Meet Hendrik

HEY THERE

How are you doing ? (My experience is that every Canadian says this instead of "hi").

I am Hendrik. I´m 18 years old, I love meeting friends, listening to music, doing sports and what else is there to say ? Oh yeah, I´m from Germany. So as some of you might have guessed by now, I am the new German volunteer, who helps Tania and Don with all the tasks they have to do for the project in Liberia. As Greta before me, I work with QYFC in the Liberia project and at some other places like the Emmanuel baptist church and PECI here in Prince Edwards County. I arrived on September 11th here in Canada. My full name is actually Hendrik Nestvogel, I am from near Frankfurt, which is localized in the middle of Germany, not the one in Ontario (Frankford), even though they sound pretty much the same. I have 2 siblings, one younger sister and one younger brother. Back in Germany I did kick-boxing and just finished school in June 2017. I am here in Canada to serve God for a year and to grow in faith and personality. The poverty and horrible circumstances in Liberia, have never really been present to me because I never heard about Liberia and the great need of it´s people. But after getting aware of it, I hope to help Tania and Don the best that I can. I got some experience on how that looks like, at our apple pie fundraiser, where we made about 85 apple pies and sold them to raise money for the school being build. I tell you serving can be tiring and hard, for example when you don´t want to go on pealing apples after you did it for hours, but when you see what you accomplished with God´s help it´s worth the afford. So that was a little information about me, I hope you´ve enjoyed it! 

Hendrik :)     

 

Team perspectives

Hello all,  today was a busy day. We traveled to the Doe community to hand out rice, visited the worksite, and did a short kids program in an orphanage.  Here are some perspectives of each part of the day from the  team.


Today was a good day, busy, but good. We began the day by heading to the Doe community. This community is the 7th poorest slum in Africa and 2nd poorest in Liberia.  The challenges of the Doe community are very evident, from the pools of dirty stagnant water, to the deplorable road conditions, and unsafe/unsanitary housing conditions. The Doe breaks me every time.
In the Doe we met a women who has opened her home to pregnant teens and their children.  She takes care of their needs and after they have their babies she takes care of them too. Most teens will abandone their babies after birth. As a mother I can't even imagine that level of desperation. The commitment it must take from this women to care for these teens knowing they will probably abandone their babies is a love and compassion that could only come from Christ.  The house was 12x12 and held 3 pregnant teens, the women and her husband, and 23 orphaned kids. We were able to provide them with enough rice for two weeks. It was heartbreaking to not be able to do more.  I hope we brought a little hope to that home today. There is something so humbling about feeding people. It is an honour and a blessing to provide such a necessity of life.  Please pray for the people of the Doe.
- Tania

Further into the Doe community we reached a house with five units (8X30). There was five families living there with approximately 20+ kids. We were immediately welcomed by one family and the crowd quickly grew when we pulled the camera out! These families struggle with feeding all the mouths that are living there, having no jobs or education, and the climate. We were able to bless these families with 25 bags of rice to help feed ALL of the families that lived so closely together. Just walking through the Doe community it was such a struggle to hold back all the emotions because their living conditions were so horrible. The garbage, water, dirt, and over population is not remotely touching the surface to describe what it is like to walk through the Doe. We were able to walk out happy to say we spread the love of Jesus and to give a helping hand.
- Brooke


A little "easier"experience today was visiting Dianna E. Davies orphanage. The 34 kids living there welcomed us very polite and with a smile on their faces, shaking all of our hands. One of the older kids welcomed us, another one prayed together with us and than we all sang a song together. After that Tania narrated the story of David and Goliath and the kids got to interact. It was great fun! The highlight of our visit was the tie dying afterwards. Every kid got to choose two colours and then we coloured T-shirts for and with them. Thanks to a group of Canadians, who make teddy bears by hand and donated them to us, we were able to give them to the younger kids, too. The older kids got soccer balls and socks etc. and were super happy about that. For me it was great to see the orphanage (especially after having seen the Doe community), because it was an amazing example how even in the worst situations there can be hope. Good things happen through God's grace, no matter what the circumstances might look like. (The orphanage was build 1998 during the civil war and since then became a home for a lot of kids).
- Greta



