Well, we have never asked for money for ourselves; we've only asked the Lord to take care of us and He has provided in some amazing ways over the years. But we don't hesitate to make known some worthy causes just to make people aware of the need. I WILL NOT USE THIS BLOG TO BE CONSTANTLY BEGGING FOR MONEY! I'm going to tell you just this once about four areas that could stand some help; if any money comes in, I will report once in a while on what has been accomplished. And I can guarantee that 100% of any money given will go directly to the causes mentioned--no overhead, nothing skimmed off the top. And no one will ask for MORE.....EVER.
Cause #1: The folk in our home church gave money to buy Thompson Chain Reference Bibles for pastors and Bible school students in Liberia. Some pastors have told us they lost theirs during the war. Tommy Ben, who is pastoring the church at Zondo where Darrell grew up and where we spent some time when we lived here, told us soldiers in the 90's took his Bible and other books to destroy them and he has been trying to get another Thompson ever since. I wish I could have captured the smile on his face when he first held a new one in his hands. He was/is one happy man and very grateful.
Tommy Ben with his new Bible
The reason we list this as a worthy cause is that the 48 Bibles provided by the people in our church are not enough. Each Bible costs approximately $50 when buying by the case of 12.
Cause #2 Darrell and I have both written booklets that we would like to use while here. Darrell's booklet is called "Back to Basics" and gives the Biblical plan of salvation in 6 easy lessons. My booklet is called "I Dare You: A Challenge that Requires a Response" and presents the Biblical concept of tithing. We would like to see both of these printed in English and Bassa.
Cause #3 The Mother Susie Guenter Orphanage was started by Jefferson and Helena Zeon and named in honor of Darrell's mother who had a great influence on Jefferson. There are 28 children in the orphanage and they also run a Christian day school with 370 students. The work will continue even though Jefferson has been promoted to Heaven.
Cause #4 Baptist Mid-Missions still has a lease from the government on 100 acres at Zondo even though no resident missionaries have been there since 1980. The Liberians have carried on the work of the church and Christian day school (70 students) and have maintained the buildings to the best of their ability financially. The church building had to be rebuilt; they were able to use the same foundation and also were able to salvage some of the mud bricks from the original building. However, one of 2 school buildings is no longer standing and the two houses need repair. (We stayed in Darrell's folk's house for a night in 2010 and saw the sky through a large hole in the roof.) Some local people have petitioned the government to take the land back for development, saying missionaries will never go back there again. So far they have been unsuccessful and the work of the Lord goes on. I know they would be greatly encouraged by any help that came their way.
I had hoped to include some pictures from Zondo but they are only in my Facebook albums and I don't know how to download them to this page. If you are my facebook friend, you can go to my albums and look for Liberia--Places--2010. Scroll through and you will find pictures of the church building, the remaining school building, and Darrell's folk's house.
If any of these causes interest you and you would like to help, any money can be sent to Liberia Projects, Northfield Baptist Church, 87 Main Street, Northfield, MA 01360 and they will send you a receipt if you would like one. Please designate the money for whichever cause you would like to support. If enough comes in for the printing, we will put any leftover money into the other causes.
Thank you for taking the time to read about these causes which are close to our hearts and thank you for any help you may give.
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