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My Liberia cell phone is
011-231-665-2187. You can also reach Robert Cuppah at any time by
dialing 011-231-655-3223.
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Page last updated: 1/7/2010
Click
on the links below to jump to a particular day
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Day 1 – Sun/Mon
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This will be a little unusual for me in that
we have two other postings going on during this trip as well. I encourage you to read them both as
it will provide something that I haven’t been able to give you for 5 years…
the eyes of a first time visitor.
So see what Lindi Bearchell’s been says since she arrived a week
ago (http://crazymissionsinliberia.blogspot.com)
and also what the rest of the 12Stone team is thinking at (http://weliberia.blogspot.com).
This trip is about exposing 7 new and 2
returning college students to Liberia so that they can see where God is
working here and to give them an opportunity to hear if God is speaking
to them specifically. Dave
Bearchell and Rodney Edwards are overseeing the trip but Danielle
Williams and Brent Pentenburg are the real leaders, They came over for the first time on
last year’s trip and were selected by the Water’s Edge leaders for this
assignment.
My son, Luke, and I got up at 3am Sunday
morning for the drive down to Lawrenceville, GA where we meet the rest
of the team in the Kroger parking lot next to 12Stone Church. The good thing about leaving at such
an early hour on a Sunday is that there’s no traffic. Other than that Luke is like his m
C vv
other in that little good occurs before about
7am. We arrived a few minutes
early and met Brent and his parents in the parking lot. The rest of the group started
arriving and I met the 7 team members that I had not seen before. We weighed all the luggage on a scale
that Brent brought, consolidated a few things since we had the room and
extra weight capacity. Luke
pulled out for the drive home and the rest of us loaded up for the
airport.
God gave us a kind ticket agent at American
Airlines who was very patient and worked all 9 of us (Dave and Lindi
left for Liberia at this time last week). He also got his manager to wave the
$50 per bag second baggage charge which saved $250 on the way
over. Hopefully we’ll be able to
consolidate the 5 extra bags so that we will not have to pay a fee on
the way back. The team brought a
lot of VBS supplies over which will not be returning. One thing that wasn’t good is that,
although our luggage was checked all the way to Monrovia, we have
boarding passes only for the Chicago and Brussels legs. We’ll have to get our boarding passes
for Monrovia once we get to Brussels.
We made it to the proper gate in Atlanta and a
card game broke out until time for the flight to leave. We were delayed leaving by about 30
minutes due to snow in the Midwest.
When we arrived in Chicago it was not snowing much but the snow
removal equipment was busy clearing off what had fallen earlier. Our Brussels flight was delayed by 30
minutes when we first arrived but it kept getting extended until we
were 2.5 hours late leaving for Brussels.
The flight to Brussels was on the infamous
Boeing 767 which I believe was the test bed for the CIA’s
anti-terrorism interrogation equipment.
How they managed to make a seat so uncomfortable and then stick
it on a 7.5 hour flight is beyond me.
We arrived a little over an hour before the Monrovia flight was to
leave (originally we had a 4 hour layover) and by the time we worked
through all the hurdles they ended up holding the plane for us to make
it on. The gate agent assured me
that the luggage was transferred but I’ll admit that I doubted her.
The Airbus to Monrovia was much more
comfortable but I’ve seen the animated film “Up” for the last time in
my life. A couple of neat things
during the trip. Brent asked,
“Mr. Rodney, do you think we’ll have the same drivers this year?” During last year’s trip Brent became
a one man friendship team with the drivers and he was very effective. The other thing was that Jeremiah
brought a puppet with him so he got that out and was entertaining the
children on the plane as we flew along.
Arriving in Liberia began the real Liberia
experience for the team. Going through
customs and the luggage process is enough to overwhelm anyone. We stood there as luggage came out
and, I’ll admit my faith was weak, ours did not come out for quite a
while. Then I saw Brent’s duffle
bag and we waited as all 15 bags materialized. Given the quick turnaround time it is
truly amazing that the bags made it.
Thank You Lord!
When we arrived we discovered that Vivian
Norman, Christine’s daughter-in-law, was on the flight with us. So we found Christine waiting outside
and had a preliminary reunion before we even made it to her house. Robert had 3 vehicles for the team
and all our luggage and we needed them all. We even sent 2 people home in
Christine’s car. It was good to
have some time to talk with Robert on the way back to Christine’s. I forgot to mention that Lindi and
Dave met us at the airport as well.
They’ve had some challenges (as you’ll see in Lindi’s blog) but
it has been a good experience for them so far.
Upon arriving at Christine’s we were served
the normal great meal that we’ve grown to expect. In Lindi’s honor they had spaghetti
and meatballs, cucumber salad, garlic bread and desert.
The group has survived the trip well but
everyone’s tired so we go to bed.
I really shouldn’t tell you this because I try to make everyone
think I’m suffering here, but we now have air conditioning until 1am
each night and, if you’re one of the first people to shower, hot
water. But, Gayla if you’re
reading this, I really am suffering.
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Pictures
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The
12Stone team plus some parents and siblings that came to see the
students off. I assured the
parents that we seldom lose a team member. Somehow they weren’t comforted.
The actual team (less
Dave and Lindi Bearchell who are already in Liberia):
Annie,
Dimitri, Brent, Danielle, Jeremiah, Kayla, Rodney, Jesse and Amy
Waiting
in the Atlanta airport. Brent
begins storing up sleep for the long plane ride.
