Alpha for Forces

At the beginning of September Charlie Lacey went out to Liberia to further envision the uniformed services about Alpha and invite key individuals to the GAT (Global Alpha Training) event in October. Here is his report...

Before I tell you about my time in Liberia, it is helpful to know a little bit about what the country has been through. Liberia's recent history has been bloody; with civil wars raging from 1989 - 1996 and then from 1999 - 2003.  It is hard to summarise the events of the past few decades, but perhaps the fate of some of Liberia's leaders will give an indication:

In 1980 Samual K Doh seized power in a popular coup which saw President William Tolbert Jr. and most of the cabinet stripped naked, tied to stakes and executed by firing squad in public, on a sunny beach.

In 1990 Samual K Doh became the first world leader to be tortured on camera before being executed and his body desecrated. He had his ears cut off, was castrated and beaten to death. 

Former President, Charles Taylor was charged with crimes against humanity, violations of the Geneva Conventions and "other serious violations of international humanitarian law" by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (a war crimes tribunal). He was extradited and is currently on trial in The Hague. 

Liberia has experienced bloodshed and brutality on an unprecedented level. Nobody there has been left unaffected by the fierce fighting and savage atrocities of the recent past. It is not easy for a nation to recover quickly from this kind of violence. The country's infrastructure, trust and confidence in the uniformed services has been obliterated. Nobody escaped being directly effected by the war and there is evidence of that everywhere. 

I stayed with the family of Pastor John Aaron Wright - Alpha for Forces coordinator, Liberia. Like most Liberians they don't have a phone line, electricity or running water in the home. They were incredibly loving and hospitable and they shared all they had with me, it was a very humbling experience.

Pastor John runs a ministry called CGEM (Children of God Evangelistic Ministries) that has taken responsibility for Alpha for Forces in Liberia. They have already run Alpha for the Police, Fire Department and Immigration and there are plans to run Alpha within the newly formed Armed Forces of Liberia in the near future.

Bearing in mind that he only had two weeks notice of my arrival Pastor John and his team managed to organise an incredible number of meetings for us in Monrovia. We had a total of ten meetings in the capital with some of the heads of the uniformed services, politicians and Chaplain Generals. We were even allocated an hour long slot on a chat show at a national radio station (Liberty Radio 88.2) to talk about Alpha and Alpha for Forces.

On the Tuesday I set out on a four day road trip to the counties with Pastor Wright, Pastor Jeremiah and Rev John Mbakellah (Chaplain General to the Liberian National Police). We visited a total of 7 counties out of 13.

The journey was made on a tight budget and we stayed overnight in someone's home and in an inexpensive hostel. We visited the police HQ in each county (the police are currently in charge of the country's security as the armed forces have only recently been re-formed). The aim was to envision the authorities at the police HQs, with a view to inviting 2 delegates from each to the GAT in Oct. The response was incredible!

There are many Christian Inspectors and Chief Inspectors in the police who are very keen to support. One in particular called all his officers together to hear the same briefing that we had given him. Afterwards some of the officers began asking questions, and in particular they wanted to know why we wanted to run a Christian course when some of the officers are Muslims. The station commander, who had only heard about Alpha 2 minutes before answered their questions perfectly. He really got it!  At another station the commander and all the officers present broke into spontaneous worship!

I didn't leave any meeting feeling that those present where anything other than excited, enthusiastic and fully supportive.

The trip into the counties was great fun, with regular stops to repair punctures, purchase local produce and dead animals, repair bridges and to stop motorists for road traffic offences! The Chaplain General to the Police took his work very seriously! He stopped one car in particular that was hurtling along with what seemed like a record number of passengers: 8 on the back seat, 4 in the front and one perched on the bonnet!

For me one of the highlights of the trip was meeting ex-combatants in Bong County. Few of the perpetrators of the atrocities in Liberia have been brought to justice and some are still at large in the communities. We visited an organisation called the Youth for the Development of Bong County, who has established a farm project for ex-combatants who are keen to work the land and learn agricultural skills. Chairman for Ex-Combatants, Mark Dowee, was a General in the former NPLF (National Patriotic Front of Liberia), he is now a Christian and runs the project.

During the civil war combatants could be as young as nine years of age and so many of them are quite disturbed. The need to reach them with the gospel is great! We discussed the idea of erecting a canopy on the farm so that the ex-combatants could do Alpha at the end of the day. This is a key project as it is likely to catch the attention of politicians!

After the road trip we hosted a dinner for key personalities within the uniformed services. All the Chaplain Generals (i.e. Police, Fire Department, Bureu of Immigration and Naturalisation and the Armed Forces of Liberia), the Director of the Fire Department and the West African Director of the AMCF (Association of Military Christian Fellowships) were all present, along with other distinguished guests. Over the course of the evening there were a series of small speeches made, and all the guests expressed their full support of Alpha and everyone was greatly encouraged by the fellowship. The Chaplain Gen (Armed Forces of Liberia) said "This is the first time in the nation's history that such a group has been gathered to discuss the spiritual welfare of the uniformed services". Pastor Wright intends to develop the relationships by bringing this group together on a bi-monthly basis.

My stay ended with a service at Pastor Wright's church, where I had been asked to speak the previous Sunday. I was given some traditional Liberian dress for myself and my wife, which were greatly appreciated.