Progress in Africa

Today we visited more well sites that had been completed in April. The rain was extra heavy and there had been flash floods all over the city. We went over some bridges where the water was rushing down the mountain side and was inches and feet away from the top of the bridges. I offered a little prayer with each bridge as we sped up to get off them as quickly as possible. We didn't return the same way because Brother Turay was assuming they had been washed out by the end of the day.

We entered another slum by the seaside and in the middle of the heavy rain walked through little alleys made of wood sticks and tin walls. All the Africans were dry under their self constructed roofs and we were the only ones dumb enough to be walking through it.

Many of the homes are 1 room so as we passed we could see families sitting around their fires and talking. Some were out still taking care of little chores around the home. Many of the men in this area are fisherman and leave at night to return in the morning. I saw some boats out on the water and the men tugging on the huge fishing net all in unison, one tug after another.

Tonight we had dinner with the mission president and his wife. President Squires has perhaps the toughest mission call in the church. Even though the church started 20 years ago in Sierra Leone, the war cut out the usual development that occurs during that time, so it is actually like the church has been here for 5 years or so. He said the missionaries don't do any "tracting" but struggle to just keep up with giving lessons to all the member referrals. They can baptize many people but they are trying to qualify them better so they stay active. The church is growing rapidly here.

I also learned that Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria's tithing and fast offerings are growing and they are getting closer to sustaining themselves as a church. I don't know the exact details of this but suffice it to say they are headed in the right direction. It is great to see the church growing and the members flourishing. We talked about our hope that someday in the future the same could be said for Sierra Leone.

Love you ~ Matt