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.