Too Much!

And too much of what, you ask?  Too much to tell you about!  Life here is interesting, to say the least, and I think I could go on and on forever.  I want to tell you about ministry opportunities, William, Martha, Solomon, rice bread, fufu, dumboy, palm butter, harmatan......you get the picture!  Let me start with ministry opportunities and then I can deal with other subjects later.

Darrell has been asked to preach a series in one of the churches here in Monrovia, and he plans to use a booklet he has written entitled "Back to Basics."  It is a tool for evangelism and stresses the simplicity of the Gospel.  So many "religions" make Christianity so complicated when, in fact, God states clearly that salvation is a gift--free--to anyone who will take it.  He doesn't force it on anyone but extends His hand in love to offer that free gift made possible by Christ's death in our place.  (Well, I didn't intend to recite the whole booklet here!)

The pastor suggested that I teach the ladies some other topic while Darrell is with the men, but personally I think the ladies would benefit from Darrell's series.  I will let Darrell and the pastor determine what I should do.

Darrell will also be teaching a course at the Bible college but what and when are yet to be determined.  My guess is that it will be a two week module like he did in 2010.

Another pastor (who was a Bible college student when we were here in 2010) is starting a new church here in Monrovia.  At this point they are small in number and meet in the pastor's living room.  To try to draw in new people, Darrell has also been asked to show some DVDs (which the Sheppards have) at some special meetings the church in planning.

There will be other conferences and seminars in which at least Darrell will be involved.

So we are staying busy--never bored--especially when you add in the complications of life in the tropics.  But that's another topic and another day's blog.

Until next time (which I hope will be soon) just remember: God is good!

Scratch Cards, Beeps, and a Face Lift

No, no, no.....I'm not cracking up!  All 3--scratch cards, beeps, and a face lift--have something to do with Liberia.

Cell phones are common in Liberia but I'm not sure if cell phone plans even exist.  Instead, we buy pre-paid minutes which are sold by scratch cards: buy a card, scratch the back for the number, enter it into the phone, and the phone is ready to use.

We used our phones the other day to call the States because we've been without internet service for over a week.  Can you believe that with these pre-paid minutes we pay only 5 cents a minute to call the States!  We had checked with our cell plan before leaving the States and found out if we called through that plan it would be $3.50 a minute.  Guess which phone we used!!

That brings me to the "beep."  We told our son and his wife if they need to contact us when the internet is down, they should "beep" us.  That's what the Liberians do if their minutes are getting low but they want to talk to someone.  They call the number, let it ring once, and then hang up.  That is the signal for the person to call them back.  I haven't figured out what happens if you beep someone and his minutes are low too!

This is reminding me of the "old days" when we were out here before cell phones and internet.  Even if we got to a place where a phone was available, the cost to the States was prohibitive, so the only direct contact I had with my parents was by ham radio maybe 2 or 3 times in 4 years.  We actually had to write letters in order to communicate!  What an ancient art that is!!! 

And where does a face lift fit into this scene?  It has nothing to do with scratch cards and beeps, but it is what I have decided I need.  No, don't worry, I'm not going under the knife for that reason either here or back home.  But it's so hot out here that I can't be ladylike and "perspire"; I'm sorry, but I "SWEAT"!  Actually, I've never been one to perspire; I've been sweating all my life!  And here in Liberia, it's much worse than at home.  What makes it even worse is that now that I'm an old lady (just remember that in Liberia "old lady" is a term of respect!) and my face is sagging, the sweat runs into my eyes.  Don't you think a face lift would be the cure for that?

Until next time, always remember: God is good!

I'm Back--Sort of!

We’ve been without internet service for over a week and a half, and now they are telling us they have no idea when it will be up again.  In the meantime, we have something that I had never heard of—internet on a flash drive.  Maybe it’s common, but it’s sure new to me.  We paid $40 for the “stick” and then we buy minutes to load onto it, so we’re paying as we go.  The main problem is that it’s slower than molasses, so those minutes can add up quickly.  But slow is better than nothing!  At least now we can keep up with emails and I can post to this blog.  We won’t be reading much of any news or spending time on Facebook.  When the regular internet is back, we will use that and save the stick for times when that’s our only choice.

