Liberia # 2

By Greg:

This car should start the first time, every time!

Sunday morning we got in our Ford Everest (like an Explorer) and prepared to go to Church.  Well, it would not start.  We have a missionary couple, the Coopers, who are temple missionaries.  They do not have a car because they can just walk to the temple.  But to go shopping is hard for them.  Also, they are busy on Saturdays, and the temple is closed on Monday.  So, we let them use our car on Mondays as our "P" day is suppose to be Saturday.  They told us it would not start for them one day while we were in Liberia. I felt bad for them.

You might assume they carried jumper cables

When it would not start for us I knew it was a battery problem.  I looked at the battery and the water level was low in every cell.  I added water and then started asking for jumper cables.  This is a good lesson.  Ask for a solution, not the tools for the solution. My real goal was to start my car, not find jumper cables.

 Of course, no one has jumper cables here.  The guard at our apartment solution was to take the battery out of the big generator and put it in our car!  All he had was a pair of needle-nosed plyers. I would not let him do that.

Well I set off looking for jumper cables on a Sunday morning.  I thought that a taxi might have them as most of them are barely working vehicles anyway.  The second taxi said, “No jumper cables” but he knows a “guy”.  We got to his guy and he had no jumper cables, but he and his friend put a battery and some wires in the trunk of the taxi and we were off, back to my car.

The two men held the wires on my battery with their fingers, one on the positive and one on the negative and amazingly my car started.  They put the red wire on negative sides, but I decided not to teach them anything, they knew what they were doing.  I paid the taxi and the cable guys and we went to church.  No problems since.   Welcome to Africa!

I want to talk more about Liberia.

Before The War (as I was growing up “The War” was WWII but The War here was the Liberian Civil War—technically there were two of them).

In 1980, an African man named Samuel Doe staged a military coup against the elected president and took control of Liberia.  This coup ended years of peaceful elected leadership.  He later held an election to get himself elected.  That election was a fraud.  A rebellion began.  Over 200,000 people were killed in the “First Civil War” which lasted from 1989 to 1996.

One of Poe’s followers, Samuel Taylor, who was of American decent, led another rebellion.  Poe was not from former Americans and resented those who descended from former American slaves—who were the elite of Liberia (Taylor had earlier been kicked out of Poe’s government for embezzlement).  Taylor had been educated in the US and during his exile went to Libya and was trained by Kaddafi.

Well Doe was executed by one group of rebels and Taylor was eventually elected President.  Of course he also had opposition.  Another civil war broke out that lasted from 1999 to 2003.  In Taylor’s trial (last summer-2012) it was found that he had been supported by the CIA in his attack against Poe, who had communist/socialist leanings.  The CIA often supported evil dictators during this period, if they were against communism.

During most of both civil wars it was hard to tell who the “freedom fighters” were and who were the “rebels” and most of the time both were attacking the “people”.

The Civil Wars spilled over into Sierra Leone.  The movie “Blood Diamond” depicts the fighting in Sierra Leone and the attempts by both sides to get diamond to purchase guns and supplies. There is another “R” rated movie about all this called “Lords of War”.  I don’t recommend either of them but the second shows how the guns were stolen from the former Soviet Union and sold into Sierra Leone with diamonds.  I like Nichols Cage and Brad Pitt, but I don’t like the movies or this history.  This was a terrible human tragedy that still affects lots of people.

When we were in both Sierra Leone and Liberia we saw many, many men who were missing one arm.  This was as the result of the war.  A common punishment was to chop off an arm, at the wrist, elbow or shoulder, depending on the crime.

Both sides in both countries took the public treasures (the entire social security fund was lost) as well as the natural resources, but most tragic was they took the boys.  We met a Branch President who took his family into the bush and lived in hiding for 10 years so they would not “steal” his sons and make them fight.

This is the Branch President.

The rebels attacked the city of Monrovia.  They destroyed buildings and the infrastructure.  Before the War Liberia was one of the most modern of all African countries.  It was the only country that had not been a European colony.  It was founded by freed American Slaves.  The capital was named for James Monroe and most of the AMERCO-Liberians have American last names.  The leaders of the country before the War were mostly descendants from these former Americans.

