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 19th through April
15th. 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
