Time has passed quickly since my last trip out of the country to Indonesia, and I was quite disappointed that my planned trip to Cameroon did not happen this past January. God is faithful, and He has provided another opportunity for ministry in West Africa!
At the end of February, Lord willing, I will be heading to Sierra Leone with Engineering Ministries International (EMI). Although the trip will be short (about 11 days), I am greatly looking forward to the joy of serving in one of the poorest countries in the world. My team will include an architect, a planner/landscape architect, a surveyor, a structural engineer, a mechanical engineer, and an
electrical engineer; but none of these positions have been filled yet.
The EMI team will be serving Global Outreach Mission (GOM) by preparing rehabilitation plans for the Mokanjo Hospital, a site recently turned over to GOM by the three Paramount Chiefs in Moyamba District, the largest district in the Southern Province. Sierra Leone is emerging from 11 years of civil war, during which the Mokanjo Hospital site was completely ransacked. Currently, people who become ill must travel 5 to 6 hours to reach the nearest functioning hospital. Many from this area have died before reaching medical assistance.
There is a great need in Sierra Leone for hospitals, especially because of the high infant mortality rate. Sierra Leone is also the lowest ranked country on the Human Development Index, and the seventh lowest on the Human Poverty Index. Praise God for the invitation into this country to work on a needed hospital project! The local leaders gave this renovation task to followers of Jesus, believing it would be done timely and properly! Is that not an incredible testimony of missionaries and local believers?
As I prepare to go, I would be grateful for your help in one or both of the following ways:
1. Please pray for this trip. This is the most important thing you can do to support me and to be a part of this ministry opportunity. (James 5:16b, 1 Peter 3:12a)
Prayer Requests:
- That God would prepare my heart and strengthen me to share His love and His gospel
- That God would enable me to work effectively and efficiently in determining the best methods for water supply, water treatment, and sanitary treatment on the hospital site
- That God would provide and prepare the remaining technical staff for this trip
- That the team would bond quickly and function together well
- That financial needs would be supplied for each team member
- For Henry Watts, as he plans and leads the trip
- That the Holy Spirit would be working in the hearts of people we
will encounter on the trip - That God would pour out His grace and healing on those who travel
hours seeking medical help before the local hospital is renovated - That the hospital renovation would result in the gospel being shared with and transforming many in the Moyamba District
- For the least-reached people group in the area, the East Limba
- For continued restoration and peace after 11 years of brutal war
- That God’s fame would grow and His glory would spread in Sierra Leone (~60% Muslim, 10% indigenous/tribal religion)
2. I would also appreciate your financial support. At this point, the trip is estimated to cost between $2500 and $3500, depending on airfare. You may either give online through EMI’s website or give checks directly to me (made out to EMI with a memo of Project 5483 – Agee). I am grateful for your consideration of any contribution amount, whether it is $25, $100, or $500.
The website for online donations is https://emisecure.org/donate.html
Please include “Project 5483 – Agee” in the Designation box.
Pray that many in Sierra Leone would be thirsty for the living water of the Holy Spirit that Jesus referred to in John 7:37-39! May Christ receive the glory for what He accomplishes through this trip! I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks and months.
When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
(Isaiah 41:17-20)
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