what can i do to help?
I attended weekend services in Waterloo for the first time. For as long as I stayed in Waterloo, I had always attended the services in Freetown. In Waterloo, since the work is very new, we're lucky if we get twenty five people. During the week, when we visit the souls out here, they promise to come, but circumstances almost always keeps them away. The Saturday service lasts from 6 PM to 7 PM. The Sunday service lasts from 10 AM to 12 AM. The services are short as the souls are new, and you can't keep them very long.On Friday, Brothers Emannuel, Lahai, and I went up to the site to continue clearing the bushes. At around 1 PM, the skies opened up and it came down heavy. I took shelter while the two others continued working in the rain. The well diggers continued working as well. Work in Sierra Leone is not held up on account of the weather. I was tempted to continue working as well but I had just come out of a cold and didn't want to risk it so I stayed back and sharpened the cutlasses.
While at the site on Monday, Sis. Fatmata (a common Muslim Krio name), the wife of Bro. James who helps with the construction, was braiding the hair of a woman - a friend of hers. She was nursing her baby while her hair was being braided. On Friday, Bro. Emannuel and I ran into her at the market where she toted a basket over her head.
Usually when women with small children travel outside of their homes, they wrap their children around their back with a piece of cloth, and carry them along. Since we didn't see the baby with her, we asked about the baby. She told us rather nonchalantly that the baby was sick the day we met her and had died two days later. We were surprised to hear this as she looked rather unaffected by such a grave personal loss, and was out conducting business as usual. We confirmed the news with Sis. Fatmata. I wonder how much value a life holds among the unsaved.
On Saturday, Bro. Kelvin and I visited a very prominent man in Waterloo. He is known venerably as Pa Younger. Pa because he is older and respected (Pa, Grampa, Ma, Momi (o = c), Grani). He had served in the Sierra Leon Army for twenty odd years, and is well known around this area. He is a wonderful gentleman with a firm handshake. If
you ask for him, you'll be directed to his house. We spoke for a little over thirty minutes and he welcomed me to Sierra Leone and wanted to have his wife cook something for me to take back with me.
Today, I was introduced to a Pentecostal pastor in Tombo named Reverend Augustine. He had come to Tombo about 21 years ago. His mother is from the Northern province of Makeni. His father is from a province 61 miles East of Makeni named Port Loko. He is from the Mandingo tribe which is a very strong Muslim tribe. I asked him about his
conversion and he recounted his days in Catholic school and how since then, he always had a desire to know the truth. He later in attended a Seventh Day Adventist church
and felt he was very confused with what he learn from the Catholics and from the Seventh Days Adventists. He moved from the Provinces to Freetown and found a small
church in Congo Cross that he began to frequent. He began to speak about Christ to a friend of his who attended classes with him in Milton Margai Technical School, and
lived and studied with him. This friend later on told him of the New Testament Church which at that time held services in a rented a room in one of the schools buildings. He began attending Bible Studies at the church and was became fond of the church. At this time he was employeed at Tombo and would commute between Freetown and Tombo. He later on moved to Tombo and established a church in Tombo. In the early days of Tombo, he recounts, there were many churches all around the town. Many of the "Christians" later converted to Islam. There are now about five Pentecostal churches in all of Tombo, he says. Sadly, in 2002, he began losing his vision. He soon was only able to distinguish figures, and lost all recognition of colours. In 2003, he lost all vision and can now only sense if darkness has fallen. When asked how he studies the Word, he was grateful that someone had given him the Bible on audio tapes. He remembers things he studied before he lost his vision, and with the help of his wife who reads for him notes that he had made before he lost his vision, he is able to prepare messages. He enjoys listening to Bible Studies given at the New Testament Church, and these studies are ocassionally send to him on tapes. When he gets a new thought or revelation, he employs a hand held tape recorder to make notes. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help him and he could only think of blank audio tapes. I will get him some of these. When friends en route to Shenge do not make it on the boat, they are welcomed into his home to rest for the night.
I now have a friend in Tombo.
It is now 11:57 PM and I have been typing under candle light on battery power. Both will be depleted in about 10 minutes. Off to bed!
posted by bthomas24 @ 3:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home