God got His hand on this!

This week I want to share a little story about how God works. 

I got an update from Paula Miller, who is with Rick at a Bible Telling conference in the states this week. They sought out an author they admire who writes about large movements of Muslims coming to Christ. When they told him that they work in Sierra Leone, he said one of his protégés is from Sierra Leone, and he happened to be there at the same conference. 

So, Rick and Paula were introduced to this man who has a pretty amazing story by its own merit. He gave up being a paramount chief, which is a high position in tribal government in Sierra Leone, because it would mean renouncing Christ. What a bold statement of faith in a predominantly Muslim culture! This guy is cool! 

But it gets better. It turns out, he is very good friends with one of the Lifegate pastors, Jonathan. This man, who just started more than 450 churches in a very "hard-core"  Muslim area of Nigeria, will be returning to Sierra Leone in December, according to Paula. 

They are hoping he will come visit and partner with Lifegate to inspire and encourage their pastors for continued growth of Christianity in the region. How awesome is that! Praise God for that divine intervention! 

I was so excited when I read this update from Paula that I just had to share! Will you please pray alongside the Millers that this will be a valued partnership leading to exponential growth to their ministry that can only be of God? We know all things are possible for Christ, so make this your prayer for Lifegate this week! 

Making headlines

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the latest Springfield's Own magazine featuring Rick and Paula Miller on the cover. If you don't live close enough to buy one (SJ-R office and Barnes and Noble), you can read the story online HERE.

This was not the point of my mission trip to Sierra Leone, but because of my connections to the State Journal-Register I pitched the story. I prayed, held my breath, and the editor replied asking for a cover story, sidebar and lots of photos. Praise God! What an amazing work he did with one small, short trip. I continue to stand in marvel at it! 

Please pray that this story reaches many, that it would create additional supporters and investors for this ministry, that it would result in salvation for even one more lost sheep. 

Meet Alieu

This is Alieu Sesay. 

He is a fisherman in Brigitte Village. In fact, he just came ashore when we ran into him. It had been a rough couple of days. The boat he was fishing in broke down, and he'd spent the night in the sea. His catch, as you can see, was rather small. 

And yet, he was joyful! What a great illustration of James 1:2-4 in action!

Pastor Justus Koroma first witnessed to him when he moved to Brigitte about a year ago, relocating from the much larger community of Waterloo -- about halfway between Brigitte and Freetown. 

"Jesus has done so many things for me. The church has done so many things for me," Alieu said. "I have peace, joy, happiness."

Before coming to Christ, he reported feeling frequently sick and had no peace of mind. He is hoping fishing is a temporary stop for him, as he said he'd like to do something else to sustain his life. 

Please pray for Alieu, that he may find purpose with Jesus and perhaps even a new calling on life through Lifegate's Bible Telling School!

Meet Fatmata

This is Fatmata Kamara.

She was a Muslim woman, living in a home owned by the Imam (local Muslim leader). Recently, she attended a Christian prayer service in the hopes of receiving healing. Fatmata had suffered a stroke and had paralysis on her left side. The prayers worked and she was healed!

Additionally, the businesswoman who sells fish in Waterloo had suffered an eye injury from a fire, and she's had high blood pressure. 

In every case, Fatmata sought the Lord through prayer and became well. That grew her faith in Christ. She began attending church in Brigitte and has accepted Christ. 

Please pray that Fatmata's faith will grow and her health will continue to remain strong. 

Jane

Jane is a trusted friend of the Millers. She helps around the house, watches the girls when needed (when Rick and Paula have to go to the airport to pick up certain visitors whose delayed flights keep them out until 2 a.m.) and cooks. Also, she sings. And I just had to post the video and photos because we teased her that she would be "famous" in America. Suddenly, she got real shy about letting me come near her with my camera! I think Grace and Faith were reminding her that I would be making her famous with the photos below. I love her genuine smile...it is truly infectious!

I do believe I forced her outside her comfort zone with my cameras every time I was around her. Yet it didn't keep her from singing in church. I wonder...what could we do this week to ease outside our comfort zone for God? 