Jeremiah
watches some of the Pittsburgh football game while waiting at the
airport.
There
was some intense games of Rummy played.
Some
could sleep while flying and some could not. Jesse was a sleeper.
Brent,
Kayla and Dimitri looking good on the flight from Brussels to Monrovia.
Jeremiah
begins his ministry work early as he entertains the children on the
plane with a puppet that he brought along.
A
closer view of one of many outreach tools that came along with us on
the trip.
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Day 2 - Tue
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We’re having internet
problems at Christine’s so this is the first opportunity that I’ve had
to update the site. Similar
problem for Annie and Lindi.
Please be patient.
Today is designed to
be a day of recuperation and exploring.
We intentionally didn’t plan anything specific for today.
As it turns out
everyone slept as late as they wanted but most were up around 8am
(which is 3am according to their biological clock). We had a leisurely breakfast of
oatmeal, fresh pineapple, coffee cake, banana bread, coffee, juice and
probably some other stuff I forgot.
After our opening
devotion (each morning we have a devotion by one of the students and
each night we do a debrief where each person has to provide meaningful
feedback to the team) the team wanted to do some exploring. So everyone except Dave and I went
out walking with Dixon and Florence as their expert guides and
protectors. Before they were out
of sight Dave decided he needed to “check on them.” As it turns out they had turned off
into the police academy and began to make friends with a group of
recruits. Football (soccer) is
always a common interest and Dimitri, Jeremiah and Brent had a match
scheduled for the next night before they left. Dave, meanwhile, had walked all the
way out to the highway unable to find anyone and was beginning to
worry.
After everyone was
back in the compound and lunch (PBJ sandwiches) was served, Robert came
by with the vehicles and we all started for Marshall. Marshal is the point near the airport
where 2 rivers come together and empty into the Atlanta. It’s also a Guinean fishing village
and one of the places where the first freed American slaves settled in
the early 1800’s. So there was
much history to be found here.
In addition, this beach is where thousands of refugees from
Monrovia walked to Buchanan during the civil war.
The students spent
their time playing with the local children on the beach. I’ve been very impressed by their
desire to spend time with the people that they are meeting. Brent continues to amaze me as he
never has to work at sharing his faith in God but always seems to be
presented with the opportunity… and he’s faithful to take it.
Dimitri ended up
swimming while Jeremiah managed to dig a hole on the beach and bury
himself up to his waste. Then
every Liberian child within sight tried to do the same thing.
One thing that brought
back unpleasant memories for me was the jarring 17 mile ride from the
highway down to the beach area.
But it was good to be able to explain to everyone what it was
like driving the 208 miles out to the Children’s Village in Sinoe
County.
Dinner was great with
a type of rice dish that I never got the spelling of (it was good and
green) along with many other dishes including fried sweet potatoes and
plantains.
Everyone’s air
conditioner is working so we’re all looking forward to a good night’s
sleep in luxury (most Liberians do not even have electricity and we’re
sleeping in comfortable beds with air conditioning). It feels like cheating to me.
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Pictures
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Robert & Emma’s Land Cruiser hauling part of our ladies
out to Marshall to see the Liberian countryside and a real fishing
village.
Dimitri on the beach at Marshall
Brent and Peter by a
canoe made from the Bread Fruit tree
The beach sand has
some areas of black indicating the volcanic history of this area
Suddenly an area of totally
different sand
Annie proves to be
popular with the boys
Dave takes a picture
while Brent and Danielle play in the background.
Kayla, Jess and Amy
taking a break from castle building
Our father-daughter
team is continuing into their second week
Jeremiah went beyond the
“Water’s Edge”
A new friend,
Florence, “loaned” to us by Christine.
You’ll want to ask the girls what new skill they learned from
Florence while in Marshall.
The dugout canoes
proved to be a great background for pictures
Robert Cuppah
discusses things with our drivers
Jeremiah watches as
one of the little boys disappears beneath a wave
The classic canoe shot
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Day 3 - Wed
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Today was a different day than expected in many ways. First of all, David Bearchell has
been suffering from a stopped up ear for almost a week. Last night we repeatedly boiled his
ear out with hydrogen peroxide but it seemed to do nothing to
help. So this morning it we
decided that we would take him by the ELWA hospital and see if we could
get someone to look at it.
The scheduled activity for today is to help at Greater Love
Bible Baptist Church in three areas.
First, they have experienced a number of break-ins and are
putting up a security wall. So
the team is helping with that.
They also have a medical clinic where a couple of our ladies
will assist in the daily case load.
Finally Pastor Wesley has a FM radio station and he has asked
that the team members records jingles and welcomes for use on the
broadcasts. For you 12Stone
Church enthusiasts, you’ll be interested to know that Lindi and Dave
Bearchell have been “on the air” for a week now and that Pastor Kevin
Meyers’ sermons are a regular feature of the station’s broadcasts.
So we’re up and having breakfast at 8am so that Brent can lead
the morning devotion and we can leave by 9:15 for Greater Love. I am very impressed with the
leadership being provided by both Brent and Danielle. They are making a good team as they
work together. Christine has
breakfast with us and she asks if we can take one of her employees,
Dixon, to the hospital as he is having sharp pains in his right foot. Florence is going again with us today
as well.
Upon arrival at Greater Love Dave and I hand the team off to
Pastor Wesley and get the clinic physician matched up with Dixon for an
examination. Then Robert and
Victor (the driver) took myself, Dave and Jesse over to the ELWA hospital. We saw Dr. Rick Sacra walking across
the campus and walked over to visit with him. He agreed to see Dave and Jesse and
set up the process for us. There
were over 100 people sitting and waiting for a chance to see the
doctor. Robert Cuppah mentioned
how easy it must be for the doctors to burn out having so many people
waiting every day. Things worked
out well for Dave and Jesse and, after about 3 hours, we were on our
way back to Greater Love.
The fence building project at the church ended up much like
every other construction project I’ve been involved with here… the
Liberians are appreciative of our willingness to help but the slowness
of our work is distressing. So
they will find a polite way to taking back over the construction effort
and we end up hauling materials and visiting more than building. Annie was able to assist in the
medical clinic and the guys played a lot of football (soccer) with the
neighborhood students. They also
had time to do something very important, they talked with the people
and learned more about Liberia.
The conversation that Dimitri had with Dixon was especially
meaningful as he learned what it was like to have been in a village
when the rebel soldiers came through killing everyone in sight. He and his parents fled out of
different ends of the village and he’s not seen his parents since.
Several of the students were able to help record promotional
messages for the Christian radio station and Annie even wrote and sang
a short song on the spot. She’s
pretty amazing (as I’m learn all of these young men and ladies are).
We left Greater Love around 2pm and went back to the compound
so the guys could make it to a soccer game that was promised the day
before. For non-Liberians they
did pretty well. The good part
is that they are making relationships with the people in the
community. The ladies all took a
nap which later translated into them being up until 1am in the morning.
The internet hasn’t been working so this is my first
post. David and I tried to get a
post up at the Royal Hotel yesterday but gave up after 2 hours.
Dinner was, as always, good and the debriefing time was
sweet. I am impressed with the
spirit of the team. They are
doing very well. I would travel
with this group again.
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Pictures
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Kayla, Florence, Annie
and Amy learning to ride the Liberian way… in the back of a truck.
Brent gets a lesson in
block laying.
Danielle spends
some time getting to know a new
friend. 
Jeremiah showing off
his juggling skills. Everywhere
we go he attracks a crowd.
Brent looking over
(literally) some of the block work.
Jeremiah visits with
some younger children outside the Greater Love facility.
Kayla was able to help
out with the physician at the clinic.
Amy posing at the chapel
window
Now Danielle.
Liberians typically
make their own blocks.
This is how most of
the actual block work went… they did it, we looked on.
Kayla was definitely a
star at the radio station.
They said Amy had a “radio voice”, they liked Annie’s musical
ability and Dimitri mainly volunteered the two girls for various tasks
(like writing and singing a song on the spot).
Pastor Wesley has
plans for a small TV station as well.
I thought you might
like to see where we are staying.
This team loves
children.
Danielle interacts
with the local kids.
Kayla and Florence are
hitting it off.
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Day 4 - Thu
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Our plans for this
morning fell through so we made the decision to visit the Waterside
marketplace to give the team a chance to pick up something for their
families but more importantly to experience being in a large crowd of
people and bargaining with the shop owners.
The guys very quickly
decided that looking at fabric was not something they wanted to spend
the day doing. So they went off
with Victor to look for soccer shirts.
Having 2 daughters of
my own I knew it was going to be much more fun with the girls. And I was right. They turned over every piece of
African fabric in at least 5 different shops. One of the market women told me,
“I’ve worked so hard you should buy something!” So I did buy a couple of Lapas.
One thing that was
funny. Danielle and Jesse had
worn lapas as skirts today and the Liberian women kept commenting on
how well the knot was tied and saying that they looked “Liberian.” They really enjoyed the compliments.
After the shopping was
over we hurried back to the compound to eat a quick lunch and change
clothes for the missionary party that the Chapman’s hosted for us. It was absolutely wonderful. The team had the opportunity to spend
one-on-one time with missionaries that have been here 20 years and with
others that had been here 20 days.
They were able to ask questions and go into detail with them
about what it was like, what their challenges were and what their
greatest rewards were as well.
After about 3 hours and a host of missionaries the party broke
up.
The team had brought
their bathing suits so they changed at the Chapman’s and walked across
the street to the beach. You’ll
see several pictures where they are having great fun. I’ll complement the ladies especially
as they were very modest in their attire (which did nothing to hide
their true beauty). The sunset
was beautiful and it finally got too dark to swim so we headed back to
Christine’s for a late dinner, good as always.
The debrief tonight
was very special as the kids (I know they are adults but they are
“kids” to me) were so grateful for the time they spent with the
missionaries. The stories that
they came back with were deep and meaningful. I could hear the first whispers of
God into some hearts about becoming missionaries.
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Pictures
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These shopkeepers
didn’t have a clue what they were up against.
In addition to fabric, leather goods, necklaces and bracelets
were popular too.
Amy has a stern look on
her face while negotiating with the shop owner.
Amy talks with Steve
while Dixon rests in the background.
Will and Lauren of Shine talk with Audry Waines of
Equip. They met and married
while doing a film for Liberia.
Dave shouts
instructions to a group of girls intent on shopping.
A game of soccer in
the Chapman’s back yard.
Jamie Laird and Ms.
Shephard talk during the party.
Ms. Shepherd was raised in Liberia.
Dr. Rick Sacra and his
wife/nurse Debra talk with Jesse about what it’s been like over the
past 15 years in Liberia. They
will be taking a 2 year break back in the U.S. soon. Liberia will be less without them.
Annie and Danielle
talk with David Waines of Equip.
He was actively recruiting short term missionaries to help with
their medical programs.
Kristin Chapman and
Dave Bearchell talk with the Chapman’s adopted son, Solomon, in the
front.
Amy, Annie, Kayla and
Jesse at the beach.
Danielle and Lindi
have some fun in the surf.
Some serious posing
going on.
The entire female crew
– Amy, Annie, Lindi, Kayla, Jesse and Danielle.
Dimitri showing his
“kick sand in your face” pose.
A classic Liberian
sunset.
Dimitri and Brent body
surf to the shore.
Dimitri takes a
running jump.
The girls actually
make it into the water.
Jeremiah, Dimitri and
Brent.
More fun in the surf.
Annie and Kayla take a
run down the beach.
Almost time to get
out.
The tail end of a
running dive by Brent.
The girls try the
running jump as well.
Our candlelight dinner
while the generator was being serviced..
Peter, Florence, Steve
and Dixon wait while the others play.
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Day 5 - Fri
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I can’t tell you often
enough how proud I am of these kids.
They are doing a tremendous job and Brent and Danielle have
taken the leadership positions seriously.
This morning we slept
in with a 9am breakfast and plans to prepare for a visit to the STS
property for a special dedication and then to visit the Rifki Village
having accepted an invitation given the night before during the
missionary party. The morning
devotion turned into a sweet time of extended fellowship as each team
member shared what they believed God wanted them to do in coming
year. The spiritual sensitivity
and openness of these kids is amazing.
I am sorry that I waited so long to seriously seek God’s purpose
for my life. If I’d started as
early as these guys I might have amounted to something.
By the time we
finished the devotion time there was just enough time to get the VBS
materials together for the trip to Rafiki after a very short visit to
the STS property. Just before we
left some new friends from an orphanage immediately across the street
from Robert and Emma Cuppah’s new house came by with some of the
jewelry that their children make for sale. The shopping frenzy was on again but
this time with the added advantage of helping make a difference in
children’s lives.
We left for the STS
property with not enough time for the dedication but enough time to
show it to the team and explain what the future of the property looks
like. We also met Merriam from
THINK and Danielle straightened out the mess I had made of the plans
for next week’s ministry there.
Then we left for the Rafiki Village which is on the road to
Marshall.
Danielle and I were
running about 30 minutes behind the rest of the team and when we
arrived they were completing a project of making lion masks from paper
plates and pipe cleaners for a special version of Daniel in the Lion’s
Den. The children were engages
and you could tell the team had won them over immediately. 21 happy faces anxious to give their
best lion roar and hear a puppet story by Jeremiah and staring Dimitri
as King Darius.
Then the singing began
and the place, if possible, became more exciting. The children had a ball and so did
our entire team. I was as proud
as if each of our students were my own children. They are really a great group.
Finally we ended with
a game of flag tag which Brent directed. He’s the only one more excited than
the children. They all had a
ball.
We did a quick tour of
the facilities (top quality) and learned more about the Rifiki
Foundation (again, top quality) and enjoyed cookies with our hosts
Dave, Babs and Julie. The team
was so excited that they asked to come back and do another session of
VBS tomorrow morning. The offer
was immediately accepted with enthusiasm. So we’ll be back there at 9:30am.
We had so much trouble
with the internet at Christine’s that we had them drop 3 of us off at
the Kendeja Resort so we could use their highspeed internet. The cost of a hamburger and French
fries for each of us made for a pricey internet fee but we’re getting
desperate.
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Pictures
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Julie, Babs and Dave
along with Jeremiah and Timothy
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Day 6 - Sat
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I’m backfilling today
as I posted these pictures yesterday but am writing this section
tonight.
This was without a
doubt the most emotionally intense day of the trip.
This morning we woke
up, had breakfast and left for the Rifiki Village for another morning
of Bible stories, songs, crafts and games. Just like yesterday, the 12Stone team
was wonderful with the children.
The theme for today was God’s creation. Each group of children focused on a
different day of creation as they made rubber mats with pictures of the
earth, sky, animals, birds and all the other things God created. Jeremiah’s puppet gave the story of
creation with Brent popping up as God.
The kids were so engaged during this time. Perhaps the best part for me is the
enthusiasm during the singing.
Each of the team leads in songs and hand motions are very
important. I’m not sure what Wa
Wa Cheeky Cheeky is found in the Bible but Brent has all the children
saying that now whenever they are excited or singing. He kind of reminds me of Bill Murray
in the movie Stripes. I’m not
sure the kids are learning “regulation” VBS songs but they really
enjoyed them (Boom Shakalaka, Boom Shakalaka). Here’s one of the key “takeaways”
from this work of ministry by the team, the ones who benefited the most
were Dave, Babs and Julie of the Rifiki Village. The children there have become their
children. And when you do something
kind for someone’s children it’s the parents that appreciate it the
most. I can’t count the times
they said how grateful they were for what our “kids” did for their
kids. Parents, be proud.
We left the Rifiki
Village and headed back to the compound for lunch after which we held
what to me was a very moving dedication at the STS property. 12Stone has a ritual for each mission
trip they take of sending a Bible to be buried in a significant spot
somewhere in the country the team is visiting. The 12Stone team chose to bury theirs
at the STS property. As we
prepared for the dedication I thought back over the plans for this
property. It is an acre in size,
has 2 dilapidated houses on it and sits across the street from the
Atlantic Ocean. There is much to
be done and it will be expensive but we believe God will use this
property to serve His Kingdom in Liberia far into the future. Currently a security wall is being
built (the Bible was buried in the foundation of the security
wall. Even though we are building
a wall we know that our security lies with Christ. Once the wall is up we’ll build a
loading dock and begin processing all the containers we send into
Liberia through this secure facility.
