Liberia: The Action (Day 3)

Wednesday, Oct 28 2009
Our VisionTrust Director, Robert, dropped Don and I off at Kathleen and James' new library at 8:45 AM. Then he drove Tim back to the school where Tim was to spend the day at Prime System School installing old-fashioned pencil sharpeners and talking with folks in the community (escorted by Principal John). Don and I visited with James and Kathleen because they are missionary friends we've made since we started working in Liberia (thanks to Jill C.). After catching up for about 30 minutes, we found ourselves in a heavy discussion for the next hour about how to leverage land for farming, training, to generate funding, etc. James and Kathleen have worked in Liberia for many years - James a native and Kathleen from Canada. They have extensive knowledge of "how to" and "how not to" run ministry programs in this country. After much debate and discussion, I concluded that this is such a broad and challenging topic that if they can't tell me, "Oh, just do this, then that, and you're done!" then perhaps no one can.

Kathleen drove Don and I back to the VisionTrust Liberia office where we met my next appointment, Pastor Vaye and his wife Rose. Pastor Vaye is a visionary and has worked super hard to plant Baptist churches throughout many parts of Liberia. I met him over 2 years ago when he and his wife shared with me their burden for the orphan and marginalized. Every time I come to Liberia, I meet with him and his wife to discuss their ideas for how to help orphans through the church and leverage the VisionTrust program. So this trip is the culmination of many talks.

We rented an old Toyota 4Runner for this trip up country to Todee District in the Northwest area. Robert, Don, Pastor Vaye, Rose, the driver and I got into the truck. Sounds easy right? Well Vaye, Don, Robert and I were all in the back seat. When we stopped to get the Mayonnaise Jars filled with gas to fuel up, I quickly volunteered to get into the far back cargo area with the cooler and bags. The trip would include a series of roads where each was would be in worse shape than the last. After 2.5 hours we got stuck in the mud. We got out and some men were offering to help push us out. Ironically, where we got stuck was the end of the road for us, we were at the village of Jawajeh.

Pastor Vaye walked us about 100 feet into the village and we sat in the front porch area of the local pastor's house that Vaye is working with. I sat on a bench along with Don and Robert…and waited for "instruction" on what to do next. About 40 people crowed in to participate. Vaye let us sit for a little while, somewhat in an awkward silence. When he was ready, he spoke up and quickly introduced us and our purpose. Then he looked at me and said like, "Ready?" The conversation got going slowly. For example, I asked how many people are in the village. The acting village chief (the pastor is the acting because the real chief is out on business in another village) said that the population is 64 people. Then others chimed in: no make that 130, no…make that 90… Well, I'm not real sure. We counted 15 huts and estimated an average of 7 people per hut so I am going with 105 people for now.

I proceeded to collect facts about health, schooling, economy, social structures, tribal information, religious beliefs, diet, water and sanitation. Then I asked Pastor Vaye to share with me what their plan was, what did they want our help with. He said the community is building a church on 25 acres of land that the village donated and wants to build a school, like a traditional mission school compound. As I looked around the outdoor meeting space, I noticed that about 15 children were wearing a school uniform. So I asked Pastor Vaye and the other villagers how many of these children DON'T go to school. Only 2 kids out of about nearly 25 that were there with us don't go to school. They told me that they go to Nye #2 Primary. After much discussion, I learned that the school was opened just 2 years ago. So this was the first school that these children have ever attended. This started a discussion about why start another school. My observation was that the village had enough resources to send their children to school without the help of an outsider - they definitely didn't need their own school. The village pastor told me that children from the surrounding village won't go to the public school. I asked why and one of the widows answered. She said that the "harman" will take her children and poke out their eyes for rituals and do other bad things. This needs a little explanation. Jawajeh is one of 8 villages in the surrounding area that has a remote location and is steeped in traditional beliefs like the Heartless Man, or the "harman" in Liberian English. Robert said to her that is not real, those are stories of old. Wow, did the discussion just get more alive at that point. Robert broke out in Kpelle tongue (his native language that these spoke too) and soon the conversation settled back down.

