Report from Liberia

Monday, Nov 25.

We’ll, I made it back to Lexington. This last post will give you an update on my travels from Ganta back to the US.

I left Ganta at 7:45 am on Saturday morning. Fannia Freeman and Madison, my driver and owner of the vehicle I rented for the week, headed off to Monrovia and the airport. I was really dreading the trip back to Monrovia because of the terrible road. I sort of forgot how bad it really is but within just a few minutes after leaving the city limits of Ganta I was reminded when we hit a big pothole and I felt a really sharp pain in my back.

The trip back to Monrovia was long and bumpy but was uneventful. I decided not to concentrate on the road so much and to look at the scenery and the villages that we would pass. I saw lots of pigs, goats, chickens, and dogs. I also saw a squirrel cross the road. Fannia said that they do not have many squirrels in Liberia. I even saw a mother duck with 5 or 6 little ducklings that were right along the side of the road. Most of all, I noticed the poor living conditions that most of the people have. I noticed for the first time several places where it appeared that families had built what I would call a lean-to (made of several wooden poles and palm leaves) beside the highway and were living in them. I also saw lots of children that were out playing, carrying baskets full of bananas and other produce, and carrying water cans.

Saturday is obviously a busy day in Liberia. People get up very early and go to the market to shop and to sell and trade their goods. At various places along the road, we would encounter large groups of people walking and carrying various items (mostly on their head) on their way to the market. We also saw lots of people washing their clothes, cars, and motorcycles in nearly every river or stream that we would cross. Every five or ten miles we would come to a village that had what I would call a “flea market” area where people would be selling all kinds of food, clothes, and other items.

When we first left Ganta, the road was not very crowded with cars and trucks. Mostly what we saw were lots of people walking along the sides of the road. But, the later it got and the closer we came to Monrovia the more cars, big trucks, and motorcycles were on the highway. By 10 am or so, it was flat out dangerous! Because the road is so bad, everybody drives on whichever side of the road has the least number of potholes. It was crazy! Not only do you have to dodge the potholes but you also have to watch out for people that are driving on YOUR side of road and won’t get over. It is sort of like the survival of the fittest out there.  I thought several times that our driver was going to have to go into a ditch to miss being hit by someone on our side of the road!

At 2 pm, we finally pulled into the Monrovia airport. I was really, really glad and thankful to have made the trip safely once more. Thank you God! It took us a few minutes to locate the terminal building and find exactly where I needed to check in for my flight. I did not leave until 8:50 pm and was told that I could not check in until 5 pm and could not wait in the terminal building. So, Fannia and Madison took me to the airport restaurant that was only about 50 or so yards away so that I could get some lunch and wait there until I could check in. We said our goodbyes and they got back into the vehicle and left for Ganta.

While waiting at the restaurant, I ate a club sandwich and drank a Sprite, then spent some time reading. At about 4 pm, I looked out the window of the restaurant and noticed a huge storm cloud heading directly for the airport. I decided to go to the terminal building and find a place where I could wait outside the building but we out of the rain. I’m glad that I made that decision because about 15 minutes after I walked back over (with my luggage in tow) to the terminal building it started to pour the rain and did not stop for several hours. At 5 pm they opened the doors to terminal and I checked in, got my boarding pass, went through customs and the security station, and found a seat at the gate (one gate) to wait on the flight.

We started boarding the plane a little after 8 pm and departed right on schedule. It was a good flight to Paris and I was able to sleep most of the way. We landed in Paris at 6:45 am and I would have to wait for several hours since the flight to Cincinnati did not leave until 10:55 am. After I got off the plane, I had to once again go through security. Once I did that, I got on the tramway and rode to the terminal and to find my gate for the next flight. This terminal must have been recently remodeled. It was very beautiful and appealing (and must have cost a fortune!). It had lots of shops, newsstands, restaurants, and plenty of places for people to relax and enjoy themselves. I noticed that nearly every other seat or bench had places where you could recharge the batteries for your laptop or cell phone. I found the Starbucks and got a cup of coffee and headed to my gate to wait.

At about 10 am, they came on the intercom to announce that flight to Cincinnati would now start boarding. So, I texted Michelle to let her know that I was on the final leg of my trip and to give her a heads up on when to pick me up, then I boarded the plane.

This last flight was pretty good. I was very tired and after the bumpy road from Ganta and the first flight, my back was killing me!! The plane arrived at the Cincinnati airport at about 1:45 pm, which was 45 minutes early! I got off the plane and had to go through customs. This took me about 30 minutes, so I was ready to go by 2:15 pm. I had told Michelle to pick me up at around 3 pm. So, I had to wait a few minutes for her to arrive and pick me up. Michelle, fortunately, was a little early and arrived at 2:45 pm and we were off to Lexington. We arrived at the house at a few minutes past 4 pm. My trip is now complete and now back home! Thank you Lord for your blessings!!

