Category Archives: Prayer Letters

January 2019 Prayer Letter

  • Lutheran Guest House. Sinkor Monrovia.

Dear Kuwaa Mission Supporters,

The New Year brought Stan Olsen, Kuwaa Mission CEO, to the Cosgrove residence in California, on Jan 7th from Alaska. Stan and Jenny Stelling Cosgrove, Kuwaa Board member left for Liberia on Jan 8th. They had stops in Montreal, Brussels and in Sierra Leone before landing at Robertsfield. Lutheran friends met them and transported them to the Lutheran Guest House in Sinkor.

Once settled in they met with Bishop Seyenkulo of the LCL and Bishop Bolay of the ELCL. Supplies up country were purchased in Monrovia. and touching base with Samaritans Purse was essential ( at that time they did not know if transport via SP helicopter was available). They did get the ok for a ride to and from the villages. Praise God for Samaritan’s Purse! The February Prayer Letter will be about their trip.

February also is the 10th Anniversary of the Kuwaa Mission. Rev Dr. Richard Thompson and Bishop Jensen Seyenkulo are the founders of this mission. Several celebrations will be held in February and a special New Year/20th Anniversary card and Prayer Letter will be forthcoming.

The Kuwaa Mission board is comprised of all volunteers. This year several board members will be retiring from the board. If any of you feel led to help us by being a board member we would love to hear from you. We always appreciate new people. The Kuwaa people need our help.

The board currently has approved $600 for the continuation of evangelist training in Totota. We have approved $650 for motor bike transportation between villages if needed. Funds also have been approved for bringing supplies for well repair in Belle Yelleh. Stan carried 3 large bags of Days for Girls kits. Jenny brought 1 large bag and Big Belly books to share with each village. Satellite communication reveals all is successful so far

For the Kuwaa Mission Team,
Diane Stelling – Member of the Board of Directors
PS: If you are interested: Google Big Belly Liberia and Days For Girls

PDF Version of the Letter                                   MS-Word Version of this letter

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: 

Kuwaa Mission, PO Box 90513, Anchorage, AK 99509

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

Shop like you normally do on Amazon but make a small contribution to the Kuwaa Mission with every purchase.  Please consider adding the Kuwaa Mission.  

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December 2018 Prayer Letter

Greetings Kuwaa Mission supporters,

December and Advent are upon us, sending all sorts of joy and good will.  You hear Christmas music being played everywhere, Salvation Army volunteers ringing their bells at many stores and strangers wishing you a “Very Merry Christmas”.

In Romans 15:13, we read, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit.”  We hear people say, “pay it forward” and “give accordingly”.  Volunteers work endlessly for the food banks, Toys for Tots and a variety of service organizations providing assistance to families this time of year.  In Psalm 92:4 we read, “I sing for joy at the works of your hands.”

On behalf of the Kuwaa people, the Kuwaa Mission board would like to thank the myriad of churches and various organizations who continue to make the mission possible.  Your prayers, donations and endless hours of volunteer work have provided the Kuwaa people with health clinics, many wells for clean water, VBS programs, health kits for girls and women along with education for teachers and lay preachers.

In Romans 8:28 we read, “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

May the Spirit of Christmas continue to provide you with peace and joy all throughout 2019!

Blessings to all,

Karen Kuhnert, Kuwaa Mission Volunteer Coordinator

PDF Version of the Letter                                   MS-Word Version of this letter

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

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

Shop like you normally do on Amazon but make a small contribution to the Kuwaa Mission with every purchase.  Please consider adding the Kuwaa Mission.  

    November 2018 Prayer Letter

    I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 

    Psalm 139:14

    Menstruation isa gift. It is a part of a natural and efficient cycle that continues God’s creation through human reproduction. Menstruation is a beautiful thing because we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

    But, have you ever thought about what the 5000+ girls and women of Kuwaa Chiefdom do because they do not have reliable access to menstrual health care? They use whatever materials they can find, often resorting to grass and leaves and other dirty materials. This often leads to serious infections. Without a solution they miss school and work activities.

    Kuwaa Mission distributes Days for Girls kits throughout the Kuwaa Chiefdom, providing health education and sustainable feminine hygiene kits for the Kuwaa girls. Several church groups, quilt clubs and sewing groups work to sew and assemble Days for Girls kits.  These sustainable feminine hygiene kits will last a girl for up to 3 years. Even more importantly, the kits are distributed with health education. The girls are taught their worth, how their bodies function, and how the human race continues because of them. Girls replace confusion and shame with knowledge and dignity. As Celeste Mergens, founder of Days for Girls International, says “Each kit is a reminder to the girl who receives one, that she is loved, that she is worthy of education, and opportunity. That she matters.”

