Camp!

Last Saturday morning at 6 a.m., Shane and I left from the orphanage with 13 kids to go down to Monrovia for five days for Ignite Liberia’s first youth camp! And what a crazy, busy, exhausting, fun, blessed, and mosquito-filled these past few days have been!

About 2 weeks ago, some of the older boys and girls from the orphanage approached us about wanting to go to a camp in Monrovia that Emmanuel was putting together. We got permission from Ma and Pa, but the problem was the cost: the registration alone was about 750 Liberia dollars – a huge amount for the people here, much less for kids at an orphanage

For those of you unfamiliar with the exchange rate in Liberia, that equals $10 a kid total for a 5-day camp… room, meals, the whole shebang.

Tim, Shane, and I decided that we wanted to help the kids get to camp, but asked them to show initiative and prove they were willing to work to get there (not just going because the Americans agreed to pay for them) by finding ways to raise some money for themselves. Between the 13 of them, they raised a little over 2,000 Liberian dollars in the next few days! So we agreed to help pay for the rest of their registration fees as well as help find transportation to and from Monrovia. God also opened the door for Shane and I to be camp counselors! We would be sleeping with the kids in their dorms and helping in any other areas that we could. (Tim was invited to come as well, but we all three decided that he should stay in Yekepa to complete some projects as well as visit Remington’s village)

We were able to get a hold of a van from ABC to use to transport the kids to and from Monrovia. However, the week leading up to camp it was still in the process of being fixed. This wasn’t a problem until we learned that it was still in Ghanta (about 2 hours from Yekepa) getting fixed the day before we were supposed to leave! So I sent out a massive prayer plea to many of my friends and God must have heard the prayers cause at 11 p.m. on Friday night, the van rolled back onto campus! Praise the Lord because our plan B was pretty much non-existent!

So Shane and I, ABC’s driver (Jonathan), and 13 kids piled into the 14-seater van at 6 in the morning on Saturday and started off! We arrived in Monrovia 8 hours later with only one flat tire, 4 battery fixes, a shampoo explosion, and the door coming almost completely off the car! This is Africa. But all in all I would say it was a pretty successful trip. All of us spent the night at Emmanuel’s house that night (5 boys in one queen size bed bed, 8 girls in another) and eagerly awaited the first day of camp the next afternoon.

Sunday morning came along and about 10 minutes before I was supposed to go teach Sunday school at Emmanuel’s church I suddenly got very sick. Apparently I had accidentally drunk some well water the day before that didn’t agree with me at all. I honestly can’t remember the last time I have felt that sick. But praise God for Shane because he stepped up and volunteered to teach Sunday school last minute while I stayed back and rested. I definitely think that God wanted to use Shane that morning to speak to the kids instead of me. So as I rested I prayed that this sickness wouldn’t keep me from being at camp with the kids. God definitely came through because right as everyone came back from church a few hours later and we were loading up the van again God healed me almost as fast as the sickness came over me! God is good! And I just want to say that being sick in Africa really made me appreciate the luxury of being sick in my own home…

So here is the gist of the camp.

There were 42 kids total at the camp, which was pretty cool because it was Ignite Liberia’s first camp. Ignite’s mission is to equip Liberia’s youth for evangelizing to the nation. So the whole theme of the camp centered around evangelism. Even the topics that weren’t necessarily about evangelism (peer pressure, relationships, teen pregnancy, etc) had a focus on how to live in a way that sets ourselves apart from others and can open doors for evangelism.

Besides having relevant, interactive teaching, the camp offered 3 meals a day – something almost none one in the country gets. In addition, of the campers were split into four different groups, Manchester United, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Chelsea, and participated in games, activities, discussions, and Bible quizzes within their groups all week (I regret to inform everyone that my team, Barcelona, came in last place… but I assured our them that the last shall indeed be first haha).

