20,000 reasons to keep praying

The latest WHO and CDC reports on the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa are projecting that 20,000 people will be infected before this crisis is under control. That is over six times more people than who have already been infected by the Ebola virus since the beginning of the year. The outbreak has also spread to a 5th West African nation as a case was diagnosed in Senegal this week. Another, unrelated outbreak of Ebola has also started in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I was asked today by a Liberian friend why Ebola is keeping us (expats) away? I didn't know how to answer. He doesn't have the choice to leave and is stuck in this mess... while I spent the day at the mall. My heart is breaking for the people of Liberia. There are survivor stories coming out of the dust, and I do choose to rejoice in those, but the road ahead is long. We must continue to pray for healing in the land of West Africa, for healing in the physical bodies of those who have Ebola and other diseases, for healing in the hearts of those left behind and those who choose to stay and help.

A collage I put together last week.
Jesus, hear the cry-- Heal our land!

Ebola is Real.

"Ebola is real," seems to be the theme for awareness campaigns in West Africa. This may seem obvious to those of us who grew up in America, but many Africans are having a hard time believing it. Ebola is something that they have never heard of before and it is something that they can not see. So, the big push has to be to convince people that not only is it a real thing, a real threat, it is also something that can be prevented with proper precautions.

Listen here to hear the PSA jingle that the Ministry of Health in Liberia has put out on the airwaves to  increase Ebola awareness in Liberia. It's a pretty catchy tune!

The number of people being effected by this outbreak is constantly increasing. Ebola is not only effecting people who have it. It is effecting everyone in the region. Hospitals are closing. I have a friend who is due to have her baby next month and she doesn't know if she will even be able to go to a hospital to give birth. Ebola is killing people who don't even have Ebola. Countless others are dying because they can't access medical care for non-Ebola health concerns. Ebola is expensive. The price of basic necessities is also increasing, a bag of drinking water that used to cost $5 Liberian (about 8 US cents), now costs $20 Liberian. While the price for a bag of rice, Liberia's staple food product, has almost doubled. Stores, markets and roads are closing and people are out of work, which makes it even harder to obtain needed supplies. 

Even though the topic of Ebola in the news reports of America has diminished greatly, the actual need has not. Prayers and support are needed now more than ever. We can not give up or forget the crisis that continues to attack West Africa. 

This past Sunday, I was able to share some of the current Ebola situation at Evergreen Foursquare church. While my sharing time faded into worship, my amazingly talented friend Glory Cancro was prayerfully creating a painting. As she continued to paint, others from the congregation were invited to come forward and write down their own prayers for West Africa. This turned into a beautiful expression of interactive prayer that the entire congregation was able to be a part of. It was such an honor to be a part of such a meaningful and encouraging time of focused prayer for a need that is so close to my heart. 

The painting created at church on Sunday.
Still a work in progress as the prayers continue.

(Here's a link to the latest Orphan Relief and Rescue Newsletter. In this month's newsletter we explain how the Ebola outbreak is effecting our programs in Liberia and addresses current needs.)

good news. bad news.

I'm going to start with the bad news-- the situation in Liberia is spinning out of control. Not only are the number of Ebola cases skyrocketing, but unrest is bubbling under the surface. Violent mobs are gathering, curfews have been mandated, the economy is crumbling, people are going hungry. Countless others are dying of other common ailments for the region, like Malaria and Typhoid, because they can't get any medical help. I read one statistic that said that since Ebola has struck West Africa (killing over 1300 people so far), over 300,000 people have died of Malaria.

The situation in Liberia was fragile before Ebola struck. The county has been working hard to rebuild after a long civil war ended a decade ago. The stress of this situation is exposing the fragile infrastructure. There are not enough doctors or medical resources in Liberia. The citizens do not trust their government. Then add to the equation-- no basic knowledge of what a germ is or how it is spread, a common belief that Ebola doesn't even exist, a culture that is based off of relationships, touching, and living in close proximity with others, and traditional burial practices that include family taking care of a loved one after they die, and you get the perfect storm that is tearing apart Liberia at this moment. Liberia needs help from the international community or it may not survive this emergency. God Help Liberia!

This article helps to explain further why Liberia Cannot Cope with Ebola.

This graphic helps to explain part of the problem in Liberia.
1 doctor for every ~70,000 people!

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Now some good news--

Something to celebrate!
This 22 month old girl is the youngest to survive this outbreak of Ebola. She walked out of an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia yesterday with a clean bill of health!

And more joyous news was announced today-- Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, both American's who were fighting on the front lines of this battle in an Ebola treatment clinic in Liberia and contracted the virus, were released from the Atlanta hospital where they have been treated in isolation for the last three weeks. They are both 100% Ebola free!! 

Dr Brantly made some public comments upon his release. Here is a link to the video of what he and his doctor had to say upon being discharged from the hospital today. It was reported that when he was discharged this morning he ran out of his isolation unit giving high fives to all the staff who cared for him and praising God for his miraculous recovery.

I have never met Dr Brantly or Nancy, but I feel like I know them. Many of their friends and co-workers at Samaritan's Purse and SIM are mutual friends of mine. Many are still working for these two organizations who continue to sacrifice to serve the people in Liberia during this crisis. The people who work for these two organizations were leading the fight against Ebola in Liberia long before the rest of the world even knew it had hit. 

For more information about Samaritan's Purse and SIM, or to donate, follow these links.

gather and pray

This is what I am longing for-- To gather these precious ones in my arms again, to reassure them, to protect them. I am reminded of Jesus' words to the people in Jerusalem in Matthew 23, "How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me." I find solace in knowing that our God is bigger than a tiny little virus and the havoc it is playing out on an entire region in Africa. He is bigger than the burning fear that comes with the mere mention of it's name. He is greater than the violent mobs who are their own worst enemy. Our God is greater than the growing empty stomachs and abandoned hospitals. He is mightier than the rain clouds that are pouring out death and despair, stronger than the thunder claps of threats to the nations. 

