June 2008

Reading the Foreign Office recommendation that the West African country of Liberia should not be visited I admit to some hesitation about what I had let myself in for. Earlier this year I volunteered to act as team pastor for a Discovery Team to travel to Liberia and find out about the work of Samaritans Purse International (SPI). Indeed as we flew through the storm clouds into Roberts International Airport and looked down on the vast array of UN helicopters and vehicles my concern was heightened.

Our team was made up of a rich variety of individuals, some with no Christian faith, two SPI staff and others from a whole range of professions and experiences. None of us knew quite what to expect from a country where civil war finished only in 2004. We were to spend a short time in the capital city, Monrovia, before travelling along very bumpy tracks to Foya in the North West corner of the country. Despite any concerns or fears, through all the travelling and among every group of people we met we experienced some of the most friendly and welcoming people imaginable. Here were groups of people with almost nothing by way of material wealth yet the love, faith and charity that they gave to us was overwhelming. SPI are perhaps best known as the organisers of Operation Christmas Child and we had the privilege of distributing some of the shoe-boxes that had been sent from the UK. But they are involved in immensely more than OCC. During the 7 days there we visited church and school buildings erected by SPI, an orphanage that SPI were involved in, agriculture and aqua-culture projects, Christian work among a Muslim community, as well as getting involved in the making and setting up of Bio-sand Water Filters and being part of church services.

In every instance we were richly blessed by the people we met and the generosity of gifts presented to us.

Perhaps the greatest gift though relates to the measure of Christian faith demonstrated for us. Let me tell you about one man as an illustration, a man called Dennis.

One night we stayed in a guest house which had belonged to Dennis’ Father, the local doctor. During the civil war a group of wounded soldiers arrived on the doorstep and demanded immediate medical treatment. For five days and nights, Dennis’ father treated the soldiers and they left. A few days later the same group returned from another battle and demanded more help.

The family asked the soldiers to come back the following day as Dennis’ father was completely exhausted. The soldiers pushed their way into the home, burst into the relevant room, dragged Dennis’ father outside and crudely beheaded him. Dennis’ 17 year old brother rushed out to see what was happening and as he tried to run away the soldiers shot him in the back.

Dennis spoke about these events with tenderness and concern; he doesn’t show any of the hatred or bitterness that you might expect. He was just one of many people to exude forgiveness and love and to live out the reality of Christian love. Instead of revenge Dennis has committed himself to the spread of the Christian gospel in a world of fear and evil. He is now a church planter, travelling around the area supporting and upholding a proliferation of new church workers and encouraging them in the good news of a forgiving Lord.

Samaritan’s Purse in Liberia is an incredibly active and vibrant work, we only scratched the surface of all that was going on throughout the country but in the little we did see, we were confronted by hundreds of examples of those who materially had nothing but were determined to share their faith and love with as much generosity as they could muster.

In Liberia we saw and experienced the reality of these words from 2 Corinthians 8; ‘Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.’ 

Please pray for the people of Liberia and for the work of Samaritans Purse and please support their work in any way you can, I promise you the people who benefit are extremely grateful. (www.samaritanspurse.uk.com)