So Build We…  For the People have a Mind to Work. (Neh. 4: 6)

 Rev. and Roseline  Larque Vaye, Calvary Baptist Church,

Monrovia, Liberia

Serving with the International Gospel Mission. 990 Calkins Rd Rochester 14623, NY, Phone. 5859439048

Calvary Baptist Church Year End Newsletter 2020

The year 2020 was a year of great challenges and trials as the Covid-19 pandemic shut churches down around the world, including Liberia. We thank the Lord for the social media. While churches were closed, we conducted services from our homes and many joined in via Facebook. With the Covid-19 pandemic still on the increase, none of our family and church members has come down with the virus. To God be the glory. Since the resumption of church services in late June, normal activities have also started. One good thing that came out of the pandemic for us is the holding of two worship services on Sunday (Romans 8:18), at 9:30 and 11:00 AM. Members have gotten comfortable with it and we hope to continue it even as we move to the new edifice. Thanks to all our friends and supporters for your prayers and supports during these difficult times in the world.

Our Family

Our family is doing well. During the covid lockdown, Rose was very sick, but praise the Lord, she is well. The children have finished their last semester school works as school prepares to reopen in December. Many of them made promotion to the next classes. One of the children we care for (Eddie) is completing his second semester as freshman in college, while Vaye Kromah passed the entrance exam for the University of Liberia. We still support 14 children, four of whom live with us.  Two of our older boys (Sammy and Joshua) moved out of the house to live on their own, bringing our total number now to eight (8) persons in the house. Rose’s trade school, which was closed due to the lockdown, is preparing to reopen. Our house is in darkness as the result of damage done to the community’s electricity transformer due to power theft. Because of this, we managed to repair one of our old generators, which is still not serving us well. Our pickup is also down and needs repair. As the result, we are not able to go to remote places for conferences and evangelistic outreach like we did before. It will cost us USD $1,500 to have it repaired. A new generator will cost us about $750. Please pray for these needs.

During the year, I finally completed my two years doctoral studies with the Newburgh Theological Seminary and was awarded the Doctor of Ministry (DMin). Thanks to Dr. Newhart, and the IGM for all the helps (the provision of one laptop and payment of fees).

Church Report

Churches activities continued since June after the lockdown.  We are still meeting for worship at the Calvary Baptist high school auditorium in Fiamah, with two services, one at 9:00 Am and the second at 11:00 AM in adherence to social distancing. As the result of the preaching and evangelistic outreach, more people trusted Christ as Savior here at Calvary and at our fellowships around the country. We baptized eleven (11) persons during the first quarter and eight (8) new converts will be baptized soon. Services at all of our fellowships around the city and other parts of Liberia continued as well. The average attendance for Calvary’s services are as followed:

  1. Sunday School- 94
  2. Children church – 130
  3. Regular Worship Service- 255
  4. Wednesday Prayer Meeting- 18

 

 Youth Outreach Ministries (Sunday school, AWANA, and the Day’s School)

We have also resumed children church, Sunday school, AWANA  and youth activities. The Calvary Baptist Church School reopened in June to complete the last semester of 2019/2020 school year. One big challenge is that many of the parents still owed huge amount of fees, making it hard for us to pay our teachers. The school depends solely on tuitions from parents.

Church Construction Project

 Major phases completed on the church project this year were the roofing, the repairs of the sewer line and the plastering. Ideally located on the main street leading to the city of Monrovia, the new edifice of the Calvary Baptist Church, when completed, will hold more than one thousand worshippers, with a downstairs auditorium for multi-purpose occasions. Although the Convid-19 lockdown interrupted our plans to move by April, we praise the Lord for providing needed funds to complete plastering. The next phase is the tiling of the edifice, which will cost the church at least USD $ 10,000.

Jake Memorial Baptist College

Construction works at the new Jake Memorial Baptist College campus started in June after Covid -19 lockdown. Works on the ground floor walls continues. The College finally settled the requirement needed for the elevation to BSc degree at the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE).We praise the Lord for the provision of the funds (USD $5,000).  Classes will begin early January, 2021.

Help for Yassah

Sister Yassah Copper extends her thanks and appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. George Snyder for assisting her to repair her house, which was damaged by a broken fence during the rainy season in July. With the   funds, she put new zinc on the house and fixed damaged walls. She has since moved in with her family.

Death

The church lost of its members in November. Brother David Zodogar, 63, went tobe with the Lord on November 2, 2020, while our men department president, Brother William Hallowanger died on November 13. Please pray for their families.

Plans for 2021

As the Lord ushers us into the year 2021, we will plan do the following:

  1. Continue to preach and reach out to the community with the gospel.
  2. Plan an evangelistic worship early next year
  3. Complete the downstairs and second floor of the new church edifice.
  4. Improve the Day School by revamping the computer program and the laboratory
  5. Complete the Todee School project
  6. Move to the new campus of the Jake Memorial Baptist College

Prayer Request

Pleased pray for the following requests:

  1. Good health for my family
  2. New generator (USD $750)
  3. Repair of our pickup truck (USD $1,500)
  4. The completion of the downstairs edifice (we will need USD $10,000) of the new church.
  5. The completion of the works at the new College campus
  6. Funds to put all our kids in school. We will need close to USD $2,000 to put all the kids in school. Beside the 14 orphans and abandoned children we care for, we help 7 more children to go to school.

Conclusion

As we look forward to the year 2021, we continue to trust the Lord not only to usher us all into the New Year, but to bring to an end the corona pandemic and let the churches in the US and other places around the world resume normal services again. We pray that the Lord will help us to complete the downstairs edifice of the new church and move by early next year. May the Lord continue to bless all of our supporters.