Liberia Letters....By Elder and Sister Wollenzien (Mom and Dad)

Today 

 

What a Day!

Since we have been in Liberia we have been setting up our office and apartment. We have been so excited to get to work that we wanted to quickly do our apartment and spend time on our office. 

John quickly remodeled things in our 3 bedroom 3 and 1/2 bathroom two story apartment to make them live able and now we are doing the  office.

Problem....

As we are working in our office ...since Monday.....our door has been revolving every minute.

There have been so many people come to meet us. Mainly the previous contractors and site monitors  

from the previous missionaries wondering when we are going to get to work. 

You see there have been no missionaries here for over a year and the last couple started some projects and then they all just had to leave. There were water projects, wheelchair projects and several garden projects. Ebola just devastated everything. One sweet branch president who came to see us today from the Paynseville 1 branch told us he lost two branch members. One man (a doctor) and his son (who worked along side of him). He said it was so hard for them in their branch. This sweet Branch President was a sweet man. Very humble and has a beautiful family. he told us his son is gifted in language. He speaks fluent french and Spanish. He just returned from serving a mission in Benin and now is in Medical school.
This country has lost so many medical people.

They want to replace all the doctors in this country who died during the last year.

That is one of the many stories we hear all day long every day. All we do is come to the office and they show  up. 

It really humbles us as we know their very poor conditions they live in and the simple lives they lead and yet they love the church . They love coming to the church and helping each other. They also love sharing the Gospel with others.

The members here are working so hard to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ that the missionaries cant keep up with them.

One branch President we talked to today said he  has 600 members in his branch and it was just split and needs to be split again.

They love the gospel and their families more than anything. Try to tell them something negative about the church and watch out. You will get an ear-full! They are so enlightened and knowledgeable about the gospel. It is their life.

So today we again sat in our office and greeted these wonderful people but only at the end did I think to take a picture of them. So I took a picture of Brother Christian Brownell.

He brought us an invitation to his wedding and expects us to come because now he is called as OUR Public Affairs person. We didnt have one of those on our previous mission. 

He is the most out going up beat jolly even person. He wore a yellow shirt and it made me think how sunny his personality was.

So that is our picture. Christian our new P.A. and Elder Wollenzien in our office on the ground floor of our building with a window where at my desk Iwatche waves roll beautifully accross  the Atlantic Ocean ALL DAY LONG.
What more can one  ask for.

One Member said to me yesterday after work
"I look at the sea and the beautiful waves keep rolling and rolling and the keep coming day after day after day. Its beautiful. How can someone not believe God made these things?"

 

The Laundry on the way to the office.

Everything gets painted bright after the rainy season.