Liberia

Campaign locations

NOTE: Based on past experience, leadership expects attendance at EACH of these Campaign sites to be at or above 5000!

Site #1, Option 1 - ATS Stadium (below): The first Campaign site, to be supported by five congregations with about 1000 attending members (who, it is estimated, will give Bible studies to 3000 people before the Campaign begins) is to be held in one of two sites.

Option 1 - Its location in Central Monrovia as well as having existing seating and lighting makes this the preferred Campaign location.  The difficulty is securing the use of this facility during (but near the end of) the football season. Contact is being made with stadium management to see if it might be available during the Campaign dates.

On the left, below a second and part of a third football playing field joins the one shown above. Finally, on the right, below, is the paved air field that continues on from the hilltop. It is not a lighted airfield so it would not be used in the evenings when the crowds are present.  Please note, the Campaign is scheduled during the dry season the water that can be seen in these pictures will not be a factor.

We hope to have a decision regarding the availability of option one by the end of September so plans can be developed with plenty of time.

Flight Arrival Information

Summary of Important Data for Dr John Scharffenberg:

John Scharffenberg was born in Shanghai, China, which afforded him the opportunity for travel abroad early in life. He graduated from Loma Linda University School of Medicine with an M.D. degree in 1947, and later earned his master's degree in public health (Delta Omega) with a major in nutrition from Harvard University.

He was clinician on the secretariat of the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The committee conducted nutritional studies of the United States' allies around the world. Dr. Scharffenberg served as Director of the International Nutrition Research Foundation in Riverside, California.

He was also health officer of San Bernardino County in California where he was active in both tuberculosis control and community nutrition education. He became a consultant to the National Centers for Disease Control as a result of his work in tuberculosis where he reduced the new active case rate to one-third of what it had been and was able to close the TB ward of the county hospital because of the lack of patients.

While at Loma Linda University where he is presently adjunct professor of nutrition, Dr. Scharffenberg developed many community programs for health promotion, and instructed students regarding methods of conducting such programs. Heartbeat, a coronary risk evaluation program he designed, is used internationally. He was also a consultant to the State of California in nutrition.

Dr. Scharffenberg directed the Community Health Education Department of San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, California for many years. He was among the first to design and conduct Cancer Risk Reduction Seminars. He promoted the sale of the hospital and placed the funds as an endowment into a newly established foundation, Pacific Health Education Center, to prevent disease.

Dr. Scharffenberg has authored several books dealing with nutrition, including heart disease and cancer risk reduction. He is known as a speaker and authority in the field of nutrition throughout the United States as well as many countries outside the United States.

Dr. Scharffenberg is also assistant director of Health Ministries of the General Conference and has done considerable lecturing and seminars in various countries of the world.

"The effects of prevention which produce a non-epidemic are difficult to measure and document, and most often lack the drama and glory that accompany the cure of acute illnesses. Yet there is tremendous satisfaction in observing the decline in heart disease rates (56% drop since 1963) and now even in the cancer mortality rates in the United States," states Dr. Scharffenberg.

Support Team Members

Miscellaneous Issues

Appeal Songs: Regardless of whether or not it is used, the text for most sermons includes an appeal song.  Music with English and Spanish words songs in Acrobat (.pdf) format may be downloaded here.

To secure the visa you will need to provide her by January 15, 2002:  1) A valid passport, 2) two applications, 3) four pictures, 4) a letter of invitation naming each traveler (one letter for each family), 5) a photocopy of the document certifying that you have a current yellow-fever vaccination, and 6) a check made out to the General Conference of S.D.A. in the amount of US$60 per visa requested ($45 for the cost of the visa and $15 for the courier taking your passport to the Liberian Embassy and the cost to return the passport and visa to you.)

Send these documents by Federal Express, to Ms. Diana Jo Beeler, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD  20904.  If you have any questions in this regard, feel free to call Mrs. Beeler at (301) 680-6258.  You may also fax her at: (301) 680-6197.

