Just Getting Started

The view from just outside our house

The following is an email that I sent out to just a few people after I was in Liberia for just over a week. I thought I would first share this to keep you all updated from the beginning of my experience. Some of it isn't so relevant anymore, but this was where I was at several weeks ago.

Well my experience here so far is just getting started; I've been in Liberia for just over a week now, but nonetheless, I feel like I've been here much longer than that. When I first arrived, I was feeling a bit off, a little bit strange. I don’t know exactly why, but I think it was a bit of exhaustion, mixed with some I can’t believe I’m actually finally here, and definitely some what am I doing here, I am so out of place. But throughout the last week, God has really been giving me comfort and establishing a home here for me (Now, that doesn't necessarily mean a permanent home. I’m still listening to God about that). The past week here in Monrovia has seriously been like a vacation. It is so beautiful at the compound here. My house, the “House of Men” as my roommates like to call it, is literally right in front of the beach, the exact same beach I was on a year ago, two doors down from the house we stayed in. Our front window’s view is of beautiful waves crashing into the sandy beach. It is such a place of relaxation and retreat (which I hear I will need after several weeks in the “Bush”).

Rafting near Monrovia

When I first arrived on Friday we stayed up until about two in the morning playing cards and getting to know each other. The next day we drove about 40 minutes to a nearby resort. There we rafted in a lagoon and swam in the ocean. This was our first part of “orientation”. It was a great day to have fun and still relax a bit. I think the Lord really used it to calm my nerves. Sunday we went to church above one of the restaurants (P.A.’s Ribhouse) we ate in last year. It has been so fun getting to see the exact same things a year later and experience them not so much as a tourist. The church we went to was actually started by a team of Kenyans who came here as a church planting team. One of the leaders, Steve, actually visits our house often. It has been a lot of fun getting to know him. I look forward to going to church there again this weekend. Monday I started work. It has mostly consisted of reading handbooks, proposals and plans to get caught up with what we’re working on. I had an opportunity to visit a very poor community in Monrovia called West Point, where a summer intern has been teaching dance to the young girls living there. It is amazing how that class has opened up the opportunity to share Jesus and see the joy they are finding through that.

Friday I finally got a better understanding of what my schedule will look like for the next month or so. It looks like I will be spending the majority of my five months here out in the county of River Gee, the location of our most remote base here in Liberia. I will be in the jungle riding motorbikes and walking to villages and visiting schools to help with the WASH programs. We are so fortunate to have a plane to fly back and forth between River Gee and Monrovia. Otherwise, the drive would take somewhere around 18 hours due to the road conditions.

I appreciate your prayers so much. They are so important and recognized here. I would love your continued prayer for me and the team here. Please pray that I will continue to find comfort in my surroundings here. There will be times coming up that I will be the only non-local around. Please pray that I am not overwhelmed but that God will help me thrive through the challenge of unfamiliarity. Please pray that language will not be too much of an issue. English is the official language in Liberia, but Liberian English is so different and so difficult to understand. Please pray that I will pick up on it and be able to communicate with those around me effectively. Also, please pray that the Lord will continue to protect us from the enemy. Great things are being done here in God’s name and for His kingdom, and due to that the enemy attacks. Please pray for strength and peace through Christ. I know that when God is for me, none can be against me. It is a great opportunity to pursue God and completely rely on His protection and guidance.


*This blog does not reflect the views of my employer Samaritan's Purse. It is simply my own expression of my experiences here in Liberia