Day 3
Today was a rest day for us. Dr.
Woodroffe, still
feeling the effects of traveling here soon after the grueling trip to Fiji ,
was able to get some much needed rest. I had been fighting off a
potential
relapse into the effects of a flu virus I had a few weeks ago. The extra
rest
allowed me to shrug that off completely. Paul went to one of our KCN
churches
to minister there.
At 3:30pm we were picked up from the
hotel by Era.
We made our way out of Monrovia
to a city called Careysburg for what turned out to be a very pleasant
afternoon/evening and dinner. It was on this afternoon that we came to
an important
conclusion - an African woman in full flight is a force of nature
uncontrollable by the laws and dictates of Men.
The conversation of the evening was led
largely by interesting
tales given by the women present. The main topic was the many instances
of
social injustice, discrimination and abuse inflicted upon Liberian
society by
the many outsiders operating here.
The owner of the place we were at (which
was called
Urey’s Farm) goes by the name May (first name Hurricane if you asked
me!). May
recounted an incident where an American man made the mistake of
disrespecting
her and shouting at her the command to ‘Shut up!’ in public. This type
of
attitude and behaviour are typical of the white foreigners here in Liberia and Africa
on the whole I suspect.
Well dark clouds started to gather, wind
speed
started to pick up and those who knew what was coming tried to calm May
down.
But May calmly informed them (much in the same way that the stillness of
the
trees tells of impending inclement weather) that what she was about to
do will
ensure that this man will think twice before he disrespects a Liberian
woman
ever again. The unfortunate gentleman learnt things about his mother and
wife
that I am sure he was not aware of. He heard words, phrases and insults
used
and delivered in such creative fashion that it would probably have
begged
literary study.
Era herself also recounted on the first
day we
arrived that she, that very morning, confronted a UN officer on the
street. The
officer was driving down the wrong side of the road with sirens blaring
in
order to escape the traffic on his side of the road. Era was coming up
the road
in her vehicle. She drove right up to his vehicle (unlike everyone else
who
pulled out of the way in deference) and mashed her brakes and brought
her car
to a halt. She stuck her head out of her window and asked the gentlemen
what he
was doing and instructed him to get back into his lane. When the
gentlemen did
not respond to her and refused to comply, she informed him that she had
all
day. She then turned off her ignition and reclined her car seat. The UN
officer, after realizing that the only defense against a force of nature
is to
get out of the way, reversed his car and got back into his lane.
But as we found out, the attitudes
displayed by the
women in particular are largely due to the intense suffering and
violation that
they have gone through both as individuals and as a group. Oppression,
injustice and abuse inflicted upon them did not break them but made them
stronger and more determined to change things. It did not achieve the
goal of
weakening them but instead brought a strength that will not be
restrained by any
unjust imposition of another’s will. From this revelation, I thought of Africa .
Enter Congress WBN.
Day 4
This morning we began the seminar
targeted at Senate
members and other senior political leaders in the nation. We had about
20
persons present. They all held significant positions within Liberian
society. To
mention a few, present were the Speaker of the House Edwin M. Snowe Jr.,
Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor, divorced wife of deposed dictator Charles
Taylor,
the Supreme Court Justice from Saturday returned.
The meeting however was forced to run on
LST (Liberia
Standard Time). We were planning for a prompt 10:00am start as we had
the
meeting with the President this afternoon. However when we got there the
room
was empty. We did not start until 11:00am. The seminar was held at the
same
venue as Saturday – the Corina Hotel Conference Room in downtown Monrovia .
