MEET MADDEN

This is Madden. I’m guessing Madden is about six months old. I met Madden when I was walking through the Chimpampa village in Malawi with high schoolers from The Grove, going hut to hut distributing mosquito nets. Madden was sitting on his mothers lap, on a bamboo mat, in front of their mud hut. I thought Madden was awesome.

Madden is why we keep giving away mosquito nets in Africa. You see, every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies of malaria. The net we left for Madden really might save his life. That’s the hope.

This is Moses. I’ve known Moses for quite a few years. I ran into Moses when we were back in Malawi last month, it was really good to see an old friend. But Moses’ story is quite a bit different from Madden’s. Moses is why I first started asking people at The Grove to give nets away in Malawi. Moses had baby twin daughters, about Madden’s age. They both contracted malaria. And before he could tell me or anyone else who could help… they died. I didn’t even know they were sick until Moses asked me if I could help pay for their coffins.

Every time I return to Malawi I give Moses a hand full of mosquito nets -- even though it feels WAY too late -- I know he has three more children who need the nets. I really wish I had nets to give away when Moses’ tiny girls needed them.

But it’s not too late for Madden, and all the other toddlers in Malawi. That’s the hope. That’s why we keep giving away nets in Africa.

LOVE IS BETTER THAN WAR

I spent the last two weeks bouncing and sloshing across Liberia's rugged roads, with our team of 29 from The Grove, to four of the country's largest cities, Yekepa, Ganta, Buchannan, and Monrovia. The message we carried, the message I preached was LOVE IS BETTER THAN WAR.

War messed up Liberia for 15 years and everyone in Liberia is ready for something better, something new: that's why we carried the message that the love of Jesus Christ is so much better than the bitterness of war.

I spent my second day in Liberia in Karnpleh, a town near the Ivorian boarder. Karnpleh is where the war started. Karnpleh is where Charles Taylor recruited his first boy soldiers. So Karnpleh was the town we chose to start THE LOVE LIBERIA PROJECT, and it was in Karnpleh that we began telling all Liberians why Love is Better than War.

Hit play and let Scott Erickson tell you about our day in Karmpleh: