Pressing on, Pressing on

Hey all,

So has been a very hectic week. Last week, I was teaching at the CRC Primary school every day, helping the kids prepare for their first annual Thanksgiving, which took place on Sunday, June 27th. A lot of hard work but what a blessing...it was incredibly emotional and amazing to see how far the school has come in just a few short years! And it was even more amazing to see the impact it has made on the children, the community, and the country as a whole. CRC Primary school is still the only school in all of Sierra Leone to have class sizes of 30 students per teacher (the norm is over 120 students to one teacher), and a desk for each student. Because the class sizes are so much smaller, and actual textbooks are provided for the students, the quality of learning is immeasurably better. Since 2007, CRC has consistently ranked the highest in the whole country in terms of letter recognition and literacy among the kids. What an amazing thing to think that a seemingly impossible dream that started with Mr. Degroot, my old principal, and the community here, could make such an incredible difference. I remember wondering why we always had to fundraise money when we were in high school, and feeling like our teachers and principal were always pressuring us for money for some unknown country in Africa. If only I had known then, and my friends had known, what an incredible impact the money we raised has had on these children, this community, and this country. It is so unbelievable to think of how grateful people are for this school, and to realize the magnitude of what it is accomplishing here in Sierra Leone. I can only hope and pray that I will one day get the opportunity to teach here too :)

I was also meeting with the CES national director last week, talking about what training we could do with the staff (for those of you who don't know, I am here running The People's Foundation, but I am also volunteering with CES, a local NGO in Kabala). I will be putting on 4 workshops for the staff over the next couple weeks, based on what I've just studied in my course back in Canada...training them how to write effective field reports, write grant proposals, develop groups they are in, and recognize and acknowledge gender differences. It's amazing to be blessed with the opportunity to share some of the things you've learned with others, and to learn from others' experience at the same time. It's so humbling to see how excited the staff are about these workshops...what a reminder that I am so not qualified or deserving to do this work, it is only by God's grace it is possible!

In terms of our own project (The People's Foundation), things continue to be going well. I am sometimes discouraged when I think of the relatively small time I have left here and the immense amount of work I have to do, but I know that God never gives us anything we can't handle, and it will all get done. We are trying now to partner the program with the CRC church formally, so that when Katie and I are not in Sierra Leone, the program can still run smoothly and continue developing. We hope to carry out mentoring interviews next week with those who took part in the mentoring training, so we can find someone for them to mentor and help along through life. We started group sessions on "How we can plan for our future" last week, and the result was very inspiring and encouraging. Next week, we will be doing HIV/AIDS education and sensitization. I will also need to make up a "manual" or a guidebook to leave here in Kabala, so the program can continue to run all year. It's so exciting to see a dream taking form and becoming a reality, but it's also a reminder that it takes hard work and doesn't happen overnight! You can't give up just because you aren't seeing results right away or you're tired. Perseverence and patience are always needed.

One of my favourite quotes that always encourages me in this type of work is "God grant me the peace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." What an incredible reminder, to think about the fact that we cannot fix everything. Sometimes I become discouraged in my work when I feel like it's not changing anything, or I am working hard and seeing no results...but it is always critical to remember it's not the success of the action, but the love behind it. Little things done with great love will always accomplish something...even if it is not the size or the scope you had first hoped for. I was very discouraged earlier this week because of some emotional problems some of my friends were going through, because no matter what I did, I couldn't help them feel better. Sometimes its hard to accept that you can't fix everything...but it's a reminder that as a missionary, God did not call me here to save everyone in this country and make them all feel better - that would be impossible!He simply called me to do the work with great love, no matter the results. So I am trusting him and casting my burdens at his feet, knowing any emotional hurt or frustration I am feeling is something I must work through, not something I can use as an excuse to give up. When you give God the heartaches of your past, the problems of your present, and the uncertainties of your future, you'll be amazed at the result.
Much love!

Krissi

Have Faith through Trials!

