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The Road to Sierra Leone
How does a life-long New England couple become missionaries to war-torn Sierra Leone, West Africa? This is the story of our journey from a small coastal community in Connecticut to DeLand Florida for Bible School then on to Africa. Through faith in God’s ability to answer prayer and the guiding of His scriptures, He has graciously and mercifully led us each step of the journey.
Our shining light and life’s verse for service has always been John 6:12 – “…Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” Gathering precious fragments is what we desire for Sierra Leone. Please pray for the people of this hurting country. May God bless you in your service for Him.
"The mind grows by what it takes in; the heart grows by what it gives out."
Warren Wiersbe
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Stephen Holt, and his wife, Laura, are serving on the mission field in a remote village in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. This item represents a donation of $10. Change the quantity to increase your donation in $10 increments. |
| This is a 10 minute version of the Mission Plan video. This outlines the current situation in Sierra Leone and our plan to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of that nation. | |
Meeting people where they are at is fun is Sierra Leone. Unlike in the US – everything is done outside and people are willing to talk. Opportunities to witness abound and one does not have to go far to find groups or individuals with whom to share the Gospel. |
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| In the market in Kono the children were more than curious about the "pum wee" or white person. Groups of children quickly gathered wherever we went and afforded us many witnessing opportunities. |
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| This man is explaining the ship building techniques used in this ship yard. These boats are used for fishing and for transporting people to the small islands off the coast. Taking the time to listen enabled Stephen to be able to witness to this man. |
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| Some of the workers in the shipyard who also heard the Gospel. | |
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| Kumba is a weaver of "country cloth". The cloth is 35 – 40 feet long when finished. The strips are then sewn into larger pieces from which the men’s tunics are made. We enjoyed getting to know Kumba and will make a follow-up visit upon our return. We purchased this piece cloth to use in our display. |
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| This Muslim basket weaver was eager to show us his talents. He and his family listened to the Gospel witness for over 30 minutes. |
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| Evangelistic team from Waterloo church preparing to distribute tracts in the Waterloo Market. We carried 210 pounds of Gospel tracts, books and other materials in our luggage as these items are difficult if not impossible to get locally. | |
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| Prior to the civil war, Islam accounted for less than 3 percent of the population; it now claims 65 percent and is increasing rapidly. Mosques abound especially in the eastern province of Kono, the area hardest hit by the war. | |
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| The reception to tract distribution in Kono was tremendous. We could not give out tracts fast enough. Most of the older people can read English. The war disrupted schooling for more than 10 years in this district so children have reverted to their tribal languages and are mostly illiterate. | |
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| Diamond mining in Sierra Leone is accomplished much in the way one would pan for gold. The diamonds are very close to the surface and more easily found than mines where shafts must be drilled and mining is underground. This makes it difficult for the government to regulate the mining; corruption, smuggling and illicit trading for drugs and weapons are common place. | |
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| Laura with a group of church ladies from Tombo. | |
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| Stephen with the three indigenous pastors we ministered with during our survey trip. Left to right are Michael Mansaray, of the Freetown church; Sylvanus Kanu, from the Waterloo church and Iwuchukwu Benson of the Tombo church. | |