Trying to adjust to North American life. . .

January 30, 2009

It's hard to describe what feelings come over us when we see life in North America. Just constantly asking the questions, why is life so extreme half way around the world? with little or no education, little or no food or water, no Christian bookstores, no Bibles to go around, etc, etc. We're not called to sort out the world's problems but the questions still linger in our minds. So we're leaving it all in God's hands because our tiny human minds are just incapable of grasping it all. We remembered from our last trip to Africa that the shock coming home was greater than the shock going there.Each person matters. We're not reaching the masses at one time, but each single person is special to God, and each single person has needs, hurts, desires, and goals and needs to hear about Christ. Each single person deserves our time and energy. We have grown to love these people like family and care very deeply for them. If you're sponsoring a child, you will understand that unique bond you have with them and you care greatly for them.
In the next few weeks we'll be trying to adjust to our different society- such an overly "proper" and "technical" country. We miss Africa, the land of culture; the friendly and social people, the driving (well, maybe not!), the sunshine, the heat, the handshakes, and the people we have grown to love there. It's really hard to describe in words, so we encourage you pray about a future missions trip to Africa. It will change the way you live and view life! We'll keep you posted as God gives us direction for the "new" school in Liberia that He has put in our path. The needs are so many but will be tackled one at a time with God's help. With God, ALL things are possible.
Thank you for your words of encouragement, prayers, love gifts, and emails. Thank you to everyone who has made this trip possible for us - absolutely life changing and we wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world!
God bless!

We're home!

January 29, 2009

Phew!!!! After 35 + hours of travel from Accra and a flight delay in Seattle, we're finally here! (Thanks, Greg and Marsha, for driving us home!) We got home around 9:00 PM tonight and needless to say are completely exhausted! As soon as we got home, the boys went to bed and were asleep instantly. We are hoping for a good sleep tonight and looking forward to being with our girls again tomorrow. Then starts the unpacking, laundry, and trying to sort through the events of the past 2 weeks... We will post more details once we catch up on some sleep :) so keep checking back for more updates.

Once again, thank you everyone, for all your support but most of all for your faithful prayers!! God is good ALL THE TIME and we give Him all the praise for everything!

Les, Jackie, Kyle and Kelvin back in Chilliwack...

Leaving Africa...

January 28,2009

Well, our time in Africa has ended and we're just heading out to the airport at 5:00 for a 10:00 PM flight. We will be in transit for 32 hours (Accra - Amsterdam - Seattle - Vancouver). We appreciate your prayers for a safe journey. Hannah took the bus in from the camp this morning for a final visit.
We enjoyed watching some local people take in their fishing nets today in Accra - it's a great community event and even the boys got to help!

Love Les, Jackie, Kyle & Kelvin

Some pictures of the local people taking in their fishing nets (Kyle and Kelvin are helping them in the second picture):

Our second last day in Africa!

January 27, 2009

Our time here is almost completed. We enjoyed spending some time at the market this morning... we're getting better at negotiating prices! Because we're white, the prices somehow double and even triple. Can't blame them, really. George, our driver was helping us negotiate for fairness on both sides but we also love blessing them with business, too.

Prince (HFA's university student) came into town this evening (a 2 hour drive one way) for a final meeting. We had a nice dinner together here at the guesthouse, discussing plans for the future and reviewing the sponsorship list of students that he's enrolled while we were in Liberia. He is extremely thankful for receiving this education – so thank you, supporters! None of this happens without your love offerings. Prince was sharing with us a little of how he came to the Buduburam Camp. He came and left 3 separate times, fleeing on his own with another group of people, at a very young age, by boat and by road. Rebels came to his home and everyone in the home fled in different directions; some out of windows, some out of back doors, etc. His father was killed and his mother was never found nor was her body ever identified as far as he knows. He's had little to no contact with his home village as there is no mail system in Liberia. He had to walk for weeks to get to the Monrovia, the capital, to get on a boat to Ghana. He's an orphan and considers us his parents since he has none. He is a very kind and thankful young man! We shared with him the photos of Liberia and he was very excited at the progress the country is making.
George also joined us – this was a real treat for them to enjoy pizza since they can never eat anything other than the market food because of the high cost of food at restaurants and grocery stores. (for example, yesterday at the grocery store, they had a 2 L of CocaCola Cherry for $8 cedis (equal to about $8 Cnd). Crazy! At the Monrovia airport yesterday, they were going to charge us $2 for one can of coke so we had a quick change of heart.

