12 Jan Week 1 for the Student Team in Sierra Leone

A team of students eight from Taylor University (Upland, Ind.), along with two professors, is currently in Sierra Leone. They left January 4. They are training Sierra Leoneans to identify opportunities to start up small businesses and to use sound business practices. The hope is that they can become more economically self-sufficient and better able to minister to others.

Jeff Sherlock (right), a former UB missionary in Macau and a current member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team, is one of the professors leading the trip. He reported on January 12:

“We are almost finished with week one of training in the capital city of Freetown. Today we talked about marketing and financial recordkeeping. Most of the participants seem to be getting it, and quite a few have expressed appreciation for what they are learning. I shared my dream with them today that in 3 years, these participants will have created successful kingdom businesses and will be teaching these things to others. It is a big dream–but we serve a big God.

“We have a group of professors from Saudi Arabia staying in our hotel; they are here to teach about Islam. This morning, Mick [Bates, the other professor] and I talked with one of them (who studied years ago at Indiana University), and they gave our students some extra jam for our morning rolls. Please pray that we can share the love of Isa (Jesus) with them.

“After we wrap up the training tomorrow (January 13) at lunch, we will travel three hours to the second largest city in Sierra Leone, Bo. We will spend the weekend there and do the training there next week. Compared to the hustle-bustle developing-world big-city feel of Freetown, Bo is much less crowded. We are all looking forward to a change of scenery. Yesterday, though, we went to a beautiful beach; a couple of students said it was the “coolest beach” they had ever seen.

“For all the parents (and friends) of our students–what a great group we have. Despite heat, discomfort, uncertainty, tiredness and–for a few–sickness, they have been great. I can’t remember a word of complaint, even though my frequent answer to questions is, “I don’t know; let’s see what happens.” It is a privilege to work with these students.”