As always, there is plenty of work and ministry happening in the Kuwaa Region of Liberia.  You will be hearing more and more about that. However, this month’s Prayer Letter is a health update of Bishop Emeritus D. Jensen Seyenkulo, the COO of the Kuwaa Mission.  Bishop Jensen, as he is called, was diagnosed in October 2024 with prostate cancer while in the U.S.  He returned to Liberia for a period of two months, where he continued his work with the Kuwaa Mission.  On December 24, he left for the U.S., arriving in Chicago on December 25.  An upside of this health crisis was the opportunity to spend part of the Christmas holidays with the three Seyenkulo “kids” who are now adults living in the U.S.  It has been a long time since it was a family Christmas. Surgery occurred on January 28.  It was a long surgery (4 1/2 hours), followed by one night in the hospital.  The recovery was more difficult than the patient had expected. It included pain, an emergency room visit, ending with another hospitalization.  Listening to medical professionals and family has proved to be key to Bishop Jensen’s recovery. Moderate exercise and plenty of rest have led him to be on the road to a good recovery.  The Doctor is well satisfied with the outcome of the surgery and is predicting a long and good recovery.   Bishop Jensen and his wife, Rev. Linda Johnson Seyenkulo, wanted to acknowledge and give thanks to the following individuals and institutions for their support during this time: The medical professionals Dr. Peter Reisz and Nurse Practitioner Ewa Blachowicz, as well as the Nurses Dana,  Taje, and staff who cared for him at Rush University Medical Center. The Metro Chicago Synod and Bishop Yehiel Curry for their prayers and support. Dr. Lanny & Rev. Linnea Wilson who opened their home to us as we prepared for surgery. Josephus & Mae Sackie who helped with housing post surgery. Our children:  Apu, Kenata, and Yongor Linnea who provided wise counsel, hospitality, and         emotional support in person and by phone/internet. Friends and family, including you in the Kuwaa Mission, who are praying people and who            held us in prayer during this time. Bishop Jensen is continuing to recover and practice good lifestyle choice in Liberia. He’s glad to be back home with his people and to continue to lead the Kuwaa Mission. Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the gift of healing and for the people through whom we receive your healing. We pray, let all your people across Kuwaa land and those who work to bring them hope and healing also receive your special healing. We pray in Jesus’ name! Amen!

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website:  D

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Kuwaa Mission, PO Box 90513, Anchorage, AK 99509

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We are praying this month for all our Board members, especially for Dr. Apu Amanda Seyenkulo, who was recently elected.

On Friday, December 6, 2024, the Kuwaa Mission Board agreed to add a new member to help it more adequately address the Mission’s work. The individual recommended was Dr. Apu Amanda Seyenkulo, daughter of Rev. Dr. D. Jensen Seyenkulo, one of the mission’s founding members. The Board unanimously voted to add Apu to the board. We are glad to have Dr. Seyenkulo introduce herself to the Board and the entire Kuwaa Mission Community. Here is what she wrote:

“I am deeply honored to join the Kuwaa Mission board, an organization close to my family’s heart. My dad’s unwavering passion for this mission and our family’s roots in the region have inspired me throughout my life. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy and owner of “Pushing It With Pu” online fitness business, I am dedicated to helping those who are vulnerable or less fortunate—a value instilled in me by my parents. Serving the communities that shaped me has been a lifelong aspiration, and I am eager to contribute my skills and experience to this mission. My background includes expertise in social media, website development/marketing, advocacy, and effective communication. I strive to be a logical and compassionate voice, and I hope to leverage these strengths to support and enhance the Kuwaa Mission’s impactful work. Hearing about the mission’s accomplishments has been truly inspiring. I am excited to be part of the ongoing efforts to make a meaningful difference in my homeland in the future.”

Prayer: Dear God, you provide laborers for your harvest. We thank you for the men and women you have chosen across the church to help with the Kuwaa Mission. Thank you for adding Apu to the Kuwaa Mission board. We pray that you may provide her and all other board members and supporters all they need for your work. Amen!