Enjoy Jane's beautiful voice in the video and next time you pray, include Jane and her husband, Paul, that God would meet their needs and grow their faith!

The orphan13 project

Our God is so good and works in so many amazing ways. For instance, Frank Williams met Rick Miller completely by chance. Two men doing God's work, following his call on their lives. For Frank's orphanage to remain open, he needed help. He needed partners. Rick vowed to help. And then chance worked in their favor again. Chance Newingham, a pastor at Athens Christian Church and member of the In His Hands Orphans Outreach board was there, in Sierra Leone, on a mission trip. When Rick became aware of Chance's heart for orphans, he took him to Children's Redemption Orphanage Home. 


Chance was compelled to do more, so he began to organize a sponsorship program back in Illinois. But it wasn't enough, and he couldn't stop thinking about what more he could do. Until...something very simple took hold. He started collecting aluminum, recycling it and donating the money toward rice -- a staple food for the orphans. 


He did very little to promote it, but God's hand has been at work in the effort. To date, 71,624 cans have been cashed in for $1,480. That's the equivalent of 4,284 pounds of rice. 


Here's an aluminum-rice visual from Chance's new web site: http://www.orphan13.org/. 





Check out the web site, and also the CROH section on lifegateinafrica.org. See the faces, read the stories and pray about how you can help be a part of the effort to improve life for these beautiful children who lost their parents and were oftentimes found living in extreme poverty on the streets. Every can recycled makes a difference, and it's pretty effortless!

Want to know more?

There are so many exciting stories coming out of Rick and Paula Miller's work in Sierra Leone. In a week's time, I was able to talk to a few dozen people, take lots of photos and videos, and see firsthand Rick's vision  creating waves in a culture so foreign to mine. 


You are going to hear more and more about the development in Brigitte Village and all of the Sierra Leone Peninsula. There are so more exciting changes taking place for the kingdom! 


I want to personally invite any of you who are close enough to visit Athens, Illinois, to come at 6 p.m. Sunday to hear my presentation about the Millers' ministries. It is so uplifting the transformation there, and I want to share more of it with you. I'll be speaking, but I'll also have a book of photos and brochures. You can learn how you might get more involved or just get plugged in so you can keep hearing the stories! I hope to see you there!

Rick and Paula in a sea of school children. 

Quari

This is Quari, a small village a few miles along the Penisular Highway from Brigitte Village. It was founded in 2001 by a forester named Mbaimba, and the village is in the process of renaming their community after its founder. There are about 125 adults living in Quari, plus many children and a lot of orphans. Most of the men and even women work in the nearby quarry. The work is almost all done by hand. 

This man is crushing rock into a fine material. 

These men are breaking up larger rocks into small rocks that can then be crushed by hand.

There are many orphans in Quari being raised by neighbors. There is no school in this village, and none of the children attend school. 

Please pray for the village of Quari. Pray for the children there -- the orphans and the ones unable to attend school. Pray that the Christian fellowship provided here offers them hope.

Meet Maritu

This is Maritu Tarawally.

She attended a program when Dwight Haymon, a pastor with Lifegate International in Georgia, visited Sierra Leone. 

"We prayed for people. There were a lot of Muslims who were healed and a few led to Christ," recalled Pastor Justus Koroma. "She became sick, and we prayed for her. God healed her, and she decided to accept Christ."

Maritu has been attending church since then. Please pray that Maritu will stand firm in her faith and share the Bible stories so that others may be reached. 

'It Takes a Village'

This beautiful baby boy...

is being raised by a widowed mom and with the help of the village. His father, a Muslim, became sick. Pastor Justus Koroma (pictured above) prayed with his father and encouraged him to accept Christ. And while he was healed temporarily, he became sick again. Like a lot of people in the villages, the man used charms and sought the help of witch doctors out of desperation and eventually died from his illness. In her grieving, his wife lost a baby in childbirth. 


This is not uncommon in Sierra Leone. According to the latest statistics collected by the government in 2008, 115 babies die for every 1,000 live births. Additionally, because of malaria, unclean water and a lack of healthcare services, there are 204 deaths for every 1,000 children under the age of 5. 


