For Me, a Man, What are the Benefits of Sexual Purity?

Why should a man delay sex until he says, "I do"? What is there to gain by that old-fashioned, outdated notion that some would rather relegate to the dinosaur stage of human civilization?

Here are some of the benefits I have heard few guys speak about as they experiment with sexual purity.

1. Trust; Trustworthiness. The woman he is dating will begin to trust him as the guy who is not likely to have sex with someone he is not married: "If he is not doing it with me," the lady may reason, "it unlikely that he will do it with another woman who's not his wife." This reality lays the foundation and becomes the building block of a long-term relationship, because sexual purity before the wedding could lead to sexual purity after the wedding, though there is no guarantee that it is always the case.

2. Deeper Relationship and Friendship. The guy will delve into deeper knowledge of his date or fiance. Because sex is no longer his instant goal for his relationship with this woman, the guy is likely to explore the complex glories of the female. This change in focus feeds into strengthening friendship as the primary bond of the relationship. With his eyes not fixed on the girl's blouse, breasts or bottom, the guy can now lift his gaze and reach for the distant horizons of this complex being he needs to become a student of. When a guy front-loads his relationship with sex, he quickly loses genuine interest beyond infatuation and sensual gratification. Having made the catch and wrapped up the hunt, the guy soon gets bored with the object of his pursuit. You see, sex is intended to be the trophy beyond the finished line of the relational journey between male and female. When the trophy is awarded before the race is done, premarital sex often clogs up a man's vision to see a woman beyond physical beauty and first impressions, far beneath the apparent and superficial.

3. Self-Control. A man who restrains his sex drive becomes master of his spirit, soul and body. He is truly the man who is in control, who takes charge. And his date or fiance gets the impression that if this guy can control one of the strongest urges of man....his sex drive....he will be able to control other strong desires like impulsive anger, rash spending, etc. It is interesting how interlinked those desires are: a guy who is sexually impulsive is likely to be sexually impulsive as well. I haven't done the research and crunched the numbers on this one, but I'm pretty sure of the link between the stewardship of sex and money.

4. Avoidance of a sexually transmitted disease (STD). It is possible the lady the marries may have an STD, but the guy won't have to guess where he got the disease from, since he has not been sexually all over the place.

5. Credibility for sex education. There is a reason why parents don't let their kids get sex education from a prostitute or womanizer. The sexually pure guy will be found credible when speaking to young people, including his own children, about sexually responsible behavior that goes beyond choosing the right of kind of condom or birth control drug. If he himself has been slipping and sliding around sexually, if he has failed to cap his sex drive, he's really in a weak spot to guide any young person regarding sexual responsibility. And he will be the first to know it.

6. Devotion to monogamy. Through sexual purity the guy disciplines himself to be content within a monogamous relationship. He prepares and trains himself to become and remain a one-woman man. His wife will cherish that for years to come.

7. Sexual restraint within marriage. After the wedding, there will soon come days and nights that Husband may be in the mood for sex but Wife may be physically exhausted, psychologically unprepared or emotionally flat. That's when the groom who has become master of his body will be able to apply the brakes, curbing his desire for sex any time of day or night, regardless of how sizzling his body chemistry. Without the ability and skill of sexual restraint, a husband denied sex by his wife is likely to become enraged with or resentful of his wife. Then he may resort to acting really stupid. Like reducing himself to a sex animal. But with the prowess of restraint, he will not resort to sneaking in on his wife against her will, forcing her, overpowering her, or raping his own wife as some married men do. (There are probably more martial rapes going on than married couples will admit, primarily because of men who have zero tolerance for sexual restraint!)

8. Holistic life. The man who is not obsessed with sex with this girl right now has the power to continue crafting the other pieces to his life: education, career, work, sports, faith, finance, volunteer work, his current family and friends, etc. These other pieces of his life will eventually pour into and edify the precious relationship he has with his date or fiance. If they end up getting married, their marriage will be stronger for it. If their relationship ends prior to marriage, no one will feel cheated or exploited, and the fallout from the breakup may be less depressing or traumatic. One does not have to start from scratch, or go and "get a life"; one already has a life, of which the failed relationship was only one aspect.

9. Treasured woman. If the guy is consistent in postponing sex until marriage, his lady, if she's a good girl, will reach the right conclusion with time. At first, she may think, depending on her prior relationships with other men, "Why hasn't he come on to me yet? Why won't he have sex with me like the previous guys? Doesn't he find me attractive?" But as she takes in his sustained interest in her, she will correctly conclude, "This guy doesn't just want me for sex. He really loves me for who I am, my hidden and more precious qualities. His interest goes beyond my satisfying his sexual cravings and fancies. This guy is different, better than all the rest!"

Do we men realize how often a woman feels like an exploited piece of trash, even right after a sexual encounter? On the contrary a woman feels like prized treasure when she knows her man wants her more than he wants sex with her. It is when she feels treasured that a good woman will fully yield herself for the highest sexual pleasure a guy, preferably her husband, can dream of.

Let me conclude by saying, sexual purity will not only benefit a man as well as benefit the woman in his life, it also offers benefits for society as a whole. Any culture or society that teaches boys to be sexually pure....not just condom masters....will reap fruits of less promiscuity, fewer teenage pregnancies, fewer rapes including date rapes and marital rapes, fewer sexual molestation of girls and boys, fewer instances of sex slaves, prostitution, pedophilia, and other forms of deviant sexual conduct. ~mogama~

Why Gay Rights Is Not the Same as Civil Rights for Blacks, Part 2

(Read Part 1 here or here.)

Some readers may brand me homophobic for the views espoused in this article. I do not appreciate the label, which is similar to how some blacks label "racist" any non-black person who disagrees with their ideas. Let it be know that I am for the equal protection of all people under the law. I do not advocate the mistreatment of homosexuals because of their sexual orientation. For the record, I have homosexual friends. One of them recently asked to tape me for his TV program. I have lived under the same roof with a homosexual couple, who are two of the finest, funniest people I know. In fact, I can honestly say, if one of my children were homosexual, I would maintain a loving relationship with that child.

My beef is not with homosexuals in general, but with gay activists and their heterosexual sympathizers who seek to twist our arms towards their agenda, or force us to pay a high price for daring to oppose their relentless attempts to legislate homosexuality. Let it be said that most homosexuals do not fall into this activist camp. Indeed, some homosexuals actually disagree with the push to gain special rights for themselves.

When activists tell us that gay rights is no different from civil rights for blacks, they want us to respond in the affirmative, or risk being regarded as intolerant, homophobic, offensive, haters, etc.

Accused or not, I still argue that a reasonable observation of the basic elements of equal rights for blacks quickly reveal that the comparison to gays rights does not hold water. Indeed, activists have latched on to the civil rights bandwagon, because it is their best chance of garnering the sympathy they need to succeed in their cause. Let's continue from where we left off in Part 1 of this article.

5. Segregation

There was a time in America when restaurants, hotels, and other facilities displayed signs like "For Whites Only", "Colored Section", etc. Have homosexuals, lesbians, transgender and bisexuals ever been subjected to such discriminatory displays? Has any homosexual in America ever gotten on a bus or train and read a sign that says, "Gay Section", or "Heterosexuals Only"? Have schools ever been segregated along lines of homosexual students being separated from their heterosexual fellow students?

6. The Civil Rights Struggle

In their struggle for true civil rights that are actually found in the Constitution of the United States, blacks and their white friends were sprayed, had dogs unleashed on them, suffered floggings at the hand of law enforcement officers. Where is the equivalent of such a struggle for homosexuals? Where is the Rosa Park moment of the homosexual agenda? And who is the Martin Luther King Jr of the homosexual movement? Where is the "I Have A Dream" speech of the gay rights movement?

They call the demand to legalize or moralize sex between two men or two women a right on the same plane as what was denied black people? The equivalence robs some of us as bordering on sacrilege. Yes, I know I may be sued or jailed one day soon for sharing these views, but I do not fear that one bit. In fact, I may have lost some friends already for publishing my thoughts; I don't enjoy that, but it's worth the pain.