At first, to be completely honest, I was very uncomfortable with the living situation. All of the girls stayed in one big room with about 15 bunk beds in it – most of which were broken and unusable. There were only 3 mosquito nets total (which the girls made me sleep under one – bless their heart’s), and I think I saw two mice by my bed within my first five minutes there. There was only one light bulb in the middle of the whole room (which only worked when the generator was on). There was also no windows or screens in the room – only special bricks that are made with wholes in them to allow a little bit of light through during the day. The bathroom had two toilets, which didn’t flush, and one giant bath area. I caught myself starting to wish I was back at ABC, but was reminded that the trip is not about my comfort. Looking back, though I was literally eaten alive by mosquitoes (I told all the kids that the mosquitoes like “white woman blood”, to which they all roared in laughter) and despite feeling the dirtiest I have ever felt, and though I was put in some of the most honestly awkward situations I have ever been in, living in this dorm with the girls turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was fun to be their “mom” for a few days, waking them up, shushing their laughter in the middle of the night, walking around spraying their blankets with mosquito spray, making sure the room was kept clean, praying with those who were sick, encouraging daily devotions, and staying up late into the night talking and laughing. And even though I am grateful to be back in Yekepa and at ABC now (mostly because I don’t feel like a walking mosquito meal anymore), staying with the girls and living in a situation which, to them, was completely normal gave me a little better taste of what it looks like to get down and dirty and really invest into people in their every day lives. And while it is a huge blessing to be able to come back to ABC every day and rest after a long day of working, I am hoping that next time, Lord willing, I can learn the art of being even less comfortable a little better.

Now to be honest, as much fun as this camp was, it was also a huge challenge for me personally. I don’t want to go into details, but there were a few times when I was angry and frustrated and the Lord good enough to humble me. There was also a few times where I was discouraged and in tears and the Lord was faithful to encourage and lift me back up. But despite the frustration and tears, and even though sometimes I found myself wishing I had stayed back at the orphanage with the younger kids, there were a few things that made this whole trip really worth it for me.

The first was more of a compilation of the gratefulness the orphan kids expressed to us and to God for making it possible for them to be at camp. I know that many of them walked away with a better understanding of God and refined tools of how to share the Gospel more effectively. Many of them made new friends. And many of them got to spend a few days away from the orphanage – something a few of them haven’t had a chance to do in years.

The second was the look on the kids’ faces when we took them to the ocean. 9 of them had never been to Monrovia and even more than that had never seen the ocean before. Wide-eyed and in awe, they stared with smiles and screams of delight. I couldn’t believe their reaction when they got too close to a breaking wave as they ran away screaming as fast as they could. We even had to tell one of the boys not to drink the ocean water! Eventually a few of them got the courage to sit down and let the waves soak them. I don’t think a single one of them stopped smiling the whole time they were there! As we left, one of the boys, Alvin, came up to me and said a sincere, “Sis Bekah, thank you. Now I can go back to Yekepa and tell my friends that I have seen Monrovia and the ocean.” The look on their faces and the happiness that filled them for the short 30 minutes we were there is something I will never forget and something I am so incredibly grateful to be a part of. God could have used anyone to take these kids to the ocean for a little while, but for some reason, He chose Shane and I to partake in that blessing… and for that, I am so incredibly grateful.

The last was the few things that the Lord taught me throughout the week... The first is that God doesn’t always work with smoke screens, flashing lights, or a giant speaker. Often He works without us even knowing it. As humans, this can be frustrating because we judge success based on results, data, statistics, etc. But during the week, I reflected a little on the story of Job. I was reminded how he had no idea of what was going on in heaven when the Lord suggested Job to undergo Satan’s tests. Job wasn’t there. He didn’t know that the Lord and Satan were discussing his faithfulness to God. And though all Job was seeing trials and hardships, I imagine that God was sitting in His heavenly home, proud of Job for not cursing Him as Job’s wife and friends suggested. I guess my point is that we don’t know what’s going on in the heavenly realm. And we shouldn’t have to see results, miracles, or anything else in order for us to be faithful to the Lord. On this earth, we might never see the full harvest for the work we have done. But we are still called to plant seeds. God’s plans are being carried out, with or without us and I would rather be apart of that without partaking in the harvest than arriving in heaven and shamefully telling Him I did nothing for His name. 

There are still a few things that God has been continuing to teach me but I am again racing the generator, so hopefully I can update soon.

I'm also sad to report that tomorrow is our last full day in Yekepa. I've ignored that this day is coming for too long and I still can't believe it's here... Needless to say, tomorrow will be a very sad day.

A village called Bonlah

I'd like to start out by saying I'm sorry for all the typos and run-on sentances! I'm racing the generator right now as it's about to go off any minute, so I will fix it later... could be as long as a week since we're taking the orphan kids to camp tomorrow in Monrovia! Don't know what the camp will be like but I will update soon if I can! Please pray for travel mercies and for everyone involved with the camp that God would move and speak!

_______

Tim, Shane, and I had another exciting adventure yesterday! There is a village about an hour “into the bush” from ABC called “Bonlah.” This village is nestled right up into the mountains and has quite a lot of farmland. However, because it is so far away from any local market, they don’t have a real need for as much of the land that they own. Because of this, Bonlah has agreed to donate 500 acres of farmland to ABC!

For ABC, this is a miracle that this non-Christian village would donate land to a Christian university that for centuries has been set aside for their own religious practices. In addition, by planting Rubber Trees and Palm Trees (no, they don’t have dates here!), in 6 years this will allow ABC to be almost completely self sufficient! Dr. Amos, the president of ABC, was sharing with us his heart and dream for his school and the village throughout this process. He is excited to expand his school to Bonlah and is planning on creating an agriculture department there so that before every student graduates he/she can spend time there and learn skills like farming. He is also excited for his students to get to see first hand a village with absolutely no way to get power, internet, running water, etc. and experience for themselves, “the real Africa.” He believes this will give them a better appreciation for the conditions in which they live in at ABC (limited power, usually running water, etc). Now honestly, I laughed a bit to myself that the Dr. Amos is trying to expose his students to a world that is less fortunate than themselves when I look around Africa and think everyone he is the poorest of the poor. It’s just a reminder no matter how little we think we have, there is always someone with less.

Bonlah is also making a very good deal by giving their land to ABC. As I said before, they don’t have a use for the farmland because their village is too far away from any large markets to sell their produce to other villages (and if they hadn’t given it to ABC, Dr. Amos told us the Chinese in the area would have just come and taken it). So ABC has agreed to employ the villagers to clear and farm the land, creating jobs this village otherwise doesn’t have. Additionally, he has promised to help improve their roads (which, by the way, make the road from Monrovia to Yekepa look like a highway in America… hard to believe… again, as Dr. Amos kept saying, “this is the real Africa”), making it easier for people to go to and from Bonlah. This will also allow the village to take more of their produce from their remaining land to other markets. Dr. Amos and ABC has also told the village they want to help improve the village’s education system. Bonlah has an elementary school, but if the children want to pursue education past the 6^th grade, they must leave their village entirely and go live somewhere else. This creates a very high dropout rate, but the villagers also told us that it makes it very hard to keep the educated amongst them because once kids leave and experience the “outside world,” they don’t want to come back to their own town.

If all this wasn’t enough, Bonlah, like I said, is not a Christian village, but Dr. Amos has high hopes that they will be able to minister to this village and their chiefs. He has very strong hopes that if the chief of the village becomes a Christian that the rest of his village will follow. How amazing that God is working here to meet needs for Bonlah and ABC as well as allowing opportunities for people to hear, share, and learn about Him! I know that the students at ABC will be shining lights to these people as they invest long-term into this village!

Well so anyway, the 3 of us, Dr. Amos, our driver, and Remington all traveled to Bonlah and two other small villages along the way. It was a VERY bumpy, slow ride on a path through the forest. About the only next step down would have been us weaving in and out of trees to get there! In our land rover, we rode through streams and rivers, over boulders, through muddy ditches, and over bridges made of a couple logs or some plywood… every bridge we passed over was finished with a sigh of relief from me and a carful of laughter from the Africans… they do this kind of stuff often I’m learning. I definitely felt like I was playing the part from a scene of Jurassic Park though. The only thing we were missing was the T-Rex!

Once we arrived at the village, we sat down with all the elders and the chiefs as they welcomed us. We expressed our “thanks” for welcoming us so warmly and then we set off through the jungle to see the farmland they gifted to ABC. Now, when I think of farmland, I picture relatively flat valley ground with a few overgrown bushes here and there. Not a thick, bushy forest. But they were all very excited about showing it to us so I just smiled real big and nodded my head in excitement. However, all I could think about was “I’m sure glad I’m not the one clearing this land” haha.

