what we did in Liberia

Some people have asked me what exactly we did in Liberia so I will try to explain our trip.  There is so much to talk about but I'll do my best to summarize.  Our church has started a friendship with a church in Monrovia just a few years ago.  It started as more of a friendship between our pastor and theirs and as our church has sent a few teams over there we just wanted to help the church and school there in any way.  This pastor and his wife started a church and a school from nursery to 9th grade and our church just wants to come along side of them and try to help them move ahead in any way we can.  They have so many needs and sometimes it seems impossible to know where do we even start but at the same time every time someone from our church goes there our relationship with them grows, we understand each other better and they are so grateful for everything we do.

This particular short-term mission was to do health screenings for all the kids that go to their school.  A couple nurses from our church already did the screenings like this over there 2 years ago and this time we did it at the clinic that is very close to the school.  The nurses there and the teachers helped us with checking the kids' temperature, blood pressure, height, weight and vision.  Stacy is an RN from our church and she has been there before and my job was to help her in any way.  It was such a great experience and just getting to know the kids there a little bit was great.  We ended up screening about 340 kids in 3 days.  Some kids didn't show up because their parents didn't think they needed it.  It was not very surprising though because most of the kids we've seen have never been to a clinic or anywhere.  They don't seek medical help until they are very sick, most of the times when it's too late.  Our hope is that now that we've done the screening with them and brought all the supplies and forms for them, they can do it on their own once or twice a year.

At the same time, pastor Bruce came with us and his focus was to do a pastoral training for church leaders.  People there have such little resources available to them and they are really hungry for teaching, seminars, anything where they can learn more.  They are always so thankful when pastor Bruce is able to come and they appreciate him very much.

Another thing we were hoping to achieve in our short time there was to assess the school situation the best we could, just seeing the real needs and how we could help in the near future.  Their school seems very organized and runs well in comparison to many other schools in Liberia and their kids get some of the highest scores in tests, yet even that is not enough and they are trying to improve so the kids that graduate are able to go to a university.   To be honest, at first I thought it would be almost impossible to assess their situation in such a short time, not really seeing how they do school.  But God really showed us the needs and weaknesses of their school.

Our first day there we toured the school, all the classes and even got to be substitute teachers for 6th graders. :)  That was fun, we played some games, kids sang some songs to us and we wrote down assignments for them on the black board.  It was interesting to me that no matter where you're from, kids act the same.  Preteens act exactly like ours.  Some of them are more shy at first because they don't see very many white people but they are just as much curious, playful and eager to learn as our kids. And they can figure out electronics in minutes just like our kids. :)  Stacy let some girls play with her phone for a bit and they figured out a lot of stuff right away.  A funny thing was that when I told any kids my name they were so excited and kept saying "Hi Ester" to me everywhere because Ester is a very common name over there.  Of course they say it like "Estaaar" with their Liberian accent.  Sometimes it was very hard to understand them, especially when they turned to each other and talked really fast I had to focus really hard to get just a few words out.  It actually doesn't even sound like English at all, especially when they are singing unless it's a song you know and then you can decode the words to our pronunciation. :)

One really cool thing that happened was that at the guest house we stayed at we met a lady that is from the US, she is an educator with a doctoral degree, has her own school in Monrovia and helps a lot of different schools in Liberia.  It was like God brought her there just so we can talk to her about our concerns and to help us understand the mentality and the way Liberians are taught.  The number one thing is that they are taught to repeat everything after the teacher, memorize sentences on the black board which results in not being able to think critically or creatively.  We saw this right away when we toured the classrooms because every one of them was copying sentences off the black board.  For their homework, they had do copy sentences down from the black board and just fill some words in the blank.  And that is how every subject is done, they memorize and if they come across a different word or sentence they don't know what to do.  Another part is working on phonics at an early age.  They don't do much with phonics at all and pretty much just memorize each word they read so if they see a word they haven't read before they can't sound it out.  One immediate need this school has is to set up their library.  Right now they have a room that is full of books, just sitting in piles.  They have wonderful kids books, encyclopedias, textbooks and workbooks just sitting there locked up but they don't do anything with them at the moment.  It would be really wonderful if a team from our church could come and help them set the library up efficiently and with that train the teachers on ways to use it most effectively and creatively.  So in a nutshell, there is a lot to be done but if the teachers there can be given some teaching tools, ideas and specific things they can do to improve the kids' learning it could be huge.  There obviously isn't an overnight solution and it would take time to see any changes but little by little I think something can be done.