7. Former Status

There are many former homosexuals, but there are no former blacks. Also, there are gays who have proven to control their homosexual desires or tendencies temporarily, or long-term. By contrast, a black person cannot control or temper his blackness, whether temporarily or for a lifetime. The reason is that blackness is exclusively a matter of identity, whereas homosexuality is behavioral, though stemming from an innate bent.

8. The Marriage Test

When on May 8, 2012, North Carolina voted by a whopping 61% to 39% voted to define marriage in that state's constitution as a union between one man and one woman, some gay activists compared the outcome to North Carolina banning "interracial marriage" in the past. Another example of how eager these activists are to usurp the civil rights agenda for their cause.

This misguided comparison has tricked many blacks into sympathizing with the agenda of civil union or homosexual marriage. Some blacks are helping the campaign to win for homosexuals in this generation what blacks won for our people in the previous. I understand the thinking: black civil rights leaders do not want to be called hypocrites for denying to homosexuals what they won for their own people.

But is marriage between a black-and-white couple really the same as union between two men or two women? Is "gay marriage" morally or ethically on par with "biracial marriage"?

Years ago, in my ethics class, if I recall correctly, I was introduced to a simple litmus test to determine if a given behavior is really ethical or right: What if EVERYONE were to behave that way, would societies EVERYWHERE benefit? It is the test of universality.

Let's apply this test to "interracial" marriage, then to "gay marriage". If the entire human race were to switch wholesale to "interracial marriage", would the human race survive? A white husband and a black woman, or vice versa, can biologically reproduce a baby, and keep perpetuating the human race.

Now, let us propose homosexual union as the universal norm for marriage among humans. Would that form of marriage or sexual activity guarantee that humankind continue to thrive? The answer is obvious. Two men or two women cannot biologically reproduce a human baby, and when reproductive cycle ceases, humankind eventually becomes extinct. How can that be a good thing for all of us?

We know that not procreation is not the only reason for marriage or sex. And not every heterosexual union reproduces a human baby. There are options like adoption, surrogate mothers, and test-tube babies, which are commendable for couples who are infertile. Also, there are heterosexual couples who do not want to have children for various reasons. I get that. But that's the exception, not the rule, and the rule of procreation as an inherent purpose for marriage has preserved homosapiens thus far. Why normalize the exception when the norm has served to preserve the human race for thousands of years?

When homosexual activists and their sympathizers draw a straight line between black civil rights and their agenda, we should be courageous enough to let them know that they are belittling the significant, co-opting the special, and usurping what was won by the blood of honorable martyrs. I see in their political craftiness to grab the civil rights trophy a twisted form of envy directed at the authentic civil rights that blacks won. That's why I'm not falling for the lie that "gay rights" equal civil rights, that "gay marriage" is the same as "interracial marriage". Theirs is a reasoning that is mostly emotional, sensational and sentimental. But good feelings are not a sufficient basis for this grand proposal to redesign human civilization, and drag us all along, against our will.

Offensive Equivalence: Why Gay Rights Is Not the Same as Civil Rights for Blacks

What is more ridiculous than treating "gay rights" for homosexuals exactly the same as civil rights for blacks? That people really believe this deceptive reasoning that some otherwise intelligent people, yearning to be politically correct, have fallen for. Homosexual activists really hope most everyone else will fall for their dubious logic.

Homosexual activists are betting that people will just "feel for them", rather than "think about" the ramifications of the massive social engineering that they want us all to experiment with. It may well be a social experiment that dooms its guinea pigs....all of human society.

Common-sense people everywhere must confront and combat the homosexual intelligentsia in the arena of ideas. As an African-America, and with my gloves on, I step into that ring, prepared to get punched, and to punch back with some logical blows of my own. My premise is straightforward: Blackness and black civil rights struggle have nothing in common with homosexuality and gay activism. Here are my reasons.

1. Sense of Guilt

It is common for a homosexual or lesbian to feel guilty for his or her same-sex inclinations. That is very strange, if we are to believe that homosexuality is about a person's who a person IS ("being"), and not about what a person DOES (behavior).

Is a feeling of guilt usually associated with one's "being"? Example: An amputee may feel awful for losing his limbs, for "being" that way, but it would be abnormal for the amputee to feel guilty about his condition, unless he himself somehow caused the losing of his limps. The amputee may feel sorry for himself, but not feel guilty.

On the other hand, guilt is a feeling often associated with behavior....misbehavior to be exact. Whatever summons guilt is related to one's conduct, not his essence. If homosexuality is about "who homosexuals are" (their identity), as we often hear, then why do so many homosexuals harbor feelings of guilt for which they crave the affirmation of everyone else to ease that guilt? Why does the guilt-feeling homosexual have to be talked out of his guilt, to be counseled, to be persuaded or educated into believing he is okay? And why is it so important to his psychological well-being that the rest of society be brainwashed to condone his sexuality? Why all that battle going on at the conscience level?

Compare: As one born black, I may have felt inferior to a white person, but never have I ever felt guilty for "being" black. You know why? Because I have never at any point in any way caused or contributed to my blackness. The biological fact of my dark skin is purely natal, not behavioral.

2. Low-Income versus Elite Class

Historically, blacks have been at the basement of the economic ladder. Forty years after the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, blacks, in 2004, made up about 13% of the US population. That's about 36 million African-Americans, and their buying power was $688 billion.

By contrast, in 2004, homosexuals made up just 7% of the US population, or about 15 million persons. But their buying power was riding at a whopping $580 billion, projected to reach $660 billion by 2007, and $835 billion by 2011. According to the Commercial Closet, "The numbers grow annually in tandem with the overall U.S. population and its buying power." As the numbers show, the homosexual community is economically well off, though their efforts to align themselves with the black struggle have enticed them towards underestimating their income figures so they can appear nearly as poor as blacks. This is a laughable farce.

Furthermore, homosexuals' stroll with expensive gadgets exposes their "We are poor like blacks" facade. "For some time, gays have also been considered early adopters of technology, particularly online. A 2003 Forrester Research study shows that 80% of gay men are Internet users, compared with 70% of heterosexual men. And 76% of lesbians are online, compared with 69% of straight women. And they have been online longer. Almost 30% of all gay men and women have been online for more than seven years, compared with 18% of straight men and women. In addition, gay men are more likely to own portable MP3 players, browser-enabled phones and personal video recorders." ( Commercial Closet)

Indeed, there is much affluence within "gayhood", enough money to finance the campaigns of their preferred politicians. Homosexuals may be described as an elite club already, a wealthy one at that. Yet, not satisfied with all their perks, they keep making demands for even greater power, economic and political. It is shameless that gayhood is pretending to be just regular guys and girls in the same hood where so many blacks have hung over the years. I guess we should now switch our compassion from "inner-city blacks" to "inner-city gays"?

3. Selfishness on Display

Civil rights for blacks was as much about income as it was about equality with whites. The civil rights struggle was also about fair wages for sanitation workers and other low-income workers, many of whom were whites. In that sense, the civil rights battle was an unselfish struggle on the part of blacks, not only for themselves, but for all disadvantaged people within society.

Contrast that with the "gay rights" camp. Who else benefit from their struggle but only homosexuals themselves? How does any other group of people in society benefit from what homosexuals are demanding or getting. Isn't it all about them? How does their victory benefit the poor, the needy, the victims of sex slavery and human trafficking?

4. Slavery: Black Holocaust

Blacks were enslaved for no other reason than for the color of their skin. Homosexuals have never been enslaved on the basis of their homosexuality. Neither have homosexuals as a class known the holocaust of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Industry. Quoting the New York Times, "Estimates of how many blacks were lost at sea in the roughly 400 years of the slave trade in the Americas vary wildly. Some, like Mr. Akeem, place the figure between 100 million and 200 million. Others say perhaps as many as 14 million people perished. Whichever is true, many historians note that the numbers of enslaved Africans who died at sea were so great that sharks learned to follow the slave routes because they fed on the bodies thrown overboard."

How can someone read that and still believe "gay marriage" is like black civil rights? Show me the holocaust directed at homosexuals! Does it not border on exhuming the graves of the victims of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to parallel what Africans suffered as an ethnic group to the mostly made-up plight of homosexuals? (See Part 2 for more.)

The Ancient Cycle of the Book of Judges Still Churns; Are You Caught in It?