We have one final day here tomorrow. Bitter-sweet leaving Africa. The culture shock coming home will be worse than coming here. We miss our girls terribly and can't wait to see them again!! But we really enjoy the people here – such a people-friendly culture. We will miss seeing all the people lined up along the streets.

Blessings to you all. Thank you for praying for us – many times we haven't had the mind or time to pray and by God's grace He has sustained us each moment.

Waiting at the market while they run and get more supplies (waiting is teaching us more patience!):

Choosing drums to purchase:

I couldn't resist holding the store owner's baby (I wanted to take her home with us!!):

We're back in Ghana!

January 26, 2009

Greetings from Accra! We arrived safely back in Ghana this evening, great flight with Kenya Air – they actually left 30 minutes early! One thing we noticed when coming back is that Liberia has no street lights. Everything is much newer here in Ghana but Liberia is rebuilding… We were discussing a lot of Liberian history with the Ngenda's – such a treat as we wouldn't have that opportunity had we not stayed with them. We are very thankful for their hospitality and it was hard to leave, for the kids too. There wasn't much view from the sky as the dust continues to blow off the desert, all the way to South America!!! Seems like it's a little warmer here – what are we ever going to do back in Canada!?!?

We had our final meeting with Chris in town this morning. Chris is in constant relationship with the families of our sponsored kids. He knows where they live and directly enrolls them at their schools. Here is a picture of him with Les:



Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God in answering it will not wish you had made it larger. Pray not for crutches, but for wings. Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one even bothered to ask. (Billy Graham) AMEN!!!!

To God be all the praise and honour and glory for the great things He has done!


This is a newly paved road from Elwood Junction to Roberts Airport. The airport is approximately one hour outside of Monrovia:



Some local Liberian people taking their vehicle for a walk :)

Hearts for Africa Team 2009:

L to R: Kelvin, Jackie, Kyle, Les



A few group photos of us with our host family, the Ngenda's (Grassroots Ministry, Liberia), in Monrovia, Liberia:




"Together we will work until He comes!"

Pouring out our hearts. . .

January 25, 2009

The fresh organic fruit here is absolutely amazing! The bananas and pineapple are so sweet!! The pineapple grows on small plants:

Ok, we're really going to share our hearts today.... We've prayed a lot about this trip, direction and wisdom and for our hearts to break for the things that break God's heart and He is doing just that. Praise God – we wouldn't have it any other way; however, a lot of emotions come with that.

We had a discouraging time yesterday. All the questions coming through my mind. I need to keep reminding myself I'm not here to solve everyone's problems, but just to help. We can't not help just because the parents are lazy or because the parents should do more because then we wouldn't do anything. Is that what God is calling us to? What is our calling in helping the poor and pointing them to Christ? Just because everyone lives in poverty, doesn't mean we help no one. Do we empower more adults so they can provide their own funding for schools? – that would be a great idea, but in a country of unlearned and uneducated and untrained workers, this is difficult. How can this be when North America lives in such richness and many of these people have but a mere existence (Praise God for the hope of Eternal Life because this won't last long compared with what's to come…)

It's just so easy to lose focus and that is really hitting me today.

I told Les we should move here and oversee projects so we can do more but I know Chris will do well. He is such a faithful, humble man. James says he loves Chris mostly for his humbleness (they are from the same Pele tribe). A man of humility can easily be taught anything. You can't work with a proud educated man. Chris is catching onto the computer, too. We just talked to him and he's working on it and it's making sense. phew! He is so eager to learn. He wants to start a business and get a job. I agree. The work we need him to do for us isn't a full time job and doesn't warrant a full salary. He says he wants to go to university for bookkeeping. We'll ask him more about this with our meeting tomorrow. He has ambition and he has been one of the most faithful people we've met.