The conversation continued a bit more. For example, I asked, "What does your diet consist of?" They said, "Rice." I said, "Is that it?" The reply came, "Yes." Then I asked again, "What do you eat?" Then they said, "Oh, cassava and cassava leaves." Then I asked, "What will you eat tonight for dinner?" They replied, "Maybe a little fish from the stream where we get our drinking water." They eat more than rice as you can see. This is one of the challenges in working cross-culturally.

After we finished learning about each other, about half of the crowd walked with us about 15 minutes to the donated 25 acres. This is when I realized that Pastor Vaye wanted to build the traditional mission complex out here. I was thinking that what these people needed was training on how to grow better crops and teach them to work hard, planning and market information. It didn't seem that they needed "free" schooling in a traditional mission school. I could be wrong however. One thing I know for sure is that Pastor Vaye and his wife are super people and have a servants heart.

My initial reaction to this project? The VisionTrust concepts of simple and low-cost, empowering way of helping children didn't match his more traditional way of buildings and starting new organizations. While this was disappointing, it was good to come to a conclusion after 2 years.

The drive back was long and a bit grueling on me…I was in the very back again. By the time we made it back to our guesthouse, I had a super bad headache. After dinner, I showered and laid down and tried to relax for a couple hours, then read for an hour…and finally tried to sleep. It wasn't a fun evening.

Liberia: The Action (Day 2)

Tuesday, Oct 27 2009
New project research day! Exploring potential project sites and meeting new people is really my favorite part of my job. While it is emotionally, mentally and physically taxing - it is where the rubber meets the road so-to-speak. We drove to the Red Light market (it is not what you think) and met up with Dennis Aggrey a Liberian church planter with a goal to help his people help themselves, including educating village children and helping orphans. I met Dennis' wife when I jumped into the front seat of his classic safari type Land Cruiser complete with a water crossing package - you've got one don't you? You know, the auto package that allows you to cross small rivers?

Project 1: Woupugiyema Community School
Dennis drove about 40 kilometers in 90 minutes and arrived in Kpondah Town comprised of 7 villages. The school is named Woupugiyema Community School after village that it is in and is made from adobe bricks, sticks and sheet metal. A total of 58 children attend this little dirt school complete with 4 classrooms at this point: ABC class (pre-school), Kinder (kindergarten), 1st-3rd graders; and 4th graders (only 2 kids in the 4th, they share the same teacher with the 1st-3rd graders who is also the pastor of the local church). A church in the United States is helping out by paying the teachers $50/month. More interesting to me is that the community has worked hard to build the school. They've contributed 5 acres of land, some money and labor. They even conducted a "fund-raising" project like making charcoal and selling it to buy the materials for the school. The nearest primary school is a Catholic school 30 minutes away that charges expensive fees.

Village School Facts: No water, No electricity, No Restroom, No windows or screen, No books, No teacher resources. What they do have? Dirt floor, Dirt Walls, Open Air Construction. None of the kids would go to school if this school did not exist.

My initial reaction to this project? This has VisionTrust written all over it. It is community driven, simple and serves 7 villages that have no other alternative. The religious belief of the children are split (guessing 25% Christian and 75% Muslim/Animistic.)

Project 2: KTOE Comfort Orphanage
We said our good-byes and jumped back into the truck and drove back toward Monrovia for about another 60 minutes. When we pulled up to the front door of a war-torn white-washed building with a small sign that read Ktoe Comfort Orphanage, named after the women started it. Comfort and her husband, Peter, recently died (KTOE is the last name). Comfort's daughter, named Mary, is now running the home for 25 girls and 30 boys. The older children are in the home as a result of the recent war. The girls and boys live at opposite ends of the house: 25 girls in one room with 9 beds and 6 mosquito nets / 30 boys in one room with 11 beds and 6 mosquito nets. The youngest is 5 years old and the oldest is 14 years.