A few weeks ago, feeling heavily burdened by the situation in West Africa, I fled to the mountains to pray. I drove up as close to Mt Rainier as I could get and sat at the foot of the mountain. I felt like God had led me there. As I sat in awe under the snow capped majestic beauty of of the mountain and was dwarfed by the deep green valleys that surrounded me, I was humbled. Sitting on a rock, I asked God what He wanted to show me in this place. Instantly, a breeze brought a whisper to my heart-- "Remember who I am." He is the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth! 

Earlier this week I was able to talk to my Liberian Ma, Mary. Tears came to my eyes when I heard her voice. She was so grateful to hear that people around the world are praying for her and her country. Prayer is a mighty weapon. I mentioned in my last post about the women in Liberia who have been gathering everyday to pray. These women's prayers were effective in bringing the Liberian civil war to an end. They are mighty prayer warriors, but our prayers are just as effective. God hears them all.

I believe prayer, understanding the truth about the situation (for both, those living in the effected zone, as well as for us world wide) and spreading the word of the need are going to be the biggest contributors to putting an end to this crisis. 

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Links for today:

An article written by my friend, Fin Young, who I met in Liberia, for Newsweek UK.

more Harrowing Images of Liberia's Ebola Outbreak

H1N1 continues to have all the latest updates on the situation.

Doctors Without Borders  is leading the fight against Ebola throughout West Africa. This week they opened the biggest Ebola treatment facility in history, just a short walk from where I call home in Liberia. 

helpful Ebola links

Today's post is going to be more practical. I've shared some links to articles, blogs and websites where you can learn more information about the latest Ebola news and how you can help.

This blog, called H5N1, seems to have the most factual and up to date Ebola information. It is updated several times a day with articles coming from multiple trustworthy sources. It has become part of my daily routine to check this site.

This man is spraying a road just outside an Ebola treatment center with a chlorine bleach solution to prevent the virus spreading. Many patients are arriving on foot or via taxi which increases the risk of the virus being passed to others. All of this is happening less than a mile from where I live and work when I'm in Liberia. In fact, this is a road I have walked along countless time myself.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Follow this link to an article that shares many more pictures, like the one above, depicting the hard reality of treating Ebola in West Africa. 

Of course Orphan Relief and Rescue projects are continuing in Liberia. All programs are still running as the need at this time has not gone away, instead it is growing exponentially. I can say confidently that any donations made to Orphan Relief and Rescue truly go toward helping needy, oppressed, and neglected children in West Africa. 

My friend Shelly Timbol has started a GoFundMe project called Bucket Brigade Against Ebola. They are raising money to buy resources, like buckets and chlorine bleach, to give out to local women in the fight against the spread of this virus.

Kriterion Monrovia is an aid organization in Liberia that is spreading factual information about Ebola: causes, symptoms and prevention. As well as, raising awareness through house to house visits, community outreach, dramas and radio announcements.  

These ladies are gathering everyday and praying for the end of Ebola in Liberia. This is the same group of mighty women who came together a decade ago and prayed a peaceful end to the civil war. I have heard multiple remarks from Liberians that Ebola is worse than the war because, at least during the war you could see your enemy.

Spread the word.

It has been 18 months since I last opened this page and started typing. Eighteen months since I packed up and moved home from Africa to (re)start in America. Those months have been filled with transition, learning, hibernating a bit, being refreshed, traveling, family, laughter, tears and much prayer. I moved back into my house, started working again as an ICU nurse, settled back into my phenomenal church family, dealt with the death of three dear family members, continued to volunteer for Orphan Relief and Rescue, and traveled A LOT-- including three short(er) trips back to Liberia.

These 18 months have been filled with much reflection, but I have not felt, for lack of a better word, inspired, to put those thoughts into words that I could share. Lately, God has been speaking to me about using my words again. I've been reminded that my words matter more than I know.

And then a few weeks ago there was one word that rung loudly in all of our ears-- EBOLA. I was last in Liberia in June, and at that time Ebola was a quiet whisper in the trees. I am shocked at the difference only two months makes. Ebola used to be "that thing they make outbreak movies about." Now it is a real and deadly threat to hundreds that I hold dear (and countless more.) I spend more time than I should reading status updates and articles coming out of the effected zone. I receive phone calls from my Liberian friends telling me how scared they are. Multiple people have told me that they think of me every time they hear the word. Everywhere I go I am asked about it-- sometimes I feel like Ebola is all I talk about.

I am not physically in Liberia right now, but my broken heart remains there, and I feel split in half. Due to this state of emergency, it is not possible for me to travel there. I find that this furthers the divide inside my heart as I both long to be there helping the growing need, and am deeply relieved that I am not there, which leads to this cycle of guilt and relief that at times seems more than I can bear. I feel helpless. I feel that I've abandoned those that I've promised to rescue. I don't know what to do. Over and over again I've come to the conclusion that not only is prayer the only thing I can do, it is the best thing. And so I pray. I pray, and I ask others to pray, and I ask anyone reading this to please stop reading and say a prayer right now for healing in the land of Liberia, in all of West Africa.

Yesterday I was once again wrestling with all of this, asking God, "what can I do?" When I felt Him say, "Use your words" and "Spread the word." And immediately I was reminded of this old dusty blog site, a forum I have long neglected.

Today, even though I am not there, I dust off the placard that states, 'Deb in Liberia,' so that I can spread the word-- Ebola is ravaging a country I call home. I can not carry this burden by myself. Please join me in praying for a miracle and keep watching here for updates and prayer points as this crisis continues.