During the time that Nehemiah was Governor of Judah (5th Century BCE), the Jews, who had returned from exile, called on Ezra the priest and scribe to read the Book of the Law, which was their Bible (see Nehemiah chapter 8). The Bible reading stirred conviction in the hearts of the people, and they confessed their sins, while affirming the faithfulness of Yahweh their God (Nehemiah 9:33). Their prayer of confession gave an overview of Israel's history of unfaithfulness to Yahweh. Part of that history included the biblical period of the Judges as recorded in the Book of Judges (13th Century BCE).


There was a vicious cycle that churned over and again as found in these words of prayerful confession, voiced by Ezra for Israel's repentance: But after they had rest, they again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies (Nehemiah 9:28).


What is heart-wrenching is that for centuries, even close to 800 years after the time of the Judges, the Jews were still caught in this ruthless Merry Go Round, this on-again, off-again loyalty to the Lord!


As people of faith in God, often in our national life as well as in our personal lives we tend to repeat that same pattern of unfaithfulness on our part in spite of faithfulness on our Savior's part.

1. Rest: God blesses us; we cherish His presence; we love Him and enjoy serving Him.
   
2. Rebellion: we lose interest in the things of God; we get bored with God; we forsake God; we disobey Him; we choose self and sin; the flesh leads and reigns; God warns us through His Word, through His messengers; we disregard the warnings; we mock, scold, and persecute God's messengers.
   
3. Retribution: God withdraws His protection from us; the enemy dominates us and takes us down; our spiritual lives get dry; we feel pitiful inside; we have no real peace or joy, though we try to fake it.
   
4. Repentance: we feel the pinch of life without fellowship with God; we are broken; we confess our sins, and repent, asking God to rescue us; we recommit to reading and learning God's Word and ways; we start praying fervently again, going to church, truly worshiping, giving, living holy, serving the Lord again.
   
5. Rescue: in His mercy God forgives our sins, and by His grace He delivers us from the enemy, and we find rest in His blessed presence once again.
   

Then we hang out with God for a while until the next shiny bait of the flesh dangles before our lustful eyes, our wayward hearts. Worldly concerns and affairs draw our attention away from our Jesus who truly loves us. The pull of selfishness stirs us to rebel against our beloved Heavenly Father once again. We take the bait, get hooked, and we set the wheels of retribution in motion. On and on the cycle churns, for many of God's children....till we die! Does it really have to be that way? Right now, where are you in the ancient cycle? I hope you are in the Rest area. If so, why would you want to leave?

My Frustrations with President Obama, and Why He's Not Getting This Black Vote

Did I cast the right vote when I selected Senator Barack Obama in 2008? More importantly, was mine a righteous vote?

I use the words "right" and "righteous" not only in a moral sense but also with reference to justice. I reasoned that the election of Mr. Obama was necessary to permanently heal the racial injustice by which America and other Westerners humiliated and enslaved Africans in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

I reckoned my vote a final "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" of the corpse of race-based slavery followed by segregation, lingering discrimination and the inequality that have plagued the sons and daughters of Ham (patriarch of dark-skin peoples). My vote yelled "JUSTICE at last"!

What voice could sound the trumpet of justice any louder than seeing a son of Ham in the white house that black slaves built? A biblical sense of justice assumes that measurable reparation must always be made for slavery. That was a primary theme of the Exodus, when Israelite slaves were not only delivered from Egyptian bondage but also departed with much Egyptian bounty (Exodus 3:22; 11:2; 12:35-36). There was no doubt in my mind that an Obama presidency would be a part of a fitting reparation for the gory and gruesome inhumanity of slavery.

Satisfied that my vote had helped to deliver historical justice at the cemetery of racism, I was unprepared that the black man I had selected would become a warrior against everything most blacks stand for. Needless to say, I am more than disappointed that I voted for Senator Obama. I am very frustrated, and I have started voicing my sickening frustration, which may only be somewhat relieved when I vote against President Obama one smiley Tuesday in November 2012. Just can't wait!

Obama's Record on Africa

Let me start with Liberia, that unique nation founded in the 1820s on the former Grain Coast of West Africa by former slaves from the United States. President Obama has done nothing to help change the neglected stepchild status that Liberia has endured since that fledging settlement declared independence in 1847, a declaration that America was not eager to honor. Instead, the Obama administration chose to pressure the Liberian government to impose homosexual marriage on the Liberian people as a condition for foreign aid. Repugnant was what the Liberian people thought of that audacity of condescension.

President Obama has yet to give even a hint of making a trip to historic Liberia. Again, that's the only nation on the face of the earth that was founded by black Americans! And we would assume "the first black president of the United States" would understand the implication of that history.

His interest in Kenya is just as nauseating. Maybe this whole story about Obama's dad being a Kenyan is fable after all. How can that be true, and the son of a Kenyan shows zero enthusiasm to set foot on that East African soil? Some of us Africans swipe our regretful tears with the thought that President Obama is saving the best for last, that he will eventually catch African fever and visit Kenya in grand style during or near the end of his second term in office. Second term? May it never come for him!

Thus far every significant action by the Obama administration is producing the rise of Islamists who swear to impose Sharia Law as their religion demands. First, the Muslim Brotherhood is taking over Egypt under the guise of "democracy". Then Libya will be next. Does Obama not know that he is advancing the cause of Sharia in Africa to the eventual persecution of most Africans my Islamic theocrats?

A Villain for the Cause of Poor Black Americans

We foolishly assumed that America's "first black president" would boldly tackle head-on the many economic disadvantages that black Americans face, especially during this Great Recession. What day dreamers we were! The black Robin Hood never mounted his horse. Though the unemployment rate among blacks hovers in the 20% range, President Obama remains cautious, even timid about tackling any cause that will specifically benefit blacks. His fear of being seen as a "black president" has rendered him all but useless to the economic plight of blacks. In that regard, President Bill Clinton was blacker than President Obama. Our president reminds me of the prisoner who was asked to list ten names of inmates to be released; the guy never got around to writing his own name on the list. Yes, the guy may have had a big heart, but he was a fool, and he remained a prisoner.

A Champion for Abortion and Homosexuality

Was I deceived by Senator Obama's "traditional family", assuming that would be the version of the family he would vouch for? Somehow I held my breath that he would keep in check his proclivity for the abortion and homosexual agendas. No! Like a race horse at the Kentucky Derby, President Obama blasted out of the stall, charging at us with the cause of abortion raised above his head, not minding to infringe on the consciences of people of faith who do not share his zeal to pay-back his abortionist donors.

On the homosexual front, he played the faithful house slave boy, doing all the dirty work for his supporters in the homosexual wing of American politics. His administration pushed to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", a law passed under President Clinton, a fellow Democrat at that. The Obama justice department refused to defend DOMA (the Defense Of Marriage Act), the law of the land. Then sprinting for the finish line, President Obama handed the box of Kleenex to his homosexual fans when, on May 9, he happily, proudly endorsed same-sex marriage, falling in line behind his vice president, a pathetic case of the tail wagging the dog.

Does he know that most black people do not share his flawed thinking that equates special rights for homosexuals with civil rights for blacks? The vast majority of blacks see it as an insult to parallel blackness with homosexuality. For one thing, I have met some former homosexuals. Never once have I seen or heard a former black. Even after Michael Jackson bleached his skin, he remained a black man.

So here I stand...can't wait to NOT vote for Mr. Obama come November. That should not mean I'm eager to vote for Governor Mitt Romney, whose Book Of Mormoon I read while in seminary. There I found that my pigmentation is a curse from God, and that to enter Heaven my skin must be turned white. I must become "former black" to have eternal life? How can I vote for that? Belief matters. And No, "the lesser of two evils" line won't work here; my conscience does not free me to choose any kind of evil, more or less, evil in practice (Obamanism) or evil in doctrine (Mormonism).

From now on, I will only vote for candidates who do not contradict any major belief I hold. Never again will I hinge my vote on the tail of a politician, hoping he will not follow his instinct to undermine my biblical worldview. Part of that worldview is that I will give an account to the Lord for every vote that I cast. Already, I am not looking forward to giving an account for my "Obama for president" vote. ~mogama~

What Mother's Day Has to Do with Gay Marriage?

