African Heartwood Project ....just checking it out

 Checking out the Orphanage and School

On Thursday, New Years Eve, we did what all good missionaries do....Work.

But our work is different and sometimes a lot of driving and sometimes walking through interesting terrain. But with great rewards in the end.

We began the morning going out to inspect two mission apartments. The Hezseltines and the Allens do this but Hezseltines are leaving very soon and so this may be one of our assignments when they go. So this started as a training trip for inspecting.  It gives us a chance to see where the apartments are located and more of the country.

There is this orphanage a little way north of us called the Africa Heartwood project. (http://www.africaheartwoodproject.org/ebola-orphans/)
I can not tell the complete story of this orphanage but you should read about it.
 

We know that the man who runs it lives in the U.S. and is very determined to help these displaced orphans.

Most of the orphans are orphans of war and some from the camps in Ghana but a big group of them are from Liberia and were orphaned due to Ebola. These children were shunned
 in their communities because they survived and no one would touch them or have anything to do with them because they had family who died of Ebola. Even though they are clear.

 
Having served one mission here prior to Ebola Paul (Elder) Hezeltine in the U.S. heard about this. He organized an Ironman event to raise the money to pay for all the needed paperwork and funds to legally bring  the children into the orphanage so they would not be on the streets of Liberia.
It was very successful and the children are there now. At that time Hezseltines had no idea they would be back in Liberia or thought they would see the orphanage or these children.


 

In August they were given a special assignment mission to come to Liberia with President Carlson to  get the previous closed Liberia mission up and running again.
HE was talking about this orphanage and wanting to go see it and the children. We were interested to see if there is any projects that humanitarian can do here or combine with. So today we went out that way and it was possible to see it.



This orphanage is managed really well from the U.S. but has a couple who lives there that oversee the orphanage and school. This works well as donors and interested persons come often to check on the orphanage. The couple over them are very concerned for their well being.
Children all participate in chores around the orphanage. 

 nice living quarters and Latrines that the children help to keep clean.

The children are taught well and loved and you can tell by being there. The surroundings are clean and nice. Too clean to be picked up just at the last minute. The couple is loving and the children are very confident in that loving situation.

They are looked after to get to school  and back each day and stay here until they are 18. They then go to a half way house in the city close by and are monitored to help them learn  to get off on their own and be productive.

In the orphanage they teach the kids coping skills and high ideals that will carry them.
One of their girls who has been there,  Diana Doe, is just now entering the Ghana MTC to serve an LDS mission.
The couple, Rufus and Victoria, insist the children go to church of whatever choice they want. It is a christian centered orphanage.
Elder and Sister Hezseltine were able to meet the children that the worked hard to raise the money to get to the orphanage.
 That was worth the trip for them I know.

IT was just so wonderful to go here and see a really caring loving orphanage. You could feel the children's love for the place. We have seen many. This is a smaller scale than some. But it is very organized.

 

They have a piece of property a small distance away from the building now they are hoping to expand and build a school of their own on it.

St Paul River side. Dad and Elder Hezseltine.

Some of the buildings on it are complete and looking good but again Ebola stopped everything.
This year the people will be back to building.
Of course we went there to see the school building site.
Rufus showed us that the propery goes from the St Paul river to the Atlantic ocean. We walked a path to the river.
Following our guide until he said 'ants'. 'Just lift you feet high when you cross here sisters. be careful.' Man did we lift our feet.

Palm Berries for Red Palm oil and Palm Butter.

I think the ants in Africa are one of the worst things on the earth. They Hurt.

Tilapia

 We stopped a minute and watched them making palm butter and fish. A common festive food the people here love.

We then turned around and walked to the sea shore.
What a walk . glad we found the right path on the way back  to the truck.








But the reward of seeing this beautiful Clean portion of the Liberian sea coast was fantastic.
We are very blessed to have the mission assignment we have.
 Its very hard and confusing and frustrating at times.
But it can be very  very rewarding at others. 

Fishing Canoes! Regular Dugouts used every day for fishing.
Taking a holiday break for today.

