Hello from New Jersey!
So I've been home in New Jersey for over two weeks now and the time has flown by. It's been so so good to be home.
The end of our time in Liberia was really good. We spent time reflecting as a community on the progress that was made through our six month outreach - from clean water wells to new buildings for schools and clinics to argricultural teaching to women's empowerment to HIV and community health teaching...All this was in addition to our work in the hospital on the ship. Then there was all the ministering done in the local orphanages, prisons, churches and schools. And I'm sure there are things I left out. It was sad to leave my kids at the orphanage. But we did see progress as they grew throughout our time with them, and it was beautiful. Friends of mine, Ilne and Carl, will be returning in February to build a new home for the kids and live with them for awhile. I am so happy about this.
I cannot thank you enough for the way that everyone supported me throughout my time in Africa...
For those of you who read my stories, awareness is the first step in making any difference in this world. Thank you.
For those of you who wrote, you enabled me to stay connected and very often encouraged me with your words. Thank you.
For those of you who supported me financially, it would have been impossible to have spent the last three months in Africa without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
For those of you who prayed, the fact that I have been able to maintain any form of sanity in the midst of all this transition is something I attribute to your prayers and God's faithfulness! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And for those of you who continue to welcome me back home with open arms in spite of the fact that I keep leaving you, your hospitality means the world to me. So I thank you.
Everyone has been asking me about the transition from a place as underdeveloped as Liberia to a place as commercialized as America. I am finding myself enamored with things that seemed so simple before, like yankee candles, the postal system, the ability to get in my car and drive wherever I want to go. I feel frustrated with the abundance of material things that I possess but probably don't need and don't quite know what to do with [not to mention the abundance of newer cooler things I'll probably purchase in the future]. I spent a total of about thirty minutes in the mall before Christmas and that was enough!
What next? I feel that my work with the poor has only just begun. I am thinking of doing a six month long Discipleship Training School at YWAM's (youth with a mission - an organization affiliated with Mercy Ships) medical base in Australia in January, 2009. This is an entry way into longer term missions work. From there maybe I'll go back with Mercy Ships, maybe back to Liberia, or maybe somewhere altogether different...I'm not sure yet. So that leaves me with one year inbetween to save money and begin fundraising, to spend time with my family and friends, and to see more of our own beautiful country. Your continued prayers are appreciated as I make decisions regarding the near future (JOB:) and the next few years.
I hope that you had a very merry Christmas and that tomorrow will be the start of an amazing 2008! Please continue to let me know if there is any way I can pray for you.
"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" [Luke 2:14, the Bible]
Much Love,
Lindsay
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