The home has a generator for lights but it has not run for days because they can't afford fuel. The home is poorly lit - I could not see what I was stepping on as I walked down the hallway to the bedrooms. I peaked into the locked storage room and praise the Lord, they have a food supply, although not large but sufficient at the moment. Currently, Christian Aid Ministries is donating enough food of 40 children each month. I also got a peak at the staff quarters, one room for 4 caretakers - all women. Mary has her own room. The children looked happy for the most part and seemed in good health given the situation. This was encouraging to me. Mary took us outside to see the new kitchen provided by Christian Aid Ministries. It is not complete, but in good shape for preparing food of 55 kids and staff. The grounds included 4 latrines and one hand dug well. Mary told us (and we inspected it) that the well water is not good to drink but can be used for washing clothes. It also dries up in the dry season. They carry drinkable well-water from about 150 yards away from the home. Imagine carrying enough water to care for 55 kids everyday - morning, noon and night.

To compliment the program, the founders started a small school just across the yard of the orphanage. I met with the Vice Principal named Micah. He explained to me about how the "footer" ditches between the sheet metal school and the orphanage will become a real cement block school someday. The current sheet metal school included classrooms without doors or windows, highest point inside was 5'6" - yes I would hit my head on the ceiling made from twigs complete with long nails coming down. The roof was made with rubber sheets that have been tied down. They are struggling to say the least. They have ABC, Kinder, and grades 1st through 6th. A total of 153 children attend the program, a mixture of children from the orphanage (free) and from the community (pay 475 LD$ or US$7).

I asked Micah, the VP, and Mary, the head of the orphanage, if other schools exist in the area? They told me that the closest school is too far, about 1 hour walk. This information seemed to conflict with my observation on the drive in - I saw a public Primary to Jr.High about 15 minute walk away. In addition, I saw one other "private" school just down the road too. I also asked if the community was involved in any way. For example, did they help put up the temporary school or dig the footer for the "hopeful" new school? Micah told me that they don't help at all - the family running the orphanage and school has done all of the work. He said, "In fact, some people here have told me that they will not send their children until it is a real school with real walls."

As we wrapped things up, I got to play around with some of the children. Don Lampe and Tim Debold from Calvary Church were with me too. Tim spent some time talking with one of the older boys to learn more, in the process he started a running race with a few of the kids - it was great to watch them play.

My initial reaction to this project? The people are good people at the orphanage and they are doing a good job with what they have. They need the kind of help that VisionTrust can offer. However, I am concerned that Mary may not have the "calling" that her mom and dad had. Will she have what it takes? Regarding their school start-up, I don't think that the are being wise in starting the school because it is a large burden for them - spreading themselves too thin. The children in the orphanage could just go to the public school and receive tutoring at the orphanage to help them succeed. The community appears to not need another school. More needs to be researched and clarified.

About 4 PM we got out of the hot sun and jumped back into the Land Cruiser, and headed back to the Red Light market to get Robert's car. We arrived at the guesthouse at 6 PM…just in time for dinner! Don, Tim and I talked while I did some work on the computer. After my daily night-time shower, jumped into bed and started reading the autobiography called "This Child will be Great" by the current president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Lights out at 11:30 PM.

Liberia: The Action (Day 1)

Monday, Oct 26 2009
I was just about asleep around 12:30 AM when my bed shook - like someone put their hands through the window and grabbed my bed. Needless to say I jumped up and didn't know what was going on. I had earplugs in my ears so I wouldn't hear Don (my roommate) snore or hear the roosters at night, so I realized I wouldn't hear a person sneaking into our room! After my heart was put back into its place, I realized that no one was there. I inspected the bed and found that the foot of the bed in the right upper corner was broken. That foot slipped out of place while I sleeping and made the bed drop. Oh, you may think that was funny…did I say something about my heart popping out of my chest? I found a can of dry peanut butter (a gift from Don to folks for later in the week) and put it under my bed. That worked, mostly.

To save money, the guesthouse cuts the generator off at 1:00 AM. So waking up in the morning with no electric is no surprise, but it can make shaving a bit of a challenge ;-) My travel companions and I had a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit with some of the strongest instant coffee I've had in a while. Anyway, Robert Sondah, the director of VisionTrust Liberia, picked us up in his borrowed "1980" Nissan Sunny (small four door sedan like the Nissan Sentra in the US). This car has about 2 months of life left before it goes to "car-heaven."

