A New Year and New Beginnings

Happy New Year to you all! I am a little late with my compliments of the season and blog. My internet connection has been unreliable the past month or so, and I wanted to wait write about the holiday season here in Sierra Leone.

 

Christmas was celebrated at my house with Mark, his wife Teresa and their Son Charles – my namesake. I cooked a big pot of soup and we watch Home Alone. I know, I know….don’t laugh, but my options to bring any form of American Christmas nostalgia is limited. We had a great time of fellowship and I was blessed to have someone to spend Christmas with.

We are still plugging away with our Tree of Life class in Binkolo near Makeni. The class has just completed their community project by building a tippy tap. A tippy tap is something that allows people to wash their hands when they come from the latrine. This will improve hygiene, sanitation and help prevent many other sicknesses like cholera, worms, etc. I have enclosed a picture to show the class working on building the tippy tap with their own resources. Pastor Emmanuel is also finishing up his class in Deep Eye Water and they will be graduating this month. His church is still thriving and growing!

I am also encouraged because of Mark’s involvement with the project. He has begun teaching the Bible Stories in our class sessions in Binkolo. This is a new venture for him, yet he is doing an amazing job. He confessed to me that he has always felt inadequate for such a task, so I am so happy to see his confidence and reliance upon God growing more and more. He is sharing his faith and learning to be a leader. It is beautiful to watch.

I will be coming home February 19^th through April 15^th. Due to some losses in monthly funding, I will be speaking and trying to raise support to continue my work here in Sierra Leone. I invite you all to contact me to come and speak or meet with any groups to share about our work here in Sierra Leone. I will just need to know in advance so that I can schedule the appointments for the limited time I am home.

I love you all and ask you to pray for me concerning decisions on the horizon that I am faced with. Continue to pray that God will undergird me and my team with his love and protection as enemies press in close. Pray for God to send true encouragers near me who can walk with me as I continue my work here in Sierra Leone. LG+LP

Psalm 10:17