Right now, this boy's mother is going to trade school in another community. She must leave her son behind in the village in order to have HOPE of providing for him. The popularized phrase based on the book "It Takes a Village" certainly applies in Brigitte where siblings look after one another, neighbors take in orphaned children and everyone tries their best to do what they can with what little resources are available.


Please pray for this family and for others who endure untimely deaths and for everyone in the villages taking care of children. 

Fish, fish and more fish!

Life in Brigitte Village is simple. There are no televisions. No internet. No running water or electricity in most homes. There's maybe an occasional cell phone signal. 


Unlike in the city (Freetown), there is an obvious lack of resources and organizations that offer handouts. The people here, they have historically taken care of one another. "The people in the village, they work hard because if you don't work hard, you don't eat," said Paula Miller, missionary with Lifegate International.


Unemployment is high. Very high. Those who do work probably don't earn a living wage. They might be happy with the equivalent of one American dollar per day. That, of course, leads to other challenges -- including lack of transportation, inability to pay the small fee to send children to school and absence of general healthcare. 


It's not for lack of trying. There is certainly the bustle of business activity here. 


Some women walk miles alongside the main highway that divides Brigitte Village, selling homemade items or more than likely fish, to neighboring villages that are scattered every few miles on this modern road where motorcycles offer inexpensive rides and an occasional truck or car passes by. Some women spend all day walking and selling, leaving their children behind in the village to attend school or be cared for by neighbors. 


Fish is the main commodity in Brigitte Village. It's the sole income provider for numerous families. Men go out daily in fishing boats, many without motors, and bring in their catches to the beach where other men and women negotiate for their purchase. The fish are then often smoked and resold or simply resold in neighboring villages.

Fish drying out on the side of the highway.

Fish laid out in a smoke house.

A woman with a few fish in her tub is waiting for another boat of fishermen to come ashore so she can buy more fish.

Young men mend nets on the beach.

Oftentimes, the fishing boats have no motor. 

But there's also the concern for overfishing, something that is of great concern to the village chief, as more fishermen have smaller and smaller catches. Not only would the depletion of fish be bad for the local economy, it could have social and nutritional consequences, too. 


Like the deforestation occurring in this area, there doesn't seem to be a solution. "Even though the government tries to stop these woodcutters, they turn a blind eye on it because it's their way of life," noted Pastor Justus Koroma. 


That's why Lifegate is working alongside the village chief to create more opportunities for other types of reliable income, for more jobs for Brigitte. Will you pray that the Bible Telling School can offer HOPE in this way? Will you pray about the issue of overfishing in Brigitte Village? 

Women in Action: Rooted in Jesus

It's time for me to brag! What luck that the Sunday I visited Sierra Leone was "Women in Action" day -- a service planned by and led by women. And girls. (Grace and Faith even got in on the action.)


Today I want to write about Paula, though. She is amazing, patient, kind, intelligent, loving, obedient and humble. She might not like that this post is about her, but today -- as I had a very long talk with another Christian sister -- I was reminded that women NEED one another. 


At least in American culture, society tells us other women are our competitors, our rivals. Co-workers are conspiring to take our jobs, neighbors are conspiring to take our husbands and other women are generally "the enemy."


These messages are not of God. God doesn't even want us to tear down our enemies.


This morning, I heard my children saying they "felt sorry" for a girl in drama camp who can't snap or whistle and has stage fright. It was time for a chat! We talked about how a little encouragement can go a long way, and maybe she'd only been given criticism instead of positive support. And we all know what that does to a person!


Let's be honest, we need to feed each other -- not just our sister Christians, but especially our sister Christians -- with encouragement. We need to offer them love and support. We need to hold them up and hold them accountable. 


I love the analogy in Paula Miller's message to the women in Brigitte Village, where tall palm trees welcome visitors from the hill side and stand proud above this small community. 


We could all do well to compare our own faith to that of a tree. We must pay close attention to our roots if we want to stand tall as Christian women! 


Please listen in to Paula's encouraging words and leave her a note in the comments! Encourage your sister Christian!

