Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Hello all. This is Collin here. Yet again. Aren't you happy?

So, today has been a pretty chillax kind of a day. Well, compared to everything else that has been happening over here. So lets get this ball rolling!

First thing first. We woke up. That is key to starting your day. Then we ate breakfast which usually consists of this oatmeal stuff and some type of really delicious fruit or casava which is a root that we eat quite frequently over here. It is similar to a potato. The first time I tried it, i just ate it bland and did not like it. I was then informed ever so politely by Joseph that you have to put stuff on it like a potato to make it be good. Now I love the stuff. GOOOO Casava!

We then split up in two groups. First team panther, and secondly team jaguar. Actually we have no team names and I just made that up but... we went to two different churches. The group that I went with went to Sinkor Evangelical Church in Sinkor. It was pretty different. Different in a completely awesome new way! Let me explain folks. Listen real real close.

Lets just start with saying that the worship was awesome. The worship leader just stood up and sang. Then there was a dude with a Djembe and then some lady folk with shakers. That was the band. You could definitely tell that the people were fully alive though.

I did not know what was being sung though, because mine and Matt's row did not have a hymnal. So I was just standing there listening. Listening to the people clapping whenever they pleased (supposedly at worship in Liberia people clap, but not in unison. It was pretty confusing), listening to the Djembe, and the people singing. Then God made it very clear to me just this one thought.

"I am bigger than America."

Now this is something that I have "known" ever since I have been a christian. I really can't describe what I felt though. Something just clicked inside of me. Just this feeling that God moves just as much if not more over here and over in India and over in Australia and over in Canada, and ALL over the world. There was something about worshipping in another country that was amazing. I can not describe it. God was there and He showed up in ways that I have not experienced before. All I can say is that God was there. He showed up, and it was awesome. I wish you guys could have been here, I wish you guys could have been a part of the worship. I highly highly highly highly encourage travelling outside the country to experience God in a completely different way.

For those of you who do not know, God is on the move over here in Africa. Like never before. Prepare yourselves for some amazing stories.

At the end of the service we were able to give the generator that the Von Kohns had bought to Robert, the pastor at Sinkor Evangelical Church. Mr. Bearchell talked about the whole story of how the Von Kohns got the generator and donated it, and the people were amazed. I won't go too much into details here because this is already getting long and I have more stuff to say! But the generator is there and will be used. Thank you Lon and Janet for what you guys have done. It does not go un noticed here in Liberia and I feel I speak for Pastor Robert when I say, "Thank you."

After church we got back into the cars and headed to this "botanical garden" thingymajig place. I did not know what to expect, but I was blown away by how beautiful this place was. The only way to describe what we walked through was Jungle. I loved it. If you know me at all, you know I was in my zone! I didnt want to leave, but we had to. We ate there, smoked turkey legs, spicey rice, and potato salad.

After the "botanical Gardens" thingymajig we went to Mrs. Reeves place who is a friend of the Normans, and we had a very elegant desert and had an amazing time of fellowship. It was a really nice place. Really nice.

Tomorrow we head to Blue Lake, a fun place that has cliffs that we can hopefully jump off of. Dont worry mom, I won't be careful. ;) (you wont get it if your not my mom)

Anyways, I know this is long, but i hope you got a feel for what we did today, maybe had a laugh or two. I did, but i laugh at my own jokes... I love you all, and thank you so much for your prayers and all that you have done for us. Continue to pray for us.

HERE'S JOSE!