This will allow us to serve the missionaries, churches, orphanages,
schools and others in a more secure and orderly fashion. Following that will be creating a
warehouse using the 40 ft shipping containers we purchase and send to
Liberia. We also plan to create
housing units out of a number of the shipping containers stacked as a
second story. The first of the
houses will be renovated for office space and a spiritual leadership
library. The office space is for
other Christian NGO’s to use as they serve Christ in Liberia. The library is to provide a place for
pastors and other church leaders to have access to a significant number
of books, CD’s, DVD’s and computers providing the best leadership
training materials available today.
A planned second story will be a modern training facility
allowing many organizations to offer instruction for their personnel,
government employees and others.
The second house will be renovated for living quarters for
missionaries and short term missionary teams so that we can continue to
encourage Christians from around the world to see what God is doing in
Liberia. Plus there is
additional space across the back of the property for buildings as
well. Because of the Bible
buried in the very foundation of this property, 12Stone will never
cease to be a part of the work we do.
At the ceremony the
team each read a portion of the Bible dedication. Then the Bible was signed by each
team member, placed in the foundation and each member placed a shovel
of concrete over it. Finally we
prayed that God’s word, though buried, would grow at this place and
make all of those who hear it alive in Christ.
We left the property
and drove to ELWA Hospital to meet with Dr. Keith Chapman. He is an oral surgeon who, along with
his practice partner, Frieda, operate the dental clinic. Their clinic, Trinity Dental Clinic,
is one of only 3 in Liberia and one of only 2 that serve the general
public. They charge $3 per
procedure (pulled tooth or filling) and also do surgery which is needed
in many cases because people suffer for years with infections before coming
in to the clinic. Keith then
introduced us to the hospital staff and they gave us permission to
visit and pray with the staff. I
could go into detail about the impact this had on both the team and
those the team prayed with but I’ll ask that you read the other blocks
and get the information first hand.
Suffice to say that there were immediate responses to the
prayers of this team.
Leaving the hospital
after a couple of hours the team returned to the compound for one final
significant event. Christine and
Laurence Norman stayed after dinner and Christine spent almost 2 hours
taking the team through here life in Liberia before the coup (her
father was President and assassinated in his bed) after the coup (when
she was on the list of 600 people to be killed and yet she submitted to
the authority of the government which murdered her father) and what it
was like once she left the country yet found herself in Abidjan sharing
the little they had with Liberian refugees who had nothing. It was a series of at least 6 key
biblical truths rolled into one discussion that few will every have the
privilege of hearing in person.
But these kids did and will be better because of it.
Good night.
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Pictures
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Everyone has a job and
the information to do it at Rafiki.
Today was about God’s
creation.
Lindi helps a child
with one of the days of creation.
Jeremiah does his very
popular puppet routine talking about the creation of the world.
The children
absolutely love the puppet.
I call this “Peace and
Joy”
Right in the middle of
Vacation Bible School a hair braiding session broke out.
Song with hand
movements are always popular.
Brent works his magical excitement
on the kids with a song plus some “Wa Wa Cheeky Cheeky.
Dimitri is leader of
Team Green
While Amy leads Team
Red
Vivian, Merriam and
Danielle talk before the dedication service.
The beginnings of the back
wall of the security fence.
More of the security
wall.
Blocks stockpiled for
this week’s work.
2
laborers and 1 helper
The 12Stone Bible
within the security wall’s foundation.
Brent adds the first
shovel of cement.
Dimitri next
Then Jesse
And Jeremiah
And Amy
Then Vivian
Florence
Annie
Merriam
And Danielle. (Sorry my camera filled up before I
could capture Lindi, Kayla and Dave.
Dr. Keith Chapman explains
how the Trinity Dental Clinic works.
And you thought I
didn’t have any talent…
I think her hair
turned out very nice.
Christine Tolbert
Norman takes the team through a complete history of her life in Christ
and the difficult circumstances God brought her through including the murder
of her father (President Tolbert) in a coup, her arrest and
imprisonment and God’s faithfulness through it all. You will meet very few people in your
life like Christine. I am glad
this team was able to hear her story.
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Day 7 - Sun
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Today is a day of rest
for the team. Yesterday was a
day of so much spiritual intensity that today will hopefully be a day
of spiritual rest.
We enjoyed a good
breakfast. The staff at Christine’s
are very kind to make sure that we have food even as Sunday is such an
important day for their own families.
Perhaps we should think about providing for ourselves on Sundays
in the future in order to not inhibit their worship. Most people here who have a job work
6 days per week as it is.
At a little after 10am
we loaded up and headed into downtown Monrovia for the worship services
of Providence Baptist Church. It
is the oldest church in Liberia and, I believe, the largest. It is also where the Liberian
constitution was written.
As it turns out, the
services started at 10:30am rather than 11:00 as I thought. But we still arrived during the first
of the singing which lasted about an hour. In Liberia the first Sunday of each
month includes communion. This
also ensures that it will be the best attended Sunday of the
month. Add to that this being
the first Sunday of the new year and the auditorium was maxed out. Per their bulletin last Sunday’s
attendance at this service was about 500 persons. I’m guessing today was almost double
that number.
