Prayer Partner Update #3 (3/26/08)

Everything is about in place! Our VISA applications will be mailed to the Sierra Leone Embassy on Monday. This is the last thing to be checked off the list. Airline tickets are bought for all 16 of us. We are grateful to be on the same flights going and coming home with only a minor layover in London.

God just keeps on providing! When we updated you last we mentioned that any other funds that were given would go specifically for building materials for the polio clinic. Well, little did we know that people would be so thrilled to know their support would be spent in such a way. Thank you!!

The above photo is a street scene taken in the Kissy District where we will be staying. It and the following pictures were taken by the advance team that went to Sierra Leone earlier this year to make our arrangements. Enjoy!

Sierra Leone Girls

From Bryan Doyle: I snagged this picture before the young ladies could react. Right after this, they started smiling and waving and laughing, it was awesome. Those are containers full of palm oil on their heads, must be about 5 gallons of it. These girls couldn't have been but 12 or 13.

Sierra Leone Hospital

From Bryan Doyle: Once we finally made it to the Hospital, Dr. Elmer gave us a tour. He's an amazing man, he has been here for 7 years building up this hospital. He's a surgeon working in the worse conditions you can imagine, saving lives everyday. We met this fellow, who has TB in his colon. As you can see he's in pretty bad shape. The saddest part is, it only takes a bit of medicine to fix him right up. The medicine was not available locally so Dr. Elmer had to use his network to get some brought in. It is expected sometime this week, but the boy only has about a week to live, so we pray that the timing works out.

Sierra Leone "King George School"

From Bryan Doyle: We visited the King George School , they have 128 kids of all ages they teach in a big barn. We had the priviledge of giving out gift boxes from Samaritan Purse to each of these children. The boxes were full of stuff from kids in the UK , things like dolls, toothpaste, football (soccer) jerseys, pens, markers, trinkets, just random everyday things. I have never seen such excitement in a room. It was like giving these kids a new car, or a million dollars. As we were sorting out the boxes, this young lady poked her head out to see what was going on and I snagged this shot of her.

Sierra Leone "City of Rest"

From Bryan Doyle: The City of Rest is a home for the drug addicted or mentally challenged. Here is Pastor Gobah looking over the his part of town. He and one wonderful lady named Helen care after 40 men and women in various states of need. They have no medication and there is only 1 psychiatrist in SL, who has recently retired. Most of the guys are chained to themselves or a chair they have to carry around to keep them from wandering into the streets and giving in to the local temptations. The Pastor has been working true miracles with these people.

At the Women's Polio House in Sierra Leone

From Bryan Doyle - (an advance trip that was made in preparation for our mission trip): We also visited a women's polio house. In SL, people of like disabilities tend to group together to form small communities. They are largely forgotten by society and must do amazing things to live. One woman walks a good ways on crutches to the market everyday to buy a sack of oranges, which she then peels and resells. She makes about 2000 leones a day (less than a dollar) and lives on 1000 and uses 1000 to provide for her children's education. These two young ladies pictured were so full of life. I managed to get this image before they noticed me and started chearing and smiling and waving, as they are want to do.

Prayer Partner Update #2 (3/15/08)

There are no words left to describe what we have experienced in the last 18 days. Each day our trip to the mailbox has been overwhelming!! The outpouring of commitments to be in prayer for us and the Sierra Leone team has been tremendous, and the sacrificial gifts we have received are continuing to leave us feeling completely humbled! We love you all and thank you from the depths of our hearts.

As of last night we were at 99.1% of the need being met. When I checked email a moment ago there was a pledge that has now put us over the top! 100.3%. Any additional funds that come in will help to buy building materials for the polio clinic.

On Monday we will lock in airline tickets and will have a list of names for each team member. Tom's passport has arrived and we added a few other vaccinations that were routine. We are beginning to think through the packing process, etc... We look forward to keeping you updated with specific requests.

What a blessing you are to us!