ELWA Ministries USA

God bless you for giving to the poor. (Isaiah 58:6-12)

Earlier this past year, a group of us formed a new ministry, ELWA Ministries USA, or EMA+USA. It is a non-profit charitable organization incorporated in the State of Illinois for the purpose of assisting Radio Station ELWA in Liberia with its religious, educational and charitable goals in service to the people of Liberia.

ELWA has been serving the Liberian people on this campus on the outskirts of Monrovia for 55 years through their radio, medical and educational ministries.

Our purpose is to serve as a vehicle to raise, collect and disburse funds to meet the educational, medical and broadcasting needs of ELWA and the Liberian community in general. We have been and hope to continue to be supported by our ELWA Extended Family, former missionaries and missionary families, and others whose lives have been touched and moved by the ministry of ELWA, as well as people who have a heart for ELWA and the people of Liberia.

Nancy Molenhouse has written the following about their upcoming trip to Liberia the end of this month.

To you and me, water is the norm, something taken for granted. In a developing country such as Liberia, clean water is a challenge every day for most of the population. Education also continues to be a problem as the few government run schools in Liberia are extremely overcrowded. Private schools have recently raised their tuition fees in order to pay to improve the quality of education, but at the same time causing families to be unable to pay for their children’s education.

EMA+USA takes these challenges seriously, and we are partnering with organizations in Liberia in order to help in the rebuilding process following Liberia’s brutal 14-year civil war. In January of this year, our team worked on the project of digging a well at the Susie Guenter Orphanage and installed a “first in Liberia” merry-go-round well pump and water storage tank, which now provides the orphanage with clean water for drinking, cooking and bathing. The ELWA Scholarship Program was also begun in January and we currently have 31 students who are enrolled in school through this program, with more students on a waiting list.

(Judy) Currently, we need $800.00 by January to fund the next semester of school for our 31 scholarship students. It takes about $150 a year to support each student, who would otherwise be unable to get any sort of education.)

Ninth grader Emmanuel Blackie (nephew of Blackie, the carpenter who worked alongside Elzworth Balzer for so many years), says, "If I did not have a scholarship for school, I will pray to God so He can get me back in school". Emmanuel wants to be a science student in college and become a medical doctor.

We have a team of nine traveling to Liberia in January 2010. Some of the projects we will be working on are:

putting a roof on the new school building at the Susie Guenter Orphanage
doing repairs and upkeep on the well pump
repairing equipment at ELWA
meeting with the scholarship committee.

We would appreciate your prayers for the team as we travel and minister through the various projects. The team has personally covered their travel expenses, but funding for the projects is still needed. Tax-deductible gifts may be sent to


EMA/USA
PO Box 36
Wheaton, IL 60187-0036.

Thank you for your prayers and may God’s richest blessings be yours.

Serving Him,


Nancy Molenhouse

P.S. The EMA+USA website is scheduled to be up and running soon, so stay tuned!


If God is leading you, we would love for you to partner with us, spiritually in prayer and financially. EMA/USA received approval as a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization on April 3, 2009. All contributions made to EMA/USA are exempt from federal income taxes.

Changes

January 2006 – It was finally happening…after 27 years, I was returning home—to Liberia, to old friends, to ELWA, to the beach. And I wondered, would it still feel like home? Would we be remembered? What long-dormant memories would be triggered? And what would the country be like after a 14 year old civil war, some of it fought right on the radio compound?

Arriving late at night, the road from the airport was pitch black, with an occasional dim kerosene light showing through a hut or a shack. No electricity in the whole country – no traffic lights, no air conditioning, no running water, no sewer, except for the few with generators. Remnants of the war were everywhere – bullet holes, bombed out buildings with squatters living in them.
Daylight revealed more changes. The studio building and several houses were gone, rocketed and destroyed. Buildings left standing were mildewed and decayed. Fields needed mowing (no tractor) and roads needed grading. The bush was overgrown (providing cover for the many rogues), security walls topped with broken bottles and razor wire surrounded the school, hospital and studio, bullet holes telling the stories. Military check points and UN presence was everywhere, even at ELWA. Each time a UN helicopter flew over us, I was startled. There were huge termite hills everywhere, and tiny pesky fire ants had moved in everywhere, attracted by the deaths at the station, we were told. The graceful palms were all gone, cut down for food. Rogues were a huge and growing problem. “Don’t stay in Monrovia after 5:00 p.m.”, we were repeatedly warned.

And yet, there was a hum of activity and anticipation of better things to come. Road repairs and painting projects were preparing for the Inauguration. Lack of running water created entrepreneurs selling bottled water. No electricity, but everyone seemed to have cell phones! And internet cafes were all over the place!

Everyone had a harrowing story of loss and survival, and still they had tremendous joy and faith and trust in God. Most people barely existed, and yet they generously cooked and brought food for us every day. There were orphans and orphanages everywhere, and I was struck by the love and care of the staff at Phebe Grey and Susie Guenter orphanages. A Ghanaian house parent, Edmund, told of four three-year olds who had just been transferred from another orphanage that had closed, and how they cried all day, every day for two weeks. He said that he slept every night with all four wrapped in his arms to comfort them.

Time after time, I was overcome with emotions of loss that I had long buried. I had no idea of just how much I had missed this place, and deeply regretted having to leave. There was tremendous grief for what our friends and the country had had to endure.

I sat, trying to understand the emotional roller coaster, and I found myself looking at the big rock in front of our old house – the rock whose 30 year old picture is on my screen saver. It was exactly the same – it had not changed a bit. …“Hear my cry oh God, listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth will I cry unto you. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61 immediately came to my mind. Yes God, You haven’t changed!

“I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62: 5-8)

Encouraged, I looked further. “Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Have I not proclaimed from ages past what my purposes are for you? You are my witnesses – is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock – not one!" (Isa. 44:8)

This was the perspective I needed! This was the truth that sustained the Liberians. Our worlds will always be buffeted by changes, but we must keep our focus on Him! The rest of the visit, I was able to look at the changes through a new lens. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and FOREVER!” (Heb. 13:8) Amen!