We are so thankful for your prayers as we work with SIM's Western Africa Area, which includes the countries of Guinea, Senegal, Cote d'Ivore and Liberia. Our purpose is to serve missionaries by offering quality leadership and administrative support. Many of you have been involved in our life and ministry since our very earliest days of living in Liberia, and you know how special that country is to us. Last week Dave returned from a trip to Liberia, and here is his report. God is clearly at work, and the need for prayer is very great. Please join us in praying, as this week and this season is very significant for the ministries there.
With thankfulness for your partnership and your prayers,
Mary for the DakarDeckers
Dave's Liberia Report
Last week I returned from a visit to Liberia, where rebuilding following the devastation of an extended civil war continues. Signs of progress are visible all over, as are obstacles to progress. This is true on the national level, and also in the church, and at ELWA, where SIM partners with Liberians ministering through radio, health care, and education.
SIM Liberia is primarily invested in two partnerships, with ECUL (the Evangelical Church Union of Liberia, consisting of over 100 churches) and with ELWA.
Progress on the ELWA campus, where I spent the week, looks like this: The new dental clinic has now been up and running for over a year, and is getting busier by the day as word of its ministry gets out. The clinic ministers to the immense dental and spiritual needs throughout Liberia, as patients sometimes travel great distances due to the lack of dental care close by. ELWA Academy has recently completed a new classroom building, which significantly increases their capacity for educating Liberian youth. The roads on campus are now paved (for the first time ever), and running water and electricity are much more reliable than in years past, and are for the most part available 24/7. Maintaining generators and the water distribution system is a continual challenge.
There are also two very significant obstacles at ELWA these days. There has been a great deal of tension between staff and management, particularly among the ELWA Hospital staff, and this led to a "go slow" in December; not quite a strike, but a significant reduction in services. Issues are now being dealt with in a more productive fashion, but are by no means resolved. Pray for effective mediation, and for unity and sense of purpose among the staff.
The second obstacle is their difficulty in managing finances. Much progress has been made in the last year, but now the loss of key personnel will make it difficult to bring systems all the way up to standard. Pray for management as they continue to address this need by implementing adequate financial controls. SIM would like to continue providing assistance, yet we are facing our own shortage of key administrative support staff.
SIM believes that it's both healthy and helpful to periodically review its ministries on a country-by-country basis, and this week it's Liberia's turn. What is God's direction for SIM in Liberia, and are we functioning well? In order to help answer these important questions, a team of about seven reviewers is in place, most coming from other parts of the world. As a part of this very comprehensive process, they hope to interview the entire SIM Liberia missionary team, plus a number of others from ELWA and ECUL and the wider church and missions community.
This country review will be completed by the weekend, and it holds much potential for good input into the life and work of our team. Alongside the review process stands SIM Liberia's need for long-term leadership, in addition to other sorts of administrative support. Please pray that this would be a very fruitful season in the life of SIM Liberia and its partners, ELWA and ECUL, and that God would provide personnel for these key positions in leadership and administrative support.
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