As we pack up and say goodbye, I find myself filled with a mix of emotions. On the one hand, I am extremely excited to be going home! I have missed home so much, so the thought of home being just a few days away excites me. However on the other hand, I find myself saddened at the thought of leaving for many reasons. We had our last VBS session on Thursday, and as we wrapped it up, there was this nostalgic feeling as I realized this was it. The reason we came out here was finished. We had a few moments with our team as we kind of said goodbye to VBS and tried to encourage them to hang in there till the end. They are doing great. I found myself wishing that we could be a part of this till the end, but I know God has worked it out this way for a purpose. I am confident that He will do great things! They have 3 weeks left, so please continue to keep them, Matilda, Comfort, Felix, and Levi in your prayers.
Although life here was like nothing I had every experienced prior, it was great to get this experience. I do not imagine that I will find myself missing the bush life, but I imagine there will be days when the experience will be missed as well as the simplicity of life. When I say simplicity of life, I in no way am saying life in the village for these people is easy. They live hard lives filled with hard labor to make it through every single day. What I mean by this is freedom to sit and be still. At 7:30 every night, it was dark, so there was either the option of bed or relaxing. There was no where we had to go or for that matter there was no where we could go, so life did not get “busy” for us. Although there is a side of me that is looking forward to getting back into that “busy” life, I am sure there will be days when I long for the quiet moments of nothing, and I imagine it will then be when I find my mind drifting back to the days in the bush.
I will miss people. I have come to appreciate each one of the girls that live in the staff house. They each are unique and have different gifts, but they make up this house where we were welcomed and accepted from day one. That is not true of everywhere, so it was nice to come “home” each week to a welcoming environment with each one being genuinely interested in that particular week in the bush. I will especially miss my friend Joni who was an added blessing in this trip. Being able to see her at different times this summer was unexpected a few months ago, so I thank God for allowing her to be a part of my Liberian experience. Pray for her as you think about it. She loves Liberia and has a passion to be here, so pray that God would daily renew her to get up and change the world one day at a time. I will really miss my friend. Saying this goodbye is one I could do without.
I will miss the interaction with the kids. There is just something about the way a kid can just look at you that sends a smile straight to your heart. There is immediate acceptance from kids that you cannot find anywhere else. These kids were why we were here, and these kids are each special. They live life everyday so differently than we do, yet they are able to put a smile on their face and laugh. And now, 48 of them are our brothers and sisters in Christ! I will see these little ones again, if not before then in Heaven! As they say here all the time, PRAISE THE LORD! Please pray for them as they have a tough journey ahead as they grow more in Christ. Follow up this week was good. It gave them a foundation in which to build on, but there is so much for them to learn. This particular village has a pastor named, Edward, who has a passion to see these kids grow. He would join us in our sessions, and that was encouraging to see. We left these kids not only in the hands of God, which is the only place they need to be, but we also left them in the physical hands of a person who cares. Pray for Pastor Edward as I am sure he is overwhelmed. The Jesus Film was shown on Thursday night, and 45 adults accepted Christ! Pray for the pastor as he has a lot of shepherding ahead of him as well as each one of these adults. How amazing to witness and think of how this village can be transformed with so many believers. Please oh please keep Wemah in your prayers.
So as I spend my last full day here in Liberia it is indeed with a heavy heart. God has done great things this summer, and I know He will continue to do great things here. He has put people here who love Him and love His people, so I know He will use them to continue to impact all of Liberia. I am ready to come home, but I will keep this place in my prayers and heart. I would ask the same of you. Even though, there will not be weekly reports to update you on the daily interactions here, I still would ask that you too keep Liberia and the work that is being done here in your prayers. I challenge you to not forget these kids or the people who pour into lives here every day. They need prayer. So even though this blog was to update you on what Lisa and I were doing, there are people here who are still walking the world daily, so please pray.
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