JULY 2015 UPDATE
FROM SIERRA LEONE.
“Good and
upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the
humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving
and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.” [Psalm25:8-10]
SCHOOL LIBRARY: Beloved, I once again welcome you the month of
July, the first month of the second half of 2015. Indeed “good and upright is
the Lord”. For us in Sierra Leone, we started the month of July in a very good mood,
with a visit of Mary and the other Mary, with Kathleen and Janis all from the church
of the Servant in Grand Rapids [CRC -USA]. [Mary Kortenhoven and Mary
Loeks].The four Women were here to set up the school library at the CRC School
here in Kabala. What great resources of knowledge have been invested into the
lives of the children of Sierra Leone, especially Koinadugu district. This district
is said to be the most backward in Sierra Leone in terms of education and development.
This library is the only library in a school in the whole of the District as
someone from the community said. The Parents, staff, students and the community
were so excited over this development at the Christian School. Beside the four
women, we also have a woman that is popularly referred to as the mother of
education among the people here; - Dr. Johanna k [ Hope]who was teaching the teachers on how to use the
library as well as teaching them various methods of teaching the children how
to read.
THE CHURCH IN WELLINGTON [FREETOWN].The report below is a quotation from
Pastor Moses Jawara, whom we have appointed to begin the work in Freetown in
our strides to reach the urban cities. I
wish to share it so that we can see what the Lord is doing already in our cities.
Recently someone in the area showed us land, in which he gave us one town Lot
[70 by 100 ft] He also promised to sell to us the bigger section of the land
for our church ministry.
“Thanks and appreciation to God for
the opportunity of being a pastor of the Christian Reformed Church. My heartfelt
gratitude to our able God sent consultant in the person of Rev. Istifanus B.
Bahago for his wise initiative of establishing the urban ministry and together
with the national leadership in Sierra Leone to ensure my coming to this
mission become a reality.
Though my appointment was officially
done on the 1st May 2015, with the mandate to start work
immediately, I started some ground work back in April. This is why I am giving a
report now. It is part of my job description to be submitting a report after
every three months. I therefore submit the report for the first three months of
my operations.
MEMBERSHIPS As
a newly established church, the membership has been fluctuating but we thank
God because there is growth. Below is a representation of the membership for
the first quarter.”
|
DATE
|
MEN
|
WOMEN
|
CHILDREN
|
TOTAL
|
|
APRIL
|
28
|
75
|
68
|
171
|
|
MAY
|
35
|
77
|
108
|
220
|
|
JUNE
|
45
|
80
|
93
|
218
|
The piece of land at the hilly area of
wellington Freetown looking down to the city. Hopefully one day a Church will
be on this hill and will be seen by people down the hill. ‘A church on the hill
cannot be hidden”.
CES EBOLA RELIEF:
One of the
great challenges facing the nation is that of the aftermath of the Ebola virus.
Even though the scourge is not completely gone, we are nearer to say it’s gone.
Nevertheless there are communities that were badly hit by the virus across the
country. Survivals are faced with the
challenge of reintegrating into the community and families, especially orphans
who are victims of the Virus. Recently our development arm [ CES] visited Yoria,
Kumala and other villages within Koinadugu District [ The area we are working].
They distributed relief materials to orphans and care givers of those who lost
both parents by the virus. It was a sympathetic site to be seen as these orphans
queue up to receive this relief. A woman cried bitterly as she remembered her
relatives who died as a result of the virus and she was left with orphans to
care for. In all, they were able to distribute
relief items to 105 orphans and care givers in two villages. Koinadugu District
had 109 positive cases, 48 Survived while 61 died, since the outbreak of the
virus. It was the last district to be infected by the virus in the entire
Country. Presently they have gone 151 days as of July 27 without any new case. Nationwide,
8698 people were infected,4043 survivors,3585 died, suspected are 4589.The good
news is that there is only two patients receiving treatment at the centers in
the entire country.
