During World Impact in November, Pastor Paul announced that Central Wesleyan would be taking on a special project to help a village in Sierra Leone, West Africa. If you're wondering why we chose Sierra Leone, here are some of the reasons. The United Nations ranks Sierra Leone as the poorest country in the world, with 86% of the people out of work. Life expectancy has dropped to just 34 years, and 28% of their children die before the age of 5. However, 60% of all illness there could be solved with things as simple as fresh drinking water and mosquito nets.
We have chosen to work with the village of Bomabli Bana in northern Sierra Leone. The 700 inhabitants are farmers growing rice, cassava (also known as the yuca root) and peanuts. There is a Wesleyan Church in the village as well as a Catholic church and a Muslim mosque, with 15% of the people being animist (a traditional African religion).
Recently we had an assessment team visit Bombali Bana and meet with the leadership council of the village, the Wesleyan pastor and the staff of World Hope in Sierra Leone. Our project will work with the village leadership and the church leaders in six core strategies: Agriculture and Livelihood (seed distribution and animal multiplication), Education, Community Health, Capacity Building (leadership mentoring), Anti-Trafficking and Spiritual Formation.
Most importantly, we hope to change their worldview so they not only can identify their own problems with their village, but so they can also come up with their own solutions using their own resources. Then they will be able to solve future problems that come their way and live stronger lives knowing they are blessed by God. We hope that they will also be able to inspire other nearby villages to look for their own solutions to their issues.
Envision every family able to eat, earn money, be healthy, worship and not be exploited—so that they can experience all that God has for them on earth and in eternity. We want the people to understand that they are blessed to be a blessing.
Join us in praying for Bombali Bana, raising awareness of this project at Central Wesleyan and contributing to Faith Promise Giving to support this project and future short-term teams. Thank you.
George Beals
Global Ministries Pastor
Latest Twitter Update
One child—one hour—one church—one school at a time!
A Kids Hope USA mentor shares his experience:
My student, Manny, cannot believe his luck. Someone wants to spend a whole hour completely focused on him! And get this—he does not have to go to his Spanish lesson.
In one hour, Manny:
• Made a new friend
• Got to be in charge and showed me around
• Chose to play Uno, a card game that he won so many times he purposely let me win a game
• Did some writing, even though he generally hates writing
• Got excited about some future activities, like kicking a football
• Talked about himself to someone who was interested, and
• Finally enlisted someone (me!) to help him to a clean-up project on the playground.
All this in one hour! Has an hour made a difference to Manny? Well, it certainly made a difference to me!
Please join us this February as Central Wesleyan celebrates our Kids Hope USA partnership with Jefferson School. Check out the displays. Grab a coffee with a Kids Hope USA volunteer and talk to them about their students. The mission of Central is to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ as we build redemptive bridges of influence to Holland and beyond. Kids Hope wants to accomplish this, one child, one hour, one church, one school at a time.
Thank you, Kids Hope mentors for living this mission, for listening to the voice of God and volunteering to touch the life of one child. Happy Anniversary!
Steve Whitney
Kids Hope Director
My student, Manny, cannot believe his luck. Someone wants to spend a whole hour completely focused on him! And get this—he does not have to go to his Spanish lesson.
In one hour, Manny:
• Made a new friend
• Got to be in charge and showed me around
• Chose to play Uno, a card game that he won so many times he purposely let me win a game
• Did some writing, even though he generally hates writing
• Got excited about some future activities, like kicking a football
• Talked about himself to someone who was interested, and
• Finally enlisted someone (me!) to help him to a clean-up project on the playground.
All this in one hour! Has an hour made a difference to Manny? Well, it certainly made a difference to me!
Please join us this February as Central Wesleyan celebrates our Kids Hope USA partnership with Jefferson School. Check out the displays. Grab a coffee with a Kids Hope USA volunteer and talk to them about their students. The mission of Central is to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ as we build redemptive bridges of influence to Holland and beyond. Kids Hope wants to accomplish this, one child, one hour, one church, one school at a time.
Thank you, Kids Hope mentors for living this mission, for listening to the voice of God and volunteering to touch the life of one child. Happy Anniversary!
Steve Whitney
Kids Hope Director
Thank you!
Dear Central Wesleyan Family,
We want to express our appreciation for the overwhelming love and support we have felt this past week as we recover from our house fire. No collection of words will ever describe how thankful we are to be part of this church family. You have shown our children that church is not a building, but rather the people inside the building. Thank you for loving us so much!
The Hofland Family
We want to express our appreciation for the overwhelming love and support we have felt this past week as we recover from our house fire. No collection of words will ever describe how thankful we are to be part of this church family. You have shown our children that church is not a building, but rather the people inside the building. Thank you for loving us so much!
