Hawa

The crew on the Anastasis may not be able to leave the ship due to some unrest in Monrovia, but that doesn't keep them from doing what they are there to do. The surgeries began last week and here is a before and after photo of seven year old Hawa.

Note to the squeamish: the before photo is difficult to look at, but unfortunately it was a reality to this beautiful 7 year old girl.

Scott is back on the ship as a photographer. If you want to read Scott's up to date stories about what is going on with Mercy Ship's go here.

Liberia's still waiting

The presidential elections took place last week but the people of Liberia will have to wait for the results.

It appears that the first ever elected African female president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has won, defeating opponent George Weah. The elections were peaceful and well monitored. It seems Mr. Weah is not happy with the results and has called for an investigation into the process. He has asked his supporters, many ex-combatants, to remain peaceful while the investigation is going on.

Last Friday there were clashes with his supporters and the UN soldiers near the American Embassy.

The BBC reports :

In light of the persistent street protests, which are causing panic among citizens... resulting in intermittent closures of schools and business houses, government can no longer allow this situation to continue," interim leader Gyude Bryant said in an address to the nation.

"Government will not under any circumstances accept a situation where some citizens decide to hold the rest of the country hostage because they do not agree with a particular issue or course of action," he said.

Mr Weah has urged his supporters - who include many former combatants - to remain calm. But a CDC party official warned that if Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf is declared the winner, there will be "resistance".

Please continue to pray for peace in Liberia. The ship is there now and the crew have limited shore leave while the investigation is happening.

Liberia's 'Iron lady' claims win

Results from Tuesday's election in Liberia are coming in and it appears that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has won. Her opponent, George Weah, is claiming that the election was fraudulent. Please continue to pray for peace in Liberia as the results become final.

Link: BBC NEWS Africa Liberia's 'Iron lady' claims win

Liberia is ready

Link: Liberia 'ready' for post-war poll

This Tuesday is Liberia's presidential run-off, the first after the end of 14 years of war. So far the process has been peaceful and orderly. Please pray that will continue and that the right person will be elected to lead this country in a critical time.


Ex-football star George Weah is facing Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf - seeking to be Africa's first elected female leader.

Some 15,000 UN troops are in Liberia to ensure the election goes smoothly. They say they will deal swiftly with any trouble-makers.

But correspondents say the past few months of campaigning have been remarkably peaceful.

These elections are designed to cement the transformation of Liberia to a democratic state.

Correspondents say whoever wins will have the enormous task of rebuilding a country shattered by the long war. Many buildings in Monrovia were destroyed and there is no mains electricity supply or running water.

Only 20% of the population can read and write.

Update

The ship arrived in Liberia last Friday. There is much anticipation as we return to this land ravaged by war but populated with beautiful people. It's hard not to be on board as the ship returns, but I know God has me here at this time.

• I've posted on the elections in Liberia and the process was peaceful. There will now be a run-off between the top two vote getters later this month.

• I've been in Van Texas the last couple of weeks visiting friends and Mercy Ship's International Operations Center. I'm back in Tampa now and just completed a 200+ mile bike ride across the state of Florida. I went with about 70 other riders mostly from my church from one coast to the other over a 3 day period. This is an event I've done several times in the past, but it's been almost 9 years and I haven't been able to do a lot of riding in W. Africa. I was surprised at how well I did considering I wasn't able to do much training, but I'm not sure if I would have been able to prepare for sitting on a bike for almost 20 hours!