2 More Weeks

It is very strange to think that I have only two weeks left in Liberia. That soon I will be moving on to Beijing, Mongolia, and lands beyond. These last six weeks have been such a blessing and an eye opening experience. I find it very difficult to know how to write about all of it. I have experienced to following emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, elation, joy, pensiveness (not really an emotion), contentment, and reflection. I am pretty sure that once I do finally get home I'll be moving to the state of Confusion. (I think that is somewhere in the Mid-West if my geography has not completely escaped me.)

One thing I have noticed here is that despite this country being war-torn and disheveled there is an incredibly strong undercurrent of faith. Yes, the police are corrupt, the government is lacking unity, the infrastructure is non-existent (you can literally swim in some of the potholes--seen kids do it). But in spite of all of that, the church is very strong here. All of the churches I have visited have solid Biblical teaching, an eager congregation, and a burning desire to know Christ more. I have heard several different pastors direct the congregation to thank God that they have survived another week. When I first heard this it didn't really register. In my mind, "Sure, thank you God that I am young, fit, and generally healthy." Then I started thinking about it from the perspective of the Liberians. The people in the congregation are the ones that survived 14 years of civil war, not knowing from one moment to the next when the rebels were going to come back. Not if, when. They always came back. They truly were blessed to have survived another week surrounded by war and gunfire.

We see so many horrible things in movies about how cruelly we can treat one another (Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland). It's relatively easy for me to watch in shocked horror then go get dinner. Something about seeing it in movies makes it seem less real. You never how much of this is exaggerated for effect or CGI or made up altogether. Not to mention that when movies like Hotel Rwanda and X-Men come out in the same weekend, it all seems less real. Over the last month, we have been treating a 16-year-old girl, Esther. She has suffered through 4 surgeries so far with at least one more to go to have a burn contracture of her right hand released. We rarely see burns like this in the US. In developing/war-torn country the burns are not treated properly, the burned flesh then becomes tight and painful. The tightness constricts movement of the extremity. When Esther came to us, her right hand was useless and so tight her hand always made a fist. Through skin grafting, pin placement in each digit to straighten out her fingers, serial (repeated) casting, and occupational therapy she is healing. It is unsure of how much function she will have in the right hand, but probably some. I tell her story because I was appalled when I started taking care of her and heard her story. When she was 3, the rebels held her hand in the fire. We don't know any other details because there are no family members to tell us.

I ask you where is the humanity that this still happens? When I read the Old Testament, I am horrified by the descriptions of war and battle. I used to think how far we've come as a society that we don't do things like that anymore. Now, I see that I was wrong.

It has been a blessing to watch Esther heal both physically and emotionally. She is much more open and smiles more now. I am pleased as punch that we could help her, but saddened that we ever needed to. I still don't believe that God orchestrates these horrific circumstances, but I believe more than ever that He is able to work through all things to bring glory to Himself.

I recently came across 2 Thessalonians 3: 3-5 which states, "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." I immediately thought of all of you who have supported me financially and continue to prayerfully support me. I have no doubt that I am exactly where God wants me right now. And to answer every one's question of what comes next: who knows?