Great Days

 I had an amazing Sunday!  I think it started well because I slept well the night before and did not worry about waking when the power came on at 5:30.  Since every window in the house is open, it was nice to wake to the sounds of birds and children paying in the distance.  It was about 7 am and I was laying there half awake trying to muster the energy to get up, then I remembered it was not children I heard but rather the soccer game that happens every Sunday morning.  I decided to go for a walk, check out the game and start the day with some much needed exercise.  As I walked down the road toward the field I was amazed to see how aggressive the teams were playing, especially considering there was very little grass and mostly dirt on the field.  I sat and watched for a bit, took some short video and headed on my way.  I was on my usual walking path that circles the campus in about a 3.5 mile loop.  I was some good time to reflect on the past week and really ask God what He has in store for me with this program.

As I was walking down the road I was coming upon a group of men sitting alongside the road.   The road I was on sits outside the campus and community and is a common road for getting to Guinea only a couple miles away.  I could see the men from afar but could not make out who they were.  I asked God to please keep me safe as it was strange they would be there since there is generally no one working on Sunday and they appeared to have been working.  As I came upon them and greeted them I realized….they were ABCU students and 2 of the 5 were my students.  I also found out they were debating about who was this guy walking toward them.  Funny I was worried about them and they were worried about me….so often we forget how things look to other and only concentrate on how they appear to us.  As I walked away I realized, God has it all in control, He knows and He will guide I just need to keep trusting and taking steps in faith.

I promised young Pete Saye that I would attend church with him.  He attends Bethel church in the community and it is led by one of the ABCU professors.  The church is in a run down building that many I know would probably be afraid to enter, no less worship there.  I showed up and sat in the pew leaving room for Peter who I had not seen yet.  I was a bit early and people were still coming in but there was some singing and praying going on.  Suddenly to might right, in the aisle stood Peter with a big smile on his face, I could tell he was happy I had come.  He scooted in and sat next to me, as we were reading the bible, I shared with him.  Later he told me he did not own a bible and I promised I would bring him one on my next visit.  I struggle with how to handle Peter, I am constantly troubled by the sheer poverty this child lives in yet I do not want to spoil him or have him create a dependency that cannot be sustained.  I hope the skills we are teaching at ABCU will help children like Peter.

The afternoon brought the bachelorette service for the graduating students.  Such an amazing day and the opportunity to see the excitement on these students faces as they are reaching the end of one chapter and starting the next.  They were the pioneers who took the leap of faith as the first class as the University restarted.  I was amazed to think that in just 2 years, I will have students standing up there, graduating from the program God has empowered me to lead. There is a lot to do and learn between now and then and I am confident we will promote students with the skills and the ethics to build foundation business in Liberia.  People and friends attended the service from all over the community and a special choir from the Inland Church in Karnplay (about 3 hours away) came and sang some traditional music in Gio a native tongue.  It was awesome to see them sing and their cloths were a brilliant yellow.  One thing about Liberian women is they know how to dress well and some of the traditional outfits are very brightly colored.

Truly a spectacular day and I can hardly wait to see the actual graduation event as I am sure it will be like no other I have seen.