Not in Iowa Anymore!

"You are a Liberian woman!" I can hear quite a few times in a week. That particular phrase makes me smile most of the time, indicating to me that even though this is not my home culture, there are small ways where I fit in, and am not seen as different, even though my skin color is.

But there are many things from this culture that I will never fully understand, no matter how long I live here.

Yesterday I spent the day visiting our Community Health and Evangelism team in Vonzua, Grand Cape Mount County. This program teaches basic health and hygiene training while also weaving in Bible stories. The areas the CHE team is in are predominantly M. areas. But since the stories are told in a chronological order, they are familiar with all of the OT stories. By the end of the 9 month training, the "whole package" has been presented! It is a program filled with transformation.

One of the villages we visited was incredibly friendly. As they were leading us around the village to show us their new well and hand pump, I noticed a fenced off area in the center of the village. I was informed that it is a "Withcraft Hospital."

Interesting.

We were heading towards it to take a look around, but was told that the doctor was not in town today.

Apparently the "doctor" is certified by the government, and even government officials come to this remote village about 2 hours from Monrovia to be cured of any curse or "juju" that is placed on them. We were told that inside were a lot of people suffering from very disturbing things.

Our staff told the story of one man and his two wives. The man was treating one wife better than the other, so the wife who was being ignored placed a juju curse on him and his head turned into a face of a pig. The man was so ashamed to be seen, that he started to walk towards Sierra Leone, and died along the way.

My North American mind quickly says, "No way. Not possible." Yet, our staff was adament that it was not just a story.

There are countless times here in Liberia where I hear stories like this. For example, the general during the war that could disappear into rocks or trees and be invisible to his enemies. Like the "ningee" people who live underwater and who pull under small children and kill them. Or the "dwaft" people who live in the mountains-whose feet are backwards on their bodies so that when you see footprints that are going away from you, they are actually coming towards you. The stories are endless.

My point is not about the "crazy" stories I hear, but more about the difference in culture and belief system I grew up with compared to the Liberian traditional religion and their culture.

Do I have a hard time believing a lot of these stories? Most times I do.

Does that mean that they don't exist? No.

But fortunately, no matter what culture we come from, we have a God who prevails over all of it.