Fresh Paint!

Tony sent the photos of fresh paint in the library.  It is so cool to witness the transformation.  He added this note:


"I am in tears this morning as I watched the center takes shape right before our own eyes. Thanks for praying and giving-thanks for allowing your husband to come to Liberia..."


Please keep Cal and Tony in your prayers as they enter their final week in Liberia.

Random Pics and Stuff

Introducing....... The Vice President of Liberia!

Remember Luke's "scratch"?  Well, truth be told, that scratch required 39 stitches.

A mangrove swamp behind our guest house.  Cool roots

Seriously, the traffic was running about 55 mph.  I would've waited for the next taxi.

This is how they brace multi-story buildings prior to pouring concrete for the next level.

Chillin' on the porch.  I'm not sure how Loren was feeling in this pic, but during part of our trip he was suffering with an STD (Sour Tummy Disorder).

Just sweet.

Time from the plant to our stomachs = < 10 minutes.  Pineapple is proof of God's love for us.

Cal's future African wife (I'll let him explain).

And last, but not least... A chimp on a motorcycle!

Not All Fun and Games...

 WARNING!  THIS BLOG POST MAY SIGNIFICANTLY HINDER THE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS OF FUTURE TEAMS.  REGARDLESS, IN THE INTEREST OF FULL DISCLOSURE AND COMPELLING CONSCIENCE, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MUST BE MADE PUBLIC.

The images speak for themselves...

(Note the guilt and remorse on their faces.)

Shot from the front porch of our guest house.

Panorama ala Beach from Eric Buller on Vimeo.

Day 8 - Our Final Day

On Sunday, we visited a church in Bensonville.  It is located a few miles down the road from the church in Guinness Town that we visited the previous week.  This particular church building is fairly new and was completed in partnership with Samaritan's Purse.

It was again so cool to worship with our Liberian brothers and sisters in Christ.  The prayer time was moving. Following the pastor's call to prayer, everyone in the church simultaneously lifted their personal praises and petitions to our God.  To human ears, it was a garble of voices, but to God, it was the individual and valuable expressions of his children.  The prayer was sorrowful, joyful, pleading and expectant, all at the same time.

The praise was as God intended; from the heart and within the worshiper's cultural context.  It was moving, to say the least.

Church in Bensonville from Eric Buller on Vimeo.

Following the service, we presented some gifts for the community to the church leadership.

Four of us in our Liberian garb.

As we prepared to leave, Kolegar stopped by to wish us safe travels and Evan dropped off a few final carvings. We loaded all of our crates and luggage on top of the Land Cruiser and amazingly, everything was still there when we arrived at the airport.

Day 7 - Part Deux

On Saturday afternoon, we spent some time in a market near downtown Monrovia.  For those who had never experienced the sights, smells and sounds of a third-world market, it was an exercise in multi-sensory over-stimulation.  In the end, we came away from the experience with some great memories, refined negotiation skills and cool gifts for our loved-ones.

On Saturday evening, we returned to the ABC Children's Aid Orphanage.  This is a pretty incredible place.  The orphanage features a nearly-complete medical center that will serve the children as well as the surrounding community.  Matthew and his team are also completing phase-one of the school, boys and girls dorms and a cafeteria.  Though currently only one level, the buildings are designed to be expanded to three floors.  Once complete, the facility will be able to house and educate up to 2,000 orphans.

Matthew and his staff provided supper on the roof of the unfinished dormitory.  As the sun set, we had a panoramic view of the Liberian landscape as well as the beautiful children as they prepared for a short presentation.

As the kids assembled, we could feel the excitement in the air.  The team was presenting gifts that we brought from the U.S. and the kids were planning a performance of their own.  There were lots of smiles and inquisitive eyes.

Orphan Song from Eric Buller on Vimeo.