The rebels tore down power lines and afterwards the wires were stolen and sold for scrap.  Today there is no power system. There are still power lines, but no grid, or system.   All of the power to buildings is provided by generators.  The phone system never recovered and like most of Africa, today everyone uses a cell phone.  Liberia is now one of the poorest countries in the world.

There are still some power lines, but they are not live and working.

They Church had a Stake in Liberia from 2000 to 2007, and was growing.  We had buildings and Bishops and a Patriarch, but the War even devastated the Church.  They disbanded the Stake and now there are two Districts that are hoping to one day be Stakes, again.  As I said, over 200,000 people died during the War.

The War was ended by efforts of women.  They “prayed the devil back to hell” and formed a group of 3,000 women that sought for peace.  They were Christians, Muslims, Jews and Natives.  But they were tired of war.  They demanded a meeting with President Taylor and pressured him to attend peace talks.  Peace came as the US and the UN entered Liberia and Taylor was eventually arrested and taken to The Hague and last summer he was convicted of crimes against humanity and is now serving a 50 year prison sentence in The Hague.

The UN is everywhere in Liberia.  They are keeping the peace.  With their help a free election was held and one of the Peace Women was elected President.  Her name is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  Why don’t we have women decide if we are going to have a war in the future?  I think they might always choose peace.

Today the Church is growing, the fastest rate of growth in the entire Church.  There is almost a certainty that Liberia will become a mission by itself this summer.  The members who survived are strong and the people are craving God in their lives.

This is a new building that will some day serve as a Stake Center.

We have a friend who was a missionary during the war.  He was captured and was in fear of execution.  Some thought the Church was CIA and thus anyone associated with the American Church was bad.  One of the rebels was a member of the Church and was able to secure Brother Prince Nyounfor’s release.  He was exiled to Ghana where he finished his mission and worked for 5 years before returning to Liberia.  He was a Bishop during the Stake period and is now a counselor in the Mission Presidency.  He is a wonderful man.  Everyone in Liberia has real “War” stories.

The future is with the children.  They need education and protection.

Some question the future.  At one point in US history, Benjamin Franklin asked whether the sun was rising or setting.  For the sake of the children of Liberia, I hope it is rising!



Catching Up-Liberia #1

By Debi:

 

Five Hooper Missionaries in Liberia

Hello Blog Friends.  We have gone missing the last few weeks. We have had a very busy couple of weeks and I left our camera cord in Liberia.  We couldn’t down load our pictures from our camera.  Elder Curtis, who is in the Area Presidency, went to Liberia for a mission tour and the Miles were able to send it back with him.  Thanks to everyone for their help and kindness.

 

 

 

 



Greg is always playing with the children

Right before Christmas our ward, the Ofankor Ward, had a Christmas Party.  Christmas parties here are a little different than they are back home.  They had the party out in the car park and it was hot. They had chairs all set up and loud, fun music playing. Of course, Elder Haws couldn’t just pass up an opportunity to dance with the children.  He told them he would teach them some American dances.  He had them do the bunny hop, the hokey pokey and even the limbo.  After everyone was too tired he taught some of them the swing.  Everyone had so much fun and this is before the party even officially started. 

 

We have decided that the Ghanaians serve pop for an appetizer.  Whenever we go to a gathering they serve us a fancy drink before dinner. At dinner they just drink water.

 

Greg and I went to Liberia to train an Assistant Area Auditor.  The fun part of this trip is that we were able to stay with our friends the Miles from Hooper.  They came on their mission about two weeks after we did.  They are humanitarian missionaries and they are doing a fantastic job.  The Miles are amazing people and they took such good care of us.  We stayed in their apartment and they fixed great food for four days.  They took us around their area and gave us a good view of Liberia. If you are every looking for the perfect hosts and great cooks call Rick and Sharon Miles from Hooper.