May I share what's on my heart as we look forward to Mother's Day?

Question: In a society, where "families" are run by "married gay couples", what need or purpose would Mother's Day serve? Is it possible to really celebrate motherhood while we dismiss the place for biological motherhood, which is the net effect of homosexual marriage?

Few women have the time to take in the seriousness of the tide that is fast turning against their sacred role as the greenhouse of the human race. In fact, some women are actually celebrating what they see as "gay marriage" victories. We all need to realize that any victory for "gay marriage" is a tragic defeat for womanhood in general and for motherhood in particular.

By definition two men or two women cannot biologically conceive and beget a human baby. Homosexual marriage then, by its very nature, rules out motherhood in the reproductive sense. (And fatherhood too, but that's a blog for Father's Day.) Yes, being a woman is much more than procreation, yet womanhood has to at least include the capacity for motherhood.

That being the case, then to promote any form of marriage that rules out biological procreation is to demote biological motherhood. Therefore, to the extent that homosexual marriage spreads throughout this country and the world, to that extent the role of mothers will become marginalized. 

Again, the question corners me, demanding an urgent answer: Is it possible to celebrate Mother's Day and not mourn the affront on motherhood that "gay marriage" represents?

For Bible-based Christians in this generation, Mother's Day has to also become a Day of Prayer for Motherhood to be delivered from the fangs of radical homosexuals and politicians who, under the cover of "civil rights", are increasingly erasing the need for biological mothers. Let us pray that through the eyes of God, Christian mothers will see the link between legalizing homosexual marriage and undermining the need to celebrate motherhood by God's design.

There are many biblical reasons why I weep over the push for legalized "gay marriage". One reason is that I desire every woman to cherish her sacred calling to be Eve, "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). The day we dismiss that will mark the beginning of a thousand deaths for many sectors of modern society.

And now, to every woman who is a godly mother, who still believes that motherhood must remain the fertile soil where the seed of the human race is sown and grown, to you I say, May God and the people of God stand firm with you, and may we all have the courage to fight for Motherhood, the womb of the human race.

Happy Mother's Day!

Give Me Integrity, Or Give Me Poverty: The Greatest Need in Post-War Liberia

Need we bemoan how deep, how wide, and how high the culture of corruption rules and reigns across the Liberian motherland? We could do that, but why settle for the easy, thoroughly beaten path? After all, no amount of cursing the darkness can ever turn on a flicker of light. So rather than curse the darkness, let's choose to switch on the light.

Speaking of turning on the light, my friend, Pastor Luther Tarpeh of Liberia, conducted a conference on Saturday, March 31, 2012, at the Tubman High School auditorium in Sinkor, Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. This was the third year of Brother Luther's "Successful Living Conference". Notable speakers at the event, which drew attendees even from distant cities and counties, included Dr. Joseph Saye Guanu, Liberia's historian emeritus, who once served as his nation's ambassador to the United States. My assignment was to speak on how Americans think in contrast to how Liberians think.

One feature of the event really drew me in. It was my favorite part. Brother Luther issued "The Honest Liberian Award" to one male and one female. Both candidates had been recommended by others for their honesty in handling money, which they could have easily embezzled or stolen.


The hopes and dreams of The New Liberia are wrapped up in the likes of these two recipients. I was so moved, I promised Pastor Tarpeh that Mission Liberia would like to donate the plaques for the honest Liberians to be named at the 2013 Successful Living Conference.


In contrast to those two honorable Liberians, let me share this first-hand experience of a diaspora Liberian who has been doing business in the United States for years now. On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, a friend of mine, on his birthday, rode with me to Louisville, Kentucky, on a special mission: to take back a Chevrolet Astro minivan along with a generator, keyboard, guitar, boxes of clothing, toys and books. Our friends from a sister church later added two dentist chairs to the cargo. The shipper promised in early December 2011 to have the things shipped to Liberia by mid-January 2012, ahead of our mission trip in March. The plan was for us to use the van for transportation during the mission trip, to do outreach with the clothing, and to use the chairs for a dental clinic by the dentist on our team. The shipper kept moving the shipment date...January, February, March...then lying to the leader of our Mission Liberia team at Church For All.

In the previous two weeks the shipper swore up and down, telling our team leader the things were now on their way to Liberia. He wanted another $2,000 of the balance we owed him; we had already paid him $1,000. When Victor asked for proof, the businessman expressed shock that Victor would not believe his word. "I'm just trying to help you guys, because you're a church..." he claimed. Armed with a digital camera, Victor showed up at the shipper's home in his absence, and snapped photos of our van still parked there, along with many other vehicles, waiting to be shipped. Victor attached the photographs to an email to Mission Liberia team members.

"Welcome back, Pastor," the businessman said, as he exchanged handshakes with me, a broad smile on his face. "How was your mission trip to Liberia?"

Disgusted, I forced a smile. Returned his greeting. "We're here to pick up the van...", I told him, with Jason standing beside me.

"Oh," Molubah began, "Matthew didn't tell you?" (Matthew Karmo is Molubah Kamara's partner in the shipping business.) "It's on the ship. It's already gone. Matthew didn't tell you?"

"It's not what Matthew told me or didn't tell me!" I interrupted him. "It's what I saw."

Molubah did not know that Jason and I drove to his residence and saw the unshipped van parked in his backyard, before we went to his African food and cosmetic store at 4314 Taylor Boulevard in Louisville, Kentucky.

Once he realized we knew the truth about the van and other cargo, the scammer suddenly removed his lying garment, and for the rest of the time he was meek, mild and docile, even apologizing to Jason and me, a couple of times. Molubah then led us to his house, and we packed most of the things into the minivan, and some in my car.

Back at the food store, Jason informed Molubah to return the $1,000 our church had paid him; that way we wouldn't have to use our lawyer or the police. Not an empty threat: at church we do have a lawyer who had previously written a letter to Molubah, and on our way to Louisville, Jason did call the police who promised to be there in 30 minutes if we needed them.

Molubah wasted no time asking his nephew to write us a post-dated check. When he placed the check in my hand, I saw May 7, 2012 as the date to cash it. Will this check actually clear the bank after that date? If the check bounces, we've got that lawyer, and don't forget the police, which can easily land this guy behind bars where we may minister to him in Jesus' name! Church For All has a prison ministry.

Making the 2-hour drive back, Jason and I kept expressing mutual shock at just how calmly the whole thing had gone, how humble, even sheepish Molubah behaved. We just than God to whom we had prayed before reaching Louisville, and meeting "the businessman".

Originally I had partly imagined Mission Liberia as a relief effort targeting Liberians, but Mother Liberia's hunger and thirst for honest Liberians has persuaded me to propose integrity, grounded in a biblical worldview, as the first step in having a real, lasting impact on post-war Liberians. Any serious charitable work in Liberia has to include biblical truth that must be intentionally presented to renew the minds and transforms the lives of Liberians, who will then lift their nation from widespread poverty and rampant corruption.

Without that, missionary, charitable and entrepreneurial efforts designed to help Liberians are doomed to keep desperate Liberians helplessly dependent and corrupt for years to come, regardless of how spiritually open and socially welcoming the Liberian people are. We should partner with emerging, visionary leaders like Luther Tarpeh, until a growing number of Liberians can earn "The Honest Liberian Award".

Rich Liberia, Poor Liberians: The Frustrating Irony of Africa's Oldest Republic

The West African nation of Liberia is rich in many ways, yet Liberians remain largely impoverished, still stuck in the hell hole of the fourteen-year civil war that ended about nine years ago.

Fertile soil: "Portuguese explorers established contacts with Liberia as early as 1461 and named the area Grain Coast because of the abundance of grains of Malegueta Pepper." The nickname "Grain Coast" barely fits Liberia these days, though it should. Thanks to its tropical climate, Liberia is home to 40% West Africa's rainforest. The land receives an average of 170 inches of rainfall each year. Plants like rubber, sugar cane, mangoes, coconuts, palms, cocoa, coffee, bananas, plantains, avocados, yams, coco-yams, eggplants, pineapples, sweet potatoes, cassava, rice, peanuts, beans, among others, grow well on fertile Liberian terrain.

