I just got back from a great weekend in Las Cruces, New Mexico, visiting Matt and Brenda Carr. Matt and Brenda lived and worked in West Africa for about 10 years... maybe 2 and 1/2 in Liberia (most of it in Voinjama, near the northern border), and then the rest of the time in Odienne, Cote d'Ivoire. Now, after 11 years in the USA, they are praying towards a return to West Africa, joining our Liberia team. Matt and Brenda have been teaching, coaching basketball, and investing themselves at a wonderful church in Las Cruces called Bethel Bible Fellowship. The church was kind enough to ask me to come (and cover my expenses), so that I could present SIM's ministry in Liberia to them.
I really enjoyed getting to know the Carrs, who are going to come and work in Liberia with our team and our partners in ministry there--Matt will focus his time on working with the ECUL churches, while Brenda will be doing educational work and may also help our SIM team work a little smoother. Here we are, eating peanut soup (a popular Liberian dish--called "groundpea soup" there--it had a pretty good kick!). For the medically observant among you, you may see signs of Matt's double knee replacement in December. He's recovered quite well, praise God!