After about thirty hot, humid, and sweaty minutes of walking around and seeing the farmland, they took us through the rest of their village. This was definitely the coolest looking village I had been in. It’s right smack in the middle of the mountains and is absolutely beautiful. All the houses and huts are very close together, giving it a very strong “community feel” to it. We walked a little ways to the river where they wash and get their water from. There, we got a chance to walk over the “Monkey Bridge” as they call it (I’m sure there is a story behind that name, but I didn’t ask). This massive bridge reminded me of the Swiss Family Robinson or the Tarzan Bridge at Disneyland. It was mad completely out of bamboo and vines! I jumped up and down in the middle to shake it a bit and realized that probably wasn’t the best idea…

At this point, I had 3 or 4 kids from the village that were following me around, so I pulled outa bottle of Bubbles from my backpack. At first the kids just stared at me in bewilderment. I realized they had never seen bubbles before. So I started to chase and burst my own bubbles to show them. Somehow, in about 3 minutes, I had the whole village’s population of children swarming around me trying to pop bubbles. I can only imagine what they thought of this “white woman with the magic pipe that blows clear, flying balls.” None of the kids spoke English, so it was really entertaining hearing them all scream, laugh, and chatter in their own language. It was a weird feeling thinking about how none of those kids knew Jesus. I was wondering if they had ever even heard His name… And without being able to talk to these kids all I could do was pray that through my simple gestures they would somehow be able to see Christ.

Another heart breaking thing that happened while we were there… Almost as soon as we arrived, Shane had a little boy practically attached to his hip. This boy, named Joseph, was probably 7 years old. Once Shane held his hand, carried him around on his shoulders, and let him wear his hat and sunglasses, this kid never left Shane’s side. As we were leaving the village, Joseph’s parents approached Shane and were very excited that Shane would be “taking their son and offering him a better life.” Taken back, Shane had to explain to them that taking their son wasn’t his intentions, and while he would love to offer Joseph a better life, he simply couldn’t separate him from his family.

When this first happened, I honestly wasn’t too shocked. Many of the kids at the orphanage have parents, but their parents gave them up so they could have shelter, food, and education. Wanting a better life for your children isn’t all the bad right? But what kind of place is this where parents freely offer their own children to complete strangers? It’s no wonder we hear of so many horror stories about child trafficking where strangers come, promising hope and a better life, only to shamelessly exploit innocent children… My heart breaks for this world where parents feel like the best choice they have for their kids is to give them away, no questions asked. I keep wondering what us Christians are doing to try and help. I guess a better question the Lord keeps asking me is, “what are you going to do about it?” Honestly, it’s moments like this that I struggle with anger and resentment. I try to rationalize what is going on by pointing fingers at others around me who I don’t think are active in speaking out and seeking justice for the oppressed. But ultimately I know that one day when I stand before God, I will not be held accountable for the acts of others, only my own. And after seeing what I have seen, and knowing what I know, I don’t have any excuse to sit and do nothing…

God, help me to never sit back and do nothing. 

"And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God."

Micah 6:8

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor."

Isaiah 61:1-3

The village chief at New Yekepa

Got stuck in the river. NBD. 

Bonlah!

Nice Farmland... right?!

A few of my new friends

Vive Le Guinea

Thursday was the first day we didn’t spend at the orphanage. We took morning off to rest. The Lord really knew that I needed this. Although I love going to the orphanage (I mean, it’s my favorite place in all of Liberia), I was starting to wear thin. At school, I’m used to running on little sleep, but I guess I’m not used to running on little rest. I’m learning that there is a big difference between the two. As cliché as this is about to sound, on the seventh day, God didn’t sleep, He rested. But anyway… So I slept in till about 8 O’clock (no blinds here, so that was as long as I could stand to pretend the sun wasn’t up yet haha) and spent the next few hours taking time for me. This included taking my very first hot shower since I’ve left America (usually I shower before the generator is on which means no water heater), made myself a nice cup of instant coffee, and sat in bed for the next 2 hours reading my Bible and preparing for Friday’s Bible study with the girls.  If I’m being honest, for someone who feeds off of encouragement, it’s been hard not to be surrounded by my usual support group (which is why all of your comments, emails, and messages have been SO special to me and such a blessing! Thank you again!). But that morning was a reminder to me of how much more fulfilling it is when it’s the Lord pouring into you instead of others. Don’t get me wrong, God often uses others as His means to pour into us Himself. But there is something extra satisfying when you go to Him with completely empty hands, begging Him to show up because you’re pretty much on your last leg and He blesses you more than abundantly. So of course the Lord gave me the exact things I needed to read and spoke to my heart the precise things it needed to hear. He is really good, isn't He?