The Hofland Family
Christmas Cards for Troops
We want you to know that your Christmas cards this year made a difference! We received a note from one of our troops, Ed Richter, who is in Afghanistan. His unit had been moved around, and when they got to their last location, Christmas mail chased them down, and he received the Christmas cards from Central. He thanked the many families at Central for the blessing of all the cards (and a drawing from Trevor). All the troops are thankful to all at Central who sent them Christmas greetings, well wishes and prayers. Thank you again to everyone who participated in this wonderful ministry!
India Update 1/28/10
I woke up early again, so since I can't sleep, I'm glad for a little time to connect with home.
God has been so gracious to us, and it is so clear that He hand picked this team to be a witness for Him. The team dynamics are so great, and each person is giving all they have and is shining so brightly for Christ! I could go on and on about how I see God working in and through each person, but for now, just a couple of quick snapshots...
Yesterday, Tyler (who is my roommate and talks in his sleep :) gave his testimony to a couple thousand students at Atkinson Catholic School, about how God used music to draw him closer. He was so articlate and genuine. Molly was also moved to share her heart about what the role as "greed" in the drama has meant to her. Her intended 90 second testimony turned into a full on salvation message! Preach it, girl! Marlys has made friends with a number of people at the crusades while the band is rehearsing and leading. Numerous women have asked her to bring their children home with her to the US, including a little girl with cerebral palsy who was literally dropped into Marlys's arms two nights ago as the momma walked away. This little girl clung to Marlys and worshipped God with her one working limb as the band led.
Last night at the crusade, a beautiful young girl in a bright red sari gave a Bible to Elyn, which was written in the Taligu language. Shortly after that, i was praying for a poor elderly woman, who, in addition to having significant pain in her head and teeth, was desperate for a Bible in Taligu. Imagine Elyn's delight to be the messenger of God's word to her! Steveo strikes up conversations with just about everyone, including our bus driver who is a Hindu and speakes very little English. Many people are drawn to him for prayer and he is very bold in his witness.
Darryl's contagious laugh (which fills every restaurant we go to) and his heart for Jesus has spilled out onto all of us, and he's a master at leading kid songs! Madisyn keeps us laughing too, and is beautifully owning her role as Eve in the drama. She also brings level headed insight as we are trying to figure out how to respond to the beggars that we encounter on the street. Ryan (also my roommate) is so fun to watch on the bass guitar, and was deeply humbled the other night as God used him to lay hands on the sick. Shari carries such an anointing for worship and prayer. Right in the middle of a worship set the other night, she spontaneously prayed over the crowd and the presence of God was so strong. In addition to playing the keys, Kathleen is a natural with the children's ministry and drama, and is always in lookout mode for the next divine appointment. We pick on her a lot which is great fun, probably because she dishes it out!
And me? Well... I think my biggest contribution to the team was sporting a pair of powder blue slacks the other day that I got at Good Will. Halfway through the day the "fashion police" got after me. It was "for my own good", they said. Darryl confessed that he wasn't man enough to wear such things, even in India, and that he was ok with that. :)
So far, we've led worship at the main crusade site three evenings in a row, and this morning we will perform at our third school. It's amazing how the kids respond and participate. They love doing the motions to the songs, which is quite a site with their dark skinned arms and their light colored palms. Shabach has been a big hit. :) During the drama two days ago, Marlys was observing one little boy who was visibly responding to each stage of the story line. He shook his head in frustration as adam and eve took the apple and then he cheered out loud when Jesus took the throne!
After we performed yesterday, hundreds came forward for autographs and prayer. It's a bit surreal. One minute, you feel like a rock star, and the next minute, you feel like Jesus might have felt, or one of the apostles, as the crowds pressed in on them for a touch of hope or healing. It's really, really humbling. Last night, as we were mingling through the crowd before we led worship, people were approaching me from all directions for prayer, for all kinds of ailments. Some would weep as I prayed, and I was overwhelned with how precious these people must be to God. As we pray, I believe that God is touching them in ways that we can't necessarily see with our eyes. But I told some members of the team last night that I long to see them healed, spiritually and physically. I believe that God longs to see them whole as well. Please pray that the compassion of Christ would be revealed in this way, and that many would come to know him as a result.
The sun is soon to come up here in Viyajawada, but the symphony of street sounds has played all night long, and will only get busier in the daylight, with a constant melody of engines and horns, beeping at different pitches and timbres. The traffic is fast and chaotic and a blast to be in the middle of! It reminds me of the scramble system in Phelps Cafeteria at Hope College, bobbing and weaving, pushing and shoving, with no lanes, no order, and yet somehow, everyone gets where they're going.
And the people... There are people... Everywhere.
India feels like a massive and endless sea of humanity, colorful and chaotic, painful and hopeful, dirty and broken, and yet so so beautiful. It's such a great reminder of how big God is, and how diverse and wild and magical the world is outside of our own little corner of the globe.
In addition to the needs of the people we are encountering, please continue to pray for the health and strength of our team, for adequate rest, for team unity and laughter, for protection from the evil one, and that God would anoint us to share the good news of Jesus Christ and the hope and healing we have in him.
