June 2011 12Stone Water’s Edge Liberian Mission Trip

Rodney’s Thoughts

(Wow! That black background was really getting to me. So I changed to light purple.)

BACK TO THE TRIP JOURNAL 

Friday, June 3 and before:

This is a trip that makes little sense for my business right now.  Two clients are in critical stages of software implementation and I shouldn’t be away.  I’ve also had minimal contact with the team, we’ve lost a couple of members to unforeseen circumstances.  Of course Dave is the constant and Dimitri is our one returning student.  It’s always good to have a returning student to provide some insight to the others.

Prepping for the trip is much less trouble than it used to be.  There’s a routine that has developed over the years.  Chuck Clark gets the funds ready for me.  Depending on what we’re doing at the time, it can be a significant amount.  Sometimes $20,000 plus.  This time I have about $11,000. I remember the very first trip over.  I had about $1,000 or so and was paranoid about losing the money the entire trip.

Gayla makes sure that I have clean clothes and any other personal items needed.  On Friday I bought 3 Rubbermaid storage containers for the inside of the large, purple canvas bags that have made every trip since 2005.  They have been tough ones.  This time I bought a battery operated fan for $12 that takes 8 D cell batteries and which are supposed to last for 24 hours of continuous operations.  The benefit of these fans is something learned from the previous Water’s Edge team.  When the generator is turned off around 3am each morning, you can switch on the fan and it helps you sleep for the remaining 3 hours.

My son, Luke, spent part of Friday picking up truck parts for a Ford 350 pickup STS has in Liberia.  Mostly brake shoes, pads and calipars.  These are heavy and will require an extra bag.  We also shipped 2 Yamaha XT350 dual sport motorcycles on a previous container so I’m hauling a couple of helmets, a few parts and a rain jacket.

I got home from work on Friday night and started the packing process.  Some college aged students from our church were over.  They have a band and Gayla is doing a photo shoot for them.  So I set up shop in the bedroom and started packing.  This time I’m taking a suit and a sport coat as there may be some meetings with some governmental officials.  Plus it’s nice to have good clothes for church.  The rest are your normal pants, shirts, socks, underclothes, etc.  I used to take enough of everything for the entire trip but now I take enough for a week and hire one of the employees at Christine and Laurence’s guest house to do laundry.  We’re in the rainy season but sometimes get a brake.  Otherwise getting clothes to dry can be a challenge.

For the most part I finished packing in an hour or so.  I can’t find my international electrical plug adapter.  That wouldn’t really matter too much but I need to charge the 3 Liberian cell phones I have and their chargers have the European plugs (220V) rather than the American ones.  So I’ll have to wait until Liberia to charge them.

Typically we are taking over multiple items for people/organizations when we go (auto parts for instance).  This creates two challenges.  First is the number of bags.  We’re flying Delta this year (more on why this is a blessing later) and they allow two 50lb checked bags per traveler.  Second is the weight.  It’s not 50lbs times the number of bags but a per bag limit instead.  Last year we were on American and between the time our tickets were purchased and the flight took place they dropped the number of bags allowed from 2 to 1.  The agent at the ticket counter was nice enough to waive the fee for the extra bags we had which saved a few hundred dollars.

We don’t have scales at home so I guessed at the weight knowing that I could run by Clark Iron and Metal Saturday morning and check each bag.  Usually we can shif items between bags and make it work out.

I start a few days before leaving by making a checklist of all the things needed for the trip.  As I think of things I’ll add them.  I don’t take anything off the list until it is actually placed into a bag.  For this trip I ended up not purchasing/completing a few things.  I still have to turn in last week’s timesheet and my May invoice for work.  I’ll have to do this while in Liberia.  I also needed a cheap watch for use in Liberia but forgot to purchase it on a previous trip to Wal-Mart.

We are also permitted 2 carryon bags for the flight.  I have a back pack that was purchased for the initial Liberia trip back in 2004.  It still serves me well even though Gayla says it doesn’t look so good.  That will have my computer, noise cancelling headphones (you can’t imagine how these help on a long flight), camera, etc.  The second bag is a small roller bag that will have 2 new laptop computers (one for Ben Amos, our container clearing broker and one for Emma Cuppah, Robert’s wife) plus a case for Emma’s computer, a portable printer and a spare battery for my laptop.

So now I can relax a little before bedtime.  Sleep, however, doesn’t come and the night is a fitful one.

Saturday, June 4

Saturday morning comes about 5am.  Even the dogs think it’s a little early to be stirring.  Once I’m finished with the toiletries, I pack them away in a zip lock back and put it in the remaining open bag.  Luke has told me about some air and oil filters for the motorcycles so I walk up to the other hill to the shop building and bring them back and pack them away.  A bowl of cereal serves as breakfast along with a glass of Kombucha (Google it).  I wake Gayla and we visit for a while.  Soon it’s 9am and I leave for town to weigh my bags.  Upon weighing them I find that they are 41, 42 and 48 lbs, respectively.  Great!  Leaving the salvage yard I’m off for Lawrenceville, GA where the team will meet at 12Stone Church.  I was going to take a shuttle from the Nashville airport to the Atlanta airport but needed to meet with the group at Lawrenceville so decided to drive down instead.

During the drive down I became very sleepy.  Turning onto I-285 I drifted into a daze and looked up to see a sign that said I-75 South 2 miles.  Wow, time to backtrack for a loss of 30 minutes.

Arriving at 12Stone Church (www.12stone.com) 15 minutes late, I meet 4 of the 6 12Stone people for the first time (Kristin, Taylor, Brad and Chris).  Dimitri went with us on the December 2009 trip and Dave’s a regular.  We’ll meet Rachel Moye for the first time at the airport.  I mentioned earlier that we had 2 of our ladies drop out for unavoidable reasons.  About that time, a friend named Jim Moye called and said that his granddaughter was graduating from Baylor and did we have any upcoming opportunities for her to serve on a short-term mission trip to Liberia.  “Well, yes we do.”  So Rachel hustled to get shots and a Liberian Visa.  “All things work together for good…”.

So we loaded up and headed for the airport.  Part of the way over someone remembered that a gift for a little Liberian boy named Prince had been left at 12Stone.  So Brad drove back over to pick it up (you can read about Prince in the Dec. 2009 trip report).

The new flight on Delta from Atlanta to Accra, Ghana and then to Monrovia, Liberia is an answer to prayer, literally.  We used to fly to Chicago or Dulles, then Brussels and then to Monrovia (with a stopover in Dakar at times).  The total elapsed time could be 26+ hours  This new Delta flight cuts it to 14 hours.  Saving 10 – 12 hours really helps in so many ways.

At the Atlanta airport we discovered that we had 1 more bag than we had people… unless Rachel only had a single checked bag.  Rachel, her dad Mike and her grandfather Jim arrived and she only had one bag to check.  No extra bag fees!  (More about Rachel later.)

The check in process went well and we’re through security with only a single pat down (Taylor – must be her shifty eyes).  I take baggage protection duty while the rest of the team take off for the food court.  We’re eating dinner on the plane in an hour or so but that will have to wait.

