Who is Knocking at Our Door?

In LIBERIA, Gary and I live with the Glaybo family who have so graciously opened up their home to us: we are a part of their extended family of ten! Enoch and Doris Glaybo have even given us their own bedroom for as long as we need it.

The Glaybo home is permeated with the presence of God; joy ripples everywhere. It is that joy of the Lord that attracts people to our home. It’s fun visiting with everyone, especially since we have Doris and Enoch to filter those calls. “Who is knocking at our door?” they ask. Then we sit and talk.

Let me put some faces on those people. Two young girls walk shyly up to me, their eyes filled with anticipation, to ask if they can have the old pair of sunglasses I have thrown in the garbage. They giggle with delight when I say, “Yes!”

An old wrinkled ‘medicine lady’, with a big smile and a strong hug, sits on the porch bench beside me so we can chat and laugh together.

A slender teenager, dressed in very stylish American clothes, asks me to take a walk with her.

A middle aged woman, with a basin of food on her head, stops by as I am cooking on my coal pot, to let me know she did not see me at the market today.

A troupe, chanting death wails and holding up a photo of one beaten to death by an angry mob, dances in front of me, asking for a donation.

An evangelist drives for several hours on a torn up dirt road, to ask Gary and Enoch, Doris and I if we can help him disciple the new believers in his town and nearby village.

JESUS SAYS in Matthew 9:37 “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Our friends in LIBERIA need Jesus; they need the joy of the Lord! Can you as an INDIVIDUAL help Gary and Ruth Luukkonen go back to Liberia by a MONTHLY donation? Can you pledge $25 or more a month?

3 comments March 25th, 2008

Step by Step Up the Mountain

The picture here is of Gary and our son Timothy hiking up a mountain, step by step, side by side. This scene reminds me of God’s faithfulness. God is always there walking with us, empowering us for whatever steps we must climb to get to the top of our mountain. The top of the mountain for Gary and me is LIBERIA. The steps are many and steep, but God is faithful to walk with us each step of the climb.

Part of those steps this past month has been related to Gary’s job—–the uncertainty of when the job will end, where to go next while waiting to go back to LIBERIA, and a sudden transfer to California which did not turn out. During this time, Gary caught a violent strain of flu which turned into pneumonia. He is sick in bed.

At this point in time our trailer home is in storage, and we are living with my sister Carol and her husband Buzz. They both felt that God wanted them to help us get to Liberia sooner, by providing a free place to live. And a boy named Owen from a small Christian church, gave us his double bed. Isn’t God good? Step by step and side by side He walks with us, leading the way!

2 comments March 14th, 2008