Our Friends

We have so many friends over here now, that it is going to be hard to say good-bye, so we have decided to extend our stay. I'm sure you will all understand and come to visit us! OK, just kidding, but we really have been blessed with many friendships in our short time here in Liberia. At a BBQ that we were invited to we met several families from the states. They have all made Liberia their home. Some have children that have grown up here and now live in the states, while others have small children between the ages of 3 months to 12 years. Talk about coming here to do humanitarian service for four months, it pales in comparison to living here since the 1970's or 80's. A concept that I can't quite wrap my mind around. A couple of these families are missionaries and were here during the war. They fled to the Ivory Coast with all the other refugee's and helped minister to them during this time. My friend Nancy wrote a book about her experiences during this time of unrest. It is a great book. A couple of the other families that we met had served on the Mercy Ships before deciding to live here in Liberia. All of these people are into humanitarian service and helping the Liberian people in some way. One man opened his dental practice over here. Another is helping to install solar panels. My friend Christina has employed several Liberian women to sew for her. They make beautiful bags, purses, and wallets out of recycled plastic (trash) and they sell them. She makes enough money to give her employees a salary, but there is nothing left over for herself. She does it to help these women earn a living and hopefully, a skill they will be able to use if she ever leaves. I am humbled by the things that my friends are doing. It is not for their gain, but they will tell you they are doing God's work.

Kim