Here is a note from missionaries RVC support in Liberia. Currently Ebola is ravaging the country. Our missionaries will be with us on August 10th. We strongly encourage you to pray for them and make it a priority to greet them when they are with us.
Red Village Church,
We are extending our 6 week stay to at least 6 months. The Ebola virus epidemic is absolutely out of control in Liberia. Two of our American co-workers working at ELWA hospital have contracted the virus and are in isolation on ELWA. The woman, Nancy, also with SIM, was probably my closest friend in Liberia apart from my mother-in-law. The doctor, Kent, we also knew fairly well. His wife and I are in the same Bible study and we attended the same spiritual life conference/mini-vacation a few months ago. We are devastated by this news.
Liberia is closing most of its borders. Other SIM families that are left are being evacuated. One man burned the Ministry of Health conference room down because he believes MOH and foreigners are the cause of the Ebola virus. Also, as Samaritan’s Purse people were driving a victim of Ebola to be buried in a town, the ambulance was attacked and the people in the ambulance were attacked, being cut with machetes. I don’t think any SP people were injured during the attack and got away. The attackers didn’t want the health care workers entering their village to bury this people because they believe any time a health care worker leaves a community, Ebola pops up.
Doctors and nurses are terrified to go to work. Many of the hospitals are shutting down including the hospital and clinic in Voinjama where we live. The health care workers don’t have protective gear. Right before we left, Samaritan’s Purse tried to reach out to the Voinjama hospital to help set up an isolation unit. The people refused, saying if they did anything like that, they’d just burn it down. SP director and his wife then called our SIM personnel coordinator and suggested we be evacuated from Voinjama. Thankfully, at that point, we were only a couple days away from leaving Voinjama anyway. Where will women go now to have their babies? How will people with malaria and typhoid and other things get treatment? People will not only be dying of Ebola now, but many many more will die because there is practically no access to healthcare.
Please please pray for our friends Kent and Nancy and for the two American doctors (who are also our co-workers and very good friends of ours) who are caring for them. Honestly, the prognosis is grim. This experience has been nothing short of traumatic for us and our friends on ELWA.
We are still planning on coming to Red Village on August 10th. We are truly looking forward to it and definitely don’t want to put it off, but wanted you to know what is going on so you all aren’t surprised when we come and are sorrowful.