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 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 ~
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