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Liberian Ministries DVD now available!
The informational
documentary that was shot in mid 2005 is available free of charge to all
who ask. Please contact
us to request one or more free copies delivered to you.
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Current Events…
(new time &
weather links at left)
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Follow the Nov. 2 – 13 trip to Monrovia
here.
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The October report from Shadrach
has been received. See it
here. Of special interest is the
school’s attendance climbing to 600 students and the decisions by 7
people to accept Christ as Savior.
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Shadrach coming
to the U.S.
soon! Shadrach will
arrive December 18th and leave the end of January. During that time he will be visiting many
churches and providing a report of the work that has been done, the
opportunities for the future and ways that we can best serve God in Liberia. See his
schedule here.
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The new Sinoe Store is open. A private gift enabled the Children’s
Village to open a store in Karmo’s Town to supply needed items to the
community and to serve as a source of additional funds for the ministry.
See
Shadrach’s report on the Sinoe Store here.
See
Shadrach’s August-September general report here.
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Trading earthly treasures for heavenly
treasures. There are some
wonderful books available which help us see the biblical truths about
investing in eternal treasures (I hope to have one in downloadable form
here shortly). A friend’s church
recently posted a sermon that does an outstanding job in this area and it
is available to you, free of charge, by clicking here (all 5 weeks are good but week 5 on
Intensity is the one I recommend).
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Rob,
Cathy and Jerry Patterson, of Galt, California and long time supporters of God’s work in Liberia,
surprised us with a visit to church and lunch on Sunday, August 27. Pictured (left to right) are: Cathy and
Rob Patterson, Gayla and Elizabeth Edwards,
Emily, Kara, Josh, Shelia and Ron Gleaves and Jerry Patterson with his pet
tortoise “Squirt”.
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Children’s Village report for
August is now available. Here are
some highlights:
Professions of Faith 6
Avg. church attendance 195
Avg. church offerings $ 19 US
School
enrollment 406
Patients
treated at medical clinic 118
Orphans
fully under our care 35
New
permanent housing completed 4 units
Acres
under cultivation 40
See the full report here
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Follow Rodney Edwards’ August 8-24 trip to Liberia here.
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The shipping container to Liberia
has been sent. See pictures and contents here.
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Due to the rainy season sales of cold water have been
very slow. This is the primary
source of non-U.S. funds to run the village. Shadrach has made the following pressing
needs known:
- Fuel for big truck to Sinoe $ 545 (rec’d)
- Salaries $1,914
- Food for
the Village $ 345 (rec’d)
- Ministry
School Children Uniforms $ 720 (rec’d)
Total $3,524
If you would like to understand
these needs further please see the full listing (with explanations) from
Shadrach here.
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Shadrach has provided the July. See it here.
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Immediate needs for Shipping Container. Shadrach called and asked for bicycles in
addition to the following items already mentioned. The bicycles would be used by our school
teachers who do not live at the village.
Other Needs:
Shadrach
has asked that the following items be sent with our next container (we are
working to get one ready by early July):
Orphanage/Village
Items-
Children’s
clothes
Children’s
shoes
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
School
Items (400+ students)-
Composition
Books
Pencils
Pens
(red and blue ink)
Paper
Manual
mimeograph machine
Copy
paper
Desk
and chairs for school office
Filing
cabinet with hanging folders
Ink
Cartridges for HP OfficeJet 6100
Black is #56
Color is #57
Used
(but working) computers
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40’ Shipping Container scheduled to
ship to Monrovia
in approximately 1 month. We offer a
cost sharing opportunity for any ministry or individual that wants to ship
goods over in the container. The
following unit costs are what is being shared between all participants and
is based upon a $10,000 total cost estimate for trucking, shipping, customs
and delivery. There is no charge
included for the receipt, storage or loading that we do (this is our
ministry to you).