Soon we’re on board and on our way in an Airbus 330 which is set up in a 2 – 4 – 2 seat configuration.  We’re not sitting together and economy is almost completely full.  It’s nice to have empty seats beside you but I want this route to earn good money so it stays in place.

Dinner is (surprise) beef or chicken with mashed potatoes, okra, bread and cold slaw.  Standard airline fare.  Now it’s off to whatever sleep each of us can grab in an upright position.  See you in the morning.

Sunday, June 5 somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean

The sun is rising and we’re flying ESE.  By the way, Calandra Togba-Doya of the Balama Project (Bong County) is on the flight with a mission team from Georgia.  I’ve known Calandra and Jesse for a few years now and we ship some goods over for them on occasion.  I feel a little disassociated from the team since we’re not sitting together and are flying through the night.  I am, however, sitting with the perfect seat mate.  She’s sitting by the window and I’m by the aisle and not once in the past 8 hours has she asked to get out.  My Daddy would be so proud of her.  Everyone’s waking up and we’re starting to stand, stretch and visit a little.  We’ll be in Accra in about 2 hours.  Breakfast is a “hot pocket” kind of thing with a banana and a cup of orange juice.

Finally we’re descending into Accra.  By the way, one of my brothers holds the world record for longest distance travelled while continuously puking.  He threw up from Baltimore, MD to Accra, Ghana back in 2004 (over 5,000 miles), a record not since approached.  This same brother would not believe the improvements in the airport facilities in Accra either.

Probably 75% of the people disembark in Accra which explains part of the reason the flight doesn’t stop in Monrovia first even though it’s on the way.

There’s a lot of time wasted on the ground in Ghana as we’re ready to taxi now and it’s been over 2 hours.  Another 1.5 hours and we will be there.

During the leg from Ghana to Liberia, Brad came up and we talked about what it would be like going through immigration, baggage claim, customs and outside the airport.  He has a good grasp on it and we should do fine.

Earlier I mentioned that Rachel Moye was a late addition to the trip.  She is serving as an STS intern on this trip and her responsibilities include:

1.      Attending all activities with the team

2.      Documenting in words and pictures each day’s activities

3.      Utilizing the group’s writings (blogs and notes) and pictures in her documentation

4.      Interviewing each team member each night for the “one thing” that touched them that day

5.      Updating the STS website with content and photos of the trip

6.      Producing a book about the trip using one of the online publishing sites

A lunch of turkey and cheese sandwich, fruit cup and a chocolate chip cookie is served.  The fruit cup was good.  You can figure out the rest.

Very soon we are descending into Roberts Field International Airport.  Every time I come back there’s something new.  This time we’re met at the airplane by an air conditioned bus which drives us over to the immigration office.  That’s kind of nice.  Everything else was about the same (which is to say good).  Of course the baggage claim area is way too small so it’s hectic getting bags for 8 people.  The good news is that all 16 bags arrived.  Of course they stayed on the plane with us the whole time so I shouldn’t be surprised.  On the first 12Stone trip we transferred 3 times and 5 bags were lost.  Talk about a nightmare.

Robert, Emma and Victor were there to greet us.  It was good to see them again after such a long absence.  Our second driver is a guy named Deacon (if I understood it right).  He’s very quite but Dave managed to involve him in a little conversation.

The girls rode back with Robert and Emma while the guys rode with Victor.  Dave and I rode with Deacon in a P T Cruizer.  Dave said he’s always wanted to ride in one and had to come all the way to Africa to do so.  I would have enjoyed riding with either the girls or the young guys just to see their reaction as they saw Liberia for the first time.

Another quick note about the Delta flight.  It’s practically perfect.  You leave the U.S. at 7:30pm and fly across the Atlantic through the night.  You arrive in Liberia at 2:30pm and get to see everything during the daytime (typically we arrived at night before).  You also get to the guesthouse with plenty of daylight left, have a nice evening meal and go to bed at the proper time (helps tremendously acclimating to a 4 hour time difference).

Arriving at the guesthouse we were greeted by our good friend Esther Bromosy.  She has been Christine’s right hand woman as long as I have known them.  Esther is a smart, hardworking and a wonderful hostess.  She’s also a marvelous cook but her management duties seldom allow her that option anymore.

We settled everyone into rooms (girls in one, guys in one and old guys in one… Dave loves rooming with me).  The team enjoyed roaming around the compound and seeing their home for the next fortnight.  The girls also managed to find a very large spider in their bathroom which Dimitri killed (eventually).  Spiders in the girls bathroom seems to be a theme of 12Stone trips (see Dec. 2009 trip notes).

We sat down to a meal of barbeque chicken, Jolapha Rice (I’m spelling this wrong), cucumber salad, fresh pineapple (to die for), buttered bread and pound cake.  Delicious!

Brad led a discussion about tomorrow’s visit to Orphan Relief and Rescue where they will paint the interior of an orphanage, play games with the children and teach a Bible story.

Everyone’s really tired except me.  I think I’m the only one who slept on the plane.  So baths were taken and beds were filled.  A couple of the girls forgot to bring a battery operated fan to use when the generator is off.  So I gave them mine (I mention this for any of you who may be keeping score between Dave and me for the most sacrificial service performed. Where’s Matt Elsberry when you need him).

Brad has uploaded an update to the 12Stone Liberia blog site and Rachel has updated the STS website with her comments and photos.  Time for bed.

Monday, June 7 in Paynesville

The generator goes off at 3am, I wake up and turn on the little battery operated fan that Dave loaned me (remember I gave the girls a LARGE battery operated fan and Dave is loaning me a LITTLE one) and go back to sleep.  Later I wake up as Dave is dressing and heading out for his morning devotions.  It’s been my experience that Wesleyan’s require more Bible study and prayer than Baptists.  So I take my time getting up and ready.

The rest of the team is up by 7:00 and we find out that they all woke up around 3am and talked for a little while before going back to sleep.  Brad leads a devotion beginning at 7:30 and the participation among the group is good.  Rachel is fitting in very well to have only met the team 2 days ago.

Louise, the lady in charge of the compound, has a breakfast of oatmeal, biscuits, boiled eggs, pineapple, grapefruit, coffee and tea ready and everyone eats all they want.

The packing for today’s ministry to Orphan Relief and Rescue was done last night so the team is ready to leave at 9:00am.  Deacon comes by around 7:30am with a new driver for today (William Scott) as he has to do some work in town.  How refreshing to have a driver show up 1.5 hours early.  Victor, on the other hand, is not hear until 9:20.  One of my greatest pet peeves here is the casual nature regarding being on time.  This is especially true of drivers.  So to solve that problem for me I had a couple of motorcycles shipped over, one of which is for me to use while here.  Our broker has been working on getting the tag and insurance for it.  It will be ready… on Wednesday… he hopes.  So is Africa…

So the team is off for their day’s mission and I’m here waiting.  I am scheduled to meet with Robert and attend a meeting with SIM and Samaritan’s Purse’s new Liberia director.  They do great work here and are very innovative.  I’d like to learn from them and find out how STS might serve them.