One of the gifts was a soccer ball.  We presented it with one condition; if the kids can beat the Americans in a short game of soccer, then they could keep the ball.  On the way to the dirt field, there was and abundance of good-natured trash talk (kids- "We're gonna' beat you 8 to 0... No.... 100 to 0!!!").  Unfortunately, because it was 90% dark when the game began, none of the pictures turned out.  In the end, in spite of a valiant effort by the skilled yet aging Americans, the score was Liberia - 3... beat and bloody USA - 0.  The kids were very pumped!

A few of the spectators:

When we returned to the guest house, Evan was there waiting on us.  He is a friend of Kolegar and a very skilled wood carver.  This man needs our prayers though.  In his neck, he has what is most-likely a benign tumor that is sizable and growing.  As it continues to expand, the tumor will gradually affect his ability to speak, eat and breathe.  His hope is that when Mercy Ships returns to Monrovia, he will be able to get it surgically removed.

Day 7 - Part One

Saturday, we took some time in the morning to visit our dear friend (and Tony's brother-in-law) Kolegar at his home.  He was a great help throughout our trip and most of the team had not met his kids.  As it turned out, Tony's mother-in-law was also at Kolegar's home.  Whether you know Kolegar's situation or not, this is a family who needs our prayers.

After leaving Kolegar's home, we met up with Judge Nuta and headed out to see the land where CenterPoint will have a permanent location in the future.  The Judge was nice enough to bring along some coconuts for a refreshing drink and small "bush snack".

Even though we were in Liberia during the dry season, we still managed to find some water to drive through.

Factoid: Monrovia has the most annual rainfall of any world capital.

The beauty of the Liberian bush.

This is Loren with our driver, Morris.  He is a Muslim man who did a great job for us.  He had an easy-going personality and great sense of humor.  Throughout the trip, we treated him as a brother and teammate, showing him Christ's love and respect.  We pray that our example will have a lasting impact on him and that God's Holy Spirit will draw him to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

The photo below depicts one of the hard truths about surviving in Liberia.  Every day, many families make a small wage by breaking boulders into rocks and rocks into stones and stones into gravel, one hammer swing at a time.

Church

During our first Sunday in Liberia, we were able to attend church in Guinness Town, where Tony, Beth and Abby spent several months during the war as they attempted to flee Liberia. To give everyone a taste of what the village church's worship sounded and looked like, I recorded this video. It is unfortunate that digital cameras have poor sound quality because the worship literally filled the church with indigenous praise! Enjoy.

Guinness Town Church from Eric Buller on Vimeo.

Day 6 (Friday) - Wrapping Things Up

The last few days in Liberia were busy, so we didn't have much time to update the Blog.  Here is our first catch-up post.

At the back of the library was a rough opening to what will be the library office.  After a couple days of hard work and some frustration, here is the nearly finished doorway.  We cut the door in half and installed a shelf for writing.  The rough concrete around the door frame will be filled in and later painted.

Here is the laptop workstation.  From beginning to end, this took about four hours to design, construct and install.  At 12 ft long, it provides enough space and outlets to support 6-7 people.  James is completing the finish sanding and was a great help all week.  We had several local guys help us during the week.

Considering the materials that we had to work with, the tables and shelving units turned out great!  They kinda' have a "rustic Colorado cabin" feel to them and are strong enough to last the next 200 years.  As with everything else in the library, the new furniture will be sanded and painted over the next two weeks.  It is amazing all that was accomplished in just a few days!

We continued to have neighborhood kids stop by on Friday.  Most of these attend a nearby Muslim school.  Apparently, on Friday after Mosque, the kids have no additional school.

The kids were great to have around and even helped out with some sanding.  It kinda' reminds me of Tom Sawyer and the fence that needed to be whitewashed.  They had a blast!

Some of the team in front of the CenterPoint Library and Gathering Place.  Tony has a local artist working on a sign based on the CenterPoint logo.

Friday night, we ate supper with Tony's sister Vicki and several of their family members.  Standing beside Vicki is her son Francis.  While we were there, we celebrated Vicki's graduation from the University of Liberia.  According to Tony, she is the first female in his family to graduate from college.