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Measurement
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Quantity
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Cost/Unit
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Linear
Feet
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1
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$
276.93
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Square
Feet
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1
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$
38.68
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Cubic
Feet
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1
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$
7.04
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If you are interested in
sending goods over please send us an email and we will provide
the necessary information. Any savings
once all costs are paid will be returned to the participants.
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A reminder of what you accomplished in Liberia during June:
- 3 people accepted
Him as Savior
- 406
children provided with a Christian education
- 35
orphaned children cared for daily (10 more than in May)
- 165
village members heard the gospel each Sunday
- 154
patients treated at the medical clinic
See Shadrach’s May – June
report here…
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Saudi Prince gives $2,000,000 to Liberia. We live in the richest nation on earth
yet we miss so many opportunities to impact our world for Christ. Some who read this article will lament
that inroads to Islam are being made daily in Liberia. However, the real tragedy is that people
are dying everyday in Liberia
without knowing the love of Christ that drives out the false teaching of
Islam. It’s not that Islam is coming
in that’s the problem, it’s that the love of Christ isn’t being brought in. We can do this if we will simply obey
Christ. Read the article here…
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A reminder of what you accomplished in Liberia during May:
- 6 people (that
Christ died for) accepted Him as Savior
- 406
children provided with a Christian education
- 25
orphaned children cared for daily
- 179
village members heard the gospel each Sunday
- 120
patients treated at the medical clinic
See
Shadrach’s April – May report here…
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“It is to be kept in mind that
the generations of men do not wait for the convenience of the church in
respect to their evangelization. Men are born and die whether or not
Christians are ready to give them the Gospel. And hence, if the church of
any generation does not evangelize the heathen of that generation, those
heathen will never be evangelized at all. It is always true in the work of
evangelization that the present can never anticipate the future, and that
the future can never replace the past. What is to be done in soul saving
must be done by that generation.”
J.
Oswald Sanders
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Robena Kamei a 19 year old college student from Liberia, living in the U.S. since she was 6 years old, contacted us
recently to inquire about our ministry and to express her desire to work with
the children of Liberia
after she graduates from college with a degree in missions. Some of you, especially you moms that
have a large heart for Liberian children may want to contact her. Read
her letter here…
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God’s universal plan for each of us is the same but His unique
plan for each of us is quite different.
Often, when God puts a burden on our heart for a certain “cause”,
people group, etc. we immediately think that He has called every other
Christian to it as well. We can’t
understand why our Christian brothers and sisters are not standing in line
to “get in” on this work that we are called to do. God made us each unique so that He could
use our uniqueness to reach the world for His Son’s sake.
A special friend of Liberian
Ministries, Jenny Groothuis, recently sent out a short writing that
addresses this tendency to be self focused which she calls “Wearing Your
Own Shoe”. I found it to be a
fitting word spoken in due season. Read it here…
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A reminder of what you are accomplishing in Liberia:
- 400
children per year provided with a Christian education
- 25
orphaned children cared for daily
- 150
village members hear the gospel each Sunday
- Hundreds
of church leaders from over 50 churches provided annual training
- 400
people equipped to share God’s plan for salvation using the EvangeCube
- Health
care provided in an area that has no other options
It really is worth the effort. One day, when you stand in front of the
eternal God, He will say to you “Well done…when I was hungry you fed me,
when I was naked you clothed me…”
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March-April Report from Shadrach is in. See it
here.
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A roof for the Children’s Village School! Due to the need to provide salaries
to our teachers and food to our children, we have been unable to complete
the new school building. But thanks
to the generosity of those supporting this work the money to complete the
roof has been received and sent to Liberia. This will be only the 2nd K-12th
grade school in the entire Sinoe county area.
In support of God’s wonderful
timing, a sudden storm came through the Village and destroyed the tarp
coverings on our two orphan housing units and on the temporary school. With the current semester ending, our
people will be moved into the school until replacement quarters can be
established. We are so thankful to
have this option for the children and workers of the Children’s Village
with the new roof going on.
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Good Morning Sir.,
I thank
the Almighty God for all He had done for us. We sometime wonder why He
loves us like He does
It was
about two months ago when I spent three days on the Sinoe road because of
the car having problem. I prayed that night that God’s grace will have a
car that we will not have to sleep on the Sinoe road again because of
engine problems. Well, thank God that He has answered that prayer for us
and has givien us a Toyota T100 4x4 Pick-up. We have used this pick-up two
times now on Sinoe road and we never have to get out of the car to push it
or even use any spare tires at all. Yes glory be to God for the Man/Woman
who heart was touched by God to provide the money for the Pick-up. We
really and very much appreciate it.
It is
our prayers that this pick-up will be used as a blessing for the ministry
so that we will not have to rent a car any more, in Jesus Name. We tell
him/her thanks that he has made the impossible Sinoe road Possible for us
to travel on rain or shine.
Shadrach K. Saywon
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A new Physical Needs page has been added to keep
everyone updated on the opportunities to provide funds and assets in the
most advantageous way. An important part
of this section will be to communicate why the need exists and the expected
result of filling it. Please review
the listing and ask God if He would have you participate in meeting a need.
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"We can reach
our world, if we will. The greatest lack today is not people or funds. The
greatest need is prayer."
Wesley Duewel (head, OMS International)
It is so
easy to forget that prayer is the most important part of any mission
endeavor. Funds have been incredibly
tight lately and yet the needs of our people in Liberia, if anything, are
greater. Bro. Carl Hadley began
praying for two pressing needs that, together, added up to a little over
$9,000. In fact, he began to pray
for exactly $10,000. Today he received
an email that said a check for $10,000 was in the mail. We have a team of supporters who have
agreed to pray daily for Liberian Ministries. If you’re willing to pray daily for the
people of Liberia
and our efforts to reach them for the cause of Christ we would love to have
you on the Prayer
Team.
"If you are sick, fast and pray; if the language is hard to
learn, fast and pray; if the people will not hear you, fast and pray, if
you have nothing to eat, fast and pray."
Fredrik Franson
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WOW III Women’s Conference to be held on March 11th at St. Mark’s Faith & Life
Center in Marion, Iowa. Jenny
Groothuis (a member of the Liberian Ministries Prayer Team and mother of 4
adopted Liberian daughters) is a featured speaker. Jenny is providing all attendees (last
year over 300 women) with a Liberian Ministries DVD. Please pray that the Liberian Ministries
message will find tender and compassionate hearts. If you would like more information about
the conference please contact Kathy Moser at smoser08@mchsi.com.
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“People pursuing a God-given vision live with strategic intent. The
vision virtually captures them. They no longer dream about what could
happen. They become convinced that certain things must happen. They make
choices as if each day held abiding value. They are not driven by
obligation. They live in the dignity and liberty of knowing they give their
utmost for God’s purposes.”
Steven C. Hawthorne -
Founder/Director of WayMakers
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Results of the Moringa Tree
research done by Earl
and Esther Worthington are now available here. We are grateful to the Worthington’s for their efforts in this
area and are looking for others to build upon their work. If you would be interested in providing
manpower and/or funding please contact
us.
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The Second Chance – Another opportunity for believers to support a Christian film
(recommended by Jenny and Brad Groothuis).
Same faith. Same city. Different worlds.
The Second Chance is a film about two men - one from a white church
in the well-to-do suburbs and one from a black church in the inner-city
projects. Although founded by the same man, each church manifests its
mission in a very different way. This film authentically tells the story of
how a rebellious son and a street-smart pastor struggle to bridge the gap
between their respective churches and cultures. More importantly, at its
core, The Second Chance is about being willing to step outside your comfort
zone and serve where you are called.
Get more information at the movie’s website http://www.thesecondchancemovie.com/_site/
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"If ten men are carrying a log -- nine of them on the little end
and one at the heavy end -- and you want to help, which end will you lift
on?"
William Borden, as he reflected on the numbers of Christian workers
in the U.S. as compared
to those among unreached peoples in China
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Liberian Adoption Information. Notice that we have added a section in
the menu to the right to provide information about adopting children from Liberia.
