Saturday, February 19, 2011

Great Progress

We are bricking up the 3rd guesthouse unit.
Two water pumps in local villages through Jordan's Wishing Wells and one coming from Brecksville UMC.
They birthed their first baby for this year in the new Maternal Health Wing of the clinic. A strong big healthy baby boy!
Hiring of a librarian and training with Kevin, East Ohio UMVIM volunteer.
Salaries current at Camphor Mission.
New administration in place, Cecilia Cephas named Superintendent/Principal.
Moved into the 2nd unit of the guesthouse.
Girl's septic repaired.

Exciting times at Camphor Mission!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Blessed in Liberia

We are finishing our time in Ganta at the Liberia Annual Conference. We have been blessed with dynamic worship and bible study. Bishop Palmer has been leading the "Hour of Power" bible study has been lead by a pastor couple from the Plowpoint ministry in North Carolina. The Annual Conference is doing the hard but great work of reconciliation and empowerment. The theme has been Developing Disciplined Christian Leaders. We have been impressed with the faithfulness and diligence of the clergy and laity. I have been challenged by the spirit to think more about being the mouth piece of God, how I work in ministry, how I spend time in the word of God, and so much more. So glad that I have come to be a part of this conference!

Danny has been busy teaching CPR to the dental clinic students and worked in the Out Patient Department at the Ganta UMC Hospital. He was much needed help with the crowd of patience and increase in clients from the conference. It was great to see friends and help out!

We head back to Monrovia to pick up three visitors, Kevin, Janet and Jack. We will head back to Camphor for 2 more short weeks! The time has gone fast! But there is more work to do.

Kevin will work in the library with a new librarian and with teachers.
Jack will work with the agriculture program and students.
Janet will work with tutoring students and the phonic's teacher.
Danny has jobs running, bricking up the third unit of the guesthouse, completing the girl's septic, making a window in the pantry of the second unit and finishing the plumbing of the kitchen sink and painting of the second unit, securing doors and windows of the final phase of the clinic health addition, and finishing two water pumps in neighboring villages,
Kathy will do some consulting with the new administration and organize work for a team of visitors coming in March and of course helping to support Danny on the many challenges that will come to his list.
Lindsey will continue to meet students and initiate new ways to be in ministry.

Life is good! We have seen many old and new friends at Annual Conference. People from Sierra Leone that we such a surprise and joy to see, people from the states, and Liberians from all over. It has been much fun!

More to come soon, as my computer should arrive on Sunday with the new visitors!
Kathy

Friday, February 4, 2011

Hello

The second unit of the guest house is almost finished with painting. There is small masonary and plumbing work to be done in the kitchen then paint the kitchen and we will move into that space. Danny is organizing work for the remaining block to be put in place so the bricks will no longer be used for other projects.

The mission was able to pay another month's salary, November 2010 with funds from the Liberia Annual Conference. The mission is trying to move forward. They anticipate Bishop Innis appointing a new Superintendent/Principal next week at their Annual Conference in Ganta. Kathy continues to work as a consultant to the business office and registrar. Lindsey is the new assistant girl's kickball coach and has an office space in the library. The mission just hired their first librarian to work with Kevin for two weeks to be trained and ready to use the library at Camphor. We will have three more visitors the end of February! A true blessing.

We are well. We continue to laught, sing, dance, read, and build relationships with sutdents and staff at Camphor. We will have much to share when we return to Ohio early March!

Peace

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Clinic Maternal Child Health Addition

The structure is in place-walls up, roof on-for the New Maternal Child Health Ward. The work of finishing a window, painting and tiling is left to be done. We were visited by Dr. Cherian Thomas, Director of UMCOR Health. He was pleased by the progress. The new Ward will give delivering mothers more privacy, a cleaner more sterile environment, with an inside bathroom/shower. Thanks to Mentor UMC for the financial resources to make this possible.








Danny says "this building makes me smile!"








Update from Camphor

We have been busy at Camphor mission. Ian has been getting to know people while helping to build the country kitchen behind the guesthouse. He has been tying sticks mixing the mud plaster, hauling planks of wood from a nearby town, and cutting grass with a cutlass.
Brittany has been at the clinic vaccinating babies and hoping for the birth of a baby. We all walked to market- about 3 plus miles out and gave out worm medicine and vaccinations to the crowd. On the way to the market, we passed by a village where voter registration was taking place. They are preparing for a presidential election in October of this year.

We have exercised with John Toe, painted the second guesthouse, worshiped, experienced hospitality, greeting, and gift giving. We have washed clothes and hauled our own water.

Thanks to MUMC, we were about to pay one months salary to the staff at the mission and hand out Rosaries from Brittany's aunt.

We continue to be challenged by cars, transportation, keys, and regular workers. We continue to move forward with water wells in villages, teaching at the clinic, and have goals of moving into the second guesthouse by early February.

Lynn and Ian are back in the states now and Brittany will return at the end of January. Please keep us in your prayers.