Louise is the lady managing the guesthouse for Christine. She continues to take good care of us. As I was sitting inside working on some documentation, she slipped in with a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a package of sliced cheese and a bottle of cool water. She leaves me just as quietly as she came. I wonder what the staff here think about us? Do they see a privileged group of people with more stuff than they could ever dream of having? Do they see us as arrogant and condescending? Or are we doing a good job of communicating our thankfulness for their service to us, their worth as God’s creation, their complete and total equality to us in every meaningful way?

Robert Cuppah comes by around 12:30 and we sit and talk for a while about a situation that is occurring on the property of SIM/ELWA. SIM has been serving in Liberia since the 1950’s at least. They have been good and faithful servants to the Liberian people. In addition to the hospital, radio station, missionary housing and other points of service, they have been a church planting entity with over 100 congregations scattered around Liberia. Early in their time in Liberia, SIM was given somewhere around 50 acres or so on the beach in what was to become known as the ELWA community. Over time they have developed over half of this property but there is 15 or more acres along Robert’s Field Highway that has never been developed. The Chinese government has agreed to build a ministerial complex there so that all the governmental ministries can be located in a single place. The problem is that the Liberian government wants it built on the road frontage currently belonging to SIM. SIM received this land initially at little cost so the government believes that they have the right to take back the portion that has never been used (this is becoming an issue all through Liberia where local tribes and communities have given property to NGO’s which has never been used for its original purpose. I’ve heard strong arguments on both sides of this issue and can see both sides (my favorite color is also plaid).

Robert’s denomination, Evangelical Church of Liberia, is looking to build a 2 year college on 25 acres of land that they have in an outlying community and are hoping that Samaritan’s Purse can be of some assistance to them. In connection with that they have a meeting with SP’s Country Director, Kendell Kauffeldt. Since STS serves Samaritan’s Purse from time to time, I thought I would invite myself along and introduce myself. Robert was kind enough to say yes.

The meeting was between 5 ECOL officers and pastors and Kendell. I was a silent observer but found myself thinking about the dynamics in the room. Does Kendell grow weary of group after group hoping that SP can provide some type of assistance? How does he stay focused on the mission of SP and avoid the “mile wide, inch deep” trap that is always at any ministry’s door? How does ECOL present their desires in a way that differentiates itself from the untold number of other church sponsored Bible colleges and universities that are mostly, as Kendell described them, “degree granting institutions?”

I thought the group did a good job in presenting its desires and had a very practical and unique idea concerning the college. They have recognized that the economic circumstances in Liberia are not going to allow pastors to be fully supported by their churches except in very rare situations. Therefore they want to utilize the school to provide the skills to pastors that will allow them to have marketplace skills (agriculture, business, etc.) which provides employment opportunities. Thus they stay on task with reaching the people of Liberia with the good news of salvation through Christ while at the same time providing a way to make this work financially viable for its pastors. The remainder of the 25 acres would be used for agricultural purposes allowing the local community opportunities for employment and the school a source of income outside of tuition.

After the meeting I spoke with Kendell for a brief moment (I recognize the value of time to a person in Kendell’s position). We discussed having lunch one day in the upcoming week. Hopefully this can happen.

After the meeting we run over to where our containers are stored in ELWA’s compound. We have to wait for Victor to come by with the keys so we can get inside. One of the bikes will not start (frustrating as it was running fine when we sent it over – likely a gummed up carburetor). I want to take a look at it and see if I can figure anything out. Ben Amos is getting the bikes licensed for me which is quite the process in Liberia. He’s having to bring someone out from the governmental office that handle’s these things. Last I heard it was about $80 each for the title/license/insurance. That sounds pretty good in the U.S. but in Liberia that’s a month’s salary. I have wanted my own transportation while in Liberia for a few years now and actually sent over a vehicle for my use but it’s hard to justify having a jeep sitting around for 10 months or more each year just so it’s available for the short time I’m here. But a cheap motorcycle is another thing.

Ben and the governmental official show up while I’m there and the official walks around the bike staring at one thing or another. He doesn’t check the lights or start it up so I’m wondering what he’s staring at. Finally he does the one thing that I would expect him to do and that’s record the VIN#. These should be checked against the titles that I sent to verify that they are the actual bikes stated. Satisfied, Ben takes him back to Monrovia and I get ready to leave for the day.

One silly thing I did. Victor was helping me try to figure out why the one bike would not start. I asked him about the spark plug and he said he had looked at it but that it was not one they could get here locally. I really just wanted to see if we were getting a spark to the cylinder. So he took the plug out and, I thought, was going to watch to see if a spark was produced when I kicked it over. What he actually did was hold onto the spark plug thinking I was going to very easily push the kick starter through. I kicked it like I was trying to start it and it almost knocked him over. He looked up at me as if I might be mentally challenged. Yes, I guess I am.

The rest of the crew has been with Orphan Relief and Rescue today painting the interior of their dormitory and doing a mini vacation Bible School. They stopped by on the way back and picked me up. I was in the car with Chris, Rachel, Taylor and Kristin on the way back and it sounded like they had a great day both ministering and be ministered to. There is no place where you can feel more loved than at a Liberian orphanage. Children with nothing yet everything.

Back at the guesthouse everyone was quick to take a shower as it had been a hot and humid day with a lot of work and play. Louise had dinner ready soon after that of spaghetti, corn, carrot salad, pineapple, pound cake and probably some other stuff that I’ve forgotten. It was delicious and the guys ate their weight in spaghetti.

This is a different group from those which I’ve hosted before and I’ve been curious as to how they were going to perceive Liberia. At the debriefing my questions were resolved. Each one of the team talked about the day’s events and what had touched them the most. They were overwhelmed by the love that they received and the happiness of the children. I’m comfortable that they get the fact that this is not about them (I still have to remind myself that as well). This group will do fine. Make sure you’re reading Rachel’s postings on the STS website and the Water’s Edge blog site as well. This will give you much better insight into what the team is seeing and doing. I’ve been here so many times that it’s hard for me to remember to express the details that are critical to transferring the experience to others.

Sometime after we went to bed there came a huge thunderstorm. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard as much rain falling as last night. Of course this is part of the rainy season in Liberia and, the last time I looked, Monrovia had the second highest rainfall of any city in the world.

I told myself that I was not going to post any pictures in this page but here’s a couple that I just couldn’t resist

Taylor making a finger mask with a new friend.

Dave in a staring contest with a new friend.

Tuesday, June 7

The team is leaving early today for their second day with Orphan Relief and Rescue. They are supposed to finish up by painting the interior of the girls dormitory and teach through the story of Jesus along with making bracelets with the children.

Every group is the best at something and this one is the best at going to bed early and getting up early. They all are up and ready for 7am devotions and breakfast. Of course this also means that Louise had to be up even earlier to prepare our breakfast of oatmeal, tuna salad, bread, pineapple and coffee.

Brad was able to straighten out the internet connection as we lost it last night before Taylor or Rachel were able to upload their writings and pictures. So he managed to get the text from Taylor onto their blog but is still struggling to get the pictures to upload. I think it’s because he’s trying to upload the pictures at full size and let the blogsite handle the resizing. With a connection speed of 32k or less, it takes an enormous amount of time to upload a single picture. Rachel is using a picture resizing program that will take a 4mb picture down to 80k or so. This lets her load a number of pictures with each website update.

