During the time they were there, the couple changed their sleeping quarters every one or two days. Every night we were there, we would hear of another drobbery. By moving around, we hoped to avoid being a target. But their planned four-week trip was cut short when on Aug. 10, Martha became ill. Four days later, the couple was able to depart for Abidjan, the capital of Cote d'Ivoire, where they waited an additional four days for a flight to the United States.
Materials are in short supply and very expensive along with tools.
Autry recommends that any rebuilding of the mission program in Liberia wait until 1997. Dr. Ben Roberts, director of the Lutheran Vocational Training Center in Liberia, also is waiting to see what the future holds before reopening the school which provided training to approximately 250 men and women. The school, located in Monrovia, was started in late 1994 with assistance from LCMS World Relief. It had offered courses in home arts, masonry, plumbing, electronics, carpentry and agriculture. The goal of the school and a second one that had just been approved is to provide the necessary training for its students to become self-supporting, said Elaine Richter, director of LCMS World Relief.