We recently received the following sad news from Augustine Willaims:

I  regret to report the sudden death of Rev Idrissa Murana the acting principal of the Huntingdon Junior Secondary School Allen Town. He passed away during the early hours of Wednesday morning after a brief illness. The burial will take place in his home town at a date to be announced later.

Meanwhile, I have declared a two day period of mourning on Thursday 4th to Friday 5th March. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

Written by Rev. Reuben C. Dove

For Conference I asked some of our friends in Sierra Leone if they might be able to provide some reports and stories of the work in Sierra Leone in recent times, particularly raltaing to their evangelistic efforts. I received the following which I share again here for those who weren’t able to make it (edited for reasons of space). The first is from Rev. Reuben Dove, the General Superintendent of the SL Connexion

‘It will interest you to know that the entire team of ministers and laypastors are involved in the Evangelism Ministry of the Connexion. At our usual monthly Ministers and Laypastors Fellowship, each minister and laypastor contributes towards a fund known as Mission and Evangelism. Whenever there is need for us to embark on an evangelistic exercise we use the fund to enhance transportation cost and any logistics.

Alfred Kobba at Mile 91

In the past, the work of the mission was centered on the Freetown and Peninsula area. Now the tide has turned and in compliance with the Great Commission we have now moved to the provinces where we have evangelised Kono, Mile 91, Magburaka, and most recently Kenema. In Kono, we a church and school although the building has not yet been completed.There is also a church and school in Mile 91. We continue to thank WRU for their generous contibution in funding the construction of six classrooms where the congregation meets regularly for worship and weekly meetings. The school is now sending her first crop of students who sat the NPSE primary school leaving exams to secondary school! I want to inform you that there is growth taking place at Mile 91 now. Infact we have arranged to train one local member to assist with the evangelistic work. Alfred Kobba is doing extremely good work in the mission field outside there. The average number now is about 20. We expect to have more growth taking placein not too distant future.

We have a congregation and school at Magburaka. Here we praise God for the Friends of Sierra Leone (FSL) who paid for the piece of land to erect a school and church building in the future. Most recently we have planted a church in Kenema the newest in the Provinces. The congregation meets at the newly constructed health Centre with the approval of the community and the chief. There is great progress.

The problem of finance has been the key factor militating against the smooth running of the evangelism ministry.

Our main strategy is establishing school alonside the church planting exercise. We have proved that this strategy has been successful. Through teaching the children we can get to the parents whom we can then evangelise and win them for Christ. Through this way we have planted many churches.’

Written by Pastor Augustine Williams

The second report is from Augustine Williams who is one of our agents and the Education Secretary, responsible for overseeing the education work in the Connexion.

‘I have endeavoured to put together the following information on the progress made in education and evagenlism within the purview of my lenght of service with the Countess of Huntingdon Connexion in Sierra Leone, from 1993 to date:-

THE SIERRA LEONE CONNEXION IN 1993: The Sierra Leone Connexion in 1993 was only known as a Christian Institution, by a small percentage of the inhabitants in the Western Area. Four Primary Schools and one Secondary School existed in the Western Area, as the connexional Churches and Schools were concentrated in this Region.

EXPANSION: Speedy expansion started after the war. From 1993 to date, more schools and churches have been established in the Western Area, Northern Region, Eastern Region, and Southern Region. We currently have eighteen primary schools, four secondary schools, one pre-primary school and twenty three churches.

TRAINING: Between 2004 to date the SLM has funded about forty teachers in training. The Connexion has gained much recognition in Sierra Leone for its continuous support of human resource development, which is uncommon with most Christian Istitutions here.

CONNEXIONAL LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION: With the credible leadership of the Connexion, we have been able to promote education and evangelism especially after the rebel war. One can now experience much unity amongst us. This is evident at Conference sessions, Fellowship Meetings and Sunday activities. With generious contributions by the SLM/FSL, we can now boast of a very magnificent administrative building at 9 West Street, in Freetown (part of the Lady Selina Chapel complex).

EVANGELISM: Much evangelism work is going on. New churches have been established in Wellington (February 2006), and in Kenema (2009).The work at Mile 91 is nearly completed and the congregation is growing with the effort of our Leadership and the young Pastor assigned to that church (Pastor Alfred Kobba). More converts are adding to the church at Wellington daily (a Muslim dominated area) where a very big building project is in progress funded by theFSL. I am the founder and present Pastor of the Church.

NATIONAL ISSUES: Our desire is to see most of our schools being assisted by the Government, but the Ministry of Education is yet to lift band on the approval of more schools and teachers. Please pray that we may see this dream come through.’