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!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
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!!!
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!!!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
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!
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!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Bits and Pieces
I think I'm finally adjusting a bit to the heat. I began to think I might do nothing but sit in front of the fan for 10 months! Mind you, it's still HOT, but at least I've accomplished a bit today: 5 loads of laundry (though I did have some help hanging it out to dry) and most of it is folded and put away. The area rugs are still on the line and sheets still need to be folded. I could do that now except I burned my wrist (see, I shouldn't be cooking and to make matters worse, I was cooking something for the dog!) and the vitamin E I put on it would get all over the sheets. The burn is not bad and the vitamin E will take care of it. In the meantime, the sheets can stay hanging over a dining room chair!
We do have a gas drier, but why waste gas when there are plenty of lines for hanging things. I'll change my tune when rainy season starts!
If you are hungry, please eat something before reading more. Our food today was so yummy. For lunch we had leftovers from a funky little Lebanese restaurant we went to the other night. One thing we had was sort of like pizza but made with Lebanese bread instead of pizza crust and all that was on it was lots of cheese and pepperoni. Sooo good, even as leftovers! Along with that we had fresh pineapple and avocado. You haven't tasted pineapple until you taste some that is locally grown instead of being picked way early so it can be transported before it spoils. And all you need for avocado is salt and pepper; the taste is so delicate it gets lost if mixed with other ingredients.
Tonight we had smoothies: Darrell had banana-papaya-pineapple; I had just banana-papaya. Again, nothing like fresh, locally grown fruit!
Tomorrow we plan to go to Sackie's church. We've never been there before, so his son will stop by in the morning to ride with us so we don't get lost. We're looking forward to a good day in the Lord's house. God has blessed us way beyond what we deserve and we look forward to worshipping together with other believers. God is so good!
I think I'm finally adjusting a bit to the heat. I began to think I might do nothing but sit in front of the fan for 10 months! Mind you, it's still HOT, but at least I've accomplished a bit today: 5 loads of laundry (though I did have some help hanging it out to dry) and most of it is folded and put away. The area rugs are still on the line and sheets still need to be folded. I could do that now except I burned my wrist (see, I shouldn't be cooking and to make matters worse, I was cooking something for the dog!) and the vitamin E I put on it would get all over the sheets. The burn is not bad and the vitamin E will take care of it. In the meantime, the sheets can stay hanging over a dining room chair!
We do have a gas drier, but why waste gas when there are plenty of lines for hanging things. I'll change my tune when rainy season starts!
If you are hungry, please eat something before reading more. Our food today was so yummy. For lunch we had leftovers from a funky little Lebanese restaurant we went to the other night. One thing we had was sort of like pizza but made with Lebanese bread instead of pizza crust and all that was on it was lots of cheese and pepperoni. Sooo good, even as leftovers! Along with that we had fresh pineapple and avocado. You haven't tasted pineapple until you taste some that is locally grown instead of being picked way early so it can be transported before it spoils. And all you need for avocado is salt and pepper; the taste is so delicate it gets lost if mixed with other ingredients.
Tonight we had smoothies: Darrell had banana-papaya-pineapple; I had just banana-papaya. Again, nothing like fresh, locally grown fruit!
Tomorrow we plan to go to Sackie's church. We've never been there before, so his son will stop by in the morning to ride with us so we don't get lost. We're looking forward to a good day in the Lord's house. God has blessed us way beyond what we deserve and we look forward to worshipping together with other believers. God is so good!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Oh, My!!!
I told you the traffic was bad. We had to go in town again today. Well, I didn't have to go, but Darrell suggested I go along and then we could check out some things while the AC in the vehicle was being fixed. It took us almost an hour to go slightly less than 5 miles--bumper to bumper most of the way. We were on a 4 lane highway, which means there were 2 lanes of cars going our direction plus motorbikes weaving in and out, going down the middle of the road, going between the 2 lanes we were in, or going along the curb. They keep moving when cars are stopped or crawling, so it really gets interesting. Oh, I forgot to tell you that many--most??--motorbikes are used as "taxis" carrying 1 or 2 passengers or 1 passenger and his load. Today we saw one with the passenger carrying 2 tires between him and the driver! Getting the picture?!
I also forgot to tell you yesterday that in all this confusion there are relatively few accidents. Talk about driving defensively!!! It is amazing! We laughed several times at things we were seeing. It really is quite a sight to see.
That being said, we did see an accident today--actually saw it happen. A man stepped in front of a motorbike that was carrying 3 people. All 4 people plus the bike ended up on the ground with the things they were carrying flying in all directions. Thankfully everyone got up and didn't appear to be too badly hurt, but I'm sure they will be sore.
So, please pray for us! If we're going to get anything done out here, we will have to be on the roads. Thanks!