    Kuwaa Mission recently shipped 496 Days for Girls kits for distribution throughout the Kuwaa Chiefdom. Each kit contains: 2 pairs of panties, 2 washable panty shields with pockets, 8 washable flannel liners, a washcloth, a bar of soap, 2 Ziplocs for soaking and washing the items, all in a cotton drawstring bag. Those 496 kits represent 89,280 days that girls can remain in school and active in their communities. The kits will be distributed by Korpo Barsay, Kuwaa Mission’s Liberian health worker.  They will also be distributed by Jenny Cosgrove, Kim Tahini, Laurie Juelg and San Olsen when they travel to Kuwaa next spring. Please pray for our mission.

    A special thanks to the groups and individuals who sewed and assembled the kits for this shipment: Lord of Life Lutheran Church (North Pole, AK), Cross of Christ Lutheran Church WELCA (Welch, MN), Sun City Summerlin Quilt Club (Las Vegas, NV), Terri’s Friends (Reno, NV) and Christ our Savior Lutheran Church (Anchorage, AK). Days for Girls International (www.daysforgirls.org) has developed and field tested the kits and the educational programs. In the past 10 years, over one million kits have been distributed to girls in over 100 different countries by DFGI. Kuwaa Mission is pleased to be partnering with this organization.

    Your donations to Kuwaa Mission make the transportation and distribution of the kits possible. The area is remote, and the logistics are complicated.  Kuwaa Mission also supports continuing health education for our health worker Korpo Barsay. We are also working with Lutheran Church in Liberia to help facilitate setting up a micro-enterprise to sew kits at their women’s’ center in Monrovia at some point in the future. We welcome individuals and groups who would like to sew and assemble Days for Girls kits. For more information, visit our Kuwaa Mission website (www.kuwaamission.org).

    With gratitude,

    Sue Zager – your fearfully and wonderfully made sister in Christ

    Days for Girls – Kuwaa Mission Partnership Coordinator  email:summerlinlvnv@daysforgirls.org

    Please reachout at Webmaster@kuwaamission.org.  with questions or if you want to help! 

    PDF Version of the Letter                                   MS-Word Version of this letter

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

    www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

    Shop like you normally do on Amazon but make a small contribution to the Kuwaa Mission with every purchase.  Please consider adding the Kuwaa Mission.  

    October 2018 Prayer Letter

    With profound gratitude to all the men and women who have and continue to serve the Kuwaa Mission! For most of you, I imagine, the pictures you have seen of Liberia and the Kuwaa people are hard to relate to.  The pictures I have posted over the years, show people who continue to live much like they did when I lived there between 1970 and 1980.
    The picture to the right is of me on a Kuwaa farm sometime around 1974, although I could imagine a very similar picture being taken today.  The thing that strikes me about this picture and is locked in my memory are their smiles.                             
    They worked harder than anyone I have ever seen, but always with a smile. My attitude towards work was formed by the many days spent side by side with them clearing a farm, burning the cleared trees, mudding houses, cutting grass, or chasing birds away from the rice fields. The list goes on.  While they worked, they sang, laughed and engaged in the most animated conversations.  Work was about community.  You came together to work in the morning and finished the day eating as a group around a large bowl of rice.                       
    The Kuwaa people continue to live a difficult life, but you will seldom find a picture that isn’t full of smiles.  These people truly appreciate everything that the mission has done for them.  With the resources donated to the Kuwaa Mission, we do our best to provide for their most basic needs.  The joy on their faces is profound even if from the first water from a new well, a new clinic that provides the most basic of health care, or the recent work with Days for Girls to provide women with the most basic feminine hygiene kits. All of the pictures you have seen on our website show their gratitude for what your donations have allowed the mission to do.    
    As the webmaster for the Kuwaa Mission website, I have the privilege of showing everyone the fruit of your donations and hard work for my Kuwaa family.  I am personally grateful to each of you for your prayers and for the financial support you continue to provide. 
    We ask that you continue to pray for the mission and for the Kuwaa people.  If you don’t already do so, please consider a donation as everything helps and the Kuwaa people appreciate it greatly. 
    If you are interested in helping, we are always looking for volunteers!  There are many ways to help.  Are you a website designer, do you enjoy marketing, do you like crafting, sewing (like the Days for Girls projects) or do you want to make a life changing visit to the jungles of Africa to help some of the most genuine and appreciative people you will ever meet!

    Please reach out at Webmaster@kuwaamission.org.  with questions or if you want to help.

    Your brother in Christ,

    Todd Thompson (Mulumba), “The Chiefs Messenger”

    Proud son of Rev Richard and Doris Thompson

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

    www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission