Hello friends of Hope for Home, Liberia
Thank you for continuing to follow along with us on this adventure in Liberia! Each and every one of you are very appreciated and valued for your love, care and support for us here in North West Africa!
We hope you enjoy reading through the latest update of each area of ministry here.
Fairview Missionary School
Last Friday was a major victory for Denta Town. We had 62 people baptised!
Denta has been a town of extreme spiritual darkness and battle. Some of the battles included until a few years ago child sacrifice being common and normal and when the children were anywhere from 5 years of age to older they would be initiated into the demonic secret society (this included genital mutilation for the girls). When we held town meetings, the town blocked their ears, they would be physically trembling in their seats in terror of the Witch Drs (otherwise known as “the devil”) reaction to the things we were saying. There was a time we were asked to leave the town because of the fear the town had of backlash from the Witch Dr
Below is a video interview with DK Yarl (the current Pastor in Denta and Principal of the Fairview Missionary School) explaining what happened when “the devil” came to Denta Town.
Spiritual Emphasis Week is the most recent special activity at school. The children had a special schedule for a guest speaker each day. Christian Riley came to the school and taught a Bible lesson from the book of Romans. He included a demonstration of Christ dying for our sins as well as an explanation of baptism. The children that were excited about the Holy Spirit dwelling within them went home to ask their parents if they could be baptised at school on Friday.
The Art teacher had the children draw and color pictures of the cross to hang for decorations this week.
All the children, teachers and even parents walked to the river close to the school for a baptismal field trip. They went into the water where the teachers and administration conducted this very important step in faith. It was a beautiful day of celebrating and glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ.
This would be a great reflection for you to write about in your letters to the children this month. They are very excited each month to receive your letters. It doesn’t have to be long, but that regular connection is wonderful. If you have anything special for your child, a team from Fairview Missionary Church will be traveling to Gbarnga, Liberia this October. The informational meeting for this mission trip will be at Fairview Missionary Church on May 5th after 2nd service.
- Tracey Newell
Jesus Loves Me Clinic
I would like to share with you two stories for you to catch a glimpse of what the reality of giving birth is like for women here in Liberia …
There was a group of us that met together after we had visited her and we all knew there was no humanly possible way that she would make it through the night. The friends that I was with were adamant that God would make a way and she would deliver the baby that night and everything would be okay. They kept making the comment “God will make a way, He will do it for her”. I am a little ashamed to say, I did not share their faith. I have watched too many people die here, some days I struggle with remembering that God really can, let alone that He will! I went home and waited to hear that she had passed away. Thankfully, the phone call never came! Ma Patricia did deliver the baby and God did spare her life! She is still very sick and is fighting a serious infection, she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. But, I have once again been reminded of the goodness of God! I am so thankful His grace is greater than my unbelief.
After the heartache that Ma Patrica went through with losing her baby last month, another one of our cooks gave birth to a healthy baby girl this month! Success is the younger sister of one of my namesakes, Suzie. She was born into the Denta Town Chiefs family, who happen to be all girls! One of the most incredible parts of Liberian culture here is to witness a baby being welcomed into the town. When I took Aunty KP and Success from Gbarnga back to Denta, you could hear the celebrations before we even reached the village. It starts with music, dancing, and clapping while literally everyone that is in the town comes running out to greet the new baby. The baby is then passed from person to person, throughout the whole village before being handed back to the Mother. But the celebrations last the whole day and often into the night as well … For me it was such a special reminder that in their own way, human life is valued here, it is celebrated and it is precious.
I was also reminded this morning how special our cooks are. There are 6 very Godly, upstanding women in Denta that have gone through much persecution from the town, while working in the school. They gathered together and helped Ma Patricia grieve the loss of her baby, they held their own private remembrance service and planted a tree in replacement of having a body to bury. This probably does not seem like a huge deal to us in the western culture but this is not something that is done in the Liberian culture. To see these women fight so many things and stand together and support each other is so humbling to me!
- Suzie McLay
His Safe Haven
One of the precious gems from our outreach program passed away last weekend. Amos was abandoned by his Mother because he had Hydrocephalus. His Grandmother was taking care of him. At the start it was out of duty because he was family, however as she learnt how to provide care, as she learnt that he was a special child of God and as she saw other families taking care of their children her attitude towards him started to change. Ma Helena started to love Amos and the response Amos gave her back was incredible! The two formed a very special bond and the hole Amos leaves in her life and in ours has been large. Please pray for Ma Helena and the team through this time.
Leela received eye surgery this week. Leela has been with us for a few months now and has had increasing pressure build up and pain behind his eyes. We are so thankful there is an eye specialist in Monrovia (the capitol) and we were able to get him an appointment there. He was diagnosed with the worst glycoma the eye Dr had ever seen. The surgery went well and Leela is at home recovering now. He has a follow-up appointment next week so we will know more then about how the surgery was.
Ma Kolu who is one of our substitute Mums and Grace, one of our nurses, have been the two women caring for Leela through this process. We are so thankful for dedicated, loving and gentle women that go above and beyond their jobs to make sure the children are safe and well looked after.
Josiah, who is Scott and Christina’s son, has been battling some health issues recently too. He has gone through malaria, typhoid and a few other things. The medical clinic here on the compound was treating him but as he continued to decline in health the decision was made to take him to the mission hospital in Monrovia where they could do tests and a CT scan. As I am typing this, they are still waiting for the results of the CT scan. Please keep the Hoffman family in your prayers throughout this time.
On Monday we had a visit from a mission called feed the hungry. They have offered to partner together with us in providing fortified rice for His Safe Haven. This is an amazing answer to prayer! Rice is expensive to buy here in Liberia and this fortified rice is packed full of vitamins and minerals! Today is the first day the cooks are cooking the rice and we are excited to see how it will taste!
- Suzie McLay
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