Rich in natural resources: Despite careless logging, timber still abounds in Liberia's rainforest. Some of the best quality iron ore, diamond and gold deposits are found in Liberia. Oil was recently discovered there, and Chevron has opened a regional office in Monrovia, getting ready to drill for petroleum off Liberia's Atlantic coast. Despite all this wealth, Liberia imports its staple food (rice); gold is very expensive in the jewelry stores of Monrovia; and gasoline is near $5 per gallon.

Rich in History: Settled in the early 1820s by former African slaves from the United States, Liberia became the first independent republic (July 26, 1847) on the African continent. Liberia's historical link to the United States, coupled with the of the American dollar as currency, should have our homeland prospering. But Liberia remains to struggle as America's stepchild that only smells but can't taste America's prosperity.

Crucial World War II partner: Without Liberian airstrips used by Allied war planes to refuel before confronting Axis forces in North Africa, the Allied forces would have probably not defeated Hitler's Germany on the North African battlefront during World War II.

Leader in African unity: Before the heads of 32 African governments signed the charter that formed the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963, the initial discussions were held in Sanniquelle, Liberia. Along with President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Liberian president William Tubman, who hosted the first meeting, played a key role in birthing the OAU.

Secret contributor to the motor vehicle industry: How important are tires on cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, ATVs, etc? Like they say, everything is ridding on the tires. Well, for decades, tires on vehicles around the world were made from rubber plants grown and harvested on Liberian soil by the Firestone and BF Goodridge rubber plantations. Yet in nearly 100 years, not one vehicle tire has been manufactured on Liberian soil.

Numerous rivers: Farmington, St. Paul, St. John, Timbo, Cestos - any of these rivers can host a dam with a hydroelectric plant that can easily supply, not just all of Liberia, but a neighboring country or two with 24-hour electricity. Yet most Liberians sleep in darkness. Even the majority of residents in Monrovia, the capital city, at best exist on rationed electricity, unless they can afford to spend hundreds of dollars every month operating gasoline-powered generators.

Beautiful beaches: Every visitor to coastal Liberian cities and towns like Robertsport, Monrovia, Buchanan, Cestos City, Greenville, Sasstown, Grand Cess, Harper, Cape Palmas, among others, have wowed at the breathtaking beauty of the typical Liberian beach. Yet very little of this coastal paradise has been tapped for the tourists' dream it could be. It's a tourist heaven in waiting.

During a recent mission trip (March 2012) to Liberia, several of the eight of us short-term missionaries agreed on this: Though this small West African nation is a land of desperation, owing to the devastating barbaric war that ended 2003, yet for those who have the means and the international vision, Liberia offers some of the most profitable investment opportunities anywhere on planet earth right now.

• See map of Liberia here

Sources: Conservapedia, SouthTravels.com, Wikipedia

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 17

Wednesday, April 4, 2012. Boarding on Delta Flight 269 starts at 7:30 AM at Gate 8. We lift off from New York at 8:40 AM, 35 minutes later than the 8:05 AM time shown on our boarding passes. I learn from Delta Airlines that departure time and takeoff time are not the same in aviation speak. The aircraft touches down in Atlanta, Georgia at 10:25 AM Eastern, a one-hour 45-minute flight, 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Count that one in Delta's favor.

Upon asking and getting directions from an airport staff, not the Delta employee, whose directions go right over my head, I hop on a fast-speed concourse train to the D-Gates section of Atlanta's massive Hartfield-Jackson International Airport. A good stretch of brisk walk soon delivers me to Gate D27, with Delta Flight 5251 fixed on the screen behind the desk. Still got plenty of time on hand, so I order lunch, using my second meal voucher from Delta Airlines. Each of the vouchers is limited to $6. My order totals $7:58. I pay the $1:58 difference. Earlier in New York I had paid $2.50 after applying the breakfast voucher. I think that's very cheap of Delta Airlines. They should refund the extra money I have spent on phone calls, luggage cart, and now food, expenses I would not have without these delays.

Semi-slowly make my way back to Gate D27, where boarding is to begin at 11:51 AM, according to the boarding pass. But a different flight shows on the screen. I wait until about five minutes to boarding time. Still my flight has not posted on screen. I walk over to another desk and found out that my boarding gate has been changed to D46, much farther down the terminal. There I find out the latest Delta headache: the airplane is in maintenance! Departure time will be delayed by 30 minutes.

Thankfully, time flies, and boarding starts at 12:25 PM. Lift off from Atlanta at 12:52 Eastern Time for the 55-minute flight to Evansville, Indiana, where we touch down at 1:47 PM Eastern, which is 12:47 PM Central Time, the local time in Evansville, and Owensboro, my hometown. Stepping off the plane I engage in a chat with Rev. Theophilus Allen, a pastor friend who was on this flight. Theo and I haven't seen each other for over 20 years; so we hurry to catch up on one another's families. Inside the Evansville Regional Airport terminal, Pastor Allen introduces me to a beautiful, tall lady, his youngest daughter, who was just a year old when I saw her years ago in Liberia.

Ray Blair, my ride, walks over, as I stand with my luggage next to baggage claim. Miss Harriet is not here; too bad I did not show up yesterday when she took the day off just to meet me at the airport. But that's OK, Delta, things happen, and delay flights are a staple for travelers, right?

Ray and I exchange greetings, hugs. “You haven't changed one bit!” I say. “I haven't grown one inch”, he replies. The one-hour ride in Ray's pickup truck from the airport to Owensboro is shortened by our friendly conversations that only crawl to an end as Ray pulls up into my driveway. It's 2:10 PM Central. Ray stops the engine, and I cruise into prayer, thanking the Lord for traveling grace, for protecting, providing for us all. (Earlier I had asked the Lord to forgive me for whining so much about the delays.)

Only T (my son Tojyea) is home, with Mattie (the dog, who keeps climbing on me, hugging my leg, sniffing, making high-pitch noises, speaking doggish). Miss Harriet is at work, and Favor (our seven-year-old is at the Boys & Girls Club). It's just great to be home ... in one piece.

Harriet later calls after 3:30 PM, when she got off work. She passes at the Boys & Girls Club to pick up Favor, and upon their arrival home, the informal welcome party is in full swing. Welcome balloons deck the dinner table. The celebration will continue when my family gets back from Wednesday evening service after 8 PM. I stay home to steal some sleep, owing to the 5-hour difference in time between Liberia and Owensboro, and the loss of sleep on the crazy ride back home. Taking it all in, I realize this is the first time I have been away from my family for an entire month, since Harriet and Daneto (18 months-old then) arrived in America seventeen years ago.

Will I actually buy a Delta Airlines ticket again? For trips within the US, maybe. Not for international travel, even if I must pass through Europe, as in my previous trips to Africa. Prior to our mission trip, a person or two had said, “Delta is one of the worst airlines out there.” I doubted it then, suspecting such a charge to be an exaggeration. I'm a believer now. But then I have that $100 appeasement voucher towards my next trip with Delta, where on-time departure and/or arrival is low on the ladder of priority. But what's the big deal if you make it home safely, whether you've lost one day of your life or not. I know I should remain in gratitude mode. The Lord surely delivered me from “the snare of the fowler” (Psalm 91:3), that bird-strike that grounded our airplane. ~End Blog 17~

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 16

Monday, April 2, 2012, begins with family members coming over in the morning hours to Luther Tarpeh's house, where I have stayed for one month. They include Edison Garsuah (younger brother), Israel Garsuah (nephew), Patience Wallah (niece), Wada Wallah (nephew), Salome Garsuah Karnley (niece), Peter Xwor-yonwon (uncle), and Jaamah Karnley (brother-in-law). Salome hands me her demo CD to be given to Bro. Joe Walker, who promised to promote Salome in the United States.

For family time we kick off lively conversations, eat breakfast (plantains with dry bonnie fish), and take a group walk to a cookshop at Rehab Junction, where two of us eat fufu and pepper soup, and the rest have rice. We return to the house for a videotaped family meeting on how to keep our expanding family tree strong and unified from now on. To close off, Salome leads us in singing, before we pray together.