The music was very
moving and joyful. The songs
were mostly those from my childhood so I knew all but a couple from
heart (which was good since they don’t have song books or anything on
an overhead that we could see).
I watched many of our team as they were moved by the music.
It is always a
privilege partaking with other believers in the Lord’s Supper. Our church back home recently spend
several weeks studying the significance of the Lord’s Supper. We used a book by Claude King called
“Come to the Lord’s Table.” I
recommend it. It has changed the
way that I prepare for communion.
All of my life communion has been “tacked on” to a normal
service and all the preparation I did in my heart was done in the 60
seconds after the preacher finished reading about not “partaking in an
unworthy manner.” Now I spend
time ahead of the day of the service.
It was easy to participate today as my focus has been on the
things of Christ and His Kingdom for the past several days. Dr. Sam Reeves is the senior pastor
and is also the chairman of the board of Service To Servants in
Liberia. He was kind to come
back during the welcome portion and speak to each of the team. His sermon struck a cord in my heart
as it spoke of generosity out of poverty. A “paradox of participation” he
titled it. Trusting God is so
difficult when we have plenty but can also be hard when we have very
little. I’m glad we attended
here this Sunday.
Since it is Sunday and
Christine was going to be away from home, she suggested that we get
lunch out. Dave Bearchell
suggested the Royal Hotel so we stopped there for their Sunday
buffet. It had about everything
you could want including beef, chicken, lasagna, fish, quiche, pizza,
vegetables, desserts, coffee and juice.
Although it was expensive I think this group may have eaten
their money’s worth.
Dimitri, Jeremiah,
Kayla and Amy were scheduled to meet the local community kids for a
game of soccer as well as doing some “girl stuff” with those who don’t
play soccer. So there was quite
a game with Kayla, Jeremiah and Dimitri playing in the game. Amy was the photographer and took all
the pictures shown below plus more.
Amy also found time to
work with the girls and paint their finger nails. Just like doing hair, painting finger
nails seems to be a universal event.
On the way back Kayla
took the time to teach some fund new dances to the kids.
All of this may not
seem like ministry but it really is.
There is a group of Liberian kids in this community that know
they are cared for by some young Americans. They know that there’s no class or
economic separation between them preventing them for loving one
another. I consider these types
of activities to be very important to the work of Christ in Liberia. I also think it makes the team better
as well.
The rest of us who
didn’t go out to play spent the day napping, reading or otherwise
resting. Dinner was good and the
debriefing time was, again, excellent.
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Pictures
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Providence Baptist Church
Our team participating
in the singing. Mostly the old
hymns we older guys grew up singing.
Of course Liberians do add a little different flavor to them.
There was not a single
empty seat in the service. This
was the first Sunday of the month which is an important day for
attendance and it was also the first Sunday of the year.
Today (first Sunday of
each month) was a time to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
The sanctuary empties
out after the service.
Joyous worshipers
leaving the service.
Dimitri riding in the
back of the truck.
I’m not sure if it’s a Wesleyan thing or what but Dave really
seemed anxious to get away from church.
True worship seems to scare him.
Dimitri went through
the Sunday buffet line 3 times and added a huge plate of dessert. It shows.
Dave the evangelist.
The team outside the
Royal Hotel where we ate Sunday lunch.
The following is a
series of pictures of a community soccer game Jeremiah and Dimitri got
Dixon to set up. Kayla went
along to play as well. Amy was
the photographer and also the chief fingernail painter. Kayla taught some new dances to the
kids as well.
                  
The result of a crash between Kayla and one of the community
players.
       
Rather than see us as
another group of white people that drive in and out of the Norman
compound in comfortable cars, the 12Stone team is making sure that the
neighborhood kids know that they are cared for. They will remember that the team took
the time to play soccer with them, dance with them and spend time with
them.
A reminder that we are
here to minister to real people with value and for whom the Father gave
His only Son. This is the true
missionary story.
Sisters sharing a
sucker. This is the Liberian
way.
   
For my daughter,
Elizabeth. The pirate shirt says
Savannah, Georgia.
  
Some happy girls with
freshly painted fingernails. Amy
also did one boy’s nails who came back later to have glitter
added. I’m not sure Liberia is
really ready for that yet.
A series of pictures
where Kayla is teaching new dances to the local kids.
      
The 12Stone community
ambassador team returning to the compound.
What the rest of us
did while the soccer players were gone.
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Day 8 - Mon
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Today starts the most rigorous portion of the trip for our
team. For the next 4 days they
will be divided into 2 separate teams which will change in makeup from
day to day. In addition to being
split up, they will also be self lead as Dave and I will not be going
with them (Dave did end up going to Diana Davies to continue his
relationship there).
Breakfast was good, as usual, and both our drivers were here
early! Peter left us yesterday to
go inland for several days so we will not see him again until the next
trip. But Victor and Siafa are
still with us.
The Diana Davies team left early as they have a one hour drive
due to the heavy traffic. One
this team is Brent, Kayla, Lindi, Jeremiah and Dave.
The THINK team left about 9:45am as their drive was only 15
minutes. This team is composed
of Danielle, Dimitri, Jesse, Amy and Annie.
