Our communities in Sierra Leone have been joining us in giving thanks to God for his amazing answer to prayer!

Building of a new Health Centre has been made possible in response to prayers at Zion Community Church in St Ives, which generously enabled the purchase of a suitable piece of land, as well as the necessary materials build the main structure and complete the roof of the centre and staff accommodation.

This fantastic achievement, which will make a significant difference for the communities in Brama and Bethesda, Sierra Leone, is due to God's wonderful ability in prompting blessed people to make such generous donations. 

Further Prayer

To complete the project, further prayer is requested to provide additional financial assistance to cover the costs of windows, doors, plastering, floor tiling, wiring and plumbing. The cost for this is estimated at £14,000. But with God it has been proved time and again that all things are possible!

Why the Health Centre is so important

During their November visit to Sierra Leone, Janet O’Shea with Bethany and Esther Green were introduced to a church service congregation, where they noticed a young boy. Sitting next to his mother, he was in pain, whimpering quietly to himself, and it soon became obvious that there was something seriously wrong. His mother explained that two weeks earlier her son had been playing football when he fell and broke his leg - in two places. She could not afford medical help and could not raise the money for transport to reach a clinic where he could be treated.

At Mabang, the team met a young man with his two small children. He had just buried his wife because she had not been able to reach the hospital quickly enough.

In addition, at Brama School during a two-week visit in the summer, at least six children were taken ill with malaria, while at Bethesda two children needed treatment for malaria and one for typhoid.  

Help was given to those mentioned, but it left no doubt of a great need for improved health care facilities. 

Magnus Bendu expressed his great concern for the necessity of cheap, available medical support, and raised the consideration for funding to build and equip a local Health Centre. 

Prompted Funding

Prayer followed these visits and Magnus’ request, and in June last year, Zion Community Church prayed as a whole community for confirmation that this was a project that the church should support. 

God provided their answer with speed. That very evening a generous cheque was received (from a donor outside of the church community) for £5,000, which enabled the purchase of land, and this was followed in December by a donation from a Connexion church member for £30,000 to cover the costs of the build. Confirmation received in a marvellous way!

Thanks for the Containers

Two containers dispatched from St Ives back in November for our Brama and Bethesda communities have finally been delivered, following a delay at the Freeport docks of nearly five months. The port duties were reduced by 50% and there was no inspection of the containers' contents at the port, which would had the potential to incur a further delay and additional costs. 

The containers' donated goods have been gratefully received by the local communities, and because the Bethesda school is currently closed due to the Covid-19 crisis, the children were able to assist with unpacking and sorting of the materials.

• Shoe bags from Zion Community Church, St.Ives, Cradley Chapel, Ebley Chapel and Woodmancote Church
• Sleeping bags, blankets, sheets, towels, curtains 
• Table cloths, crockery and cutlery
• Clothes and shoes for adults and children
• At least 60 boxes of new school uniforms
• 100s of school text books - children's story books, adult Christian books, and some new books that have been donated for the Evangelical library
• Assorted toys, as well as balls for football and netting for goals
• Furniture, bunk beds, cots, settees, and desks for Magnus and Daniel
• Sewing machines and manual typewriter for blind folk

Prayers for Coronavirus

Prayers are continuing for health and protection of the people in Sierra Leone, against Coronavirus, and also the risk of malaria and typhoid during the rainy season.

Thanks are given that so far there are no known cases of Covid-19 among our Connexion communities. As of today (July 1) the national statistics for Sierra Leone record a total of 1462 cases and 60 deaths. Our prayers go to all of those who have been affected by the pandemic.

Donations

If you would like to contribute towards the important work of The Connexion in Sierra Leone and the UK, please click on Donations. All contributions, no matter how small, are of huge value to enable us to continue the legacy of the Countess of Huntingdon.