Experiencing the Joy of Church Life in Monrovia, Liberia

My purpose in going to Monrovia, Liberia was not to see the sights. Instead it was to teach a class in church history to men and women who were seeking ordination in the church. The goal was to check off this class so they would be one step closer to their ordination.

I arrived late Friday. I arrived then because I knew I would be preaching on Sunday, and I wanted some time to catch my breath and adjust before I had to preach. Saturday I pretty much just rested and prepared for Sunday.

Superintendent Isaac and his son Abraham accompanied me when the driver picked me up Sunday morning to go to church. It took us about an hour to get to the church. We picked up the church pastor along the way as Isaac wasn’t completely sure where the church was located. The last portion of our journey was down a number of dirt roads. There were times I wasn’t sure we would make it. We finally stopped and parked. Ahead of us looked like a nice small church. However, that’s not where we were going.

The pastor led us down a hill in which dirt steps had been dug into the hillside. Once I reached the bottom of the hill I had to literally walk the plank. Plank bridges were laid out over the mud here. There was no railing, and I was wearing dress shoes so I was not fully confident as I walked the plank bridges to get to the metal sided church.

The church itself was a tin structure with dirt floors. When we arrived, there were only a few people present. They started with a Sunday School lesson and gradually more people began to show up. The people up front had plastic chairs to sit in. Behind them the people were sitting on backless benches. I sat up front in a plastic chair along with other church leaders. The young man in the blue suit is the pastor of the church. The man in the white shirt is Supt. Isaac.

The service finally started, and there was some rousing music. They had an instrument I had never seen before. There was a gourd inside netting which they bounced around. The netting had beads worked into it so the gourd was striking the beads and creating a sound. It was a rhythmic instrument and quite loud.

The service was getting a bit long, and I decided maybe I should use the bathroom before it was time to preach. I leaned over to Isaac and asked him where the bathroom was. He then asked the pastor, and all three of us got up and left the service. To get to the bathroom I needed to walk across the log pictured below. Remember I had dress shoes on. I was a little panicked over that, but I made it. They then took me to an outhouse which they had to unlock. Inside was a squat type toilet. It looked similar to the one in the photo below.

I had to cross back over the log to get to the church service. I was back in time for the offering which they took in the typical African fashion with people coming forward and placing their offering in buckets. Finally it was time for me to preach. By then the church was very full. They had even brought in extra benches for people to sit on. Since English is the official language of the country, I didn’t need a translator which was nice.

After the service it was interesting to watch as everyone left and had to walk over the plank bridges and back up the hill. Eventually I had to do the same thing. Getting to and from this church just outside Monrovia was definitely an adventure. Perhaps during the dry season it’s not so difficult.

The drive on Monday morning was not as long as Sunday’s. The church the class was in was closer to Monrovia and easier to get to. it was a large concrete building. it reminded me somewhat of the church building in Togo as both were large concrete structures, but neither of them were finished. The church had a tin roof, and on Wednesday it rained hard. I was shouting trying to make myself heard over the noise on the roof.

Superintendent Isaac had told me to expect about 40 students, but only 35 showed up. I taught for two and a half hours in the morning and then for two hours after lunch. Lunch was provided for everyone which was nice. Some of the students were not from Monrovia so they were staying in some unfinished office space in the balcony area of the church. Overall I felt the class went well. Church history with its many names and locations can be a challenge, but the students generally did well.

Some of the students did not read English well. They could read in their own indigenous language, but English was a struggle. I gave a quiz each day, and it was apparent on the first quiz who needed help with English. So I paired them up with another student to read the quiz to them, and that worked out pretty well. Everyone passed the class.

After I taught each day I had them do a group discussion assignment. They generally did well in their groups and on the last day I had them pray for each other.

On the last day they surprised me with a shirt. It’s quite the shirt. The fabric is quite heavy, and the ornamentation on the front is stiff. It’s not a shirt I am likely to wear much, but it was a nice gesture. They also gave me an African name which I thought was interesting. The name means strong man. They gave it to me because they admired that at my age I would come over and teach for four and a half hours a day. You can see me wearing the shirt in the group photo.

The second Sunday came, and we attended the church service in the church where I had been teaching. Originally I thought I would be preaching here as well, but Glenn and Wendy Lorenz had arrived on Wednesday. Glenn has direct supervision over the mission work in Liberia, and he was designated to preach this Sunday so I had little responsibility.

However, the morning was not without drama. The car I had been riding in all week started to have some issues so they took it to the mechanic Sunday morning. However, the fix did not seem to be so simple. Since Glenn and Wendy came we had been using two cars. The second car came to pick us up for church. Our plan was to take all of our luggage as we were leaving from church to the airport. We weren’t sure it would all fit in the car, but it did.

We got to church and the service started. The music kept going longer than expected. They were waiting for Supt. Isaac to show up, but he was with the car getting fixed. Finally he arrived without the car and carried out his duties in the service. The woman in the white dress in the photo below is the pastor of the church.

After the service I started talking with an older gentleman. He eventually approached the subject he wanted to talk with me about. He asked if I had some readers I could give him. I have a friend that actively volunteers with a mission organization called Vista Missions. They provide eye and dental care in some countries. He had given me 50 readers to bring to Liberia and distribute. I had done that with the students, and I guess he had heard about it.

Unfortunately I did not have any readers with me. They were in Isaac’s car. However, Wendy Lorenz overheard our conversation. She had left her readers at home and had borrowed a pair from the supply. It turns out that the pair she had was the strength the gentleman needed so she gave him the ones she had borrowed. It’s amazing how God works things out.

Isaac wanted to go to the airport with us to say good-bye so we waited around after church for the other car to show up. During this time I started playing around with a group of young kids. They were really cute, and I had fun with them. There were actually two sets of twins in this group which was surprising. It was fun to play grandpa for a short period of time.

We finally gave up on the car and said good-bye to everyone at the church and took off for the airport in the other car. It was time to begin the journey home.

It is always interesting to see the different ways that culture influences a worship service. Each of the three African countries I have taught at has their own unique style in putting together a worship service. However, for all of them the goal is the same, and that is to worship God. I can join in with that not matter where I am.

Credits: Abraham Gayne took the photo of me preaching and the attentive audience. Wendy Lorenz took the rest of the photos of me along with the small group photo and the student group photo. I appreciate her sharing her photos with me.