NOTE: If your itinerary requires you to spend the night in Accra, Ghana, you MUST get a visa for Ghana NOW or they will not let you leave the airport!   To apply for this visa please call Diana Jo Beeler at (301) 680-6258 and ask her to send you an application.  Visa applications for Ghana cannot be downloaded from the Internet.  Then send 1) Your passport,  2) TWO completed application blanks, 3) four photographs to her at the same address as provided above. along with another ($20 for the cost of the visa and $15 for the courier service to submit your passport and application and retrieve it for you).  This should be in her hands NO LATER THAN January 15, 2002. 

The Ghana application requires that you place names of references in Ghana.  You may use the following:  1) Pastor P O Mensah, Ghana Union Conference, P O Box 1016, Accra, Ghana;  and  2) E A Odonkor, South Ghana Conference, P O Box 803, Accra, Ghana.

Water: While the hotel water is provided by their well, visitors should still assume tap water in the hotel is not potable.  However, bottled drinking water is available at a small supermarket directly across the street from the hotel at a cost of about one US dollar per 1.5 liter bottle. Another option is that guests may want to purchase a hand-held water-purification system at your local camping store to use to purify the tap water.

Medication: Gastro-intestinal disorder (Montezuma's revenge) is the traveler's scourge when visiting a part of the world in which you must consume anything that is unfamiliar to your digestive track!  Problems are inevitable, even to the most cautious. So the word is, be careful, listen to your body, and then respond quickly.  I'm no doctor and will not give you medical advice, but I will tell you what I do (and these steps have worked during some of the most "trying" situations).

(1) I am careful what I eat and drink, but I don't worry about it.  (2) I listen to my body.  If know from experience it is easier to stop the problem before it becomes serious than waiting to address it after it's too late.  Meanwhile, I'm miserable and my work can be undermined.  So, as soon as I realize trouble is "on the way" I will take one or more of the following medications: a) Imodium (treats the symptoms, but provides welcome relief), and/or b) one of two antibiotics prescribed by my physician:  Either Cipro (one 250 mg. pill in the morning and the other in the evening), or Avelox (one 400 mg pill per day).  Either of these has an immediate and positive effect on me and helps eliminate the problem before it become serious.  If I didn't "catch it" in time, then I may take Imodium to provide short-term relief, as well as take the antibiotics.  Obviously, you must consult your physician before you leave on your trip and secure such medication as he/she recommends, since you are unlikely to find the same medication sold under the same name in another country.

Malarial prophylactics: Malaria is endemic to most of Africa.  I do urge you consult your physician and/or your area public-health department about taking medication to help prevent this disease.  For many years Larium (or Lariam) was the medication recommended by the General Conference Health Department for their traveling staff. Recently a new mediation has been placed on the market which was recommended to me by County Health Department.  It is called "Melarone."  Since I'm away from home I don't have the documents with me to confirm the spelling but I will correct this paragraph when I get home.  However, this should be sufficient for your to mention to your physician or health department and to get their recommendation.  What is important is that you take the medication prior to, during, and upon your return home, in harmony with the recommended dosage pattern.  Also, while you're here, be sure that when you go out you spray yourself with mosquito repellant.  Interestingly enough, during my current visit to Liberia (August 2001) I have yet to see a mosquito, and this is the rainy season. But, it's far better to expect and prepare for a swarm and be happy when they don't appear!

Inoculations: While the government of Liberia requires Yellow Fever vaccination, I'd recommend that travelers may want to secure some of the other vaccinations simply on general principles.  Though I'm not aware any of these are particularly endemic to Liberia, yet the ones I keep current (in addition to Yellow Fever) include: Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Meningitis, and Tetanus.

Hyperlink: For further health-related travel information regarding any country in the world, please visit the following website: www.tripprep.com

Medical care: We are fortunate in Liberia to have an SDA hospital and some SDA physicians available.  In addition, we are hoping to have an SDA physician join our team as a guest-evangelist. Should this be finalized, I'm confident we will have some additional qualified medical care with us in the hotel.

It is important to note that Credit Cards are worthless.  I haven't found anyplace that accepts them during my visit to Liberia.

Please note, the hotel does not accept credit cards (as is the case in most businesses in Liberia).  It does, however, accept Traveler's Checks.  Laundry service is available in the hotel.