Hey friends,

Today is our last day - but I found continued conection to the people ad the country. this morning we had a quick breakfast and headed accross town to one of the larger churches in Libreville. We again were given seats of honors (up on the stage). The worship was lively and extremely enjoyable - even with the language barrier. The church celebrated a couple new pastors, a new baby and even the first Gabonese surgeon. Afterwards we had a Leboneese lunch with the Straws - great friends from years ago, who are running the guest house and waiting for a plane to arive in October. Steve will connect the country in a whole new way. After lunch we headed to the beach for one last round of beach soccer with about 10 young guys and some great waves. Gabon is a beautiful country and the people are friendly. Today I also needed to say goodbye to my new friend Martin - our driver earlier this week. I am looking forward to home and sharing our journey. This has been a great chapter in our lives.

Watch for more pictures and a time to share -- thanks for praying!

Peace,

Pastor Scott

Greetings from Gabon! Today part of our team spent the better part of our day serving with a mobil medical clinic. Again and again I am amazed at how and where God meets us. I spent the better part of an hour talking with Will, who thankfully spoke english. He told me that he was a primary teacher at Bongolo back in 2005. He asked me this question with great intensity " whey is it that you and your American group come all the way over the ocean to my country of Gabon to tell my people of Jesus' story? What makes you want to come? Wow, what an opening-- so I told Will the Readers Digest version of my story. Ispoke of the love and freedom, the forgiveness the grace I have been given in Jesus and how that is for all men, weither in Africa, America or anywhere else in the world. I also shared our belief that Jesus commands us to take His message into the world, and so Love and obedience compels us! Will told me that God has given him a dream to go around the world and share the message of as well!!! He wants to improve his english and see where God takes him. God IS amazing-----have to sign off it is way to late! Anita

P.S. Finally got down how to say God Bless You in French---there is hope for me yet!!!!

Medical Clinic and Soccer Game

Hey everyone,

Today we helped with a Medical Clinic. We worked with a team that got it's start with the money given towards Project 123 at Life 2007. Some of us helped with the general clinic and the others worked with the eye specialist clinic. I (Matt) got to work in the eye clinic and would make sure that the patients paid the small fee for an examination and medication. Jacob got the difficult job of writing down their names in the clinics register (and they don't have names like John Smith). They set up a vision chart and I was amazed whenever some people couldn't read the chart and the examiner had to start taking steps toward them and some couldn't even see the man standing six feet in front of them. I couldn't believe they were able to walk into the room. It really opens your eyes (no pun intended) to how much we take for granted.

This afternoon we went with our driver, Martin, to see his 21 year old son play soccer. It was a small dirt field with fans surrounding it: some beating on random objects in a musical fashion, others just watching from atop abandoned cars. It was neat to watch the game and even see our favorite player (well the only one we knew) getting interviewed after the game.

Keep us in your prayers,

The Gabon Team

Beach Day

8/6/2009

Today was a pretty laid back day for the whole team. We got to sleep in a little bit this morning and then we were off to the Sainta Claira Beach. The trip was said to be about 45 minutes, but over the course of this week we have learned that Gabon time is nothing like real time. So the trip really lasted like an hour and a half with a quick pit stop at the Hope House's new grounds. Pretty soon they will start build a new home for the children that the Pastor and his wife have taken in. The only problem is that the land boundries are unclear as to where they start and end so until that problem is resolved nothing can move forward. After seeing the new land, we made our way not this dreadful dirt trail that seemed to lead to nowhere and had massive craters in the ground that we had to dodge. We were all over the place. There came a point when our 18 passenger van got suck on a huge hill and everybody had to get out and push the van to the top. Luckly it was not that far. After that long journey we made it to this beautiful beach. We had a wonderful time at the beach all afternoon. There was a really sweet coral reef where we found tons of really neat animals like sea urchins, hermit crabs and some great coral. The waves were really big and really powerful. We had a great time playing soccer and exploring a really neat cove. It was really sweet and we all had a wonderful time. Tonight for dinner we had some really neat food from the street. It was a great grilled chicked with this great sauce that they grill on the streets everywhere down here. Okay... well that is about all for today.

Much Love!

The Gabon Team

Written by: Livia

Ndjole

Hola. Adios. Uhhh....just kidding. But seriously, my favorite saying has become Bonjour mon ami! :) So with the Internet down for the past long time, you haven't heard about our trip to Ndjole. We were supposed to stay in a preschool school house but through a miracle straight from the gates of Heaven, we stayed as guests in the mayor's house while he was away on vacation. Which means working toilets and "showers", air conditioning (in one room), and a kitchen. The house was a mansion compared to normal Gabonese homes. I did in fact shower in the river one day, a very stretching experience.

At the site, we dug the whole water line in one day but the next day in church, Pastor Phillipe announced that one woman, actually her husband, didn't like where the line was and the church, not us, had to move about a quarter of the line. It was cool how the church took on a good attitude just to keep their good witness to the neighbors.

Right now I'm actually playing Euchre. We're meeting some fun people. Earlier we went to the market and there we bought presents for the family...and for myself. I bought a dress that's more like tent. It's hugo gynormous- Pastor Scott and I could probably fit in it. It was fun bargaining (Jake calls it hustling...) because I love a good bargain.

