Safely in Makeni and preaching there

We arrived safely in the city of Makeni on Tuesday and began our public teaching on Wednesday. The drive from Freetown to Makeni was a pleasant but exhausting drive. The countryside is dotted with a number of small villages most without electricity or running water.

We have experienced internet problems at the hotel on Makeni which has been frustrating. I apologize for not being able to post to this blog before now. It is finally working but is painfully slow.

We have had good attendance at our lessons during the late afternoon and early evening. On Wednesday we had around 40 and today the number exceeded 60. I have been preaching first principal lessons while Mike has dealt with the uniqueness of the Bible and Justin with the purpose of baptism and the one body. Many good questions were submitted for discussion indicating serious thought on the part of the audience.

We had a private study with some of the brethren this morning and I think we helped solve some long standing problems. Hopefully, the brethren will be able to work together more peacefully with patience and love.

If we are able to continue with internet access I will post more news tomorrow.

--John

We are here safe and sound

Mike, Justin and I arrived safely Sunday evening after a long couple of flights. I kept thinking that someone had moved Sierra Leone farther away. We have had a peaceful and relaxing day. We needed to recover from the flight and let some of the culture shock work through our systems before moving on to Makeni tomorrow. We visited with Christian and Theophilus and they filled us in on some of the challenges and opportunities in Makeni. It made us all the more ready to move up there tomorrow and get started.

John Kargbo stopped by to pick up some things Jimmy Lee sent him and we had a delightful visit. It will be good to have him with us in Makeni both as a brother support and a student to teach.

Mike Shields is adjusting nicely and not suffering from any culture shock or ill health, He is an impressive man and I look forward to working with home.


Lord willing I will write more from Makeni tomorrow,

Shields, Monts, Smith off to Sierra Leone

On March 1st, Lord willing, the three of us will travel to Sierra Leone. We will be there about 2 weeks. Mike, Justin and I will travel up country to the city of Makeni. The church thee has stopped meeting due to the loss of a meeting place. We hope to meet with an many of those wayward Christians as possible and persuade the to repent and start meeting together again. We will hold public lectures at the Northern Polytechnic Institute from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm each day. Each session will feature a question and answer session. The second week Mike Shields and John Smith will travel to Freetown to work with the small church that meets in the home of John Kargbo. They are a small struggling group in need of much encouragement and teaching. Justin and Jerry Kai-Lewis will travel to the village of Kailahun to work with some churches that are interested in studying themselves out of institutionalism. They have been very receptive and do seem very far from the truth,. Please pray for our efforts, our health and safe travel. Thanks --John