We then endured the very long, New Years Eve traffic jam, Drive back to our apartment.
We all 3 couples ate a wonderful dinner from Sister Hezseltine and sat and talked and talked about all the things the 3 of us did on new years eve in Liberia. The next night Sister Allen cooked us a delicious dinner. We have been so blessed to be in these apartments with each other. What would we do  without each other close by.
We were able to be with people we love on the holiday. 

So very Thankful to have these next door neighbors on this mission.   Its a treat!

Stories from members that caused me to grow!

Story #1

I had a very interesting Sunday. NO pictures just lessons I learned.
I was working with  the Relief Society President in one branch. Helping her to understand the schedule and reasons for the lessons taught. What materials to use etc. I then began trying to get across to her how important it was that she and the teachers spend less time just talking about the title of the lesson or Defining relief society. (It takes the entire class period some days and they never move on in the lesson.)
This has been a real problem ...to me.... and I thought I was going to help her because we never get to the lesson.
I also told her the other items to use for curriculum instead of Daughters of our kingdom every week.
Well she said to me 'Sister Wollenzien (we were having this very intimate little conversation as she is pretty shy. )She said sister I had this very spiritual experience about this... You see many of the sisters here that are investigating the church are afraid of the word SOCIETY. When they found out this was the name of the women's organization they would leave the church or quit investigating. They would take many people with them. They believed the LDS church was a cult. (There are several groups called 'Society' in the area. They are very awful and do horrible things to the people of which I wont mention. It includes stealing children.) She said one lady in the branch who was a member a long time was told by these women that because she was in a cult(R S) she was going to die. Well the lady was older and she did get sick and died. This really shook the women up. So she was wondering what she could say to the women in her RS about this. She said 'God then told me in my heart just that I should give a talk.. I directed to look at the manual ''Daughters of our Kingdom' and she said 'God told me that I needed to give them a talk on this very  lesson.'  She then turned to the lesson in the book and showed me exactly what lesson it was. It was called Worldwide Circle of Sisterhood.
She said 'I did that I gave a talk on this and many of the sisters were there'.  She Said 'so after the lady's funeral many people came back to Relief Society and were not afraid of the church anymore.
Boy was I dumbfounded.

I knew of these groups in MOZ and other African countries but didn't know how they existed or if they existed here.  Can you imagine this dilemma in your community of sisters?

 She had received this very spiritual experience that was just for her and her sisters and he used the perfect book to guide her.  And I was just about to crumble that. What if I had handled it differently. This is the second time she has impressed me with her closeness to the spirit. Me a dumb senior sister who thinks I know the 'right way'.  S

She is an endowed member of the church for only 3 years. Her husband is not a member . She is there every week and so spiritual. I have really learned (thank goodness in the first month) that I will sit back more often and just listen.
 So she loves to use Daughters of our Kingdom. She loves the women in it. It leads them. For now that's ok.  Begining this Next year we will figure out how to use it and the prophets in her way.
I was just thankful I sat myself down and listened to her. I have some real repenting to do .

Story # 2

My second story  is a younger man with bad eyes was asking me about glasses and he just busted forth and said to me 'do you want to know what happened to me?'
HE went on...'many people in our community did not like that we were told to wash our hands and use these disinfectants. They didn't think we should follow this advice and our church was helping with this advice.' (all the washing stations and cleaning stations) HE said 'the people in my community said that we should have faith and just trust God. They said the LDS were sicked because they did not trust GOd . THey worshiped other things and if we had enough faith in God we would be saved. They all told me the LDS will die from Ebola because they are not trusting God..You will see all you LDS will die.'  (this was a really big problem in some areas where traditional healing is still practiced)
The boy said He believed in what the church was telling the members to do. He said it was really hard. He said 7 people close to him who told  him this died from ebola. and more. but specifically 7 close people in his area.
He said no LDS in our area died. We were all saved because we followed our church leaders.
The church actually lost very few members to ebola. very few.

 Just one of the not so gory stories of Ebola.