Tae Kwon Do

The boys all started taking Tae Kwon Do a couple months ago. They go two days a week to the SKD Stadium and take lessons along with a number of other MK's and Liberian children. Today was their test day for their yellow belts. Here's the view inside SKD when we arrived about 8:15 this morning. The rain had just stopped and it was actually sunny and hot by the middle of the program.


Keith, hardly able to contain his excitement. After the program he was headed out with the people of On Surfari to film a surfing show featuring Liberia and Trinity Dental Clinic.

The students of Scorpion Tae-Kwon-Do Sport Academy

Their instructor, Master Junior Pewee Russian. There's nothing Junior, Pewee or Russian about him. He placed 3rd in the heavyweight class in Africa last year. He's a phenomenal athlete and great instructor. His story should be made into a movie someday. He was separated from his parents during the war when he was only a young boy. Ended up begging for food in the port when fighting broke out and he took refuge in a Korean ship. He spent the next 3 or 4 years aboard the ship as it circled the globe moving cargo. The Korean sailors took him in and among other things, taught him Tae-Kwon-Do. Performing their Pomsee

Accepting their yellow belts from the Liberian Minister of Youth and Sports.

Eva Morgan, Assistant Justice Minister for Liberia, and a supporter and student of Master Russian, giving some remarks during the program.

After the program we came back home and Jamie castrated 4 dogs. Well technically assisted in the castration of 3 and spayed one. She said she actually had fun doing it, so lock up your pets next time she visits.

Then the Sacras had a birthday party for one of the other MKs. Here's a shot of all the kids as they listen to Debbie explain a game (and why are Heidi and Joy glaring at me?).

Heidi celebrated her 15th bday while her sister is in London after being medivaced due to a 1-2 punch of Salmonella and Malaria.

Playing the game.

That's all for today.

September

An update to let everyone know we're still here. Things have been pretty busy here. The boys are a month into their new school year now. Jamie's felt very relieved to have a couple other people (and former teachers...or is it current?) here helping out with some of the subjects. Our country director Matt Carr is teaching the boys science and neighbor Debbie Sacra is teaching writing.

The weather has been unseasonably dry. The first week of September gave us less than a tenth of an inch of rain. Someone told us they had over 100 inches last year in September. That's almost 3x the annual rainfall in Western Washington. It has picked up a little the last week, but the boys have still found time to get outside. Here's Kobe with a couple friends and an octopus they found in the rock reef.





Blessing is doing very well. She's gained a couple pounds the last 3 weeks. The boys have been very helpful. Here Colton is playing a game of Stratego with her. She's red.

Sleeping

With Kobe after her bath.

and speaking of Kobe, he gets to be the first in our family to have malaria. He had a 105 degree fever on Saturday so I took him up to the hospital. After his malaria smear came back with 1+ I told him "congratulations". The nurse looked at me a little cross and said "why are you congratulating him?" He's doing fine though and hasn't really had any problems since Saturday.

I finally took the camera with me to work today and snapped a few pictures of the guys and the finished Academy project.