We drove about 20 minutes to the first VisionTrust project called Prime System School of Christ located outside of the capital city of Monrovia in Paynesville. Most of the people that live around the school are from the Kpelle tribe. I got out of the car and met John the principal. We strolled through the school's courtyard. This school has 450 children from preschool through 8th grade. After a time of laughing and playing with the kids, it was time for them to eat (they eat mid-morning). This was an awesome sight - they were using the new outdoor kitchen made from cement block. More than a year ago, these children didn't get any food to eat at school. That may not sound tough, but they don't get breakfast at home, nor lunch. Just dinner. So this meal is super important to help them grow, develop their brains and give them better attention in the classroom. This program has improved so much in the 18 months we've been involved. The children are healthier, the teachers are happier, the facilities have been improved, and we've added grades 7 and 8. We have a lot more to do here…like build a new school. The average number of children per class in the lower grades is about 50 students to one teacher. God will provide in the right time!

Soon it was time to go to the VisionTrust Liberia office just down the street and review Robert's budget and questions for me. Hey - this part is mission work too!

Ok…I've got one for you. About 2 years ago on my first trip to Liberia, I had lunch at Mousu's and ordered a Cheeseburger. The waitress brought me two large "homemade" buns with a slice of cheese - no meat. I asked her where the meat was. She said, "You ordered a cheeseburger and that is what you have." Well, this time, believe it or not - I think the same lady took our order. I was smart this time and ordered the hamburger. About 25 minutes later, our food came out one plate at a time and everything was correct! Wait, the story isn't over. I asked her for salt. She rolled her eyes as if I had asked for the moon. Needless to say - the salt never came.

In the afternoon we all discussed the idea of using land to do three accomplish three objectives that we have: 1) Produce food for the school; 2) Produce food to make money; 3) Provide a place to teach Life-Skills to the children. This conversation was a brainstorming session that focused on what to grow, where to grow it, what is profitable, what is in demand, what life-skills could we teach, ….needless to say it was a brain burner because the topic is broad and difficult in a land of so many challenges.

We made it back to the guesthouse at 6:30 PM, dinner had been waiting for us for sure as some of it was cold. Factoid: The owner of the guesthouse the daughter of the past President of Liberia, William Tolbert. He was killed in 1980 by Samuel Doe, along with William's two brothers who were in power and the entire cabinet except Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (the current President of today). After checking email and working for a couple hours I went off to bed, read the Psalms and went to sleep (with the help of Excedrin PM).

Liberia: The Arrival

Saturday, Oct 24 2009
At 6:30 AM the alarm went off, so I hit snooze for another sweet 10 minutes in bed. Why are were there minutes so sweet? It's not what you think. I knew that those extra few minutes of laying next to my wife would fill the void created by my travel. Those minutes were quiet, precious and sweet. Within 90 minutes I was at checking into at the Denver International Airport, I had made good drive time from Colorado Springs. About 9:00 AM, Ed Luminati called me to talk about our plans for improving the Health of children in Central African Republic. While I was on the phone, I booted up my laptop to sync-up email one last time before leaving the US. By 9:45 shutdown, packed up, hung up with Ed and proceeded to board my flight. I talked with my bride until the airplane door was closed - then flew to Washington DC.

Upon arriving in DC at 3:50 PM, I went straight to the Red Carpet lounge where I can work in a quiet place and get a "free" drink and snack. I called my mother (as I usually do when I leave the US and when I arrive back in the US). Then off to make catch my flight at 5:50 PM, I walked to the gate and boarded immediately. 7 hours of fly time!

Sunday, Oct 25 2009
After another red-eye flight from the USA to Europe, I found myself sitting in the Belgium Beer Café at 6:30 AM in Brussels waiting for a noon flight to Monrovia, Liberia. I dug down into my overstuffed backpack looking for some Euros from a previous journey and then stepped up to the bar to order the Express Breakfast: 1 Hot Drink and 2 Pastries for €5.50. Because I haven't had anything to drink for about 5 hours, I ordered a water along with the special of the day. The total came to €8.70, or approximately $13.05. Let me tell you, that water was the best $4.80 bottle of water I have ever had…or will have most likely!