I’m grateful to be back home. It is true, there is no place like home but I already miss the folks back in Liberia. They are truly some of the most loving and generous people that I’ve ever met and I’m looking forward to going back again next year. But mostly, I’m looking forward to seeing what fruit will grow from the seeds that have been planted there.

Thanks for your prayers and support. I am forever grateful.

Blessings!

Fred

Report from Liberia

Friday, Nov 22.

Greetings from Ganta, Liberia.

This is my last day in Ganta. Since I didn't have to teach this morning, I decided that I would go through the wait at the restaurant and have an omelet with my coffee. I got to the restaurant, sat down at a table and when the waitress came over I placed my order for a cup of coffee and a spanish omelet (I had one of those last year and it was pretty good).

The waitress turned in my order to the cook and I patiently waited for my coffee, which I thought would be brought to me before my meal. I sat there about 15 minutes in which I did not see the waitress prepare a tray with a coffee cup, a sugar bowl, and creamer as she normally has done. So, I sort of figured out that something was wrong and maybe she forgot the coffee and motioned for her to come to the table. When she did, I asked her about my coffee and she replied, "sir, we are out of cream and therefore cannot make any coffee for you." For a second or two, I thought that I was going to explode, but I took a few deep breaths and told her that I will drink my coffee black and do not need any cream or sugar. She seeming shocked but said she would bring me some coffee.

It still took her about five minutes to bring the coffee and another 10 or so minutes for my omelet, but I wasn't under any time crunch so I just chilled and enjoyed my breakfast. After I finished eating, I went back to the room and got my stuff and waited on my driver. He arrived at about 9:10 am and we were off to meet with Alex and Fannia to plan next year's training.

Our dates for next year are now set. I will be coming back to Liberia from 14-23 November, 2014. The plan calls for two (2) days of teaching the current group of leaders on the One-on-One leadership/apprentice level. Then, this group of leaders will have three (3) days to teach a new group of leaders (approximately 75) that they will recruit to commit to the four-year development process.

We also came up with a tentative plan for year 3. It is this year that we will have to decentralize the training somewhat. We are now looking to use three (3) different sites where we will train the new group of leaders for that year (total of up to 225 new leaders). We did briefly discuss year 4 when we will need to train 675 new leaders and we understand that we do have a big challenge ahead for us logistically to find places where we can hold the training that will have sufficient classroom space, places for the people to stay, providing meals, etc.

Tomorrow, my driver and Fannia will be picking me up at 7:30 am to head back down the Ganta road to Monrovia. We should arrive there no later than 2 pm and my flight leaves at 8:50 pm. So, I will have a bit of a wait but I've got a lot of reading that I can catch up on.

My next post will be once I get back to Lexington on Sunday afternoon. My flight arrives at the Cincy airport at 2:30 pm and I should be back at the house by 4:30 pm or so.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I would ask you also to keep the Liberian leaders in your prayers and for our future plans here to train leaders in this nation who will live, love, and lead like Jesus!!

Blessings!

Fred



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Verse for today

Psalm 107:1 ESV

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/59/psa.107.1.esv

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Pictures from Liberia

Here are a couple of pictures that I took today. The first one is of one if our groups as they are reviewing the key concepts of the LLJ encounter. The second is of my driver Alex standing by his vehicle in the parking lot at the hotel.

Report from Liberia

Thursday, Nov 21.

Greetings from Ganta, Liberia!

Another great day! We finished up this morning by getting and giving some feedback on yesterday's teach backs. Then, I put them into their groups and had them spend about 3 hours going over the Facilitator notes to review and discuss the key (main) points, making sure that each person fully understood them.

After lunch, we discussed plans for them to teach Lead Like Jesus and I asked them to make a commitment as to the number of Encounters they could facilitate over the next 12 months. Most said that they could do 4, 5, or even more than that, but about a fourth of them expressed a doubt that they could do more than three. So, after much discussion, it was decided that each person would commit to a minimum of three (3) Encounters over the next year. We then set up the leader's huddle groups, selected huddle "captains" who would be responsible to coordinate the quarterly meetings and send in reports, and went over the recommended agenda and discussion topics for each of the quarterly huddles. We then reviewed next year's training and the task of recruiting their "3" leaders who they would bring with them next year. Finally, I presented each of the leaders with a Lead Like Jesus Certificate of Completion and we spent some time in thanksgiving and prayer.

