Liberia!

No email from Elder Hallenberger this week but he wrote this in a letter to his sister, Jadyn, who is doing a report on the country of Liberia. I (His Dad) thought it was worth sharing. :) 

Liberia is made up of 15 counties. I live in Montserrado. Most of the mission is in this county but Elder Packer recently opened up an area in Sinoe county and earlier... Elder Tamfoumou opened in Bong county. I hope to open a county sometime in my mission because I feel it would be cool.

In Liberia they speak English but its very different. When I first arrived I couldn't understand shit (Not a bad word here). It's called Kalokwa (Liberian English). Chances are.. A Liberian can't understand you either because you are speaking Sereeze (American English). For example, when they are hungry they say, "Myteesha" which means... My teeth are sharp. When they are full they'll say, "Mygufu" which means.. My gut is full. When they greet people they say... "Ya Hello-o!" "How ya spend tha day?" or "How da body?" In Liberia it is VERY common to greet EVERYBODY you see. All day here I say... "Ya Hello-o!" Of course its not just about what you say... Its how you say it. Kalokwa contains a lot of mumbling and quick talking. "How da body" would sound like "lksdfjhsdkmmhhk"

On top of the Kalokwa... There are dialects for each tribe. My tribe is Kru because when I first arrived a ma told me I'm Kru. She said my Kru name is Blamo meaning... First lover. Haha yeah I know. Good morning is... "Dewah" Good afternoon is "Ponganie" and the general greeting is... "Bongodolru"

There are a lot of soups here that are special to each tribe. When they say soup they really mean.... a bowl of rice with some type of substance on top. My favorite is Casava. The one special to my tribe is Palm Butta but... That one can give my stomache hard time! Toboggie is the WORST!!! Literally tastes like a spoonful of baking soda. It will send any white man crying back to the apartment. Stay away from toboggie.

A lot of people here don't have it easy. It is a fourth world country. When I left on mission it was the 3rd poorest country in the world but now... Its unfortunately the 1st. Elder Kimball, (one of the senior missionaries who started the mission after the Ebola crisis) told me that Liberia was on the path to being the wealthiest country in West Africa but when the civil war happened... The country suffered. After the war, Liberia unfortunately was hit with the Ebola virus. During this time, the country was in quarantine. This all made Liberia very weak and poor.

Many men walk around today with one leg or one arm. Its not a birth defect... Its always due to the war. If you believed in Christ... The rebels would cut off your arm or leg. Its very sad and the future of Liberia is much brighter than the past.

Obviously there's much more to tell! Like the word for prostitute is... Obijo. I know that because in Paynesville... They walk around everywhere. On a weekly basis ill be asked to....

Liberia is special and the people here are just amazing andI love them so much! Dont really wanna leave tbh.

Love, Elder Hallenberger