Susan's first month in Liberia:
A little over a month ago, Susan McLay traveled from New Zealand to join our team here in Liberia. She has been a wonderful blessing to our mission. I want you to come to know her. I thought you might enjoy reading some of her thoughts on Liberia.
My First Week in Liberia:
A little over a month ago, Susan McLay traveled from New Zealand to join our team here in Liberia. She has been a wonderful blessing to our mission. I want you to come to know her. I thought you might enjoy reading some of her thoughts on Liberia.
My First Week in Liberia:
You know how on TV there’s a documentary made on Africa every now and again? The camera crew are riding a two wheel motorbike into some remote bush town.
The children aren’t wearing much, they line the roads waving and shouting “white man.”
The women have bright colored clothes, a contrast to their dark skin. Well, that’s not some exotic program on TV anymore. That’s now my life.
Less than 24 hours after arriving in Liberia, I was on my own motorbike navigating the roads filled with potholes, chickens, and dogs. People littered the roads, all turning heads to see the “white man.” It was a great start to this adventure.
The people here are friendly.
They really have nothing, yet still offer to share what they have. My first week was a stark contrast to New Zealand. There are no coffee shops, no shopping malls, no sheep farms in rolling green hills.
What is here are survivors. People building a life again after 2 civil wars, a genocide and ebola. They are people of strength, people of change. They are people fighting for a future here in Liberia. It’s a humbling experience to be a part of.
Snake:
"You wan see a sane?" Which translates into, "Do you want to see a snake?" Yes! Of Course I did! We were out at the group homes enjoying a morning of interacting with the children, chatting to the mums and appreciating a new day when Philip, my workmate, came and asked me about the snake. Not knowing where the snake was or if it was dead or alive, I followed Philip to the new well we are digging!
The snake was about 25 feet down, a very small speck of green poking out of one of the foot holes on the wall of the well.
I was informed, "We try kill it with a rubber gun." What's a rubber gun? Good question! It's a slingshot! They were taking turns to shoot stones down the well, trying to kill it. The snake was a green mamba, one bite from it could kill a man. Hence why it needed to die. I was absolutely amazed at the accuracy of the shots! Many times coming, within centimeters of it. Once or twice, the snake was hit, but not killed. Then one hit sent the snake into the water that was sitting a few feet below it's residence. Apparently green mambas can swim!
One of the men had a new solution to kill it. He climbed down the well with a stick and we all watched in anticipation as he balanced only a foot or so above the waterline, beating the water with the stick to find and kill the snake. Eventually he succeeded and up he came with the snake on the end of the stick. I must admit I was rather dissapoited as the snake was so small, I was surprised to see something this small be so deadly! However, we all let out a breath of relief and thanked the LORD for keeping him safe.
The excitement for the day could have ended there but it doesn't. While all this "snake business" was going on a truck with a load of sand arrived. About 50 meters into the driveway at the group homes is a creek. This creek has a bridge made of a couple of logs. At the end of the bridge is a small but steep hill. The truck came down the driveway, crossed the bridge, up the hill... And then it stopped! Standing and watching from the well it all happened in slow motion. The truck slid down the hill, crashed through the bridge and the back end of the truck rested in the creek. Thankfully, no none was hurt!
I don't know how the truck was pulled out as we had to leave. Getting the motorbike out was slightly entertaining to me. There was one small log that had not been broken. The truck rested on one side of the log and the creek was on the other side. A team of 4 men worked together to drag and lift the motorbike across the bridge. After a small slip, they were successful and we left.
The Lord is so good! He kept the men from being killed by the snake, He allowed the truck to go so far so the driver wasn't hurt either! Yesterday was a very unexpected but a great day.
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Dirty, Urine Smelling Boy:
An impish grin split his face as a squeal of delight escaped his lips. Little Don (not part of the Riley family) just caused friendly trouble again and had decided that my lap was the safest place to be. Not that I minded as I sat watching a football game. This dirty, urine smelling boy had captured my heart. Laughter crinkled around the edge of his eyes, his little hands moving as fast as the pigeon Liberian English coming out his mouth. Sometime earlier this week, I realized something. The words of Matthew 25:40 have been coming to mind. “Verily, I say unto you, in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” I have a choice. I could choose to brush this smelly boy away and not give him a second chance or I could choose to see beyond the grime to a little heart that needs Jesus. This little boy represents so many children in this country. These children not only need human love but they need to know the love and care of a Savior. If one of the ways to show that is through holding this child on my lap while listening to a story I don’t understand, then that’s something I should be doing with joy.
More than a Cook:
Outside the rain is bucketing down and the wind is howling. Roads are turning to small streams as another changing of the season storm rolls through mid afternoon. Inside the kitchen, there is calm. Laughter erupts in a conversation between the cooks. The team is picking Palava leaves off the stocks for dinner that evening. An invite is extended by Dennis to come and help while we wait for the storm to pass.
