wfn.org | Couple Reflects Liberian Turmoil

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3391 notes).

Note 3389 by UMNS on Jan. 23, 1997 at 16:21 Eastern (3588 characters).

SEARCH: United Methodist, Liberia, refugees, peace
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Bloom                        35(10-21-31-71B){3389}
         New York (212) 870-3803                     Jan. 23, 1997

Liberian church leaders
continue struggle for peace

     NEW YORK (UMNS) -- As youth director for the Liberian United
Methodist Church, one of the Rev. Julius Nelson's most important
tasks was to try to link the young people who had fought in that
country's civil war with their counterparts who held them
responsible for its destruction "and find a common ground to build
a new society."
     Then, in April of 1996, efforts to restore peace in Liberia
failed as fighting erupted between factional leaders in the
capital of Monrovia. His efforts disrupted, Nelson was forced to
leave the country in June.
     Now, as the Liberian church prepares to hold its annual
conference during the first week of February, he is planning to
return.
     During a Jan. 22 interview here with his wife, the Rev.
Johnette Nelson, he noted that the annual conference, set for
Ganta, will allow the church to reassess the current situation and
to speak "in a prophetic direction" about Liberia's future.
     The Nelsons' personal experiences have reflected the turmoil
generated by a seven-year civil war that has claimed the lives of
at least 200,000 Liberian citizens and created nearly a million
refugees.
     When the couple married in 1990, "two weeks after our wedding
we had to flee the country as refugees," Mrs. Nelson recalled.
They returned to Liberia in 1991 and eventually were reunited with
other family members, although two of Mr. Nelson's brothers have
been killed during the war.
     In 1994, the family was separated when Mrs. Nelson came to
the United States to study for a master's degree in theology. She
brought their daughter, Donnalie, who is now four years old. Their
son, Weagba, now 20 months, was born during that period.
     Anticipating her graduation from Wesley Seminary last May,
Mr. Nelson took the children back to Liberia in December 1995. But
before she could return home, renewed fighting sparked evacuations
from Monrovia and a new wave of refugees. Baby Weagba, as a U.S.
citizen, was evacuated by the U.S. government. Mr. Nelson and
Donnalie left later.
     He has been based in Nigeria since then, where his three
older children -- Theophilus, 19; Prince, 16, and Della, 15 -- are
now in school.
     Mrs. Nelson, who had been appointed as senior pastor of
Liberia's second largest United Methodist Church, has been living
in Endicott City, Md., with no idea when she will be able to
return. "This (April's fighting) just shattered everything for
me," she said.
     In the meantime, she is seeking an appointment or other
employment within the church here. "So far, nothing has turned up,
but I'm still hoping," she added.
     Mr. Nelson has been making the rounds of Liberian refugee
camps and communities in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Guinea and Sierra
Leone. Although Bishop Arthur Kulah has re-established his office
in Monrovia, working with a skeleton crew, most church leaders
remain outside the country, he said.
     "Surviving every day is a problem" for most refugees,
according to Mr. Nelson. In some camps, United Methodist
congregations or ecumenical worship settings have been
established, offering spiritual guidance and hope, he reported.
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