While Liberian Ministries is not an
adoption agency we are thankful for those who choose to rescue these
children through adoption. A special
thanks to Brad
and Jenny Groothuis for assisting with the links and for being willing
to provide information on their adoption adventure. See the new
section on adoption here.
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We know
what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also
ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. But if anyone has enough money to live
well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help--how can God's
love be in that person? Dear children, let us stop just saying we
love each other; let us really show it by our actions.
1
John 3:16-18
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West Africa:
Unemployed Youth Threaten Stability
www.allafrica.com
No jobs, no prospects in Liberia where youthful rebels
waged war for 14 years.
In a region where 65
percent of the population is less than 30 years old, the lack of jobs is
increasingly leaving West African youth with only two options - violence or
migration, according to a UN report.
Liberian
Ministries has as one of its goals the training of young people in work
related skills to enable them to earn a living for their families and
become a positive, Christian force in the recovery of their country. If you have business assets such as
welding equipment, wood working tools, farm equipment, etc. we invite you
to help us create the job training portion of this ministry. To find out more please contact
us.
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7I once thought
all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless
because of what Christ has done. 8Yes,
everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it
all as garbage, so that I may have Christ 9and
become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to
obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God's way of making us
right with himself depends on faith. 10As a
result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that
raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing
in his death, 11so that, somehow, I can
experience the resurrection from the dead!
Philippians 3
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Generator
arrives in Monrovia. Shadrach called yesterday (Thursday,
11/20) and said that they had taken possession of the diesel generator that
we shipped. The shipment was delayed
by many things including the recent presidential election (everyone went on
holiday) but is onsite now and should have been hooked up and running by
now. The many people that purchased
cold water and ice wholesale have been by to say how thankful they are that
we are back in business as it provides a way for them to earn enough for
food to feed their families.
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Sometimes you want to quit…but you don’t. The work
of building an entire children’s village in living conditions that are hard
to imagine, with logistical situations that we can’t understand in America
and with a seemingly endless amount of need can really wear you down. Sometimes (oftentimes) we wonder why we
keep at it. I believe that a recent
article in The Sunday Times – World will remind us all of why it is so
critical that we take advantage of the opportunity that God has given us to
provide a Christian education to so many children. Ask yourself if God would have you help
reach the children of Liberia
for His kingdom’s sake. See the article here.
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Esther and Earl Worthington
take the Moringa Oleifera tree project. The
Worthingtons, of First Baptist Church Jonesboro, GA have offered to do the
research into the possibility of using this tree as a nutritional and cash
crop product for Liberia. The Worthingtons own a tree farming
business in Georgia
and have been involved in Liberian missionary work for twenty years. What a blessing to have them assisting in
this project.
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Needed – Someone to research
Moringa Oleifera tree for use in Liberia. The tree is reputed to be rich in food,
oil and other useful products. It is
supposed to be easy to grow and might even be a good source of
bio-diesel. There is a tremendous
amount of information on the internet.
One site of interest is http://www.churchworldservice.org/moringa. There are many available using Google to
search.
Areas
of interest are its suitability for Liberia, how to obtain seeds/cuttings,
process for extracting oil, effort to raise and harvest, land required for
useful quantities, etc. Contact
us if you would like to take this on as a project.
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Brand New Generator ready by
September 30. The fine folks at Eagle Generator in Dunnellon, Florida (www.eaglegen.com)
called today to say that our new, John Deere generator would be ready
soon. What a blessing to have
supporters that supply the funds for new equipment and good folks like
those at Eagle Generator to provide it.
Prior
to obtaining this generator we purchased a 100kw Caterpillar generator with
only 500 hours on the engine.
Through a delivery problem we did not receive this unit in time to
get it on the container we shipped.
The new John Deere generator is a more appropriate size (40kw) for
our needs and we would like to sell the 100kw generator here for $10,000
and use those funds to purchase a refrigerated shipping container for use
in the ice making business in Monrovia.
