Monthly Archives: February 2020

We were awakened by our alarm at 6 am after having a good night’s sleep. It’s Valentine’s Day! We both thought the other one would forget but we both had cards for each other. There was also a nice surprise. There was hot water in the shower.

I was able to get on the internet much easier than last night. I enjoyed seeing that Dave had put up my posts. I was able to charge my phone using the Mophie charger. We got ourselves around and met the group downstairs. We went to breakfast at the same place.

(I neglected to mention on the last post the Liberian friends who welcomed us at the conference on Thursday. They greeted us throughout the morning. The UMW president Muriel Nelson, The Women’s Director Rose Farhat, the director of the Bishop Judith Craig Children’s Village Robert Sieh Jr., the district superintendent of the Kakata Farmington District Paul Gartor, the former UMW president Christiana Harmon who served at the same time as I did, Emmanuel Saywon – a pastor who was a district superintendent whom Duane met on his first trip in 2002, and the Bishop’s wife Richlain Quire who had been at the Michigan Annual Conference last year.)

When we arrived at the Conference Friday morning, the delegates were in the midst of a prayer meeting. We took our seats and then listened to the prayer leader. From time to time they were encouraged to personally pray all at the same time. It reminded me of Korean praying. I don’t think I have witnessed the Liberians doing it. Duane says he remembers experiencing it. It was very powerful. We joined in once we caught on to what was happening. It ended up with singing and a final prayer.

We realized that the electricity was off when it got time to start the conference session. We were late in starting the morning events because they were hoping the electricity would come back on. Bishop Quire called the session to order, announced about the electricity and what was happening next. It meant that the sound system wasn’t working. And the fans weren’t on. Fortunately the weather was cooler. Then the Bishop came down off the stage and sat right in front of us so he could hear the the morning speakers.

Paul Perez gave devotions for the morning. Paul was incredible speaking to the large crowd without a microphone. He used the text of Jeremiah 29:11 – “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans of peace …to give you a future of hope.” He connected Michigan with Liberia. Paul laid a great foundation for the covenant of partnership we would present later renewing our relationship. He mentioned the three parts of the Liberian Strategic plans that we were hoping to assist with – Education, Sustainable Agriculture and Water. There were amens heard. There was silence when he first mentioned the 2019 General Conference. He talked about the Liberian Summit in Cleveland Ohio where Bishop Quire apologized for any harm that the Liberian Conference may have done to the partnership. Paul apologized for any harm that we may have done to the Liberian Church. His message was that, though there may be changes in structure, the relationship does not change. We continue to build on that relationship. We have a future with hope.

He was followed by the Bible Study Teacher Dr. Hilary G. Paul. He is the Chairman for the Department of Theology, Bishop John G. Innis Graduate School, United Methodist University.

When he was finished, Bishop Quire asked someone to lead in prayer and music while they got ready for the business of the morning. The first item was the Partnership Covenant. The Secretary of the conference, Rev. Dr. James Labala, read the covenant to the conference. A motion was made and seconded and the voice vote was going to be taken. There were some questions asked and the motion got tabled until the following day while a committee would look at the covenant. We realized that, even though they had had the covenant for some time, it had not been reviewed by others. The committee was named and was asked to meet immediately to go over it. Jon and Paul were able to attend and comment. We felt it was a covenant of relationship not a legal document.

After they left, some reports were given. The first one was the Commission on Archives and History. The chair presenting it was a friend Rev. Dr. Anthony Dioh. I had not realized that he was the chair. Their conference commission was working very hard at encouraging churches to write down their histories so they would not be forgotten as time passed. They were going to hold workshops for church historians to show them how it could be done. As he ended his report, I sent my Commission business card up to him then walked up to stand by him. I had been sitting just a few feet away. The Bishop mentioned that he had originally been assigned to the General Commission four years ago but then went to another Commission. Anthony introduced me and I greeted the conference on behalf of our General Secretary Dr. Alfred Day. I also commended the Conference for working on their histories and hoped that copies would be sent to the General church archives in New Jersey. Later Duane and I had lunch with Anthony and his wife Jennifer and talked more about it.

Another report was given by the chair of LUMEF – The Liberia United Methodist Foundation. Then the order of the day brought us to the time of The Hour That Inspires and Challenges. The speaker for the conference was Rev. Dr. Daniel S. Brewer. He served at the Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia and in the Minnesota Conference.

He spoke about allowing our Human Spirit to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so we were sensitive to what God wants us to do. He emphasized six points of moving to live in God’s will – Loyalty to the Mission of God, Gratitude of the Grace of God, Sensitivity to the Will of God, Confident in the Faith of God, Enjoyment of the Presence of God, and Commitment to the Justice of God.

After his message, there was more music and prayer that became overwhelming as it continued. Then Conference was adjourned to go to lunch. It was 1:30 pm.

After lunch our afternoon was spent at Ganta Hospital and Mission Station. More on that later.

When we got to the Mission Compound in Monrovia it was 10:30 pm. We were assigned to our rooms and got our luggage in there. We were served light supper of cheese sandwiches and fruit.

We got up after a short night to have breakfast and get ready to go to Miller Mc Allister United Methodist Church in Ganta City, Nimba County. Before we left Monrovia, some of us left some luggage at the compound. Our friend Eva Barchue came to greet us and to get three pieces of luggage sent by her husband Rev. Albert Barchue of Negaunee in Michigan. We thank one of the drivers of our caravan for taking Eva and the luggage back to her home.

We got to the conference just as someone was finishing an address. We were seated in a guest section. In a short time we were introduced by Bishop Samuel Quire. Soon we adjourned for lunch. Our group were guests along with some of the others at a luncheon at a restaurant hosted by Bishop Quire.

After lunch we went back to the conference. We sat in a different place but it was close to the front.

President Muriel Nelson gave a report of the United Methodist Women. It was great to see her.

Planning to create a village with dormitories and technical high school. Also making plans for a disability center and rehabilitation. Four pillars were mentioned – health, empowerment, leadership, partnership.

There was a report on the United Methodist University by Dr. Coleman.

United Methodist Men gave a report.

Pastors’ Wives – Richlain Quire, wife of the Bishop, who attended the Michigan Conference in 2019 gave that report. They are doing a lot of work to help wives learn skills.

There was a panel presenting about The Theology of Worship. Part way through at a break we were given permission to leave and go back to the hotel to rest.

After an hour’s rest, we met in the outside lounge area and were taken to the same restaurant we had been at before for supper. It was very good. When we went back to the hotel this time, we sat in the lounge again and discussed the rest of the week’s schedule. We also had devotions. Now it is time to get settle for a good night’s sleep I hope.

Tonight there are too many people trying to use the internet. I’m going to send #3 and #4 to Dave and see if I can get them out. Then he can post them.

We boarded our flight to Brussels in time to take off around 7 pm. The seats in our section were nine across in three parts. Paul, Duane and I sat in the middle of Row 52. Again we had screens that allowed us to watch TV show episodes, movies, or just relaxing music and scenery. The schedule list on the screen was Departure, Meal Service, Lights Out, Lights On, Meal Service, Arrival. The flight was about 5 hrs 45 min. It seemed to be a long time before they got around to serving a snack for appetizer, a meal, and then a sherbet cup. When we were finished, we barely had 2 hours to sleep. Most of us did not sleep well. 45 minutes before landing they quickly served a croissant and yogurt.

We landed in Brussels at 7:25 am. We discovered that, this time since we had the check in tickets for the Brussels Airlines flight, we didn’t have to get our luggage, go through immigration and check in again. We went directly to an area where we could rest and relax and walk around if we wanted to. We also finally met the eighth person of our group – Jill Woodard from South Lyons. She had taken an earlier flight. Since it was morning, I did my devotions. Others visited. Eva worked on her thesis. A few slept for awhile.

The flight to Monrovia was to board around 11:30 am for a 12:05 take off. We knew the plane was at the gate. But the gate wasn’t open. There were many people standing around waiting for two gates to open – one to Dakar and ours. Finally we were able to check in and then sit and wait until they had everyone. Then they let us get on board.

The seats on this plane were three – four – three. Duane and I were D and E. This flight was 6 hrs. 45 min. to Freetown Sierra Leone, a 1 ½ hr layover while we stayed on the plane. We had dinner also. I had fish in white sauce with orzo and carrots and parsnips. Duane had beef, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots. We both had cole slaw and a little chocolate pie with a soft crust. During the layover in Freetown, we got to visiting with the persons in front of us. They were on a mission trip also. Some were from California and some from Texas.