Hi all,

So my friend and sister who was helping me for the last month has returned safely to England, thanks so much for your prayers. Unfortunately, her laptop was stolen from her luggage in the Freetown airport, which is a big shame and inconvenience...it's really disheartening when you put so much time, work, love, and effort into a country, and grow to love and trust the people, only to have something like this happen and make you feel like no one can be trusted. However, I am remembering that people are human, and especially in post-war countries, where hardship is everywhere, things like this happen often...it is not a reflection on the people here that I love and trust so much, nor on the future this country has. The missionary pastor from Nigeria, who is working here in Kabala just had his motorbike stolen, and he went through the same emotions...a loss of trust, disappointment, and discouragement...but this morning, as we were talking, he really encouraged me by saying that things like this often happen as a way of trying to discourage us from the work. "Never lose your love for God," he said to me, "or what they have stolen from you will be far greater than what it actually was." This is so true...it's sometimes hard to have faith and trust when things like this happen, but we must press on and continue the work..disappointments may come, trials may come, but we must continue. Please keep Katie in your thoughts and prayers and pray God would provide for her, either by someone returning the laptop somehow, or through giving her the opportunity to find another one.

As for the work, this is an exciting week! We are continuing with the HIV/AIDS and sexual abuse education this week, which I hope will prove to be encouraging and empowering, although difficult at first. I am also having several meetings this week with the CRC Church staff here, in terms of partnering our program with them, so they can run it and head it up when we are not here. We are hoping to partner the program with the CRC church here, as well as CRC churches in BC, because there is a group of CRC churches in BC already interested in providing funds and help to Kabala, especially in the areas of education and HIV/AIDS counselling. So pray that all these meetings go well! The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few...I am praying that many of my SIerra Leone colleages and friends will help to partner with us and take owndership of this work. I will update you all after the meetings take place.

Thanks so much for your love & support! It's amazing to have such a strong network of people who care and are interested in this work back home in Canada.
Much Love, Krissi

Keeping the Faith :)

Sorry for the delay in blog posts, we have been hard at work here in Kabala! But it is such an encouragement to know that people are waiting for news from us and praying for us, thank you so much :)

We introduced the mentoring programs at the beginning of June, and ran our first two mentoring training sessions last week. What an incredible display of God's grace and power...over 35 youth showed up to both sessions, which is more than double the number of youth we usually have at youth meetings! It was amazing to see them talking to each other and discussing the importance of having mentors in life, and sharing ideas about how they could become better mentors in their own life. It is such an inspiration to see the young people of this town so excited and supportive of this program...it really gives us the courage to keep going. The support we have received from the NGO I work at, the church, and all the people we know in the community is really beyond description...another incredible reminder of how amazing God is, that he can provide us with a 'family network' on the other side of the world from where we grew up.

My partner in the program and my "sister" Katie will be heading back to England this week, so please pray for safe travel for her on her way home and for strength for me as I continue the work here. It has been such a blessing to have a friend and sister here to work with, to talk with, and to share with, and I am so grateful that she gave her time to come here with me. She will be doing some fundraising in England for the project, so pray that God will go ahead of that and bless it richly! After I take Katie to the airport and return to Kabala, I will be starting the HIV/AIDS and sexual abuse education sessions next week, and running bible studies on the call in God's word to stay pure and avoid sexual immorality. I am really excited to be starting these programs up, and am confident that God will go ahead off them...programs that deal with these topics are greatly needed here, but rarely discussed, so pray that the youth would have an open mind and be willing to learn.

I am reading an incredible book this week called "Against the Wind", which is a call for missionaries and those serving God with their lives to live differently and finish well in a world of compromise. It is an amazing inspiration, but definitely hard to read, because it makes me realize how I sometimes long for "home comforts" and do not fully rely on God...but there is a part in the book that discusses the certainty of knowing God's call for your life, and having faith in that when all else is lost. This is such an encouragement, because from the moment I stepped foot in Sierra Leone, I knew I had found God's call for my life - to work in Africa as a missionary, a teacher, and whatever else he has planned for me. Sometimes I think in 'realistic' terms and realize it would be much easier to just stay at home in Canada, where I have my family, friends, and everything I could ever need...and it doesn't make any sense to get up and leave for a place that I never knew before three years ago. However, when God calls you, there is a certainty that overshadows all doubt, so while I may miss my friends and loved ones back at home in Canada, I know that for now, I am fulfilling my calling...and I pray that God will reveal it more fully to me as I walk with him this summer, as to where he wants me to go next. Really, it is incomprehensible to think that somehow I am able to eat food I had never tried in Canada, walk miles under heat I am not used to, and speak a language that I never grew up with...hard to understand if you don't realize the greatness of our God. He has brought me here for a purpose, and as long as I stay committed to that, he will allow me to finish it. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"...I pray that wherever you are, you would experience the revealing of God's plan for your life

Much Love! -Krissi