Liberia
Hello, yes we are in Africa, and yes they do speak English in
Liberia although you might not be able to understand everything that they say.
Here are a few points of interest about Liberia:
ØThe capital of Liberia is Monrovia.
Ø Monrovia is named for U.S. President James Monroe.
Ø 4.189 million people call Liberia home.
Ø Around half of the population lives in Monrovia.
Ø The word Liberia comes from a Latin word that means free.
Ø Rubber is one of Liberia’s chief exports.
Ø Liberia is the second to oldest independent black nation in the world.
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Today I’m going to share an interview that I had with my
grandparents who were in Monrovia, Liberia in 2018.
Vanessa: Who
was the mission you were sent under?
Grandpa: The
churches in Texas have started a church in Liberia sort of as an outreach or
mission. They have some help from CAM (Christian Aid Ministries) but they are
not actually under CAM.
Vanessa:
Can you tell me a little bit about what you went to do?
Grandpa:
We went to help with teaching a course
that they were doing. CAM does a Bible teaching program in several countries
and this was the first time they had done it in Liberia. It is a six month
program with each course lasting three weeks.
I helped with teaching the last course.
Vanessa: Who
can be students and what do they have to do?
Grandpa: The
students are pastors or men who show strong spiritual interest. They have to pay $30 dollars a month and they
can do work on the compound to help pay for their way. Even though Liberia is not very large (it’s
about the size of Tennessee) some of the men did not get to go visit their
families very much during the 6 months because they couldn’t afford it.
Vanessa: Tell
about what teaching the course was like for you.
Grandpa: We
taught the course five days a week and had classes twice a day. There were two of us teachers, so I taught
the even classes and Curt Kauffman (a missionary in Liberia) taught the
odd classes. The classes were supposed to be more of a discussion type and not
just lectures.
Grandma: They talk English in Liberia, so we didn’t need a translator, but it’s not like we talk; although Grandpa did catch on pretty fast. Some of the other teachers had trouble understanding the Liberians. They respected Grandpa because he was a pastor and also because of his age. Older people are looked up to there.
Vanessa: How
long were you in Liberia and what were some of the things you did when you
weren’t teaching?
Grandma: The
course lasted 3 weeks so we were gone nearly a month with the traveling
included. Every day we were to get our own breakfast and supper but since we
were on a compound lunch was served to all the staff and teachers. The food was hot and spicy. Some days we
went shopping or for walks or entertained the children on the compound. Since it was rainy season a common sight was
people on motorcycles with umbrellas. The people were very friendly.
Grandpa: One
day toward the end of our trip some of the CAM staff took us to the Firestone
Company. It is a big company owned by
people in the U.S. that has a million
acres of rubber trees. The people who
live and work there are more modern than and not as poor as other parts of
Liberia. They collect the sap from
rubber trees like maple sap is collected.
After a few years when the trees do not produce enough sap anymore the
trees are cut down and the wood is used to make beautiful furniture. New trees are planted to keep the cycle going
so more rubber can be made.
Grandma: The
Firestone Company leased the million acres at 6
Vanessa: Do
you think that they will keep doing the teaching courses in Liberia or was it
just a onetime thing?
Grandma:
Liberia is called a Christian nation but it isn’t really. There is much interest in the teaching
courses although money is a problem for some places. They did do the courses again the next year
and probably will continue to do so.
*******
So you can
see there is a need for good spiritual teaching for the pastors especially so
they can preach the truth. CAM is working to do just that with their teaching
courses. As they continue to go to new countries they need our prayers and
support in the work they are doing. If
you would like to learn more CLICK HERE.
I’d also
like to tell you about two books with stories from Liberia.
“Tears of the Rain” is about a family and how God called them to serve Him for two years
in Liberia. They were there while there
was still some fighting going on and even had to evacuate once. Experience the
joys and sorrows of missionary life: seeing hundreds of orphans, passing out food packs to crowds
of people, reaching out to those nearby. This story is told in a way that
gets you right in there with them and is hard to put down once you’ve started it.
Where Little Ones Cry tells the stories of children whose lives have been affected by
the war. They live in fear of what might happen tomorrow. Maybe they have no food, no parents, no place
to call home. These stories should help
us realize how much we really have and also what we can do to help just a
little bit. Let’s pray that the many children like these would be able to learn
about their Heavenly Father who loves them and always will care for them.
___________________________________________
And now for a project that can be
interesting for young and old and doesn’t just have to clutter up your shelf
but can also be given away to clutter someone else’s…
DOUGH TOYS
What you’ll
need for part 1:
a bowl
2 cups of
flour with a little extra
1 cup salt
1 cup water
wooden
spoon
cookie
sheet
oven
Pour 2 cups
of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water into a bowl and mix with a wooden
spoon. When the dough is together sprinkle some flour on the table and knead
dough with your hands.
Once your
dough is a nice consistency you can begin to make all kinds of things. If
you don’t have ideas I’d advise you to read through the rest of this.
Here are
some of the creations we made and I’ll show you some finished pictures
later. It works best to create your
things directly on the cookie sheet so that you don’t have to do a lot of extra
moving. Once you have used up all you dough
bake your creations at 250 for 4 hours or until dry.
What you’ll
need for part 2:
Your baked
dough toys
Magazine/
newspaper
paint
brushes
Many colors
of paint
bowl of
water
“paint rag”
Here’s what
our stuff looks like now that it is ready to be painted.
Some stuff
like these “cheerios” will not need to be painted at all. Funny Story: My sister was going
through the doll stuff, found these cheerios, and threw them away because she
thought they were probably old. So, one fun thing to make is things that you
can trick others with.
Other
things don’t need very much paint
Like these
beads… I don’t actually have a picture of them on a string but all you do is
make balls and poke holes in them using a toothpick. After they are baked you can use a drill to
open up any holes that went shut. Last paint the beads. These aren’t actually a good toy for a baby
because if sucked they will get soggy and fall off.🙍
Here are a
few more food things we made. Make
cookie shaped pieces of dough and when baked add chocolate chips, etc.
Another fun thing to do is make ice pops. You can even add a real popsicle stick and take a bite out of it so it looks like someone else already started to eat it. Please spit out the bite if you do try that.
I’m going to show just a few more things that we made. We did some dolls which can be fun to play with.
And then of
course the doll needs a bed. You can fix
your doll up with furniture, dishes, and much more with some dough and an
imagination.
Some other
things we’ve tried include mini corn dogs, balls, pizzas, and baskets. You can also add magnets to the back for your creations and use them to decorate your fridge or some other metal surface. If you
try this let me know what you came up with, I’d be glad to hear your ideas.
Good-bye for now.
__________________________________________________
Sources:
World Book Encyclopedia, 1985
Grandpa and
Grandma Gingerich
Christian
Aid Ministries
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