Liberia, Here We Come Again!

Wow! I can hardly believe that it has been nearly 7 months since I last made an entry on this blog!  You're right... that was way too long for you to wait for an update on PROJECT BUCHANAN.

However, I am happy to report that building construction on the new school property in Liberia has indeed begun!  Over the next few days I hope to "fill you in" with both words and pictures...

Here in Colorado, another year in the classroom has ended for Paula and me.  Now at last we can get out the old suitcases and start packing for our summer 2010 trip to Liberia!  That's right!  Exactly one month from today, we should be en route on a flight from Brussels to Monrovia. We can hardly wait to be on our way "back home" again!
 Since January we have been making plans to spend this summer in Liberia (just as we did last year).  Now at last we have our tickets and are starting to get really excited!  We are scheduled to leave Denver on June 24... and return on August 5.

We want to thank our many friends and supporters across the United States and Canada who are interested in PROJECT BUCHANAN and who have so generously helped to make our 6-week visit to Liberia this summer possible.

We're Back from Liberia!

NOTE: You can left-click on any picture to enlarge it for better viewing.
.
Yes, we're back! In fact, we got back to Denver the middle of August, just when the school year here in Colorado was starting to "gear up". So I've been busy the last couple of weeks getting my science classes underway at Belleview Christian School (here in Westminster where I teach) and writing up a formal report of our trip for Pillar Missions.
.
The primary purpose of our five-week trip to Liberia this summer was to move PROJECT BUCHANAN forward by putting together a comprehensive plan for its development over the next few years. On this trip our work was to include a study of the property’s topography, the creation of a possible campus layout, the development of a phase-by-phase building plan, and the structuring of a project management team.

Certainly we were hoping that our extended time in Liberia would also allow us to reconnect with our friends and be an encouragement to them. We wanted to become better acquainted with their needs and try to understand, in particular, the postwar challenges of the Christian school ministry in Buchanan.

As a science teacher, I felt that one way I could help the school in Buchanan was to take over some simple science lab equipment and show the science teachers in Buchanan how it could be used to enhance their classes. Finally ...

I knew that I would likely be asked to be the special speaker at several churches on the Sundays we would be in Liberia. I hoped to be able to use my knowledge of “Liberian English” and the Bassa language to connect with young people who might be wondering how God could use them to help Liberia.
.
Our five weeks in Liberia went by so quickly, but a lot was accomplished. In my next few posts to this blog, I want to bring you up to date on PROJECT BUCHANAN and the progress that has been made toward getting building construction started on the new land. Liberia is currently in the heaviest part of the rainy season along the West African coast, but by November the dry season will be returning and outdoor work will need to begin in earnest.

Hodgsons Plan to Be in Liberia this Summer!

Sorry, everyone... I haven't posted anything to this blog in more than a month. Here in Colorado, schools close in May; so as a teacher, I've been quite busy the last few weeks with end-of-the-year activities and final exams! But that is now all behind me!
.
Last year in May, Paula and I were in Costa Mesa, California, for our daughter Andrea's graduation from Vanguard University. Then...
.Just 2 weeks ago, we were on the West Coast again, this time for her graduation from the University of Southern California! She now has her master's degree in teaching as well as her teacher's certification for the state of California. Go, Andrea! Where did the time go? Just a few years ago--or so it seems to her parents--she was that smallest person in the picture of our family piled on a motorcycle in Africa! (See my last post!)
.
Andrea's graduation was an opportunity for a family photo:... Gord, Paula, Andrea (22), Stephanie (26), and Nathaniel (24). Here we on the USC campus! Incredible! Why do I keep recalling that picture of a young family on a motorcycle, somewhere in the African bush?
.
Because Andrea's training at USC was part of a government-sponsored program to provide more math teachers for America, she is now committed to finding a job teaching math in the Los Angeles district for the next 4 years. This past year she did her practice teaching in LA schools, and we know she is ready to rise to the challenge! (P.S. After that, Andrea, I hope you can spend a little time in Africa teaching math -- like your Daddy did!)