I sat alone along the back wall of the bar and enjoyed my cup of European style coffee, the two pastries and eponymous water, remembering to take the daily Malarone to mitigate the onset of malaria I will get in Liberia. Because my job requires over 125,000 miles of travel each year, I get to see people from just about all walks of life at airports throughout the world. Some look confident and experienced while most look a bit confused about where to go. Of course, in the background, I hear all different kinds of laughter - from a Belgian's deep and well grounded heaps of joy to a dainty little snip of an Asian. I often wonder where everyone is going and why. At times I seem to slip into the backdrop of a seemingly organized chaos called the airport.

After I finished my cup of coffee (no refills here), I opened the New Testament with Palms and Proverbs that Cheryl, my wife, gave me to read when I travel. The book of Psalms was crying out to me because I often pray for protection, for resources, for God's favor in the face of many adversaries. Near the very end of the short first chapter, the Message reads, "God charts the road you take." The itty-bitty phrase was what I needed today.

As one of the leaders at VisionTrust, I am always telling our global staff along with our supporters that God is the one leading us. He is the one in charge. However, honestly, someday my faith runs thin and I begin to control the direction of VisionTrust attempting to solve my own problems in my own timing. The week ahead in Liberia is going to be hard. I will be worn out from struggling to follow and lead conversations from morning to night in broken English; worn out from praying and seeking discernment while I evaluate new project sites; worn out from the Spiritual warfare that seems to run deep in this country; worn out from trying to balance the application of the gifts and talents God has given to me with allowing God to lead and show me what to do. "God charts the road you take." Wow…that was exactly what I needed to be reminded of today.

I am so thankful that I am traveling with two other men: Don Lampe and Tim Debold from Calvary Church in Muscatine, IA. I met up with them in the T terminal a couple hours before our flight to Liberia. It is a huge blessing to have companionship while traveling. It provides encouragement, protection, counsel and conversation in English ;-)

Praise be to the Lord, we landed in Monrovia, Liberia at 9:00 PM. I must say that after traveling for two days, Psalm 4 from the MSG really hits home: "At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep."

Matthew Storer, President

http://www.visiontrust.org/

Liberia: The Launch

Matt Storer, Tim Debold and Don Lampe are traveling today to the country of Liberia. (All of the updated are being written by Matt Stoer...me!)

Here are a few things that we would love prayer for:
1. Traveling Sat/Sun (Oct 24-Oct 31) to Liberia. My flights all work on time and that my luggage makes it when I arrive.
2. Spiritual protection over me and two other men traveling with me (Tim and Don from a Calvary Church in Muscatine IA). This country is a spiritually dark nation.
3. Wisdom and discernment: We will be reviewing 3 prospective new projects in a several hour radius including an orphanage, church-based program and a remote school.
4. Encouragement: I will be reviewing our existing school project called locally, Prime System School of Christ. It serves 427 children from 3 years old through 8th grade.
5. Insight/Favor: I will be considering a new idea that is an Agricultural Vocational Center that will be self-sustaining, provide food for our programs and equip older children with skills. THIS is a critical component to my trip. Essentially this involves land acquisition, expertise, creative thinking (like we may have to "produce" our own chicken feed to raise chickens), security…all in a "for-profit" context so that the project doesn't require money to keep it running.

Thank you for praying! I hope to provide updates throughout the week if I have access to the internet. ;-0

-Matt Storer, President of http://www.visiontrust.org/

Report on Trip to Obregon, Mexico

Project Name: Casa Hogar Manos Unidas
Site Visit: Oct 8 and 9, 2009
Project Director: Eric Alexander Lappe Diaz
Number of Children now: 28, max 40
Location: Suburb of Cuidad Obregon called Esperanza

I arrived at the Obregon Airport the evening of Oct 7th, one day after my wife's birthday. Eric and Daniel arrived to pick me up about 7:00 PM and drove me to the Yori Hotel. The next day a missionary named Terry Lingel (International Gospel Ministries) came from Hermosillo with Pastor Daryl Butler to spend the next 2 days talking with Eric about a new partnership. I finally arrived at the Casa Hogar Manos Unidas (United Hands Home) at 11:45 AM on Oct 8th.
Terry, Daryl and I were greeted by Eric and Adriana (Eric's wife). They gave us a tour of the facility. The orphanage is a series of typical one story Mexican housing structures made from bricks, cement and concrete. The houses have been purchased over time - walls have since been removed or erected to make for a better place for the children. The primary living areas include a large common area for dining or entertaining; a large kitchen with professional style stove, oven, two refrigerators, washing area and large prep area. Currently all of the girls sleep in one room and all of the boys sleep in another room. Just recently, Eric made two new separate rooms for his biological boys and girls to protect them. Eric and Adriana also live in the house and have a separate bedroom and bathroom.

