January 26: DeckerUpdate - Liberia report

Dear friends and family,
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.

March 4: update on Carol K.

Steve Kejr writes to thank people for praying. Overnite, they made all the
connections from Cote d'Ivoire, and went directly to the doctor in Charlotte
who says Carol has a partially detached retina that included the
macula, the part of the eye that gives the central focus.

The specialist has initiated a basic treatment and may do a more invasive
procedure in a couple days if this doesn't work. Continue to pray. Carol must
hold her head in a given position, even while sleeping. The Doc says
because the macula is involved we will not know for several months how her
vision will end up. May both Carol & Steve know God's peace.

Pray also for the team at ELWA in Liberia. This did not seem to be a good
time for Steve to leave many projects unfinished. 

March 3: Prayer Request

Please pray for these dear friends, Steve and Carol Kejr.

Received this morning from SIM:
Sunday morning Carol Kejr, then in Liberia, experienced symptoms of retinal detachment In her best, right eye. As there are no good eye doctors in Liberia they flew to the neighboring country of Cote d'Ivore to a better hospital in Abidjan and saw an eye doctor at 7:30 AM local time Monday, who confirmed the diagnosis and advised surgery ASAP. They barely missed one flight and are expected to arrive in Charlotte about 11:40am Tuesday. Pray they will be able to make all connections, that there will be an opening in the surgeon’s schedule for immediate surgery, that God will give real peace of heart to both Carol and Steve as they continue “trusting in His care”, and of course for God’s hand on the surgeon’s. Praise Him that our insurance was willing to pay for the airfare and cover the surgery!

February 23: ELWA Radio

Please continue to pray for ELWA Radio as they share the gospel of Jesus Christ over the airwaves in Liberia!

February 23: ELWA Academy

Pray for ELWA Academy as they provide quality Christian education in Liberia.







(personal side-note from Mary: I can't resist posting several of Dave's pictures of the ELWA Academy students!

ELWA Academy was Danny and Joey's first school. SO many memories!

And I love the sight of of Liberian kids in their school uniforms! I miss living in Liberia!!)

February 23: ELWA Hospital

Dave, Burt and Mark with Les Unruh in front of ELWA Hospital.

Please remember to pray for this hospital as they shine the light of Christ while ministering to physical needs in Liberia.

February 22: reunion with friends in Liberia

Dave is enjoying reconnecting with many friends in Liberia. This couple, Steve and Carol Kejr, have been praying, encouraging people and ministering in many different ways to those involved with SIM and ELWA ministries over many years.

Although they've been living in Charlotte, they have been in Liberia for the past several months to help out with an urgent need in the services department.

Stories of Hope from Liberia

Posts on the DakarDeckers blog have been woefully scarce in recent days. Between the trip to Liberia, the start of the new school year, and the problems related to rain and electricity, I've been either too tired or too grumpy to thing of anything to share here!

I'm very thankful today to be able to point you to Stories of Hope From Liberia, new articles published on SIM's website, written about people who have been special to us over the past years. These are people I respect and love, and I'm excited for you to read their stories!
Joe (Captured By Rebels)
Moses (ReBuilding ELWA Radio)
Sis Pate (We Have Seen The Grace of God)
(Sis Pate is Ma Kortee's daughter, and one of the women I was so happy to see when I was in Liberia. She's in the third picture in this post.)

Liberia: my friend Mary

Mary, an elementary school teacher, has been one of my best friends since 1995. She was married to one of our Liberian "sons" in 1999, and was widowed when he was struck by a car in 2004. She has been a testimony of God's faithfulness as she raises her children on her own, and looks to the Lord for provision of her needs. It was a great joy for me to spend a bit of time with her, and bittersweet to be able to visit TC's grave along with two more of our Liberian sons, Reuben and Doco.

Liberia: new growth, new beauty

My trip was short but each day I marveled at the beauty of the ocean near the ELWA beach.

During the war in 1990, all the coconut trees had been cut down... but many have been replanted and are now growing up into beauty.

May God continue to do His pruning, re-planting, and growing work in Liberia, and in all of our lives!

Liberia: Ma Kortee's girls

Ma Kortee invited me and a few friends to her house for lunch! She treated us royally with check rice, boiled plantain and gravy. We enjoyed her company and enjoyed being pampered by her too!

It was so special for me to see Elizabeth, Sis Pate, and Linda after many years-- all daughters and nieces of the Ol'Ma who has been special in all of our lives!



(I'm having trouble formatting this post with captions. )

(photo 1-- Christina, Naomi, Sheila)

(photo 2 Elizabeth, Mary, Ma Kortee)

(photo 3 Sis Pate and Linda)

liberia day 2

Ma Kortee, my Liberian "Ol'Ma"






















Valarie and Blessing






(too tired at the end of this day to write anything but will continue to try post pics-- hopefully will add text, as well as higher resolution pictures when I'm back to "normal" life.

liberia day 1: airport fun

a
These sweet girls, Alison and Kiara, were going out on the flight I came in on... but Doco worked out a way for us to see one another. What a fun moment!! I'm going to sleep.. for the first time in 4 1/2 years... in Liberia! More tomorrow if all goes well! (im going to try to upload the pics in low quality from here and will replace them when i get back to a faster connection.)