It's after 2 PM already. Family and friends accompany me to Roberts International Airport in Harbel, about 45-minute drive from Monrovia. Riding with me in the Nissan Path Finder are Brother Luther and his wife Christine (my hosts), Jaaman Karnley (minister and brother-in-law), and Pastor Daniel Tarpeh (whose congregation decided to join Church For All). In the Toyota Sienna minivan are Elder Martin Curlon, Edison, Wada, Peter, Patience, and Salome.

From Robertsfield, Delta Flight 27, on a 767 jet plane takes off around 6 PM, and lands in Accra, Ghana, 1 hour 44 minutes later, about 7:40 PM GMT. Passengers destined for Ghana disembark the plane. The rest of us remain on board for about three hours, waiting to continue on to New York. That's when the captain announces that, shortly after liftoff in Liberia, the aircraft experienced a birds' strike, which damaged the plane. Murmurings of disappointment slip through the aircraft, as we prepare to step off the plane.

Inside the Kotoka International Airport terminal, a Ghanaian Delta employee hands us immigration forms to be filled out for a one-day Ghanaian visa to be issued to each passenger. The worker then takes our passports to keep overnight. Suspicious passengers query him: “How can you assure us we will get our passports back?”

Meanwhile the Delta flight crew, led by the captain, zooms by us unlucky passengers, and leave for their comfort in some luxury hotel in the heart of Accra. How is that any different from a captain jumping ship, like the captain of that wrecked cruise ship did somewhere in Europe, not that long ago?

The nearly 100 of us walk outside the terminal to stand on the street curb, where we wait and wait and wait. The 14-seat buses finally pull up one at a time to haul us off to various hotels around Accra city. It is after 1 AM when my batch arrives at the Travelers Express Hotel. Rooms range from $120 to $180 per night, but Delta Airlines will pay. The Delta rep informs us we will be picked up around 11:30 AM on Tuesday, April 3.

For most of us it's a short, restless night. In the morning, some passengers report being unable to sleep. Passengers are frustrated, anxious from scrambling, but, for the most part, failing to place calls to family members, employers, etc, in the USA to let them know the change from flight to plight.

On Tuesday, April 3, buses begin hauling us from the hotel around 10 AM. We form a long line to check in. It is past 12 noon before we begin boarding Delta Flight 27 on a different plane brought from the United States last night. Sitting on the airstrip, still being worked on by mechanics, is the bird-stricken aircraft that brought us from Liberia. Little birds can do that to a jet plane? How the force of nature always out-strong man's best!

We take off at 1:20 PM GMT, and the captain shortly informs us that flight time is estimated at 10 hours 55 minutes. The flight crew serves us a large meal around 2 PM, followed by sandwich and chocolate bar at 6 PM GMT. The in-flight entertainment system fails, though the system keeps rebooting, every time a malfunction causes a female singer's voice to blanket the airplane. We hear numerous comments, which actually started last night, about how Delta Airlines only send the oldest airplanes to Africa, while flying new planes to Europe. Finally, the Delta SkyTeam apologizes that we will endure the long flight without music, movie, television, or even the digital navigation map that shows how the flight is progressing. Most passengers use sleep as drug to tamper the drag of the marathon ride.

Some 10 hours and 30 minutes later, we reconnect with the ground, familiar territory to humans, at 7:52 PM EST at JFK International Airport in New York, where a plane lands or takes off every 60 seconds or so. Since this flight was delayed, we will not continue on to connecting flights, and that meant we have to go to the baggage claim conveyor belt and wait to grab our check-in bags.

Gone through immigration & security, we are told to recheck in our luggage to our final destinations. By the time the multitude is reissued replacement boarding passes, taxi vouchers, and meal vouchers, it is after 11 PM. Delta Airlines pays for us to spend the night at Double Tree Hotel of the Hilton hotel chain. I think I fell asleep after 1 AM.

I wake up on Wednesday, April 4, at 4 AM with my phone's alarm blasting away. My iPhone's alarm must have malfunctioned, because I had set it for 5 AM, but the early alarm better suits the rushed morning schedule. Hotel shuttle buses drive us back to JFK Airport around 6 AM Eastern Time to go through security once again. ~End Blog 16~

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 15

Before we evaluated ourselves on Friday, March 23, I heard days ago that one of the missionaries at ELWA was very impressed with our mission team: how unified the team is, how team members do not complain about conditions and workers at the guesthouse, how handy and helpful our Liberian hosts have been in keeping team members' company and taking them places. The ELWA people are used to seeing in-fighting among short-term missionaries, hearing team members grouch about the guesthouse, seeing their Liberian hosts dumb the missionaries at the guesthouse and abandon them. My response to such raving praise from an outsider was, “Thank God we forgot to read the template!”

Pastor Isaac Dayugar took Brother G to the home of CFA Assistant Pastor Moses Kollie, who showed us 2.5 lots (more than half an acre) of land for sale. Brother G videotaped the land, then instructed Brother Kollie to negotiate a price with the seller without mentioning CFA's American connection; that's to prevent the seller from raising the price.

Brother Kollie later reported that the seller asked for $3,500, but he negotiated her down to $2,800. That is a steal for land that close to the major township of Barnersville. The land is big enough to host not only a church building, but a guesthouse too, if we decide to build one there. Besides the great price, the land is located in a growing community (Old Town, Barnersville) that has no churches in sight. That means room to grow and impact the large number of families in Old Town, especially if CFA were to open a school, using the church building (to be constructed). Pray for the Lord to provide for us to acquire this land as the site for our headquarters church in Liberia.

On Sunday morning, March 25, Brother G was the guest preacher at Pentecostal Holiness Church, one of 42 churches that rent classrooms at Tubman High School on 12^th Street, Monrovia. Visiting the church with me were Pastor Isaac Dayugar, Edison Garsuah (my younger brother), Salome Garswa Karnley (my niece, the singer), and Terry Saydee (the young businessman and nephew of my friend Robert Saydee). The Pastor of this church, Brother Moses Dean, served as team leader for the Planning Team that organized our meetings in Liberia. Pastor Dean and the Pentecostal Holiness Church have decided to become a Church For All congregation. It seems the Lord has moved CFA's work in Liberia in the fast lane!

Sunday evening, March 25, we conducted the memorial service for my mother, Martha Nyonochen Garswa, at the First Evangelical Free Church, near Zone 3 Police Station in Congo Town. Our host was Pastor James McCarthy.

As some of you may know, Brother G's mother fell mentally ill, then suddenly disappeared in 2006. His trip to Liberia in 2007 was to search for Mother, but after 10 days of stay, the search yielded no result. Before returning to the US in 2007, Brother G instructed Judy and Edison to continue looking and listening for signs of where Mom might be. If Mother had not been located by the time of his next trip to Liberia, the family would have a memorial service to celebrate Mom's substantive life.

The March 25^th memorial service brought together children, grandchildren, and other relatives, as well as fellow pastors who are friends of Brother G's. The celebration featured praise music, primarily led by Patience Wallah (Judy's daughter), and later by Salome (our late brother Abraham's daughter). Family members paid verbal tributes to Mom, repeatedly emphasizing her devotion to personal holiness, her work ethic, business acumen, wisdom, generosity, hospitality, and passion for education, though she herself never attended school. It was Mom who made the decision for me to be educated, like my other three siblings who attended school before me.

Brother G eulogized his mom, using Proverbs 31:10-31, as his text, stating Mom was truly one of the few women on earth who can realistically be called “the virtuous wife”. Just about every detail of that passage, describing the ideal woman, could be seen in the life of Mother Martha, once she was converted from a life of worldliness to the righteousness of Christ . Wrapping up his message, Brother G asked family and relatives present to stand and commit to having an annual family reunion, beginning 2013, to honor the memory of our mother, who served as the glue for the extended family that spans Grand Bassa and Montserrado Counties. May Mother find eternal rest in the presence of Jesus Christ for whom she labored so well and so long, while suffering so much. ~End Blog 15~

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 14

Friday, March 23

• Today is departure day for seven members of our mission team. Brother G will be left behind to tie up some loose ends.
• Elder Martin picks me up at Pastor Luther Tarpeh's house shortly after 6 AM, and we pick up Bro. Ron Miller, along with Joe Walker, from the ELWA guesthouse at 6:30 AM, for Bro. Ron's 8 AM radio interview with Pastor Tarpeh on his Family & Society talk show on Radio Monrovia. During the radio conversation, Bro. Ron pleaded with President Sirleaf and other Liberian leaders, who listen to the show, not to turn Liberia into a secular nation, but to keep the nation a friend of the Church. He also cautioned Liberia to be ware of the hook that may be hidden within the lure of Chinese foreign aid. (Let me insert that America's lack of serious, consistent interest in Liberia has left a void of partnership which China has been eager to fill.)
• Mission team members continue packing to leave. Jason Toler gives Brother G $100, plus two plastic bags with foods, shoes, and other items to be given to Pastor Luther Tarpeh for the boys at The Transformation House. Kevin Young gives Brother G a new Dell laptop, and Brother selected Pastor Moses Dean, of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, as the recipient of the precious equipment. Pastor Dean served as the leader for the Event Planning Team for the conference, dental clinic, and revival services. He has computer-generated several impressive publications – bulletins and reports for our events. By donating this laptop, Kevin has made a significant contribution to the ministry of Pastor Dean and his church.

