Friday, February 28, 2014

February 28


We did it--today is the last day of February! Thank you for joining us on this prayer journey! We are so grateful for all of our fellow prayer warriors who have spent the past month lifting Liberia and Red Meets Green up to the throne! Today we are praying for the most important thing--that everything that we do would be for His glory and that we would make ourselves available to be used for His purposes!

#prayforliberia


Thursday, February 27, 2014

February 27



Today’s prayer request is something that’s been heavy on our hearts. Join us in praying against evil in Cooper Beach and Liberia. Everything from secret societies and witch doctors to the effects of the war that people are still dealing with today--Liberia is full of darkness. Praise God that His light has already overcome the darkness! Pray that people would turn to the Light.

#prayforliberia

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

February 26



Join us today in praying for God’s perfect timing. Sometimes it’s difficult to see the big picture, or we find ourselves becoming impatient. Pray for peace and that we would have a total release of our own plans, and trust in His good and perfect ways.

#prayforliberia

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

February 25



A huge part of our ministry will focus on education. Join us today in praying for the schools, teachers and students in Cooper Beach. Also pray for the educational aspect of The Green House, as this will be our starting point once we are in Liberia full-time.

#prayforliberia

Monday, February 24, 2014

February 24



Today’s prayer request is huge...something that only God can do! We are praying for freedom and forgiveness for the people of Cooper Beach. 

#prayforliberia

Sunday, February 23, 2014

February 23


God has been ‘connecting the dots’ for us over the past few weeks. A way for us to minister to the people of Cooper Beach is through a wonderful ministry called Restoring Your Heart (RYH). Pray for wisdom and direction for how this will work. Pray, even now, for the lives that will be forever changed from participating in a Restoring Your Heart group. You can also pray for Ashley, as she begins the process of being trained to lead a group. RYH is something that God put in our path, and now we really believe that it will be a crucial component of our ministry to the people of Cooper Beach.

#prayforliberia

Saturday, February 22, 2014

February 22


Saturday, February 22: Today’s prayer request goes along with yesterday’s. One of our greatest needs right now is more finances. We reached our goal to pay for the remainder of the rent and for the repairs of The Green House! We now need finances to cover trip costs, and to furnish the house and get necessary supplies for the community center!

Pray for creativity and discernment when it comes to planning fundraising opportunities. Pray that people would be led to give. Also say a prayer of thanksgiving for all our faithful donors! Red Meets Green would not be possible without you!

We would love to share about Red Meets Green, if you have a group of people who would listen. Just let us know!

[This is an ariel photo of Cooper Beach. The small red pin just south of Robertsfield Highway is The Green House!]

#prayforliberia

Friday, February 21, 2014

February 21



Would you join us today in praying for potential new partnerships? Whether it’s new donors, churches or other organizations working in Liberia, we need to connect with others! Pray for divine appointments and that God would put people in our path who have a heart for Liberia.

#prayforliberia

Thursday, February 20, 2014

February 20



Join us today in praying for Red Meets Green’s personnel needs. We need people with certain skill sets--administration, graphic design, video/photo, CPA, non-profit lawyer, fundraisers--in the United States. Also pray for our personnel needs in Liberia, and potential employees at the community center.

#prayforliberia

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

February 19



Getting a non-profit up and running requires a lot of paperwork. Today you can pray for our 501(c)3 paperwork process with the IRS. They are incredibly far behind in assigning tax-exempt status, and we need this before we can begin the paperwork process in Liberia. 

#prayforliberia

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

February 18


It’s always exciting when people want to travel to Liberia! We have over 10 people who have inquired about coming to Liberia this summer! Pray for the logistics. Pray for clarity for those who are seeking out if this is how they’re supposed to spend their summer. 


#prayforliberia

Monday, February 17, 2014

February 17



Join us today in praying for God’s provision for Red Meets Green’s ministry. Pray that we would be filled up to overflowing, so that we can overflow into the lives of those we serve in Liberia.