If you know of anyone interested please have them call Rodney
Edwards at 615-233-5160 or email Rodney.Edwards@LiberianMinistries.com. See a picture here.
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Read a newspaper story about
adopting Liberian children. The final line
of the story says “If Jenny could, she’d adopt the whole nation.” In a way, that’s what the mission of
Liberian Ministries is all about. To
“adopt” the whole nation, in place, and glorify God through the
process. Read the story here.
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You can now make a secure donation online. Simply choose the DONATE ONLINE link from
any page and follow the directions.
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Our prayers are with the
victims of Hurricane Kitrina. There is a sad
correlation between what we are seeing in the New
Orleans area and what the nation of Liberia endured for 14
years. Imagine the utter
devastation, looting, killing, lack of food and medical care that we are
experiencing now going on for years.
For 14 years Liberia
suffered through their own “Hurricane Kitrina”. As we help our fellow countrymen recover
from this catastrophic event we continue to help the people of Liberia
recover as well. Hurricane
survivors, we are praying for you.
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The walls are going up on the
new school. The new school has walls approximately ½
way up and work is continuing.
Thanks to supporters that have made it possible for the Village to
purchase the necessary sand to complete the blocks and mix the mortar to
begin building the walls. We are in
a race to complete the new school before the next semester starts and could
really use $3,500 to purchase the plumbing supplies. This will be the nicest school facility
in Sinoe County and, by running 2 daily
sessions, could allow almost 1,000 children to be educated. See pictures (quality is low) here – Pict 1, Pict 2 and Pict 3.
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Liberians will, on 11 October
2005, be going to the polls to elect a new president and other leaders, after fourteen
years of intermittent civil wars, wars, which are better described as wars
of plunder and/or wars for mere state power. We have not heard the final number of
candidates but over 50 individuals were in the running prior to the cutoff
date for qualifying earlier this month.
It is hard to explain the level of corruption that exists within
Liberia and the tremendous poverty of the entire country makes it difficult
for a candidate to set aside his/her own benefit for those of the country
at large. Pray
with us that God will use this election to His benefit and that
Christian organizations working within the country will remain pure and
seek God’s will rather than taking the short cut of political
expediency. Please make this a
matter of daily prayer through the October 11th election date.
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See film debut pictures from the Suwannee
and Murfreesboro
events here. Also, see pictures of
one generator
being loaded into the shipping container at First
Baptist Church,
Jonesboro
here.
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Happy Liberian Independence Day!!!
Tuesday,
July 26th is the 158th anniversary of Liberian
independence. Liberia was the first democratic republic in
Africa and played a key role in the
development of other West African countries. The recent decade long civil war has
destroyed much of what 150 years of advancement had brought. But God is working in this country and
our opportunities to help rescue these wonderful people are great. Take a few moments from your schedule
this Tuesday to pray that God will continue His work of reaching the
Liberian people for His son’s sake.
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Shiloh Baptist Church, Chipley,
Florida provided an
opportunity to speak to its people during the morning worship service July
24th. The pastor there is
Bro. Gary Wiggins who has made trips to support this work over the past
couple of years. We are very
thankful for the people of Shiloh
Baptist Church and know that God will work through them in this
endeavor just as He is already using them in His kingdom’s work in other
places.
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Generous gifts of 3 diesel
generators
have been received within the past week.
Thanks to the love of people for the work of Liberian Ministries, two
diesel generators have been purchased and will leave for Liberian on
Thursday, July 28th. A third
diesel generator is being built and will be sent over in approximately
2 months. These generators will
allow us to get the ice production business back online and will provide a
much needed generator for the Children’s Village and its new school.
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Liberian Ministries Documentary
Film to debut
in three cities during July. All events
include great food and are free of charge.
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee debut was a great
success. It’s difficult to
overstate the quality of the work by Navigation Advertising on the
piece. If you are unable to
make one of the remaining debuts but would like to receive a DVD of
the documentary please send
an email requesting one and we will send it free of charge. (We would ask that you share it with
others after you receive it.)