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website:  D

Donate

Kuwaa Mission, PO Box 90513, Anchorage, AK 99509

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

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Christmas Gift Ideas Supporting the Kuwaa Mission in 2025

The Kuwaa Mission is once more excited to provide opportunities to participate in the great adventure of serving God’s people in Kuwaa Land (Belleh). The Kuwaa people are a small tribe in Liberia living in one of Liberia’s remotest parts. Being small, remote, and isolated, the Kuwaa people were neglected by the Government and Non-governmental Organizations for many years. However, thanks to the Kuwaa Mission, which began work among the Kuwaa in 2008, the Kuwaa people are once more receiving the attention they have craved for many years. You can help augment the ministry of the Kuwaa Mission in the region this Christmas season. Your donations are tax-deductible. Here are some ways you can help:

$250

Donate $250 to help provide half (½) of what is needed to repair a hand pump and rehabilitate a well to provide safe drinking water for village dwellers. Your donation of $250, 50% of the cost, will help recondition one of the three wells that are the Kuwaa Mission’s target for 2025. This amount will go toward purchasing materials, transportation, and labor.

$150

Your $150 donation will help supply essential medicines to one Community Health Assistant for six months. Your donation will cover transportation, the purchase of essential medicines for village dwellers, and incentives for Community Health Assistants.  

$50

Your donation of $50 will equip a team of midwives with the materials they need to enable them to help with safe and healthy deliveries. The midwives need gloves, towels, buckets, large bowls, razor blades, and bandages, among other things.

$250

Donate $250, and you will be funding one-fourth (¼) of what is needed to conduct a Children Bible School for the two targeted villages in the Kuwaa region. Your donation will help cover the cost of traveling, teaching materials, snacks, notebooks, writing utensils, and honorarium for the teachers.

$100

With your donation of $100, you will help cover one-fourth (¼) of what is needed to conduct Health and sanitation training in the two villages that the Kuwaa Mission has targeted for 2024.

$250

Your $250 will provide 25% of the amount the Mission needs to help the clinic work in Kondesu in 2025. This amount will help subsidize medication, provide incentives for healthcare workers, and transport equipment and medical supplies.

$200

7. A donation of $200 will cover the training cost of one of the three evangelists who entered the Lay Training Center to be prepared to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in the region. This amount will cover registration, school fees, transportation, and a small allowance for one session of a two-year, four-session program (i.e., the entire cost to train one evangelist for two years is $800.

$10

8. Your $10 donation will place a Bible in the hands of an evangelist. 

$100

9. A donation of $100 will help with the cost of running the Girls Reusable Menstrual Hygiene program. This program helps young girls experiencing the monthly visit stay in school. (Note: sometimes girls have stayed out of school during this time due to inadequate or the lack of supplies.)

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website: 

Donate

Kuwaa Mission, PO Box 90513, Anchorage, AK 99509

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

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The Kuwaa Mission is praying for the three new Kuwaa Parish evangelists selected for training over the next two years. Comfort Kollie, Sarah Jeogbor, and Aloysius Korboi Joedoe, the three candidates, arrived at the Lewis T. Bowers Lay Leaders & Ministerial Training Center (LTB-LLMTC) campus on Sunday, August 11, 2024. The three are the Kuwaa Mission-sponsored evangelists for ministry among their people in the Kuwaa Parish of the Lutheran Church in Liberia. Comfort, Sarah, and Aloysius traveled by motorbikes for over thirteen hours through the rain, mud, and cold to get to the center for training – the training that will prepare them for service to their people.       Unlike in previous years, when the Mission had more men than women, this batch of candidates is comprised of two women and one man. This scenario is an encouraging sign for ministry in the Kuwaa region! Our young people are not only exposed to men in leadership in the church, but they also see women who are close to their age in leadership roles. We are deeply grateful to the Kuwaa Mission and her supporters for the profound impact they are making on the Kuwaa people through the training of men and women with a deep understanding of Bible interpretation. Thanks to the Kuwaa Mission, ten of the sixteen Kuwaa towns now have at least one trained evangelist, a testament to our collective efforts. We pray that every Kuwaa town will soon have at least one trained evangelist! We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Tebah Nyanku of Konjade and Mr. Joshua Mulbah of Kalata, the Kuwaa Mission’s dedicated foot soldiers, for their relentless work in finding our new evangelists. Their efforts, along with the support of the trained evangelists in the parish, have encouraged our three new candidates. We are told there were more volunteers for the training, but most couldn’t come due to the Mission’s limited capacity. Like those who came before them, Comfort, Sarah, and Aloysius are making significant sacrifices to be trained for ministry to their people. When asked about the level of sacrifice they are making, Aloysius, the only married one among these candidates, humbly shared his perspective: “No sacrifice we make can equal the sacrifice Jesus made for us. We are happy to be doing something for the good of the Gospel.” We admire their dedication.                