#prayforliberia

Sunday, February 16, 2014

February 16



This week, we are going to be praying for things that specifically relate to Red Meets Green and our work in Liberia. Today we are praying for wisdom, guidance and clarity, as we plan for the upcoming year. Pray that we would totally surrender our plans to His will.

#prayforliberia

Saturday, February 15, 2014

February 15


Today’s prayer request is for all of those in Liberia who are victims of domestic violence and rape. Pray for protection, justice, courage and strength. 

#prayforliberia


Friday, February 14, 2014

February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate today, we are praying for marriages in Cooper Beach--for restoration, healing, protection, true love, respect and commitment.

#prayforliberia


Thursday, February 13, 2014

February 13


Today you can be praying for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (“Ma Ellen”), the President of Liberia, and other leaders. Pray for guidance and wisdom. Let’s also pray for the future leaders of Liberia.


#prayforliberia

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

February 12



Join us in praying for churches, pastors and missionaries in Liberia. Pray that the Good News would spread, and that because of Him, the hearts of Liberia’s people would shift.

#prayforliberia

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

February 11



Happy Liberian Armed Forces Day! In celebration, we are praying for continued peace in Liberia. We are praying for safety in Cooper Beach and are thankful for all of those who serve and protect Liberia.

#prayforliberia

Monday, February 10, 2014

February 10




Today we are praying against corruption in Liberia. From the leaders to the citizens, that Liberia would break free from something that is holding the country and its people hostage. Pray that honesty and truth would be valued, and that leaders would serve as the example.

#prayforliberia

Sunday, February 9, 2014

February 9


Because it’s Sunday we thought it would be easy to remember to pray for Christians in Liberia. As you go to church today, thank God for your religious freedom. Pray that Liberians would experience Christ in real ways and that their faith would be strengthened.

#prayforliberia

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Oh, The Privilege!


Can I just be real with you for a minute?

This is something that's been burning in my heart and mind over the last week or so.

It's not the most pleasant topic. Something I hate to talk about, actually. 

I'm talking about money.

But I'm also talking about me, you, Liberia and Jesus.

Ok, here we go.

Raising money isn’t about ‘getting me to Liberia’ or ‘making this thing happen’. Raising money is about meeting needs and changing lives. It’s about offering hope, and Jesus setting captives free. It’s about love, generosity and selflessness. It’s about healing, forgiveness and restoration. It’s about obedience and having a front row seat to miracles. 

Raising money is also about the practical. It’s about a new roof that needs to be replaced within the next few months before rainy season comes. It’s about creating a home where guests can come and serve alongside. It’s about a community center opening its doors to the people around it and spreading His hope and love. It’s about creating jobs, empowering families and taking care of those who serve them.

But the honest truth is that money is needed for all of this to happen.

So today, I am inviting you to join me on the front row! I’m providing you an opportunity to take a step forward, out of obedience, to sow seeds and plough the fields as a partner in this thing we call The Great Commission. I cherish your prayers and encouragement, but something even more incredible is that God delights in your generous gifts. He delights because we are opening ourselves up to trust in the God of the impossible. He delights because we are obedient—in the big and the small. He delights because we sacrifice and think about someone besides ourselves. He delights because we use our time, gifts and talents—things that are from Him, by Him and because of Him—to invest in the Kingdom of God.

I can’t say it enough: this God-size dream isn’t about me or Red Meets Green. It’s about a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ, being stitched together, to bring His hope and healing to an obscure country on the other side of the world. It's about a group of people giving sacrificially for people they’ll never shake hands with or chat with over a cup of coffee. It’s about being a part of something bigger than ourselves—oh, the privilege! 


The question is, will you join me?

To make a donation to Red Meets Green's ministry in Liberia, visit our website and click the 'Donate Now' button.

February 8


Today’s prayer request is for people in Cooper Beach who need the hope of Christ. Also pray that Red Meets Green would be a vessel for His hope.

#prayforliberia

Friday, February 7, 2014

February 7


Join us today in praying for people who are hungry (physically and spiritually) in Cooper Beach. Pray that God would meet their needs.


