May 2013

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST:

The Kuwaa Mission just recently learned that a cholera outbreak has occurred in the Kuwaa Town of Fassama.  Prayers for the people are requested.  Cholera kills especially children and seniors.

What?! No food for 30 hours?? You can imagine the response you would hear from middle schoolers when approached about participating in a 30-Hour Famine. Not so with the confirmation class at Trinity Lutheran Church in Boulder, Colorado! Although maybe not thrilled with the hunger pains they knew would gnaw at their stomachs, they jumped in and accepted the challenge. Here’s how it works:

The purpose of the 30 Hour Famine is to learn about the causes and effects of hunger, to experience hunger firsthand, to help fight hunger, to participate in a service project, to join in worship, fellowship, fun, and  – here’s where the Kuwaa Mission comes in – to gather funds for a selected cause.  I presented a slide show to the class that introduced them to the Mission and its goal of providing clean drinking water for the Kuwaa people. The class decided that this was indeed a worthy cause. They set a goal of $2500 toward a well in Liberia.

The next step was to enlist sponsors for their 30 hours of fasting. The sponsors pledged various amounts toward the goal of $2500, payable when the class successfully completed their task.

Then the famine began. The class gathered with their sleeping bags in tow in the church basement on a Friday at 7 o’clock.  Lunch that day had been their last meal. They were allowed to drink fruit juice and Gatorade and chew gum. Their first full glass of juice/Gatorade was “free” but after that they had to carry 2 gallons of water around the room 4 times to get a refill for one glass, illustrating how not everyone in the world has a tap handy with fresh clean water, and that many people have to walk miles to get their water.  The class kept a journal to record how they were feeling at various times of the famine, and what it must be like for others to live with hunger.  They made a trip to Costco to buy supplies for their service project – no free food samples allowed! They filled the basement with the aromas of bread and chocolate chip cookies baking – no sampling allowed!

The service project was to assemble goody bags to be handed out at a mobile medical clinic. They also assembled street bags for homeless folks who were being served lunch at a neighboring congregation. They delivered the bags, helped serve the lunch and visited with the guests. Afterwards they joined in a Bible study about the Feeding of the 5000.

When the 30 hours were over, they broke their fast by celebrating Holy Communion and shared a meal of their freshly baked bread and fish sticks.

Then it was on to the job of collecting from the folks who had made pledges. The amount they collected for the Kuwaa Mission totaled $2545. How thrilled I was when I heard about it! What a blessing for the Kuwaa people!

This is one example of what a congregation can do to raise funds for the Kuwaa Mission. For other ideas, visit kuwaamission.org. By working together and with God’s help, we will surely make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

 Donations can be given in two ways:

1.   Make out check and send to: Bethany Lutheran Church (see below)

2.   Go to the Kuwaa Mission Website at www.kuwaamission.org:  use PayPal to make a one time or automatic monthly donation

PDF of Prayer Letter

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The Kuwaa Mission:  c/o Bethany Lutheran Church,  1340 8th Street,  Slidell, LA 70458

April 2013

The Kuwaa Mission exists to wholistically help the Kuwaa people reclaim their hope and dignity as God’s redeemed people.

A Good Day Fishing!

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”  “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.   John 21:15

It was early morning.  Jesus appeared to the disciples as they were heading toward the shore after a very disappointing night of fishing.  From the beach Jesus offered a word of encouragement, “Hey guys, try the other side of the boat (roughly paraphrased).”  And that’s all it took, a fresh perspective.  With Jesus’ help, the disciples hauled in the catch of a lifetime! 

On the beach, after a fish & bread breakfast, Jesus asks Peter straight out, “Peter, do you love me?”  It was a fair question seeing as how Peter had denied even knowing him as Jesus faced arrest, torture and death.  It’s not Jesus’ question however that gets our attention as much as his response to Peter’s confession of devotion.  “If you really love me, Peter, walk the talk- feed my lambs (again, roughly paraphrased).”

My father used to have an old saying, “Fish or cut bait!”  I always took it to mean that if I was present when others were working, I was expected to pitch in – to find some way to make myself useful.    It’s true that most things in life are easier if you have someone sharing the load.

Isn’t that what the Kuwaa Mission is all about?  It’s Christ’s disciples pitching in- lending a hand- to our brothers and sisters half-a-world-away in Liberia.  It’s feeding Christ’s lambs, by sharing His love with the Kuwaa people in a real and tangible way, helping to provide clean drinking water and access to medical care.

The Clinic is UP

The walls of the medical clinic in Kondesu are up, the floor is poured and the roof is on.  The nurse’s quarters are at the same point.  Praise God for our contractor, Stone; Koko, the well contractor; Nathan, who has supervised our lumber operation; and, of course, Pastor Chris Kowula.   Missionaries, Cindy Ellis Bye and Stephen Bradley attended the clinic groundbreaking and helped begin work on the clinic (up to window level).  Stephen conducted a workshop on use and maintenance of water filters and a 4-day pump and filter training workshop for 17 people during this, his first visit.

Please hold in prayer

• Our CEO, Stan Olsen, as he travels to Liberia, for the second time in the past few months.  We pray for availability of helicopter travel from Samaritan’s Purse for Stan into and out of the Kuwaa area from Monrovia  This will allow more time for him to visit the villages and meet with elders and contractors in order to verify progress on all fronts.
• Success in talks with Child Fund about school projects and clinic staffing.
• Effective communication between all parties involved in our mission activities and for strengthening of our relationships at all levels.
• Those who will be working to complete water wells in Fassama, Kenata, Gatema, and Maufordor.

