The Change In Plans

This is the essay God told me to write:

Africa is full of countries with a culture and history all it’s own, Liberia is one of the many countries in Africa. I would want to live in Liberia because of the refugees and the vast differences in economy and culture.

I would want to live in Liberia because of all the refugees fleeing from Western Cote Ivory into Liberia. There is fighting happening in Western Cote Ivory. These people have led very rough lives and seen things that you and I can’t even begin to fathom. The sad thing is that some of those people don’t know the Lord. To make things even worse the refugees are arriving by the thousands only to find that Liberia is having trouble providing food for the refugees that are already there. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a whole lot of people that need God in their lives, and I wish I had the liberty to witness to at least one of the refugees. The two reasons that we were created are for us to draw to the awesomeness of God and to make Him known throughout the earth. That’s what I plan to do.

The GDP of Liberia is 1.6 billion, that seems like a lot, right? Now look at the United States GDP, how about 14.72 trillion. There is obviously a huge difference in these numbers. This is another reason I would like to live in Liberia. Jesus said again and again to leave everything behind and follow him, riches, family, everything. A lower GDP means lower income, which I am totally fine with, I have no desire to be wealthy because then I would be focusing on my worldly possessions instead of God. Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than a camel into the eye of a needle (which is pretty hard, by the way). Devoting my life to God will be hard but it is definitely worth it. Between a mansion and a kingdom in heaven I choose the kingdom.

Sharing the gospel with Liberian refugees and living with lower income is not what the usual middle school kid wants. It’s not about what I want, it’s about what God wants for me. God wants the best for all of us, even if it doesn’t make any sense to us. What God wants for me is definitely what I need.

This is what I would have written:

Africa is full of countries with a culture and history all its own, Liberia is one of the many countries in Africa. I don't want to live in Liberia because of the vast differences in economy and current issues.

I would not want to live in Liberia because of all the refugees fleeing from Western Cote Ivory, so the people living there are fleeing into Liberia. Ivoirian refugees are arriving in Liberia by the thousands. Several thousand refugees have arrived already and still 5000 more are expected to arrive. Liberia is struggling to provide all the refugees with things like shelter and water. I would not want to be in the middle of all the chaos.

Another reason I would not want to live in Liberia is because of their lower GDP in comparison to the United States. Liberia's GDP is 1.6 billion but the United States GDP is14.72 trillion. That's a huge difference! If I were to live in Liberia I would get less income than I am used to. If I got less income it would be harder to pay a mortgage or a cell phone bill. If I ever decide to move back to the United States it would take me longer to gather the money to do so. It would take me longer to gather the money because of the differences in Liberia's money worth compared to the United States. Those are a couple of the reasons I would not want to live in Liberia.