2025 Trip to Liberia Travel Log – Day 8

After 24 hours of travel (some in basic economy with our knees buried into the seat in front of us) we arrived home! Below is a recap of progress made by Pastor Sylvester and Bishop Brown, two leaders that make a tremendous difference in the lives of the people of Liberia. We are privileged to have the opportunity to work side by side, celebrate the progress, learn as we go, and experience the joy of the people of Liberia.

Over the years we have developed a level of trust built on understanding that their motivation is service to others and service to God, not self-enrichment. Provided with meager resources, they have shown the capability and the capacity to attain amazing results. In Liberia, and almost certainly other places progress is not limited by ability, but by access.

Pictured above is Pastor Sylvester with his wife, Youngor and five children, at church on Sunday.

Pastor Sylvester had a vision of a church, school, and clinic. Now the the Yellow Flower Neighborhood is served by an elementary school, high school, new church sanctuary, and a medical clinic.

He started by providing Feed My Starving Children meals and a safe haven to street children almost 10 years ago.

For building a school or church or a clinic, it is access to funds for construction and operation during the startup phase. The design and construction of the buildings was all done with Liberian talent and labor and locally purchased materials.

Above are side by side pictures of Victoria and Isaac from 2018 when they started at The Light of the world Academy in 2018 and last week. Both have been on scholarships. Victoria lost both parents to the Ebola Crisis in Liberia and now lives with her 'aunty'. They are now attending the high school that opened in the fall of 2023! Their lives have been changed forever because of access to education.

For students to attend school, it is access to funding from families or scholarships from donors

($300/year)

The total number of students that need scholarship support is 77. We have 50 scholarships funded now and are hoping for another 27. It is possible to support a scholarship with a single donation for the entire school year or to make a monthly contribution of $25/month for each scholarship.

Thanks to all that are already providing scholarship funds! If you would like to increase access for needy students, please use the button below to make a tax deductible donation of any amount to The Light of the World Fund at the National Christian Foundation website.

For a strong and peaceful society, access to food is necessary.

($106 to feed a child one meal per day for a year).

Thank you to all that have supported this annual event at Incarnation Lutheran Church since 2007 and have packed nearly 10 million meals! If you would like to support the "All Hands on Hope MobilePack" at Incarnation Lutheran Church with any amount please select this link:

In the picture above are Bishop Kortu K. Brown, along with Reverend Madam Sirleaf, the program director, and the 4 nurses that traveled to Zambia for training in 2024. You might notice the "ghost" on the left side of the photo. That is the spirit of an image of a person removed by AI. That magic eraser is not quite working for me! Bishop Brown has a vision of bringing ear and hearing care to all 15 counties in Liberia. He started 3 years ago to make make arrangements for 4 nurses to receive a paid leave from their jobs at the hospitals where they are employed to attend 10 months of specialized training at The Starkey Institute in Zambia.

When the first group graduated (pictured above) and returned to Liberia, they screened and treated almost 1,600 people in the first 5 months.

The next year (2024) he arranged for 4 more nurses to attend training and expanded the community events. This year (2025), 2 additional nurses left for training and will return in November bringing the total to 10 nurses trained as Hearing Instrument Specialists! In addition, thousands more have been screened and treated. It is Bishop Brown's vision to have 20 trained nurses serving at hospitals in the 15 counties. In higher population counties there will be more than one nurse.

For Ear & Hearing Care in Liberia, it is access to funding for travel to and from Zambia, a laptop computer and incidental costs. ($3,500 per nurse one-time cost)

For Ear & Hearing Care Community Events it is access to funding for logistics of the event and travel expenses for the nurses of $500/year per nurse.

Thanks to all that have provided support for this effort in the past with laptop computers and travel funds.

Use the button below to make a tax deductible donation to The Liberia Hearing Health Fund at the National Christian Foundation website.

Thanks again for joining us on this trip to Liberia. Thanks also to all those that have supported this effort through your prayers, emails, books, bibles, musical instruments, choir robes, sewing machines, audio equipment, and your financial contributions. If you would like to know more about joining an adventure like this, let me know. But be careful…it may change your life.