baking utensils for the girls and Mama Amelia, the caretaker, taught them (and us) how to bake cookies and shortbread on an open cole fire! Believe me - we learned alot aswell!


But the topic of baking was also a perfect illustration for the message we wanted to share with the girls:


What is the only way to receive yummy cookies? Eating all the ingredients separately and hoping that they would mingle in the stomach and form cookies? I think eating the bamboo worms can not be much more disgusting than eating a raw egg and dry flour powder...
The only way is to mix it together and expose it to great heat, and the outcome is delicious!


So the question now: What is the only way to be reconciled with God? Is it leaving out our individualism as much or even as good as we can? That will not take us anywhere but just to ourselves, with all our faults that separate us from God.
The only way to be forgiven and to be reconciled with our creator that loves us sooo much is to accept his gift - that he paid the prize for sin himself through his son Jesus - who died as the only one without sin - and freed the way for us to be accepted by God as his child! This outcome is sooo much more amazing than what happens to eggs and flour when you bake it - it is a transformation of our inadequate own self into an accepted child of god!


The girls were touched when they understood the meaning of what we find in John 10:9 when Jesus says: "I am the gate. whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."

And then we all enjoyed wonderful fresh shortbread together, baked on open fire!

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To end this entry about "culinary experiences":


We went out as a family once, looking for a place where we can have a meal together. These times are rare, for Wolfgang is often working on the weekends and it is hard for me and the kids to leave the ship - Monrovia is NOT like Munich where you just go for a walk....

So we prayed that it would be a special time for us as a family - and it was!
The kids were thrilled - for we found a Libanese Restaurant that served.... CHOCOLATE PIZZA!
Show me the kid (and grown up) that would not enjoy that?
Here are two examples of kids that absolutely LOVED it... Pizza with Mozzarella and Nutella!


Yummy!!!!! (Better than Bamboo worms... smile!)



It definitely was a great treat for us - and a fun memory for David and Amy!