- Saturday July 16th
– Suwannee,
Florida. The fine folks at Suwannee Baptist
Church provided
enough fried Sea Trout and Red Fish for a small city and we all did
our best, unsuccessfully, to eat every bite. Several surrounding churches
participated and the film was a huge success.
- Saturday July 23rd
– Bonifay,
Florida. The good folks at Gully Springs
Baptist Church hosted the film debut
and it was a great success.
Wonderful music was provided by One Heart, the film received a
wonderful review and the food and fellowship afterwards was great as
well.
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Shadrach & Gertrude have a
new baby girl! Today (June 18th) Gertrude
Saywon gave birth to a second daughter.
The mother and baby are both healthy. No name has been given yet (in Liberia
that is the Grandmother’s prerogative it seems). Thank you for your prayers. We ask you to keep praying for their
health until everything is stabilized.
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The ministry’s generator is
lost. We received a bit of bad news yesterday
as the electrical generator used to power our ice/water production business
suffered a cracked block and is not repairable. The immediate financial loss is high as a
new generator purchased in Monrovia
will be approximately $15,000. Of
equal importance is that the water/ice business is the most profitable
business for the ministry and we have also lost that revenue until a new
generator can be secured. Please
pray that God will provide a quick solution to this serious problem.
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Welcome home Carol Chambers! Carol is a registered nurse and teacher
from Dothan, Alabama that gave a year of her life to
serve God at the Children’s Village.
She went over last May and returned last night (5/30) to Atlanta where she was
picked up and returned to her home.
It is hard for the ministry to express strongly enough our love and
respect for Carol. She has mentioned
that she will be returning to the Children’s Village after taking a year to
get her nursing certificate renewed and “resting up”. Something tells us that she will not be
able to stay away that long. We have
asked Carol to document her year of service so that we can share it with
you on the website. Thank you Carol.
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Keep up with the prayer needs through the Prayer Needs web page. We need your prayers more than ever as
God is giving us more opportunities than ever to reach the children and
adults of Liberia
for Christ.
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Shadrach’s May 22nd
report shows
church attendance at 155 people for the most recent Sunday. Pray for Shadrach as he begins appointing
workers in the church to aid in its growth.
Three separate villages have asked Shadrach to help them start
churches which fits with our mission to reach the nation of Liberia
for Christ. Bro. Harrington Wesseh,
associate pastor of Commission Baptist Church, and his wife have agreed to
join the Children’s Village ministry full time to teach at the new pastor’s
school and at the children’s school as well. The walls are starting to go up on the
new school building and there are over 400 students waiting to enroll when
we have the space and teachers to train them. Our 6th and 9th
graders take their first government required tests June 6-10. Please pray for them. Don’t forget to pray for Gertrude,
Shadrach’s wife, who is due to deliver their second child any day now. Read the full text of Shadrach’s email here.
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Read an information update from Carl Hadley, chairman of
Liberian ministries, here.
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Shadrach’s latest email gives us reassurance that the time,
effort and money expended are paying off in souls being saved, children
being educated and orphans being cared for.
Read his email
here.
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The Container Arrived! Well, the shipping container full of the
items you sent (2 vans, medical supplies, clothes, school supplies, farm
tools and other things) finally arrived at the Port of Monrovia. Shadrach reports that they cleared
customs and unloaded everything and that all items were undamaged. We are excited as the vans will begin
earning additional revenue immediately and the other items will be put to
good use right away. Thanks to
everyone who helped. (05/08/05)
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Champion a Business Opportunity that will assist the ministry
in becoming totally self sufficient.
We are looking for people with specific business experience to take
a business opportunity from inception through completion. Learn more about it here.
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Ministry’s Land Cruiser
destroyed in accident, no one was seriously injured. God was good to our Liberian folks in
that none of the 9 people, including 3 small children, were injured in the
accident. See Shadrach’s email and
pictures of the accident here.
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