• Brother G holds a 15-minute Evaluation Session with the mission team around the dinner table at the ELWA guesthouse. Some team members responded at random to the following questions:

• What went well … the best of your experience in Liberia
• What needs to be done better
• How to make the impact last
• The key connections you made
• The financial cost of this trip to you
• How this trip has impacted you … changed you

• Brother G asked team members to write their evaluation via email as well; their written responses to the above topics can be useful to Mission Liberia in planning our next mission trip.
• Bro. Ron Miller described ours as “the perfect team”: we have all the major components needed on a short-term mission team – the spiritual (conference and revival led by Ron Miller); worship music leader (Jason Toler); humanitarian effort (dental clinic by Charlotte Nichols and Heather Hodges); youth and street ministry (Jason Toler, Kevin Young, and Corbin Young); an elderly person (Joe Walker who is 72 years old); a native of the host country who also lives in America (Brother G). Charlotte liked the fact we did not need to exchange American dollars for local currency.
• Next time we want to have a cooking team to plan the menu. Brother G had recommended Tabitha Walker (wife of Pastor Sam Walker) to cook for our team as she has done for missionaries over the years); in fact, Tabitha cooked for the Pillar Of Fire Mission Team that was leaving Liberia on the heels of our arrival. But some team members wanted to eat American, for fear of contamination in how the Liberian cook may prepare the food. Brother G thinks this fear is unwarranted, and it caused our team members to overspend on food – not a great use of God's money.
• On the next trip we should plan women's events, where the women on our mission team can better minister to Liberian women. We should organize youth events for youth workers on our team to minister to youth. Also, we should have a couple of GSM phones on hand so team members can reach one another when separated by divergent schedules; Brother G and Jason Toler were the only ones with phones that work in Liberia.
• Transportation needs to be done differently. Upon arrival, our team began spending $135 per day for two vehicles – a KIA compact SUV ($60 daily) and a Toyota Sienna minivan ($75 daily). The solution is a van that seats 12 people, including a mission team of 8 and Liberians to take us to places. Liberians in the know advice us to get a Nissan or Toyota van, because parts for those brands are cheaper and easier to find in Liberia; that means lower maintenance cost.
• To accompany our team to RIA (Robert's International Airport), Brother G invited four pastors (Isaac Dayugar of Church For All, Jonathan Williams of Heritage International, Moses Dean of Pentecostal Holiness, and Daniel Tarpeh of Covenant Church). Also accompanying us to the airport is Salome Garswa (the daughter of my late brother – I'm her dad now) and Ruth Dayugar (Pastor Isaac's adopted daughter). Driving us to the airport were Lassana Farfee, Abraham Kollie, and Elder Martin Curlon (back up driver; the third vehicle with the Liberian pastors was driven by a gentleman we did not know.)
• Joe Walker gave Salome $150 for her to record a demo CD and send with me for Joe to copy and pass out to churches in America. Joe is convinced that Salome is a genuinely anointed singer whose gift should reach the Christian audience in the United States. Joe knowing Salome was one of the key connections of this mission trip.
• A problem with figuring when to leave the guesthouse for the airport is that the Americans returning are on two separate flights, whose departure times are three hours apart. Beginning next year we want all team members to be on the same flight, coming and going. We decided to leave the ELWA guesthouse around 2 PM for the 1-hour trip to the airport; we formed a prayer circle and prayed before stepping out of the house overlooking the beach. Jason, Kevin and Corbin are to check in with Delta Airline between 2 to 4 PM. For the second group (Bro. Ron, Joe, Charlotte and Heather), check in with Brussels Airline (same as United Airlines) starts at 7 PM the latest. Most of us hung around in the airport restaurant; others (Pastors Isaac, Dean and I) found a cook shop where we ate fufu with soup. The wait was long and fun, but the time came for the those sad goodbyes, as the Americans left and the Liberians returned to Monrovia. ~ End Blog 14 ~

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 13

Thursday, March 22

• Charlotte Nichols, Heather Hodges, and Bro. Ron Miller went shopping, while the other four of us (Corbin Young, Kevin Young, Jason Toler, Joe Walker, and Brother G) visited Ricks Institute, one of the elite schools of Liberia. With the support of the American Women In Liberia and of my missionaries-guardians, Gordon and Paul Hodgson, I attended Ricks Institute in the 1980s as a boarding student, and graduated from there in 1985. After earning my first degree at the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, the Lord blessed me to serve Ricks as teacher and administrative assistant, before fleeing the Liberian Civil War in July 1990.

• Pastor Edwin Doley, my former Ricks classmate, and currently the school's Administrative Assistant, gave us a tour of the campus. He showed us the administrative building, the clinic, cafeteria, school building, library, girls dormitory. As we stood between the cafeteria and the clinic, we observed a large herd of cows treading the campus; the livestock are part of Ricks' agriculture program. Noticing that Bro. Joe Walker was having trouble with the heat, we cut short the campus tour, and returned to Monrovia.

• We went shopping on Randall Street, Mechlin Street, then descended to Down Waterside (Monrovia's biggest marketplace). Jason had so much fun negotiating prices on merchandise that displayed no price tags. The first rule of bargain-shopping is this: the buyer should never pay the initial price named by the seller. You can bargain the initial price down by as much as 30%. Jason did just that, paying $15 for a scarf-hat combo with “Liberia” woven into the cloth, instead of the $20 initial price, and that was just one of his many deals.

• Bro. Ron Miller was invited to preach at Salem Baptist Church, near Ricks Institute. Pastor Jonathan Williams and Abraham Kollie (driver) accompanied him to Salem Baptist. Bro. Ron found out the church was “in revival”, and that Liberian Baptists shout and dance a lot, with little difference in worship style from Pentecostals and Charismatics. “If those people were Baptists”, Bro. Ron later said, “I'm a kangaroo”. According to Bro. Ron, nearly 30 persons claimed to have been converted when he gave the altar call.

• Our slice of the mission team finished the day at The Transformation House, where Rev. Luther Tarpeh (my host) houses 18 boys. In addition to a safe place to stay, Bro. Luther provides food and education for the boys. More importantly he shares Jesus with them, trains them to become young men of Christian integrity, who, in the near future, can serve Liberia as businessmen, public officials, and in other capacities. Preparing these boys to form the core for a new generation of Liberian leaders, free of corruption, is Luther's grand vision for boys who experience The Transformation House.

• One of the young men, Wardea Richards, shared his testimony, highlighting how his life has been transformed since meeting Brother Luther and coming to The Transformation House. Wardea went from selling drugs and mostly living in the streets to becoming a true Christian and staying in school.

• Jason Toler and Joe Walker encouraged the young men to remain devoted followers of Christ as the basis for a better, brighter future. The boys sang and harmonized the song, “I Want to Be Like Jesus”, like they were a professionally trained chorus group. Those boys can really sing. We then held hands with the boys, and I uttered prophetic prayer and blessing over them. Two of our team members made monetary donations to Transformation House, and Luther told me that the timely gift will go towards buying supper today and paying for some school expenses. One day later, Jason and Kevin gave additional donations of money, clothing, and food for the boys. Our visit to The Transformation House was one of the highlights of our time in Liberia. ~End Blog 13~
  
  

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 12

Wednesday, March 21

• This was the last day of the dental clinic run by Charlotte Nichols and Heather Hodges, who are from Kentucky. On average they have worked on 25 persons per day for the six days of the clinic. Charlotte told me of a Muslim man who came to have his teeth worked on. Many lives have been touched by these two dedicated women and their Liberian helpers.

