Hi Friends and Family,
     Here's a summary of our trip to Liberia Sept.15th to Sept. 29th.
We were thankful to free  from customs (without money under the table) the 2 fifty-pound satchels of books we were given for schools.  Our Host in Liberia, Pastor Jimmy Diggs, welcomed us and kept us busy.   His family graciously hosted us in their home for the majority of our stay.  
      We were invited by Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America to complete a leadership team with Evelyn Hannneman at the invitation of the Liberian Baptist Peace Fellowship and Baptist Convention.  Their concern was building the capacity of Liberian Christians to handle conflict in a positive way, and to avert the anticipated violence during and after the National Elections Oct. 11th.
      In the four workshops the Lord allowed us to train over 140 pastors,lay people and youth representing more than 30 churches from 4 counties.  We were pleasantly surprised to have some Liberian soldiers in our first workshop and, on our last day in the country, spoke about the non-violent campaign with a another group of solders and trainers in the capital city. We also had contact with a number of key business leaders and we were interviewed for radio and television..  An outline of a campaign for non-violence grew out of the first two day workshop;  Rev. Diggs and our team had the opportunity to present the proposed campaign plan to the General Secretary of the Liberian Council of Churches and the core leadership of the Liberia Baptist Convention. By the end of the week it was adopted with slight modifications and implementation was begun.  The Liberian Council of Churches had had already organized with the Muslim community for 7 days of fasting and prayer prior to the election.  Using their networks of churches, schools, media and business leadership, they committed to spreading the invitation to further participate in the non-violent campaign by:  signing a personal pledge to non-violence before, during and after the election; wearing something white on wrist or on clothing; and invite others to take the pledge.  They also made plans for local churches to organize all day prayer vigils at every polling location.
 
  According to reports,  the election  proceeded without violence.  The real test will come when the results are announced towards the end of October, so keep praying!  For more details, and referral to news articles in the general press, go to:  http://liberia2011.ushahidi.com/main.
 
As special treats,we had the opportunity to witness a choir concert for peace at the local YMCA and to visit the National Museum where we saw incredible artifacts including the written script of one of the local tribes.  We were also able to visit the Baptist Seminary in Monrovia and leave over 50 new books on trauma recovery, forgiveness, peacemaking and conflict transformation.
 
For a more complete summary of the trip and workshops, visit the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America  After the lead article on the Liberia trip, read "Evelyn's Postcards".    Later, there will be a 4 page summary in the next issue of The Baptist Peacemaker" - also accessible on the site.  Please consider your support of or membership in the BPFNA.  We are most thankful for their financial support in helping make the trip possible.              
 
Even though our visit included torrential rains at the end of the season, thankfully it did not dampen our spirits or pace.  
    THANK YOU for your prayers and support.     Shalom,   Virgil and Lynn