3.2.07

Friday 3/2
(11:30pm)

Another crazy day – I have a feeling I will never be bored on this trip. I started today shortly after 7am and ate the same breakfast as yesterday – what I wouldn’t give for a little cheese on those eggs! The men from the church weren’t arriving until 9am, so I leisurely dressed and enjoyed a lengthy Bible reading. Shortly before 9am, George McConnell offered to show me the beach. I didn’t realize our guesthouse is only about 100 yards away. The beach was empty except for two runners – no children and no sign of any sea life dead or alive except for a fishing boat about 500 yards out. We tromped around in our dress clothes, marveling at the gutted buildings that must have once afforded stunning views of the beautiful shore and massive breakers. When we headed back, the church men had not arrived (“Liberian time” becomes a pattern here) so I poked around the property hunting red-headed lizards and wild fowl with my camera. The men finally arrived at 9:45am to drive us 30 minutes to our 10:00am service. The van was having some transmission trouble that was a harbinger of things to come. We arrived at the FP Mission Church of Liberia decked out in dress shirts and ties that were already very damp with sweat (except for Paulcy who remembered to pack his very airy-looking Liberian robes). The service was already in progress with praise and worship music and we were ushered into a classroom where a reporter/producer from 99.5 FM State Radio was present to interview all of us for special broadcast spots purchased in anticipation of the crusade – mine was thankfully the shortest.

Finally, around 11:15am we entered the service and were given seats behind the pulpit and table on the platform. The pavilion was full (75-100?) and the people sang several hymns beautifully, led by Pastor McCole. Kowah introduced us kindly, if effusively, and after several more hymns and Bible readings, Dr. Allison took the pulpit around 11:40am. (note: We had a 1pm appointment in Monrovia with the lawyer so we planned to leave the church at 12 noon – so much for American-style scheduling!) He preached a clear, simple, powerful message on II Corinthians 6:14-7:1 and had an encouraging response at the invitation given by Pastor McCole. However, the 8 or 9 people who came forward received no counseling to our knowledge after the service – something we will need to address before the evangelistic crusade.

We rushed to Monrovia, already late, and dropped Paulcy off at Cellcom Communications on the way to buy a Liberian cell phone for our use ($29 US). About 1:30pm we made it up to the law office. The attorney, who also happens to be a minister, had drawn up the most Biblical, distinctively Free Presbyterian Articles of Incorporation imaginable, without any input from us – remarkable! Before we could sign and submit the papers, we found out the church had to have a registered PO Box, so Pastors Allison and McCole embarked on that venture while George and I had our driver take us to find Paulcy. We found him, with new cell phone, at a roadside shoeshine vendor and he paid $1 US for the 2 of us to get our dress shoes professionally shined as well – a first for me, and much overdo for my shoes.

Back at the law firm it was decided that Pastor Allison, Paulcy, Pastor McCole and I (yes, that is correct) would be the original incorporators – so we all signed several copies – and I am now a signer to Liberian corporation. Hopefully all the paperwork should be through the government by next Friday.

We finally finished downtown about 4pm (we missed our own business meeting at the church, but incorporation is pretty crucial) and got back to the guesthouse for a very late lunch that was the best we’ve had yet – meatballs in brown sauce over brown rice with a funky baked bean concoction. Throw in the moist yellow cake and it was a feast.

I got in a quick nap before Paulcy, McCole and I hopped back in the van (and the 95-100% humidity) to try to finally pick up the package at the airport DHL office. On the way, we dropped off a Book of Church Order to have 15 copies made for tomorrow’s class. Halfway to Roberts Int’l, in front of the renovated national soccer stadium, our van died and wouldn’t restart. Paulcy took the wheel and McCole, our driver, and I pushed until it restarted. Having restarted though, the engine started overheating. We pulled into the stadium, popped the hood to release a billowing cloud of smoke, and took pictures while our driver ran to get water. He brought back a bottle and poured the contents in, only to have the apparently annoyed French radiator start spitting scalding streams in our direction. However, we got the fan started and about 30 minutes later the temp had dropped enough to restart. We scrapped all errand plans and drove straight back to the guest house. Apparently tomorrow we will all be cozily snuggled in a VW golf hatchback – what larks – while our air-conditioned van is repaired.

Around 7:30pm several leaders from the church arrived to discuss some issues with Dr. Allison, but we all had a nice chicken dinner first (I had PB & J since we had extra guests – they rarely get chicken) Once they started their meeting, I holed up with my notes and BCO to prepare for tomorrow’s introductory session. I’m a little nervous about teaching a crowd almost totally unacquainted with the subject matter – I definitely need more prayer! After a brief break to talk with Moses and Michael in the common room, I’m off to a cold shower and hopefully, sleep.