Prayer: God of the Kuwaa people, we thank you again for the three willing servants you have blessed us with. We pray that you remove every obstacle so their learning may be smooth and joyful. Bless your mission, the Kuwaa Mission, and all those who work to make it viable. We pray in Jesus’ name with thanksgiving! Amen!

Jensen Seyenkulo COO, Kuwaa Mission

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website:  D

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Kuwaa Mission, PO Box 90513, Anchorage, AK 99509

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

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This month’s prayer letter comes from Mrs. Korpo Barsay. Korpo facilitates several Mission activities, including Days-4-Girls, Community-Led Sanitation Training, Vacation Bible School, and Community Tea for Elderly Women. She started work with the Mission in 2013 as an assistant to Cindy Ellis Bye (Sombee). Since then, Korpo has worked with every local and international leader who has served the Mission on the field. Besides Cindy, those leaders include Stan, Rev. Paye, and me. Today, she works directly with the COO of the Kuwaa Mission. Korpo recently returned from the district, where she conducted three of her four activities before returning to the Capital City of Liberia, Monrovia. She will tell her own story. Dear Kuwaa Mission friends and family, My name is Korpo Barsay. Most of you do not know me. You may not have heard of me, but I have worked with the Kuwaa Mission for over eleven years. It has been a blessing to be a part of this team, no matter who the leader has been. My joy in serving this Mission comes from the fact that the Kuwaa Mission has made my dream of serving my people and making a difference a reality! I can see what difference this Mission is making, and thinking I am a part of it all is beyond my imagination! Thank you for what you are doing for my people and me! I work in several areas of the Kuwaa Mission’s ministries. Following are some of the ways that the Kuwaa Mission enables me to make a difference in the lives of my people:    

1. Vacation Bible School – We travel up to the region once a year and conduct something like Sunday School. We plan to do these activities during the long academic break between June and August. There have been times when we couldn’t get up to the region due to the heavy downpour of rain. We have been amazed at how accommodating the school authorities have been at such times. They will allow us to conduct our classes even on school days. It shows us the appreciation these towns have for what the Kuwaa Mission does among them. Another exciting thing about these VBS sessions is that there is no discrimination; all children of all denominations and all religions, including Muslims, participate! It is just amazing!
2. Days-4-Girls – This program is intended to help young women who are experiencing monthly changes in their bodies and want to be in school. The Days-4-Girls program is the most challenging part of my team’s work, especially since we must make our own kits. But I enjoy doing it very much because you can immediately see the work’s impact. Sadly, we skipped the Days-4-Girls activities this year due to some problem with delivery. As is true for the postponement or cancellation of any of these programs, it was tough for me as I saw young women who badly needed these services get turned away because we couldn’t provide those needs. This experience has encouraged us to manufacture our own kits. We have done it before; we can do it again!
3. Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Training—I am so grateful to the Kuwaa Mission for introducing me to this approach to health and sanitation training. Clean drinking water is essential and so is the air we breath. As we work together to provide clean drinking water from the wells, we work together to clean environments for clean air. Since we live and work in communities, the CLTS system presents something familiar. Seeing how it is quickly owned by the community leaders and expanded upon has been exciting. I only wish that the enthusiasm would be sustained. Although that is not the case in most communities, some of the towns have impressed me by keeping their communities clean for a really long time.
4. Tea for the Elderly Women – As far as I can tell, this concept was created by our dear friend, Cindy Ellis Bye (Sombee). She came up with the idea to be inclusive. This activity aims to include the older women who are too old for the Days-4-Girls kits and too tired to run and compete for notebooks, crayons, and candies with the Vacation Bible School children.  It is working! This activity is the last stage of my work every time I’m in these Belle towns, but it is certainly not the least. It is the most relaxing and the most fun for me. The idea is that since excluding the adult women from all the other activities creates a sense of resentment towards the Mission, climaxing the three-to-four-day events with activity as small assharing a cup of tea will work wonders. It has for all those involved, including myself.

How can I thank the Kuwaa Mission? Words are not enough. Please accept my many thanks, Kuwaa Mission! May God bless the work that you do! Prayer: Lord, thank you for your servant, Korpo Barsay, and her work with your people. Provide for her every need, O God! Increase her zeal for your work and give her joy in doing what you call her to. We also pray that those who partner with the Mission may find joy in the partnership and in every aspect of their service to you and your people. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website:  D

Donate

Kuwaa Mission, PO Box 90513, Anchorage, AK 99509

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

Please subscribe to our mailing list if you want to receive our update letters.