Training in Virginia… Liberia

Today we headed out of the city – way out of the city, toward what is known as “upcountry” or the interior of Liberia. We headed to an area called Virginia. There, the pastors and churches are serving the “unreached,” but as you might imagine, these pastors and other church leaders are often unreached for training and other opportunities as well. We arrived about 10:00 am and trained until about 3:30 this afternoon… and we will head back for another full day of training with the same group tomorrow. We were amazed that 27 pastors arrived for the training since many had to travel many miles to get there. The name of the group that services these pastors (who represent MANY denominations) is called National Restoration of Pastoral Ministries. They began helping the pastors who came to minister to the refugees located in a nearby refugee camp.
We are already discussing with Jerry and others how on the next trip we can more effectively reach those in the interior -where to get there requires walking for 3-5 hours from the end of the road.
Thanks for your prayers -the Lord is only beginning what we can do to strengthen His Church here.
Blessings…
Beth

 

The Southern Cross

Last night the sky was the clearest we’ve seen it the whole trip. The stars were very prominent since the city is without power. As we were star gazing we noticed that we were seeing stars of the southern hemisphere. I took this picture of the Southern Cross with some palm trees that are inside our compound. I took a lot of pictures, but most of them are in RAW format so i can’t post them, though I do have this one in JPEG.

 

 

James’ First Sermon

Today was James’ International Preaching debut! This Sunday was Children and Youth Sunday throughout Liberia, and we worshipped together this morning at J.J. Powell United Methodist Church in downtown Monrovia. There were probably 500-600 people in the packed church with at least a hundred children singing with incredible exuberance all to the glory of God! We are still figuring out how to download audio files, but as soon as we do, we will share some of this with you as well.
James did an incredible job preaching God’s Word with faithfulness and great clarity. We are so proud of him and know that you would be, too. He represented our family and ministry so well!
Enjoy some pictures of the day (can’t say just “morning” since we began at 10:00 am and left at 1:30 pm when the senior pastor graciously escorted us out during the final children’s presentation ceremonies!).
Blessings…
Beth
 

 

Liberian Sunset

Last night I shot these pictures, within our compund, of the amazing sunset. There’s a lot more than the couple that I’ll post, but the slow connection limits the amount I can upload.

 

The Handshake

Early in our visit we noticed an unusual (for us) hand movement while shaking hands with our new Liberian friends. Upon asking we were informed about the unique Liberian handshake. In this picture you can see Beth shaking hands with a student at the International School of Charlesville.

It begins with a traditional clasping of hands then while pulling your hands apart the middle fingers make a snapping motion. If you’re good at it a finger snap sound ensues. We’re working on it. 

 

Our Pets

OK, so we left all our pets behind in NC. We miss them. So here are some photos we took while packing for the trip. They all knew something was up. They could sense our excitement and see all the motion. So they took appropriate action.

 

 

Thank you to Debbie, Worth and Dodson for taking in Bailey and letting him sit on your couch. Thanks Beth and the boys for letting us know about the cats. Thanks Jan for visiting with Jennie.

 

 

NGOs

After the war Liberia has received help from so many different non-governmental organizations (NGO). A recent newspaper article put the count at 600 NGOs in Liberia. Here’s a picture of me talking with a driver from the French organization “Action against Hunger.” They drove about eight hours from their location in the up-country to get to Monrovia. (We were parked in front of a grocery store getting a Coke.) NGOs are everywhere. We’ve seen: Doctors without Borders, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Lutheran World Service, Handicap International, UN organizations such as UNICEF, UNHCR (Refugees), American Red Cross, Mercy Ships, World Harvest, World Prison Fellowship, The Episcopal Relief organization and lots of others. So many people helping the people of Liberia. Liberia needs the help.  

 

Truth in advertising

Clarity in communication is a virtue for street vendors. While waiting on Beth and Maddie in a shop I noticed this vendor’s wheelbarrow. We didn’t sample any of the wares, but there are many such vendors throughout Monrovia.

 

Thank you Edenton Street UMC

Thank you Edenton Street United Methodist Church. You collected suitcases for my brother Paul and a team to take on a mission trip earlier this year. A few of the suitcases were left over and Paul gave them to us to transport items for the churches in Liberia. Here’s a picture of the suitcases and the 50 pounds of goods we brought.

You can also see two of the balls in the picture of the International School post below.

Thank you Edenton Street UMC

 

Thank you Burlington Sporting Goods

Thanks to Rock and Cheryl Perry for helping us bring playground and soccer balls to give to the schools we visit. This is a picture of the student body at the International School of Charlesville, Liberia. This small school located at the end of a dirt road way out in the country past the airport serves as the only educational opportunity for children in the neighboring villages. Some of the children walk 45 minutes each way to get to school.

These new balls are the only playground equipment for the whole school.
Thank you Burlington Sporting Goods.