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.