Bridge Too Far

I saw this picture in Ghana a couple weeks ago in the hallway of the hotel where I was attending a workshop on stunting reduction in West Africa.  It caught my eye because of the irony of the bus slogan and because it is an accurate depiction of how I was feeling at the time, or rather how I often feel in this job. 

A week before I saw the picture, I was invited by UNICEF to attend this workshop with 7 other Liberian representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, UNICEF, and other partners. Somehow it all came together and I was able to go.  However, getting there was quite stressful as the ticket and visa were still questionable up until the time I was on my way to the airport to catch the flight. 

Before I left, I commented on how crazy it all is.  I have no idea how I got to Liberia, SP, and to the point of being invited to this workshop.  This year has gone by so fast.  I have had a steep learning curve and still feel like I make more mistakes than not.  I am constantly going, going, going, and at some point I look down and realize there is no bridge under me anymore, it's just water... bridge too far.

Praise God me sinking into the river is not what happens next.  Instead, the Lord lifts me out of the slimy pit (or river), out of the mud and mire; he sets my feet on a rock and gives me a firm place to stand. (Psalm 40:2, my paraphrase:))

The workshop was a really good experience - maybe not the stress of getting there or the awkwardness of social situations for shy me, but I had some good conversations with people and learned a lot that will help in our current program development.

August 31st our one year Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition(CMAM) project in River Gee ended.  There were some great success stories of acutely malnourished children gaining weight and becoming healthy again.  However, in Liberia acute malnutrition is a much smaller problem than chronic malnutrition (stunting).  For quite a while the nutrition program manager and I have been discussing how we can address prevention of chronic malnutrition through our projects in River Gee.  Though we are doing some education on the essential nutrition actions and infant and young child feeding practices, we wanted to expand this part of the project. 

UNICEF has extended the CMAM project, giving us the opportunity to grow more into this area, putting into practice some of the interventions that address prevention of stunting in children.  Though it can sometimes be a challange, this partnership is giving us the opportunity to improve the nutrition and health in Liberian children and in doing so, sharing God's love.

This week I read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and it encouraged me to continue pressing on.  I often rely on "weapons of the world" or myself in the challenges I face. This was a reminder to rely on God's power and the weapons set forth in his word and in doing so we can demolish strongholds, whether they are personal struggles and strongholds or challenges at work. 

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and everypretension that sets itself up  against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

While things with UNICEF are somewhat settled down for the time being, we have another grant that is going through a transition with our orphans and vulnerable children project.  Please pray for us as we tackle this next challenge - pray for the project, staff, and beneficiaries for power and wisdom. Thank you!