In five days I will be boarding a plane on my way to Liberia, Africa. I am so excited and thankful to be voyaging to Camphor Mission Station in Bassa County for a second time. In preparation for my travels I felt that sharing my first experience would be a helpful exercise, so everyday this week I will post a story from my last visit to Camphor.
The Car Ride
Camphor Mission Station is east of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, in Bassa County. The drive to the mission station is both fascinating and heartbreaking. While looking out the window during the four hour drive I felt like I was looking back in time. Mud huts line the dirt road. Women are crouched over a fire cooking their daily meals. Children are playing barefoot along the street in ripped up t-shirts. The few other vehicles that share the road with our land rover are completely crammed with people who are in need of transportation. Those who cannot fit, walk along the side of the road carrying their belongings on top of their head. As the vehicle nears Camphor, children begin running along the side of the car waving and shouting Bassa greetings. Matt, the driver, pulled the car to a stop and I was able to get my first glance at this little piece of heaven that I would call home for the next two weeks.
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| A look at part of Camphor and the road we drove in on. |
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| A good example of what some of the houses looks like. |
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| The natural resources in Liberia were all destroyed during the civil war. This includes the canopy of the jungle-like terrain there. Now the land looks very similar to that of central Florida. |
