A Beep is not just a Beep

Dear Friends,

Did you ever think that there is a language associated with car horns? Honestly, I have always considered horns as rude and only meant to communicate anger or frustration at someone else’s bad driving. In Monrovia, there is an entire language for car horns, and it is the only way to negotiate the crowded streets.  First, you need to understand that there are no traffic lights and only the occasional stop sign. There is only a line down the middle of the street to delineate two-way traffic lanes, and motorcycles can go anywhere they can fit. Imagine a two-lane road with cars parked on either side, two cars passing, and motorcycles on either side of the cars… motorcycles which have no idea those cars are bigger and more harmful and very little concern for safe driving techniques!

Cars gain entrance to an intersection by a short warning bleep while approaching the crosswalk area. If there is a motorcycle that tries to gain entrance to the intersection from any direction first, the car driver responds with a sharp, angry blast from the horn. If another car yields for your car, it is required that you give a short “beep, beep” in quick succession as a thank you. I now know about as much horn language as I know French, and I am not sure which one I am gladder to have in my arsenal of skills.

Today was our final day of training, and again, we had a full house. Today was a day of questions and answers, with the teacher participants having an opportunity to comment, question, or seek further clarification. Student assessment and curriculum development were two topics we touched on, and we spent time reviewing our studies from yesterday.

There was levity as well when we played a balloon game before lunch. We requested that the teachers sing a blessing, which turned into a group sing complete with harmony and dancing. The day ended on a high note as each group received certificates for their participation.

 

Finally, we have been able to distribute 700 pairs of glasses. There are absolutely none left. The boxes we brought are empty. Remember what it is like when you can’t find your glasses, and you are trying to read without them. Quite a struggle, but then, eureka, there they are on top of your head, and you can see without utter frustration! I saw that look on face after face today. Each person would put the glasses on and read the simple card in front of them.

I know I mentioned how beautiful the Liberian women are in their many colored outfits. The streets are filled with younger and older women in the most beautiful dress. At the closing, the ladies of the Team received special gifts. These are the moments that touch your heart as you work through the day.

 

Tomorrow will be for rest and reflection. It is time to step back and review what we have done and how it could have been done better. Then, home on Friday. Hope to see you all in church on Sunday!

Jaq and the Team

Pieces of the Puzzle

Dear Friends,

The Atlantic Ocean, gray and angry with waves pounding on shore, is just across the street from our hotel, which is located very near the United States Embassy. The area is unlike the downtown area of Monrovia. It is far quieter, and there are no street vendors to block traffic. Even the number of motorcycles is substantially less than in the center of the city. Obviously, it is a patrolled area because of the embassy. No one is ever on the beach, which seems strange to me because in the US the beach would be covered with umbrellas, kids, and swimmers. I understand that there are very dangerous riptides, but still the beautiful beach is eerie in its quietness.

The workshop went well with a very small attrition rate and a few extra attendees showing up on the doorstep! The lessons today really hit a chord with our teachers. They were fascinated with details about learning styles and lesson planning.

I think what strikes me most about these teachers is that there is a wide sampling of ages, from 18 to 50 and even 60. There is also a huge variance in training, skill level, and experience, but there is one thing that each one has in common. Every single person in that room is passionate about teaching. Talk about their students, and faces light up. Mention a better way to conduct a class, and you can almost hear a pin drop in the room. These men and women are eager for the opportunity to get better at what they do, and they desperately want to teach the children correctly.

I am inspired by their care, their diligence, and their persistence in the face of many problems. Everyone here talks about how much better it is in Liberia now.  There is a cautious optimism as improvements slowly happen with electricity in some parts of Monrovia and with a better road here and there. There is also frustration…..so much talent, willing and able to work but no materials, no means for training, no resources to take on the monumental task of making life better here. Their passion is all they have to work with. But many have said to me, “Now we have you, from St. Peter’s, VA.” It is a huge responsibility to take on a mission trip and work hard to measure up to the expectations. We do our best and leave the rest up to the puzzle that is God's plan.

Jaq and the Team

God is in their faces.....

Dear Friends,

I am glad to report that Day One of the training was a huge success! Here are the stats....we expected 60 and 90 teachers came, we fitted 180 pairs of glasses (Tim fitted glasses for a lady who was 90 years old and only needed a simple magnification of 3.00. There are many of us who need more at half her age!), and we fed lunch to 150 people (We had only planned for 60 so this might be a loaves and fishes moment here, but really, the thanks goes to Eric, our wonderful chef, who made food appear when there was none. We don't know where the extra people came from, but I am sure they had a good meal!)

