I cannot recall the last time I did a “Black Friday” shopping experience. It always seems like I am departing for a foreign nation the morning after Thanksgiving. And once again, that holds true.
While most of America is shopping, I depart for Liberia. A Western Africa country that has been torn apart by war, that we get to introduce more people to the Prince of Peace.

A bit of History: Liberia is a Settlement of freed slaves from the US ~ the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic nation in 1847. In 1980 a military coup ushered in decades of authoritarian rule.
In 1989 Charles Taylor launched a rebellion that lead to a prolonged civil war. There was a short time of peace but Taylor was brought to power in 1997 and fighting resumed in 2000. A peace agreement was reached in 2003 and ended the war. Charles Taylor now faces war crimes. The UN Mission in Liberia still maintains a strong presence throughout the country and the security situation is still fragile.
The Process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country has begun…. And so has the healing of the hearts…….

The 14 years of Civil war caused rural communities when the majority live to be inaccessible. And much of the population has remained isolated and unreached.
There is a group of Liberians who attend LWCC that are supporting and Re-building the Church in Monrovia. The local church members have been doing evangelistic outreach to the indigenous people with great success.
So far, they have planted over 20 churches in 6 years. In addition, the church is training up others to help teach and build strong leaders to continue the evangelistic explosion. Another focus is to provide primary Christian Education to the children. Education which had been denied due to the civil war crisis.

Our exact itinerary has not been laid out as we just found out that we have a place to stay that is a building. The team prayer has been focused on praying for the lost souls and all who are oppressed and with out peace.
We are finding that many are the plans of a man’s mind, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. So we ask you to agree with us in prayer for the following:

1. Protection as we travel.. no harm or incidents.
2. All luggage to arrive at the end destinations (on the way there and back here)
3. All items we have for distribution to be ushered in through customs with out any delays
4. For sanctified food and water… the country is just starting to rebuild.
5. For the Assignments, for all to hear with our ears, receive in our hearts, and embrace all that the Lord is directing us to do.
6. For the Holy Spirit to have absolutely free reign and for us not to lean on any part of ourselves
7. For our eyes to be open to see the people as the Lord sees them
8. For the Children who have been left orphans or maimed
9. For unity of the teams… the team from the US as well as the Liberian brothers/sisters
10. For the Lord to open effective doors of Ministry ~ new arenas of ministry that He’s only given a glimpse into.
11. For prosperity, Spirit (staying strong in the Lord and the power of His might), Soul (to be adjusted quickly and put down self), Body (walking in divine health), and for the continued financial provision for all that is needed to do the work that He has called us to do

The month of December is so special to us because of Christmas… we get to celebrate our Lord and Saviors birth. Luke 2 has the account of what the Angel’s announced when the Christ Child was born:
V 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

We are carriers of the peace and good will for the Lord and our trips have celebrated Christmas the entire year as we’ve given out the priceless gift of Salvation through Jesus. Freely give and freely receive.

My prayers over all of you are:
For you to have a revelation of the Love of God, to really understand that you can “lean on, trust in and rely on the Lord” and He will direct your steps. For that assurance that God is with you.. From the highest point to the lowest valley, He never leaves or forsakes you. That truly, He has written a plan for your life… That you can accomplish that plan by delighting yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart… As you trust in Him, He will bring them to pass. For the dreams in each of your hearts to be further stirred and lit a new. For each one of you to grab on to those dreams and dare to believe that God wants to use you to do grand thing.
For you to Live for the Praise of HIS GLORY! And the World to understand through the Love that has been shed abroad in your hearts, how they too, are loved beyond measure and treasured above all.
May the God of more than enough, bring you peace and continued prosperity in every area of your lives.

Our driver, which I said was our “tour guide” , was a close friend of the couple we stayed with. He had a full time job with the police force where he an officer in charge. Most of his free time was spent driving us to and from villages.

He listened to our conversations as he drove and we talked about the goodness of God. He played praise and worship music and sang along. He observed us give freely to those in need. Saw the Joy of the Lord filled us as we took the long short cut through the mountains and tracked elephants (the pot holes were so big, I thanked him for taking us on an elephant tracking adventure!) Smiled as he took us to explore the night market for gifts after a long 18 hour day already.

Our last drive was to the airport and the Lord opened the door for us to share with two very special people who were in the vehicle. Jenny had been planting seeds into these two for a long time. And it was time for the harvest. Conversion from buddhism is not an easy thing. Often times it means that you will be ostracized from your families. So to take the step to receive Jesus as Lord is one that often will be of great sacrifice.

As we shared about the great Love of God that had us praying and then sent us to Thailand, you could see the hearts open wide up. We talked about how they served us by being there to drive us around, or watch Jenny’s two children as we ventured out for days. That we could not possibly give any earthly gift that would come close to expressing our thankfulness for them. We shared about the priceless and matchless gift of Jesus that is given freely and is the highest and best thing we could give. It was the Love of Jesus that compelled us to go and serve.

We prayed with Wong P, the friend who watched the children, as we pulled up to the curb at the airport. Our beloved driver, Kassi, gave me the honor to pray with him after he unloaded our bags from the truck. Jenny smiled really really big. As we walked to check in, she told me that Both Wong P and Kassi had both asked her that morning to know more about the Bible. One plants, another waters and God gives the increase!!!

Thank you Lord for making the pages of Your Word Alive to them.

A “long neck” karen girl… I had seen and read about those who have rings put around their necks… This is where they reside….

Our trip to the Mountain allowed us to spend a night at the Karen Bible school. Oh what Joy! Their Faith remains as they are persecuted…
Photos below:
Prayer “house”, Cooking for dinner, Service with the Pastor and Teacher, Kids at church service

We went to a mountainas region by Burma.. there are the refugee camps of the Karen people. In one camp, there was about 30,000 families in structures that the Thai government has built. Those families have fled as the Burmese government are attacking villages and killing the people.
Hard to believe that the disregard for human life exists in this day and age, but it most certainly does. ]

There is a river (SEE BELOW) that on the east side is Thailand and the West Side is a mountain. On the East Side of the Mountain it is still Thailand, but the west side is Burma. When the Burmese army wants to attack the Karen people who have fled to the East side of the mountain, they do so. From a stragetic position, it is not wise to put your army across the river. The Burmese Army knows this.. They also have lined the river with mines to “deter” the Karen people from “swimming” to the saftey of Thailand….
Please continue to pray for these people. To remain in the Hiding Place of God and under the Shadow of the Almighty.