I made a mistake

In my last blog I wrote about a precious child and I got her name mixed up with another child. When I went back into Duela today she came running up to me and gave me a big hug....her name is Patience. This child for some reason has captured my heart. I can't stop thinking about her and I have been praying constantly for her. Please pray for me as for guidance and clarity over what God has in store for me.

This is unacceptable

On our way to the site where our project is being implemented I noticed how many people there were on the streets. I have never seen so many people in my life...and remember I live in Southern California. The reported population of Monrovia is 1.2 million people. I think that this number is not accurate at all and I say this for two reasons. First, there are people around every corner, down every alley way, along the streets...there are people everywhere so it would be impossible to go door to door assessing how many people live in each house. Second, I went to a conference that the Ministry of Health held to discuss the different aspects of the health field which included Basic Health Service Package, Human Resource, Infrastructure and Support Systems. During the conference it was mentioned that there is no birth registry or death registry in Liberia and most of these people do not vote so the government has no way of knowing how many people are living in the country.
We went to Duela where the DUCOR project being built. There was a stakeholders meeting scheduled for 12:00 - I knew that we were not going to start at 12:00 because we are on Liberian time. Jeminie and I decided that we would go through the town and gather the women to come join the meeting so we left for about 45 minutes. We came back and waited around until the pastor of the church and the school principle arrived. The meeting started at 2:00 (I told you it was going to be late). We discussed the probject and what we were going to need from the community and our agenda for the next week. After that I met many of the village women and saw the living conditions of these people who are at the bottom of the society ladder. No human being should have to live in the conditions that these men, women and children live in. These people need help so desperately. Imagine this (remember this description is not even close to what it is like because you can't smell the smell of the village and your mind can't even imagine the living conditions)....they have no running water, no electricity, the only way to get clean water is to pay $5 US dollars for a 5 gallon container, the women and men work 14 hour days getting supplies for the women to sell in the market place. The women work a 12-14 hour day just sitting at the market trying to sell whatever they have to make any amount of money. They usually do not leave the market place (not even to go to the bathroom) because they need to make money. These market women make about $1 a day if they are lucky so that means $30 a month. The children usually go to school but not always and if they don't go to school then they run around the village.
There are no "toilets" the only toilets they have are dirty and not even toilets, the feces runoff goes right into the river. The village obviously has no drainage system so when it rains the river rises bringing all of the feces, urine, etc back into the village. I will never forget the smell of this village. It smelled like trash, standing water, feces and urine from the villagers and animals, burning trash and marsh all rolled together. Some of the children are running around with no shoes on so they are basically walking in sewage water with mud, urine, bacteria, etc. in it. The clothes they are wearing (if they are wearing any at all) are dirty and old. There is trash everywhere because they don't have anywhere to put it. These market women make about $1 a day if they are lucky so that means $30 a month.
After the meeting we stayed in the village and talked with the people. Of course I was drawn to the children and so I talked with them, sang with them, took pictures of them and gave them candy. A mother came up to me and asked if I would take her sick child because she could not care for her. Looking into this innocent child's eyes broke my heart and having to tell the mother that I would not take her child was even harder. All this mother wants is for her child to be healthy and live a long life. In Liberia the life expectancy is 42 for women and 40 for men. This is unbelievable that people only live until their early 40's. If this was true in America I would have lost my parents many years ago (sorry mom and dad) but to think by the age of 35 the people of Liberia have lived most of their life.
There was a precious little girl who was 4 years old and she followed me everywhere I went. I asked her what her name was and the other children told me that she doesn't talk. I bent down so I could look her in the eyes and asked her what her name was and she told me it was Faith. She was the most beautiful little girl with big brown eyes. If I could have taken her home with me I would have in a heartbeat. She took my hand and did not let go until I got in the car to go home. If another child wanted to hold my hand she put her arms around my leg. My heart hurts for these men, women and children...these innocent little ones who do not know of anyother way life except the one they live day after day in these horrible living conditions. I came home and just cried for these people. They do not have any hope, any joy but when we came into the village and spent time with the women and played with the children just for a moment they had smiles on their faces, joy in their eyes and it made my day knowing that these women and children felt loved from total strangers.

God of this City

I went to Passion in LA this past year and there was a song that was sung. As soon as I heard the lyrics I was touched by the song. Reading the lyrics this song applies to any city but for me personally it makes me thinks of Africa - a country that is in dire need of help. These people have been forgotten, children left behind to survive on their own. Here is the link to the song....check it out!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk

Meeting Vengee's Mother

Today I was sitting in the kitchen talking and Mends came up and told me Vengee's mother was here to see me. I knew that I was going to see her but I didn't know when she was going to come to the compound. When Mends told me that she was here and waiting for me my heart started racing....how do you prepare to meet and talk to a mother who she loved so much that she was willing to give her up for adoption so that she could live? I said a prayer and asked for guidance as I was nervous. I went and grabbed the video camera, the pictures as well as the supplies my father sent for her to sell. When I saw Decontee I was immediately comforted and there was a peace that was with me. I went to give her a hug and she seemed a little uncomfortable. She is the smallest thing ever....she is shorter than me and maybe weight 100 pounds soaking wet. Vengee looks exactly like her from her eyes to her smile...even her teeth. I told her how excited I was to meet her and she started asking tons of questions about Vengee, James, Nan and my dad. I showed her the pictures of Vengee and James and her face lit up. All she kept saying was "there is my baby....she looks so so happy." As we went through the pictures we came to a picture of Vengee's bedroom. Decontee made a comment how she was so happy that Vengee was sleeping in a bed because she doesn't even have a bed to sleep on. Those pictures meant the world to her as she told me she was so worried about her surgery. I then showed her the video of Vengee and she started to cry...not from sadness but she was overjoyed that her precious daughter was alive and not sick anymore. She repeated over and over again "Praise God she is all better". She even commented on how big she was and I told her that she has gained weight since her surgery. Decontee stayed with me for 3 hours. We (Abagail, Princess, Decontee and I) went through all of the supplies that my dad and Nan sent and added up how much she would make and it came to $130 US dollars. That is a lot of money...the average income here is $30 US dollars a month. As we sat there and she became more comfortable with me she shared that when Vengee was living with her she was in the hospital all of the time because she was so sick and the doctors there gave Decontee a letter stating that Vengee had a heart problem that needed to be fixed. Decontee then went from doctor to doctor begging someone to help her and was constantly turned down because she has no money and nobody was able to help her with Vengee. The people in the town told Decontee that she was crazy if she thought any doctor would help her because she has no money to pay for help. That is when Decontee said she decided to give Vengee up for adoption. Then the people in the town started telling Decontee how the people who would adopt her would never let her see Vengee again and that the parents were adopting her to sell Vengee's kidneys in America. So after Vengee was taken back to America people started spreading rumors how Decontee was paid to give Vengee to Americans and now she is buying clothes with the money that she was given. The mindset of the people here is so different and it is due to the lack of education. People here don't understand what adoption means. Decontee said that she was going to take the pictures back to all of these people and show them that Vengee is fine and that her parents are good to Vengee as well as herself. Decontee called Vengee's father and I spoke to him. He lives in Bomie County which I will be going to on Saturday and I told him that I would come see him and show him pictures and a video of Vengee. Decontee asked me when she could see me again and I asked if she would come to church with me on Sunday. She agreed and I told her I would like to go see her at Old Road so that I can see where she lives and the Market. She told me where to find her at Old Road. I also plan to see Vengee's Grandma and Grace. Meeting Decontee was such a wonderful experience and listening to her talk about Vengee it sounds like she has a real peace with the decision she made a year ago to give her precious daughter up for adoption.

Hello From Liberia

Hello Friends and Family!
After a long trip from Orange County to Chicago, to Brussels, to Ivory Coast to Monrovia I made it here safe and sound! I had an interesting day traveling over to Liberia....I have to say I met some very interesting people along the way and I was shocked when I had to chose between lamb or fish as a meal on the plane....they don't serve that in the US.
Liberia is everything that I was told it would be - beautiful, distinct smell, beautiful people and mysterious. I arrived at sunset so I wasn't able to see much of the town driving to the compound but from what I could see it is nothing like I imagined. There are men, women and children walking on the side of the road, people sitting on their front porches using candles for light and the roads have tons of potholes in them. Their driving here makes me a little nervous. If I had to compare it I would say its like driving in Tijuana mixed with drivers from Leisure World....scary I know. I was able to talk with Francis on the drive home and he is so passionate about helping the people here. He has a great vision and I feel privaliged to be working with him and his team. Tomorrow we will be going to a Health Conference....that is if we can sneak in then we will be going to the market place. I'm so excited to begin this exciting adventure. I will post pictures as soon as I can!

I'm amazed

Reflecting over the past week I can't help but just stand in total amazement. God is so good and has orchestrated my trip so beautifully. From the email that I received from Francis to the confirmation from Maria that this is what I am supposed to be doing to even the generous offer from my good friend Jen....I am in total awe! To see the way God is working even before I leave just blows me away. This past weekend I was with my family and most of them kept asking if I am scared to be traveling alone. Honestly I'm not and it is the best feeling to be going with s sense of peace that only God can give. I am excited to be able to use the gifts that God has given me to help his people. In Psalm 37:4 it says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I have wanted this for so long and I still can't believe that I am finally getting the chance to do what I'm passionate about. There are times when I try to imagine what it's going to be like while I'm in Liberia but my mind can't even fathom what it's going to be like. I'm excited to share with you what will happen once I leave Orange County....hold on this is going to be an adventure of a lifetime!

Putting my hard earned education to use

I received an email on Sunday night from a man named Francis and he works with DUCOR Waste Management (DUCOR) and the Liberia Environmental Action Fund (LEAF). They are partnering with WACSN in a few areas dealing with safe water, sanitation, hygiene and public health. He asked if I would be interested in working with him on a couple of projects that he is working on. The projects include the building of sustainable community pour-flush toilets and wells in Peri-urban market communities to help improve living conditions, remove health hazards and prevent environmental degradation. They are wanting to educate Monrovia’s market communities (mostly women and children) in matters of public health, recycling and the proper handling and disposal of waste.
I was floored when I received this email because this is similar to the project that I'm developing (educating of women on the importance of water sanitation and proper hygiene practice) for school. Of course I emailed him back saying I would be delighted to work with him and help him in anyway possible. My trip is coming together and I'm getting more and more excited as the time comes for me to leave. Now the only thing I need to worry about is getting IRB approval before I leave and packing! 11 more days....