Calvary Baptist Church Second Quarter Newsletter, 2023
As Liberia prepares to go for another general election in October this year, the country is experiencing a tough economic challenge. This has seriously affected giving (offering and tithes). For the first quarter, we could not meet up with our targeted budget due to drop in giving. However, the Lord remains faithful.” Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thess. 5:24). We give thanks and praises to the Lord for His blessings and provision for our family and the church. This newsletter is a summary of major church activities and news from my family.
Family News
We thank the IGM and all of our supporters and prayer partners for their prayers and support. As the 2022/2023 academic year comes to an end, many of the children we are sponsoring in schools got promotion. Our elder son, Mac, is still in Kigali, Rwanda on study leave. Rose has not been well; her back has started aching since last month. We have not been able to raise the balance USD $1,500.00 needed to send her to Accra, Ghana for her medical check-up, after sending the MRI to the doctor in Accra. My health is relatively good, since I have not been to the hospital for the last six months. Princess Sackie, one of our daughters, was taken to the hospital last month due to asthma, but thank the Lord, she is recovering.
In April, I visited my hometown, where I am presently building a house. I also visited the village where I first heard the Gospel at a family devotion led by an old Christian lady. I am always grateful to God for that old lady who is now with the Lord.
Church Report
Despite the heavy down pour of rain at the beginning of this quarter, church attendance and activities went well. The doors of the church remained opened for church services. We baptized 12 candidates, while more people trusted Christ as Lord and Savior as the result of regular worship services and evangelistic outreach. The total attendance averages for the services are as followed:
- Sunday School- 64
- Children’s Church- 69
- Regular Worship Service- 245
- Wednesday Prayer Meeting- 16
Activities at our fellowships remained functional during the quarter. Work on the main church edifice resumed during this quarter, with the plastering and installation of the electrical wires and cables. The downstairs edifice, where we presently worship, is completed, with the exception of the installation of air conditioning.
Calvary Baptist School System
With the low enrollment this year in our schools (Monrovia branch; Paynesville branch, Suakoko branch and Todee branch), academic activities remained on course. The Todee school building is not yet completed. The windows, doors, ceiling, plastering, floor, and painting are yet to be done. The students do not have benches to sit on; there is no water on the campus for drinking. The central school in Monrovia supports the school in Todee (pays the teachers and supplies materials). The Monrovia school’s budget this year was planned around 450 students.
However, the actual enrolment was 325. This has greatly affected our ability to pay staff for the remaining three months (June to August). This is also true for the rest of the three schools. In our efforts to improve the conditions at the Todee School, the men’s department launched a project to raise funds to make 50 benches and to dig a well. This will cost USD $4,000. We have raised money for 25 benches already and are praying and appealing to partners for help with the balance for the benches and the well. The school is tuition-free because parents in these communities are unable to pay fees.
Liberian Institute for Girls (LIG)
During the quarter, partnership discussion and MOU between Calvary and the LIG was finalized, and an office space was given to them to operate. The Liberia Institute for Girls (LIG) is a Liberian-based international NGO situated in the District of Todee, Montserrado County. It is an educational entity involved with the establishment of K-college education for girls with campuses initially destined for the Todee district and eventually the various districts in the Republic of Liberia. The LIG Project agrees to renovate, equip, and staff one office at the school building on Tubman Boulevard for the two years’ duration of the MOU at its own expense including utilities. The LIG Project will also explore possible areas of partnership with Calvary Baptist that are mutually beneficial to both parties. Meanwhile, two of our members (Sister Margaret Lewis and Fatu Asha Farkollie) are presently working with the LIG to be trained in the area of project writing.
Jake Memorial Baptist College
The Jake Memorial Baptist College ended the last module in the second semester and is preparing to reopen for the next semester. There were 18 students that ended the module, with some awaiting graduation. Work on the new school building has been completed and will be turned over soon. The College faces enormous challenges due to lack of funds. Presently, students owe more than USD $3,000 in tuition arrears. Support from the local churches and other donors hase dropped considerably. As the result, the College has been unable to pay stipends to teachers for the past months.
Weddings and Death
During the quarter, the office of the Pastor officiated one wedding. On April 16, Sister Maurice Kromah got married to Mr. Borbor Gray.
On the morning of April 30, 2023, Brother Peter W. Kabia, a former deacon, went home to be with the Lord.
Prayer Requests
- As we prepare for our general elections in three months, please pray for the Lord’s direction and for a peaceful process.
- Pray for my wife, Rose’s, medical trip to Accra, Ghana (we need to raise $1,500)
- Pray for the Todee school project. We need USD$3,500 for the benches and water pump project.
- Pray for the Jake Memorial Baptist College for more support.
- Many of our leaders and members are sick. Please pray for them.
- Please pray for my visa process at the end of this month.