Chris Beran (Day 3) Orphan Relief and Rescue.

Breakfast and Morning Devotion:

This morning began somewhat earlier than yesterday. We all woke up at 6am this morning to get a head start on our very busy day. Immediately as we all sat down everyone looked for the instant coffee to help us recover from any lack of sleep due to the storm last night. After we each poured our coffee we dug into the oatmeal, bread and fruit. By the way Liberia has the BEST Grapefruit and Pineapple I have ever had.
After breakfast we dove into our morning devotion. Brad opened us up with Matthew 7:7-8 where Jesus is quoted, “He who asks, will receive. He who seeks, will find. And he who knocks, the door will be opened.” After our devotion we spent a few minutes talking about our day yesterday at Orphan Relief and Rescue. We shared our favorite parts of the day and what we wanted to focus on today. We all came to realize that most of them just of them wanted to be held. They did not care what we were doing as long as they could either hold our hand, be held by us, sit on our shoulders or even just sit close enough to us for them to touch us.

Rock of Devine Compound:

After breakfast and our devotion we hopped in the cars and headed to the Rock of Devine Compound for our second and final day. As we pulled up we see the 60 kids outside (almost as if they were waiting for us) in the rain. We got out of the cars and were greeted by tons of wet hugs.
Yesterday we painted the boys room so today was the girls turn. The girls have 2 smaller rooms with virtually no light in them. We decided that yellow would be an appropriate color for the walls to try to brighten things up. The girls were eager to help but it was soon noticed that they really enjoyed getting paint on themselves more than they did brushing it on the walls. While waiting for the rain to stop, Dimitri finished up the story of Jesus. After he finished speaking we began our final project. We brought supplies for each of the kids to make their own bead bracelet representing the story of Jesus Christ. Some of the kids had a hard time with tying the knots but most of them followed the instructions perfectly and were able to do this all on their own. We were amazed at how well they remembered what each bead stood for and they were all rewarded candy for doing such a great job.
The time finally came when we had to say our goodbyes. Of course it was not easy answering the question, “Are you going back to America?” We took a few minutes to say a prayer over the children and the orphanage. After we prayed for them, my favorite part of the day happened. They then prayed for us. It was the sweetest part of the entire day and I will remember their care for us and prayer over us forever. We hugged each and every kid told them how much we cared about them and then we headed out.

Visiting Pastor Wesley:

After we left ORR Rock of Devine Compound we went to Pastor Wesley’s compound. We were astonished at all of the ministries he had at his compound. As we walked in we entered the clinic for those who were hurt or ill to receive medical attention. We then walked into the sanctuary where we spent a few minutes before heading upstairs to his broadcasting studio. He felt that God has called him to spread his word through radio and wanted to take a few minutes (which turned into half an hour) to host us on his radio station. We were asked multiple questions on live radio. It was a great experience and he wants us to come back for a follow-up broadcast towards the end of our trip. He then walked us downstairs where he shared his testimony and how God called him into the ministry. Even through the war Pastor Wesley stood his ground and stood for what God asked him to do and because of his faith he has continued leading a strong and growing ministry.

Evening:

Kristin and Dave had the opportunity to visit one of the other locations that Orphan Relief and Rescue has. They went with Ashley (one of the leaders of ORR) for about 4 or 5 hours. After Kristen and Dave spent the second half of the day with Ashley they all came back here for dinner. Ashley was able to share her story of how she ended up in Liberia and how she began her journey here from Atlanta almost 4 years ago. We all talked about our favorite parts of the day and closed in prayer.