The structure for the day was as follows:
Opening: 10.00 am – 10.30 am
–
Introduction
of the Seminar
–
Presentation
of C-WBN
Session 1: 10.30
am – 11.30 am
–
“Ethical
Leadership”
Break: 11.30
am – 11.45 am
Interaction: 11.45 am
– 12.15 pm
–
Response;
Feedback; Q & A -
Session1
Lunch: 12.15
pm – 1.15 pm
Session 2: 1.15 pm
– 2.15 pm
–
“Reconciliation
and Nation
Building ”
Break: 2.15
pm – 2.30 pm
Session 3: 2.30 pm
– 3.30 pm
–
“Political
Reformation”
Interaction: 3.30 pm –
4.00 pm
–
Response;
Feedback; Q & A - Session 3
Close: 4.00
pm – 4.10 pm
Dr. Woodroffe started the seminar the
same way he
did on Saturday. He ran the C-WBN Flash presentation and then moved
right away
into the first session.
The first session was entitled “The Power
of Ethical
Leadership”. Dr. Woodroffe continued with a very bold and clear
expression of
the Kingdom values that have the power to build and develop a nation. In
this
session, the emphasis was placed very heavily upon the personal
development
process in ethics and values. Once again, clear use of scriptures
provided the
unambiguous foundation for extracting the wisdom necessary for
leadership and
governance.
The late start forced us to go straight
to lunch
without having feedback on that specific session. But it was clear that
the
session had an impact as all of the participants returned after lunch
for the
afternoon sessions. With people holding such positions seldom ever
attend
anything for an entire day. This was different.
Doc’s second session was entitled
“Reconciliation, Nation
Building
and Moving to the Future”. It was an issue that is of particular
importance and
relevance to a society such as Liberia ’s,
given that the nation is only about two years out of civil war. There
were many atrocities committed during
the 16 year civil war. Young men who
were used as soldiers during that period, committed atrocities and
crimes
against their fellow nationals with impunity. These same young men who
raped
and murdered at their pleasure, are now walking the streets. One woman
told us
that a man who had raped her walked up to her one day and asked her for a
glass
of water. She was cooking at the time and had a knife in her hand and
her first
thought was to kill him. So impersonal was the act for him, the young
man did
not even recognize who the woman was. She was simply one of many
faceless women
indiscriminately used for his gratification. She refrained from using
the knife
but the sentiments of hatred and the scars of a violent history still
mark
Liberian society. There are strong currents of hatred and hurt flowing
just
beneath the surface that can erupt through any of the many persisting
cracks in
the foundation of the society. There must be healing.
Doc shifted a gear in this session. There
was a
strong prophetic flow to the session. I felt that we were speaking
directly
into the spirit realm over Liberia .
At one point he said that he did not know who was in the room, but maybe
there
is a future President of Liberia sitting in the room. Something went
off. I
felt it. I believe there was one. Who exactly? We do not know. But
whoever it
is, he/she was in an environment of equipping for their future destiny.
We pray
that he/she recognize it.
In the face of the authority of the Word
of God,
there can be no argument. I now understand differently the scripture
that tells
us the every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is
Lord.
This was not speaking merely of salvation. It was happening in downtown Monrovia among a
group of
leaders who was not saved neither did they know God. The presentation of
wisdom
from the word of God was so compelling that it subdued every dissenting
opinion. To raise any dissenting position in the environment that was
being
created would be equivalent to standing up naked thinking you were
wearing
clothes. Doc’s session was a clear manifestation of how the Mountain of
the
Lord’s House was being established on top of the mountains. The wisdom
was simply
irresistible.
By the time my session started after a
short break,
it was already 2:40. My session needed to conclude by 3:30 to allow for
30
minutes of feedback. We needed to leave promptly at 4 for our meeting
with the
President. My session was entitled “Political Reformation” and focused
on the negative
values and behavioural impact of the democratic political process and
the need
for political leaders to protect themselves by acting out of a new
values and
ethical base. This then becomes the basis for transforming the political
system
to one that is based on a different set of values. Following the
previous
sessions, this one continued to give Kingdom insight into the structures
and
forces that shape the social order and the position that leaders need to
take
with respect to them.
At the end of day, the feedback session
gave a clear
indication of the impact. The comments all centred upon the tremendous
value of
the perspectives and principles shared to the development process of the
nation
of Liberia .
