Beginning

This will be my initial post as I work towards chronicling God’s work in my involvement in Country Bible Church’s (www.cbcwallace.org) mission trip to Liberia, Africa in August of this year.  A quick background to how God led a team to decide to embark on such a trip.

Background:

Our church supported a missionary and his family who were ministering in Liberia and it was through their ministry that we became aware of the need for God with the Liberian people.  (A side note is that, yes, there is a need for God among all people, but this blog will chronicle how God used our support of a missionary to Liberia to ignite a fire of ‘love and care’ for a people we do not know.)  This missionary, Gary Dunseath and family, served in Liberia until some health concerns led them back to the states, but the ball began to roll from there.  Through this connection, our church had the privilege to hear of their work and to have a visiting Liberian speak at our church as well.  I was not present when we had the first visiting Liberian, but my presence is not important to God’s plan.  After the Dunseaths were back in the states there was a need for one of them to go back to Liberia to finish up some personal business and Gary’s wife contacted our Pastor’s wife to see if she would go on a 2 week trip to tie up some loose ends and meet some of the people of their ministry.  She came back with a new found love for the Liberian people that God continued to use as a catalyst.  This past summer we were blessed to have Pastor Emmanuel Jonah visit our church and it was shortly after his visit that God begin directing the lives of different people within our congregation.

Present Day:

Today, March 1, 2012, we have a team of 12 people committed to travel to Liberia for 2 weeks in August of this year.  We have plans for helping the Liberians at the Betty Jonah Orphanage (http://www.liberiachristian.org/Betty-Jonah-Orphanage.php) to start a clinic (see picture of outside of clinic).  One of our team members has been greatly instrumental in heading this part of our plans up.  She is a nurse at a local hospital and a person of great detail when it comes to planning this undertaking.  The local hospital where she works has been a great help with their donations of supplies.  Just to touch on a few ways that God has supplied our needs (Philippians 4:19):

Exam bed – A return order to the manufacturer – donated to our trip

Box upon box of clinic supplies – outdated in states – donated to our trip

tools (new and used) – freely given by our congregation for projects planned while in Liberia

crate for shipping – built by my employer (with use as shelving in new clinic) – donated to our trip. (Pastor Fred and I  posing for a picture before the crate is sent out.)

Another plan for our team is to do some construction work wherever we can be of use both in Monrovia, where Emmanuel’s church is located and in Yekepa, where the orphanage is located.  We have many of the twelve who are just asking God to use them.  I have a feeling that God will continue to amaze us in how He plans to use us.  I am reminded of a song by ‘Everybody Duck’ titled, ‘Use Me Here’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=364pchLaRaw).  Listen to this if you have a chance.

We must never forget how God has His hand in our trip.  My faith continues to grow as I see the hand of God in our planning.  Today’s concern is that our crate (shipped out by common carrier) gets to its destination in time to ‘fit’ into a container which is first come first served in order to be shipped over to Liberia.  The container, just last week, stood at 25% full until Friday when it jumped to 80% full.  If we do not get the crate (which is by the way, 1981# including the crate) in this container there is a real possibility that our supplies will not precede us.  Again, our faith stands to grow as we see God’s plan for this.  We would love a human guarantee that we will fit in the last 20% of the container, but either way my faith rests in God’s plan, whether it makes it in this container or goes into the next one.

Even as I write my initial blog, I look back on the path that brought me to decide to go to Liberia and I know that but for God’s leading I would be one of the cheerleaders staying behind and encouraging the others as they go.  Our Pastoral staff is instrumental with God using their leadership and friendship to encourage each of us to follow God’s leading.  Now that I am committed, my anticipation for meeting up with Emmanuel and his wife and the work that God has for us grows every day.  My hope for anyone that reads this blog is to highlight God and minimize myself.  I will be a participant in God’s plan, but this is His story.

To God be the glory, great things He has done (and continues to do).  May you enjoy reading the story of our Liberian adventure.