May 2020: Healing a Community
Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.
Jeremiah 17:14
“We live in hope, in spite of civil wars and feeling like outcasts because of the Ebola pandemic that devastated our country in 2014.” These are the words of one official at the Mission of Hope School in Liberia. The school is owned and run by the International Christian Fellowship Ministries, one of the Organization of Africa Instituted Churches (OAIC) member churches in Liberia.
“We don’t have time for lamentations,” said the Global Missions Director, “because Liberia lags so far behind in education. We had to close the school because of how fast the Ebola virus was spreading. Students stopped coming to school for a year or more.”
The Mission of Hope school was once a leading school in educating children all over Liberia. The school had a reputation for producing students that excelled so well they went on to study in various universities in Liberia as well as other countries. The school sits on 500 acres of land and they have become a lifeline for the community. The community benefits from the school’s models for farming, fishponds, and fruit trees such as avocados, grapefruits, almonds, and cashews.
It’s been 3 years since Liberia was declared Ebola-free and Mission of Hope is in the process of re-establishing themselves as an institution of excellence. They have little resources but great faith and a vision to rebuild the dignity of the community that has been eroded due to wars, Ebola, poverty, etc. Global Ministries accompanies Mission of Hope through OAIC as they join with the community to transform the entire area into a village of hope.
Phyllis Byrd serves with the Organization of Africa Instituted Churches (OAIC) in Kenya. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, WOC, OGHS, and your special gifts.