Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A lesson in life and ministry

I spent the day cleaning, doing laundry and ironing.  Miata came by to wash my floors and washed the bed sheets.  I could have washed the sheets in the washing machine, but she insisted that she could do them, so I handed them over.  Miata has worked with The Salvation Army for many years.  She worked at the Girls Hostel until it closed and has been helping with cooking and cleaning at various SA event and facilities.  The first CHQ prayer meeting I attended, Colonel reprimanded those in attendance for not coming alongside Miata the past couple of weeks when she had to deal with the death of a daughter.  Her daughter was 26.  No one from CHQ came to help or provide any support for the family and no one attended the funeral.  Colonel was in Ghana at the time and told them it must not happen again.  There are two new couples at CHQ – just arrived in September from Ghana and Zambia, so they would not have known the ‘history’ of Miata, but everyone else would have known.   I am reminded of how easy it is to get so wrapped up in planning and preparing (for them the 25^th Anniversary celebration) that we miss what God is calling us to ‘in the moment.’  It’s not that anyone purposefully neglected Miata.  They were just too busy to see the need ‘right under their noses.’   I’m just as guilty of having done the same thing too many times in the past. 

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

 And rather than walk in bitterness or unforgiveness, Miata continues to walk in love.  In the midst of her own grief and heartache, she reaches out to others to serve and be sensitive to the needs of others.  I have much to learn from those around me.

Richard Flomo came by in the evening, so I went outside the compound to greet him.  Richard is my friend who is crippled and needs a new wheel chair.  He is still using the old wheel chair, but someone rigged up a bicycle tire on the front with hand pedals and welded them to his old wheel chair.  It’s a pretty primitive set up, but it gets him around and he definitely has some upper body strength, in spite of his thin, twisted legs.  His daughter, Rachel is a junior in high school and he is so proud of managing to keep her in school.  He often asks for a laptop for her because she is so good with computer skills and is learning how to repair computers.  I tell him to keep praying and believing God.  Maybe one day the laptop and wheel chair will come.  And even if details don't come together as he wants, God will continue to provide in ways far beyond anything we can ask or imagine.

In earlier years in Liberia, Richard used to meet me on the street when I was out walking and we would often ‘walk’ – okay, me walking and Richard wheeling himself long – together until his arms would be too tired to go on and he’d turn back. Every time I come here, we connect.

So much to learn from the people here in Liberia!

Photos to go with previous post

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

In the afternoon, I looked out to see the children of the two families next door all taking a nap.  Two of them slept on the tile outside my door and two were on a mattress in the yard.  I still don’t know all their names.  The little one obviously not interested in a nap is Destiny Paye and one the girls is Theophelia Paye (I dedicated her on one of my visits to Liberia).  It was a day when the temperature was 87 degrees and with the humidity, it felt like 110.  It is typical to see people lying on the ground or cement or tile sleeping.  Every day I am reminded of the importance of living in gratitude for God’s abundant provisions and blessings.  The last picture is Lt. Rachel Stewart doing laundry.

                  

    Thursday, December 12, 2013
Sectional prayers at CHQ (I joined the property crew) This is where devotions are led within each department.  Someone ‘raises a chorus’, then there is prayer time, a devotional reading and thought for the day by a different person from the department each week.  I’m always so blessed by the words of hope, encouragement and insight that come from those with what we might consider ‘the lowest positions’.  Some of these men and women never learned to read or write. They are given responsibilities around the compound: clean the yard, guard the gate, clean the building, cook for special occasions, etc. and have profound insight into God’s presence in their lives.  They listen so intently to the reading of God’s Word – not just in devotions or church, but they often ask people to read the Bible to them at every opportunity.  It’s always a good time for the reader to hone his/her reading skills while sharing God’s Word.  I gave 5 copies of the booklet of John and Romans to everyone at the Officers Councils (thanks Allen and Kim Grimes), suggesting they share them as they witness to others.  This week when I was out walking in the mornings and evenings I saw people carrying or reading those very booklets! Thank you, Officers and Cadets, for your faithful witness!  “God’s Word is powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.”  Sharper than the effects of war; sharper than the powers of evil; sharp enough to bring peace in the midst of strife; sharp enough to dispel the darkness of sin and redeem every repentant heart.  Hallelujah!  Let’s keep God’s Word fresh within our own lives and live in the power we say we believe in.    