The property also has 3 large school rooms to teaches three groups of children: Pre-kindergarten in one room; 1 and 2 in another room; and 3, 4, 5 and 6 in another room. The property also has an office, bakery (under construction), computer room with 4 computers and printer, and large food/clothes storage area. In addition to these spaces, Eric has recently acquired a small broken down house built into the side of their orphanage. Along with this space, he has purchased more adjacent property that is currently used for storage, workshop and a "grocery" store that is no longer operational. To my understanding, the orphanage owns all of these properties. He still owes 80,000 peso ($6,153) for the "grocery" store property. All of the other spaces are free and clear. (Special note: The orphanage has several acres of land in the region. These are available for farming, etc)

Currently they are caring for 28 children, 10 boys and 18 girls. The youngest is 3 years old and oldest is 16 years old. All of the children attend school at the orphanage up to 6th grade and then go to the public school (I am assuming). They have a regular daily schedule of chores, eating, going to school and playing. All of the children go to church on the weekend and they receive some Bible training using Spanish study guides. I didn't have time to drill into the educational materials or visit the public schools. We also did not have time to explore alternative concepts to the K-6 schooling vs public school.

Eric employs 9 people including himself. He and Adriana do not take a salary, they just live in the orphanage and have their primary needs met that way.

I was told that the children in the orphanage and in the greater community are healthy with no major diseases like TB, AIDS, etc. For immediate care, the children are taken to the local hospital about 5 kilometers away.

Through our conversations, Eric shared many ideas about small businesses to make money to help support the orphanage. Some ideas include a bakery, grocery and farm project.

On Friday, Terry, Daryl, Eric, Adriana and myself spent a few hours reviewing the sponsorship concept and what kind of expectations we all might have together. We poured through the example VisionTrust Partnership Agreement. This was a very good discussion that allowed all of us to talk about spiritual mentoring, education, health, long-term goals for the children, finances, budgets, etc.

Overall, my impression was that we have a good possibility of working together. I have a few concerns that still need to be resolved. I left Eric with a request to pray with his wife and then tell us later if they want a sponsorship program and if they want to work with us. I also told Eric that I would be reporting back to Calvary Church and that we all would be praying too. Then in a 3-4 weeks, we should all make a decision on what to do next.

SEPARATE IDEA:
I did explore other ideas with Terry about partnering with Pastor Pedro in Hermosillo - using the church there as a VisionTrust Learning Center that provides spiritual mentoring, educational support and health care to some of the poorest children in the area, along with having the children in the orphanage attend. All of these children could be in a sponsorship program for example. The Christian community could be expanded as well by starting a Learning Center near the dump area instead of a proposed feeding program. This center would run like the one just proposed, but instead of the location first being a church, this location starts as a "center" and over time could become a church.

Obregon, Mexico | New project evaluation

Today I am in Obregon, Mexico (Matt Storer) getting ready to visit an orphanage supported by Calvary Church out of St. Louis, MO. Please pray for me and the team here as we review the prospect of this becoming an official VisionTrust program. You can see where I am by clicking the following Google Maps link: Ciudad Obregón, SON, Mexico: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Ciudad+Obreg%C3%B3n,+Sonora,+Mexico&sll=19.305328,-99.076208&sspn=0.010733,0.019205&g=obregon,+Mexico&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FWd_owEdHnBy-Q&split=0&hq=&hnear=Ciudad+Obreg%C3%B3n,+Sonora,+Mexico&ll=27.488477,-109.940872&spn=10.32054,19.665527&z=6>

It's Hot!!!

Bob Nowe and Matthew Storer in the Dominican Republic, July 2009.

For more information on short-term mission teams, visit www.visiontrust.org