It's now 5:30am and the Muslim call to prayer just started. Time to get and get ready for the day. God bless you all and THANK YOU for prayers and support.
More soon!
In His care,
Duwet Bell
(how I was introduced yesterday in the school. :)
God has been so gracious to us, and it is so clear that He hand picked this team to be a witness for Him. The team dynamics are so great, and each person is giving all they have and is shining so brightly for Christ! I could go on and on about how I see God working in and through each person, but for now, just a couple of quick snapshots...
Yesterday, Tyler (who is my roommate and talks in his sleep :) gave his testimony to a couple thousand students at Atkinson Catholic School, about how God used music to draw him closer. He was so articlate and genuine. Molly was also moved to share her heart about what the role as "greed" in the drama has meant to her. Her intended 90 second testimony turned into a full on salvation message! Preach it, girl! Marlys has made friends with a number of people at the crusades while the band is rehearsing and leading. Numerous women have asked her to bring their children home with her to the US, including a little girl with cerebral palsy who was literally dropped into Marlys's arms two nights ago as the momma walked away. This little girl clung to Marlys and worshipped God with her one working limb as the band led.
Last night at the crusade, a beautiful young girl in a bright red sari gave a Bible to Elyn, which was written in the Taligu language. Shortly after that, i was praying for a poor elderly woman, who, in addition to having significant pain in her head and teeth, was desperate for a Bible in Taligu. Imagine Elyn's delight to be the messenger of God's word to her! Steveo strikes up conversations with just about everyone, including our bus driver who is a Hindu and speakes very little English. Many people are drawn to him for prayer and he is very bold in his witness.
Darryl's contagious laugh (which fills every restaurant we go to) and his heart for Jesus has spilled out onto all of us, and he's a master at leading kid songs! Madisyn keeps us laughing too, and is beautifully owning her role as Eve in the drama. She also brings level headed insight as we are trying to figure out how to respond to the beggars that we encounter on the street. Ryan (also my roommate) is so fun to watch on the bass guitar, and was deeply humbled the other night as God used him to lay hands on the sick. Shari carries such an anointing for worship and prayer. Right in the middle of a worship set the other night, she spontaneously prayed over the crowd and the presence of God was so strong. In addition to playing the keys, Kathleen is a natural with the children's ministry and drama, and is always in lookout mode for the next divine appointment. We pick on her a lot which is great fun, probably because she dishes it out!
And me? Well... I think my biggest contribution to the team was sporting a pair of powder blue slacks the other day that I got at Good Will. Halfway through the day the "fashion police" got after me. It was "for my own good", they said. Darryl confessed that he wasn't man enough to wear such things, even in India, and that he was ok with that. :)
So far, we've led worship at the main crusade site three evenings in a row, and this morning we will perform at our third school. It's amazing how the kids respond and participate. They love doing the motions to the songs, which is quite a site with their dark skinned arms and their light colored palms. Shabach has been a big hit. :) During the drama two days ago, Marlys was observing one little boy who was visibly responding to each stage of the story line. He shook his head in frustration as adam and eve took the apple and then he cheered out loud when Jesus took the throne!
After we performed yesterday, hundreds came forward for autographs and prayer. It's a bit surreal. One minute, you feel like a rock star, and the next minute, you feel like Jesus might have felt, or one of the apostles, as the crowds pressed in on them for a touch of hope or healing. It's really, really humbling. Last night, as we were mingling through the crowd before we led worship, people were approaching me from all directions for prayer, for all kinds of ailments. Some would weep as I prayed, and I was overwhelned with how precious these people must be to God. As we pray, I believe that God is touching them in ways that we can't necessarily see with our eyes. But I told some members of the team last night that I long to see them healed, spiritually and physically. I believe that God longs to see them whole as well. Please pray that the compassion of Christ would be revealed in this way, and that many would come to know him as a result.
The sun is soon to come up here in Viyajawada, but the symphony of street sounds has played all night long, and will only get busier in the daylight, with a constant melody of engines and horns, beeping at different pitches and timbres. The traffic is fast and chaotic and a blast to be in the middle of! It reminds me of the scramble system in Phelps Cafeteria at Hope College, bobbing and weaving, pushing and shoving, with no lanes, no order, and yet somehow, everyone gets where they're going.
And the people... There are people... Everywhere.
India feels like a massive and endless sea of humanity, colorful and chaotic, painful and hopeful, dirty and broken, and yet so so beautiful. It's such a great reminder of how big God is, and how diverse and wild and magical the world is outside of our own little corner of the globe.
In addition to the needs of the people we are encountering, please continue to pray for the health and strength of our team, for adequate rest, for team unity and laughter, for protection from the evil one, and that God would anoint us to share the good news of Jesus Christ and the hope and healing we have in him.
It's now 5:30am and the Muslim call to prayer just started. Time to get and get ready for the day. God bless you all and THANK YOU for prayers and support.
More soon!
In His care,
Duwet Bell
(how I was introduced yesterday in the school. :)
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