God has certainly been working here in Liberia and we are encouraged.The hand-dug process of the foundation work for the new library is certainly slow… but we have also had lots of help, and so it is really coming along.  We have faced some challenges as a team, including the brake-repair of our truck for moving construction materials (moving bags of cement, sand, 5/8” re-bar) which put us behind a bit (it was in the shop for an afternoon, and into the next morning Tuesday pm into Wednesday am)… but overall the team has trusted the Lord through it all.  We have remained flexible, improvised, and used all of our time for ministry of various sorts.

It has been great to watch Laura and Liz Wood in their ministry to the area children.  Laura has been “practicing” on us, during some of the evening, and off hours with her storytelling.  Then, yesterday when we were waiting for the truck arrive… we began reaching out to the neighborhood children by playing games, and drawing a crowd.  Laura then grabbed her flannel graph storyboard, and began sharing from the Bible as the children eagerly crowded around to listen.

The countryside here is beautiful, and the team has enjoyed the bumpy 15 minute ride back and forth from the guest house to the construction site each day.  Getting caught in the rain on the way home the other day was extremely refreshing, and as we got soaked we were all laughing hysterically, as we bonded, and rejoiced.

The faculty of the Bible school has already told Karney Dunah they really want me to come back again, and continue the training in the Bible school.  The classroom has been an invigorating challenge, and one component of the ministry schedule that has not been dependent on outside contractors, weather, or availability of vehicles.  Even Jay Gembeck got a chance to open the Word of God last night as we were invited to the evening church service, and he shared his testimony.

In addition to the building project, Chris Scott has worked hard on building a friendship with a national volunteer who is building  a 4H program here in Liberia.  Chris’ former experience with the program, and knowledge of agriculture, etc… has put him on a mission to find partnerships and synergies to enable ULICAF to have socio-economic impact in the area, in addition to the wonderful gospel, church, and bible school ministries that are already well-developed and thriving.

Thanks so much for keeping us in your prayers, and supporting all that the Lord is doing here.  We look forward to coming back, sharing the vision, pictures, and stories that will ultimately deepen the connection between our church families back home, and the incredible community of faith growing here in Western Africa.