• Around 11 AM, minus Charlotte and Heather, the rest of the team visited the school and church established by Pastor Daniel Tarpeh three years ago. This young man, without any financial support from outside, started the church, and later the school, by serving cool aid and pop corn to children in the community. He said people called them the “Cool Aid and Pop Corn Church”. The mockers are not laughing anymore, because the church has built a cement block structure!

• Pastor Daniel said the money used to build the church edifice, which also provides some of the classrooms for his school, came from an idea from a Bassa woman who is member of the church: The Five Dollar Rally. Every Sunday, worshipers give $5LD (Liberian dollars – that's about eight cents in US currency – people can give more than five dollars if they want) toward the building; then they use the amount to mold few cement blocks. A builder in the church donated his labor, and the young men of the church served as work crew. And that's how they have built this fine structure in just three years with no outside financial aid.

• During our visit Brother Daniel had two surprises for us. (1) He planned a Welcoming Ceremony that involved the teachers and students of the school. Two of the students read little welcome speeches that just touched our hearts. Three of us (Jason, Bro. Ron, and Brother G) spoke to the students on the importance of Christian education. (2) The church prepared lunch for our team – chalk rice with gravy and fruits (pineapples, watermelons, etc). Everyone loved the meal, plus the warm time of sharing.

• Our team was very moved by Brother Daniel, and how he has allowed the Lord to work through him. He wants to become a Church For All congregation, so I met with him and three of his leaders about that, advising them to take time to talk with their church family, so whatever decision they reach will be in “one accord”, not causing dissent and disunity in the church. Pastor Daniel will be a great asset to CFA expansion in Liberia.

• Later in the day at 4:30 PM, Jason and Kevin went with me for Bible study at Church For All in Slipway. I taught from the Book of Ruth on the subject of Divine Connections. I touched on how to recognize a divine connection, like Naomi's relationship with Ruth, and Ruth's relationship with Boaz. We also discussed why it is important to nurture (not just maintain) the relationships that God brings us into.

• After Bible study, Jason and Kevin sneaked away to minister to children in the street and from the street. Jason said there was a Muslim kid in the group, and Jason shared the Gospel without watering it down. Jason, along with Kevin, has been a magnet for children; they love the young people, and the young people just get glued to them. ~End Blog 12~

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 11

Tuesday, March 20

• Bro. Ron goes on ELWA radio station and takes questions for the second day. The station will begin airing his Sword & Shield radio broadcast, Monday through Friday, on April 1 this year.

• Salome (my brother's daughter) comes to the guesthouse to spend some time with Joe Walker, who is fond of the young singer. Salome spends the entire day with the team, and I use this time to further bond with my daughter. I dream of having Salome sing at Church For All in Owensboro, Kentucky.

• Dental clinic continues in Slipway. Charlotte and Heather, along with their Liberian helpers, lovingly ministered to the long line of people needed their teeth cleaned and/or pulled. The practical ministry lasted four hours, from 10 AM to 2 PM.

• Elder Martin Curlon drove us (Jason Toler, Kevin Young and Brother G. Matally) to Capitol Hill for business-related meetings with Rep. Clarence Massaquoi, brother to Abraham Kollie, one of our drivers. We were surprised by the youthfulness of the Liberian legislator, whom we find to be dignified and knowledgeable. He described himself as a Christian who wants to see Christian principles undergird how Liberia is government and how business is done in the nation, saying, integrity is the key to business arrangements between Liberians and their foreign counterparts. 
   
• Mr. Massaquoi then led us to the office Rep. Hans Barchue, the Deputy Speaker, and I found out he and I are from the same tribe: Bassa. We would have met with the Speaker of the House, but he had traveled out of the country. Rep. Barchue is from Owensgrove, the same town where my 125-year-old grand matriarch, Aunt Banty, lives on the Buchanan highway. Mr. Barchue commented the need for real partnership between Liberians and Americans in business ventures. Our visit with the two legislators lasted until it was time for them to attend their Tuesday session of the Liberian legislature.
  
  
• It is my prayer and vision for the two businessmen, Jason and Kevin, to discover an opportunity or two for doing viable, profitable business in Liberia. A middle class is almost nonexistent in post-war Liberia, and Liberians becoming business owners beyond petty hand-to-mouth operations. For example, we want Liberians to operate large restaurants; presently, such businesses are owned by foreigners.

• One of the most important connections thus far took place between agriculturalist Joseph Morseray and Jason & Kevin at the ELWA guesthouse. When I rejoined the discussion, Joseph explained rice farming. Though rice is Liberia's staple food, it is difficult to find locally grown rice here; the vast majority of Liberians in Monrovia, and I hear even some Liberians in the villages, now live on imported rice. That is a sad reality, considering the imported rice from China, etc, is very unhealthy, probably contributing to the declining lifespan of Liberians. This tropical country with rich soil and 100s of inches of rainfall should be able to easily produce all the rice Liberians need, plus some to export!

• Around 5 PM, we meet with ministers and others who want to join the Salt Covenant Network. Some 45 Christian leaders attended. Starting with Titus 1:4-5, Bro. Ron explained the importance of ministers and churches returning to the New Testament order of church leadership, which is rooted in spiritual father-son relationship. This father-son order will only work as ministers lay down their titles, abandon self-promoting competition, forbidding to speak ill or evil of one another. Numerous attendees asked questions, which Bro. Ron, and other mission team members answered. Both Bro. Ron and I emphasized repeatedly that our network is not denominational, that we are not asking ministers to convert their denominational affiliations in any way. Finally, in prior agreement with Charlotte and me, Bro. Ron appointed Pastor Jonathan Williams to lead the Salt Covenant Network in Liberia. Pastor Williams came forward, knelt, with his hands lifted upwards, and the group of ministers encircled and prayed over him. With that, the Salt Covenant Network in Liberia has been officially launched. ~End Blog 11 ~

Mission Trip 2012 Blog 10

Monday, March 19

• We have canceled the events for Buchanan city. Why? (1) The condition of the unpaved section of the road would put too much strain on the body of Bro. Ron, who was scheduled to teach and preach six times for three days straight. And having seen the effect of the Monrovia meetings on his body, I hesitate to risk taking him to a town where there is no hospital. (2) We should get the most mileage from our time in Monrovia: follow up with ministers who have attended the conference; meet some Liberian government officials who can connect the businessmen on our team with key Liberians who can help them find opportunities here to raise a Liberian middle class that is largely nonexistent.

• In lieu of canceling the Buchanan events, we gave $80 to Pastor Moses Dean for the Buchanan planning team to announce the cancellation over the radio stations there. Twenty dollars ($20) of that amount will go towards the radio announcements.

• Charlotte Nichols (dentist) and Heather Hodges (assistant) decided to reopen the free dental clinic in Slipway for another three days – Monday through Wednesday, 10 AM to 2 PM. The place was packed with people about two hours prior to Charlotte and Heather arriving to start cleaning and pulling teeth. A football (soccer) player on the Liberian national team left training camp and came to our dental clinic, but because he came after 11 AM, he did not get treated by 2 PM when the clinic closed for the day. He appealed to us, and I agreed with the dental team to take of the athlete's toothache tomorrow, even when he comes after 11 AM, since he cannot leave training camp any sooner than 10:30 AM.

• The Liberian Business Forum at the Baptist Seminary fell way short of the 25 persons I had hoped. However, the low attendance allowed Jason and Kevin to give personalized attention to those who came. One woman presented her idea of opening a Christian Recreation Center. Instantly Jason saw the possibility of a Monrovia branch of The Refugee youth center in Rockport, Indiana. Our businessmen advised the lady to put her ideas on paper, then show them at a later date. She later called me to sit with her after the mission team leaves, so we can look at what she will have written. She thinks her first need will be land to put a building on, but I think training to run such a business/ministry should be the first step towards establishing a Christian Recreation Center. ~End Blog 10 ~