Dear Friend,
I’m so happy to write a prayer letter again after a long time! It’s hard to imagine that I have spent over seven months being the acting field director since Cami began her sabbatical, even though she has been preparing me for the task. Taking the role of acting field director makes me appreciate Cami even more for all the work she has been doing the past seven years. Leading a multicultural community such a WMFSL where we have people from different cultures, with different back grounds and different ideas has been so challenging but also life giving. It’s been life giving because even though we come from different cultures we get respect and mutual understand for each other. I enjoy leading the field but am also looking forward to handing the responsibility back to Cami.
A lot has happened during the course of this seven months. Stephanie finished her contract well. Chris and Erin are completing their contract this week. I’m happy for them but also there is need for more staff. In the past year we’ve had a lot more staff go than come. Please pray that God will send more staff because it is Dan, the Sassenbergs, Cami and I who are the only staff left. Because of this cut down in staff we have had to cut down our work here in Freetown.
You can praise God that right now we have two male Sierra Leonean interns who are doing extremely well in our community. They have been a great help to us during this time of staff reduction. Please pray for female Sierra Leoneans who are trustworthy and can come on board with us too. We are desperately in need of Sierra Leonean woman so that Sierra Leonean girls do not get left behind in our ministry.
Four of the youth in Light House finished the program well in January, and while they still are part of out community they are no longer participate in the Light House program. We are very proud of them as we see them continue to grow and mature in their walk and life here in Freetown. Before we were kind of scared about how life would look for them when then stood up on their own but God has proven that He is there for everyone of them.
Please pray for Kadiatu and Mariama. These are two girls which WMFSL has been helping for the past seven years. As they have grown into teenagers it has become more challenging to be there for them and know how to help them.
There are a few things that can weigh heavy on my heart that I want you to be aware of. First of all, I’m still trying to find a place that is good for Florence and I to stay with our three boys, because the Kroo Bay house cannot contain all of us. Since Florence and I married we have rented a room from a friend for us but the person we rent from hasn’t agreed to let out boys sleep there. They can just come during the day and then they have to sleep at a friends house.
Also last week Thursday, while my wife and I were sleeping, some one reached in through the window with a stick or something and stole my computer and the bag it was in. They left most of my documents like my passport and receipts but they stole all the money that was in the computer bag. It was a lot of money, both my own money and ministry money. The next morning when we woke our neighbors started to show us the documents that the thief had left behind and two women said they had seen someone at 3 AM but they were too afraid to shout for help. They thought the robber might attack them. The computer helped me do things faster and easier for my ministry. It also contained ministry documents and personal pictures. Even now I can be afraid that he will come back at night. I feel very vulnerable and have had trouble sleeping. During the day I think about it a lot also and can feel so bitter. Before I felt more compassion towards thieves but now I feel a lot of anger. Please pray that God would help to get past the bitterness and fear.
Presently my support account is low and having this money and computer stolen only makes things worse. Please pray for me and pray about supporting me financially. It’s very difficult for me to ask but right now my present circumstances make me feel like I need to ask. If you want send support to me you can find different ways to do it at www.wordmadeflesh.org/support/give/. Please make sure to indicate that the donation is to support me.
Love and respect,
Noah