 

We went a few days early so we could see some of the things that they are doing for the people in Liberia.  We also met the other Senior Missionaries that live right by them in the apartment compound.  We met the Kirkhams and the Crumbs.  They are the “right hand man” for the Mission President, Pres. Roggia.  They were so wonderful and even put on a birthday party for Sister Miles while we were there.

 


 

The Miles took us to Elder Blake Widdison’s ward where he serves.  Elder Widdison is the missionary that is from our home ward.  We were able to see him in Accra before he left for Liberia.  It was so fun to see him now in Liberia. 

 

We saw the compound that he lives in. We also went to church with him.  We met his companions and saw him in action.  Elder Widdison and his companion where sitting by the entrance into the chapel hoping to see their investigators coming to church.  They are doing a great work there and Elder Widdison looks so happy and enthusiastic in the work.  His parents should be very proud of him and how well he is doing in a faraway land with a very different culture from his own.  We did take a little care package to him with some Kraft Mac and Cheese and some Snicker Bars.  He loved it.

 

 

As we drove with the Miles and stopped at several villages we saw happy people.  These two women wanted their picture taken with me.  Also, the little children love their picture to be taken and then we show their picture to them on the camera screen. They get so excited.  One of the little girls had an Ohio State shirt on. We thought our daughter Katie and her husband Dan would enjoy that.  They live in Columbus, Ohio. Big ships with containers arrive each week in Liberia. There are bundles about as big as a bale of hay.  The people will buy a bale and not even know what is in it.  They then open the bale and lay it out in the market and try to sell it.  A lot of the bales are used clothing or clothing that is seconds from United States. The people are wearing shirts with names of colleges and sport teams, etc. It is fun to see.

 

I am pretty certain he is not affiliated with the Grandview Marching Band?

As we were driving down the road we saw these two cute Sister Missionaries.  I am sure with the new announcement from President Monson there will be a lot more Sister Missionaries.  They are so cute and very good teachers.

 

The picture that I love the most from Liberia is this beautiful bush with hot pink flowers.  Everywhere in Liberia there are signs of war and heartache. But this bush is the hope for the future and the beauty that is there in their country.

 

By Greg:

 

As Debi said, we have had a very busy couple of weeks.  One of the goals we set when we first came was to visit all 13 of our Assistant Area Auditors in their home countries before the end of 2012.  We almost made it. We could not travel to Liberia around Christmas, so we went the first week in January.

 

We held a big training conference here in Accra Friday and Saturday with all of our Assistant Area Auditors.  Elder C. Scott Grow of the Seventy came from Salt Lake along with Brother Michael Beck from Church Auditing.  This was a major event for us, but it went smoothly and everyone was so happy to attend and receive counsel, direction and training.

 

Debi and I took Brother Beck to the airport.  I was talking with him and sort of ran a red light (everyone else around here, and especially the motorcycles hardly even slow down for red lights) but I did not want to throw Brother Beck through the windshield so I went on, even though other cars were stopping in the lanes next to me.  We met the Ghana police for the first time.  They chased us down and made us pull over. Then this big, really buff officer came to Debi’s window and told me I had run a red light.  I said that I was sorry, but it is so hard to see the lights (it really is hard) “That is no excuse!” I said that I was sorry but I am a missionary for Jesus Christ. “Even Missionaries must stop for Red Lights!” I told him I was sorry but I am new to Ghana and just learning how to drive in this country.  “I must arrest you and then appear in court with you on Monday.  What am I going to do with you?” I said that was alright and he must do his duty but that I would like to repent and I promised never to do it again.  He looked really firm and then said, “Next time I will not forgive you!” and turned and got back in his police vehicle and drove off.  Next time I can assure you I will go to the dungeon!

 

Debi said we met with Elder and Sister Miles.  Elder Miles and I are the same age.  We went all through school together.  We were in the same ward, the same classes, and the same scout troop.  He and I lived less than one-half a mile from each other, and it took coming to Africa to join us in an eternal bond of brotherhood (not that we were not brothers before—but now we are eternal brothers).  They took us out on their projects. 