His girls were so excited to see us yesterday. James is worried about them, this is such a critical age - (especially for rape). They are 13 or 14 years old. He's worried that Chris could lose them if he's not careful. That worries me, too, when Chris isn't home. Those poor girls need a mother, and you can tell the way they hung onto me the entire time with their arms wrapped around me. I reminded them I wasn't Mother Marsha (we went there in the dark with flashlights and he lit some candles in the house) and they said "I know, we miss you and love you so much." My heart just broke. This life is just so unfair but we are not promised a life of luxury and ease but of suffering and laying our lives down for one another. Jesus is our complete example.
When the people are illiterate, they cannot reason and don't have a vision. It makes total sense. They can't see the needs that lie ahead if they haven't been trained. Ignorant people can't see how to dig themselves out of their pit. I am praying that we become more patient and less judgmental.

We had a little "down time" today and the Ngenda's took us to the ocean to relax. There were men loading a dump truck of sand BY HAND with shovels!!!! (see picture below) You should have seen them work. We played some rugby football and washed off in the ocean afterwards. God is good ALL THE TIME!!! He is so faithful and it's only by His mercy and grace that any of us have what we have. ALL the honor and glory belongs to Him alone. God help us if we take any credit ourselves.

It's with huge emotion that we leave Liberia tomorrow. Naturally this country tugs at our hearts – this is our daughters' homeland. Who would have thought that God's plan was so much bigger than adoption? So much unfinished work, but we will continue to work with Chris and Mark when we get back to Canada. Kathleen told us today that our girls can keep a dual citizenship (Liberian and Canadian) until they are 19 and then they have to choose.
Did you know that Charles Taylor (x-Liberian president on trial for war crimes in the Hauge) was a Baptist pastor? People just cover everything up by claiming to be a pastor and talk a lot about God but never walking in obedience and honesty...sad! Our hearts are broken for these lost people and especially if they don't know Christ. Our hearts were saddened Friday when we learned that our girls' birth mother is Muslim (the Vai tribe is mostly Muslim). The first thing she needs is the true and living Word of God!

Another thing that is becoming more real to us is that God will take you up on your dangerous prayers. Pray for God to expose the crap in your life and change you. Pray for God to change you more and more to be like Him. Pray for God to expose your pride. Pray for God's vision. He'll do it, but it won't be easy…. BUT we wouldn't have it any other way because the joy and God's presence that follows is beyond description!!

We nearly got stuck at the beach today - all 10 of us had to pile out first:

Loading sand by hand into a dump truck at the ocean:

January 24, 2009

Safety is an ongoing issue for Liberians, but we are well taken care of here. Living with a local family in their compound gives us a real good dose of this culture, the constant struggles of daily life here and how they manage by God's faithfulness and sovereignty over their lives. Home invasions are common here and the police force is not respected. The UN will not allow the local police force to carry arms so there's no respect for them. Our driver today ended up being someone who works for the Liberian police force so it was interesting to hear his side of things.

Today was laundry day so the generator was started to run the many loads of laundry. :) We went into town this afternoon (driver was 2 hours late) oh, well!... :)

We met Chris for an exchange of paperwork and did some "shopping" downtown. We found the only shop in Monrovia where we could purchase Liberian t-shirts (owned by an American company). We drove past the University of Liberia and all the students were sitting outside in their desks. Apparently there are 3,000 new students and the building cannot handle that capacity. So it's first come, first serve in the morning otherwise you stand for your class or maybe don't even get in.

Here is a quote that was sent to us:

We find that if, instead of praying for our own comfort and satisfaction, we ask the Lord to enable us to give to others, an amazing thing happens... We find our own needs wonderfully met. Refreshment comes in ways we would never have thought of, both for others, and then, incidentally, for ourself. Elizabeth Elliot

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

Doing laundry:

A new stadium recently built... Chinese workers come in to train the local people in rebuilding:

The Ministry of Health building being taken over by squatters since the war:

The neighbourhood where we're staying:

Commenting on this blog ...

Some of you have tried to leave comments for us on our blog, but were unable to do so. We have changed our settings to allow you to do this now. If you do not have a google account, you can post your message as 'anonymous', but do let us know who you are when commenting. We would love to hear from you :)
HFA

Pictures of Liberia (Jan.23)

Some pictures from our day in Liberia:

Picture 1 - Kelvin holding a monkey at WACSN ... aaaawwww!
Picture 2 - Street vendors
Picture 3 - People riding the back of a truck, African style!
Picture 4 - Bridge into Freeport district
Picture 5 - Cattle crossing
Picture 6 - A bridge that collapsed last year
Picture 7 - Josh giving Chris the computer rundown
Picture 8 - Chris and his daughters

So, this is Liberia!