One of the Senators present indicated plainly the desire for greater
partnership with the Congress. Of particular significance were the
comments of
the Speaker of the House who thanked Era for pursuing him and ensuring
that he
came. He also stated that he is very willing to support greater
partnership
with Congress in working with the government and ministries to produce
new
systems and structures to push Liberia
forward. We are to have dinner at his house tomorrow evening. We feel
that our
connection with this man can turn out to be very significant.
We made several other significant
contacts. They are
as follows:
Name
|
Position
|
Jewel Howard-Taylor
|
Senator
|
J. Jonathan Banney
|
Senator
|
Edwin M. Snowe Jr.
|
Speaker of the House
|
Elijah Seah
|
Member of the House of
Representatives
|
Jefferson Kanmoh
|
Member of the House of
Representatives
|
Blamoh Nelson
|
Senator
|
Meeting with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
We arrived at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
building at 5:15pm for our 5:30pm courtesy visit with the President.
Present
were Dr. Woodroffe, Paul, Era, Pastor Bryant and myself. After going
through
security and climbing 6 flights of stairs to the Presidential floor (the
elevator was not working of course), we were ushered into a waiting
room. After
a few minutes, we were ushered into a boardroom to await the President.
The building is built near the Atlantic
coast and
from the board room we had a magnificent view of the Atlantic
Ocean . I mused upon the prophetic significance of it all.
Here we
are sitting in a board room in West Africa, on the same coast from which
Africans
were taken as slaves and who formed the foundation for Caribbean
civilization. Now, God was reversing the tide of human history. Now we
were
coming from the Caribbean to Africa to
proclaim to it a new reality and a new hope. We came with a civilizing
mission
from a New World, a world called the Kingdom
of God .
The last time we met with the President,
it was under
very different conditions. We were very interested in seeing how the
President
would respond to us. In Atlanta
she was understandably very cold and detached from the interaction.
Ellen
Sirleaf-Johnson is 78 years old but looks more like 65. I do not know
what they
do here in Africa but whatever it is it
works!
She walked into the room in full formal wear – a beautiful green and
black African
gown complete with an elegant head tie and sash.
After introductions, we sat down at the
table and
the interaction commenced. This was meant to be a courtesy visit to make
the
President aware of Congress WBN’s presence and work in Liberia .
Dr.
Woodroffe started by stating the context of our visit to Liberia .
Ellen
informed us that she had received very good reports of the meetings we
had over
the weekend and she thanked us for our contribution to the development
of Liberia .
She
also indicated that she will speak with those who attended the meetings
to get
fuller details of the impact and value of what had been deposited. Dr.
Woodroffe expressed C-WBN’s ongoing commitment to partner with the
nation of Liberia
for
which she was very grateful.
Ellen this time around showed her human
side. She
stepped several times from behind the veil of officialdom to show an
amiable
personality. This was a completely different woman from the one we met
in Atlanta .
She invited us
to submit specific details of what we wish to do in Liberia
and promised to consider
how they could be enacted on the ground. Era was identified as our point
of
contact on the ground in Liberia ,
which of course now gives her a profile that will allow her to speak to
influential people on the ground.
By the end of the interaction, it was
clear that the
profile of Congress WBN had been significantly raised. This was achieved
not
only through the impact of the seminars but also through the very
cordial and
positive interaction we had with the President. At the end, Dr.
Woodroffe asked
the President for a photo and she willingly agreed. In fact after
snapping a
shot with the city of Liberia
in the background, she then suggested that we should take one with the Atlantic to their backs. This was indeed a
different
woman.
Conclusion
Today the substantive part of our visit
was
completed and the trip was an immense success. Tonight we have dinner at
Mrs. Clavenda
Bright-Parker’s house. She is the personal friend of the President and
who was
the one who gave her the positive report of the seminars. Tomorrow we
meet with
the Vice President and have dinner with the Speaker of the House. Then
we begin
our journeys from Liberia
on Wednesday morning.
God has gone before us yet again. We are
indeed a
privileged to serve a God like this.
Deut 4:7
7 "For
what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our
God is
to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
NKJV
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