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 ~