We also visited the construction site today and I was very happy to see the progress  that is being made. The workers have built many forms and were finishing casting them as we were there. Tomorrow, when the concrete is set up these forms will be removed and put up on another section of the school for more casting. Each day we are moving one step closer to having a roof !! This is very exciting for me!! Pastor Clarence has assembled an amazing construction crew this year and I am very encouraged to see the quality and the quantity of work that they do.
- Don

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

Cemenco !!!!

Hello all

Well we have completed our first week and I have some exciting news to share with you.

We have received a donation of 500 bags of cement!!!! That is 55,000 lbs of cement that has a value of approximately $4000 US!!! The cement was donated be a local cement plant named Cemenco which is a division of Heidelberg Cement. Heidelberg is the company that recently bought the cement plant in Picton where I have worked for over 10 years. I have been corresponding with Mr Gaignard, the Plant Manager of Cemenco for a couple of months and on Monday we finally had a face to face meeting. Mr Gaignard was very interested in the project and very interested in helping the people of Liberia.  It was so nice to meet a Plant Manager with such a big heart. He granted our request for 500 bags of cement and asked us to keep in touch in case there was more ways in which he could help the project. This is far beyond any answer to my prayers that I could have imagined.  I must say a huge thank you to Cemenco, Mr Gaignard, and  to Dan Fritz the Senior Vice President of Heidelberg North America who put me in touch with Mr Gaignard and recommended that our project be supported.

                                                                                                                                                 Don 

                     

               


                                 

     
                      Me and Mr Gaignard after the meeting 

                                                                                                     

TIA-This is Africa

So we are here!! I've been saying since committing to going on this trip to getting off the plane in Africa that "It hasn't hit me yet that we are going"... well it's hit me:) words can't express how awesome of a time I've already had in the first week being here! Our days consist of a lot of sweat, work, laughing, visits, EATING, and naps. We have eating a lot of foods from the African culture and  some that ...resemble some American food haha but overall VERY FILLING!
I can't imagine what we would do without our YFC team here in Liberia. They are incredible making sure we keep safe and delivering us to the places we need to go. Thank you !

So far we have been able to get to our worksite and clean out all the bush and trees with the help of our workers. It's been hot but free from rain as well so that is a blessing! Greta, Don, and I have all gotten the opportunity to ride a tricycle taxi aka a KK! Tania soon will get her opportunity! It was super fun and interesting to see the looks we were getting! Haha
We have also met with a lady named Dietta. She runs and funds the school all by herself! Taking children off the streets that can't afford school or are orphans and putting them into her free tuition school. She has such a wonderful heart and needed to be blessed for her efforts. We brought her school supplies for the kids that she teaches. We also brought our medical supplies to the local clinic. They were so greatful for the supplies. They gave us a tour of the clinic and what they do to help their people.
It's truly been a great experience so far and can't wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us!:) #TIA

Bye for now!
Brooke

We arrived

The Pearson baggage handlers stike was a concern for us leaving Toronto. We had 6 large suitcases 3 weighing in a 49lbs and 3 weighing in at 50-52lbs. We are allowed 50lbs per bag. The problem was that we could not fit anything else in our lighter bags. Needless to say we were worried when we got to the check in desk. God tipped the scales in our favour, literally. Each bag came in at 48-49.6lbs. Everything went through fine.

Our flight to Brussels was 7hrs 10min. It was an overnight flight and Don, just Don, slept the whole way. 

We arrived in Brussels and met up with Greta, who had come from Frankfort. After a quick "shower" in the airport bathroom we were ready to...wait. Our layover way just over 5hrs. 

The flight to Liberia was 7hrs long which included a stop in Sierra Leone. Beautiful place to land, the airport in on a large island surrounded by many more islands.  

From Sierra Leone it is only 40minutes to Liberia. 

