Sierra Leone, West Africa

Well, God has surprised us again! While “we” were praying about which mission trip would fit into “our” summer schedule, God was at work making sure we very “coincidentally” (not that there is such a thing for the Christian) went to a meeting for the Sierra Leone trip that departs on May 8th. Our hearts were stirred in ways that they haven’t been in quite some time. If you have heard of the movie “Blood Diamond,” then you are aware of the civil war that has crippled the economy and left tens of thousands dead as well as 1/3 of the population displaced. Our hearts are breaking for them.

Objectives for the trip:
**Expansion/construction of a women’s polio clinic (many are lying on cardboard on the ground for lack of beds and space)
**Various outreach projects for families, including children
**Help to teach ladies skills for earning an income
**Build relationships of encouragement
**Evangelism/Outreach by showing the “Jesus” film

We are in the process of arranging times for immunizations and having Tom’s passport renewed. The Yellow Fever injection seems to be hard to come by these days. We ask that you pray that all goes smoothly as we take care of these details.

We would like to ask you to partner with us in prayer for the trip as a whole: for the team, air travel, good health, spiritual preparation on our part, and spiritual preparation for the people of Sierra Leone that we will come in contact with.

We would also like to ask for your financial support. Without YOU this endeavor will not be possible. Airfare is unbelievably high – over $2000 per person. The team is working to keep ground expenses low, thus the total cost for travel per person will be $2500. Visa fees and vaccinations are going to run approximately $380 each.

We have certainly been on many mission trips in the past, some that required raising support, but we must say that we have never had the deadlines we are now experiencing. Airline tickets must be locked in by March 15th and Visa fees are due April 1st. These things just make us all the more excited. God will be quite busy in the next 23 days!! We can’t wait to see how He provides. J. Hudson Taylor once said, “God’s will, done God’s way, never lacks for God’s provision!” Our trust is in HIM!

Please consider joining us in God’s work in Sierra Leone.