January 23, 2009

Today we took care of some personal business. This morning was filled with working on some adoption work for a friend. Nothing is simple or easy but our day was off to a long start. Then we headed over to WACSN (an orphange in Monrovia). James dropped us off and we piled into the WACSN van. A half hour into our trip, the van broke down, everyone just sitting calmly like this is normal. They called for another van but it had no seats. Very simple... just transfer the seats from one van to another and that is easy when nothing is bolted down. :) (see picture below)
We drove past the bridge (where the final stages of the war came into the city), past the President' s house, past Freeport and into the slums. We actually see people cleaning up garbage in the city. There aren't as many open sewers here as in Ghana, and not as many people wear the traditional African clothing here – a lot of American influence. The freed slaves from the US came back and started the republic of Liberia. We even saw workers rebuilding the power lines on the main roads downtown. There is a lot of rebuilding going on and the government is paving the main roads. The population of Monrovia is approximately 750,000. The air is very dusty as the north winds bring the dust off the desert. Some people say it's hotter here than in Ghana, but not really. It's in the low 30's some days but cooler nights this time of year. The skies here are cloudy because of the dust coming off the sahara. Everytime you blow your nose it's black!!

Our day of two simple stops became a 7.5 hour trip. James picked us up again at the orphanage and back home. James and Kathleen run a ministry here called Grassroots Ministry. James disciples pastors and Kathleen homeschools their 4 children and also teaches literacy classes to women.
Josh is teaching Chris the basics on his computer and Les is teaching him how to use the camera needed for sponsorship. We thought the day was over until we decided at 7:45 PM to bring Chris home ourselves instead of getting him on a taxi. So James drove us in the dark (not an easy task here!!) to his home so we could see his place – good idea because there was way less traffic. We dropped James off to make a visit and he let Les drive the rest of the way home, enjoying the use of the horn!! :) I wish you could be here to see the sights, hear the horns, smell the air, etc. Actually we can hear the ocean waves crashing at night if all is quiet, that's how close we are! James and Kathleen have been awesome hosts – James is always ready to drive us around and Kathleen has great meals on the table for us all, trying out some Liberian foods.

Here is a picture of changing the seats from one van to another:

Pictures from school in Liberia (Jan.22)

Here are some pictures that we took on our visit to the school today:

Picture 1 - Pastor Mark and Nicole.
Picture 2 - The bathrooms at the school.
Picture 3 - Some of the kids in the school.
Picture 4 - Classrooms divided up as best as possible.
Picture 5 - Kathleen taking over teaching while we spoke with the teachers.
Picture 6 - Some of the teachers holding the donations given to them; they will give them out to the students as rewards.
Picture 7 - Teachers passing out candy.
Picture 8 - Candy... a special treat!
Picture 9 - Chris, HFA's ground worker in Liberia, with his new Bible ... a happy man!

January 22, 2009

In a world with so many needs, it's hard not to try and constantly analyze and understand life over here, asking the questions why, why, where, why, how, why, how long, why? We aren't meant to carry those heavy loads, just called to do our part.

We met Chris and drove to the school to meet Pastor Mark Anthony and his wife Nicole this morning. The school and church are the same building, called IFEM Christian Academy (International Freedom Evangelistic Ministry). Pastor Mark and Nicole are missionaries from Nigeria. They were called to Liberia 13 years ago and stuck it out through the war when bombs were landing near their home, fearing for their lives. God reminded him constantly of His sovereignty and faithfulness to them, that He would provide all their needs. His testimony is amazing!!
Pastor Mark saw the great need for education since there is 80-85% illiteracy in his church, so he started a Christian school through the church. He has such a burden for his community children to know the Lord. They don't charge the community children for the schooling so there is little to no funds to run the school. The school runs classes from Kindergarten to Grade 6 , all in one building without dividers. The teachers are all volunteers so the turnover is huge, no commitment. They have 7 teachers on/off that can come whenever and some of those teachers also work at 3-4 different schools to earn a living and/or trying to get some teacher's training at the University of Liberia. The teachers there are mostly untrained, although some are trying to get an education but there is no funding. The quality of the education depends on the education of the teachers. There are 150 students crammed into this little building. Mark and Nicole are also volunteer teachers at this school. The school has NO textbooks for the students. Pastor Mark provides free evening classes for adults and their evening services are done in the dark or by candle light.
James (who we're staying with) knows and has worked closely with Mark for many years. The integrity and humility of this couple really impressed us. I will list the needs of this school for those on our email list.