Written by Pastor Carol George, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Anchorage AK

Pictured above with granddaughter Brooke; the author of Kids for Kuwaa!

 Donations can be given in two ways:

2.   Make out check and send to:

       Bethany Lutheran Church,  1340 8th Street,  Slidell, LA 70458  

1.   Go to the Kuwaa Mission Website at www.kuwaamission.org:

      use PayPal to make a one time or automatic monthly donation

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The Kuwaa Mission
c/o Bethany Lutheran Church
1340 8th Street
Slidell, LA 70458

March 2013

I recently returned from a successful trip to the Kuwaa Chiefdom.  What a pleasure it was to return there and see the progress that is being made. The lives of the Kuwaa people are improving!   We are a part of it.  Thanks to all of you for your prayers, financial support, and spreading the word about the mission.

This year I was joined by Stephan Bradley, the Manager of Water Treatment and Process Engineering for DOWL-HKM in Billings, MT.  Stephan worked on the water purification filters the mission provided the Kuwaa people. After 3 years of use, some of them really needed cleaning.  Using a diluted bleach solution, he fixed them.  He also instructed key people on the technique.   It was good to see that many of filters were still in use.

A Pump Technician Workshop was held to train a few villagers on the care and maintenance of these pumps. They need to be able to care for them on their own.  The trainees were very thankful for the training which will allow them to help their own villages. Spare parts were given to each village. Training is a priority for the Mission to keep projects self-sustaining .

The most exciting news is that the clinic construction is underway!  All glory to God!  This has been an enormous undertaking. The Groundbreaking Ceremony was held in Kondesu on Feb 4.  A representative from the Senator’s office attended. As is their custom, the ceremony began and ended with prayer. The people thanked God for the work the Mission is doing. By now, the clinic walls should be up.  The roof is the next task.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for our blessed lives.  We thank you for the ability to do your work among the Kuwaa People.  We thank you for the supporters of the Kuwaa Mission.  Please hold the Kuwaa People, the clinic workers, and their families in the palm of your hand.   All glory and praise to God for the work that is being done!  Amen.

PDF Prayer Letter Link

By Cindy Ellis Bye

Volunteer Coordinator and Interim Chair of the Board

 Donations can be given in two ways:

2.   Make out check and send to:

       Bethany Lutheran Church,  1340 8th Street,  Slidell, LA 70458

1.   Go to the Kuwaa Mission Website at www.kuwaamission.org:

      use PayPal to make a one time or automatic monthly donation

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The Kuwaa Mission
c/o Bethany Lutheran Church
1340 8th Street
Slidell, LA 70458

February 2013

December 2012 found Stan Olsen, CEO, back in Liberia making arrangements for the clinic’s groundbreaking with Rev. Chris Kowula, Kuwaa Mission Field Director and Darlenston Coldheart, Contractor.  Despite heavier than normal rains this past rainy season we were able to start the transportation of 120 bags of cement shipped from Monrovia to Fassama by commercial vehicle, a 12+ hour trip.  From Fassama the bags are transported by motorbike 3 hours to Kondesu.  The actual construction begins this month when Cindy Bye arrives.

Stan met with the Liberian office of UNICEF and obtained a booklet entitled “Community-Led Sanitation”.  The goal of this approach is to get the villagers to recognize the need for “them” to take the lead in cleaning their villages of feces which contributes to the contamination of surface water, causing several different kinds of illnesses one of which is eye infections in the children who play in the dirt and play with the animals who get into everything.  The Mission is praying for funds to enable us to start this project during our visits next dry season.

Stan also was able to meet with Mrs. Malai Goutro Gbogar, the newly elected Representative for the Belle District of which the Kuwaa People belong.  She appears to be very concerned about the plight of the people as evidenced by her recent travels on foot thru the “bush”.  We are very hopeful that she will be able to enlist additional governmental assistance for this area.

We have long wanted to establish an income generating program within Liberia to generate funds and to provide employment opportunities.  Establishing such a venture would ultimately would make the work projects and people self-sufficient.  As such Stan met with several logging company representatives to see if we could set up a “Woodmizer” sawmill at their center of operations in the bush.  Several were supportive of the idea but only one was located near enough to Monrovia to make it feasible.  Unfortunately, we discovered the government recently instituted a moratorium on all logging due to “issues” with the issuance of permits.  We are praying that the issues will be resolved with both the companies and various people within the government.  Until these issues are resolved our sawmill plans are on hold.

Two years ago I visited with the international NGO ChildFund and had explained our desire to establish a clinic in the Kuwaa Area.  ChildFund was, and still is, involved in healthcare in Gbarpolu County in which the Belle District is located.  I informed the Director that we were starting construction, and he was very excited.  ChildFund will work with the county health department to try to staff and supply the clinic.   ChildFund has agreed to pay the salaries for the first 3 years!

Please consider making a donation to help to make the opening of the clinic a reality in the near future.  Your prayers and donations make the work possible.  The Kuwaa people and the Mission’s Board of Directors thank God for you, our partners in mission.

Your brother in Christ,

Stan

PDF Prayer Letter Link

 Donations can be given in two ways:

2.   Make out check and send to:

       Bethany Lutheran Church,  1340 8th Street,  Slidell, LA 70458

1.   Go to the Kuwaa Mission Website at www.kuwaamission.org:

      use PayPal to make a one time or automatic monthly donation

Unsubscribe – Edit your subscription

The Kuwaa Mission
c/o Bethany Lutheran Church
1340 8th Street
Slidell, LA 70458