 Cultures and traditions are different here. The streets are filled with sounds and sights that are very foreign for me. Women walk down the sidewalk with baskets of peanuts in the shell on their heads! Motor scooters are the primary means of transportation and there do not seem to be any laws to govern traffic. There are no traffic lights, no rhyme or reason to how you move through the congestion, but there is a beauty here all the same. God is present in the faces that I see. I feel him here, finding ways to care for his people. This is a place recovering from devastation, and there has been terrific progress. There are miles to go, but I know that you, at St. Peter's, are making a difference. I felt it today in the workshops. Our presence here is important and you are helping us to move forward and to do the very best work we know how to do.

Thank you.

Jaq and the Team

Present your requests to God.....

Dear Friends,

This has been a wonderful day of discovery of the very different and the familiar all at the same time. We attended three different church services and were welcomed at all three. Each one moved us in a different way.

We started this journey when Joe Burden and his Mom, Carrie Marie, took us to the airport for the first time....very excited and ready to take up our job. Joe had a very important message for us and wanted us to keep this Bible verse in mind as we traveled:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7

Imagine our surprise when that was the lesson for today's sermon at the Episcopal Cathedral for the Diocese of Liberia. The priest quoted the passage from Philippians and the message is simple. Be thankful for what you have, and before all else, give thanks to God for your blessings. They are many.















This is a wonderful prayer for us all, but seeing Liberia for the first time, it is difficult for me not to want everyone here to ask for more. It is a struggling country with much to offer and so many wonderful people, but there is much hardship.











  After the Cathedral we visited St. Peters, Caldwell. Oh, what a welcome we received and how joyful their celebration was for us, for their church, and for God! They were thrilled with the school supplies we brought. Thank you, VBS! And, the excitement of the day was our eyeglass assessment...we did not have enough time or glasses to satisfy the need!







Your missioners are charmed by their hosts! What a joy to celebrate Sunday and special times with all of the parishioners. Tomorrow is the first day of our workshop. Pray for a full attendance, and God's guidance so that we can surmount any communication barriers and answer the needs of those who have come to be with us.

Jaq and the Team

"Everything we have in Liberia is foreign, even our English"

The day started off with organizing the supplies we had brought with us and gathering for breakfast. It is a beautiful day here and even cooler than back home which surprised me. We are not in 100 degree heat, but that good old humidity is just the same!

 We spent the morning at BW Harris School and met with George Jallah, Director, Educational Secretariat of Liberia. We had a great discussion, reviewing with him the curriculum that we planned to teach. He made several good suggestions and we launched into a discussion of the uniqueness of this wonderful and different country where we are. The title of this blog is from this discussion and I found it striking....Yes, everything here in Liberia is foreign - their currency is US Dollars, their language is English, their main religions are Christianity and Islam. All of this makes for interesting discussions in the western history classes he teaches.

To a people who live with so much that comes from other places, how difficult it must be to demand recognition of what is here and find true value in it. On top of that, to fight the economic hardship of being a recovering war-torn country, rediscovering national selfworth and fighting for true independence.....Mr. Jallah knows these are the things that will be combated by the education of Liberia's children. These are the things we are here to help with.  Our contribution is small, but it will be a start.

Next we spent time in Monrovia - market day and the streets are jammed. Every inch of side walk is taken up with food, shirts, jeans, shoes, herbs such as Bitter Root to help fight the symptoms of malaria. Whatever you need is right there on the sidewalk and everyone is selling! We even found a food market at the gas station - not exactly a 7-11 but boy, those tomatoes looked good!


I told you yesterday about the ladies balancing all manner of things on their heads. Well, here you go....this is definitely not a skill I possess.

We did stop off at the tailor shop to see about getting some shirts made. There was a child ironing with an iron heated by charcoal. That was something I had never seen. The afternoon filled me with the joy of getting to know a new place and meeting wonderful new people and understanding different customs a bit better. God has blessed all of us with the rich experience of Liberia.




Now we are ready to begin our work for the evening. It is time to make sure we have all of our lessons ready for Monday. Because of the shortened teaching schedule, there are lots of corrections and adjustments to be made. We are all excited to begin and face the task with enthusiasm.

As always, I cannot wait to begin tomorrow. God has so many lessons for us here, and it is with great excitement that we try to hone our teaching skills to give back as much as we are getting.