The airport was its usual crowded self. Amongst the noise confusion there is still a friendly spirit about the place. 

We got our bags after a slight delay and headed into the night to meet Theo and Augustine. 

It was another 2hour drive to the compound and then to bed. 

Our home for the next 18days is very nice. 25minutes to the job site. Clean and tidy, with 2 rooms, a queen size bed in each, one pink room, one purple. The host is friendly and accommodating. The best part is that we have air conditioning from 6pm- 6am!!  I happen to have found this place on Airbnb of all places. I quess that company is world wide!  Augustine met with the owner and checked out the place. He approved so here we are!  

We are excited to walk out this mission with God leading the way.  We are been reading and doing divotions on being Bold, asking Boldly, speaking boldly, and being strong in our faith. We hope to continue to be bold in the Lord and pray that he continues to lay out our mission path clearly for his glory. 

German Dinner

Three cultures will collide on May 26th. Join us to find out more information about Liberia and an awesome German Dinner...

Being on a Mission with YFC

Greta about her experience with YFC:

As you know, if you have read the last blog post, I’m volunteering with YFC Germany. My mission trip is not to a third world country, but nevertheless it is a mission trip. What it is like to do such a thing is what this article is about.

My preparation for my time here in Canada started with a Seminar in Germany in the summer. We are over 40 young volunteers this year who serve in different countries all over the world. The YFC staff wanted to help us as much as possible with the questions, concerns and expectations we had. We talked about the differences of the cultures and also about spiritual difficulties we might face during our time. It was also helpful to be in contact with former YFC volunteers and ask them about their experiences. One thing we had to do while we were still in Germany was to apply for a Visa. Depending on the country it cost a lot of effort to get it. For example I had to wait for 3 months, cancel my flight and have an expensive medical examination before my application was approved. That time of waiting brought my trust in God to a next level. I’m not saying it was easy, actually it was a very tough time for me, because I couldn’t control what was happening and there was nothing I could do about it. But in the end my trust was rewarded.

When I was finally sitting in the plane, I told myself to have as few expectations as possible, because expectations you don’t have, can’t be underwhelmed.

A lot of the differences of the cultures that we were told about are true. They aren’t huge, but these tiny details in the mentality of people and the way they talk can be challenging sometimes. Being away from home you don’t only learn about other cultures, but you also notice what constitutes your own.

So far my experience here is very precious and I am pretty sure that I will grow a lot during the time. That is why I can definitely recommend it to go on a Mission trip with YFC. Regardless of what service you are doing, just keep in mind that it is always helpful to be honest and talk about things that are going well and things that bother you.

Greta

Meet Greta!!

Hello there! Nope, it’s not Tania writing this time. What? Who are you then? Let me shortly introduce myself. My name is Greta Rüter and I’m a German volunteer for YFC Quinte.  Home in Germany I have three older sisters, (of course) two parents and two dogs. For the next 7 months among other things I’ll support Tania with the Project in Liberia. I graduated High School in summer 2016. I always knew that I wanted to live in a different country after school to learn more about another culture. Even more important I wanted to spend a time to only serve God. I mean we serve him every day, but I wanted to really focus on that for a time. Because I like the English language and the country had always fascinated me, Canada was my first choice. I applied for the internship at YFC Germany and here I am. 6.251,14 km away from home. I arrived at the 30th of November and so far I really enjoy the country and the people. Having tried Poutine, Tim Horton’s and having watched a Hockey game (not Ice Hockey, I learned that. I mean what other Hockey is there?) I really start feeling like a Canadian, eh. The main thing I still struggle with is your bread. How can absolutely every bread in the supermarket be fluffy? Even the dark bread is fluffy. That is weird…

Ok, back to the actual topic. In the past month I read a lot about Liberia and watched some good documentaries. The story of the country and the current situation really touched my heart. Therefore I am really grateful for the work of Don & Tania and YFC and I’m looking forward to help them in any possible way. Also I am excited for the events we have planned for the next year, so stay tuned!:)

I'm the blonde one, on the right.