We are safe here on the outskirts of Monrovia. There are 3 night guards and 4 dogs in this gated property. James is thankful that a mechanic has arrived on the scene!! We bless God for another day of safety and provision and for all the things He's teaching and showing us.

Here is a picture of us in front of the school:

The roof needs to be continued to the outside wall:

We've arrived in Liberia!

January 21, 2009

Greetings to you all in the name of our precious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

There is so much security at the airport in Accra. Armed security everywhere! It's very peaceful and we feel safe here. And you think that's bad, the grocery store has security at the end of every aisle. Going to the grocery store is a major luxury as most people do market shopping. Inside stores are for the rich.

For all of you who have invested personally into our trip, just know that it is worth every dollar when you see the joy on these people's faces that HFA has kept our promise to return. The second time Marsha went, they just never imagined that she would keep her promise to come – especially in a world where they receive so many empty promises! And for those who donate to Hearts for Africa, know that EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR is spent as God directs and used with caution! We don't just walk around handing out money to whoever asks for some. We work alongside those who live there and know the needs best… unless, of course, God places a special burden on our hearts. When the people thank us, we remind them it is NOT us who is giving you the help. First, it's God's money; second, we have some very generous people in Canada who care deeply for you and love you. They are the ones sending us out.

We have now arrived safely in Liberia with Kathleen waiting at the airport for us. It was a 1.5 hour flight, excellent service and they even fed us a hot meal on such a short flight!! James & Kathleen have a comfortable home here in the district of Monrovia. Getting used to a new country is always a little overwhelming. We got the rundown on security tonight – all I can say is please pray for continual safety for this family!! We are only here 5 nights but they have chosen to live here to serve God out of obedience to Him. Reminds me of Moses: He chose to live with the suffering Israelites rather than the passing pleasures….. The generator runs only in the evening for the lights and the fridge is powered by solar, but they will run the small generator tonight for us so we can run the fans – they are so accommodating!!! . Good thing we love camping!! :)

The Ngenda's have 4 children, 3 of them are boys. Our boys are thrilled of course!! When we got here, they were ready for the beach so off we went, piled in the 4-Runner and it was just a 10 minute drive to the ocean. It was a great relaxing time, and our visiting was extended as the keys got locked in the vehicle. (see picture below of us breaking into the vehicle!)

Before we got settled into our room, Les and Josh had to catch a lizard in our room first to rest my mind!!!
Tomorrow Kathleen will bring us to meet our guy Chris at the school and we'll let you know what the day brings. Chris was one of our workers in Buduburam and returned to Liberia last fall. Thank you for your prayers. Praise God that He has everything under his control.

Arriving in Monrovia, Liberia:

Here is a picture of us breaking into our vehicle:

Pictures from January 20, 2009 ...

Here are a few more pictures that we took while we were at the Buduburam Camp today:

Picture 1 - Some of our sponsored kids at school

Picture 2 - Kelvin with some sponsored kids

Picture 3 - Open sewers in front of the homes - this one is in concrete, whereas most are not (you can just imagine the stench!)

Picture 4 - Some of the formula and supplies we purchased today

Picture 5 - Distributing the formula

Picture 6 - Jackie holding a little girl ... "This makes me miss my girls back home!" she says. This is what it's all about, loving on all these people!!

Another busy day at the camp!