A note from Sunday December 1, 2013

My first Sunday here in Liberia (this time around)…

I attended Bible Class and morning worship at the Monrovia City Corps.  The corps building has been beautifully renovated in anticipation of the 25^th Anniversary celebration this next week.  Majors Sam and Hagar Aponsak took me along with them to City Corps and Major Sam preached from Exodus 12 – ‘do not be afraid’ – talking about Moses and the Israelites as they left Egypt to begin their journey to freedom.  The Bible Class focused on Matthew 1:20, considering Joseph’s dream after learning that his betrothed was ‘with child.’  I got to thinking about culture and how deeply traditions from culture and family are ingrained in individuals, families, communities, and nations.  When Joseph decided to quietly end the relationship with Mary, he was acting out of culture and tradition.  When God spoke to him in a dream and told him to take Mary as his wife, he had to be willing to step outside of culture and tradition to do the will of God.  I wonder how often we make choices without thinking – based on culture and tradition.  “We’ve always done it this way” may be our mantra when there may be times when we thwart the will of God by believing more in tradition/culture than really ‘hearing’ God.  It is not easy to step outside of culture – to make changes that require sacrifice, suffering, misunderstandings or conversations behind our backs that strike a blow within the church or relationships.  Joseph was willing to follow God’s leading and leave the results in the hand of God.  He acted out of selfless love for God and for Mary.  And the rest is history!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013 – picking up the shipment from the USA at Christian Aid Ministries

Got my phone unlocked and put in a local sim card and pre-paid (scratch) card monies.

Momo said he’d meet me at the compound at 7:30 a.m. to go to CAM.  It rained hard in the night and was still drizzly so I wondered how advisable it would be to go in the rain – especially with many boxes of books.  No need to ponder such a thought.  Momo said we were going on Monday and that never happened and then he said on Tuesday (for sure) and that didn’t happen either.  So when he finally showed up at CHQ around 1 p.m., I lassoed him in and kept him in sight.

2 p.m. – rode in the “big” truck to go to CAM to pick up the items shipped from USA.  The truck looks like something from the junk yard and I was surprised that it would even start.  But, start it did and away we went.

They loaded the truck (2 pallets and a bicycle) with a fork lift, so that took no time at all.

The ride there and back was interesting, to say the least.  But then, driving anywhere in Liberia is a unique experience.  I sat in the middle seat in the truck and when I asked why my seat was so hot, the driver said I was sitting on the motor!

I arrived in Liberia the evening of November 28^th – Thanksgiving Day in the USA.  My flight was on British Airways, so the first leg of the journey was from Atlanta to Heathrow (London) and then from Heathrow to Freetown, Sierra Leone and on to Monrovia, Liberia.  Every days since arriving has been jam packed with rehearsals and preparations for the 25^th Anniversary celebration of The Salvation Army in Liberia which took place December 5-8.  My main focus in preparation involved band rehearsals – lots of them.  +Titus, +Dennis and +Elizabeth were musicians who came from Ghana to help out.  Before my arrival, all three of them had been working diligently with the band.  Right after I arrived, Titus was called back to Ghana, so I was able to fill in, as best I could, in helping with encouragement and leadership.

I have 9 pages of notes and journalling, so I will try to pick some highlights to share.  There are many funny stories and just as many stories of God’s miracles of grace, protection, celebration and rejoicing.

The guests were +Commissioners William and Nancy Roberts from International Headquarters and they were the perfect match for the occasion.  The Commissioners conducted Officers Councils on Monday, December 9^th for the Officers, Aux-Captains and Cadets. 

By the way, the weather yesterday was 86 degrees F and it felt like 110.  Today it is 87 and it feels like 98.

I'll post a few tidbits from my notes as well.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Pamm

  

I wanted to update you about what’s going on in my life these days.

I officially retired on Sept 1, 2013. J  (35 official years with The Salvation Army; and 15 unofficial years)

On Nov 27^th, I’ll leave for Liberia (West Africa) for one year.  It’s a place where I lived from Jan 2002 through Dec 2005 and have been back three times since then.  As far as I know now, I will be working with The Salvation Army VoTech college for that year and with a couple of other non-profit agencies/churches as we endeavor to have a positive influence on training people with, not only hands-on skills (electrical, plumbing, sewing, computer and other technology repairs, masonry, etc) but also building into the curriculum, training in business, finance, entrepreneurship, and leadership.  The underlying foundation will be to come alongside those already in skill and leadership training and additionally, encourage people to grow in their knowledge of the Bible and Christian values.

I will endeavor to keep you posted with weekly updates on my blog.