I spent the day meeting with Jerry (our contractor) and the
surveyor talking about a small, pie shaped sliver of land between the
STS property and our neighbor on the south. The surveyor recommended strongly
that we erect our fence to include this small piece of land in order to
avoid the problems with an abandoned area that no one would care
for. So we are designing the
fence such that we can “give back” the sliver if it is ever
questioned. We also talked about
the size and location of a loading dock. Currently we are thinking about a 24
x 24 foot dock. Chuck, if you’re
reading this, please give me the height the dock should be above the
roadway. Afterwards I sat for a
while at the Royal Hotel using their internet connection and then
Esther and I went shopping for the ingredients for tonight’s dinner. The group will be preparing and
serving dinner to everyone in the compound who typically serves us.
The THINK team returned first and it didn’t take long to see
that they had experienced an overwhelming day. The said it was great but simply more
than could be absorbed. Last year
the team that went to THINK was able to go to their safe house to work
directly with the abused children and teenagers. This year, because the director had
changed, we were not allowed to go to the safe house (its location
supposed to be unknown but we were allowed there last year due to a
personal relationship with the prior director). This time the team went to a youth
rehabilitation center that THINK maintains and the kids from the safe
house were transported in. What
this means is that there were also a group of mentally challenged
children there also that had basically been forced onto THINK by the
police and governmental groups as they were found living on the street
having been abandoned by their parents.
Based upon the stories told by our team it is obvious that THINK
is not staffed or financed to handle these special needs kids (as if
raped and abused children and teenagers don’t have special needs as
well). I’ll ask that you read
through the Water’s Edge blog to get more of the details but there are
a couple of stories that stood out.
One was a 6 year old boy who was found abandoned and living on
the streets. Because he crawls
around and eats anything he finds on the ground they had his ankle tied
to the porch railing where he stayed all day. The team asked if they promised to
watch him could he be untied, and he was. Amy spent a good part of her time
holding him, singing to him, talking to him and serving him to the best
of her ability. He had not
spoken in at least a year. He
called her “mama”, said “yes” to her and communicated in other
ways. He would only eat if his
food was placed on the floor but he ate from a bowl for her. Can you imagine how pleasing this
type of service is to God who warns us over and over that He loves the
fatherless and the helpless?
The second story was by one of our girls who, as she started
to speak of her experience at THINK began to cry as she mentioned that
she has spent the day working with the abused girls but had also spent
time with these mentally challenged children. She mentioned having talked, sang and
played with a couple of the younger children but having not picked them
up and held them because of they were urine and slobber covered. As she wept she promised herself that
she would not smell too good when she got back home tomorrow but that
those children would be held and loved.
The team that had visited the Diana Davies orphanage came back
next. It was a complete change
of experience. Each child there
is cared for well, healthy and time is spent with them. Of course they are not hosting
special needs children or, necessarily girls who have been raped. But Diana is caring for children who
are orphans and she also runs two large schools to provide education to
many children. The 12Stone team
invested in Diana’s orphanage last year by providing a large generator
and a secure building for it to be placed in. The students for last year also
invested a lot of their time getting to know the children there. Dave said that they were initially
disappointed because they didn’t see any of the 12Stone people from
last year. That speaks well to
last year’s group to know that the children remembered them and were
sad that they did not come back.
But this year’s team quickly won them over. Between playing soccer, singing with
them and the counseling that the team did, it was a great day. I mentioned that 12Stone’s investment
from last year paid off because they have wired the buildings, have the
sewing center in use training local women how to sew to provide income
to them and have their one computer working so that the 18 year old
orphaned boy that lived there last year has a place to do his college
studies this year. They also
have the exterior built for a new school building that will provide
space for over 1,000 children to receive an education. The generator will supply power for
that building as well once it is finished.
Tonight the team chose to serve those here at the Norman
compound who have been serving us so faithfully. The danger for us is to assume that
those people serving us are getting paid to do so and, thus, they are
just doing their jobs. These
people do so much more than just their job. Because all the cooking is done
outside over a coal pot and the bread is backed in a wood fired oven
(made from a 55 gallon drum) the cooks have to arrive by 6am in order
to feed us by 8am. They stay
through lunch to make sure we have food to eat and, for us to eat
dinner at 7pm, they have to stay until 8:30 or 9:00 so that we can
finish and they can wash all the dishes. The gatekeepers work at least 12
hours per day, sometimes more and this is 6 days per week with some
coming back on Sunday.
So Esther and I went shopping for a truly American dinner,
grilled hamburgers with lettuce and tomatoes, French fries, dessert and
soft drinks. The hamburger was
$3.80 per pound and I won’t even tell you what the lettuce and tomatoes
costs. The freshly baked
hamburger buns were $.28 per pack of 4 so that was very cheap. The large fresh baked cookies we
bought were $1 each as were the candy bars. 24 canned drinks were $12 so that’s
not bad.
Once the teams got home we put them to peeling potatoes,
patting out the 10 lbs. of hamburger, cleaning the lettuce and slicing
the tomatoes and onions (donated by Esther). Dave and I have been wondering why
any college boy attending Water’s Edge hasn’t done everything possible
to win over the wonderful girls.
After watching them peel potatoes and pat out hamburgers I may
have a clue (you know I’m kidding here). I did expect to have at least one
finger cut off before the boys finished helping with the potatoes but
we were fortunate.
Christine had a small grill and a coal pot so we set up the
kitchen in front of the guest house.
It was normal to grill hamburgers over a coal fire but it took a
little help to figure out how to fry the French fries. But, once we got the hang of it the
process wasn’t bad.
The hardest part was getting Christine and all her people to
sit down and let us do the work.
You could tell they were much more comfortable serving than
being served (sounds like of Christ-like doesn’t it). But we managed to keep them in their
seats for the evening.