January 20, 2009
Hello from Accra, where the population is over 5 million in the city and close surrounding areas! I have never seen so many people in my life!... people everywhere.. it seems like more because everyone does business OUTSIDE, not inside like North America. Vendors line the streets inside and out, making use of every opportunity of slow traffic, walking between – they are very skilled at dodging traffic. They work late into the evening and are back at it at 6 AM!! Quite the amazing culture and we are getting used to it now. We noticed that there isn't nearly as much garbage around – apparently a year ago the government decided to pay city workers to clean up garbage. There's very little garbage pickup as most people just make piles along the road and burn it. The fog on the way home was only diesel smoke and burning garbage, and the thickness of it hurt our eyes. A little aircare would be helpful :)
The horn is an important tool in driving here, just as important as mirrors. They aren't honking out of rage, but just to let you know 'I'm beside you, don't move over'. Two lanes can quickly be made into 3 when traffic is thick, and drivers often conversing with one another. Another usual sight is men urinating alongside the road (no public washrooms). It's a good thing we sweat out all our liquids during the day.
Today at the camp was much more peaceful except our entry. The same UN Ghana police guy gave us a hard time, and he repeated everything he told us last night – time for him wasn't an issue so that wasted a good 30 minutes!! We had to call Prince Farley to the entrance with another big man from the church. They settled the disagreement, signed some papers and we were finally off.
The camp seemed a little "less" shocking than yesterday. The sponsor families were waiting at the church when we arrived an hour late! They are SOOOOO patient. After a debriefing, we headed off to start sponsorship and other men from the church distributed rice to the sponsored children. We headed out to the 4 schools at the camp that were closed. We learned that you get what you pay for in terms of education. The cheaper schools have less quality education. The prices have increased greatly but it's worth it. These people need a chance for Christian education so they can get jobs outside of the camp and provide for their future.
Prince is a man of great integrity and watching very carefully every dollar spent. He will go through great lengths saving quarters by purchasing school books and supplies at the market instead of the camp. We asked many questions from different sources about the camp. Many people left the camp last fall because the government was putting a tremendous amount of pressure to close the camp. People left out of fear. A few weeks ago, a new government was elected and now people are returning because they have a better chance for education in Ghana and the new government seems to be ok with the camp remaining open. Others tell us the camp will close in March/April. The education in Liberia isn't the same quality (YET!). Prince will continue to send the rest of the children to school throughout the week.
A generous donation was made for a need to be met as God moved our hearts. Yesterday there was a woman sitting near the back with this skinniest , tiniest little baby I have ever seen. I knew then that we should work with Hannah (midwife) to get good formula for these babies who were sick and not breast feeding. We were able to purchase 50 cans of formula plus cups with straws for these babies. The mothers were at the church and waited for 2.5 hours to receive this, not ever hearing a sigh or complaint. They were so grateful...one baby had malaria and was so sick. (see picture below) Hannah will do follow-ups in 3 days and pass out more formula as needed. She made a list of the 10 most serious cases and by the time we got through that list, 10 more mothers with babies arrived. Amazing how the word spreads!!! Hannah strictly warned the mothers to make sure their baby gets ALL the food given to them and they may not drink any of that milk themselves - she will check on them. If she finds out otherwise, they will be immediately disqualified for further help. Praise be to God ... there is hope for these babies!! They love their children as much as we do!
Hannah delivers babies at her house. The women come, she gives them an IV to speed up the process and after 4 cm, they deliver in 10 min. Wowzers!! She keeps them in her very tiny home (about as big as our kitchen) for a few hours, then sends them home. The next day the mother goes to the clinic for bathing and checkup.
As we were having a bite to eat with George, Prince, and Hannah, they had a TV screen watching the biggest waste of 43 million dollars: Obama's inauguration. Shame on our governments when there is so much physical and spiritual need around the world where this money could go a long way to those who REALLY need it.
We arrived back "home" at 8 pm. Tomorrow we leave for Liberia. We praise God continually for His guidance, safety and grace towards us. We are living on approximately 4 hours sleep each night, but He is sustaining us! In His grace we stand!

Here is the picture of the sick baby with malaria and high fevers that we saw today. We have provided for her to get some medicine:

More moms with their babies.

Pictures from Buduburam Camp (Jan.19)

Here are a few pictures taken yesterday when we were at the camp.

Picture 1 - In front of Prince Farley's university

Picture 2 - Paying Prince Farley's school fees

Picture 3 - Clothing distribution

Picture 4 - Rice distribution

Picture 5 - Welcoming us and praising God