August 2010

Did you realize that you can be a partner in missions?  Just because you do not feel called to go, or don’t have the ability to live and work overseas, does not mean you are not needed.  While, when we go to work in Sierra Leone we are the “smiling face” on the ground that the locals see, all the folks who are part of our support team are equally important.  We CANNOT be there without YOU!

I just got off the phone with the Global Outreach home office. They told us that it is of the utmost importance to get us to Sierra Leone as soon as possible. The rig to drill water wells is already on location in Sierra Leone.  Funds are in place for purchasing materials for the wells, for purchasing materials for the hospital renovation.  What is lacking is a full-time presence. - Us! - That way, when short-term teams come to serve, someone is ready to receive them and coordinate the project.  We are also needed to be available to train the locals to take over at some point in the future.  Training anyone from the developing world is a challenge as it involves more than simply showing them how to do it.  It becomes a whole training in attitude towards, and use of, machinery.  Things that we in Canada and the USA would not even think twice about must be engrained in those we are trying to teach.  Once wells are drilled and operational we need to teach the locals what they must do to get maximum benefit from the wells.  Again, things that we take for granted, like using clean containers, is not necessarily second nature if you’ve never had access to clean water.  These things must be taught and attitudes changed so the wells that are drilled and the clean water that is then available, is handled in a sanitary fashion in order to prevent infection.

Thus we ask you, our friends, family and acquaintances, to assist with providing the necessary funds to meet the required monthly budget.  We are very close, within 6% of getting the “OK” to go and, within 26% of being fully funded.

Currently we are arranging meetings and presentations for the months of August, September and October. Please consider how you can be involved in helping to send us to Sierra Leone and then let us know, so we can begin planning our departure date.

Contact us via e-mail, phone or Facebook or through the "Contact Us" tab to find out more about our schedule, possibilities to meet with us and to get involved.

Looking forward to hearing from each one of you.

For our many current supporters, a big THANK YOU for partnering with us!  You are an integral part of the team in Sierra Leone.