Some of you are already ahead of me. The real purpose of this meal was
much less about the people we were serving and more about the college
students being reminded that the greatest will serve rather than be
served. I want each of these
students to reach the highest level of life in Christ and that cannot
happen without a heart of service.
The debrief tonight was the most powerful yet. Because of the experiences of the
THINK team there was a deep heartache evident within the group. As one after the other spoke of their
day the compassion was overwhelming each of the team members. Brent, after hearing of the little
boy tied to the railing, could not speak when his time came. Finally, after everyone else had
spoken, he talked about all the people he knew back in Georgia who were
spiritually chained up and how this little boy’s tribulations would
eventually end but how those who die outside of Christ will suffer
forever. I wish you could have
been here.
Since I was not with the group I have only a few pictures to
post. But I’ll try to get some
from the team tonight and post on tomorrow’s update.
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Pictures
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The guys peeling
potatoes.
Dimitri shows you how
not to peel a potatoe. Look Ma,
no fingers.
The ladies were in
charge of the hamburgers.
These were truly
Thickburgers.
Brent showing everyone
what not to do when handling other people’s food.
Dimitri was the
seasoning master.
For a father missing
his daughters, this was a great place to be.
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Day 9 – Tue
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Today is a repeat of yesterday in that we have two teams and
one is back at Diana Davies Orphanage while the other is returning to
THINK. There has been some
changeup in the teams however as Kayla is going to THINK today while
Amy is going to Diana Davies.
I spent part of the morning with the devotions of the R.E.A.P.
staff. They are back at work
from the holiday break and what better way to return than by reading
the Bible, discussing God’s meanings and praying. We used I Thessalonians 5 especially
about things Paul told the readers to do: Rejoice always, Pray without
ceasing, In everything give thanks, Do not quench the Spirit and
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Finally we see that we are not charged to do this on our own
but, “Faithful is Hhe who calls you, who also will do it.”
Later I went downtown to meet with Roland Martin who is the
founder of Kingdom Leaders International. Roland has started Global
Construction to help provide funding for this ministry and God is
showing him favor. I’m helping
him a little with setting up his accounting system (one of STS’s 4
areas of service).
Yesterday’s write up explained something about these two
ministries but didn’t have too many pictures. I’ve borrowed photos from Amy,
Jeremiah and Dimitri and have included them below. I will not label each one but will
try to let you know what you’re looking at.
At last night’s debrief the conversations kept coming back to
the need for someone at THINK who could focus on the mentally
challenged children. Christine
joined us for the debrief by the way and she was very impressed with
the compassion of the team concerning THINK. So much so that she is going over
with the team tomorrow to see for herself how she might be able to
assist in this area. So the work
of this team is already moving others in the right direction. By the way, it was pointed out that
the 12Stone team sitting in the debrief has the ability to make a big
difference for these special needs kids. If each member of the team provided
$10 per month it would provide enough funds to hire a full time worker
who could spend 8 hours per day doing nothing g but working and caring
for these 5 children. Each could
be held, cleaned, loved and cared for.
For you reading this blog as well, I’d encourage you to think
about that the next time you are holding your daily cup of Starbucks
coffee. Talk with these team
members and put together a plan to change lives in Liberia.
I’ll close today’s comments with this. These kids came home smelling like
urine and slobber today.
The following pictures are from Diana Davies Orphanage.
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These are pictures from THINK.
      
Meet Prince. You’ll notice that he is tied to the
porch railing to prevent him from crawling off and putting dangerous
things in his mouth. He is
labeled as mentally handicapped but the team is not convinced that a
proper diagnosis has been made.
Would a $100 per month worker change his life? Would you help?
    
Amy is ready to bring
Prince home.
 
Two of the mental
challenged children who were untouched all day long.
  
The following pictures
are back at Diana Davies Orphanage.
       
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Day 10 – Wed
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Today the teams were
switched around a little and they said hello to a new ministry, Orphan
Relief and Rescue. I first meet some
of the ORR group a couple of years ago on the Mercy Ships when it was
docked in Monrovia. We had the
privilege of going onboard and celebrating International Thanksgiving
as guests of the Chapman’s. They
began the work of helping the poorest of the poor while many were still
working on the ship. But several
came back to Monrovia when their term expired to begin working more
directly with
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Orphan Relief and
Rescues headquarters near Cooper Beach.
Dimitri and Siafa (our
driver from Fellowship of Faith) sort clothes for delivery to a couple
of orphanages tomorrow.
The children will also
receive candy and fruit.
More clothes sorting.
This just isn’t right.
Danielle is many,
wonderful things but bossy isn’t one of them.
More costume fun. Crusader divas.
As if the glasses and
beard were not enough.
Music time at the
orphanage.
The joy of
handpainting.
Kayla helps the
children have the same fun.
It’s not the
activities but the attention that brings the biggest smiles.
Beautiful
And again.
I think Dave must be
doing story time by the tired looks on the kids faces.
Okay, so it’s not
Dave… this time.
It takes very little
to bring happiness in Liberia. A
couple of hours of attention.
Peace.
Two beauties at once.
Brake dancing Liberian
style.
Dave spends time with
a perky little girl.
Instant love
Soccer always shows up
no matter where you are.
A popular little girl
A group shot of the
gang
In Liberia you’re never
far from the beach.
Seeing Dave and Lindi
makes me miss my girls.
In front of the church
The cans of baby
formula sent by Linda Fulmer did make it.
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Day 11 – Thu
Day 12 – Fri/Sat
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