New Kru Town

Today we got to visit New Kru Town. It's a part of Monrovia, not far from the compound  we are staying in and most of the people that live there, are very very poor. From Caroline (a volunteer from youth for Christ) we had heard that especially the older women were in a bad situation and didn't receive any help. We decided to buy two bags of rice, devide them into 50 portions (one portion is a meal for about 10-15 people) and hand them out. So that's what we did. Arriving in the community it was already heartbreaking to see how people live and it got worse the closer we got. We walked from hut to hut. Because it's raining season big parts of the ground turned into huge puddles and even in some of the houses there were puddles of water. Some of the huts are very dark inside, there is no furniture, only concrete floor and often no daylight. Walking through it, it felt like walking through cells.The women and all the people that were around were very surprised to see us there and were very thankful. We told them that we were here through youth for Christ and blessed them. A bunch of the kids gathered up around us, waved to us and wanted to shake our hands or touch our skin. Our rice  bags were emptied very quickly. It made me sad, because I wished we could have given so much more and met everybody. At first what we did, felt like a drop of water on a hot stone. But the smile on people's faces reminded me once again that it was not only for the food that we were there, but that our visit had a greater impact. It will spread like a wildfire that people from Youth For Christ were there. And like Tania said, it's the word "Christ" in that sentence that is important. Even the fact that people from a different country travel so far to see Liberia, are interested in the country, want to help  and tell people  that they are loved by God, is a big encouragement. That is what we've been told by our friends here over and over again.
Today made me thankful and humble once again about the luxury we live in back at home and also angry at the injustice of the world. But it was also a great experience to see how small gestures can mean so much and that Christ can connect people from whatever background they might come..

- Greta