This is their apartment building in Liberia.

 

They are humanitarian missionaries.  They are doing many things, but principally building community restroom/showers, digging water wells and helping with garden/farm projects.  They use contractors, but they do a lot of work and have to monitor the construction and also training the people in how to maintain the projects.

 

This is the toliet building they are replacing.  This was serving a couple hundred people.

This work is all dug by hand.  The ground is pretty hard so they use picks and shovels.  But first they must remove the layer of garbage.

Every group has an established clan or tribe or group association.  It is important to utilize that existing group to better the lives of the entire village.  Elder Miles is so good at this.  He is friends with the chiefs and leaders and they expect him to return often.

This old man is the chief.

 

One area we went to is called the VOA camp.  In my earlier days the United States had what they called “Radio Free Europe” to broadcast the message of freedom beyond the Iron Curtain.  That evolved into the Voice of America during the latter part of the Cold War.  The US government built a huge transmission tower in Liberia.  This was also a relay tower to embassies around the world.  The CIA also used this system.

 

When the Liberian and Sierra Leone Civil Wars were in full swing, many people from Sierra Leone fled to Liberia and became refugees.  The US and the UN established a big camp around the VOA tower and facilities.

 

Well the tower is no longer used and the facilities are abandoned, and the wars are over, but so many of the refugees remain.  These are called the VOA camp people.  Elder Miles is a hero there.  He is building two toilet/shower facilities and plans to dig some wells.

 

This is the septic tank to the community toliet and shower facility.








 

His wells are not “bore-holes” which are deep wells that have to bore through a rock layer to get to the water.  His are dug by hand.  They place a five foot concrete pipe on the ground and dig the dirt out and the pipe sinks.  They place a new one on top and down it goes.  They go down 40 feet. Eventually they cap it with a concrete slab and a pump and the village has a clean water supply.  It must be pumped by hand, and is controlled for security and cleanliness, but it is a welcomed facility.  We saw what it is replacing.  These girls are getting water out of an old well that is open (except for a few old boards that have rusted nails poking out everywhere).  This is not safe, clean or secure.  It is also very close to the urination spot (and poop deck).

 This hole is very deep.  A small child could easily fall into it,

They then have to haul the jug back to their house on their heads.

This is a much better system.

Liberia is west of Ghana and a little north.  Ghana is just above the equator.  You would have thought it was hundreds of miles north.  The people think it is winter and so cold.  It was in the high 70s or low 80s and many wore serious coats.  Those “taxi” drivers whose taxis are motorcycles especially had coats.  Here is a man in a fur coat.  I saw him and yelled, “Stop!” I had to take his picture.

 

There is lots of dust in the air right now.  This comes from the Sahara desert.  It feels like a major inversion.  There is dust and dirt everywhere.  Our car is dirty all the time.  We get it washed, but then in the morning it is dirty again.  They say this will last 2-3 months.

 

It is not cool (cold) here, but it is “pretty” cool.  Every day is the same as the last.  We are happy to be in Africa and are sure this work we are doing is the Lord’s work.  It is hard to explain that the Lord is really interested in auditing, but if you think about it, there must be an audit preformed before judgment day can happen.  So the message is, make friends with your favorite auditor.

Jungle Gold?

By Greg:
 

I have been sitting on this post for a while because I have a strong opinion about this subject, and I am worried that I am getting a little "off the reservation" with this post.  But still, I want to share this with you, so please accept it in the spirit given.

Also, we have been in Liberia and when we returned we had to move to a new apartment.  We have not established internet connections there yet, but when we do we have a lot to share.  This is a lot for now.

When gold is involved, no one is safe!

Millions of years ago, even Africa and Ghana were under huge glaciers.  The ice crushed the surface and made gravel.  Some of that gravel contained traces of gold.  As the ice melted, the gravel remained but over time was covered by layers and layers of dirt.  It is not clear how much of this land has gold laden gravel under the dirt, but the Abomosu valley apparently does.