William, our driver, is here by 7am and Victor (I think I owe someone a foot kiss) is here by 7:20am. The team is off by 7:40am which may be a record for all 12Stone teams.

The guesthouse crew notices that I’m still working on the internet and leave the generator on for a while longer (Christine, I hope you’re not reading this). This gives me time to get Rachel’s text and pictures uploaded as well as to add this particular page of my personal comments. I also was able to get the connections updated to all the past trip blogs (on the main page, upper left side).

It was a lazy morning for me as the electricity is off, the air is still and it’s pretty warm. There was a good rain first thing this morning but nothing since. I’m working on a 6 part sermon series about the Model Prayer that starts as soon as I get back home. It’s part of my never ending sermon series called Building Blocks. The subtitle of this 6 week series is Prayer. Here’s the sermon titles:

1. God as Father (Matt 6:9)

2. God’s Will (Matt 6:10)

3. Daily Bread (Matt 6:11)

4. Forgiving and Being Forgiven (Matt 6:12)

5. Avoiding Temptation (Matt 6:13a)

6. God’s Ownership (Matt 6:13b)

It takes a pretty good pastor to get 30 minutes our of a single verse but I am fully capable :-)

David and Kristin are going to leave for Phoebe Grey Orphanage around noon to visit a little boy that Kristin has been supporting. The ORR guys are taking them out there. The rest of the team is going over to Greater Love Bible Baptist Church to meet with Pastor Wesley and pray for his wife who has recently had major surgery. Since Dave will be with Kristin, I will meet the team at Greater Love. Robert is picking me up for the trip.

While I’m waiting, Shadrach Saywon calls to say that he’s on his way over. Shadrach is the founder of the Willy N. Willie Memorial Baptist Children’s Village 200 miles out into the bush country of Sinoe County. Shadrach is the first Liberian that I ever met and the reason my preacher brother and I first travelled to Liberia. Shadrach’s wife, Gertrude, is not doing well. She is having a good bit of back pain, some eye trouble and some other fairly serious issues. He had hoped to send her back to America for a couple of months for rest and access to good medical care. Unfortunately with 2 small children the airfare alone would have been $5,000. So we discussed the ability to bring Gertrude into Monrovia to receive a quality eye examination and to allow her to rest for a couple of months with a paid helper to cook, clean and wash for her. We don’t realize what it’s like to be the chief provider of housekeeping for an orphanage in Liberia. Robert Cuppah came by and made some suggestions for quality eye care and potential medical care. Shadrach is going to check on the cost of all of these items and get back with me tomorrow. Hopefully we can figure out a way to meet Gertrude’s needs in a way that we can afford.

Robert and I make our way to Greater Love to find that the rest of the team has already arrived. Very quickly after saying hello, Pastor Wesley invites the team into the radio studio for an impromptu live interview on the radio. The studio itself is very small and we are wall to wall with the 6 of us and 3 studio workers. The team does a good job of telling why they are here, what they are doing and what they like best about Liberia so far. Of course the topic of the children of Liberia comes up in everyone’s responses. An interesting note is that the manager kept the station on the air past its normal sign-off time so that they could complete the interview with the team. Another interesting note is that they were running the facility on electricity from the diesel generator provided and installed by the very first 12Stone team to visit Liberia.

After leaving Greater Love we stopped by the STS property to look at the containers which have been placed at the dock. There’s still some work to be done but it’s looking good. Our plan is to use the containers to handle the unloading and storage from our shipping ministry. Eventually we’ll add some additional containers on top for lodging or office space. People are doing some nice things with used shipping containers these days. Hopefully my son will be able to come over and help me do some of this.

After a few minutes we load up again and head for the guesthouse. David and Kristin are still at Phoebe Grey and the remaining 5 guys/gals want to take a quick swim in the ocean. So they change into their suits and Victor takes them to the ELWA beach. I’m alone again… and I’m okay with that. Actually I’m not totally alone. Louise is now setting up the table for dinner. It will be time to eat before you know it. The first 2 times I came to Liberia I lost 14 pounds each. Since I’ve been staying at Christine’s I end up gaining weight on these trips.

We have a much treasured guest with us tonight named Ashley Stohl. She is a young lady from the Atlanta area that has been volunteering with Orphan Relief and Rescue for about 4 years now. She’s from a large, missions oriented church in Atlanta. My first experience with Ashley was when one of the church leaders from her congregation (a long time friend of David Bearchell’s) called and asked if I would “check up on her” on my upcoming trip to Liberia. All the ORR people in Liberia at the time were sick, their plumbing in the house wasn’t working and their only vehicle was broken down. To say there was reason for discouragement would be an understatement. So I went by to check on these young people who I didn’t know. I asked if I could help in some way but they were tough, committed and resilient. I was thanked but essentially told “no thanks.” That’s the good thing about being young. You tough it out. That’s also the bad thing about being young. You’re too stubborn to take help when it’s offered.

Ashley is the ORR member that took Kristin and David to the Phoebe Grey Orphanage today to meet Henry, a 10 year old boy that Kristin had recently begun to sponsor. After the visit, she was kind enough to bring them back to the compound and accepted our invitation to dinner. Following the meal David asked if Ashley would mind if the team asked any questions. The first question was how she came to serve in Liberia. Ashley asked if we wanted the long or short version. We chose the long and what a wonderful story it was. I will not repeat it here (I’d just get it wrong) but will note a few points that were key to me.

First, Ashley listened to God. Even though it wasn’t necessarily popular with her family or part of her plans. Second, she was patient. The door to serve in Liberia was not quickly opened but, knowing God’s call on her life, she persisted patiently. Third, serving God in Liberia is not easy, glamorous or, for the most part, fun. It’s hard work and she typically serves until her health diminishes to a certain point when she has to go back home, heal, raise enough money to come back and repeats the same process again. Mentally at least, she seems to quit on Liberia frequently. (Sometimes I quit on Liberia multiple times in the same day.) I’m glad she was so honest with the team. Too many mission teams experience the “high” of a short visit when the children are loving on you, all the people you come into contact with are serving you and everything is being provided for you and yet they never see or hear about the daily grind that comes with serving in a foreign country away from family and friends and the everyday comforts of America.

It came a heck of a thunderstorm again tonight and the team encouraged Ashley to stay over for the night but she finally decided to go back home so she could be ready to start again in the morning. We hope to have the complete ORR team over for worship one night before we leave. What a privilege that would be.

During our debriefing time tonight the team members shared their thoughts on the day and their favorite experiences. That probably gets detailed in the 12Stone blog and I know that Rachel also covers some of it in the main STS trip page here. My contribution had to do with Shadrach’s visit today. I’m always concerned that the teams we host don’t receive enough information to “count the cost” of serving God in the capacity of a missionary.

