- St. Francis of Assisi
…The only reason i can give as to why i have not already sent you this is plainly i was not ready…
From the beginning of February to the end of May, I lived, taught, served, was taught, and was served in the Mission Liberia compound in BlackTom Town, Liberia, West Africa.
My time is Liberia was totally and completely the most perspective-changing, eye-opening, life-living experience i have ever had the pleasure of having.
Being there - living a life of community with 125 orphans and 10 Liberian staff on our compound and interacting with the people in Redlight and Monrovia was the most fulfilled i have ever been…it was the most alive i have ever felt.
i was not ready write this until now because since my return, my entire world has been upside down. Before i left, i was blind to the level of poverty and oppression - blind to the quantity and realities of our broken and hurting brothers and sisters throughout the world. But after being placed out side my limited perspective and on the other side of the comforts i lived among… its hard to pretend i am blind to the numbing effect my comfortable life unknowingly placed me under.
i went into my experience not knowing how to handle what i “was not going to have”…and i’ve come out not knowing how to handle the complete and total excess that “I do have”. Haha my brain is about to be in meltdown mode.
I went from complaining about not having AC to thinking it’s too cold in my house if the AC is on. I went from not knowing what i would do without running water to missing my bucket baths of cold well water.
Everything is relative. Everyone’s opinion is based on a limited environmentally driven experience - Mine name is on the top of the list. But not realizing our own limitations to perceive what “is real or important” as opposed to what “is not” is ignorance – haha again my name is at the top of that list as well. That’s the second greatest lesson i learned from my experience, the first being LOVE.
My transition back into this world that i grew up in was and still has continued to be a challenge. After all the things i saw, it’s difficult to see the things i’m seeing now. It’s hard to walk through the grocery store after seeing kids on the street that haven’t eating in a few days. It’s difficult to see kids so mad at their parents when the kids i was with don’t have any. It’s hard to watch my friends complain about water quality of the pack of bottled water their drinking when i know they wouldn’t even bathe in the water my kids drink.
Fisheads. YUM:)
Above all, the only thing i can say is this has been and will continue to be a transition.
The longer i was in Liberia, the less and less I desired to come back to this life (minus visiting the friends and family part of course...and maybe a cheeseburger). I don’t look down, or think negatively of anyone living this life… my interest just isn’t being kept as well as it used to with it…call it ADD haha…
Friends and Family have definitely been helping the transition. We also took a trip to Honduras, and interacting with other Americans in that type of environment aided my transition process tremendously…it helps when you see God’s face in those you are working with!
But as of now, God’s words are “Wait.” So i’m going to try and wait as best i can - i’m going to be attending MTSU this fall, and i will be majoring in Organizational Communications (working with NGOs, Global studies, etc.). i will be helping coach football at Brentwood High and also helping to lead the lifeteen group at Holy Family, both of which i am pumped about… and who knows what else will come out of this time…
i want to thank ALL of you again for your prayers and support while i was in Liberia. It meant the world to me, and i can personally tell you it meant the world to the kids you helped to serve. With the donations we collected, we were able to:
-Purchase a submersible pump (so the kids can have one hose of running water for a couple hours while the generator is on)
-Take care of the entirety of the organization’s financials – all the food, gas for generator, staff and teacher salaries, and medical needs for 2 weeks (we had a bit of a crisis there at the beginning)
-Provide medical treatment of Malaria for our Cook Marta and a few of the children
-Set up a scholarship for 16 kids from the neighboring villages to attend school
-Set up a scholarship for 4 kids to come and live on the mission
- And many more miscellaneous Liberia Mission expenditures.
Thank You again…SO MUCH!
Life, Love and Peace
uncle matthew
