The harshenss of reality...

I've been thinking a lot about the harshness of "real life" in Liberia and am having a difficult time accepting that it's ok to live in reasonable "comfort" here. It is hard to put out of my mind and heart the ruggedness of reality on the streets of Liberia and on the faces of children and adults.


One of the stops made on a daily adventure was to a village called New Kru Town. Here, we found these children at the well. The amazing thing was that the water they were bringing from the well for drinking, cooking and bathing was water that we would not think of washing our clothes in - yet it is survival to them.

The children in this town were quite taken with our white skin and we got off of our bus with big day bags over our shoulders filled with food for the day, purified drinking water, cameras and all the other necessities we thought we needed for a day out. You could tell that they were quite curious what we had in our big bags and what we might be able to give them. Some of the children were quite thin and malnourished. One of the nurses on the team whispered, "Can I give them something to eat?" I had to tell her "no" realizing that we would be mobbed with children looking for food and we didn't have enough to go around. That was a tough lesson of "reality" in Liberia.


What our family has learned, though, it that we can make a difference for a few with what we do have. We have been connected to several teenage boys and have had the blessing of helping some through school. To the right, you'll see a few of them. Nell (front row, second from the left) is in the 10th grade and Rufus (front row, second from the right) is in the 9th grade. We found that Rufus has taken the name "Rufus Doe Hostetler" on his school records and we're proud to call him our son. This year, Kenneth has joined our schooling group (back row, third from the left) and is in the 7th grade. We love his bright, contagious personality and feel he has a lot of potential. We caught this picture on the day of a big soccer game (a story for another time) and their bright smiles tell why the small investment is worth it. Our son, Momodu, is in the middle of the group in the front row and he was delighted to be able to play soccer African style again.


So, I guess the harshness that the country lives in turns to joy both for them and us. I have a hard time imagining that "comfort" would be worthwhile without the joy that serving and giving brings.


"As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work; We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul - not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is stength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy.." Colossians 1:10-12 (The Message)

Faith in what we do not see

As I reflect back on the events that formed our team and purpose for our time in Liberia, this verse in Hebrews has taken life "...faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". My heart was prompted last January to consider providing medical care to the children at Daniel Hoover and the Deaf Village orphanages. This was an uncomfortable idea for me to pursue with no medical experience or connections! Fast forward a few months, and nurse Lavonna arrived at our house late one evening to say she needed to join our team. Within the next few weeks, Kristine (the second nurse on our team) and I connected, both with the purpose of discussing her joining the team. Everything started to flow from there with generous donations of flouride treatment, toothbrushes, medical supplies, etc. What an experience to see God move things into place without my own tugging, pulling and begging.

As I watched Kristine, Lavonna and Ashley (a fourth year nursing student) treat the children and adults, it was obvious we were doing what God had called us to do. There was something very special about providing a tender touch and showing an interest and concern for the children's physical well being. Although the children were generally in good condition, there were a few key medical concerns that the nurses had expertise and drugs to treat - for that we are thankful and pray for God's watchful eye when there are not medical professionals or medications available. This girl below was feeling very ill the day we saw her and I was reminded of my own children when they're feeling terribly bad and just need the comfort of their moms and soft beds. She didn't have that luxury. Fortunately, she was provided with treatment and feeling much better the next day.

All children received a flouride treatment to protect their teeth. Many thanks to a generous local dentist for providing the flouride.
A local boy from the community arrived one day with a severe burn around his eye and forehead from hot grease which had splashed from a cooking pot. Thankfully the grease did not damage his eye. Kristine was able to see him several days in a row for treatment. Again, we wonder how these injuries are treated with limited medical professionals and medicines. We again ask for God's watchful eye on these children.

Ok, so while medical care was a key part of our focus, I'll never underestimate the physical and emotional value of simply loving children. During every trip, we've found the beauty of just walking along with children, hand in hand, talking, laughing and loving them. This is healing for the soul.... both theirs and ours.

Another amazing thing that happened on our trip was a gentleman by the name of Earl Wright. Earl called me about a month before our trip to ask if he could travel with us. We did not know Earl, however, he was a friend of the Kofi's and wanted to join our team for traveling purposes. Usually, our work in Liberia has a very spiritual focus, however, this trip did not have that purpose and I was feeling as though we were missing a critical foundation. Well, Earl was prepared to fill that role and held evangelistic servies every evening. So, God had all things in His hand and designed for His purpose.