#prayforliberia

Thursday, February 6, 2014

My Dusty Road


[It’s after 1am and as lay under my warm covers, attempting to go to sleep, my mind begins to wander. This is nothing new. However, tonight my mind wanders to the dirt road that I live on in Liberia. I begin to think about that road, and I can’t stop thinking about it, so I grab my computer and begin to type.]
I’ve never lived on a dirt road before, not until I moved to Africa. The exact color of the red dirt is vivid in my mind. I can feel the dirt caked on my feet--a reminder of where I’ve gone. When I’m in Liberia, no matter how many times I scrub and no matter how much soap and water I use, the dirt of Liberia does not come off. My feet are permanently caked with the red dirt of that beloved country. It is inescapable, intrusive and persistent. Strong, for a road that doesn’t even have a name.

I begin to think about what that road has seen. In dry season, the road is so dry that it’s almost a constant dust storm--blowing into my house and covering everything inside. And during rainy season, it eventually becomes a well-worn rushing river. As the water flows, it tries to erase the road, but the road never gives in. Somehow, some way, she survives. She is determined.

I also think about all of the feet that have traveled on that road. Tired and weary feet that have kicked up her dust. Feet that know the road well--like the man who calls, “empty bah-tle” almost every morning--or feet that are on the road for the first time. The things the road has seen. I begin to recount.


My neighbors. 


To my left is the Passawe family--an ever-growing family with ever-growing responsibilities and struggles. Parents who would do anything to provide for their children. But it’s difficult when you can’t read or write. Again, to my left...Menitama. A gas station, small convenience shop and cement depot by day, and a music blaring night club at night. Mr. Menitama was shot on that dusty road a few years ago. He died, leaving his wife to run the family business. Moving across the street. One neighbor who woke me up screaming in the middle of the night because their house was broken into and everything of value was now gone. 
Next to them, a house full of children. Children who make me laugh when they dance in the rain in only their flip-flops, or want to come closer but are terrified of my harmless dog. I’ve also heard their screams many times as their parents beat them for punishment. To the other side, neighbors who are dear friends, and have also had their struggles. Armed robbers, again. And then you move behind my house. 
I can’t see those neighbors because of my cement wall with barbed wire on top, but we are all somehow still connected. Every morning, I hear children laughing and singing. It’s an orphanage. Another neighbor, who came knocking on my gate late one night because something was wrong with their newborn baby. We walked as fast as we could in the dark and through the garbage, only to find the baby laying on the bed, not breathing and blood drops under his nose. The mother weeping in the front yard, while neighbors gathered to bury the tiny baby in the ground. And then there’s “the praying woman”. Her gut-wrenching cries and prayers frequently wake me up around 4am. I’m never sure if she’s angry or desperate because I can never understand her, but she is crying out to God for something.
I think about every person who has ever come to my home. They have walked on this dirt road. And myself, I have strolled down the road, leaving dust in my wake, hundreds of times. I walk to visit neighbors. I go to the road to meet friends. And my favorite route is straight towards the ocean. It is my escape. After a long day and a big bowl of rice, I put on my “beach shoes” and duck out of my red gate and start walking down the dirt road. The children across the street call out to me and wave. I pass the woman selling roasted corn and snacks.
The music of Menitama is my soundtrack. I wait to cross the highway, a constant parade of traffic heading into town from the airport. I run across the busy highway, and I breathe alittle easier because it means I’m almost to my happy place. The cool breeze has a calming effect, as I get closer. I pass more children--”the jumper” and the small girl who swears her name is Snow White. Willie and his friends are playing marbles, or have carefully drawn out a game of hop-scotch in the red dirt. I say hello and shake hands, and try to get to the beach without a following of children. I just want to be alone, to think, make up songs, or pray. I enjoy singing my favorite songs as loud as I want. Nobody can hear me above the roar of the waves.
I get the end of the road and walk across the football field made of sand, filled with pieces of glass and lined with garbage. I pass through the grassy area, watching where I step, and ignoring the people using the restroom behind the bushes. I can see the water now. I get to where the grass meets the sand, stop, take a deep breath, scan the horizon, kick off my flip-flops and jump down onto the sand. Some days I’m more tired, and just sit down in the grass, and close my eyes and breathe in deep. But most days, I walk south towards the hotel. After four years, I’ve got the sunset all figured out, so I know that I have enough time to turn my back and walk for awhile, and when I turn around to walk back, I can enjoy the best part of the sunset. I look for shells, sing worship songs and feel the breeze on my face. I manage to escape from my day and from this country, if only for a moment.