Love ya family and see you all soon cause it's over halfway done... P.S. Please continue to pray for us and for our health- that none of us continue to vomit and that our stomachs settle.

PERSONAL post for Bob Bliss

Anita asks: Did you contact HR about keeping Benjamin on our insurance because if not, then you need to call. Because August 2nd, it was supposed to happen. Love honey bunny! Smooch smooch, kiss kiss.

Hey it's Jake,

Africa is nothing like any place I've ever been. The culture is so very different from what im use to. So far the language barrier for me has been hard. I speak no french and my years of studying spanish dont help at all over here. I am a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. Even though I can't talk to the Gabaniese effectively by simply working side by side with the villagers I feel I am having an impact. Our first day we dug a waterline for the church and the pastor's family. All went well and with the help of many others it was completed in a full day. The next morning I began to feel sick and decided to try and work through the pains in our morning work day. At lunch I didn't eat and began to throw up pretty regularly. I found myself in Africa, with intense stomach pains and dehydration. Regardless, through out my life I have found that when I am weak God reminds me that he is strong. It's a powerful reminder that the Lord is always by our side. I couldn't hold any food for 36 hours but am now finally starting to eat bread and am feeling stronger. Now I am thankful for good health more than ever. So far so good and I am looking forward to visiting the Hope House (orphanage) later today...

Monday and Tuesday

I am going to give you a blog update on the last two days, Monday and Tuesday.

Monday
This morning we went to the bakery to get some fresh bread and we had breakfast. Then we headed down to the church at nine to work inside, doing some tile work and recoating walls. We dug the drain line for the septic tank, in and out of the septic tank. Sort of a short morning , but we interacted with the plumber. We had some of our team members started to feel not feel too well with an upset stomach and nausea, so we had to leave them at home. After some prayer and rest today, they are feeling much better. During the day we taught some of the Gabonese people of the church how to do kitchen tile, and we did more plumbing. In the evening we had an amazing dinner made by the ladies of the church. Fried chicken, a whole fish, and mantioch in three different ways. (We had it fermented, non-fermented, and mashed.)
So it was a good day, a little trying on. We still have no Internet access.


Tuesday
We decided that we would leave Ndjole at noon, so we worked this morning. We finished the septic tank work, covered the line, and finished plumbing the drain- setting the box outside the building. We spent some time bartering with the plumber to how much we were going to pay him for all of the plumbing work, and that went really well. We said goodbye to some really special people, there are some great friends in Ndjole. We stopped at the equator and got some pictures there. We met some funny people there, a guy who hangs out at the equator waiting to get a picture with groups and then asks for money. We got back to Leaberville in good time. We met with a team that is here from Langley, Washington State. So we spent some time getting to know each other- it was an excellent time of prayer and fellowship this evening. So things are good. Tomorrow we will be heading to the orphanage, and we are looking forward to that.

August 2nd

Hello
Here is a recap of today:
We got up early this morning, at six o’clock. There was a baptismal service this morning at 6:30 down along the river. Four people were baptized and it was a great celebration. Singing and testimonies, it was a wonderful thing. We got some fresh bread from the bakery, and ate breakfast. Then we were off to church at nine. Church was a lot of fun: energetic worship, wonderful people, and I preached on Jonah. And our team sang and led a worship song. So it was a great morning.
We did hear that some of our work from yesterday had been recalled because one of the house owners said that we could not go through their property. So this afternoon, some men from the church moved about 50 meter of the work that we had done yesterday, because it had to be redone. But everything has been going well. The plumber was in and did some work so that we can press forward in getting running water to the church and the pastor’s house.
Ben and I helped lay the pastors floor in the living room. We spent about two hours exploring Enjoli seeing a logging mill and meeting lots of folks.
A highlight of the week so far- as we drive through the town in our open pickup truck the Africans like to point at us and take pictures of the tourists driving through their town. It’s been a really great time with the team and there has been good conversation. Tonight we learned about the translator’s new ministry called HIV Hope, which he started in Gabon where he works with people with HIV.
We had a very good day, with lots of great things going on. Everyone is healthy and doing well. If you could send that message on that would be great. Say hello to anyone that you should say hello to.
~a recording from Scott Wakeley

August 1st

Hey
Its Scott, it is about one o’clock your time, just before seven our time. We are using a cellular phone and somehow we can blog it.
We made it safe into Gabon on Thursday night late. We met a man on the plane who was part of the missions to the United Nations, so he helped us through customs and all. It was a huge blessing! We made it to the Brokov’s home safely (the missionary family). We slept, got up at nine, and gathered our things. Then we had a four hour drive down to Enjoli. Here, we met the pastor and unloaded the supplies. Then the mayor of Enjoli invited us to stay at his home, which was a really nice place. And we got to pile on the floor and some beds. There were no mosquitoes!
We are safe.
Today, we worked all day today digging a water line(about 200 meters long) and covered it. We did some shopping and had some lunch. It has been going very, very well.
After dinner, we got to go down to the river and take showers.
It has been a very good trip. Everyone is healthy. We miss you. If you could let people know that we don’t have Internet.
Tomorrow morning we have church, and I will speak about Jonah. We will be doing some special music and sharing some testimonies. In the afternoon we will be meeting with elders for a question and answer time, and spending the day with the church family. I think Jacob will be giving a testimony. We will try to call again tomorrow night to give an update.