Jaq and the Team

Dear Friends,

YES!!!!!!! We have arrived in Monrovia with every single piece of luggage. (We had 15 checked and six carry on pieces and if you think that wasn't a sight as we loaded, lugged, and counted.....) The actual plane ride was uneventful and we were met by Michael Sie, newly ordained minister, attending the Virginia Theological Seminary and currently serving as coordinator for the office of the Bishop of Liberia.  He has been invaluable to us as we have planned this trip and will be making sure we are able to accomplish all of our tasks here in Monrovia. Michael, with van and driver, successfully negotiated the various pitfalls that can occur to travelers so obviously "not from here" and gave us a narrated ride into town. The road from the airport is paved, but I did not see very many other paved roads until we arrived in Monrovia proper which is about 45 minutes from the airport. The way was crowded with Friday traffic, teaming with kids playing ball, selling palm wine and coconuts, and shops of all kinds along the roadside. The shops are mere shanty buildings with sides of corrugated metal and tin roofs, certainly not anything like The Outlet Mall in Leesburg. It is a quite something to see the many women carrying everything from baskets filled with peanuts, corn or coconuts to 3 gallon water jugs carefully balanced on top of their heads and so many in the most beautiful dress. All outfits are  handmade of brilliant colors in many different fabrics and textures. Each is individual and personal to the owner. The headdresses, which allow them to cushion the heavy loads on their heads, are made of matching fabric and the parade of women along the roadside make a breathtaking show.

We start our work tomorrow with a trip to BW Harris where we will meet the principal, see the rooms where we will be teaching, and review our program, making sure that we have prepared well for the work days ahead.We ask that you pray for God's guidance as we review our training materials. Ask him to make sure we are meeting the needs of the teachers who will be arriving on Monday.

Many thanks for your prayers,

Jaq and the Team

So Much To Be Thankful For!

It is hard to describe how grateful the mission team is for the St. Pete's family. We want especially to thank VBS for their wonderful efforts to help us take our school supplies with us. We have many bags packed with paper, pencils, rulers, eyeglasses, markers, solar calculators....the list goes on and on.

I was particularly thankful for the many heartfelt, good wishes I received during church today. I know each of us feel that all of you are so much a part of the work we hope to do, and your support makes us better able to meet the needs that we will face when we arrive.

Here is my first request. Say a prayer that we will be met at the airport and will easily transport ALL of our many bags to the Cape Hotel! It will be the first task we face once we land. I might have to get a picture of our group as we wrestle all those bags into the van we have rented!

Blessings to all of you,
Jaq and the Team

Thank You, St. Pete's.....Your prayers make us strong!

Homily July 8^th 2012 – St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Purcellville, VA

When Tom mentioned  that the Liberia mission team was giving the homily today, it made me stop and think about our mission in terms of today’s Gospel reading.  In my mental and spiritual preparations for this trip, I have been contemplating, praying and asking God about the other St. Peter’s church.. the one in Liberia.  Now my prayers and hopes turn to this St. Peter’s congregation and what this mission trip means to us as a church family.
Pictured above:

Judy Hall

Member, Liberia Mission Team

Paul, Laurraine, Jim, Jaqueline, Tim and I represent this church community as we go out to Liberia.  We take with us the spiritual nourishment, prayers, and blessings of St. Peter’s Purcellville.  Every mission starts with where we come from, where we are spiritually, physically, and emotionally, and where we are in relationship with God and with those we go to serve.  

So often in Liberia it is very hard not to compare what we have in wealth, liberties, government structure, legal system, and social norms of justice to those of our fellow Christians in Liberia.  We are truly blessed to be in the United States of America in more ways that we can understand.  It is amazing the challenges other Christians face to accomplish the same goals all Christians have: to raise Christian families, to spread Christ’s word to others in our community, and to grow the culture of God-centered living in our country.

St. Peter’s Caldwell

So let me tell you a little bit about the other St. Peter’s in Caldwell, Liberia.  Liberia is on the west coast of Africa  where the continent juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.  Monrovia is Liberia’s national capital. It is a port city and near the spot where the first American born Africans landed to settle the country.  The St. Paul River flows into the Atlantic at this spot.  The river’s delta has formed several islands and some swampy areas which now make up the city and its suburbs.  To get to Caldwell from the port of Monrovia you need to cross the St. Paul River to the south.  Caldwell is a suburb to its nation’s capital.  It is a community made up of shanties and small cinderblock houses with no electricity or running water.  The homes, shops, and markets stretch out along deeply rutted dirt roads.  The land is flat in the river plain. 