Shadrach and Gertrude are American citizens. Their oldest daughter was born in America. Gertrude has some serious back problems, her eyes are giving her problems (Shadrach thinks the smoke from the cooking fires is part of the issue) and she has experienced pain in one of her breasts (an X-Ray seems to have ruled out tumors but then again, that was a diagnosis done here and Liberia doesn’t have a Mayo Clinic). She’s also physically exhausted. Shadrach believes that God called him back to Liberia to provide a home for orphans, education to the village children (300 – 400 per year) and a church for the community. He and Gertrude do that with the help of generous assistance from people back in the United States. But I’m here to tell you that there is never enough money to pay all the teachers, feed and clothe the children and have anything left over for themselves. Life is hard. Shadrach has a responsibility to his wife and children and he’s concerned about Gertrude. He took some vows when they married that are binding. I’m going to guess that many of you reading this note are saying to yourselves, “he needs to leave that miserable place and bring his family back to the U.S. where they can have a better life.” Then I’d ask you this. What about the call of God on his life? What about the vows and promises he made to God? Doesn’t the Bible say if you don’t hate your family (comparatively speaking) in regard to your love for God that you can’t be His disciple? What about that? My point here is not to promote a lack of compassion for your wife but to point out the tension that constantly exists in missionaries’ lives between good and best. It’s tough being a missionary and it takes more sacrifice than missing a meal or your parents. I have never really suffered for my faith. Based upon what I can glean from God’s word that means I am either not much of a Christ follower or I have a lot of suffering coming up in the future. Neither one of those gives me great comfort. What about you?

I was reminded of a verse of scripture today which says,

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

Wednesday, June 8

I bragged on the team about going to bed early and they all turned back into college students tonight and stayed up late. Part of it was the excitement of having Ashley over and part of it is that, even at midnight here, it’s only 8pm back in Atlanta. But the good news is that they were all up on time and ready for devotions this morning.

I spent the day working on some sermons, reading in a couple of books and relaxing. I will likely go on few if any of the activities of the team during this trip. There’re a few reasons for this. First, it’s a small team, will stay together and therefore Dave can provide oversight. Second, I need to concentrate on some STS specific items which need to be done during the day. Third, I need to spend some time with Robert working on our relationship. Trying to work in partnership with someone who is 5,000 miles away, is from a different culture and who you haven’t seen in 1.5 years is tough to do well. I haven’t done a very good job in this area and it just takes time.

Shadrach called today to say that he had checked with some of the medical facilities that we had talked about yesterday and they could not tell him what the costs to examine Gertrude would be without seeing here. So he’s going to bring her back to Monrovia in a couple of weeks.

Robert came by and we spent some time talking about various things. The current container is in port, has already cleared the Ministry of Finance and is supposed to be loaded onto a truck today. If that happens it will go to BVAC (the agency that examines the container’s contents to ensure that what we said was in it is actually what is there) tomorrow and hopefully be released before the end of the day. This should be the smoothest clearance we’ve ever had.

Robert and I talked a good bit about marketplace ministry and the ability to establish businesses that can be used to reach out in Christ’s name and also produce profits to provide even more ministry. Robert is interested in tourist type business and I think there’s real potential there. He likes the idea of having boats that can give rides on the local rivers and maybe up on Lake Piso. We also talked about tours of the rain forest where there are exotic animals. Motorcycle adventure tours around the country and a host of other ideas. Liberia now has quality hotels, reliable air transportation into the country and a stable government. It’s most valuable tourist attraction is its beautiful natural landscape. Imagine lush foliage, hundreds of miles of beaches, a large, natural rain forest, extensive waterways and a host of other beautiful landscapes. There’s certainly potential there for someone with vision. Who knows what might come of it.

The team left around 9am this morning for THINK. This is a home for abused girls and boys. They also have taken in a few children who are mentally and physically challenged. This is the third team to visit the THINK facility and it is consistently the place which has the biggest emotional impact on our young men and women. So I’m looking forward to hearing from them when they return.

I should say that Louise continues to take good care of me. At lunch time a platter of bread, cheese and peanut butter along with a bottle of cold water was brought over. Esther was here at the time and when she saw what was on the plate (which I thought looked good) she sent it back to the kitchen and had them fix me some tuna fish salad along with sandwich bread which had the crust trimmed off. My Mama is the last one to trim the crust off of my bread and that was quite a few years ago.

The team returned around 5pm and, as expected, had had an overwhelming yet tremendously enriching day. I am so grateful that the leaders at THINK trust us enough to let us spend a few days with their clients. The location of the house is kept hidden and our Liberian drivers could only take the team so far before they had to be transferred to another vehicle for the balance of the journey. They take security serious, as they should. I’ll let you read the other blogs to get more of the happenings at THINK but I will say that each member of the team was impacted deeply by both those who have been abused and by those who are the caregivers to what is often a forgotten group of victims.

Dinner was the best yet according to several of the team members. We had grilled chicken, plantains, rice, sautéed vegetables, pineapple, and macaroni casserole. It was very good.

The debriefing began right after dinner and the stories were heartbreaking, heartwarming, tragic, funny and meaningful. These victims, mostly young girls and young women, have been subjected to unspeakable horrors. Many at the hands of their own family members. Some are simply abandoned and have no one to take them back. I am thankful that there is a place like THINK to carry out God’s mandate to care for the downtrodden and seek justice for the poor. Just as the debriefing had ended and our prayer time was about to start, Christine arrived back from the U.S. Everyone raced out to welcome her (to her own home) and the excitement was real. Even though she had been travelling for over 24 hours (she came through Brussels) she was bright eyed and energetic. We finally let her go in for a meal and some real sleep in a bed. We’ll visit with her during breakfast in the morning.

We returned to our prayer time and it was warm and sweet. Each person had at least one thing that was heavy on their heart. Some felt God speaking to them but wasn’t sure what He was specifically saying. Others felt a lack of faith and asked for encouragement. There were requests for clarity of purpose. Bard had each person pray for the one immediately to their left. It was a moving time for me.

One last thing before ending today’s notes. I pointed out how pleased I was that Rachel Moye (who the team had met for the first time at the airport) was fitting in perfectly and how everyone had accepted her completely. They seemed surprised that I made a big deal out of it. One of the team looked up and said, “She makes our team complete.” We’re a family. And that’s a good thing.

Thursday, June 9

Well, the “kids” have turned back into college mode. They laugh and giggle and check facebook far into the night which delays their write-ups for the website which makes me have to get up around 1pm in order to upload the stuff to the website while the generator is still on and we have internet access. I’m suffering bigtime and was the last one to stumble in for devotions this morning (still on time however).

Devotions were good. Breakfast was good. Seeing the team off for another morning at THINK was good. Peace and quiet… priceless.

Christine came over to see the team off as well. She returned last night after a couple of months in the States and has hit the ground running. I’m not sure where she is going this morning. When I asked her she simply said, “everywhere.”

I spoke with Robert by phone this morning. The container currently in port was not loaded onto a truck yesterday as we had hoped so we are counting on it being loaded today and, if it’s loaded early enough, making it through the BVAC inspection and released to us. If this works out, it may be the easiest container from a processing standpoint that we’ve shipped. Whatever Robert and Ben did on this one I want them to keep doing the exact same thing in the future.

I hope to have the mission team participate in the container unloading in some way. They are leaving THINK around 1pm today to journey out to the Rafiki Village near Marshall (the beach where last year’s team took such fabulous pictures). The children get out of school at 3pm and will have a snack and change of clothes and then the team will begin a VBS type program with them that will likely last until around 5:30pm. So dinner tonight will be at 7pm.

