Quotes from Liberia and a heartbreaking story of the effects of ebola

Picture of our field leaders on mission

     Ebola in Liberia continues to make news headlines.  Last week, images of protesters in West Point were seen across the world as Liberia struggles to get control of the worst disease outbreak in recored history.  I want to share with you a few quotes from our missionaries in Liberia and a story of the effects ebola has had on a community.  

Quotes for our Missionaries last week:
     "The situation is escalating daily.  Every day we hear of increasing panic, death and violence because of this untreatable disease.   It is multiplied by the ignorance of the people. There are many more deaths caused by Ebola than are announced. An example is that just yesterday I assisted in a funeral of a young refugee I had baptized years ago. She died in the camp of malaria because she was afraid of the clinic.  She had been told that the Doctors were injecting the patients will Ebola. The  treatment for malaria costs about $1.30.  Yet another death caused by Ebola that goes unreported" (Kim Smith).

     "Food is becoming more expensive.  Two of our main hospitals have closed.  Those dying are dying because our hospitals are closed.  My confidence is in God.  He sees and knows all.  He is able to protect us"  (DK - Wordsower Field Leader).

     "I ran the printing press all day.  Today was a record day.  We printed 31,500 pages.  That is enough for 1,500 French and 1,500 English ebola booklets.  I am tired.  My health is much better" (Kim Smith).

     "Just now, parts of Gbarnga have been pronounced quarantined.  No one can go in or out.  We now have a curfew.  Motorbikes have to leave the street at 6:30 p.m. and cannot return until 7:00 a.m.   My area in the town is not quarantined.  I have 1 and 1/2 bags of rice.  As things get tough, I will inform you.  I will be fine."  (DK - living in Gbarnga).

     "Yesterday, I went into Zwedru's Ebola isolation ward.  They seem to be doing a good job.  I spoke to 3 people that were under observation.  One was from Granga Silver Compound.  I do not know for sure if they have any active cases.  There are some outside isolation running and hiding that are under suspicion.  I hope to continue to regularly meet with those in the Ebola ward.  They were very interested in what I had to say and wanted prayer"  (Kim Smith).

Picture of our field leaders on mission

Story of life after ebola:

"BALLAJAH (Liberia) (AFP) - The only sounds in the abandoned Liberian village were the cries of a little girl, shut up with her mother's body inside the family home, starving and thirsty as she waited for death.

Eventually even the girl -- 12-year-old Fatu Sherrif -- fell silent as she too succumbed to the deadly Ebola virus that is ravaging her country and other parts of west Africa.

When AFP visited Fatu's village of Ballajah on Sunday, she had been locked away with her mother's body for a week after most residents fled to the forest to escape an outbreak of the virus.

Belongings lay abandoned around the village, the doors of some homes left open by those rushing to leave.

A few villagers remained, including Momoh Wile, a septuagenarian local chief, who told AFP Fatu's harrowing story.

Ballajah, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) from the Liberian capital Monrovia, is at the heart of one of the quarantine zones established in the country in a desperate bid to try to contain the spread of the disease.

More than 1,000 people in west Africa are now believed to have died from Ebola since the start of the year. In Liberia alone, some 599 cases have been diagnosed, with 323 deaths.

Ebola was first detected in Fatu's family on July 20 when her father Abdulah fell sick, Wile told AFP.

The diagnosis sparked panic among the 500 or so people who lived in the village. They called health authorities but by the time a team finally arrived, Abdulah, 51, had been dead for five days.

- Begging for help -

His wife, Seidia Passawee Sherrif, 43, and Fatu were already sick. Only their son, Barnie, 15, tested negative for Ebola.

The health workers took Abdulah's body, and, according to Wile, told the villagers 'not to go near the lady and her daughter'.

'They were crying all day and all night, begging their neighbours to give them food but everyone was afraid.'

Fatu's mother eventually died on August 10 but the girl's cries could still be heard around the otherwise abandoned village.

The doors and windows to the house were sealed shut and there was no way to see inside.

Reached by AFP on Tuesday, Wile said Fatu had died overnight, still alone, and still without water or food.

The only surviving member of the family, Fatu's 15-year-old brother Barnie, tested negative for the virus but was still shunned by his fellow villagers.

AFP found Barnie on Sunday taking refuge in one of the abandoned houses, alone and scrounging for food.

Looking tired and haggard, dressed in a dirty t-shirt and worn sandals, Barnie sobbed as he told his story.

'It is here that I sleep; it is here that I stay the whole day. Nobody wants to come near me and they know -- people told them that I don't have Ebola,' he said.

'When I am hungry, I go in the bush to look for greens,' he said. 'That's what God says so I accept.'

Asked about Barnie a few days later, Wile said he had no news.

The villagers who abandoned Fatu and Barnie have meanwhile themselves been shunned by neighbouring towns also in fear of the spread of the virus, Wile said.

Health authorities in Liberia -- where President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf declared a state of emergency on August 6 -- refused to comment on the case."  Quoted from:  http://www.afp.com/en/news/liberia-village-shunned-ebola-victims-left-die   

PLEASE PRAY FOR LIBERIA!