Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings of love, joy, and hope to you. I hope you are permeated with the peace and grace of God’s love in Jesus as we enter the holiday season.
Life has been a whirlwind of activity since returning to Freetown after having the opportunity to spend precious last moments with my father before he passed away last month.
After four years of tailoring training, literacy classes, discipleship, and community life together, David, Sheku, Michael, and Alimamy graduated from the Lighthouse program. All are proficient in sewing women’s and men’s clothes. Two have gone on to learn to use an intricate embroidery machine that they can use to decorate dress clothes. Two have learned basic English reading skills, while one has even taught himself to read Krio, the popular language here in Freetown. Three are growing in their personal relationships with Jesus.
The young tailors have prayerfully invited other youth who are on the streets into the Lighthouse program to take their places. With money they have been saving the last two years, they are now buying machines and generators to begin their own small businesses. One young man is even considering building his own little shop on his father’s land east of Freetown. Word Made Flesh leadership has invited the graduates to make a whole-hearted commitment to continue in the Lighthouse community life, assuming more leadership and advisory responsibilities.
Melanie Curless, Word Made Flesh Health Advisor, is currently enjoying a visit to Sierra Leone. She is facilitating a very timely preventative health and wound care workshop for Sierra Leone Servant Team members, Lighthouse youth, and professionals from other missions and NGOs. Melanie is also helping us to improve our first aid care at the Saturday Kroo Bay Good News Club. We are enjoying getting to know her better.
Good News! After completing a five-week internship, Chris and Erin Harrell have made a three-year commitment to serve Jesus in Freetown with us. Hopefully they will join us in February 2008.
I am grateful for you, and would love to here from you (hopehopper@hotmail.com).
Love,
Cami