Most of them will go back to their homes this evening, with a few of them leaving first thing in the morning. So, we said our goodbye's this afternoon. As Alex, my driver, started to drive off from the church, I waved goodbye and couldn't help but feel that I have been blessed with a tremendous gift. At first, I had trouble understanding why I had such a feeling as this, but I soon realized that this is what it feels like to accomplish something that will make a eternal impact. You see, it was the same feeling that Luke and I had last June, when we left Iganga, Uganda after we had completed our training with Pastor Daniel and the other leaders there. I cannot tell you how encouraging it is to see these 24 leaders truly excited about and committed to developing leaders who lead like Jesus!

I'm very grateful for the opportunity to serve our Lord by planting some seeds of servant leadership into the lives of a few of His servants here in Liberia. I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for them over the next three (3) years.

I hope that by the time that I come back next year, they will have finished building the new hotel in Ganta that is currently under construction. I understand that the living conditions here are not up to par with what we have in the US. I fully understand the power going off and on several times a day and sometimes for long periods, and that this is a very poor country. But, I really have a problem with poor service.

My hotel room is OK. The internet works, not very well, but its better than nothing and my room is fairly clean. But, try to get something fixed is not very easy. I've had a leak in my bathroom since Saturday and I think they finally got it fixed this afternoon. Each time I would say something to them, they would jump right on it and clean the water up but I'm not sure they did anything to actually fix the leak?

The restaurant is worse. It does not even open until 8 am each morning. So, most all of the people who stay at the hotel (UN and US government people) have to leave and go get their breakfast some place else. Most of the time, they really don't open until 5 or 10 minutes after 8 am. Then, to get a cup of hot water to make myself a cup of instant coffee (why I take Folger's singles with me) takes at least 15 minutes. If I would order an omelet or scrambled eggs, this would take at a minimum 30 minutes. And, I haven't said anything about their lounge that stays open until 1 or 2 am and plays the music as loud as they possibly can. It never kept me awake (ear plugs) except for last night, when they must have brought in some extra speakers or something because the music was twice as loud as it had been and the bass drum vibrated the entire building. Sorry for the rant. You can bet that I will be praying that the new hotel will be open next November when I (Lord willing) return to Liberia.

Tomorrow, I will meet with Alex (not my driver) and Fannia Freeman to make plans for next year's training and then on Saturday morning, leave Ganta and begin the journey to come home.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please also pray for the Liberian leaders who are returning back to their homes. More to follow from Ganta tomorrow evening.

Blessings!

Fred



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Report from Liberia

Wednesday, Nov 20.

Greetings from Ganta, Liberia.

A truly great day in Ganta! Today, the leaders all took turns teaching portions of the Lead Like Jesus Encounter. Most of them did a fantastic job! They were really great! There were a few that struggled, but overall, I am very, very pleased!

Because they did so well, we are going to be able to finish the training by tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon instead of Friday at noon. Tomorrow morning, I will give them some additional feedback on their teaching/facilitation and will then have them get into their groups and review/discuss the key (main) points for each section of the Encounter.

After lunch we will begin our planning and preparation for next year by doing four (4) things:

(1) Getting their commitment on how many Encounters they will facilitate during the next 12 months.
(2) Developing leadership "huddle" groups by breaking them into groups of 4-5 and appointing a huddle leader for each group. They will then meet three times (once per quarter) over the next year to review the Lead Like Jesus material, work through the LLJ Study Guide, report on their Encounters, and to pray for and encourage one another.
(3) Determining dates and locations for next year's training.
(4) Discussing the requirement for them to recruit and select three (3) leaders to bring with them next year who will begin the four year process.

By being able to finish tomorrow, this will leave Friday open so that I can meet with Alex and Fannia Freeman to work out the details for them hosting the training next year and to start thinking about the logistics of year 3 and 4. When you do the math, if every leader we train brings back 3 leaders with them the following year, and you do this over a four year period, you can quickly see that the number of leaders we will train/equip over a four year period is significant. (Yr 1 = 25; Yr 2 = 100; Yr 3 = 325; Yr 4 = 1,000) This is why Luke Kuepfer and I are really excited about the process that we have now put in place in Uganda, Ghana, and Liberia.

Our weather here today has been slightly cooler with overcast/cloudy skies and lower humidity. We did have a huge storm last night. It woke me up at 3 am. The wind, rain, and lightning lasted about an hour and I was finally able to go back to sleep.

I pray that all is well with you. Thanks again for your continued prayers.

Blessings!

Fred


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Pictures from Liberia

The first picture is of the leaders preparing to teach their individual portions of the Encounter. The second one shows one of our groups acting out a Bible story from Matt 20:20-28.