Baptism in Bo, Sierra Leone - Feb 24, 2023
Update: March 15, 2023 - after Pastor Darryl’s trip Feb 12 - Mar 2
In Lungi (the village in the vicinity of the airport), I was able to connect with some kids and a shop owner near the hotel. I bought a couple of futbols (soccer balls) for a group of 10-11 year old boys, and they quickly formed a team and started calling me their coach. In the evening I was part of an outdoor outreach, where the gospel was presented in 3 languages, and we prayed for healing for many people in this largely Muslim area. Pastor Johnson, who is leading this new church plant is truly encouraged.
Since I was traveling alone, I stayed with Pastor Joshua and his family, getting more of a taste of day-to-day life in Sierra Leone. Every trip, we try to spend time with the kids at the Dream Again Home orphanage – they keep us busy with all kinds of games and dancing and singing. We were all able to spend a day at the beach – taking a full bus of 30 kids and staff.
There were lots of other opportunities to teach and preach. One of the most memorable happened in a city called Bo, which has a population of about 200,000. During an evening outdoor outreach, I met a young man named Ishmael, who told me, “I was Muslim, now I am Christian. Do you have a Bible?” So, I gave him the one I had. When he asked me about a church he could attend, I introduced him to the Foursquare pastor in the area, Pastor Peter Bundu. I had talked about Jesus giving us the Living Water that night and he seemed to have received it!
The next day, Ishmael, along with 5 others came to a leader’s training that we had planned (about 10 people in all). This small group prayed and gave their lives to Jesus, and we found a creek nearby where we were able to spontaneously baptize them and where many villagers had gathered there to watch. I felt so blessed just to be a part of it all. I mentioned before that I felt I had a small glimpse into living out the book of Acts!
There is much more that I could say, but overall I felt that relationships were strengthened, people were encouraged (as was I!) and we were all drawn closer to the Lord through all of this.
From Pastor Peter Kargbo (Foursquare National Leader, Sierra Leone) – Note: My name seems to be Pastor Darren Wells when I travel; I think it’s a bit easier to say 😊
Greetings Pastor Wells and praise God you arrived safely in the US and hope you are settling down gradually.
This is to express our appreciation on behalf of the leaders and members for your last month visit for your love for the church , investment financially and spiritually. I want you to know that you are actually an encouragement and blessing to the church whenever you visit.
Please extend our appreciation to your wife, children, family and the church .
Tenki, tenki boku (thank you so much!)
One last thing – while I was there, I was able to complete the in-country adoption for 2 more children – Serenity (age 13), and Ruth (age 14), and received the official Sierra Leone court adoption decree!
These are some things that God is teaching me through all of this -
Doing seemingly small things out of a good heart, can lead to important conversations about eternal things.
By being willing to go, we become catalysts for God's work.
The Lord is faithful to provide us with the right words to say.
We are to be prepared at all times and seasons to do the work of God's Kingdom.
Please keep praying as we are planning another trip with a small team late July through mid-August of this year (2023).
