Gbarnga Mission | Liberia – West Africa

We are benefiting from cooler than average nights, making sleep a joyful rest instead of a fitful sweat. We started yesterday with fresh eggs from our poultry farm and some bread from the market in Kakata. We learned that the mud block preaching point in the center of Deanville finally gave in to the harsh sun, rain, and insects of Liberia. A section of wall has collapsed and along with part of the roof. As a stop gap, worship services are being held on the school porch while they rebuild another temporary building. Meanwhile, progress on the community’s “real” church building has crawled to a halt due to limited funds and is in limbo at roof-high walls. Worship was the typical long Liberian service with plenty of beautiful singing.

After a 1:30 lunch, we toured the campus so Kathy and Marsha could get the overview. We walked into Deanville, visiting the home of Moses Pewee along the way. There we received an education in turning palm nuts into oil by boiling, bearing, and immersing in water. Reaching Deanville proper, we were ushered by Amelia to a home where a young lady had recently experienced a difficult surgery while birthing and was experiencing significant pain. Apparently a series of drugs were prescribed yet never filled due to cost. At that point, Kathy’s nursing instincts kicked into hyperdrive.

We decided we needed to buy these meds, but where could the nearest open pharmacy be on a Sunday afternoon? Turns out there’s a new pharmacy out of someone’s home at the front of Deanville and the owner has a child attending GLTC. He was happy to open for us and allow us to photograph his establishment. What’s more impressive is that he carried the antibiotics and other meds on our list. Total cost for four meds was about $3.40 US….and the woman couldn’t afford these life-saving drugs. Now we pray she takes them at the right dosage at the right time.