Dennis is the head of the kitchen, yet looking on you don’t see him bossing everyone around. You see him working alongside his team. You see him explaining when someone doesn’t understand but most importantly, you see the joy of the LORD shining through him. Hearing him over and over thank the LORD for the healing that’s happened in his life is humbling to listen to. Hearing him thank and praise the LORD throughout his conversations is encouraging to hear. The LORD is working through Dennis and his team as they cook for the mums and children of the group homes. The LORD has given Dennis the ability to not only cook delicious food but to have such joy while cooking! Dennis is using his gift for the LORD to serve others. The atmosphere of the kitchen is a delight to be in because of this.
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you!” This is the opening verse of Proverbs 2. Visiting Liberty Elementary School this week was an absolute joy. Why? Because there was a class of around 20 students learning this verse. They will continue to learn one verse a day and in 22 days will have learned the whole of Proverbs 2.
Earlier in the day, we sat and listened to another class of 30-40 children recite up to verse 16. They have been learning Proverbs 2 for 16 days now. But it’s more than that. These students aren’t just learning a verse or a chapter. They have teachers that not only care about their education but they care about their souls. The teachers are explaining the verses as they go along. They as well are learning the verses and as we watched the teachers share with the classes, they believed what they are teaching!
Verse 5 of Proverbs 2 says, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” There is a generation of children here in Liberia being raised up to fear the LORD and to find the knowledge of God. These children are taking these teachings to their homes for their families to learn. One of the boys came and recited what he had learned. He has also been teaching another boy who goes to a different school the wonderful truths of Proverbs 2. These truths are spreading and praise the LORD for having the Gospel in Liberia and in the school!
Fairview Missionary Children's Church Project
This part of my blog was written to the children at Fairview Missionary church who raised money to help us build a group home for special needs orphans. Thank you!
Hi kids, we were able to get a lot of work done on your house last week.
We finished framing the ceilings.
We built window and door frames. Look at these men, do you see anything missing in this photo? If you said, they have no power tools, you are right. We have no electricity and no running water on our base. These men have to do all their work by hand.
This is what windows look like in Liberia. We have no need for glass in our windows. It is nearly ninety degrees year round. We put steel rods in our windows to keep the thieves out. Our houses are made out of mud, brick, and cement so we are not worried too much about house fires especially since our houses do not have electricity.
This is what the exterior of your house looks like now. Look at the front of your house. How many bricks do you think it took to build your house? We used 510 blocks on your foundation and 2,547 blocks on your walls.
Believe it or not, we made each block by hand. Unfortunately, there are no Lowe's Home Improvement stores in Liberia. All the 2x4s in your house were cut by a chainsaw in the bush. Imagine how hard it would be to cut a 2x4 using only a chainsaw.
Stay tuned to my blog for more updates. I'll try to post new pictures every week. Thank you again for helping us build this home for special needs orphans! God is using you!
Prayer Requests:
1. Our family would like to visit the States this summer. There are several steps we need to take to be able to travel with our three newly adopted children. These steps are taking a lot longer than anticipated. Please pray that we are successful at getting visas for our children. Please pray the door will open for us to visit the States.
2. Please pray that we would see many people come to Christ and be discipled through our ministry. Please pray that healthy churches would be started.
3. Please pray for my wife as she home schools our children.
Hi kids, we were able to get a lot of work done on your house last week.
We finished framing the ceilings.
We built window and door frames. Look at these men, do you see anything missing in this photo? If you said, they have no power tools, you are right. We have no electricity and no running water on our base. These men have to do all their work by hand.
This is what windows look like in Liberia. We have no need for glass in our windows. It is nearly ninety degrees year round. We put steel rods in our windows to keep the thieves out. Our houses are made out of mud, brick, and cement so we are not worried too much about house fires especially since our houses do not have electricity.
This is what the exterior of your house looks like now. Look at the front of your house. How many bricks do you think it took to build your house? We used 510 blocks on your foundation and 2,547 blocks on your walls.
Believe it or not, we made each block by hand. Unfortunately, there are no Lowe's Home Improvement stores in Liberia. All the 2x4s in your house were cut by a chainsaw in the bush. Imagine how hard it would be to cut a 2x4 using only a chainsaw.
Stay tuned to my blog for more updates. I'll try to post new pictures every week. Thank you again for helping us build this home for special needs orphans! God is using you!
Prayer Requests:
1. Our family would like to visit the States this summer. There are several steps we need to take to be able to travel with our three newly adopted children. These steps are taking a lot longer than anticipated. Please pray that we are successful at getting visas for our children. Please pray the door will open for us to visit the States.
2. Please pray that we would see many people come to Christ and be discipled through our ministry. Please pray that healthy churches would be started.
3. Please pray for my wife as she home schools our children.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and partnership in the Gospel!
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