Greetings from Sierra Leone, This is Justin Monts writing on behalf of John Smith and David Flatt. Every day has been filled with activities and today was equally exciting. Elijah, the friend of brother Jerry Lewis, came early in the morning to meet us at our hotel and drive with us to the Priscilla Street church of Christ. Elijah has been truly encouraging and he is not far from the kingdom. Jerry found him reading his Bible outdoors and asked if he understood what he was reading. Elijah said he did not and Jerry began a discussion with him about the Bible and the New Testament church. Elijah had come out of Islam, standing in opposition to his Muslim parents, and had been sprinkled to be added to the Anglican Church. He listened very intently in our Bible study last night and has come to understand that the Anglican church is not the church of Scripture. He is very close to being Scripturally baptized but we wish to have a few more studies with him to make sure he understands certain aspects of the kingdom (Acts 8:12). He is so eager to learn and grow and has such a tender heart at receiving the doctrines of Sctipture that it has been a true joy to meet him and assist him in his studies.
On the way to Priscilla Street church our driver Abu answered questions about life during the civil war of Sierra Leone. He talked about hardships that he personally witnessed that are almost too terrible to report. I will do so here only so that we can have a better understanding of what the people of Sierra Leone have come out of. He said that the rebels would take pregnant women and make a bet if the child they had was a boy or girl and then they would cut them open to settle the bet. He said that the rebels might force a son to have sexual relations with his mother. He talked about the senseless killing and atrocities. All the people were called out in Makeni (you had to come or you would be executed on the spot) to witness the deaths of those who had challenged the rebels. He spoke with great emotion about having to watch the rebels lock certain families in a building and then burn it to the ground. They were also called out to a field where hundreds were gunned down in cold blood. The rebels ruled by fear. But by the providence of God the nation is now healing and the violence is ended. We are very blessed to live in the country we do and have the safety and freedom we enjoy.
Our driver Abu is a Seventh Day Aventist but he has come faithfully to the studies to listen, learn, and grow in his understanding. My lesson today was on the Old and New Testaments and I stressed that the Sabbath observance was given to the Jews who had been delivered from Egyptian bondage (Deut. 5:12-15), had never been bound upon the Gentiles, and was not a part of Christian service today (Col. 2:16). He wrote down questions that we in turn answered and has shown promise in his ability to be open-minded and listen to reason and Scripture. Please pray for him. David brought excellent material on Islam. It is very much needed here since about 70% of the popluation is Muslim. David has a lot of talent in preaching the truth and has shown a great love for the souls of all who are out here. John continued his series on Christian living and the Sermon on the Mount and has a great personality in working with the individuals and churches over here. It is a true honor to be with these men.
We then went to the radio station to log a 10 minute presentation of the truth but the power kept going on and off (such is a common occurance out here), and finally went off for the whole day. Brother Asgill patiently reminded us that all things work together for good to those who love God (Rom. 8:28). We will try again early in the morning.
We closed the day with a study with brother Eric and helped him to prepare a lesson.
Signing off from Sierra Leone,
Your servant, Justin
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