2017! What, What!?!

It's here!  2017, can you believe it!  This is already shaping up to be an exciting year for Liberia!  The Presidential race is on, with election set for October!  It's Canada's 150th anniversary!  We to are celebrating the kick off a year of fun, fundraising, and awareness for Liberia!  This year is going to be our best yet!  Don and I will be offering our house for rent this summer through AIRBNB, with proceeds going to the Liberia school build and our travel costs.  We will once again be hosting a dinner event this spring!  Don't miss out on our speaking events and  I think my personal favorite this year is going to be the travelling murder mystery night!  Through out the year I will be posting more info on each event.

Our goals for this year is to:

• Raise $25,000 for our mission and ongoing YFC Liberia projects.    
• To speak to more youth about the lives and situations of people in Liberia
• Bring a mission team of 10 people to Liberia this year! Woot, Woot!

On a person note, I would like to grow in my faith and focus on putting God first and not just turning to him in the hard times but praising him as well.

Discouragement and God's Plan

Hey all, we made it home!  Transit was rough, we had one flight delayed, because of that delay we missed a connecting flight. We did finally make it.

Leaving Liberia is always bitter sweat.  By the two week mark I miss my kids terribly.  I also miss hot showers and my own bed.  Then when I get home I miss my Liberian friends, the hot weather, the God based culture, and the sounds of the city.

This trip was especially difficult for myself and Don.  I had to keep reminding myself that this is God's work and through him all things are possible.  Some times God calls to do things that are really hard to do.  I am tired, I have been fundraising for Liberia for four years now.  I think about this project almost daily.  I have had many moments where I want to give up.  It is hard not feeling supported by the people you think would be most supportive.  It is hard having people telling you that your not equipped to do this.  It is hard having people question what your doing and why your doing it.  What is NOT hard is being in Liberia.  What is NOT hard is being among-st the people you love and in the country God has put on your heart.  We are so supported by our friends at YFC.  Don and I are so blessed to be involved with an organization that believes in people.  God reveals himself to us all the time when we are in Liberia.  This time was no exception.  We were able to accomplish more on the school then we thought possible.  We hired over a dozen Liberians and made some great connections with other missionaries from North America.  We also were able to provide Joshua's organization with a skill that will help fund the work he is doing and have formed a great partnership and friendship.

The goal of the project is to finish the school build, build a caretaker home, and a guesthouse, and to leave Liberia YFC and the school self sufficient.  I feel like we now have a solid plan for all those things to happen and have laid the ground work for success.  I am so encouraged to keep going!  So here's to another year of fundraising and speaking to as many people as possible about my second home, Liberia!  

 - Tania

Sights from Liberia

Finding vines to use as rope for carrying wood bundles.  These boys are local to our school project.  One of the four attends school.  They were collecting wood using machetes.  They will burn the wood to make charcoal.  Charcoal sells for $350 Liberian dollars ($3US) for a large bag.  The average wage is $2 / day US.

Kieran and Don riding down Brewerville Back Bush rd.  The road our project is on.  I did it once and my thighs are still burning from the experience lol

Local roads are not well maintained and are very damaged during the rainy season.  Main paved roads are better but still eroding and badly damaged. 

Kay Kay (covered motorcycles) They are all over Monrovia.  Passengers pack in 4 in the back.

  

These boys were in ELWA (where we are staying) selling bags.  The littlest one's name is Ellis,  He is working hard at 13 yrs old.  They were very excited to get their picture taken

This is a family home that is marked to be demolished by the Ministry of Public works. We have seen this often in Liberia. There is a law here that if the house is built too close to the road or if the government needs the land for a right of way they will demolish part or all of the house. If the case is that the government needs the land they will give the family a little money for relocation. If the house is built to close to the road then it is demolished with no compensation.