Most of the persons who got on the plane in Freetown were going to Brussels. The plane would land in Monrovia, left a lot of us off, change crew, take on more passengers and go back to Brussels.

We landed in Monrovia around 8:05 pm. As we got off the plane, we went through a long gateway and immediately realized that we were in the new modern airport. What a difference! It was beautiful! We were greeted by persons in masks who checked our temperatures. There were still lines to go through customs but it moved pretty quickly. When we got out of customs, we were right by the luggage claim area. And we met our friends Sam, Ruth our guide, and the VIM person Decontee. We managed to get all the luggage together and go out to the pickup area. They had two vans there. Both had long bench seats in back. They put all the luggage in one and we got in the other. And we headed for Monrovia.

As I begin to write, I’m realizing that my audience for this will be a variety of ages and persons with different concerns. Some have children and grandchildren who will be reading about travel. Others will be looking for interesting things about places we will visit in Liberia as we have time. So take from this what has meaning to you.

Duane and I got to sleep early Monday night. We set our alarms for 4:30 am. We dressed for travel, did our last packing, had breakfast then got things in the van. It was easier using it because of the big suitcases. Two of the suitcases were being taken to friends in Liberia so we each had two suitcases and two smaller bags to take on the plane. We left home around 6 am.

We got to the Lansing International Airport in DeWitt by 8 am. We were the first to arrive. We had to leave our coats in the van because we wouldn’t be needing them. Rev. Paul Perez, Conference Staff, was next to come. Rev. Jon Reynolds from Cass Community UMC, Rev. Lindsey Hall Associate Pastor at Birmingham First UMC, and Rev. Ava Euper from Elsie UMC soon joined us.

We all had to check in because we were going on an international flight. We showed our passports and got our luggage weighed. We got our boarding passes for four flights then sent our luggage through the security scanner. Next we went to the TSA security area. It took a little while to go through. They were looking carefully. Soon we all were done.

We went down to Gate 5 to wait for the flight. We began to get more acquainted. We all have United apps on our cellphones that are telling us about our flights. The flight was scheduled to leave at 10:25 am. It was a small plane so it didn’t take long to board. We were seated in three rows of two seats each. We were on time taking off but arrived in Chicago a half hour early.

That was good because our next flight would have been leaving in 45 minutes. As it was, it had been delayed a half hour giving us more time to get there. We even had time to get some food for lunch. Some got some caramel corn from Garretts – a favorite of those who had attended Garret Evangelical Seminary. I got my personal favorite – a Auntie Anne’s soft pretzel. Later we had a little more substantial food.

The flight to Newark finally boarded passengers and was ready to go at 12:45 pm. We sat on the tarmac awhile waiting to take off. This time our seats were still two by two but spread out in different places. There were screens at every seat showing all kinds of TV shows and some movies. I slept part of the time finally catching up on some sleep.

We arrived at Newark ahead of time – the wind was pushing us. We had an 11 minute walk to our next gate. We went from C72 to C 139. As we reached our gate, we greeted Rev. Mike Seymour, Jon’s grandfather, who was going with us. Our flight is not until 7 pm so everyone is either visiting or studying or walking. Or in my case writing this. Stay tuned for more adventures.

We have been planning to go to Liberia again.  Duane and Jon Reynolds, who is the chair of the Michigan Conference Liberia Partnership Ministries, have organized and will be leading the trip.  Seven other persons including myself will be on the trip.

Duane and Jon and their Partnership group have been working to revise the covenant the former Detroit Conference has had with the Liberia United Methodist Church for 22 years.  The new Michigan Conference has authorized the creation of the new covenant.  We are going to Liberia to attend their Annual Conference where they will sign the covenant.  Later at our Annual Conference in late May, which their Bishop Samuel Quire and some others will attend, our Bishop David Bard will sign the covenant.

After our arrival in Monrovia Wednesday Feb 12th and a night’s rest, we will travel to Ganta on the 13^th to attend their Annual Conference.  After the conference we will visit a variety of mission projects in different parts of the country before heading for home Feb 21.

We have been busy getting our flights and getting our immunizations up to date.  Recently we have been packing what we will take so we can determine how many bags we need to use.  We are starting our trip from Lansing on Feb 11.   Keep us in your prayers as we journey forth.