Monday February 19th

What a day today turned out to be. There are more things that I’d like to write about than I have time to write.

First, it was a difficult day because it started with devotions with the children of the orphanage somewhere around 6:00 a.m. I spoke on Psalms 136…God’s love endures forever. I wanted to encourage the children that whatever they face, God is faithful and so is His love.

This was followed by a time of testimony and thanks from Mother Betty, Pastor Moses and Josephine (an 11th grader at the orphanage). When Josephine read the letter for me as the representative of the children I could feel that uncomfortable tightening in my chest about leaving these kids (again) with hopes to return some day. After devotions most of the children wanted to avoid me because they didn’t want to say goodbye. Julie told me last night that she wanted me to leave before she got back from school so she wouldn’t have to see me again. There is a special place in my heart for all of the Liberian children that I’ve been blessed to know.

We left Yekepa around noon to head to Saclepea, about 1-1/2 hours from Ganta. Just before going into Ganta we stopped at the Ganta hospital just at the edge of town. Wintee wanted to visit a young mother who had just delivered a baby on Friday by Caesarean section. We went inside and the first thing I noticed is that the hospital lacked the sterile feeling of hospitals in the states. We made our way to the OB ward and when we arrived there was a bunch of beds with mosquito netting above each bed and at the back of the room was a screen door to let breeze in I guess. I watched as nurses helped mothers with their babies, worked with the babies and cared for Mother Gelleh, the Pastor’s wife who had the c-section. As we stood there the power went off and the thing that surprised me is that I was the only one who was surprised. The nurses kept on working in the dim light from the screen door and the screened windows. Emmanuel mentioned that this can happen frequently and affect things like people on oxygen or worse yet, happen during a surgery. After about 10 minutes the power came on and the only acknowledgment of this happening was one nurse who kind of grunted up at the fans as if to say, ‘It’s about time, stay on this time!’ After the hospital visit We refueled and begin the new road (to me) to Saclepea. It is a rough ‘dusty’ road all the way.

We arrived here around 5:30 p.m. or so. It was so nice to see Angie again. She is a young girl who used to live with Emmanuel, but due to a poor choice she now has a child that she is caring for. She was living in a village, but now is staying with Emmanuel’s Uncle Dennis, Mother Betty’s younger brother. He is a Pastor of a Refuge Baptist Church in Saclepea. They are so gracious to allow us to stay.

Once we arrived of course we needed to eat. We had some chicken soup with rice and a banana for desert. They are giving me the main bedroom. I don’t feel like I should have this, but they enjoy serving me in this way. We have power tonight so I can charge my phone and have a fan running. In Yekepa I didn’t need a fan because it cooled down to a very comfortable temperature at night, but it would get in the 90’s during the day. Here I can tell it’s still really hot at night so the fan will be welcomed however long it stays on.

After we ate we traveled a short distance to the local women’s center constructed by Pastor and his wife. This was the perfect location for a new chapter of Women of Purpose, Saclepea branch. This is the branch they had 90 sign up and had to turn others away. I was informed that similar training for women in baking, tailoring, hair care and other things can cost up to $400 US dollars. This makes it impossible for many ladies to attend and learn. Women of Purpose wants this to be a ministry rather than a business venture so they only charge $4,000 Liberian dollars which equals just over $30 US. They do need to pay for themselves, but the amount just covers the supplies for the class. The purpose is to train skills and teach from the Bible. As they learn to bake one of the things they have to do to support the school is to sell their goods for the school. This also helps them with the business aspect of this skill, teaching them how to keep track of their money so when they are on their own they can replenish their supplies and keep things going. The class here in Saclepea is on Friday and Saturday for 5 months. Many ladies from surrounding villages travel for the training via motorbike. Pastor Dennis says that Saturday especially the area around the building is packed with ladies and motorbikes. What a scene that must be. Unfortunately I won’t be here over a weekend to witness this.

I was just informed that there is warm water for me to take my shower so I’ll finish up later.

As I said the day has already been full of experiences and what just happened again is an example of Liberia. Or better yet, it’s an example of God’s amazing plan. After I finished my shower I came out to sit down and get ready for bed. A discussion was underway with a change in our plans. The Women of Purpose training needs more attention so we are staying another day here in Saclepea with plans to go back to Monrovia on Wednesday now (no problem, what’s next). As the talk continued there was a discussion of the possibility of going on the radio to contact the many ladies of Women of Purpose. It makes sense because so many people listen to the local radio station. This station is about 5 minutes away from Pastor Dennis’s home. The decision was made that we would head over there…..8:45 at night, pay an advertising fee (for lack of a better way to describe it here) in the amount of 300 LD or $2.31 US and go get interviewed by the radio station. We did just that. I am in my shorts, t-shirt and flip flops, I was ready for bed, and next thing I realize I am sitting in a chair next to Wintee and Theresa (Pastor Dennis’s wife) promoting Women of Purpose and letting the radio audience know about a meeting tomorrow. Isn’t that truly amazing. These women are very passionate about this ministry.

Now to back up a little. After supper, when we went to the Women’s center in town we left the ladies and Emmanuel wanted to go check on something. Pastor Dennis, Emmanuel and I headed out to go check this ‘thing’ out. Well, another example of Liberia….I will be sharing my ride home with a goat 🐐, yes this animal. Emmanuel wanted to buy this for a celebratory dinner and when I asked how the goat is getting home Emmanuel just tells me ‘in the back of my van!’ as if I asked a silly question. We walked for quite awhile through a community, found the man with the goat, made the deal and a young man was tasked with leading the goat back to Emmanuel’s van. Shortly after the young man started to lead the fighting goat, however, the rope (or vine that was used as a rope) broke and off runs the goat scurrying between buildings. I believe he knows his fate. A short chase ensues and the goat is caught. He is letting everyone know he’s not happy. The boy then takes the goat by the front and back legs and throws the goat across his shoulders to carry it the rest of the way to the van. At the van they truss the goat up with the vine and lay the goat in the back. He is now resting comfortably in some room waiting for us to leave. That could be an interesting ride.

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'll update more tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.