Meet Isatu

This is Isatu Bangura.

She is not from Brigitte Village but moved here when she got married and her husband brought her here. They were both Muslim at that time. 


Not long ago, Isatu's father passed away. Pastor Justus Koroma heard about her suffering. He counseled her in her grief and offered her encouragement. She accepted Christ and began attending the church in Brigitte Village about six months ago. It's a decision her husband is still struggling with. 


Please pray for Isatu...that her faith would grow and that her husband will see God through her and that he would also accept Christ. 

The Bible Telling School

The Bible Telling School in and around Brigette village is not new. In fact, this method of evangelizing isn't even new. 


What is new is the completion of the structure where the school can now grow and flourish. The Bible Telling School method as brought to Sierra Leone by Rick and Paula Miller officially began in 2011. They train the three teachers in the method, and those three teachers take the stories and train people who are reaching more than 25 villages -- in the tribal languages. The classrooms for the accompanying trade school are nearly completed. In the trade classes, people will learn a trade so they can support themselves. These trade classes are specifically for the people going through the Bible Telling School, so they can support themselves. 


"It is our hope that we will have folks come from surrounding villages, be trained in this comprehensive program and go back to their villages and be missionaries there -- carriers of the God story, while able to sustain themselves through their trade," said Rick Miller. 


The vision for the campus is that the two classrooms will expand to include more classrooms, plus workshops and a dormitory for those who cannot afford the money or time required to travel to Brigette for school. 


Research shows that people receive a superior education if it includes listening and learning to tell stories. Bible telling is the rebirth of an ancient craft in Africa, which is one of many reasons it's already been so successful in Sierra Leone. Additionally, not everyone can afford a Bible. And Bibles aren't even printed in most of the tribal languages. Much of the population is illiterate. Because so many are Muslim, there's also a fear of being seen going inside the Christian Church. Taking Bible stories out into homes in the communities is working to reach those people, and the Gospel is spreading in West Africa!


Do you have a heart for this project? Click HERE for information on how you can help!


Here are some photos of the school under construction. 

Bricks are made from the red earth around the village and sealed into place with cement mortar. 

This is how the bricks are transported up the school to the classroom site. 

Rick Miller and Frank J. Williams, director of Lifegate's Children's Redemption Orphanage Home, check out the progress at the Bible Telling School. 

The view is breath-taking from the site of the Bible Telling School. It is constructed into the hill overlooking Brigitte Village. 

Please pray for the school, the teachers, the students, the expansion of the campus and vision. 

Introducing Justus

This is Justus Koroma. 

He is the head teacher at the Bible Telling School. He trains and teaches in the Bible Story Telling methodology. He oversees the church and school in Brigitte Village and has teaching points in Brigitte and Quari villages. 

Justus first came to Brigitte Village five years ago. He had the village chief's blessing to be there, as a Christian preacher. He worked then with Rick and Paula Miller, and then when they returned to West Africa, they were able to partner with Justus again. 

Five years ago, Justus introduced Christianity to many in the small fishing community located on the southern edge of Sierra Leone's peninsula. Even with his peaceful but joyful demeanor, Justus was shaking things up. He was kicked out of the first home he rented, because the owner was a leader in the Muslim community. He was persecuted and criticized. It was not an easy life. But he persevered, dedicated to his cause, and can now call many former enemies his friends. 

The church fellowship in Brigitte Village now has a building for regular worship, and he heads that church, recruiting new members constantly with the popular Bible Story Telling method. Justus is a leader among men in Sierra Leone. He will be a critical teacher and trainer when the Bible Telling School opens on the campus in Brigitte Village.

Please pray for Justus. Pray he will continue to grow in his faith and as a leader for God. 

We have a new Web site!

This week's blog is the announcement of VERY exciting news: Lifegate has a new Web site! Found at lifegateinafrica.org or lifegateinafrica.com, the new Web site features videos, photos, stories and resources for how you can be a part of the extraordinary good news that is happening in Brigitte and surrounding villages in Sierra Leone, Africa. The ministries each have their own logos and separate web sites but a look that brands them together. 