Before I left home I started reading “Desiring God” by John Piper. (As an aside, I am really bad to pick up a book that Gayla starts and use it as a “bathroom reader.” The problem is that if I like it I typically steal it. I think this drives her crazy but she’s really a tolerant wife and will likely have a neck ache in heaven from all the stars in her crown.) Anyway, I preached a sermon about revering God based on a series of sermons developed by Kevin Meyers. As part of this we covered the death of two of Aaron’s son because they confused “Sincere with Revere.” I started thinking and studying about my reverence of God. This lead me to Revelation chapter 4 where the 4 created beings are constantly around God’s throne proclaiming, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.” Every time this happens the 24 elders who are on thrones around God fall on their faces in reverence and cast their crowns at God’s feet. Wow! I am not revering my Lord as I should. So I am reading through Desiring God in order to help me really appreciate how much joy and happiness there is when we are truly in love with our Father.

While I’m talking about books, let me recommend the one that our Mission Team is using for this trip. It’s called “When Helping Hurts – How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… And Yourself.” It is a tremendous book that will impact how Service To Servants approaches ministry in the future. I highly recommend it and thank Miles Welch, college pastor at 12Stone, for recommending it to Brad Chahoy, the team leader.

Friday, June 10

Yesterday I mentioned that I’m reading “Desiring God” by John Piper. I’ll share a brief section from my morning devotional reading:

Once we had no delight in God, and Christ was just a vague historical figure. What we enjoyed was food and friendships and productivity and investments and vacations and hobbies and games and reading and shopping and sex and sports and art and TV and travel… but not God. He was an idea – even a good one – and a topic for discussions; but He was not a treasure of delight.

Then something miraculous happened. It was like the opening of the eyes of the blind during the golden dawn. First the stunned silence before the unspeakable beauty of holiness. Then the shock and terror that we had actually loved the darkness. Then the settling stillness of joy that this is the soul’s end. The quest is over. We would give anything if we might be granted to live in the presence of this glory forever and ever.

Piper is challenging a number of my beliefs regarding salvation, regeneration, conversion, etc (at least as far as the order they occur). You’d almost think he was part of the Wesleyan cult rather than a “good Baptist.”

Today the group is going with Christine Norman to the REAP campus in Bensonville (renamed Ben-Tol after her father, former president William R. Tolbert). Christine’s family comes from Bensonville and her father was pastor of Zion Praise Baptist Church there. Her brother, Bill, is currently the pastor of Zion Praise.

In addition to the REAP facility, the team will also visit the University of Liberia’s Fendell campus which is on the way to Bensonville.

Robert came by to say that there were 3 vessels in port and they were moving things on a priority basis (meaning we do not have priority). So our container is still not on a truck. We are hopeful that it will be loaded and cleared by BVAC today (we were also hopeful yesterday). If we get it out late today then it will be unloaded tomorrow morning. That would be good in the fact that the team could participate and we could get a very thorough documentation in pictures of the process.

Robert also brought me a copy of the motorcycle registration. They make the tag after everything else is approved and your tag number is assigned. Here you may have the name of your organization as part of the tag (e.g. STS-1, STS-2, etc.). That’s not what we’re doing with the motorcycle but it still means that you have to wait for your tag to be “custom made.” But I’m supposed to be legal. So Robert dropped me off at the container and we pulled the bike out and it started on the second kick. I pulled it over to the SIM shop to have some air put in the tires and it started right up again. I then road it to the Total gas station to fill up the tank and it started back up with no problem. Liberian traffic can be pretty dangerous and motorcyclists here tend to be younger men and they drive like idiots. Cars hate motorcycles with good reason. So I’m trying to drive with care and courtesy. I make it to Police Academy Road and turn off for Christine’s. Just before reaching Ruth Perry Drive the bike quits. I try to restart it and it will not start. I start looking for problems (kill switch, fuels not reaching the carb, etc.) but find no problems. It’s hot, I’m sitting on the side of the dirt road trying to start a kick only bike and it’s not working. After a while it decides to start and I make it all the way to Christine’s gate. As it comes to an idle the bike shuts down again. No big deal, I’m at the gate and can push it in. But I can’t get anyone to come to the gate to let me in. I yell through the opening in the fence but no one comes. I get the bike restarted and now I can blow the horn (the battery is completely dead so the horn will not work unless the engine is running). I rev the engine and blow the pathetic horn that comes on most motorcycles. No answer. I pull it back down to where the kitchen area is located, rev the engine and blow the horn there. No answer. Finally Louise must hear me (she’s cleaning in the guest house) and opens the gate for me. I ride the bike to the guest house and park it. Shutting it down I immediately try to restart it. No luck. Too hot and tired to fool with it any more right now, I go inside and drink a pint of water. I’ll check it out later. It has been sitting for 4 months (shipped it over in a container) so the carb is likely junked up with the gasoline that was in it. I may try riding it out to Rafiki Village to visit Dave and Babs and then back to the compound. That would be a round trip of 40 miles or so and maybe it will clean out the carb so. If not, I’ll have to take it apart and clean it myself. I’m not looking forward to that. I wanted transportation so I wouldn’t be dependent on others when I needed to go somewhere. I guess what I really should have wanted is reliable transportation. Oh well, TIA.

I thought I would mention something from last night’s debriefing time. It’s about Rachel Moye. She mentioned that for the past year her heart had been hard. She just didn’t seem to have the compassion for others that she should have. Her grandfather began to tell her she needed to go to Liberia. Initially he just wanted to put her on a plane and send her over to spend time with Roland Martin, a Liberian that Jim is very close to. Rachel’s dad wasn’t too keen on that idea and I don’t think Rachel was either. So Jim (her grandfather) called and asked if STS had a trip planned. We did and Rachel is now on it. But she said that she really didn’t want to come. But her grandfather kept telling her, “Rachel, this trip will be a blessing.” She said he repeated that over and over to her, “this trip will be a blessing.” Rachel said that leaving THINK yesterday was the first time in a long time that she had cried about anything. Part of that was because of the little girl that she had become very attached to at THINK. Guess what the little girl’s name is… Blessing. So Rachel actually received a Blessing just as her grandfather had promised. Little did Jim realize just how literally his prophesy would be fulfilled.

Rachel and Blessing

I decided to ride back to the STS compound to get some additional pictures. The bike started right up and I rode to the compound and took some pictures from different angles to help with the questions about drainage. Time to leave and the bike will not start. One of the guys who was making blocks on our dock came over and helped me kick it a few times and it finally started. That’s it, time to try running it hard and see what happens. So I drove it pretty hard out to the Rafiki Village, told Dave and Babs how much we appreciated their hospitality and then was able to restart it with a few kicks. A swift ride back to Christine’s place and time to relax a little.

Saturday, June 11

Saturday was the annual trip to the market day. When Gayla and I first moved to Tennessee, everyone who visited wanted to go to the Grand Ole Opry. I developed a saying, “Everyone should see it ONCE.” That’s how I feel about Waterside Market. But we had a good time and the guys worked on their bargaining skills. By the way, Dave didn’t go. He said he “felt bad.” I “felt bad” against him for making me go.

