A week ago yesterday I was sitting in the airport about 26 miles outside Monrovia.  It was the first time I'd felt air conditioning or saw a television in 11 days. I was not anxious to leave Liberia (as I have been on past trips abroad) but I was eager to be at home.

It is difficult to explain what Liberia was like.  Even with this week that has past I still struggle to find the right words.  Thankfully I was encouraged to not have any expectations going in to this experience and that helped me immensely.

Almost every Liberian I met was friendly and warm, eager to help.  Many also fell into one of two categories: they were strong, courageous, and resilient or they were hardened and melancholy.  The latter category I mostly saw from afar and didn't interact with them as much.  I especially saw one man who fit this description at one of several checkpoints we had to pass through.  [It was difficult to know what the purpose of the checkpoints really was, except to hassle and perhaps benefit monetarily from the interaction.] I wished that I could learn what hurts he had experienced that caused him to go through life this way, but I could guess: civil war, loss, death among others.

As we drove to the hotel that first night we left behind the comfort of the generator-powered light (the country's power grid was destroyed in the civil war) and headed into a world I had not seen before.  But thankfully a friend encouraged me to look beyond the poverty to see what God is doing and wants to do there.  The shock wore off to an extent as we traveled 3 hours by car the next day (about 60 miles) to the clinic. I read a book after I returned called "Costly Mission" and a quote from there speaks to this: "We were being reminded that our joy lay not in our circumstances but in knowing Jesus."

Time at the clinic made it seem like we were there for almost a week.  We were busy all day and then enjoyed a comfortable rest at night.  You can see pictures of some of the work out there and the building here: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaClinicAndSurrounding?feat=directlink

While there, I helped Kristi (she was one of the team members from the church near St. Louis) with her eye exams that she gave.  I pointed to the eye chart, cleaned equipment, and helped people find the right reading glasses.  I also got to assemble prescription glasses.  Last year our church bought a focimeter (spelling?) for use at the clinic.  It was great to see it in action!  Imagine a modern version of a pirate's telescope or a telephoto lens for a camera, 8-10 inches long.  It is hand-held and a patient would turn it until they could see clearly.  Kristi would write down the number and the patient would do the same thing with the other eye. Then we'd make their glasses.

It was neat to help people be able to see better.  Some we saw even had 20/20 vision. One man was a hunter and needed to see distance.  Another woman was 75 and virtually blind but we were able to give her a prescription for the strongest lens we had so she would be able to see a bit. 

I attended church with some of the team in a place called Compound 2, just up the road several miles from the clinic.  It was a unique experience and a pleasure to worship with them there.

Sunday after church we headed back to the place where we stayed the first night.  We got unpacked and settled in.  It was nice to not have to travel with all our luggage again.  We'd be shuttled back and forth between the hotel and the church for the conference by pickup truck.  I had the privilege to teach 2 afternoon sessions on the purpose of exploring spiritual gifts.  The men asked some very good questions and some very challenging ones too.  One man, Pastor Daniel Gofa, shared a story of how when he was a child his neck was turned so that his head was always looking off to one side.  A man his family knew came and prayed over him and his neck was restored!  We don't talk too much about those types of miracles in our culture...so I learned some things about faith that day.

Throughout our time we were loved and cared for.  As we traveled, people (kids and adults) might wave and smile at us.  When we arrived at the conference, throngs of people would be waiting to greet us and shake our hands.  The celebrity had its perks but it was nice to be able to come back to relative anonymity when arriving back in the States.

One of the things I tried to focus on while I was in Liberia was how God thinks about me.  Another friend encouraged me to learn to accept God's view of me as lined out in Psalm 139.  I found myself praying for that truth to take hold in my life throughout the trip.

As we prayed the night before the trip, I was struck by the thought of how far we were about to travel to get to Liberia, but how much further Jesus traveled to be one of us.  I hope that some there were able to see Jesus through us.

As part of the conference I heard the idea that God has never asked us to do anything without Him.  Ken Vogel (pastor of the church near St. Louis and former missionary in Liberia) talked one night about how we in America can forget that it is the Grace of God that keeps us going: living, breathing, safe.  It is much easier, he surmised, to think about how the Grace of God sustains people who live far away and overseas in conditions that are unsanitary and with the potential for disease.  I agreed and thought on that concept a bit.

As we took communion on the last day we were there, I meditated on the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus and how without those things I never would have come to Liberia.  My life is different because of the truth of God and His transforming love for us.

I hope to return to Liberia sometime soon.  The people are amazing and it is exciting to see what God is doing in this part of the world.

Things to be praying about:
+ The Revolution will be trying to decide how to support the efforts we witnessed in Liberia, especially with Bible Faith Christian Church's clinic and agriculture projects.  We need direction on how to best be involved for past funds raised and for future directions in giving.
+ The men and women who lead this group of churches, especially Joe Lieway (general superintendent), and James, Daniel, Phillip, and Edward.
+ That grace would pour out on the members of these churches and, in turn, on all the people they encounter.  The culture seemed like one of shame and guilt...pray for people to experience new freedom in this, especially after their time at the church conference.
+ The clinic started the week that we arrived.  Pray that the construction would be completed, those that work on it and in it would be safe, and that those in the area would find healing and dignity restored by the work of God through the people who are employed there.

Thank you for making this trip possible.  Your support and especially your prayer sustained me and allowed me to experience God.  Words can't express my gratitude.

Love,
James

PS: This e-mail doesn't do the trip justice.  I'd love to talk with you more about this trip in person or by phone.

More pictures are available here:
Our hotel: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaHotel?feat=directlink

Liberian greenery: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaGreenery?feat=directlink

Wildlife: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaWildlife?feat=directlink

The church's farm near the clinic: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaFarm?feat=directlink

The conference we attended/taught at: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaConference?feat=directlink

Baptisms on the last day of the conference: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaBaptisms?feat=directlink

Some friends we made: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaFriends?feat=directlink

Handmade crafts: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/LiberiaClintonTheCraftsman?feat=directlink

Various other shots: http://picasaweb.google.com/james.edward.mitchell/Liberia200902?feat=directlink

Luke 9:23 (New International Version)

 Then he [Jesus] said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

I heard this in the car on the way to work this morning.  Do you think this means to deny the "little voice" inside me that tells me to

• rely on myself and my ideas of how stuff works
  
• doubt that what God says is true
  

I then thought of

Isaiah 55:8 (New International Version)

 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
       neither are your ways my ways,"
       declares the LORD.

I feel as if I am reaching some new level of thinking about God, Jesus, faith, belief, and my life. And I feel like I've had a lot of it wrong for a long, long time.  Here's to unlearning? relearning?

Even better: here's to learning how to follow God, love God, and listen to God today.