Only cause I can't help it

In Liberia, this past time, I hardly took out my camera at all.  Really I'm just the worst at remembering to take pictures.  We had Amy on our team take pictures, and I just got them yesterday! Which is why I am especially excited today because I get to share a few more with you.  Amy and I sat at my kitchen table for quite a while yesterday filtering through them.  She had about 2,500 pictures, of which we narrowed down to 300 to put into a facebook album, and then I just randomly picked a few to put up on this blog because I couldn't possibly try to pick the top 10.  That'd be nearly impossible for me.

I'll try my best to explain them as we go along:

We met these little guys on a walk around the property where we were holding our leadership conference.

The Leadership Conference in action.  Hogan is going over Self-Leadership.

We gave all the participants a certificate  for completing each 3 day course.  If you look very carefully you can see that  I signed all the certificates.  Oh my goodness.

This girl on the left is singing her heart out at church on Sunday.

Pastor Robert (on the left) asked me to sing too.  I told him there was no way I could  sound as good as his choir, but  he had me do it anyways.  I sang Revelation Song.

The foliage in Liberia is AWESOME

The night before we watched, "The Gods must be Crazy", and the next day the ladies  made us cake...

Aaron, my buddy, gettin jiggie with it

My skirt got about a million prickery things in it, and these boys were helping a sister out.  They call the prickery  things homework... kinda funny

Liberia Video Blog

Now that we're home from Liberia I've had a chance to upload all the little videos I've taken over the past couple weeks. Several of them are completely pointless as you'll find out, but at least they're short so you'll only have to sit through the pointless ones for a few seconds to get to the other ones that have a little bit more purpose behind them. Either way, I hope you enjoy them. I'll put them in chronological order here:

Here is Amy Lyford, who has contributed to this blog quite a bit this go around.  Here is her reaction 17 seconds into the trip.




Here we are just taking a drive through town on our way to go do some planning for our upcoming seminars.  



On our first day of Leadership Training Dave Bearchell taught on the "Diamond Life" Personal Leadership Idea, and had Jonathan help him teach segments of it.  Here we see Jonathan's bundle of nerves on display, or his he kidding?



The evil smirk on my face is because I realize that Rodney never voluntarily jumps in front of the camera. We have to make him, just to prove that he came with us.  Rodney is the President of Service to Servants which is the organization that has brought to life every Liberia project that we've thought to do this far.  Otherwise this short video is one of the most pointless in the bunch.



Here we are Erica, Zac, and I on Friday afternoon looking for a place to get some gifts for people back home in downtown Monrovia. Just ignore the hot mess that is my hair.



Here we are: Miatta, Erica, Amy and I in the backseat coming back from Diana Davies Orphanage where we spent some of our free time.  A few years ago we went their to install a generator, and we at least wanted to touch base with them while we were in town.



The Friday that we were flying out to go back to Atlanta, Dave, Jonathan, Erica, and I stopped by THINK to visit the kids that I had met a few years ago.  Here's a short little hello from them to you.



Dave is so good with these kids it's ridiculous.  These kids at this organization are all rescued from abusive situations, many of them have been traumatized, but Dave bring a light to these kids that's unexplainable.  Here he is discussing their kickball game.



Crazy to think I taught these kids this song 2 1/2 years ago, and they still remember it.  We took a group picture, and then they started to sing.  I couldn't help but video it.



Here is the last video I got in Liberia. It's a goodbye song from the kids at THINK.

In getting ready to go to Liberia again next month, I can help but reminisce on what my first trip to Liberia was like.  I had just come home from my first trip out of the country ever, 3 months living in Swaziland, Africa, and I was a mess, and I asked God to connect me with some other people that cared about Africa.

Stories from Around the World

Last week we had a party to celebrate all that God has done in the past year, globally, in Water's Edge.

100 People have gone out on 11 trips, and raised over $200,000.

I'd say its worth partying about!

I caught a few stories on video. They're a little rough, but I hope you enjoy them.

Guatemala Story: Jonathan from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Liberia Story: Amy from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Haiti Story: Kerry from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Liberia

So today I have come back from Liberia for a second time. 2 years ago I would have never guessed it, but what can I say? My life has become kinda ridiculous in a good way. I went to Africa this time with some of my favorite people in the whole world. It was an excellent trip. Today, I have just taken as much time as possible to rest before school starts up again on Tuesday. We all definately poured ourselves out and came back exhausted, but I like it that way. It will take me at least a few days to get acclimated to this time zone, this culture, and my "real life". Right now though, I've been home less then 24 hours. I've slept almost half that time, and I'm still partly in Africa. Give me a couple more days and I'll really be back.

Here's a story. God has grown my view of intercession.

I have had the incredible experience of going to Liberia two years in a row now. Last year Belynn, Stacey, Emily and I went with Orphan Relief and Rescue to one of the worst ophanages in Liberia. It really was horrendous. There was just an old woman taking care of nearly 60 kids. They slept side by side on dirty moldy mattresses. There was not a toy,or even a color in sight other then the bright green trees and the old charished American clothes that each child wore. They were children with parasites in their toes and almost no loving discipline or schooling. A child without an education has extremely limited potential in any place in the world. Liberia is no exception. We spent just a couple hours there giving them "new" clothes and playing and singing with them. After a brutal civil war, and being labeled one of the poorest counties in the world there are certain people that have no voice-- the orphans.

They had no voice and no hope. All we had done for them is give them new T-Shirts, and what does that really do? We did also pray for them, and that is what this story is about--the power of prayer. God communicates and moves mightily through prayer. He brings hope to the hopeless. I remember praying that God would be their Father, and their provider, and that he would give them an education.

Here we are in 2009 praying over the kids at this orphanage.

THIS IS MY GOD

"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless... You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." Psalm 10:14,17-18

This year, while we were once again driving the streets outside of Monrovia, I kept my eyes open for the orphanage that we had gone to the year before. We drove past it a couple of times before I recognized it. The dingy grey cement walls had been painted bright white and red. There was a large logo painted on the front wall, and a new swing set was out in the front. Later when I talked with Andrew from Orphan Relief and Rescue, he told me that now a woman has come in there and started a school for the children. I hardly recognized it when I saw it because it had changed so much. God brought them hope.

It took me until the car ride back to the house to put two and two together, and realize what had happened. God answered my prayers! Last year that orphanage was so hopeless and so far gone that all we knew how to do was pray, and God responded. God gave me the gift of seeing that answered prayers with my own eyes.

While in Liberia, we ministered to the abused, the orphan and the poor, and we found that Jesus was there greeting us into his home with them.

Here's some video's from this year's trip: Enjoy!

Too many hours spent in the Airport... from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Layover in Chicago from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Avatar in Chicago from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Brussel's Airplane Food from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.

Spider Hunting "The Kracken" from Danielle Williams on Vimeo.