But back to the road.

My dusty road is like my own journey. Rainy season comes and tries to carve out it’s trail. Holes form and people try to repair them, but it’s never quite the same. In the driest of dry season, the dusty road is desperate for water...even if it’s just enough to make the dust go away for a moment. The red dirt welcomes people, and sends people on their way. It ushers in new life, and death. It makes a mark on every person who journeys on it. And for some, it leaves its mark and doesn’t want to come off. 

The red dust is caked on my feet. I carry that red dust with me, even now; even though my feet are clean. The thing is that every person who’s walked that road and gathered dust on their feet has walked across my heart. There are dusty, rust colored foot prints all over my heart. The road is just dirt. But so much has happened on that road. The road has changed over time. It has been the gateway to my heart, for all of the Liberians that have walked on that road and knocked on my red gate. As soon as the red steel gate opens, that person is part of my life. They are friends or family. They change my life, and maybe I change theirs. We laugh together, and sometimes cry together. They take me in, as if I’m their daughter, mother or sister.

The best part is that when I get back to Liberia, that will still be my dusty road. I won’t have to run across the highway anymore on my way to the beach, because I will live alittle closer to the salty breeze. The red gate will be gone, and my neighbors will change. But we’re all still on the dusty road. I will still say hello to the woman selling corn. I will still hear the sounds of Menitama, but from alittle father away! I hope to still be able to hear the children at the orphanage singing “All Hail, Liberia Hail” every morning before school, as they raise the Liberian flag over the school yard. So many of my friends will walk down the road to come to my new home. And so many new friends will step foot on that dust for, perhaps, the first time.

There will still be needs and hurting people. One of my new neighbors told me his stories from during the war. How rebel soldiers would walk up from the beach when the family would be cooking and order them to hand over all of their food. They feared for their lives, so every day, they handed over what little food they managed to scrounge together. They eventually walled in their small kitchen and added a steel door just to be able to feed their family.

My dusty road. If only that road could talk. To share the stories of the people of Cooper Beach. To celebrate the life, and mourn the death. To smile and look expectantly towards the future. Seeking change. Sensing hope.

And the soundtrack of Menitama continues, I’m sure.


[I don’t have any great ending in mind for this reflection. I just knew that I had to write about my dusty road and all of the memories that are there. Otherwise I’d be rolling around for hours, playing with all of the words in my head, hoping to remember in the morning. We all know how that goes...I wouldn’t remember a thing! Maybe this story is headed somewhere else entirely, but for now, I wanted to get it down on paper.]

February 6


Today we are praying for those who are suffering from poverty and disease. Pray for provision and healing. Pray for solutions and freedom. 


#prayforliberia

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

February 5


Today we are praying for the marginalized people of Cooper Beach--the elderly, widowed, disabled, one parent households, child-led households and the orphaned.

#prayforliberia

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

February 4


Pray for healing in Cooper Beach. Ask God for miracles! You can also pray for ELWA Hospital [pictured] and the small clinic in Cooper Beach. Pray that people would not fall prey to ‘country medicine’ and would seek proper medical care.

#prayforliberia

Monday, February 3, 2014

February 3




We are lifting up the families of Cooper Beach today. Pray for protection, health and provision.

#prayforliberia

Sunday, February 2, 2014

February 2


Join us in prayer today for The Green House--the community center in Liberia. Pray for our landlord, Uncle Sam, and his family. Pray that it will serve as a beacon of hope in our community and that it will be a place of new life. That all who enter will feel welcome, safe and loved by the Father. 

#prayforliberia

Saturday, February 1, 2014

February 1


Today we are praying for the community of Cooper Beach. Pray for our neighbors--that even now, their hearts and minds would be open and that seeds would be planted.

#prayforliberia