Relief Effort!

"Relief" has never been a word that we like all that much because it very seldom has a view to long-term sustainability, but we knew coming back in January that we felt compelled to assist numerous families through the rough time they've had as Ebola has not only claimed lives and caused a whole new set of orphans, but every man, woman and child has suffered the side effects of rising food prices, inconsistent work or pay and a lack of basic medical care.  We are thankful to folks in the USA for supporting this area of ministry which will run for 6 to 12 months depending on the need.  In January and February, 18 family units received parcels, and this week God impressed upon us that we must add an additional family.  The people here are so grateful! And we so appreciate Abraham for making this happen for us logistically! We could not do it without him!!!  

In Good Hands!

Seven days a week, we have a number of men in our compound. Some are security guards, and some assist with construction or routine work.  We simply could not be here and do what God has called us to do without these guys!  Even while we were in the USA recently, this place was locked down tight as the men were risking their own lives to transport to work each day through areas of the peninsula where Ebola was running rampant!  We love these folks!

Carew, Sulaiman & Abraham

We have a bleach hand washing station just inside the gate, 

and temperatures are checked before the guys begin work.

Sankoh & Carew

Sulaiman

Vandi

The guys always talk about how in this country the "BOSS MAN" is thought to be very strict, and he doesn't actually do the work. He orders everyone around, and would never joke or have a good time. Well, Tom is relentless at playing jokes on the men as they work side by side together! They have great respect for his work ethic, and enjoy his humor!

Other security who work weekends or nights: Desmond, Alfred, Joseph K, Joseph S, Mark, and Sullay!  So blessed by all these wonderful men!  

8 weeks HOME!!!

On Sunday, we will celebrate 8 weeks since we arrived home!!!  

We wish we could say that Ebola is history, but sadly, 

Sierra Leone is still experiencing new cases daily.  

Thankfully, travel restrictions are back in place as of last week since 

the numbers of cases rose in February due to 

people moving more freely. 

We pray daily for this country, and those we love so dearly here,

 that God will protect and bring this horrible virus to a complete end.

Those that we serve alongside have been especially 

grateful for our return. 

They say they have found a renewed courage to

 press forward by having us back with them.  

We are the ones who are blessed by them as 

we know the struggles they experienced in our absence. 

Here are just a few of our folks that so faithfully lead some of our areas of ministry! 

Auntie Edna & Headmistress Susan of Hosetta School for Special Needs Kiddos

Director Charles with associates Daniel and Patrick of the Waterloo Street Boy Ministry

Assistant Isatu with Auntie Margaret, the director of God's Will Children's Home for Orphans

Interim Director Bobson Allie (left) with the HOPE CENTRE staff, Jui

Merry Christmas!

December 16, 2014

Christmas greetings!

With 24 days until we board the plane for Sierra Leone, we know that an update is in order. You all mean the world to us, and we so appreciate your prayers and support! Love you all dearly!!

2014 WAS OFF TO AN AMAZING START with teams in February, May and June focusing on our orphans, street boys and construction! The Lord was at work as well as we shared in strategic planning among partnering organizations for future ministry opportunities. And we were especially thrilled that the adoption process for two of our orphans was completed in July, and the kiddos flew with their new forever parents to the USA!

IT WAS THE WEEK OF JULY 21 that Ebola entered the capital of Freetown, and we began to talk through what it might look like if we chose to stay in Sierra Leone, or how we would set things in motion to run ministries long-distance from Texas. After much thought and prayer, we departed for the USA mid-August. Thankfully, all work has continued with some modifications with the exception of construction!

EBOLA IS STILL A CONCERN IN WEST AFRICA, but we feel an overwhelming peace that we are to return HOME. We have now shifted gears and are making preparations to fly on January 10, 2015.

A NEW AREA OF MINISTRY: "RELIEF" - we have never liked the word RELIEF because there is no clear view to self-sustainability, but Sierra Leone is in an extreme crisis, and people we love are suffering. We know we cannot feed 6 million people, but we are developing a list of 15-20 family units, aside from our orphans and caretaker families for street boys, that we believe we need to assist. A basic parcel that will help to offset needs will include rice, peanuts, oil, salt and soap for approximately $75 per month. For families who have absolutely no income, we may double the parcel. We would like to commit to help these families for up to one year. We pray for discernment and wisdom as we seek to meet needs!

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE - with things settling down in Liberia, we feel more attention will be focused on Sierra Leone. Other missionaries are planning to return in 2015, and we are in on-going communication. Our prayer and our hope is that things will turn around for SL, and in the meantime, the Lord will be able to speak to hearts through this time of crisis that would not be open to hearing His Voice any other way.

We love you!!  Thank you for your prayers, support and the love you have for us and all those we serve!!

It's all for the Kingdom!!

Tom, Beck and Bo

So blessed by Dianna of the DMN!

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/religion/20141128-street-boy-finds-a-home-with-texas-missionaries-in-sierra-leone.ece


http://www.dallasnews.com/news/religion/20141128-ebola-threat-cant-keep-texas-missionary-couple-from-west-africa-work.ece

Ministry continues ........

We can never express our gratitude for our friends and partners in
Sierra Leone for continuing ministry in our absence.
It is always a privilege to serve alongside these guys,

 and absolutely humbling to know of the depth of their commitment to 

continue the work as we are in the USA.  

Once again this week, all distributions for the orphans and caretaker families
for street boys have been carried out even with
the risks involved from Ebola.  A big thank you to all!!!  

Here are a few pictures the guys have posted over the last few months!

 Abraham

 Sulaiman

 Charles

 Patrick

We wish we had photos of everyone that has been a part of this effort!  

We will certainly post about them upon
our return to Sierra Leone
in January!!

It's all for the Kingdom!     

EBOLA ... our final 12 days in Sierra Leone, August 2014

Abdule Carew

With the departure of our final group from the USA on July 20th, we knew we needed to think through decisions as to what it would look like if we stayed in Sierra Leone, or how could things be set in motion for us to conduct ministry from stateside.  We are so thankful for our incredible partners for working tirelessly on security updates for our compound, and for daily meetings to line out plans. We cannot wait to be back with all these (and others) that we love so dearly!!

Solomon, Sankoh & Omaru

Abraham

Charles

Auntie Margaret

Carew & Sulaiman

Donald (as of today he is in the arms of Jesus!)  

& Daniel

In no way were we able to get pictures of all those we serve alongside, 

but God knows each and every one, and we trust that 

HE IS WITH THEM 

during these turbulent times in our Sweet Salone!