.

Meanwhile... Paula and I are indeed planning to spend 5 weeks in Liberia this summer with Pillar Missions, advancing the cause of Christian school education in Buchanan! Tentative dates for our trip are July 6 - August 11.

.

We expect to spend considerable time working with our Liberian friends on a comprehensive long- and short-range development plan for PROJECT BUCHANAN. There are so many logistics to be worked out, and we want PROJECT BUCHANAN to be done right... right from the start!

.

Actually, PROJECT BUCHANAN has had several good "starts" already! First there was Jacob Tequah's careful search for the land in 2007 and 2008. Then last June, knowing that an excellent parcel of land had just been located in Buchanan, I recommended that Pillar Missions seize this opportunity to expand its Christian school ministry in postwar Liberia. Within a few weeks, the 10+ acres had been purchased!

.

In January of this year I was in Liberia with a stateside team that visited the new property and participated in a ground-breaking ceremony. It took 4 photos to get everyone "in the picture"...

.

...so PROJECT BUCHANAN is already off to a very good start!

.

We are hoping that building can begin this coming dry season (December - April) with the construction of property security facilities and then the first of two multi-classroom buildings.

.
Here in the States, generous donations have already come in, designated for PROJECT BUCHANAN, and fund-raising will continue this summer with “FREEDOM RIDE III” (a cycling event in New Jersey) and this fall with “BUILDING HOPE IN LIBERIA” (a marathon here in Colorado)!

.

We are excited about all that is happening! Watch for updates right here on my blog!

The HODGSONS... Then and Now!

In the 1980s our family lived in Liberia in River Cess County at Po River Beach. The last 7 miles to our rather remote location were traveled SLOWLY by motorcycle along a bumpy trail that wound across sandy coastal savanna, through wet rain forest, over slippery stick-and-log "bridges", and up and down steep hills severely eroded by Liberia's heavy rainfall! This picture was taken in early 1989 as we were getting ready to start "the trip". There seemed to be only one "seating plan" that worked for us: First Dad and Mom would get on, then Andrea (2 years) would squeeze in between us, next Nathaniel (4) would scramble up right behind the handle bars, and finally Stephanie (6) would try to get comfortable on the gas tank in front of Dad! We all agreed that not having to walk 2 1/2 hours in the hot sun (or sometimes in the pouring rain) was well worth any discomforts of the ride! In fact, Nathaniel found the trip so relaxing that he would often fold his arms across the handle bars, put his head down, and fall fast asleep! (Did I mention that our overnight bag was usually secured over the taillight and that a few other belongings in plastic bags were slung from both handle bars?)
.
Eighteen years later in January 2007, Paula and I were back in Liberia for a visit and we crossed the Cess River by boat, as we had done so many times before! We were on our way to Po River Beach where we had taught for 10 years before the war and where we had built so many family memories! This time, however, there was no motorcycle on the other side of the river and we had to walk!
.

In January of this year, I was back in Liberia again, this time with an American team, to visit the land in Buchanan that had recently been purchased for a new Pillar school campus. This freshly-planted property stake seemed to mark the beginning of an exciting new venture in Christian school education for Liberia!
.

The natural beauty and quiet solitude of this place would seem to make it an ideal setting for a school. So far, however, there is not a single building on the land... but hopefully this will soon change!
.

Students from the overcrowded Pillar school facilities in town joined the Pillar visitors from the States to view this spacious new property. No doubt they were anticipating the day when this relaxing scene would mean that they were taking a welcome break from their busy classes!

.

Paula and I are seriously considering the possibility of making an extended working visit to Liberia (perhaps as early as this summer) in order to help get the first building project on this land organized and underway! We will keep you posted, right here on this blog!

.

PROJECT BUCHANAN is being funded by interested groups and individuals whose tax-deductible donations are being channeled through special Pillar Missions accounts and go in their entirety to the project! If you are interested in learning more about PROJECT BUCHANAN or would like to know how you can help to make this new school campus a reality for postwar Liberia, email me at: ghodgson2003@yahoo.com