Liberia - Part 2

[I hope that you will forgive me for posting another one of these letters but I wanted to share something that I recieved via email from a former Westsider named Sheri Warren. She has left Westside to serve as an international HIV/AIDs director with Samaritan’s Purse, an international non-profit Christian organization that provides aid to the world’s poor, sick, and suffering. Recently Sheri landed in Liberia and sent an e-mail describing the reality of life in Liberia. I know that it is long but please take time to read it and marinate on what she is saying. The world that most of us consider reality is not the world in which most people live. While you may never visit a 3rd world country, I invite you to step into life outside the U.S. by reading Sheri’s most recent e-mail, see below. I also would love for you to add a coment to the "Ask Anything" Blog for our upcoming series. I want your questions!!!]

Status report from Liberia: Another dead body washed up on the beach. They covered it with a trash bag and are hoping word of mouth will locate the family. People come and look at it to see if it is someone they know. It might be their brother, their husband, their son, uncle, father, or friend. In other news, one of the staff broke his leg while riding a motor bike. He was trying to get out of the way of a UN motorcade that was driving too fast and crashed in the bush. There isn’t medical care here, so we had to put he and his wife in a land cruiser to drive the 9 hours to the nearest hospital over bumpy, dirt roads. This morning we heard that he arrived safely and had received some pain relief. They have no family in the area of the medical facility so the wife is scrambling to find food (the responsibility of the family, not the hospital) and a place to stay. Yesterday we visited some more orphans in their foster homes. One home is headed by an 18 year old girl. There were at least 4 children she is taking care of and she just recently delivered a baby girl. The head of the Community Based Volunteer Team was showing us around the village. He introduced us to Musu, the 18 year old girl. His words, “No one knows how she got pregnant.” Well, somebody knows, I’m sure of that, it’s just that nobody is talking about it. As if the conditions of her life weren’t hard enough - her home is one of the ruins left from the war, it was a house at one time, now it is just remenants of a structure. They had added a roof to keep the rain out and some mattresses to sleep on. A couple weeks ago they had a house fire, the result of a fire started by a neighbor kid who was trying to clear brush for gardening. This family lost what little they had - clothes, their roof, mattresses. Now they are using cardboard and plastic to protect them the sun and rain. I also think I’ve identified the origin of bush meat. Yesterday, I met a little boy who was carrying a tray of dead monkey’s on his head. Our staff in the livestock and livelihood projects have introduced the first chickens and goats to this area since the war. Literally, every living thing was wiped out. I took a picture of the boy and his bush meat. I’ve already had one friend in Kansas who said they think they will pass on viewing that particular photo.

It all seems so bleak, doesn’t it? Then this morning something amazing happened. Each day we start with a staff devotions. There are about 30+ staff at this site running various projects. I’m only involved with three, there are a total of 35 projects out of this country office. Staff devotions was led by a local pastor and staff member. The text was 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. It reads:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The group spent the morning thanking God for their blessings. They thanked God for the family they found in their fellow staff members. They thanked God that they weren’t hurt when they wrecked on their motor bike. They thanked God that their family was protected when their neighbors were robbed. It was honest, genuine gratitude to God for their blessings. It was powerful. I sat there in awe. The fabric of this society has been torn apart due to death, violence and displacement. Despite their troubles, this group of people had found hope. Hope in the everlasting God. In this place, they were joyful and giving thanks. Amazing! Absolutely, positively amazing.

This morning I was writing to a friend. I told her that after this trip I will never be the same. That is true. I thought I’d seen it all. I’ve been traveling to the developing world for 18 years. Not that the circumstances of people’s lives get easier to see, but it had become strangely familiar. The struggles in Liberia are like nothing I’ve ever seen. The needs are great and overwhelming - that is shared by many places on earth. Add to that the effects of a long-standing war and what is left is hopelessness, oppression and anger. Can we really make a difference? We have and we are. When we arrived here 4 years ago, people were living in refugee camps, today they are living in homes. Children were being used as soldiers, today they are unarmed and going to school. There was nothing to eat, now there is some rice, increasing livestock and growing farms. There is a long way to go, but there has been progress. I won’t soon forget these people, nor this experience. I have learned from them that joy and thankfulness are attitudes we choose, rather than a product of our circumstances. I challenge you to count your blessings, I’m sure they are many if you really consider all you have been given.

~ by Jon Nelson on March 6, 2008.