completion of Introduction 5

I remember the kids at the orphanage used to say “Thank God for life” every night when we would gather for prayer time. They didn’t just say this during war time. A visitor from the U.S. who heard them was amazed at the gratefulness they had even in simple circumstances for the very gift of life. Sometimes when we see other people’s circumstances it makes us more grateful. When I saw the woman’s condition at the hospital I was grateful for my own life, and it brought to mind a story told to me by a Youth For Christ Director who visited us when I was a refugee in Sierra Leone. He shared about a man who had decided to kill himself because he only had a pair of pants to wear. So, he went through the forest complaining and saying he was going to kill himself. There was another man hiding in the forest who heard him. He asked the first man, since you want to die can I have your pants to go into the village because I only have underclothes? The first man asked if he was serious and he said yes. He then realized his condition was better than someone else so there was really no reason to kill himself – at least he had pants. When he shared with us I was living in a refugee camp, surviving on rations that lasted only 15 days and not knowing where we would get food for the rest of the month, unsure if we would be reunited with our family or able to return home and had an uncertain future. That story was an inspiration for me to remember that no matter how bad things seemed there were always other people in a more desperate situation than me.

Introduction, part 5 continued

While I was at the hospital, I heard loud screaming from the next room.  I went to go see what was happening and saw another lady whose arm was cut off by a rocket.  She was looking for something to kill herself with because she used to braid people’s hair for a living and now she was missing her whole arm.  Many people went in to comfort her.  They were playing music that was very popular during the 2003 war.  I can’t remember all the words, but part of it said, “Do not cry anymore, Jesus knows about you.  Do not worry anymore, crying cannot solve it, worry cannot solve it.  If no one cares about your problem in life Jesus cares about it.”  I remember one time we were in a workshop and someone said something that remained with me, “In the Liberian setting do not be fast to give words, but listen to the cry of the people and then you will know where their hurt is.”  That was truth.  All the woman was saying was she wanted to kill herself because she had no way to support herself.  With a population estimated by the UN to be about 3,367,000 in 2003 and many Liberians living on less than $1/day already, being a handicapped person makes it even more difficult.  I was standing there and wanted to say something, but just stood there grieving for her in my heart and couldn’t speak.  I was thankful nothing had happened to me, but could not stop thinking about all the innocent people who had lost their lives.

Introduction, part 5

Just imagine how many people wanted revenge for the things that happened to them. One day I was talking to a youth group member who showed me a friend who was around 14 or 15, had lost both parents in the war and was the breadwinner for her younger brother. When the youth group member would see her friend she would wonder how she would survive. She explained the story to me in tears.

Then in 2003 I went to visit a workmate who was hit by a rocket while walking home from work. Her friend that was walking with her died instantly. When I came to the hospital there were people crying everywhere. I saw many different families who were either in deep grief for losing a family member and some who were praising God through tears that their family member lived. When I got to the room I was grateful to see my friend and angry at the same time that this had happened to her.

Introduction, part 4

My high school Chemistry teacher told me the story of how his son was killed by a rebel. After several years, when there was a little bit of peace in my country, he kept seeing this man. Each time he saw him he would get so angry that he wanted revenge.

Introduction, part 3

I want to give you an eyewitness report from one of my pastors, Jackson Weah, who shared this story while preaching in 1997.

There was a missionary couple sponsoring a Liberian man to the Baptist Theological Seminary.   The family loved him and felt that he would be an example to reach his own Mano tribe.  When he graduated from the Baptist Seminary they gave him an assignment with one of the local churches in Unification town as an Assistant Pastor responsible for outreach.  He had the habit of coming home late and troubling the family to open the door for him to have his food even though he was living in the boys’ quarter.  On this fateful day, the husband went to Monrovia to bring his son back for vacation and left the wife and a ten-year-old girl in the home.  The Liberian man came home that night very drunk, under the influence of narcotic drugs and demanding that the door be opened for him to come and sleep in the house.

The little girl opened the door; he entered and violently jumped on the girl attempting to sexually abuse her.   The mother tried to alert the police, but he took the axe and killed the mother.  A few minutes later he killed the little girl.  The husband had already reached Monrovia when he was alerted and drove back home.

When the so-called pastor killed the wife and the daughter in cold blood the entire community was in deep fear and the news spread like wild fire.  Since this couple was attached to the African Bible College the students were made to go on the scene and learn a lesson.  It was so pathetic and unbelievable.   I entered the room at the time the body had been removed but the blood was still on the floor.  Here is the wonderful part of the story:  The husband returned from Monrovia with the son and the entire community was wailing and crying, falling on the feet of the man. All he said was that his wife and daughter died a martyr death.  He said they gave their lives in the cause of the gospel.  The man went into the house, took a towel, soap and bucket and started cleaning the blood of his family while his oldest son of about fourteen years looked on.   He later went to the morgue to see the bodies of his family.  But above all he went to the prison to see the killer.  He told him, “The Lord has forgiven you and so do I.  I know what you did was the work of the enemy, but I am certain good will come out of this death.”   Well from that day the man prepared a meal everyday and took it to the killer in the prison.  Many did not understand this concept and felt that he connived with the man to kill his wife and daughter.  But one thing was certain, this man displayed the true character of Christ and his testimony drew lots of people to the Lord and even strengthened my own faith.   We were told that the killer died later on in prison.

I had also heard this story before the 1990 war and I always had to question in my mind how the husband could forgive this man.

To be continued…

Introduction, Part 2

After many years, the natives, who came into power through a coup in the 1980’s, tried to take revenge. A song that the natives sang when they overthrew President Tolbert was, “One native woman born soldier and soldier killed Tolbert.” People were rejoicing in the streets. What came to my mind when I was older was, “Is it a good thing to kill somebody?” I am sure that should not be the attitude of a nation that considers itself to be a Christian nation, but you could see the bitterness still in the heart of the people.

After all this there were still power struggles between Liberia’s people, corruption and even dictatorships which led to several years of civil wars. These wars have led to thousands of deaths.

However, it can be found recorded in history that the church of God grows quickly in adversity. In the midst of difficult and evil circumstances in Liberia God has done the same in His people and brought many lives close to him.

To be continued…

Introduction, part 1

Many of the conflicts in Africa, as I observe, have roots of bitterness and unforgiveness. This has led to thousands of deaths in Africa. Some of the conflicts can be traced as far back to a conflict that was never settled from the origin of the nation. Unresolved issues lead to genocides, amputations, tribal wars and all types of unspeakable violence. This can clearly be seen in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and many others including my own country of Liberia, whose conflicts roots can be traced from even before the founding of the nation.

Various tribes fought each other and among themselves selling each other and sometimes their own children to be carried to the west as slaves. Years later, freed slaves from America brought over by the American Colonization Society in 1820 founded my country, Liberia. The settlers met resistance from the natives. After living as slaves for many years and seeing how cruel some masters could be to them, they returned to Liberia and brought the same system – refusing to allow natives to hold leadership positions in certain churches, attend certain schools, etc – the same as their former slave masters did to them.

To be continued…

© 2008, Munty Teahn