It is good to be back in touch—sort of!

God's House

Does it make a difference what "God's House" looks like?  Where we went to church 2 weeks ago was in sharp contrast to where we attended today.  Both buildings were in Monrovia, but one was down a dirt track and the other was on a 4 lane highway.  The one was unfinished with 1 wall of cement blocks, 3 walls of woven mats, a zinc roof, a dirt floor, and benches with no backs.  The other was a church that will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year and has a large building with ceiling fans, a sound system, choir with robes, a keyboard to accompany singing, and benches with backs.
What do you think?  Was God's presence more apparent in one building than the other?  Was worship more meaningful in the nicer building?  Actually the Bible teaches us that God lives within a believer, not in a building, so when believers entered either building, God went in with us.  It makes absolutely no difference what the building is like.  Worship takes place in the heart, not the building.  And the "church" is a group of believers, not a building.
This morning I attended the women's Sunday School class and what a blessing it was.  I saw something I had never seen in Liberia and it was awesome!  The ladies had a good discussion and expressed their views which were well grounded on Scriptural principles.  What I had experienced years ago was ladies who didn't have much to say.  I'm not sure if that was lack of confidence, lack of understanding, or cultural, but what I witnessed today was a most welcome change.  I love it and praise the Lord for the opportunity to see it for myself.
I'm not sure how much "ministering" we will be doing on a weekly basis since the Liberians are so capable.  I have mentioned in other posts that we are here mainly in an advisory capacity.  That means we will help put out any "fires" that might erupt plus be involved in training seminars for church leaders.  The Sheppards were much more involved than we will be since they knew the ins and outs of areas that needed attention.  We just praise the Lord for the opportunity to be here to do what little we can.  God is good!

To Market, to Market to Buy a.....

Mortar and pestle!  That's what we needed, along with palm nuts, to make palm butter, a delicious topping for rice.  MMMyummymmmmm!!!!!  Martha, the woman who helps us in the house, took us to the BIG market to get several things we needed.  The market was huge, really HUGE! And we went in only a portion of it.  Our shopping list also included bananas, papaya, pineapples, cassava leaf (for "soup" to go on top of rice, collard greens (for soup), "chicken soup" (bouillon cubes), and then we picked up some frozen chicken legs at a supermarket on the way home.
We are really enjoying "rice and soup"!  People used to ask us about the food here and when we'd say it is delicious, often the response was "yeah, right!"  We were not being sarcastic!!! It really is delicious.  No gagging it down on our part!  Plus it's cheaper than eating American style.
Amos Kangar stopped by today to talk with Darrell about what he needs for the Bible school which he directs.  I love it that there are more Bible schools now (4) than when all the missionaries were here (3).  The work here has grown and what we as missionaries tried to accomplish has come to fruition--work ourselves out of a job.  The Liberians are doing a fine job of carrying on the work.  That is why we are here only in an advisory capacity and to give encouragement anywhere we can.  What a blessing to see Liberians in leadership roles.
As a side note, I had to laugh the other day when I remembered how I hated writing all those "themes" in high school.  Pick a theme--any theme we wanted--and write a page.  If I'm not mistaken, they were due 3 times a week--I know at least twice.  Oh, how I hated those things.  And now I'm writing a blog because I want to???!!!  Some things just don't make sense.

Different

Yup! Different--that's what I said.  Everything is different!!  I'm so glad we lived here before.  Of course, if we hadn't lived here before, the Sheppards probably would not have asked us to fill in for them.  I'm thinking it would be next to impossible to come out here with no experience and no other missionaries to lead the way.  Life would have been very difficult and different for the pioneer missionaries, but a few things to their advantage would have been less red tape, less congestion, less noise!, etc.
Let me just list a few random thoughts to explain "different":
     --a motorbike carrying a passenger with a mattress folded in half between him and the driver;
     --a UN helicopter patrolling the city Sunday morning;  we think they were looking for demonstrators who were opposed to Monday's inauguration.  They had threatened to demonstrate on Monday, too, but an agreement was reached so they attended the inauguration;
     --a convoy of UN vehicles driving by our house after the inauguration, including tanks with soldiers and their guns in the turrets.  We're praising the Lord for a peaceful inauguration;
     --a motorbike carrying the driver and 3 passengers;
     --"music" from the bar down the road that "entertains us every night until 4 a.m.  I say "music" because it's really more like noise.  I am a person who always moves to music--even music I don't like--even music I can't stand!  This does not tempt me to move at all.  It just invites me to put in ear plugs when I go to bed.
     --people walking between the lanes of slow-moving traffic selling all sorts of things--and remember that the motorbikes also drive between the lanes of slow-moving traffic!  I'm not sure how people survive;
     --men sitting on one side of the church and women sitting on the other;
     --using 2 types of currency for 1 transaction.  No coins are used here, but  US bills are used along with Liberian bills.  One US dollar yields 73 Liberian dollars, so Liberian dollars are used instead of coins;
      Well, I think you get the idea!
Another thing that's different is this trip compared with the 3 week visit in 2010.  I'm so glad we realized before we came just how different it would be this time.  Last time we were visitors with few responsibilities other than ministering.  Now we're still trying to get the paperwork taken care of:  licenses, residence permits, etc.  None of that had to be done last time.  Last time we were involved in ministry immediately, Darrell especially.  This time we're still trying to stock the cupboards and get some meals prepared.  Last time a welcoming committee was at the airport to meet us after our 28 year absence.  This time many people don't yet know that we are here.  Last time we were flying high with adrenalin because of all the excitement.  This time we are living reality.  We knew it would be like this, but I wonder if the readers of this blog who also read the updates from the last trip understand the difference.  I certainly can see the difference between this blog and those updates and wonder if you might think we are struggling or doubting.  That is not the case!  We are right where God wants us to be and have His peace.  THAT IS NOT DIFFERENT!!!

The Best Laid Plans.....

What is that I was saying about going to Sackie's church today?  Well, I didn't go anywhere.  No, I'm not sick; I feel just fine.
First thing this morning someone was banging on our gate.  (Our house is surrounded by a high wall with broken glass embedded in the top and then razor wire.)  Darrell went to investigate and found someone there telling him the watch dog was outside getting beaten up by other dogs.  How did he get out?  We also realized the night watchman had gone, so maybe he snuck out then to see his "girlfriend."  Or maybe he snuck out with the 6 UN soldiers from Argentina who are staying in the rooms downstairs for a couple of weeks until the presidential inauguration is over tomorrow.  Anyway, he came back in more embarrassed than hurt and went into hiding. 
When it was time to leave for church we realized the day watchman was not here and the dog was nowhere to be found (we don't yet know all his hiding places).  I said maybe I should stay home and Darrell didn't hesitate a bit to agree with me.  Maybe the Lord knew I needed to "chill"! 
Well, I wasn't chilly, but I must say today is one of the nicest days weather-wise I have ever experienced in Liberia.  The humidity dropped rapidly all morning until it was down to 29%, thanks to the harmattan.  We've known that to happen only a handful of times in all the years we lived out here!  Believe me, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I took 2 naps while Darrell was gone and then another this afternoon. (Sure hope I'll be able to sleep tonight!) I didn't even turn on a fan until later in the afternoon even though the temp was in the high 80's.  Dry hot air is so much easier to tolerate than humid hot air!
When Darrell got home, he said Sackie said we made a wise decision for me to stay home.  Like I said in another post, things are different here!
Darrell did enjoy the service this morning.  He said there were probably 90 people there.  Sackie preached in English and it was interpreted into Kpelle so both language groups could hear the sermon.  Darrell couldn't hear everything because he was sitting on the platform and was getting feedback from the sound system, making it difficult to understand.  They had 2 choirs--a "youth" (meaning young adult) choir and a traditional Kpelle choir.
Well, I've rambled enough for tonight.  I keep thinking of more to say, but it can wait for another post.  Just remember: God is good!