We went from there to Myrtle Beach (Liberia). That’s the beach by the Kendejeh Resort. Even though a couple of the girls didn’t go in at first, everyone except me and the drivers (and Andrew) ended up immersed (a Baptist term meaning “baptized correctly.”

After the beach everyone went home, took a bath to rinse off all sand (the Liberian beaches tend to have really strong waves that move a lot of sand.

Naps were had, food was eaten and debriefs were given.

Sunday, June 12

Today the team decided to attend Greater Love Baptist Bible Church. Their Sunday school started at 10am (planned). The group was there at 10 but I’d say we started around 10:15 – 10:30. The lesson was on suffering and was appropriate for the mission team. A 2 week mission trip isn’t sufficient to get an idea of what it’s like to be on the mission field. So it helps to hear the truth about being a true servant of God.

The service started with the baptism of 12 believers. In Liberia all those being baptized typically are dressed in white. It was a beautiful sight.

The rest of the day was taken for rest. The team needed it.

Monday, June 13

The team went to Phoebe Grey school where 7 of the THINK girls and 2 of the boys were attending school. The team thought they would spend an intimate time with these 9 young people but ended up hosting the entire school of 70+ students.

I spent some time studying and thinking through some STS stuff. I did go out and have a nice lunch with Kendell Kauffeldt who is the country director for Samaritan’s Purse. We ate at the Kendejah restaurant and I was adventurous and had a salad (risky to eat any vegetable or fruit that isn’t peeled).

Kendell is a humble and intelligent guy. We talked about each other’s ministries (I think it was refreshing for him to have a conversations in which no one wanted anything). Samaritan’s Purse is working hard to do all their ministry in such a way that it strengthens the local churches. I think that’s a good model and STS needs to think along those lines as well.

Tuesday, June 14

Today is the day the container is to come out of the port. We left things last night with our container on its truck and second in line for BVAC inspection.

Well, as you likely already know, the container didn’t get out until the end of the day. It actually arrived around 8pm tonight and the area we were unloading did not have lights. Therefore Robert made the wise decision to wait until tomorrow morning when we would have enough light to make sure we got everyone’s goods properly sorted.

So today I spent almost exclusively waiting at the ELWA gym for the container to be released from the port. Since we were 2^nd in line to be released I was surprised that we got out so late. As it turns out, one of our clients decided to go down and “help” us get the container out. That lead to the folks there deciding that we should pay a little more. It also means we incurred additional fees for the truck having to stay overnight. I know people mean well but everyone suffered because we were not allowed to do this ourselves.

One good use of my time was in building a relationship with a local rooster here at ELWA. When I pulled up on the bike he decided that it was a good place to hang out. I’m not sure why he would want to be right under a hot engine but since he’s a Liberian rooster he may be more accustomed to heat. My brother is normally the one who bonds with roosters but he’s not here this time so the responsibility fell to me.

Wednesday, June 15

This morning the team came back to ELWA to unload the container. We arrived a little after 8am and the actual unloading started at 8:30. By 10am it was completely unloaded and sorted into piles by client. We had the normal assistants that Robert hires plus a good bit of help from the 12Stone team.

Some people were already there waiting to pick up their stuff while others were called and came in later. By 2pm everyone had picked up their goods and we were done. I wanted to see everyone that came so I waited around the entire time.

I screwed up! There’s just no other way to say it. I wasn’t reviewing the other blog posts and I let an entry get out that was hurtful to one of our friends in the ministry. It wasn’t meant to be hurtful but it wasn’t as well thought out and reflective as it should have been. You work so hard to build relationship and a lapse in diligence harms a friendship. So it’s time for me to take hat in hand and mend a fence. Our friends are gracious and forgiving so I have confidence that we can overcome the problem. But it’s better not to break it down in the first place.

Thursday, June 16

Today the team is going to Diana Davies Orphanage over in the Braville area. That’s completely on the other side of Monrovia from where we’re staying. So it will be a long car ride but a wonderful opportunity to see another long-term, committed orphanage founder. Diana is gracious, persistent, talented, a true leader and she loves her children. I’m excited for another opportunity to visit here.

I’m supposed to meet with Robert and Jerry (our construction foreman) this morning and then meet with Ben Amos (our shipping broker) after that. So I leave fairly early on the motorcycle for the Royal Hotel to use their free internet service. (It’s really not free as I always get something to eat while I’m there to justify taking up one of their tables.

The Monrovia traffic is much heavier than when I first came to Liberia back in 2004. There were not all that many cars back then and Americans were a real novelty. Now there are cars everywhere and no one gives me a second look. There also were practically no motorcycles in Monrovia back in 2004. I would guess that there are as many motorcycles as cars now and the bikes are (with the exception of me of course) mostly piloted by young and foolish riders. They lane split between the cars, into the oncoming traffic’s lane and down the right side of the road. Why they are not all dead is a mystery to me. Most of them serve as taxis and it’s quite common to see 3 people on a bike and/or large items being carried. However, India holds the world record for largest items carried on a motorcycle.

It became noon and Robert and Jerry still had not arrived. So I ordered some Hummus and olives as the restaurant staff was beginning to glare at me. Finally they made it and we had a good conversation regarding the effort necessary to move the STS compound project forward. Number 1 is to get rid of the huge volcanic rock in front of the house so that the fence can be completed and the compound secured. We have a few options but, in order to move the project along, Jerry is to speak to a Chinese construction company that has a rock drill to see what they would charge to remove it. Since it’s the rainy season they may have equipment sitting unused and could give us a price break. Number 2 is to put in a concrete driveway from the road to the loading dock. It would be about 15 feet wide, 5 inches thick and 112 feet long. Jerry is estimating $9,500 to put it in. Number 3 would be to put in one or more short retaining walls across the back of the property to channel the large amount of runoff water away from the dock area.

Ben Amos came in next and I had the best discussion about the container clearing process and the way the duty fees are calculated that I’ve ever had. The real problem we’re facing right now is that we have brought in cars for a number of ministry organizations and the Liberian government doesn’t like that. They want us to pay full duty (20% on cars under $20,000 and 30% on those over $20,000) where we normally pay only 11%. This is going to be a hardship on our clients but it doesn’t look like we will win this one. At least not in the short term.

Well it’s nearly 6pm and I walk outside…and it’s spitting rain. So I hurry to the bike but stop long enough to put on a cheap rain poncho that I brought. It’s big enough to go over my backpack. Other than a light sprinkle, I’m missing the rain. Traffic is bumper to bumper and I refuse to lane split. So I sit there with all the “cages” (that’s what us he-man biker types call cars) as we creep forward. Then the President comes by in her motorcade and we all have to scramble to the side of the road to comply with the rules designed to protect her. Then we start the slow process of inching forward again. As it turns out there’s been a 2 car wreck in the middle of Tubman Blvd. and it’s what’s causing all the backup. Once I get around that it’s back up to 30mph or so. Then we hit the next junction and it slows down again. By the time I reach ELWA Junction both the traffic and the weather are threatening. I make it through the junction alive and then the bottom falls out. It’s what my preacher brother calls a “toad strangler.” I mean it was flooding. I could barely see and my rainproof poncho was not. You’d be surprised at how many people in Liberia drive at night without any lights. I couldn’t see far enough ahead to identify the side roads and ended up missing Police Academy Road. Bummer! I had to turn around and back track a little to make the turnoff. The road is a solid network of mud holes and the cars and motorcycles were splashing muddy water everywhere. This, I find, is the good part of the road. When I make the turn onto Ruth Perry Drive I am literally driving in a riverbed. There is no road visible. I can’t see the holes so it’s just plow ahead and hope for the best. By the time I arrive at Christine’s the only thing not soaking wet was the back of my shirt and my backpack (thank goodness). It was like following a sea lion into the dressing room as put the bike up and made it into our bathroom. At least I don’t have to take a bath tonight.