I told you the traffic was bad. We had to go in town again today. Well, I didn't have to go, but Darrell suggested I go along and then we could check out some things while the AC in the vehicle was being fixed. It took us almost an hour to go slightly less than 5 miles--bumper to bumper most of the way. We were on a 4 lane highway, which means there were 2 lanes of cars going our direction plus motorbikes weaving in and out, going down the middle of the road, going between the 2 lanes we were in, or going along the curb. They keep moving when cars are stopped or crawling, so it really gets interesting. Oh, I forgot to tell you that many--most??--motorbikes are used as "taxis" carrying 1 or 2 passengers or 1 passenger and his load. Today we saw one with the passenger carrying 2 tires between him and the driver! Getting the picture?!
I also forgot to tell you yesterday that in all this confusion there are relatively few accidents. Talk about driving defensively!!! It is amazing! We laughed several times at things we were seeing. It really is quite a sight to see.
That being said, we did see an accident today--actually saw it happen. A man stepped in front of a motorbike that was carrying 3 people. All 4 people plus the bike ended up on the ground with the things they were carrying flying in all directions. Thankfully everyone got up and didn't appear to be too badly hurt, but I'm sure they will be sore.
So, please pray for us! If we're going to get anything done out here, we will have to be on the roads. Thanks!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Good Advice
While Darrell drove the Sheppards to the airport yesterday, there were 2 men here, Pastor Peter and John Sackie (whom everyone calls Sackie [pronounced Sahkie]) to divvy up some things the Sheppards had left to be given away. After they worked a while, they came to me with some advice: yes, we lived here a long time ago but this is a different Liberia, so before making any major decisions or changes, they said we should talk with them, especially Sackie since he lives here in Monrovia. (Not sure of Sackie's official title, but he is either administrator or president of the Bible college where Darrell taught when we were here in 2010.) I thought that was excellent advice and was very pleased that they shared their concern for us.
It definitely is a different Liberia! Darrell and I were wondering today how in the world we could share this country with you. We decided there is no way, not even with a video camera. There is just too much to capture.
Darrell wasn't too sure before we got here that he really wanted to drive around town, but he has already driven quite a bit and found out it isn't as bad as he thought. It certainly is different, however, with LOTS of traffic, NO--I repeat NO stoplights, LOTS of pedestrians--some pushing wheelbarrows or carts with things to sell, and in the midst of all this "at least a million" motorbikes weaving in and out and between lanes of traffic. As we were walking across the major boulevard, Darrell said something about the "quick and the dead"--in this traffic, one is either quick or dead! Well, we made it home safely, so I guess we must be quick! God is good!
Sackie went in town with us to start work on our residence permits. We had to get passport-type pictures taken, make some copies of our main passport pages since we have to leave the passports at the immigration office, etc., etc., etc. Then he started work on our Liberian drivers licenses. Our US licenses will cover us until we get them.
I haven't decided yet if I will get brave enough to drive here or not--and that is spoken by a very confident driver. (Are you getting the picture of how different it is here?) I will feel better knowing that I have the Liberian license just in case I really need to drive. And who knows, I may turn out to be braver than I think! I'll let you know when I start driving, but don't hold your breath!
I could go on forever, but I don't want to make this too long.
Until next time.....
While Darrell drove the Sheppards to the airport yesterday, there were 2 men here, Pastor Peter and John Sackie (whom everyone calls Sackie [pronounced Sahkie]) to divvy up some things the Sheppards had left to be given away. After they worked a while, they came to me with some advice: yes, we lived here a long time ago but this is a different Liberia, so before making any major decisions or changes, they said we should talk with them, especially Sackie since he lives here in Monrovia. (Not sure of Sackie's official title, but he is either administrator or president of the Bible college where Darrell taught when we were here in 2010.) I thought that was excellent advice and was very pleased that they shared their concern for us.
It definitely is a different Liberia! Darrell and I were wondering today how in the world we could share this country with you. We decided there is no way, not even with a video camera. There is just too much to capture.
Darrell wasn't too sure before we got here that he really wanted to drive around town, but he has already driven quite a bit and found out it isn't as bad as he thought. It certainly is different, however, with LOTS of traffic, NO--I repeat NO stoplights, LOTS of pedestrians--some pushing wheelbarrows or carts with things to sell, and in the midst of all this "at least a million" motorbikes weaving in and out and between lanes of traffic. As we were walking across the major boulevard, Darrell said something about the "quick and the dead"--in this traffic, one is either quick or dead! Well, we made it home safely, so I guess we must be quick! God is good!
Sackie went in town with us to start work on our residence permits. We had to get passport-type pictures taken, make some copies of our main passport pages since we have to leave the passports at the immigration office, etc., etc., etc. Then he started work on our Liberian drivers licenses. Our US licenses will cover us until we get them.
I haven't decided yet if I will get brave enough to drive here or not--and that is spoken by a very confident driver. (Are you getting the picture of how different it is here?) I will feel better knowing that I have the Liberian license just in case I really need to drive. And who knows, I may turn out to be braver than I think! I'll let you know when I start driving, but don't hold your breath!
I could go on forever, but I don't want to make this too long.
Until next time.....
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