"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him--a threefold cord is not quickly broken." (Ecc. 4:9-12)
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. As many of you know we were unable to visit Freetown in August like we had hoped. Pastor Samuel Menyongar, the main leader for our work in Freetown, was in the US during this time. We were blessed to have him spend a few days with us here in Columbus to meet with our friends and supporters to share about the work he is doing to further the Gospel of Jesus in Sierra Leone. It is amazing to see how much the Lord does with such a small community of pastors. Hundreds of people each month come to know Jesus through the ministry of IMC and the outreaches that they do in schools, hospitals, refugee communities, and many other places.
The Lord continues to provide wonderful opportunities in Sierra Leone and we are excited about what the future will bring through our partnership with IMC. Sierra Leone recently elected a new president and we are extremely hopeful for change to continue in a positive way. After another year, Sierra Leone has risen slightly in its ranking of worst places in the world—instead of holding last place, Sierra Leone is now ranked 3rd. Please continue to pray that the Lord would continue to show his heart for the poor in this country.
Pastor Menyongar’s visit also gave us a great chance to discuss current and future plans for Change One. First, the well project in Rokel has been finished and the people there are extremely grateful for this blessing in their community. They have begun to use the well but they are hoping to have a formal opening ceremony the next time we go to visit. It is currently a hand-drawn well and we are looking into furnishing a pump in the future.
We recently transferred a sum of money to support two new projects. The first is a sanitation project in the Grafton community. Grafton is an area outside of Freetown, where many were relocated in camps after the war. Change One and IMC (International Missionary Center) will be partnering to build some desperately needed latrines and bathing areas in these refugee communities: one in the Grafton Polio Community and the other will be in Grafton War Wounded Community. Please pray that these communities would be blessed by these projects and that they would continue to provide consistent opportunities for evangelism in Grafton. We are still praying that we will be able to build houses in the Grafton War Wounded Community this year.
In our last letter we had mentioned the possibility of providing some livestock for the Newton community through a micro-loan program. After having discussed issues with the members of the camp and with the other pastors in Sierra Leone, we are hoping to allow for more opportunities than just livestock. The people within the community have asked that we provide for them to be able to start their own micro-businesses. Members of the community will submit proposals for the type of business they would like to start such as raising chickens, selling rice, hand woven fabrics, etc. The proposals would be approved through Change One and IMC leadership. Members in that community would commit to a payment schedule to help them pay back the money and they would be accountable to leadership in Sierra Leone. We feel that this is an even better opportunity, because it gives the community freedom to choose the type of work that they do.
Finally, we are in the process of planning a medical outreach trip to Freetown this spring. Please pray that all the details will come together for this trip and that many Sierra Leoneans will be encouraged as a result of the medical team. If you feel that you’d like to financially support this trip and other ministry projects, please send a check to Change One in the enclosed envelope.
The verse from Ecclesiastes above is so true: two are better than one because they have good return for their work. We are very blessed to have a partnership with the members of IMC because we are able to do far more work than we ever could have imagined. That work is even more fruitful when the Lord’s hand is guiding and blessing it. Thanks for all of you prayers and support because with them we are able to dream big dreams and watch God change the world.
Love and blessings,
Keith and Laura
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