Around noon, a few of our African friends came over and we had breakfast for lunch! Tim made scrambled eggs (with onions and cream cheese… seems to be the only cheese in Yekepa). We also had some amazing cinnamon rolls (don't worry Noonie, they aren't as good as yours!), oranges (which were actually green), and pineapple. All together, we fed 8 people for just over $5 total… crazy huh? Why do I fall into the trap of thinking I don’t have enough to give to others when what I spend on a coffee can easily feed an entire family for a day?

After lunch we headed off to the site of an old abandoned mine – Mount Nimba – one of the tallest mountains in Liberia. Besides containing giant, rusted-out Tonka-like trucks and bulldozers, the mountain overlooks a beautiful turquoise-blue ravine that looks peaceful enough to skip a rock across the entirety of it. Apparently it’s very deadly though as it’s the home for many venomous, flesh-eating snakes. I was glad the boys were warned by about 20 people not to even think about touching the water otherwise Tim and Shane would have been snake food for sure. But we all enjoyed our time there hiking down as far as we could, throwing rocks into the water, tramping through over grown bushes (I, of course was running and hopping as fast as I could, praying not to be attacked by any snakes or spiders…), scaling dried-up water fall cliffs (courtesy of Shane), making a path to the "waterfall" that is still running (aka: a trickle down the side of a rock), and then trudging back up the side of the mountain. I made the mistake of wearing shorts so my legs were pretty scratched up by the time we got back. But hey, this is Africa, and it was so worth it.

Once we were tuckered out from all that adventure, someone threw out the idea of seeing if we could go to the Guinea border and talk customs into at least letting us go a couple feet into Guinea… just to say we were there. So we all piled back into the truck and drove a few miles to the border. Naturally, we did this African style - meaning three people in the cabin and the rest piled in the bed, ducking and dodging branches that threatened to take our heads off.

As we approached the border, we were warned;

1. 1. Not to take any pictures. Apparently when Emmanuel took some Americans here before to see if they could get into Guinea, someone tried to take a picture. Customs reacted by cocking their guns at them and threatening to shoot if they didn’t drop the camera. Needless to say, I don’t think those people made it into Guinea or ever got their cameras back
2. 2  Not to get our hopes up. No Americans are ever allowed into Guinea without a visa. And we didn’t even bring our passport.

But luckily for us, we had our good friend Remington with us! I can't remember if I've talked about Remington yet, but if not, he's the student my parents sponsored last year to go to ABC. He is an amazing man. He plants churches and is very involved with several different ministries in Liberia. He is currently trying to start a soccer ministry for the people who don't go to church on Sunday morning because they play soccer instead. He wants to do an alternative church service either before or after they all play a game. He is also the one who comes every morning and night to help us get to and from the orphanage! But anyway... so he goes into Guinea a lot on errands and has made quite a few friends there. So the first round of customs we met on the Liberian side of Guinea knew Remington and they kindly offered to walk us to the main checkpoint. So we walked a good half-mile with them and as we got nearer to the checkpoint, I got a little nervous. There were 15 or so men dressed in military camo with guns and intimidating facial expressions. But apparently Remington knew some of these guys too and their faces lit up once he told them the Americans had come to pay them a visit. They had us sit down on a cot outside and talked with us for a few minutes. Almost immediately one of the guards came up to me and shook my hand, saying something in French (their country’s official language). Remington threw his head back laughing and informed me that this man just told me he “already liked me.” I was flattered and thought it was funny until he asked Tim and Shane if he could trade one of his women for me – insisting I stay with him in Guinea. Well that was my cue that it was time to leave, so we walked into the closest town – Teo. On our way into the town, Emmanuel kept saying over and over again how blessed we were to get to go into Guinea, that he’s never successfully made it in with Americans before. I’m still claiming it was because of my good looks and my new Guinean boyfriend ;)

