PENNDOT isn't so bad after all...

So after a few jungle rides, you realize that our PA roads are pretty sweet. Though I must admit, the Liberian commute is a lot more fun. This is a bridge we crossed on our way home from Bopolu.

Yeehaw!!

Malawo cont...

Praise God! I can share some photos with you today...enjoy!!! Sometimes, it just works? :)

(This was our crew...we're all packed up and ready to roll!)

(This is Malawo - we popped tents in a house just like this one.)

(Dinner time - Bon apetite-o!)

(Here's a little view into their homes...this is their kitchen.)

(They're just too cute!)

(Installing biosand water filters - every house in Malawo has received one!)

(This is their "altar". And that was our hut directly behind it.)

(Entrance into the "devil bush".)

(Sunset from Malawo.)

(Taya, our leader, and the beautiful women of Malawo.)


(This is us again - Erin, Joni, Me, Patty, Taya, and Hauwa)

Ciao for now!

Malawo Update

So we went to Malawo, a village that is infamous for its juju magic. We went to love the people, to be Christ to them and to provide for a couple of their basic needs. I was excited and a little nervous. I thought the people would be hesitant to meet us - that they might be a bit closed off and perhaps difficult to interact with. I couldn't have been more wrong.

We were welcomed with open arms - literally. I was given a hug by a village woman (Vahmu I think) when I reached the summit of our 1 hour hike to Malawo. The entire village came out of their homes to meet us and shake our hands. They wore bright smiles and received us with warm thank yous. I felt like I was going to church that evening. I mean, it was the kind of welcome you would expect from Providence Church of Pittsburgh.

We spent two nights in their village on the hill. We installed 6 biosand water filters and worked on plastering a latrine. To be honest, I mostly played with the chitlins (kids). They were such an easy, fun crowd I couldn't resist! They loved repeating my "sorry-oh!" and "oh la la!" - I think, just to make me smile.

God is indeed doing a mighty work on this hill. One woman of the village recently went to a Christian conference in a nearby city and a man asked to see the Jesus Film. God is stirring their hearts!

Please continue praying for salvation for the people of Malawo and for wisdom for our ministry staff as to how lead us in evangelism.

Love and blessings to you all,

"Kgobo Dede" (my Loma name)

PS. Again my apologies, internet is slow and therefore photos are difficult to post, but I'll keep working on it...

Prayer for Malawoo

This morning we're leaving to spend the weekend in Malawoo. This village is famous in Liberia for its juju magic and human sacrifices. Please pray for us as we spend a couple nights sleeping in their village and a couple days being Christ to them.

Visit http://www.jonesinliberia.blogspot.com/ for more details about Malawoo and what we are doing in this village

Commute to work

Sunday PM: Happily packing for an 8am departure up-country to Bopolu

Thinking in my head, "I'm so glad that we're leaving early!"


Monday

6:15AM: Wake up to the roosters (I haven't needed an alarm in 2 months)

7:45AM: Walk up to the office, big smile on my face, ready to go to Bopolu, baby!


8:00AM: "Hmmm....so Phil, what truck do you think we are taking?" I ask. I was expecting that we'd be packing the truck already. I was expecting that we'd at least have a truck already. Neither were true. Oh beloved expectations...

8:15AM: Mobile Hannah (our truck) arrives! BUT, Mobile Hannah is having electrical issues. What time will we be able to hit the road?" I ask Mason our logistics guy. "10AM." he replies confidently.

10:00AM: Hannah is still in the shop with 5 maintenance guys standing around her. "Are we ready to go?" I ask promptly. They look at me puzzled. I just asked a ridiculous question. Obviously we're not ready to go. Obviously there's still something wrong with the truck because there are 5 guys standing around it. But in my mind, since no one is actually working on anything in particular, I wonder, "if you're not really doing anything, then everything should be finished already, right?"


Wrong.


11:00AM. Hannah is a still a work in progress... I walk upstairs to see Phil. He has been in Africa a lot longer than me and therefore still working on his computer at his desk with no expectation at all that Hannah is ready to go. And he was right.

11:15AM: I talk to our driver, Walker. "Ca va, Walker? What time do you think?" "We can always go tomorrow.' Walker replies. "No. We need to go today, Walker" I tell him as sternly as possible.

11:45AM: Hannah is out of the shop and ready to go!! We decide to eat first and hit the road after lunch.

12:15: Walker asks me nervously if he can run home to get his bag. I tell him he MUST be back by 1:00.

12:45: Lunch is served late and I'm told that Walker is just now getting ready to go home and get his bag. I run outside to catch him. "No, Walker. Let's get it on the way. Please go eat some lunch."

1:30: We hit the road!! Woohoo!!

2:00: We're trying to decide where to go first - to backtrack twice of three times through the city.

2:30: We're still in Monrovia picking something up. What? I don't know.

3:00: I think we actually left the city.

4:30: Yep...literally on the road...we got a FLAT tire. :)

5:00: Still fixing the flat because we had the jack was too short for the Land Cruiser so the guys are scouting out sticks they can use to prop the jack on to lift the ATV high enough to get the tire off.

5:30: On the road again... :)

5:45: Walker tells me "Je suis condu".
"Qu'est-ce que c'est condu, Walker?"
"I'm tired" he translates.
"I might fall asleep. "
"Are you serious?" I ask, almost laughing. (He is the driver you know.)
"Yeah, do you think someone else can drive?"
I look back at Phil and ask him if he'd mind.
He laughs a bit too and jumps into the driver's seat.

6:45 We arrive in Bopolu!!

Interesting commute to work, eh....

