Dear family and friends,                                                                                                            May 16, 2008

            As is the case every time I write, an update from me is long overdue! As time flies by, I can’t help but think how much I need the prayers that so many of you offer up regularly for me and the team I work with.  I have most definitely felt the support and encouragement of so many in a tangible way, as I look back at the past couple of months and just wonder how we kept up with everything! 

            It seems like the past couple of months have just been a flurry of activity.  I described some of these activities in my last letter – but here are some of the highlights… February was packed with picking up additional leadership and administrative responsibilities, as our medical coordinator resigned and left at the end of the month (we are still recruiting for that position, so if you know a doctor who wants to come to Liberia, tell them to contact me).  In March, we did a lot of renovation work in the hospital, as well as tried to get lots of training done for the hospital staff.  The first week of April was entirely spent preparing for a representative from ECHO (the donor funding this project) who was coming for a review of our progress.  And the second week of April was spent hosting that representative.  The visit went very well, and although we do not have the signed document yet, we fully expect to receive continued funding for another year from ECHO.  The rest of April was packed with finishing up the rest of our project activities before the end of the budget cycle.  Somewhere in there we received a shipment of drugs… so I can’t even count how many hours it took Kou and I to sort through 400 boxes and get it all documented correctly and then supplied to the hospital.  For at least two weeks our living area was packed with boxes, and even now there’s one wall of our living room with boxes stacked up.

            I’ve said to so many people that I was waiting for May so that things could slow down.  While that is true to a certain extent, as we’re under a little less pressure, things are still busy.  But God provides downtime in unique ways.  For example, I’ve learned to thank Him for the fact that our generator broke down at the beginning of May, so I was forced to take evenings off, as it was impossible to get any work done in the dark.  (And now I’m even more grateful for God’s provision of a loaned generator that’s letting me have light and a fan tonight!)

            Throughout all this busy-ness, I have been repeatedly overwhelmed with the fact that being busy accomplishing project goals is not the reason God brought me back here.  Pray with me that I continue to keep focused on the relationships and opportunities God brings for true ministry to take place.  Pray that I stay sensitive to the seeds God is planting of dreams for the future.  I have started an online course that is one step toward long-term service with SIM; pray that I continue to work with heaven’s priorities in mind.

            The other thing I’m burdened with right now is the plight of the people in Sinoe County, and all over Liberia.  You may see items in the news about global food shortages; it doesn’t always seem real to those of us who have a constant income, some savings, and a local grocery store with stocked shelves.  But in Liberia, people who generally live hand-to-mouth are already feeling the difficulty of increasing prices for food.  Prices in Greenville are generally higher than in Monrovia, because of the difficulties and costs of transporting goods into the county.  The people I am surrounded with make less than $150 monthly; most of them have at least 4-5 children they are supporting, many have more than that.  For a typical family with a number of children, they will buy at least two bags of rice a month.  In the past month the price of a 50-kg bag of the most commonly bought (and cheapest) rice in Greenville has gone from around $35 to $42. I have already noticed more people asking for help to buy food or pay children’s school fees; pray that I will be able to demonstrate God’s generous nature to the people around me.

            Thanks again to all of you who are praying, and who are so encouraging to my spirit!