So, that is what our trip was about.  Our church is planning on sending another team of people this summer and we're hoping to send some teachers along and do some training for the Liberian teachers, maybe some day camp activities for the kids since they will have a break from school then.  At the same time we hope to ship some newer books over to them, maybe some dealing with phonics.                 
Well, that is about the whole trip in a nut shell. :)  We also had 2 days of no work.  Friday we went to visit and tour another small school these same people are supporting.  It was far away, 3 hours one way from where we stayed at and it was in a mostly muslim community so running a school for their children is a big ministry, teaching the Gospel to those kids.  Then on Saturday there was a youth leaders' seminar that we went to, on Sunday pastor Bruce preached at their church and after that it was time to get to the airport and back home.   

It is interesting when you meet other white people there, most of the times it is missionaries, doctors, nurses, or teachers.  It is very interesting talking to them about what their project is and how it's going, what their challenges are, etc.  The needs in Liberia are very great and it almost feels like the work we do is a tiny drop in the ocean, yet I know God is calling us to do work there and just establishing those friendships is so huge because a lot of the people there have no hope of getting ahead and feel alone in their poverty.  All the people we have met are so thankful and excited that we are there, it means a world to them when to us sometimes it seems like not enough.

Here are a bunch of pictures of the kids and people we've worked with.  It was an amazing experience for me and I really hope some day our kids are able to go somewhere like that.

LUNCH TIME

PACKING IN TOGETHER AS THEY WAIT FOR THE SCREENING TO BEGIN

AT THE CLINIC

THAT WHITE BOY IS BLACK BUT HAS SOME STRANGE SKIN CONDITION WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND

PASTORAL TRAINING

2 ESTERS

THE SCHOOL'S RICE AND PEAS FOR A MONTH

JAYNE

OUR DEAR TAXI DRIVER JOSHUA

    

Liberia

Wow, where to begin? :)  I thought I would have time typing some thoughts out while we were in Liberia but that didn't happen so I am going to try to recap my experience there.  I can't say I saw anything shocking or unexpected but seeing firsthand how people there live really impacts you.

As I sit here in my huge, beautiful house with electricity, running water, heat, air conditioning and all the amenities  I can't help but go back to the way a typical Liberian lives.  They have small houses with dirt floors, sometimes made of bricks and sometimes a lot of the walls and roof is made of any scrap metal they find or woven leaves.  They come out of houses like that on a typical weekday morning all dressed up nice for work, kids in their uniforms ready for the day.  Even though it is in the 90s and very humid right in the morning, you see people dressed in layers, suits and then some with hardly anything on.

Probably the biggest thing that hit me was the smog we drove through every day.  It wasn't any little smog but heavy, black fumes hitting you and making your throat scratchy after a while and people there live and walk in it every day.  There are only a handful of main roads going thru Monrovia and we drove on the main one every day which is always packed with cars, taxis, motorcycles and people walking along side.  Their big market is right on the main road so whatever food or clothes they sell just sit in the smog all day.  And then it's the garbage.  You don't see trash bins anywhere, people throw wrappers and trash anywhere on the ground.  Usually they gather up the trash in piles so when you walk thru the market there are big piles of trash right in front of the stands.  I guess people have seen a slight improvement since 2 years ago where now you will actually see people picking up the garbage in town, usually in front of a rich business or important places.  Still, wherever you go you see piles of garbage right next to people's homes or stands. 

Most Liberians only eat one meal a day which is usually rice and fish with very little variety.  They sell some donut type food along the roads so some people buy those for their breakfast.  They can't store any food because most people don't have a fridge so they usually only have rice on hand and buy everything else the day they will eat it.  They have bananas, plantines, mangoes, coconut and pineapple there but from what I have seen the locals eat the fresh fruit very little and maybe it costs too much money to buy.  So their diet is very starchy with very little fruits or vegetables.  On top of that, you see a lot of the kids there sucking on candy, lollipops and stuff for their snack.  At the school we were at they have a little store where kids can buy candy and you see a lot of them carrying their Liberian dollars to school, which is like American cents, so they can buy their treat for the day. So problems with teeth is a big issue as well.