Housemates

Just sharing with you a couple of the lovely guys that have become our Monrovia housemates these days....

This spider is so big that I really don't want to kill him - he'll make too big of a mess!

Living in Liberia, you quickly get comfortable with these new housemates - among others like geckos, cockroaches, and persistent mosquitos. Most often, they provide good comedic relief for us ladies. I mean all you can do is laugh while your friends are chasing cockroaches around the kitchen with lethal bug spray!

Foya Fotos

I'm visiting a beautiful new part of the country called Lofa this week. It's been a wonderful experience so far. I'll tell you a few details through pictures today....

This is our sub-base where we are staying for the week. Beautiful place!

These are the crazy muddy roads we travelled to see our projects today. We drove for over 45 mins on these jungle roads to visit communities where churches were being constructed. Honestly, these people amaze me - I mean, how do they get their rice the whole way back here? It's so heavy! And they certainly don't have cars. I tell you - Liberians are strong and determined people, my friends.


She is a beautiful woman that I thought you would enjoy meeting.

And he had the brightest smile of the day!

I went on a walk with my friends Phil and Celestina two nights ago. We came across this beautiful rice farm just as the sun was beginning to set. Isn't this country gorgeous?

This is a bit of the forest we were walking through. A forest full of palm trees. The smell is beautiful too. So fresh and crisp. I wish I could take you all on a little stroll with me.

Finally, we headed over to the Pakistani batallion tonight for a delicious dinner. We ate all too much Pakistani food, Celestina got to chat in Urdu, and we laughed about pitiful volleyball matches and dog-eating. Quite a crew we are here...Liberians, Pakistanis, and Americans....who would have ever imagined us all together sharing a meal in Lofa, Liberia? Life is definitely interesting these days. God is good!

I'm reminded of this verse...

"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:1-2

I feel like God has blessed me with some angels in my life these days...thanks for your prayers!

Rebuilding local churches

I've been helping my friends with logical frameworks for the past week in Monrovia. Today I was helping Eddie, our Liberian Ministry Coordinator get his logframe organized. In the process, I learned more about the ministry that's being done here and I was reminded about this jungle church near Todee District.


This is one of many churches in Liberia that has become badly dilapidated as a result of the 14 year civil war (among other things.) They continue to worship inside this building, despite its poor condition.

However, Eddie has been explaining to me that it's difficult for a congregation to grow spiritually within such a poor structure. Therefore, part of his job is to work with congregations to rebuild their churches structurally and spiritually.

This rebuiling process consists of partnering with the local church and empowering them to rebuild their structures. The local church does all of the construction work and they supply much of the building materials such as concrete blocks. Eddie works to provide these churches with the resources that are not available in the jungle and those which they cannot afford.

In addition, the local church is offered discipleship and leadership training. Many Liberian churches are lead by pastors with little or no training. Therefore, we are coming alongside them to provide bibles and sound biblical teaching to these pastors and their congregations.

Finally, we are empowering these local churches to reach out to their greater community through events such as the Jesus Film showings. After the Jesus film usher those who have been impacted into one of these local churches in order that they can be quickly cared for by a church family.

Below is broken ground for a new church to replace the one above. Please pray for this congregation and for these ministry programs throughout Liberia. That God would use them for His glory!

a Love story

LOVE is the name of a friend of mine. He is a young Liberian man who lived through much tragedy during the war. I know only bits and pieces of his story, but enough to want to share some with you.

Love is a funny, soft spoken guy. He loves to laugh and make you smile. I feel very comfortable around him, so I asked him about his family and where they went during the war. One day he told me a few details. He said softly, "We fled to Guinea because Monrovia was a battle field. Gunfire everywhere. I watched my best friends gunned down on the street."

"Oh no. What about your family, Love? Was your family okay?"

"No, my ma died" Love said bluntly.

He stared at his feet. My eyes welled up in tears. All I could say was that I was so sorry. Empty words. But a meaningful moment. I didn't ask for more details.

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One day, my housemate Erin came home with another Love story. Love was captured by rebels during the war along with a group of young boys. They were taken to the top of a hill and told by a particular soldier to turn around. He ordered them to begin running as soon as they heard gunfire. They turned as they were told, sure that death would follow. Moments later gunfire began and they sprinted. As Love ran for his life, he looked over his shoulder to see the soldier firing directly above their heads - but missing all of the boys. Love remembered his face. Most Liberians remember these faces.

A few months ago, Love was walking down the now peaceful streets of Monrovia. To his surprise, he saw him - it was that soldier's face. He stopped, pointed, and shouted, "Hey! Hey you! You tried to kill me!"

The man looked at Love, a bit alarmed, saying "I don't know what you are talking about?"

"You tried to kill me!' Love yelled. Now making a scene - drawing attention to the two of them.

"No I didn't!" the man squawked back - continuing to deny Love's accusation.

Love was certain that this was the man. He would never forget that face.

Love persisted, "I forgive you. I forgive you."

A crowd of people now watching. They all hear LOVE, but the man says nothing. He looks embarrased and continues in denial, but nonetheless hears Love.

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Are you hearing Love today? There is pain in this world. There is death. There are unbearable trials and burdens. But amidst it all - there remains Love.

Love was able to forgive that man only because of God's work in and through him. He knows and believes in Jesus Christ as his savior. He's living out his faith. Love is being Christ to the lost, unconditionally.

This is a true Love story, my friends. Remember that you are loved by our Father in heaven today. May you remain in His love.

Please continue to pray for Liberia - that Christ's love would go forth and save souls.

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Sorry for the lack of photos. My internet connection hasn't been very good. So, I must leave you with only a story tonight.