In the Colonial years Ghana was called the Gold Coast.  Along the stream beds the natives found gold nuggets.  They made things out of that gold and as soon as the Europeans came, they lusted after that gold.  Greed is a powerful force.

Well, similar to other “gold rushes” the easy pickings were played out.

Today, the gold miners have two challenges.  The first one is to get to the gravel layer.  This means that they must remove the dirt.  In most places that dirt layer is six to ten feet deep.  The second challenge is “washing” the gravel to separate the gold.  They also use mercury.  Mercury attaches to the gold flakes and then it is easier to get.  But then the mercury must be separated.  Usually it gets washed away with the dirt.

On our trip to Abomosu we saw evidence of this “mining” everywhere.  We were really out in the “bush” but there were hydro-units (excavators) all along our way.  I was concerned when I saw these huge machines being transported on totally under-rated trucks.  One trailer was so overloaded that the axels were literally bent and nearly broken.

My first thought was why there are so many large track-hoes up here while the sewers and trenches in Accra are being dug by hand by men with picks and shovels.  One of these machines could change the landscape in the city, but I rarely see one in Accra.

We took a few pictures.  This area is also very fertile.  Most of the people are farmers and have been for generations.  Their main crop is cocoa beans which grow in a big pod somewhat like a papaya; only the coca bean is bigger than the papaya seeds.  They have to open the pod and dry the beans and then they eventually end up in Nestle or Hersey chocolate.  This has been going on for a long time. Of course there are no “Willey Wonka Chocolate Factories” here, all the processing is done somewhere else.

They also grow bananas, mangos, cassava, pineapple, corn, and lots of other vegetables.

One of the tragedies of the colonial period in Africa was that the Europeans made deals with the tribal chiefs to get what they wanted.  Very little of the benefit of the rich natural recourses went to benefit the people.  Often it did not even give that much benefit to the chief. No one was looking out for the “National Interests” of the Ghanaians.

This region of Ghana is still under tribal ownership.  The chief has preemptive rights over the natives or members.  So a chief can “sell” the mineral rights to miners without the approval or even the knowledge of the farmer whose family has been working the land for generations.

Of course, on the TV show, and in public statements, the miners say that they will restore the land to its original position.  Ha!

We saw piles and piles of dirt in field after field.  I know from my experience in development that when you dig a trench, the first dirt out is the top soil.  It is set aside and the next dirt is piled on top of it.  The bottom dirt from the trench is bad and it ends up on the top of the pile.  In Hooper that bottom dirt is a mix of clay and sand.  When the trench is back-filled, the pile is just pushed and all the good top soil goes to the bottom and the bad stays on top.

Well, here they are not even trying to level it out.  There is no restoration of the land.  If this was once a farm, it never will be again.

The village of Abomosu was so named because the word meant “clear water” and just five years ago their main stream was clear with a gravel bottom.  Today it is a muddy-stagnant-clogged anything-but-a-clear-stream.

Now about the gold.  They retrieve such a small amount for the damage done.  In the village, traders are seen haggling over the little “cell-phone sized” bars of gold.  They sell for so much less than the world price of gold.  Of course, this is raw gold, but still, the price paid here is only a fraction of its value.  The real profits go to the middle-men.  These men mostly try to get this gold out of the country without paying a custom or tax.

In 1990 the government shut down the activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This was mainly driven by jealous and viscous other churches, but one of the strong accusations was that Church members from Abomosu were dealing gold with “white men at the airport” who were also assumed to be CIA agents.  This was never proven.  But think of the damage that could be done today if some greedy Senior Elder decided to enter into this illegal trade and was caught.

I know the show is fascinating.  I understand the conflict with the Chinese makes good drama, and I understand that the opportunity to yell EUREKA! still lives in the heart of many.  But this is destroying an already partially destroyed country.  The government here needs to step up and do something about this, before it goes any further.  The land is being ruined, and a great resource of the people is being stolen and soon people will begin to die from the mercury.

We are here trying to save their souls.  They need to take control of their lives and save themselves before it is too late.