Past and Present

Last week someone told me I should check out the videos of Yekepa on YouTube.com. So I did, and found some amazing footage from before the war. I was able to see the olympic sized swimming pool in use by Liberians, Americans and Europeans. I saw footage of the LAMCO Golf Course, the go-kart track, the LAMCO (Liberian American Mining Company) mine in operation. There was even aerial footage of someone who flew over the city... I was just flabbergasted by the things I saw. I knew that before the war this place was booming, and was a vacation spot for many people, but to see those videos from 20 years ago, and to see the city now... its heart breaking.

I pulled Oretha, my cook in to see the videos, and we started discussing more about the war and Yekepa before destruction took place. She shared that no one from Yekepa would even go to Monrovia, because the people in Monrovia said that Yekepa was just like America, so why would they come to Monrovia!? She also talked more about how her and her family fled to Guinea when the rebels came through. Everything in their house was stolen. They returned to their homes to find both the front and back doors open and everything inside gone. Televisions, clothing, money, EVERYTHING.

Many of the Liberians had thousands of dollars in the bank. Gone. At one point the government said they would repay that, but now that won't happen. She said they all still have their bank books just in case. To think, those in this community that lived so comfortably 20 years ago, now live with nothing. They have had to completely start over.

I asked her why she came back... why come back to a place that has been destroyed? Why not stay in Guinea? She said that the conditions in Guinea were so bad, especially the water. It was muddy water and all they had to drink. Her young children were sick, she was sick, and children were dying all around her. She had heard that the rebels had left Yekepa, and decided that it was better to return there than to stay in these horrible living conditions. She was able to keep her refugee card, which enabled her to get food in Guinea, but the rules stated that when you received your food in Guinea, you had to stay in Guinea to eat it. But her children were in Yekepa, so during the night, her and a group of women (8-10) would travel through the bush to bring food back to their family. At times rebels would find them and demand that they give up their food. Oretha tells about the time where they were carrying rice, and in order to not make it look appealing to the rebels, they mixed sand and rock inside. The rebels would open their sacks and see the dirty rice and not take it.

As we drove through town and past the river, she talked about how awful war is, and how she hopes she dies before she sees another war. She talked of the sorrow and the loss of respect that they faced. As we passed the new ECO bank, which used to be the main LAMCO security building, she told another horrifying experience. The security building had been taken over by the rebels, and they were stopping anyone and everyone and demanding that they hand over all of their money. If anyone refused, they were killed and thrown into the river. Oretha and two of her friends had heard of the killings but didn't want to believe it. They got special permission to enter the security area and saw the atrocities for themselves. "Joni, I couldn't eat meat for over a month. It was just disgusting to me. It was ugly. They did very, very ugly things."

One of my favorite things about Oretha is her joyful spirit. Almost all day long you can hear her singing and praising God, and if you peek around the corner you will find her dancing as she is sweeping the floor or cooking the meal- its great! So many times it makes me stop and think about what the people of Liberia have gone through...and how they are still a people of hope, and a people who have not turned their back on God even through everything they have lived through and seen in their lives.

Today during lunch, a handful of our Liberian staff were gathered on our back porch, singing and dancing. One team member turned to me and said, "do black people have more fun than white people? They sure seem to." I started thinking about that question. Why is that? Why do Africans, that have considerably less than we do in the States, seem to have more joy than us? I think that because their life is simpler than ours.. not filled with too many "things" that keep us busy or that we allow to convince ourselves we will be happy if we possess them. I think Africans are able to enjoy the simple pleasures in life... fellowshipping together throughout life, and being able to praise God in the process, no matter what circumstances or living conditions they find themselves in. Maybe sometimes the joy they have in God is what they need to focus on to get them through.

Which leads me to ask myself when was the last time I celebrated my joy in the Lord? When in Yekepa, I join Oretha and Betty daily in singing Liberian songs (I let them do the dancing). But when I am not around them? At home? How about you? Can we be content in God alone? Could we be content if everything we own on this earth was taken from us and God was all we had?

Some may look at the wars that Liberia went through and ask God "why?" God always has a plan. Always. He is sovereign and always will be. That is what we can rejoice in.

"I am over my situation
All my problems are under my feet
When Jesus lifts me up I will rise
I will rise forever more."
(a Liberian Praise song)