The Best to the Guest: Mama Polly in Liberia

In 2011, with the assistance of her family and friends at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church and her senior living facility, Ann's Choice, author Polly Riddle took a memorable journey in response to a special call from God. The Best to the Guest is her entertaining and inspiring diary of that journey to Liberia. Her first mission trip to Liberia, West Africa, in 2010 was with Compassion Corps, so naturally she asked them to handle her travel and work arrangements for this trip as well. As her mission approached, she particularly looked forward to spending extended time with her dear Liberian friend, Marinda, a school principal. To insure that her trip was successful, Polly prepared a curriculum and gathered supplies to take with her to Liberia. Her call from God was to teach adults to read and enable them to do arithmetic on a second grade level. In addition, she taught the youngsters Sunday school songs, Bible stories, and phonemic awareness using games. Once in Liberia, she was always ready for an adventure, rarely saying no to an invitation, no matter what it was. Whether it was going to the market, exploring the many diverse churches, or visiting a bamboo field, Polly was intrigued by everything she saw and everyone she met in Liberia. Sharing the humor of everyday life, The Best to the Guest tells Polly's entertaining and inspiring three-month story in diary form.

Polly Riddle was born in Camas, Washington; was raised in Columbus, Ohio; and graduated from high school in Tampa, Florida. She received her higher education from FSU, the University of Alabama, West Chester (Pennsylvania), Temple, and EBTS (Palmer Seminary). Polly taught ESL classes and went on sixteen missions to Latin America. Now widowed, she lives in Warminster, Pennsylvania.