Update

I wanted to pass on a few items of interest concerning the Refuge Home and Liberia.

I spoke with Pastor Andrew by phone last Saturday (March 22, 2008). Communication is always difficult, but I was able to learn that all of the children are doing well. He also told me that Emmanuel has an appointment with the Mercy Ships folks this week. Unfortunately, I didn’t clearly understand if it was for the surgery or if he was still going through another step of the screening process.

Speaking of the screening process, I found a blog by a couple that volunteers on the Mercy Ship docked at Monrovia. They have a lot of photos of one of their screenings…as well as other images of their life and work there. I was astonished to see how many people were lined up for help. Go to their blog page - http://www.tyroneandstephanie.com/blog/ - then click on the “Pictures” menu item just below the couple’s picture. Then select “Medical Screening 2008 Liberia” (Or you could click this link to go directly there.) They also have photos of President Bush’s visit to Liberia just below the Medical Screening. I looked through a lot of the photos, trying to see if I recognized anyone, but there are over 800 pictures to look through. I did recognize the sports complex where the screening took place. We passed it several times while in Liberia.

Liberia has made great strides in the last couple of years under a democratically elected president. On April 9th, 2008 PBS will re-air Iron Ladies of Liberia - an insightful, behind-the-scenes look at the first year of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's administration. I happened to catch about 45 minutes of it the first time it aired, by accident. I was flipping channels and happened to recognize Liberia’s president. In addition to profiling Liberia's movers and shakers, the movie is an excellent glimpse into Monrovia's recent past. (Click on the link - http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/ - to view a preview and check out the time it will air in your area. You may have to check in a week or so. The listings I was able to view didn’t extend to April 9th yet.)

Speaking of videos…soon we will post a video about Esther’s hope to the web. We’re still working out technical issues to provide the best possible quality. I’ll let you know when it is ready for viewing and sharing.

Liberia is making progress, but it has a long, long way to go. Here’s a little statistic I came across in the news: Liberia still counts among the poorest and most unstable countries in the world. Liberia was ranked as the ninth most fragile country in the world in a survey of state fragility compiled by the Brookings Institute in Washington D.C. released in February 2008. It was rated as the lowest of any country in West Africa.

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