So, unlike Collin, I will do my best in keeping this entry short. I want to convey the central theme that God has been planting in my mind. When we first arrived here, I did not feel an immediate repulsion towards the "3rd world country" setting in which this mission trip unfolded. As days passed and we spent more time outside the compound in which we were staying, I started to feel as if I was in a totally distant planet that converted me into an alien. The streets of Monrovia are overcrowded with people desperate to make a living by selling their products through all their possible efforts while filth lies everywhere in the market. The mission trip team agrees with how Liberia has the potential for prosperity and, God forbid, destruction. The old buildings and railings on main bridges still bear the scars of gun fighting such as bullet holes which took place during the war. On the other hand, many foreign and domestic businesses have opened up, showing that this nation has potential for economic redemption. Just like when a person has an open wound and then a scab forms to make the healing possible, so it is with Liberia. The scab and scars of war remain visible with full potential for complete restoration, but if the process is disturbed, the restoration might be delayed and could worsen. While experiencing this from the environment that surrounded me, I found myself without a family in a distant land whenever I found myself in solitude in the pursuit of knowing God in an unfamiliar land, where foreigners are looked upon as an opportunity to gain wealth and it seems as if the only way to make authentic relationships outside of God is by becoming a provider of money. During these feelings of abandonment, somehow God revealed to me that I had a family all along. It was only when I would come in contact with Liberian followers of Jesus that these feelings of abandonment dissipated to pave the way towards a sense of belonging. I felt like I was a part of their family, or as I discovered: God's family, the body of Christ. I now know this from experiencing that in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, American or Liberian, race, socio-economic status ect. We are all ONE BODY, ONE FAITH, joined together for the glory of God. God is not contained in the U.S., He is over here too. His people are here, and the team and I found an extended family: The Body of Christ.

Thoughts from Belynn, Yanni, Stacey and Collin

Thoughts from Belynn:

"I was so excited about today. Danielle and I got the opportunity to visit a place called THINK (Touching Humanity In Need of Kindness). This is a place where they temporarily house children who have mostly been sexually abused. At the beginning Danielle and I got the chance to spend time with the case managers. I enjoyed this becuase I have had the opportunity during my intenship back at home to work with social workers. It was interesting to see the similairites and differences between the states and Liberia. The children were absolutely beautiful. They enjoyed every minute we were there! We only had a little time with them today. So I am looking forward to a full day with them on Friday."

Thoughts from Yanni:

Today, we went to the Greater Love compound, our initial objective was to complete a generator project that would give electricity to the whole facility. We were missing a couple of parts so we did not finish the generator today. I was actually pleasantly surprized a couple of hours later we looked back at all the meaningfull, relevant, and practival conversations we had. I had a great talk with a guy named Pao. Pao is called to be a pastor in Liberia, but he has tons of fears and doubts because of how hard life is here. I told him not to give up and when God calls with one hand he gives with another. I loved our conversation, I was blessed to have talked to him. When we returned home Collin and I went for a walk around the village close by, and all the kids followed us as they showed us their homes/shacks. Playing soccer, basketball, hopscotch, handing out candy, and giving out a bible were all involved. We are falling in love more and more with this country and cannot wait for the next 7 days ahead.

Thoughts from Stacey:

Today, Dave, Miles, Jose, Emily, and I went to the Diana Davis Center. The center is a combination of a clinic and orphanage. It was truly amazing to see how welcomed we were by a speechless Diana Davis, who ran the place and gave all the glory to God every second. There are 35 kids at this orphanage, all of them lost their parents in the war. The guys worked on the generator house. Emily worked in the clinic for the first part of the day, and I played with all the kids. It was really neat to see some of the Liberian guys at the orphanage pick up on how to build a generator house being led by one of our drivers (he just jumped right to work!). Emily was able to help with one of the patients and watched how they performed each process. I was able to play with the kids, talk about favorite Bible verses, paint pictures, and paint the girls' nails. The kids smiles are contagious. The big, most interesting highlight of today was that our driver got arrested with the car on the way back to the compound. We had to get out and walk all the way back to the place. This was definitely interesting but it was all God! God is everywhere and in every detail. All praise is His!!!

Thoughts from Collin:

AHA! The conclusion paragraph is mine! So for the next four-five lines, you are all mine. Tomorrow, Yanni, myself, Brent, Matt, and Rodney all head out to the bush. Where monkeys, jaguars, and other insane animals roam. Like Crazy. We will be bringing out peanut butter and bread, in addition to that we will also have some more peanut butter and bread... We will be building a generator house and fixing up a generator and then sending the wire out to the school. So, i did say that I had like five-four lines but... yea. So for three days us five will be in the bush. Pray for us. We will be cut off from civilization entirely. zing! Alright! Hope all is well with everybody back home and I miss you guys and Julisa. :) PEACE! Happy New Year!!!!