There is  no public transportation but a lot of people have miles to get to their work or school so the only way is to use a "taxi".  There are a lot of small yellow "sunny"s that are a typical taxi and that is what we rode in every day but then there are vans or pickups and trucks that just get loaded with people and off they go.  Our friends' daughter leaves the house around 6:30 so she can be at her school by 8:30.  A lot of kids just walk/ride taxis with their siblings to school and you see little 6 year olds holding their little brother or sister's hands as they are walking to school.

It was very hot and humid the whole time which is typical weather for them.  Most days were pretty hazy with no sun which we were thankful for because the moment the sun came out you look for shade because it is so hot.  I made a comment that I think if I lived there I would either have to shave my head or have a boy haircut. :)  My hair was just all over and very frizzy from the humidity so I was thankful for the bandanas/wraps I brought because that helped a lot.

The guest house where we stayed at was very nice, with electricity and internet working some of the time.  It had a great kitchen so the 4 of us took turns cooking a meal every night and we really looked forward to those because for lunch they gave us fish and rice every day with not too much spices in it.  I could not believe how many American groceries they sell at the stores there.  You can buy just about any nonperishable food that you buy in the US, it just costs a little more, sometimes double the American price.  This particular guest house was in a huge gated area where a lot of missionaries live including headquarters for the Samaritan's Purse.  And so when we got back to our guest house after each day I felt very spoiled and almost bad that we have it so nice while the people there live in their little huts.   The guest house was right on the beach and the ocean was amazing with beautiful sandy beaches.  I didn't even bring my swim suit because I assumed there's no swimming allowed but Stacy and I were so hot after the 2nd day that we didn't care and went into the ocean in our shorts and shirts.  It was so much fun to jump in the waves and cool off in the refreshing sea.  The water was perfect, not too cold and not warm.  The waves really push and pull you around and we laughed and giggled.  It was so nice to wind down at the end of the day like that and just enjoy the peaceful nature and the crashing waves.

I have around 900 pictures and I'm trying to sort thru them so I can pick the best ones for people.  Here are a few from the Monrovia streets, just showing how people live along side the roads.  I will do another post soon about the work we did there and post pictures of the kids, schools and church.
 It was so great to get home yesterday and see Ehren and the kids.  Despite the awful blizzard we got just as we were driving to town and seeing all that snow piled up again, it's great to be home.  I'm really thankful God gave me this opportunity to go there, to experience it firsthand and for keeping us safe.  More about the trip coming soon!

OUR DRIVER

CASUAL FRIDAY UNIFORM

PLANTATION FOR PALM OIL

LITTLE CHIMPANZEE WE SAW, HE WAS A PET

    

the countdown begins

The visas arrived last week and now the countdown for our mission's trip begins.  We leave Friday for the Cities and then fly out the next day.  I haven't packed yet but yesterday I bought food/snacks for the trip and I think I came home with the whole store. :)  We have to bring all the food for ourselves so each of us will be responsible for 2 meals and the rest we'll eat granola bars and stuff like that.  There is a grocery store to get bottled water but we'll try not to buy much other than that.  I guess they have the best pineapples at the market so I hope we get some.  Our leader is already there waiting for us and says to be ready for HOT weather. :)  Even though I usually don't like it too warm at this point I will be more than happy to feel hot for once.  It is still below freezing here even though the snow is starting to melt so it can be a long time before we can go without a jacket.