But since the virus is still active in three
districts, the country is yet to be declare Ebola free. As I said in my previous report of June, the
infection rate is declining. We are hoping and trusting God that we will soon
celebrate our freedom from the deadly virus.
GROWTH TO OTHER TRIBES: The CRC Sierra Leone was started
among the Kuranko tribe in the northern part of Sierra Leone. Recently it has
spread to other ethnic groups such as the Mendes in the southern part of the country.
We want to thank God for this diversity that we are experiencing in the church.
Presently, we are now moving into the Limba tribe. The Limba are a mostly in
the north and they are one of the major tribes in the country. We now have two congregations
among them, one of them has a total attendance of 100 plus. Initially the church
was started by a volunteer evangelism group called the Reformed gospel mission.
[Not Christian Reformed] they do have some Presbyterian link. They decided to
handover the church to us [CRC], since it is their policy whenever they have
converts, after nurturing them for some time, to hand them over to a
denomination that they believe is Bible orientated in their teaching. They
found the CRC as a sister Church so the Churches were handed over to us.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES: The weekly youth bible study and
other activities such as the Boys
Brigade meetings as resume normal
activities as the Ebola restrictions on gatherings has being eased, we thank
God because these activities help in the spiritual growth of our young people
In the church.
Youth choir
at Kabala Church presenting songs during worship service, on a Sunday.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: The joy of the Lord is my strength;
July 16 was a great day for Jemimah as she celebrated the grace of the Lord in
her life as a wife, Mother and Missionary. One more year was added to her
years. We did that in our quiet Conner here in Kabala assisted by Sarah
Kluitenberg, JEMIMAH cut her Birthday cake. I do not know, why many Women in
Africa [those I have met] never want to disclose their age publicly though
their Husband of course knows. So I am not authorized to disclose how old she
is now. But the Lord had added another year to her life.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEMIMAH.
FAMILY FARM PROGRAM: We continue to thank God for the gift
of life and that he has given us the opportunity to recreate what he has created,
through which we will be able to feed ourselves and others. The Family Farm Program
continues to give farmers education and distribution of seedlings to farmers in
various communities where they are working. Most farmers that participated in
the project in villages like Foria, Fogo Dundukor, and Firawa are happy to
continue with the program. Many have planted Groundnut [Pea nut] and are waiting
for harvesting next month. Presently, rice plantation is ongoing in various
communities. Abu Jalloh has left the program to work with another NGO [IBBIS]. Alhassan
is continuing with the farmers.
APPRECIATIONS: Again we will continue to say a big
thank you to you all for your Prayers, and support. Without that we would not
have been here. Please continue with the good work. Your support for mission in
saving souls will be rewarded by the owner of the field [That is our Lord and savior
Jesus Christ] God bless you all. Remember to always pray for:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Pray that the battle against Ebola
will be won soon.
2. Thank God for Judith in completing
her high school in Nigeria. She is now waiting for her results.
3. Pray for [Judith] as she wants to go to a Para
Medics school that God will grant her the success.
4. Pray for Foray Wollay Marah the
acting program manager for the CES that God will give him the wisdom to
continue the work that his predecessors have done.
5. Pray for continued spiritual growth
of the Church.
6. Pray for commitment of the pastors
and evangelists of the Church.
7. Students are now on a six weeks break
from School, pray that God will give the teachers more wisdom and strength to
prepare for more in the next school term.
8. Pray for the new Churches in
Wellington and Lengekoro .
9. Pray for the Orphans and care givers
of Ebola Victims.
10.
Pray
for more help and aids for the Ebola Victims.
11.
Pray
for More income to CRWM so that they will continue to support the ministry
here. Especially in the areas of the COI as the Church is working hard to start
work on the multipurpose building to enable her have offices to run her
activities.
12.
Pray
for good health for us in the ministry.
SUBMITTED
BY;
REV.
ISTIFANUS B. BAHAGO.
CRWM/CRCSL
LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT.
Phone;
+2327824240., +23277668139.
Email:ibbahago@gmail.com,
www.apostlebahago.blogspot.com
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