Spend some time checking out the Web site (don't forget to bookmark it and visit often!) and please let us know what you think!

Water = Life

In nearly all parts of Africa, there's a water shortage, a water crisis or both. Water, sanitation and hygiene all have consequences on health and disease. 


Some water-related diseases are caused by micro-organisms and chemicals. Malaria is spread through mosquitoes, which breed in stagnant water. And of course, water can help control hygiene which can reduce disease. 


According to the World Health Organization, poor water quality poses a major threat to human health, accounting for the deaths of 1.8 million people every year, nearly 90 percent of those attributable to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene. These cases are mostly children and are typically occurring in developing countries like Sierra Leone. 


Brigitte Village currently has two wells. This one is connected to a spring. But there's a dilemma. The pipe the water flows through is just one inch. Typically, there are at least 20 buckets "in line" to be filled at any given time. And the average wait for water is about 30-40 minutes. That doesn't include the time to haul it home. The second well is currently locked up, with no explanation given about why. Lifegate is supporting current efforts to dig for an additional well so that the people in the community will have another efficient way to retrieve water. 


This is where we need your prayers. Currently the well being dug is at 34 feet deep and we have not found water yet.  Please pray with us that we reach water soon.

Several people wait their turn for water at the one working well located on the outskirts of Brigitte Village.

Children are all involved in hauling water back to their homes. 

Another family walks home with water. The containers each hold between three and five gallons of water. 

A well that is currently locked up in the middle of Brigitte Village. 

Please pray for the water situation in Brigitte Village and in all of Africa. Pray that sickness through water would not harm or kill children. Pray that additional water sources could be added to the village to make water collection easier for these families. 

The church in Brigitte

The church in Brigitte Village might be a new building, but it started many years before that with a vision. And a few people who answered "I will. I'll go." when called by God to evangelize here. One of those people was Pastor Justus Koroma who got the village chief's permission to come into the community and share God's story. You can learn more about his story HERE. 

The church was erected in 2011, right across the highway from the local mosque, and there's a lot of pride associated with it. You can see it in this video!

Video of Brigitte Village Church

Lifegate is offering HOPE with its three ministries

Welcome to Stories of Salvation -- the new blog for Lifegate International. Here we'll be sharing the stories of how God's love and grace are shaping the people and villages of Sierra Leone, the headquarters for Lifegate International. 


First, we want to explain a bit about Lifegate's vision to transform villages through education, training and an everlasting relationship with Jesus Christ. 


Seven years ago, Rick and Paula Miller entered the missions field in west Africa. It was in those first months that Rick's vision began to take shape. He desired to transform a village through Christ. 


So he began the research. Surveying dozens of villages, he settled on one -- then called Compound Village. There was no Christian presence in this village then. And Pastor Justus Koroma set out to evangelize on their ministry's behalf, facing much opposition and persecution in those initial days. 


Rick discovered early on that this transformation would need to be grounded in HOPE. It would require educating, training and empowering the people. Not in just the words of God but also in the kinds of skills that would sustain their families. 


Today -- a year after the Millers got their ministry back to Sierra Leone -- that hope is taking shape. The Bible Telling School is no longer just a vision but a building that will soon combine training in Bible stories with trade skills for programs that will send evangelists out into other villages to live out stories of HOPE and salvation, while being able to work in a trade that will give them an income. 


Additionally fueled by the dedication of a German woman named Brigitte, who donated money to Compound Village for its first healthcare center, this community is already undergoing a transformation. She has now also given money for a new primary school and a high school (first time for one here!) to be constructed in the village, which was renamed Brigitte Village. The village chief handed over the responsibility for running the schools to Lifegate, which will partner with the government and bring a Christian-based element to the school. Also, Lifegate is partnering with Children's Redemption Orphanage Home to build an orphanage in Brigitte Village -- relocating 17 children from Waterloo and giving them a chance at the same opportunities as others who live in the area.


So you can see the people here will soon be able to get an education and training in such a way that they can provide a living wage for their families and know Jesus Christ. It's the story of HOPE, and these are their Stories of Salvation. 

Rick Miller with a group of boys from Brigitte Village.