It still feels very unreal to me that I am going to Liberia.  Probably because I didn't have time for it to sink in but it is just hard to believe I'll be going to Africa in a few days.  The kids are not sure what to think of my trip.  They know how it is going to Slovakia so I think to them it seems like the same thing. The flight is a bit longer than going to Slovakia but I am actually looking forward to some quiet and uninterrupted time, not to mention being responsible only for myself without worrying about the kids being comfortable and able to sleep on the plane. :)

Subbing has been really busy the last 3 weeks or so.  All of a sudden I am called in to sub every day, either at the Elementary school or High school.  I am typing this as I'm about to start subbing for an English highschool teacher.  I'm really glad I get to work every day but it does push a lot of things aside at home.  Last week I was subbing every day despite having a cold because I didn't want to say I can't come in so by the time I got home I was exhausted.  So I am hoping I won't get called in this Thursday so I can have one day at home for putting the house in order before I leave.  I still really enjoy it and getting to know different classes.  Highschool is not my favorite because it's too boring there and the other teachers don't seem very nice either so there's nobody to talk to during my lunch break.  But they keep calling me (probably because they know I'll say yes) so I'll have to just get used to it.  Elementary school is just a lot more fun because I get to do everything with the kids and when there's time left I pick things for us to do but at the highschool it's just supervising the kids with very little directions.  Today I actually have a really long list of things to do with the kids so I hope it goes well and they listen.  That's the thing about highschool, when there are things they need to be working on it is impossible to make them do it if they don't want to.  Most of them just play games on the laptops and don't care that they didn't finish the assignment.  But I guess it's not my problem to worry about, I am just a messenger. :)

If you could please pray for me, Stacy and pastor Bruce as we are getting ready to leave and during our 10 days being gone.  We pray for safe travels and no problems with flights, for the work we get to do there, for being efficient with the little time we have there, for the relationships that our church is building over there, for God to be present in all of it.  I feel very humbled that I get to go because even though we're going there to give to others, I know that I will receive so much more from the people there.  It is exciting to be part of this mission and I am so thankful to all the friends and family for all their support.  I'm grateful too for a husband that didn't hesitate to let me go and be on his own while I'm gone, which I know a lot of husbands would have a hard time with.

Well, the class is about to start so off I go.  I'm hoping to take lots of pictures in Liberia so after my trip I will post them on here.







    

nightmare

A good thing about nightmares is that they are just nightmares. :)  I don't usually have vivid dreams unless I'm pregnant (I'm NOT by the way) and I think that's why when I have one it hits me hard.  It feels very real and I can play the dream over and over in my head after I wake up.

Last night I had the scariest saddest dream I've had in years.  I was running outside along with our kids, in a big hurry somewhere, and I think Emily was there too.  Kason was last and he was trying to carry all his stuff while running.  I probably got that image because I always have to be on him to get ready to go, to have everything he needs for school and stuff so we can get out the door.  Anyway, there was a river and we were running across a bridge over it.  All the kids were in front of me when I look back to yell at Kason to hurry up and catch up to us.  I remember seeing him struggle with his school shoes as he's running on the bridge and one of them flies out of his arms, right to the river.  I'm not sure what kind of railing there was on the bridge but Kason leaned down to get his shoe as it was falling and I just have an image of his little body going across the railing into the deep river.  My heart just stopped right there as I yelled and ran to the river bank, trying to run with the current.  I remember how I was yelling out for him and all I wanted to do was to swim in there but I knew I couldn't swim in the freezing water and the other kids were left by themselves on the bridge.  After that I don't remember much other than frantically calling 911 and Ehren and just yelling out for Kason, with no sign of him anywhere.  I woke up with tears running down my cheeks and even more awful feeling.  Somehow though I drifted back to sleep a little because I was at a different place, somewhere public, soon after this happened and a guy was holding a gun to me.  A strange guy next to me did something he wasn't supposed to and the shooter shot him dead right there, as kind of a warning to me.  And I distinctly remember how I didn't feel anything at that moment.  I wasn't scared or anything and I told the shooter what just happened to me and how if he shot me it would not have mattered.  And somehow I ended up witnessing to him because he was so impressed by my story or something.  That's all I remember because I was so disturbed after that I couldn't sleep anymore and it was almost time to wake up anyway. :)

So a pretty morbid dream which never happens to me and just an awful feeling to wake up to.  Kason is our only child that every single day when he wakes up the first thing he does is he runs to me to hug and hold me for a while.  I always love his hugs and "I love you, mom"  but this morning it felt like the best gift ever and it almost brought me to tears that it was all just a dream and my beautiful loving boy is still here.  Makes you really stop in your tracks and appreciate every little smile, kiss, word and everything.  Thank you God for this reminder in a different way today.  And maybe this means I need to stop getting after Kason as we're trying to get out the door in the morning. :)      

women's retreat

Our church had a women's retreat this last weekend at a Bible camp.  There were about 20 of us there and it was such a treat to get away with such awesome ladies.  Some of them I knew pretty well and some not so much and a weekend away is perfect to deepen those relationships.  We laughed and cried and cried some more and made lots of fun memories together.

