Kendeja Resort Monrovia - I just had a very special telephone conversation with my dear sister, Angela Benson. We met this week when I went to visit her and her hospital. We are sisters who just had not met; now we are connected sisters forever. She called to say thank you for last evening…
Something very special happened here at the hotel last evening. For the first time since August 6, 2014, I hosted a special dinner and celebration for about forty Liberian friends. Joy! We ate and toasted and enjoyed – and celebrated the many healthcare workers who were with us, many now ebola survivors. Then we were entertained by my favorite Liberian cultural dance group. Tremendous joy!!
Something very special happened here at the hotel last evening. For the first time since August 6, 2014, I hosted a special dinner and celebration for about forty Liberian friends. Joy! We ate and toasted and enjoyed – and celebrated the many healthcare workers who were with us, many now ebola survivors. Then we were entertained by my favorite Liberian cultural dance group. Tremendous joy!!
My namesake Deborah and her sister Florence joined the dance fun. All the other hotel guests and those here for an evening meal became a part of the special celebration. The staff gathered with us. Joy happened in Liberia! After so many months of fear and focus on survival, fun!
Angela and I talked about what kind of world it would be if everyone were able to open their hearts and care for others, especially those in dire need. She acknowledged me for supporting women economically and educationally – I acknowledged her for making women’s health and reproductive rights the priority in my medical practice.
I am having a quiet reflective Sunday, reviewing all I have been blessed to experience here in Liberia since returning the first of this month after so many months away. I have one more day of filming with the crew tomorrow. We will visit The Group of 77, a handicapped center we have partnered with since the inception of the work here and run by Madam Boakai, the Second Lady of Liberia. We have provided microfinance loans to both men and women at the center; they have all done so well! Oh the people I am blessed to call friends and family here…
I am re-reading a special book, Soul Solitude, Taking time for our souls to catch up. I am reminded of an African proverb which is quoted in the book:
An American traveling in Africa hired a guide
and a group of porters to lead him through
the jungle to a remote village. Things went
well on the first day. He was pleased with the
progress.
In the mid-afternoon of the second day,
the guide stopped and the porters set down
their burdens and began to set up camp for
the night. The American impatiently asked
why they weren’t taking advantage of the
remaining daylight to make more progress
towards their destination.
“We have traveled very fast and must allow
time for our souls to catch up with our
bodies,” replied the guide.
I have spent much of my life in urgency; hurry, fix it, make it better. After being back in Africa, especially at this special time of the Spring Equinox, I feel a very different energy. I am determined to complete this documentary “Liberians for Liberia, Ebola and Beyond” and I am trusting that all will happen in Divine timing, only when my soul has caught up, as it has now being here.
With love and gratitude from Liberia ~ Deborah
Angela and I talked about what kind of world it would be if everyone were able to open their hearts and care for others, especially those in dire need. She acknowledged me for supporting women economically and educationally – I acknowledged her for making women’s health and reproductive rights the priority in my medical practice.
I am having a quiet reflective Sunday, reviewing all I have been blessed to experience here in Liberia since returning the first of this month after so many months away. I have one more day of filming with the crew tomorrow. We will visit The Group of 77, a handicapped center we have partnered with since the inception of the work here and run by Madam Boakai, the Second Lady of Liberia. We have provided microfinance loans to both men and women at the center; they have all done so well! Oh the people I am blessed to call friends and family here…
I am re-reading a special book, Soul Solitude, Taking time for our souls to catch up. I am reminded of an African proverb which is quoted in the book:
An American traveling in Africa hired a guide
and a group of porters to lead him through
the jungle to a remote village. Things went
well on the first day. He was pleased with the
progress.
In the mid-afternoon of the second day,
the guide stopped and the porters set down
their burdens and began to set up camp for
the night. The American impatiently asked
why they weren’t taking advantage of the
remaining daylight to make more progress
towards their destination.
“We have traveled very fast and must allow
time for our souls to catch up with our
bodies,” replied the guide.
I have spent much of my life in urgency; hurry, fix it, make it better. After being back in Africa, especially at this special time of the Spring Equinox, I feel a very different energy. I am determined to complete this documentary “Liberians for Liberia, Ebola and Beyond” and I am trusting that all will happen in Divine timing, only when my soul has caught up, as it has now being here.
With love and gratitude from Liberia ~ Deborah
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