“Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house…when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring forth, and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:6-8

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Ricks Institute in Liberia.

The school was badly damaged during the war, but is now being rebuilt and is looking great!

During our few weeks there, we were were able to teach an HIV/AIDS class, lead devotions, work with the teachers, and help develop a Bible curriculum.

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December 1st, World AIDS Day.

Students who participated in a special HIV/AIDS class prepared a program for the entire school.

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Everyone was given red ribbons to wear

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Drama by the students

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Shelah teaching a special class on HIV/AIDS

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Jade working with the students

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Consider the following comment that was written on a piece of paper and handed to us. “In our West African setting it is very hard to abstain from sex if you are a girl…we have no choice. This is because many of us live on our own and must support ourselves, also because of the war and poverty…” It was truly difficult to teach how the students needed to protect themselves from being infected with HIV when many girls have little to no freedom to make their own choices.

The students were very open to talk, to learn and to ask questions. Many of them asked if AIDS was real, or just an invented tale to scare them. They asked why the antiretroviral treatment is not freely available since AIDS is killing so many people in Africa. They also wanted to know how to care for people living with AIDS. On December 1st they prepared a special program for World AIDS Day with dramas and speeches and pinned red ribbons on the entire student body.

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It is difficult to imagine what it must be like to be a young girl living in Liberia struggling to get an education…or to be a young boy trying to recover from the trauma of a terrible war…or to be a teacher who has a very small salary, no books to teach from, and a family to support. At times it is too overwhelming to think about. It is much easier to focus on our own “needs” and escape back into our little protected world. Sometimes we wish we could ignore the fact that there is a world in need and forget the faces…but it is impossible when you have looked them in the eyes, laughed together, hugged, and promised them that you would tell their story.

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We must not ignore them and we must not forget!!

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Some students bring food to sell at school

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Students playing a form of dodge ball

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Anna-Grace and new friends.

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At a nearby orphanage

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IDP (Displaced Peoples) camp located on Ricks' campus

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Damaged buildings and water system at Ricks

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A young girl carries water to her family

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A local church near Ricks' campus

A local market

Monrovia

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Fuel for vehicles is sold in Mayonaise jars on the side of the road

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Near one of the small damaged buildings on Ricks' campus, CELLCOM, a Liberian mobile phone company, has placed a Cell phone tower. At the base of the tower, the guard designed a nice Christmas sign! It was our one reminder of what time of year it was!

THE ACKER FAMILY

Tabaan and Lino with Anna-Grace in April 2006 

Lino! 

Abraham making a fancy move! 

Soudi playing soccer after his exams. 

Abdul in his uniform before taking his first exam 

Traveling in Africa…

Joseph remembered me as I stepped into the small Eldoret airport. He smiled and told me it had been a long time since he had seen me. I told him it had been about 6 months and that I was glad to see him again. We chatted for about 10 minutes. Joseph works for AeroKenya and is in charge of operations for the Eldoret airport. As we talked, I reminded him of one of my previous flights from Nairobi when a Kenyan government official “bought” my reserved seat and I had to spend an extra 24 hours in Nairobi. He laughed and shrugged his shoulders indicating that there is little he can do about the corruption of some government officials paying bribes.

As we talked, a van pulled up to the airport and began unloading a group of 10 Americans. It is usually pretty easy to spot Americans. As they unloaded the van it was apparent that all 10 would be well over the 22 lb weight maximum. Their bags were huge, and they all had very large carry-ons. I told Joseph that my bag would be 3 or 4 pounds over the weight limit as usual. He smiled and said not to worry about it. He also gave me his card and said that he also owned a taxi in Eldoret, and the next time I was in town that I should call him and he would give me a really good deal.

Checking in took longer than normal. Joseph had to calculate how much to charge for each extra bag and for all of the extra weight of the American group. They were all university professors who came to form a partnership with a Kenyan University in Eldoret. Joseph was frantically trying to handwrite receipts for each of them. When my turn came to check-in I placed my bag on the scales. My bag was quickly moved off the scales before the scale could accurately read the weight. Then Joseph handed me my boarding pass and smiled.

I went to my gate and watched as they tried in vain to load all of the bags into the small plane. It was obvious that not all of the bags were going to fit. They began unloading bags. My bag, which has bright fluorescent yellow tape stuck on it, was one of five bags sitting outside the plane. I couldn’t believe that my bag wasn’t going to fit. I began saying to myself….. “I was the first one at the airport…I have been done wrong by AeroKenya before…I thought Joseph was my friend…now I will have to pay $15 for a taxi to go back to the airport in Nairobi tomorrow to get my bag…It is not fair.”

I paced up and down in the departure gate as I saw my bag sitting on the runway. I then saw Joseph walk out to the plane and talk to the pilot. He then walked over and looked at the 5 bags which had been removed from the plane and spoke to the baggage handler loading the plane. He then turned and walked away from the plane. It was obvious that my bag was going to be left off the plane. Suddenly, as Joseph was about half-way between the plane and our gate, he stopped... he turned around and walked back to the bags. He looked carefully at each name written on each bag. Mine was the last one he read. He turned and spoke to the baggage handler and then handed him my bag. They pushed, shoved, and somehow managed to squeeze my bag on top of all the others in the back of the plane.

Then Joseph walked back to the departure gate and in a loud voice said, “Nairobi!” (I found that amusing since there are only two flights a day from the Eldoret airport and both go to Nairobi on AeroKenya). I was the last person to give Joseph my boarding pass, and as I handed it to him, we both smiled at each other. I said, “thank you…I saw what you did for me…and I will definitely call you next time I am in town.” He laughed and shook my hand.

As the plane began to leave Eldoret, I turned and saw my bag teetering in the back of the plane, unsecured on top of all of the others. For a moment I felt guilty when I looked down and saw the other four bags sitting on the runway. But then I laughed to myself as I remembered that none of the other passengers greeted Joseph, or even spoke to him, except to demand their receipts, and to complain bitterly about their bags being left off the plane. Perhaps it was a bit of corruption on my part…however, I didn’t pay a bribe…I didn’t ask Joseph to do me a favor…I didn’t ask for any special privileges…I just took the time to talk with Joseph. I guess after a few years of working in Africa I might have learned something. Friendship and good relationships can go a long way.

I remembered this lesson as I later boarded the plane for my return flight from Nairobi back to Dakar. The flight was going to take all night and make four stops (Africa is a big continent!!) and I wasn’t looking forward to being cramped into a seat for the next 10 hours. When we boarded the plane, I greeted the flight attendant and asked her how she was doing. We chatted for a while and she told me that the flight would not be full. She directed me to a row with three empty seats and told me to sit down in the middle seat. As people began to board, she ushered every single person who tried to sit down beside me to a different row! Finally, a young lady insisted on sitting in the seat beside me and refused to move. The flight attendant came and told me to follow her. She took me to a different section of the plane where there was another row of three empty seats! Then she made sure nobody else sat in that row. Just before take off, she came and told me to have a nice flight and get some rest…and thanks to her kindness I did!! It pays to take the time to greet and talk.

Christmas photo 2005

Finally!!

We have a blog spot!!

Yea!!!!