|
View Today’s Photos
The website update that was sent
last night was only partially complete when I had to pull the plug at the
internet café. Shadrach was
concerned that the area was becoming unsafe (not to frighten anyone) as the
later it became (9:00pm when we left) the more people would come out. So we went home without completing the
upload. You might want to go back
and see the write-up and pictures.
We were bushed when we got
home last night but David was doing a lot of studying and journaling on the
porch. We went back out on the porch
a little later and spent some time with Shadrach and Jeremiah. The topic was primarily about Liberia
and the difficulties in getting through any process without paying
bribes. This is an important topic
within the Crown teachings and the Bible says we’re not to pay a
bribe. Shadrach was explaining the
current situation in Liberia
among government workers (not the ministers of various department but the
base level folks who control the movement of documents, etc.). They make $30US per month. A bag of rice costs $27US. If you want your children to get any kind
of good education you have to send them to private school. Plus other expenses not mentioned above. So you have a person responsible for
processing the first step of your container through the port. That person expects a bribe or your
paperwork sits there. The next
person in line is in the same position so another bribe is expected. By the time a container has gone through
the port it has passed through at least 16 people. Each one of them has the ability to keep
your container from moving forward.
Ours has been sitting for 36 days.
It should have been out in 3.
It’s full of school supplies for our school children. School has been going for a few weeks
now. The kids get one sheet of paper
pulled from a common pad each day.
There’s a generator and the container itself that will serve as an
ice making business. This could be
generating as much as $4,000 profit per month. So now the ministry has another $4,000 of
lost profit while waiting. There’s
an ultrasound machine in the container.
There may not be more than 2 or 3 in the entire country. Are people dying this month because it’s
not out? The Bible says not to pay a
bribe. That’s a biblical truth. I always think back to the scripture
where David was moving the Ark of the Covenant and the wagon it was being
transported on tipped and one of the attendants reached out to steady
it. He died instantly because the
command from God was not to touch the Ark.
But what if it’s about to fall?
Don’t touch the Ark. So if the Bible says don’t pay a bribe is
there any reason to disobey it even for the good mentioned above? (psst. that’s another place where you’re
supposed to think about what I’ve said.
I’m thinking about it as well.)
We got up early this morning
to make some appointments that we had.
The first was with Emile Sam-Peal
of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention. Emile was out when we went by so we made
a later appointment.
We first stopped by the
Salvation Army headquarters. David
felt right at home as his parents are both officers in “the Army”. The Dixons had already left for the U.S.
but we were in good hands with Major Ben Gaymo. It was such a pleasure to hear him say
that they had everything under control with the pickup of our Crown folks
from the airport, the meals, etc. I
am very grateful for the leadership of Dr. Sam Reeves who is the chairman
of the Pastor’s Committee.
We then went to see Pastor
Wesley of Greater Love Baptist Church (there’s a Baptist thing going on
here) and looked at the initial work for a 3 story educational building he
has started. He estimates the entire
cost will be $91,000. I’d say it
will be about 10,000 square feet of floor space. The cost to us in Sinoe is much higher
due to the cost of moving materials across the terrible road system for 200
miles. We also, through an internet
“mis”search by David, found a ministry called Equip Liberia (he was looking for
John Maxwell’s ministry but this is not it). As it turns out we passed it around the
corner from Pastor Wesley’s and he offered to take us over for an
introduction. There we met David and
Audrey Waines who have been working there since the early 80’s. They have about 130 people employed (and
have had almost 3,000 volunteers over the years) and provide ongoing
training to approximately 600 villagers across part of northern Liberia in
health, education and biblical practice.
Their work has resulting in significant declines in the infant
mortality rate (some times as much as 90%) as well as reducing the 2nd
leading cause of death (dysentery) to the 6th leading cause in
their target areas. They teach
people much as Jesus did, as the day goes along and as He healed them. Take a look at their website (www.equipliberia.org). I hope that as we get better acquainted
that we will find was to support them and to partner with them in reaching Liberia
for Christ.
After we finished our meeting
with The Waines, we bid them and Pastor Wesley goodbye and hurried back to
meet with Emile Sam-Peal. He was very gracious and supportive of
the Crown effort and will help make sure those with whom he has influence
attend. I look forward to working
more with him in the future. Shadrach
stuck his head in the door and motioned for me. When I met him in the hall he said we
needed to get to the port because there was another hang up with the
container. So we graciously excused
ourselves and hurried to the port.
Apparently the final person who was to sign off on the sheet to
allow us to get the container said she was not going to do so. Shadrach felt our only option was to
appeal to her directly. So we met
our broker, Ben Amos, and he got us into the port to see this lady (I don’t
have her name). We finally got in
and she was gracious but didn’t like something that had been done in the
past (not part of our container shipment) and wanted that cleared up before
she would release ours. Although we
said nothing we did sit and pray while Ben asked for her support. Finally she said she would sign the
release if we brought over the original receipt showing we had paid the
duty fees. Ben didn’t have that but
called for it to be brought over. We
left with the assurance that it was on the way over and would be
signed. David, Gayla and I did
nothing but pray during our time in her office. I would ask, even now, that you continue
to pray that the container will be released today.
After that overwhelming spurt
of effort we headed back to the house to rest until Ben calls to say the
container is out. I got Shadrach to
drop me off at the internet café and take the others home. Hopefully you’ll get this update today.
View Today’s Photos
|