Rest Day

Kieran - Yesterday me and my dad went to Mr. Joshua's house and got to play chest and checkers.  We went to a village and on the way we saw a lot of kids.  They really wanted to meet me but they were afraid of me.  At the village there were these three kids that were so scared of me.  The oldest girl shook my hand but the boy hid his face in his shirt.  He would peek out and if I looked at him he would hide in his shirt again.  The boy led us to a farm.  There were a long long field of crops planted all by hand.  There was a lady that lived on the farm, she asked me if I could ask all my friends and family to donate farming supplies.  I felt very bad for them because they work so hard.  It made me think that compared to Canada they have very tough lives.  It was very wet everywhere because it had just finished raining.  We went through a path that led through the whole village, all the paths where full of rain.  Then we had to leave and head home.  We pick up Mr. Joshua's girls from school in Mr. Joshua's really big truck!  I got to ride on the very back of the truck all the way home.  At home I climbed coconut tree and all most  made it to the top.  I am trying to grab a coconut!  

Tania - Well I was at the compound all day yesterday.  I was suppose to take medical supplies to a hospital yesterday, but TIA (this is Africa).  Instead I spent the day with our cook O'Neal. 

 We went for a walk up to the Ebola treatment compound.  The tents from the makeshift hospital are still here,  most are falling into disrepair.  The compound is very large with many large tents and a safety fence surrounding it.  To know that this compound was the hot spot of Ebola treatment only a short 15 months ago is pretty surreal.  The medical teams have come and gone, the cases of Ebola a dwindling, yet this area will remain as a reminder of that time.  It is like everything in Liberia.  There is change and progress but the reminders of hard times and the fragility of life are all around.

Don- Well I have been here 17 days now and I have been blessed with so many great experiences. Living with Joshua and his family was truly a great experience. I got be a part of a Liberian family and experience the daily struggles that make living difficult here in Liberia. I was inspired to work with Joshua and his boys building the brick mold. Two of the older guys there fought on the opposite side of Joshua and he said that they used to shoot at each other. Now they live to and work together for the common goal of ending violence in Liberia and rebuilding the country. Language was a barrier but God really helped us to all understand each other through kind gestures and translating our respective Englishes for each other.

Yesterday Kieran and I got to hangout with Joshua and share some cool experiences of farming life in rural Liberia. It was crazy to see how many crops that they planted, all by hand. The whole community comes together and works the fields and everyone benefits from the crops. I was very happy to be able to share this with Kieran and be able to show him how life may not be easy here but when people come together for a common goal they can accomplish great things.    

Work Day!

Work Day

We had a great day on the worksite and despite the rain we got much accomplished. We moved bricks, and continued the digging of the well. The masons are continuing to work on the walls and are doing great!
Don

Kieran moving mortar

Digging a well

Clarence helping out

We have begun!

We got to the work site today.  It was so nice to see the guys and our head mason Clarence.  Rossini came by to say "Hi"  he is our Liberian friend living near the work site.  Rossini travels to the US often.  He called us this winter from North Dakota to tell us it was very cold! LOL
The guys were great with Kieran.  They showed him how to lay blocks and mix cement.  He will be lugging head pans and water buckets starting Monday.  You have to work your way up to mason Kieran!

Working Hard

Here are some great pics of the guys working with Don.  The machine is completed and we will be heading to Joshua's today to see it!  Don will be spending another day next week at Joshua's tweaking the machine and working with the guys on anything else they need.

We Have Arrived

Kieran and I have landed in Liberia!  We arrived late last night after a very long couple of flights.  It was so nice leaving the airport and seeing our Liberian friends and of course Don.  Kieran and I must have been pretty jet lagged, we both slept until noon!  We are staying at ELWA compound right on the Ocean.  It's beautiful!  We had air conditioning all night!  Don, Kieran, and I explored the beach a little today.  Kieran got to see a traditional fishing boat and some wild life.  I'll let him tell you more.  Well that all from me today.  Tomorrow we will be heading to Joshua's house to see Don's brick machine.  Should be a good day.