Teo was fun. Honestly, it looked just like any other village in Liberia. The funny thing is we thought that the Liberian dollar had no value (1USD=75LD), but Tim traded 1USD in for 5,000 franks and with that we bought 6 donuts, a handful of peanuts, and still had 1/3 of our money left over…. Oh, and usually you’re supposed to get 7,500 franks for a dollar.

On our way back through to Liberia, we stopped again at the main checkpoint and the Guinea guards let us take our picture with them. My Guinea boyfriend made sure to save a spot for me right next to him. After he insisted again that I stay with him in Guinea but I politely refused. Maybe next time…

Honestly, I’m just thankful that we didn’t get in trouble for not having our passports, that we got into Guinea (it’s my 8^th country!), and that we didn’t have to pay any bribe money!

p.s. Sorry these pictures are all mixed up! It won't let me fix them!

Guinea with Liberia's mountains in the background

Walking towards the main checkpoint

Our cheesy "we're excited to be in Guinea" faces

A few of our Guinea troops

The Guinea flag

My new hut I purchased to ensure that I can stay here forever! That is once I clear out all the spiders...

My Guinea boyfriend

Some mine equipment with Mount Nimba in the background

Looks pretty safe, right!?

Tim, Charlie, Shane, and I

My wonderful friend, Wintee

Those three little specks up there are Tim, Remington, and Emmanuel

Love and Jesus

It’s hard not to be overwhelmed in the presence of so much need.

At first, you see the kids need love and Jesus, and you can give tall of them that. 

Then, you notice their hunger and their thirst, so you strive to satisfy.

Then, you see they are shoeless and dirty and you strive to satisfy.

Then, it’s like a dam has broken and all the sudden everywhere you look you see needs: beds, soap, pens and pencils, shutters, mattresses, books, sanitation, jobs, medicine, combs, blankets, electricity, money, toys, paper, Bibles, education, futbols, toiletries, transportation, and the list goes on and on while your head whirls and your heart breaks because every need you see you truly desire to satisfy but you simply cannot.

So you start to prioritize as best you can and remind yourself of the purpose which you came for:

            You came to give the kids love and Jesus.

And immediately I’m reminded, more like scolded, that it is Christ who is the only person who can satisfy both any and all of those needs. And without Him, not a single one gets met. I am simply one of the tools He chooses to meet them. While He didn't give me all the resources in the world to help them, He gave me His love and Himself so that I can give Him away. And all the sudden a weight is lifted of my shoulders because it is not really me who meets the rest of their needs, but The Lord. And isn’t He so much better at that than I?

As my earthly father always reminds me, “you don’t have to solve all the world’s problems.” My response is usually, “no, but I can try.” But as much as I don’t want to admit it, God never asked me to feed every person who hungers. He never asked me to eradicate every disease and He never asked me to eliminate poverty entirely, just to give what I have to those who have none. Ending world hunger, finding cures for all sickness, and eliminating poverty are tasks that will never happen in my life time… or in any human being’s lifetime for that matter. But He does ask that through His Strength and provision, I do what I can to represent Christ in His absence (I’m reminded daily that though He is absent physically, His Spirit, hand, and presence, are not) wherever I am planted. Though I want nothing more than to take every 340,000 children orphaned from a brutal 15 year civil war and shower them with hugs and kisses, I cannot. But I can do that for the 52 beautiful, shining, perfect faces that run to greet me the second I dismount my motor bike every morning. And on special days, this “white woman” (as they call me) is blessed enough to get to play with a few extra kids from the village as well.

So the kids need love and Jesus… and by the grace of God, for three more weeks, I can give them that, along with a few other needs He's supplied us to meet. And though my heart breaks at every hungry, torn-and-tattered-clothed child I see, who I am unable to help, I rest knowing that soon and very soon, my King is coming. And when He gets here, every sin-tainted being and place will be made completely new and He will “wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev 21:4).