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