Goodnight and Amii-na

"Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ,

and asleep we may rest in peace."

My final day at the conference has come to a close.  The time went so fast.  I am exhausted, I am exhilarated - depending on who you talk to both can be attributed to the elevation we are at.  I have learned so much, met so many amazing people.  I have been surrounded by Deacons, so many Deacons, so much ministry work, community building and organizing, so much Gospel Witness. 

I am uplifted, rested, recharged and enlightened.  I have been out of my comfort zone and in my happiest of places in deepest prayer.  I have laughed and cried, listened in awe, seen humility in action and witnessed relationship building.  "Networking" is not a word I embrace very often but here I witnessed networking in the purest sense - a sharing of story, of life, of vulnerability, of exchanging resources, of offers to help build sustainable and fruitful mission.

I have a notebook filled with ideas, questions, quotes and inevitably a new book list!  Today's session was outstanding, the speakers were just wonderful, I didn't want them to stop and the workshops were very informative and creative.  My sponsoring church has two global missions and I met someone from each of them!  Sat with one over dinner and in a workshop with another.  I even did some networking on behalf of my fellow DIFs at home ;-)  It was nice to be in the midst of the wider Church community.  We get so entrenched in our busyness, not seeing outside of our parish walls, our community gates, it is easy to forget there is a Church full of witnesses ready to invite you in, practice Radical Hospitality and join you in ministry. 

I didn't want to say Goodnight tonight, knowing for many it is already Goodbye.  I might have to leave half way through Holy Eucharist in the morning, makes me very sad.  Tomorrow it is going to be spoken and proclaimed in English and French and Vai, a language of Liberia.  I began this journey not knowing anyone and I leave with friendships built and mentors recognized.  I still have so much to process from what I have learned and I look forward to returning home and sharing what I have experienced and putting into action what I have been taught.

As I say goodnight I leave you with the Lord's prayer in Vai, for my brothers and sisters in Liberia who still await the results of their presidential election, hold them in prayer:

Mu Fa, mu beh a je ne

Moi ye ta nu

Ya maja-jaai na

Dun-ya lor, kee mu a beh a je ne

Mu kor tay mei moi lung fei lor

Amu ye haketo moi fien yama nu la

Ke mu moi haketo moi nu mu tar

Fein yama mu la

Ye ma tar mu lah fein yama bah

Ye mu kuma fer

Beh ma ya maja jaai beh

Ya gangan

Ya manja ja

Jor-for a mu jor-for

Amii-na