No Internet in Gabon

hello everyone,
Just so that all of you know the situation that is at hand: there is no Internet access in Gabon at this time. So every time there is a new post on this blog site, it is not written by one of the seven team members in Gabon. It is told to through a voicemail (phone message) and sent to me, and I type it up, so I might mess up in the listening-typing process and the spelling.
~ Rebecca

July 29,2009

We made it safely to New York. We're on the plane now waiting to take off on an 8 hour flight to Casa Blanca. Pray for continued safety and that hearts will be prepared to share God's love. Thanks - Heather

(at 7:40 pm)

GET IT UNDER 49....

Packing the morning before our departure, we all started to experience a closer estimation of how the team will be working together. We spent time amassing our luggage into all of our bags, doling out who would have what food in which bag. We're bringing a good amount of eatables, considering how expensive Libreville is in terms of expenses. Some luggage was stuffed with explodable bags of cereal, some with large containers of suspiciously powdered gatorade (please, customs, be nice to us), and other with, well, the rest of our food. We've planned our departure tomorrow down to the dot, and have about 3 hours of safety time to account for possible traffic or cavity searches at the airport (not an actual pasttime of our student missions trips). Keep us in your prayers as we begin our way to Africa and into the struggles of airline travel.





-TEAM GABON!

Team Profile: Olivia Krebs

Olivia Krebs

Age: 16
Grade: 11
About Me: This is my first time time out of the country and I am very excited. I have four younger brothers. I row for my schools crew team and enjoy reading.

Team Profile: Ben Bliss

Ben Bliss

Age: 19
Grade: College sophmore
About Me: I'm a carefree kinda guy, and I love the arts. Being a musician, I love being creative with music and rythm and harmonies. The biggest thing that I'm looking forward to enjoying in Gabon will be the presence of my mother. :)

Team Profile: Anita Bliss

Anita Bliss

Age: 43...I think
Grade: I act like I'm in 5th
About Me: I have 5 words to describe myself: funny, thrifty, shallow (JUST KIDDING), intense, and active. To expand on thrifty, I was at Goodwill to get skirts for this trip, and the sizes ranged through small, medium, extra larga, and double-extra large. We'll just say that I wrap the skirts around my body a bunch of times. :) I am highly dependent on coffee and I love naps.

Team Profile: Scott Wakeley

Scott Wakeley

Age: Ancient
Grade: New Moses
About Me: When asked how would I describe myself, my first thoughts were playful and stunning. But seriously, if I can be, I am secretly a Russian gymnast. I love life, activity, and movement. Other than being a pastor, I'm a husband, father, coach, and cheerleader. I'm just really looking forward to hanging out with people in Gabon.

Team Profile: Matt Bogolin

Matt Bogolin

Age: 18
Grade: College freshman
About Me: I love playing sports and working with kids and serving God (every once and a while I can do all three at the same time). I love traveling to other countries and have been on two of ACAC's Guatemala trips. I would love to serve Jesus internationally in the future and am excited to go to Gabon to serve Him among a new group of people and a new culture.

Team Profile: Heather Wakeley

Heather Wakeley

Age: 17 and 340 something days
Grade: 12th
About Me: I'm not much for describing myself, but...I love kids, sports, smiling, to do lists, cooking, and most of all God. I've been called to missions ever since my early years of listening to missionaries come to our church. Recently, I've been really called to teaching while on the missions field.

Team Profile: Jacob Turnbull

Jacob Turnbull


Age:19
Grade: College sophomore
ABout Me: I am attending WVU, enjoy not being injured and love horses. Its been a while since I have been on a missions trip and I can't wait to experience Africa. This trip will be a great oppertunity for me to reflect on God's goodness and to serve others.

Trip Activities

Upon arrival in Gabon, our team will embark on a series of missions activities and service projects. The following loose outline of our schedule has been provided by the organization that is leading our trip:

~A Moving Medical Clinic- supplying primary care and the possibilities of a vbs with the children. Our time is fairly loose, and will allow us to interact with the locals in different ways

~The Hopehouse Orphanage- Interacting with children in the orphanage and loving on them. Sharing the word of God, helping in whatever way we can, and just being the light shining through to them.

~Physical Labor!- Digging a ditch for our host, Pastor Phillipe, that will run to the church and provide better plumbing for the surrounding facilities. Our efforts in the sun should help provide his family's living quarters with a shower and toilet.
Additionally, we hope to improve the roofing of the church, providing a shelter out of tin roofing to better accommodate the church body.

Specifics of our physical labors are pretty vague still, so we're trusting in God that our faithful service will help fulfil his will for our trip. Our trip will centralize around these large activities, giving us a focus to better aim our service. Further details will be posted later for more prayer opportunities.