- Tania



Kieran here.  The trip getting to Africa was long and tiring, but I got to watch movies on the plane so that was great!  The first thing I noticed when we got off the plane was how hot it was.  There were lots and lots of people.  It was very exciting seeing Daddy and Augustine.
Today we Mommy and I slept until noon.  We got up and had lunch and walked along the beach.  We saw lots of crabs and lizards with orange and black bodies!  Daddy and I went for a walk and saw a old cracked fishing boat.  It was about 14' long.  Things are going really well.  I got to ply Dominos today too.

- Kieran

From the trentches

When I say "from the trentches". I'm not referring to Liberia or Don. I mean from my home. People often don't realize that being left at home when your spouse is on a mission is really difficult. Don is away serving the Lord, doing what he is called to do. Gods got him. He is making a difference to people and working hard to do so. This is when satan turns his attention to the people at home. I wonderful missionary I know once said, "the worse things are for the people at home the bigger the impact your making away". He didn't say this to encourage devastation at home. He spoke the truth. Again this isn't always the case but for me it is. Every time I've been left at home while Don is on a mission it has been awful!  Last time an ice storm hit in April, my van broke down, I had no water for three days, and all the kids got sick. I was so busy praying for Don and trying to keep it together that I had frogotten about myself. My need for prayer and for support. This time there has been no ice storm or major repairs, praise the Lord!  The struggles are still there and although they may be different but the medication for them is always the same. Prayer and support. So, please pray for those left behind. I know of a few mission teams heading out soon and these teams will need prayer. Just don't forget those left behind, pray, support, make a meal, have a coffee with them, be positive, and keep encouraging them.  As RedGreen would say "we are all in this together"

A quick Don update too. Don is doing well he is working with a dozen young men and they are about 75% done building their first brick machine. All materials have been purchased and the machine will be complete by Monday!  T

Meet Kieran

Kieran is 8 years old and my middle son. He's a wonderful, kind, gentle child, and he will be heading to Liberia this November!  I'm so excited to share this experience with Kieran. Along with Don and myself, Kieran will be helping in construction of the school. Kieran will also have opportunities to participate in sports activities (soccer) with local children and visit a local Christian school. Kieran has been waiting to go to Africa for years and was so brave in preparing for this journey. He took his shots, all 7 of them, like a champ!  Along with his siblings, Kieran has sold apples, gone door to door, and helped out at our yard sale. All to help raise money for this worthy cause. It has been so exciting to see all the kids working together!  I can't wait to see what lies ahead for Kieran! 

"Please sponsor me so that I may accomplish great things for the people of Africa.  God is calling me to go to Africa so I need to listen".      

- Kieran

To sponsor Kieran please donate online through QYFC.com  

or call tel:613-969-0471

Liberia 2016 Update

Hello everybody, 

With summer coming to an end and the new school year starting we are kicking the Liberia mission into high gear, so I thought I would give an update of what is happening.

This November we will be returning to Liberia. We will be travelling as a small group this year which will consist of my lovely wife Tania, our 8 year old son Kieran and myself. Kieran is super excited to be travelling with us and his caring nature and good work ethic will be a great asset to the mission. Although we are a small team I trust that God will do mighty works through us.

I will be travelling to Liberia the first week in November. In my first week in country I will be preparing the construction site for the upcoming work and assembling our work crew. As well I will be working with Joshua Milton Blahyi (aka former General Butt Naked) and the group of war affected youth that he is mentoring. I will be teaching Joshua and his boys welding/ fabricating skills and how to build a clay brick press that I have designed. The clay brick press dramatically reduces the cost of construction.

Tania and Kieran will join me the second and third week in November where we will continue with construction on the school project and try to support as many of YFC Liberia's programs as possible.

We ask for your prayers and support in our fundraising efforts. We are currently renting out our house through Airbnb with proceeds going towards the mission and have raised $4000 to date. We are also starting our letter writing campaign and are trusting that God will provide the funds to accomplish the work that He has laid out for us in Liberia.

As always your prayers and support are greatly appreciated, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or just would like some more info on the mission or Liberia. If you are interested, donations can be made through qyfc.com

Blessings

Don