One friend that was there is really struggling with her marriage right now and 4 of us spent some time reaching out to her and sharing from our own struggles.  I just could not imagine how much something as simple as being vulnerable and share the past hurts/mistakes as well as hear the other womens' stories could be such a blessing to me.  I came to the conclusion that even in church and among friends women don't open up and so many times put on a mask pretending their life is perfect yet they are so lonely in their marriage.  No wonder couples don't make it more often than they do because so few people talk about their struggles when it comes to husband and wife issues.  So it was really great to talk and cry and pray together about it.  The theme of the retreat was to "upcycle" our life, to renew our walk with God, to be bold in all areas of our life.  But after our talk I could not get marriages out of my mind and my prayer for me and all the ladies there was and is to be bold in our marriages.  After all they are the second most important relationship we will have on this Earth and we have to fight for it no matter what.

There was also a lot of fun stuff of course like crafts and games, going cross country skiing on the most hilly trail I've ever been on (not counting the downhill skiing :)) and the famous polar plunge.  Guys had their retreat a couple weeks ago at the same Bible camp and a few of them did the polar plunge and so some of the ladies were pretty determined to beat their number of participants. :)  I knew some of the girls were thinking of doing it before we went and I only brought my swim suit for the sauna because I love that part.  I thought there was no way I would do it but of course, peer pressure always does it to me and if they can do it so can I!  So there we were, in our swim suits and socks (something about it's better than bare feet on the ice/snow) sitting in the little sauna warming up and hyping each other up to do the plunge.  There were 3 or 4 ladies that did it first and as I watched them I was pretty much screaming with them and thinking this is the craziest thing ever.  At the same time I wanted to prove to myself I can do this.  And not just barely do it but put my head under the water which I hate doing on a nice summer day. :)  Then another group of girls did the plunge and it was just me and another friend left  so we said "let's do it" and off we went.  We sprinted to the lake which wasn't very far but honestly by the time I reached the ladder I didn't have any of the warmth left on me from the sauna.  As I was stepping down the ladder into the icy water I kept saying "I can't do it" but kept going and finally dunked my head under.  The very first thing as you come up is not that you're cold, but that you can barely take a breath in, like your body is in shock.  But luckily it only lasts a few seconds and then you're just really cold everywhere.  We sprinted back to the sauna and it took a while to warm up again.  But just doing it with someone is so much more fun and you laugh at each other and at the craziness of it all.  It was the perfect end to our day.

I'm so glad I was able to go and spend the weekend with these precious women.  It was time to replenish, connect, renew and be still without having to think of a to-do-list or what's for supper.

      

 we all bought the same shirt from the Blue Water Bible camp so we had to take a picture and laughed at ourselves that it was like we were back in junior high. :)





















   

ready set...

Well, I guess it is going to be a go and if I get the visa in time I will be flying to Monrovia, Liberia on March 22nd.  I would be going with a nurse from our church and our pastor who both have been there before.  I just talked to our pastor and he was telling me what an answer from God this is especially since I have some experience with teaching.  It's not by accident that I have a part-time job right now that is easy to leave for 10 days and that this job in many ways prepared me for this mission trip.

Liberia as a whole is struggling for teachers and this year out of the whole country 0 students passed the entrance exams to get into their University.  The school our church mainly works with has one of the highest scores in the country but even that is not enough as none of their students passed the entrance exam either.  So their goal is to bring in teachers in the near future from the US but first they want someone to observe the situation and see what is needed.  So the people over there were really excited when they found out a teacher might be coming (talking about me). :) I guess I am a teacher now.  I tried to explain I'm just a sub with no teacher's training but they don't care.  And in a way I understand that anyone is more qualified than their 16 year old kids that are trying to teach 4-5 graders because they simply have no one else.  Of course, lack of books and materials is a huge deal too and there's no technology at this school, only one black board to write on.  So that makes everything hard and I don't even know where the teachers going there would start.  Plus there are so many unschooled children running around who don't even know colors and basic skills.  It makes your heart break for how much needs to be done and is the little drop in the ocean going to help?  But God is clearly calling us to go and help and everyone there is so grateful for every little thing our church is able to do for them.  I'm starting to get excited about this life changing experience and I feel so humbled that I would even be able to go and be part of it.

