Hello again from lovely Liberia. I hope that this letter finds you doing well and enjoying the crisp autumn air, to those in the northeast. Thank you for continuing to be a part of my African adventure. I so enjoy knowing what's going on in your worlds, too. Keep the emails coming. Okay, about Africa...
Marthlyn...
Marthlyn's second surgery was successful, and her lips look much more like you would expect lips to look. After her trach and NG tube came out, she was able to go home last week! She was "bluffing" [Liberian term for when someone knows they look good:], peeking into her handheld mirror every few minutes at her new nose and mouth. She will return in November for one more minor surgery before her work is complete.
Roadtrip...
Last weekend a bunch of us took an overnight roadtrip to a town called Robertsport, a beachtown north of Monrovia. By day we made the most of the clear ocean water, by night we abandoned our tents to sleep on the sand beneath the starry sky. It was a peaceful and much needed getaway.
When our cab driver arrived to take us back to the ship, he was accompanied by two other men, a monkey, and three chickens. Between our backpacks and all of us, how in the world would these creatures squeeze into the taxi?? But apparently there's always room for more here. The chickens were placed in a plastic bag in the corner of the back of the station wagon surrounded by our backpacks on either side, and the two men clung onto the luggage rack that the monkey was chained to ON TOP of the car for the entire three and a half hour trek back to Monrovia. [WHAAAT?] And we weren't going slow either. No, there were points in the journey where we were going over 100km/hr [60 ish miles/hr]. We were quite relieved to find that everyone was still with us when we arrived back at the ship, safe and sound. Oh, the things that happen in Liberia...
[For more pics, see the link on the right...]
The Orphanage...
Over the past four months, my visits to the orphanage have changed from something I felt like I SHOULD do to something that I can't wait to do again. Apparently the kids look forward to it, too. They wait for us with their heads peeking out the front gate. They so crave one on one attention. And giving them that is incredibly rewarding. Every visit brings so much joy.
But like most things we do here, the joy comes with challenges. The more the kids trust us, the more they open up.
“Massa stole money from your purse last week.”
“My brothers don’t come to visit anymore.”
“The caretaker said that I’ll get beat when you leave.”
“Sometimes they beat us until we are swollen.”
“Do they beat kids in America?”
“Can you give us money?”
We are not equipped to be social workers, mothers, teachers, or psychiatrists. But God continues to lead they way and somehow gives us the words we need every time.
It is important for us to invest into the lives of the caretakers, the ones who dictate the pace of life in the orphanage day in and day out. Amelia is the one in charge. We have seen her soften up over the past months. She has become my friend. Tonight I will go out for dinner with Amelia. As the caretaker for 44 children, she deserves a night out. I want to talk to her about the discipline at the orphanage, and alternatives to beating the children. What place do I, as a single person with no children, have to tell an experienced caretaker and mother how to take care of the children? None, really. But I am sure that this is something I need to do. We have only five weeks until the ship sails away and the caretakers are all the kids have once again.
It’s confusing, the fact that the orphanage is called “God’s Home,” yet the kids are treated so poorly. Someone told me that although Christianity is wide in West Africa, it’s not deep. There are phrases about God everywhere, written on taxis and buildings. One of the common responses when you ask someone how they are doing is “I thank God.” Everyone goes to church. [Well, except for the Muslims, that is.] They worship in song so passionately. Yet corruption is epidemic. Violence is a way of life. Moral standards are appallingly low.
So what’s the problem? Perhaps Christianity is a set of rituals or a part of the culture, rather than an intentional relationship with a living God. Maybe it's the fact that all believers fall short of the Holy life God has called us to - the Liberians' shortcomings just appear more evident because they are different shortcomings than those usually displayed in my own culture. Or maybe it’s because the practices of animism, idol worship, witch craft are entangled into their beliefs. People are desperate. Often they’ll turn to anything. Considering their bleak circumstances, I can’t say that I blame them. But allowing these other beliefs in contradicts the base of Christianity – the precept that Jesus is the one and only God.
I’m certainly not claiming to have the answers to Liberia's moral problems after being here only a few months, just brainstorming really. Regardless of what the root of the problem is, it is our hope that the orphanage will meet up to it’s name, that it will truly feel like God’s home and that the kids will know that they are loved each and every day.
Your prayers for my meeting with Amelia today and the remainder of our time here at the orphanage are greatly appreciated. Please let me know if there is anything I can pray about for you.
“Wherever you are – be all there.” - Jim Elliot
Much Love,
Lindsay
1 comment:
Hi Linds,
I know how nice it is to have people write on your blog.
I like reading your thoughts. I may not always agree, but that's not the point. The point is - I can see you growing as a result of your time there...and THAT is what the human side of life here on earth is all about.
My recovery physically is going very well. You would never know they had to fix my face. Now, if I can get that money tree to grow in cold weather...
Anyhow, when you find yourself in Philly again, I hope to reconnect. It would be nice to talk in person again outside the confines of the CRC. :-)
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