Learning together in Liberia - Karen's thoughts

The red dust billowed around us as we bumped along the dirt road to a small town in Northern Liberia. The signs of years of civil war were still evident as we passed through towns and villages. I saw burned buildings, broken bridges and people worn and weary, often with eyes haunted by the ravages of war. Finally, 6 hours after leaving Monrovia, weary professors and wives arrived on the ABC University campus, just as the sun was setting over the Nimba mountains of Yekepa. It was breathtaking!


Our call for the next 5 weeks was to engage in the lives of 80 university students. Curt taught a New and Emerging Media course, along with Joseph Kebbie, our African media trainer. Together they shared the joys and struggles of teaching a university level course for the first time.

I had the opportunity to teach a 4 hour Saturday course on Learning Differences in Children. Students with learning issues are often forgotten and left behind in the African school systems. I also had the joy of teaching an in-service to 48 teachers from around the Yekepa region. How rich to see teachers wanting to know how to make a difference in their student’s lives.

Tutoring students became a daily opportunity. So many of them had missed 3 or 4 years of schooling, lost during the war. Some students shared their horror stories ...needing to process the memories that haunted their dreams. Others wanted to forget and look to the future.

The ABC University campus destroyed during the war is now rebuilt. As we walked the roads around the campus, we were often greeted with, “Thank God I’m alive.”

Good-bye was hard. We miss the chapel choir with their rich voices and dancing. We miss Liberia, a country beginning to heal with the touch of the Master’s hand. Above all, we miss the determination and smiles of the Liberian students.

Liberian Musings

So this is what I am wondering this morning, as I sit looking out the window at the green hills of Liberia:


- How does dust get so red?

- Was that really a cricket chirping non-stop at 2 AM this morning?

- Why do roosters crow at 3, 4, 5 AND 6 in the morning?

- How in the world can I actually need a blanket here in West Africa?

- Why am I blessed with so much, when so many have so little?

- Why did so many people have to suffer and die here in Liberia during 14 terrible years of war?

Thoughts both silly and deep fill my mind this morning. We have been here now for about two weeks at ABC University in Yekepa, Liberia and God is showing us many things. We are trying to listen and hear what He is teaching us. Even though we hadn’t spent much time in Liberia before, it is West Africa, and there are common cultural threads that unite people here. With our roots right next door in Ivory Coast, we feel at home.

We have heard stories from the war. Many of the students were refugees for years in Ivory Coast, Guinea or Ghana. Some of them lost fathers or brothers, and a few even lost children. It is heartbreaking, and some of them are still haunted by what they have seen. But they are trying hard to focus on today, to focus on being a part of change and hope in this amazing, beautiful country.
In the midst of learning ourselves, we are teaching. I have 21 students in the new and emerging media communications class, and it’s hard to believe it is almost halfway done. Some of these younger guys are passionate about using new media, even with Liberia’s very limited resources and IT infrastructure. But even better is to see how God is using them to bring reconciliation and change to Liberia. Karen is busy teaching a course on children with special needs and learning problems to the education students. She had 38 students yesterday in that class!

Along with teaching, we are also helping consult and plan on a new radio station for the university. HCJB Global plans to do the installation here during the summer.

So these are exciting days and real cup-fillers for Karen and me. Thank you for your prayers as we continue to serve here until the middle of February. After that, we’ll head back over to Accra, Ghana for a couple of weeks, to be with our regional office staff.

Ah yes …what about that blanket at night? The first few nights we were here, we actually needed a blanket! I have never needed one before in West Africa, so that was a first. Since this is dry season with occasional rains, the nights are cool and pleasant, although our Liberians are complaining of the cold.
Curt (for Karen too)

Merry Christmas Friends,

So how’s this for some Christmas joy – our daughter Carissa is getting married on December 28th …of this year! They will get married here in Colorado Springs the Tuesday after Christmas. Lance is a middle school history/literature teacher and Carissa is now teaching Spanish in a private school. Lots to do between now and then, but thanks for praying for Lance and Carissa and for standing by us during this exciting time! Karen is doing all the flowers for the wedding and I’ll be officiating. Check out the attached photo of the happy couple.

Oh, and sometime between Christmas, the wedding and leaving for Africa in January, we are moving into a new house!

Despite the busyness, we remain ecstatic that God allows us to be a small part in His global missional plan. May the God that is opening doors around the world for voice and hands ministry open doors to your heart during this Christmas season.

Curt & Karen

http://mnnonline.org/article/14997

http://mnnonline.org/article/14997

2 Minute Radio Plant (Nepal Oct 2010).m4v

Curt and I were back in Accra, Ghana most of April. Curt had a busy schedule of media training, visiting partners and encouraging our Sub-Saharan Africa team. I cooked, cleaned, made curtains and even recovered some chairs. But I also spent time just listening, praying and encouraging the women of our team. I have an incredible memory of one morning spent with Eva, a Liberian refugee who serves our team.

It was only 8 AM, but the African morning was hot and humid with the smell of nearby cooking fires lingering in the air. Eva had walked more than a mile to work, so sweat was on her brow as she arrived, a brilliant white smile etched across her ebony face. Numa, the African Grey parrot, greeted her with a "Mornin’ Eva!" No electricity that morning but Eva took it all in stride as she began to sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness.” She sings this to praise God for the day, but also hoping Numa will soon learn the tune!

As Eva sang, she and I began making bread. After a busy morning of laundry, dishes and cooking, we shared a cool glass of fresh squeezed lemonade.  We sat on two short, African 3-legged stools, laughing and telling stories ...sharing what God was doing in our lives.

I asked Eva, "You look a bit tired today, are you OK?" She replied, "Oh yes, but I had a hard night. Between the witch doctor’s chants and my room being very hot I slept very little.“ But then she added something I will never forget. She said that as she lay there in her bed complaining to the Lord, He reminded her of the days she spent hiding in the woods during the civil war in Liberia. God reminded her of the leaves she ate to survive. Then she said, “Now I have plenty to eat and I am not living in the forest, so I really have nothing to complain about."

I was speechless as I sat and listened to her story of hunger, fear and God’s grace during a terrible time of war. Through Eva, I was deeply challenged.

How often do I complain to God? It is so easy to be caught up in the things of this world. Instead of complaining, maybe we should hold out our hands to the Lord each morning, asking Him, “How can I serve you today?” That’s what Eva taught me that day.

Curt's first visit to Monrovia, Liberia