So I'm getting all my vaccines next week and then it's to apply for the visas and I need to work on my support letters which  I feel kind of bad about since it is so last minute but I know people can support this trip even after we go and are back here so it is not as time sensitive.  I pray that God will prepare me for this and that I give Him 100%.   

These 2 pictures are from different trips some people from our congregation have been on and we'll be in the same places.  Stacy is the one with all the kids around her and she's the nurse I'll be helping out.  Her main job will be to do health screenings for all the kids in the school and I hope I'm able to observe and help with some of the schooling part of it too.

birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and it was a special day.  Ehren always tries to make it as special for me as possible.  And it is funny how excited the kids were too, making me cards, necklaces and bracelets and Anika just could not wait to give it to me in the morning.  Kason is our big hugger and I'm not exaggerating when I say he gave me a big hug and said "happy birthday, mom.  I love you!" at least 40 times throughout the day.  And I loved it every single time. :)

I also went out for lunch with 3 girl friends and that was special too.  It is so hard to get together with my dear friends on regular basis because of everyone's constant running around so it was even more special we got to do it on my birthday.  And it was a lovely break to my day.

Then something else happened yesterday that is a huge deal and I'm just trying to wrap my head around it.  Our church does pretty frequent missions trips to Liberia where we are working with the local church and I remember last year I had a thought that if there was a way to work with orphanages or kids over there I would love to go some day.  When I was a young girl I dreamed about going to the mission field in Africa and help with kids there but then I fell in love at 17 and started my married life in MN at 20 so Africa never happened. :)

Anyway, about a week ago I heard our church was looking for a woman to go on a 10 day missions trip to help a nurse that's going there with kids' screenings at a school over there.  My first thought was "someone else can go, they always find someone."  But then I saw an announcement in the bulletin at church that they were still looking for a woman and for some reason it hit me that this is the perfect time for me to go.  I don't have a full-time job that is keeping me from going, our kids are older and will be in school that whole time.  So after I told Ehren about it he said I should just ask the pastor about it and see.  I e-mailed our pastor about it and truthfully, I was really thinking he's going to say it won't work or that they already have someone.  Well instead, he was really excited and sent my e-mails to everyone involved including the Liberian people.  He told me I need to get the shots required right away so I can be ready to go.  I was like "what just happened?" It happened way too fast and all I wanted to know was if there was a chance to go.  Before I asked the pastor I prayed about it and I told God how impossible this seems (given the fact that the trip is at the end of March) and that if He really wants me to go that He will have to open the doors for me.  Today I talked to another lady in charge who's been there before and I thought at least she'd give me some bad news but she was also very encouraging about everything and that it will be hard to get the visa but if I get the shots I'll be ready to go.  She said to call a traveling doctor right away who would give me a yellow fever shot and something else and she said sometimes it's really hard to get in for an appointment.  So again I thought there would be something in my way of going but I called and I can get the shots next week.  So now I am starting to get a bit more panicky.  Not in a bad way but in a way of "wow, this might be actually happening." :) So I am not sure what will happen and for some reason I have a huge peace about not going if it doesn't work out.  But I'm getting more and more nervous (if that's the word) about going mostly because it is in such a short time, it's Africa and I don't have time to process it all.  A lot of prayer is needed and I trust that God has a plan in all this.  They desperately need nurses there yet our nurse can't go without another woman and maybe if I'm just willing to go God will take care of everything else.  So that is my huge thing right now.  I think if there was more time it would be easier but most of these trips happen really quickly depending on the locals who do not plan months ahead with certain things.

So if you will, please pray for me that God would prepare me to go in every way if I'm supposed to go and for this specific short term mission so that they are able to send a team whoever it is and that God's name will be glorified in all of it.