November 2022 Newsletter

A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle – African Proverb

Last July, a team from New Hope Christian church came to Kakata, Liberia to conduct a Vacation Bible School. The children and volunteers had a great time and learned creative ways to share the Gospel. An important aspect of that time was teaching the volunteers how to lead a VBS on their own. The volunteers were from different churches. Their participation will further help spread the teaching to communities around the city of Kakata.

When the women were here, they guided the Liberian volunteers in how to teach by using different means such as crafts, games, and coloring. The volunteers understood the importance of teaching children and giving them a good foundation.

On October 22, the volunteers conducted their own VBS at a local elementary school. There were about 75 children in attendance from the ages of 6 – 12. They taught Bible memorization and Bible study. The children had fun making hanging crafts and playing in the school yard. Then they had a hearty lunch.

This is one of the important aspects of doing mission work. It is not beneficial to just come into a country, complete a project and go back to the States. While the people of that country may legitimately need assistance, they need guidance on how to stand on their own feet. They need to be able to reproduce the work on their own. Training is a very important part of missions work (2 Timothy 2:2)! In Liberia, the government requires that any medical team that comes in must train their own medical workers, This is a great idea and policy. How else will the people move forward?

A Testimony from a Grace to Liberia Listener

We have been on the radio here in Kakata, Liberia for nearly 5 years. During this time, our message of God’s unconditional love and grace have blessed many of our radio audience; it has also offended some others.

A few months ago. a man named George Nyumah asked to have a meeting with us. The year prior to this meeting with us, he was contemplating suicide when he turned his radio on and heard us saying, “No matter what you may be going through, God has a bright future for you. Through His son Jesus, He will bring your dreams into reality.”

His story was that we had saved his life. When we asked him how we did that, he narrated to us that he is a business man and had a bad experience in his business. In 2016, Mr. Nyumah had taken a loan of $11,000 from another business man. He then traveled to Guinea to buy goods for his store, which many Liberians do as the price for the goods are lower there. Guinea is located to the north of Liberia. On the first day of his trip to Guinea, he met another Liberian business man, who suggested to him that they rent a hotel room with double beds. This will help both of them to cut down on cost for the next couple of days. The idea seemed good to him. The next morning, the roommate had vanished with his $11,000.

When he got back to Liberia, he was taken to court and jailed because he could not pay his creditor. To get out of jail, he had to give up his house as collateral until the debt could be paid. To make matters worse, the place where he kept his goods caught on fire and he lost all his remaining items. These were the events that led to his deep depression and plans of suicide. He even bought the rope of which he was going to hang himself. Thank God he had the radio on and his life was spared!

The creditor has put up the two bedroom house for rent. The occupants are paying $50 a month to pay off this debt, which will take about 18 years before his debt can be paid!

Mr. Nyumeh has gotten over the shock of losing his business and almost taking his own life. A few days ago, he celebrated the graduation of his daughter from high school. He is still able to take care of his family by having a small shop.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Grace,
Monika and Caleb Sannoh