A visit by an apostle. It was a big thing here.

The man in the middle is the assistant Minister for education in the country. It was a big deal to get a meeting with him. We ended up making plans for a partnership to improve many of Liberia's worst schools.  The man on the right is brother Moses Slamie. He is in a stake presidency in one of the five stakes in the country. He set up the meeting.

Elder Christofferson came into the country for a one-day visit. It was a big thing here. It has been 6 years since the last visit from an apostle. He started off having a meeting with the missionaries. The missionaries came in from all around the country. This is all 160 of them. We met in the local stake center. It's a nice new building. Notice all the fans on the ceiling. No Air conditioning.

 The missionaries all got here early so they would be ready when he came. They are an interesting group of people. Most of the African missionaries are from Nigeria or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Currently there are four from Tonga and a few from Fiji with more to follow.

Word is they send only the most hearty and capable American missionaries here. There is nothing easy for them. Food, shelter and modern conveniences are very modest for them living in these rural areas. On the other hand the African missionaries are pretty well prepared. All of them are from countries that are an economic step Above Liberia but still they are more accustomed to the weather and the culture. Most of the companionships seem to be an African and an American.

The Apostle then had an all country meeting. It was broadcast to all of the distant churches and those in the Monrovia area were invited to attend the live meeting. It was held in an old historic meeting hall. This is what it looked like about an hour and a half before the meeting. People got there early to get seats. When it started it was quite full.

The meeting went quite well. Even though it was cramped, hot and it started off with poor sound.   By the time it finished, with inspiring words from Elder Christofferson, I think all in attendance thought they were well served. At the very end of his remarks Elder Chistofferson had all the women stand up, then all the men, then all the children, and then all of the husbands and wives. To each group he gave his Apostolic blessing. It was strikingly powerful and spiritual.

Outside the meeting Hall this Monument contains the names of all of the freed American slave founders of the country.

We visited the national hospital. It is called JFK Memorial Hospital. It is named after our president Kennedy. They would like us to help them. During the Civil War that ended in 2003 the hospital was completely vandalized and gutted. Because the country is so poor they have not been able to devote the funds needed to fix it. They rely a lot on humanitarian donations.

Just recently they were finally able to get a reliable water source for the hospital. They are still struggling with the electrical system. Sometimes the electricity can go out during surgery.  The picture is one of the refurbished wings. If you look closely you can see that the floors are in pretty poor condition. The hospital is not air conditioned. The elevators sometimes don't work and so patients have to be carried on gurneys up the stairs to the fifth floor for operations.

We met with the hospital's project manager. He is going to propose a few projects that are in our budget range. With so many basic things needed to be done I'm sure we'll be able to find something that will be a worthwhile contribution.

After church the two full-time Elders in our branch asked if we could take them to an investigator's house. We were then invited to go with them when they taught them. This is the family. The husband couldn't be there because he is working today. The house and the husband's employment are with the Firestone rubber company. They have a huge Plantation here in the area. People consider the jobs here very good. They also provide housing. This is one of them.

There are these company housing villages all over the plantation. Each one has about 20 apartments.  No electrical and outside plumbing.

The missionaries always teach on the porch. Every house has a porch. One of the elders is from Nigeria and the other from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Both of those countries are more prosperous than Liberia.  They live nearby in the town of Cotton Tree. They have an apartment with all the normal utilities and air conditioning.  Like all of the elders we have met they seem to be remarkably capable and faithful.