The church is a cinderblock building situated in an open space (I would not call it a field) next to the St. Paul River.  The rail road track runs along the river at this point.  From the river’s edge you can see a small break in the trees up river on the north side that is the Bromley School. 

Inside the church the walls and ceiling are white.  There are wooden pews. Above the alter is a stained glass window of Jesus ascending while Peter watches from below.  Jesus looks very much like he does in the window at Good Shepherd, Bluemont.  The white Jesus with light brown hair and beard. There is only one main room and that is the sanctuary about the same size of ours.  The altar area is raised with the communion rail running straight across the front.  From the pews, the pulpit is high and on the left.  The choir is on the right in pews that face inward.   We sit in my favorite spot. In the left front pews.  There are a few American Episcopal Books of Common Prayer (1979) and 1982 Hymnals. 

Here I need to say something about Christianity in Liberia.  All the Christian churches, Episcopal, Catholic, Methodist, and Baptist are seeds of American Christianity.  Yes folks this is a country where Americans planted churches and church communities.  The Episcopal Church in Liberia is an off spring of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The first American Black Episcopal Bishop was the Bishop of Liberia Samuel Ferguson  at the beginning of the 20^th century.

This church is stark compared to our church.  They do not have many of the trappings of worship that we take for granted.  No colorful vestments and hangings.  Not many books and no fliers or “weekly bulletins”. But the church is packed.    There is no mirror in the Sacristy so it is the job of the acolytes to dress the priest Father Gbe.  They have to be his mirror and make sure his is properly prepared to lead the worship service. He is mild mannered man, but like many Liberians when they start to preach they become very animated.

The trappings may be minimal but the church is high church. Everyone is very reverent and respectful during the service.  No running in and out of the sanctuary, no whispering or drawing or chatting. Communion  is taken very seriously.  Women are required to wear a head piece or hat if they want to take communion.  No one had told us – so I pulled out my trusty bandana and looked like aunt Jermima.  (put on head piece).  It was hard not to be awed by these people as they worshiped God with such passion and conviction. 

During the offertory they had an ingathering for the one room school house they were building on the property.  Like St Peter’s Purcellville, St Peter’s Caldwell is reaching out to the community around it. The hope was to have an elementary school for 30 community children, now we understand it serves 90 children and has to turn many away.

After Church we toured the one room cinder block building and meet with the vestry under an open air pavilion.  They were very eager to tell us their plans for rebuilding their church community after it was almost destroyed during the civil war which waged off and on from 1989 to 1997.

One of the most notorious warlords named Prince Johnson had his head quarters on the church property.  The old church building was bombed because he was using the area as an ammunitions dump.  Basically this church and it’s people were a battle ground for many cruel and gruesome war lords and the unruly bands of thugs they spawned.  When the vestry members were pointing out where there had been battles and bombings and war camps, it was so overwhelming that in classic Virginia tradition I blurted out.  “You guys need to put up some historical markers.”   

The people of St. Peter’s Caldwell are in many ways that same as the people of St. Peter’s Purcellville.  They are Christians who want to strengthen and grow the community of Christ.  We have the same spiritual traditions and share the same sacraments and creeds.  But they sit in two totally different cultures with very different resources.  The war has left the fabric of Liberian society torn.  There is a whole generation that knows nothing but war. Families have been ripped apart.  There is a generation who has been raised by the morals of war lords.  Corruption and graft are everywhere.

This is a country where the Christians are trying to bring the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ to a broken community.  They are trying to heal their country by raising up Christian communities and bringing the love of Jesus Christ to the children around them.  The task is so daunting it can only be accomplished with the Grace of God.  There is obviously no other option. 

What is our role as fellow Christians?  We have been sent out by Jesus Christ, to bring encouragement and help to the people of Liberia.  We take nothing with us but our flawed selves, our few gifts for their many needs, and our knowledge that God will prevail.  For it is the love of God that passes all understanding that provides hope for the poor, strength for the weak, and healing for the broken. 

When do we go?  We go NOW.  We do not wait until we are “ready” or trained.  What do we take?  We take ourselves.  We take who we are with all our flaws and weaknesses.  We go with our handkerchiefs for church hats and historical markers for healing battle scars.  We go out as Jesus Christ sends us, with nothing more than the knowledge of the love and power of God our Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. 

Commissioning of the Liberian Team

Pictured from left to right: Jim Whalen, Jaqueline Whalen, Tim Hall, Judy Hall, Fr. Tom Simmons, Colleen Duffy (Team sponsor and stateside liason), Paul Miller, and Laurraine Landolt