The team arrives home from the Neil Anderson conference about an hour after I get home and Dave is very sick. He thought it might be kidney stones but it turned out to be stomach problems (I’ll go ahead and give away the rest of the story and say that he recovered by the next morning and no one else was sick at all.) Dave was really in pain and he went straight to bed after a dose or two of medicine. He later said it was 2am Liberian time when the intense pain left him. That would be about 10pm EST if any of you were praying.

The team couldn’t say enough about the conference. I didn’t go but it sounded like a wonderful time.

Friday, June 17

This morning was all Robert and me. We started out by dropping off a letter of apology to our ministry friends mentioned earlier. (It’s not important who it was, just that we needed to make things right.) Then we went to the STS water plant. It’s not operating right now and Robert and I spent some time discussing how we could make it profitable as well as what other businesses we could run out of that location to spread the lease cost around. Robert had some good ideas and he’s gathering further information to allow us to do projections.

We left and went by a group of small businesses who were working with wood planks brought in by truck from several hours away. They need reliable trucks here and there is money to be made with the right people and equipment. They are paying $1 US per plank delivered. You can make money at that rate.

Leaving there we went by the THINK headquarters. A member of last year’s team, Amy Lyford, had sent over a significant donation for them to use and I took it and a letter by for Ms. Schannck, the director. She was very grateful for the assistance.

From there we went to the LP gas filling store to get some pictures of the cylinder fittings to see if the tank off of an American forklift would work there. I took some pictures to show Chuck and think that we can make an adapter for it.

Then we went to International Bank (Liberia) to open a business account. We need an alternative way to move money into Liberia and it looks like this could be almost as fast, more secure and cheaper. That would be good. So the account is open and we’re on our way back to the compound where Robert drops me off and returns to town. It’s been a productive day.

Shadrach Dorbor brought his brother by to talk about gold mining that his brother is doing and wants someone to sell the gold in America for him. I’m quite a bit out of my element (no pun intended) but told him some things that he might want to think about. Who knows, maybe that will prove to be a way for Shadrach to make some money and care for his family. You might remember that his young wife died last year from heart related issues. He has 4 young children.

The team returned and they had another great day at Diana Davies Orphanage and School. The young guys are taking the drivers out for a while tonight and the young ladies are doing nails and hand/foot massages for all the girls in the compound. I will stay as far away from that as possible.

Roland and Linda Martin come by to meet Rachel Moye around 8:30pm. Roland and Rachel’s grandfather have been good friends for several years but he and Rachel had never met. It was good to see them again.

It’s now 1am in the morning (the internet uploads are much faster at this time of the evening) so I’m signing off for today.

Saturday, June 18

The last full day in Liberia for the team. It’s been a different kind of trip for me. I think there’s at least a couple on the team that would stay longer in Liberia. Others are ready to get home. Everyone has had a enlightening trip. It’s hard to judge the effectiveness of a trip like this on the participants. In fact, it will be a year or more before even those on the trip will likely know if it really meant anything to them. As with most things spiritual, it’s the long term change that is made in your life that tells whether this was simply an emotional high or a life changing event.

Dave and I have had some serious discussions about the value of these trips. In reality they are not “mission trips.” There’s not enough time and we bounce them around between too many places for anything of lasting “mission” significance to occur at the ministries we visit. We could send the money that a trip like this costs (at least $28,000 in this case) and much more good could be done. That’s just a hard fact. This is really more of a fact finding trip. 12Stone believes that God is calling them to invest time and resources in Liberia and STS is trying to expose their representatives to as many different areas of potential service as possible. If we are successful in that then a more meaningful, long term effort will begin that will justify the approximately $100,000 investment they’ve made over the past three trips here.

Sunday, June 19

This morning the team (except for Dave and me) is going to hear Joshua Milton Blahyi speak in a church on Somalia Drive which is on the opposite side of town. The service starts at 10am so they have to leave early to make it. Joshua was a rebel leader during the war (known as General Butt Naked) and claims to have been responsible for 20,000 deaths. He was deep into tribal animistic worship and was considered a priest. God can reach into the darkest of hearts and He did so with Joshua. I mentioned him in a blog from a few trips back and the team became enamored with meeting him. I’ve not spent time with him, don’t know his theology but didn’t think there was any danger in their visit. It turned out good for them per the later conversations I had with Brad.

David and I are attending Sinkor Evangelical Church where Robert Cuppah is pastor. He is preaching for a friend at an earlier church service so I am filling in for Robert. David was supposed to do the Intercessory Prayer portion of the service but found himself teaching the Sunday School lesion as well. You have to be prepared when you visit in a church here as you can be called upon with no warning. Dave did fine and the congregation benefited greatly from his teaching of the vine and the branches.

I spoke on Sharing Christ With Others and gave 3 reasons for our motivation to share: Passion for Christ, Love of Others and Duty. It’s a sermon that I’ve shared with my home church recently (only then I had a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the sanctuary, leather chaps/jacket on and $100 worth of pennies on a checker board). It seemed to make sense to those in attendance.

We left immediately after the service and stopped at the Royal Hotel for a quick lunch with Robert, Emma and William. They have a pretty nice buffet. The place was packed but we got a table pretty quick and were soon on our way to the airport. We wanted to be there by 3pm as they stop allowing passengers in at 4pm (the flight leaves at 5:30). The rest of the group made it there by 1:30pm. I was scared that they would be caught in traffic coming all the way across town but I guess more people are out on Saturday night than on Sunday morning (about like it is here in the U.S.).

The new Delta terminal building is nice and the check in procedures have improved drastically. Everyone made it through without any problems and we were soon seated and waiting. We spent a good bit of time talking with Dave and Babs daughter and 2 nieces (Rafiki Village).

The flight home takes us back to Accra, Ghana where we stay on the plane but have an hour and a half wait. Then we leave for Atlanta. The flight is over night and we arrive in Atlanta at about 6:30 Monday morning. Over the years I’ve learned to sleep some on airplanes even though my body is not made for airplane seats. So I’m in pretty good condition upon arrival.

All of our bags arrive as well but we fail to pick one of them up. It happens to be Rachel’s. Because it is on the other side of customs, no one can go back for it. The customs people have to process it and bring it out. They say that it could be an hour or a day. So the Moye’s decide to go home and come back when they are called. I ride with Rachel as she is downloading all the pictures from my hard drive to her computer (which her parent’s brought to the airport for her).

They drop me off at Dave and Karen’s house where I pick up my car and head for home. It’s been a low stress trip for me. Only time will tell if lives were truly changed.