12 Feb A Visit to the Danville Church in Sierra Leone

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Jeff Bleijerveld is currently in Sierra Leone with Bishop Phil Whipple and associate director Donna Hollopeter.

We came through the Rutile mines and visited three churches. All three have a little more than 300 in attendance, operate schools, and support their own pastors. However, visiting Danville Church was probably the highlight of our day.

The Danville Church was the first United Brethren mission station, established in 1861. The original block house is still there and a church is located beside it. Quite a few gathered with us at the missionary cemetery a short walk through the bush. The first grave I saw was that of Betty Harvey. She arrived in 1861 and died in 1866. They told us the majority of missionaries died of malaria within a very short time. We also saw the grave of Dr. Dewitt Baker’s son who drowned when a barge overturned in the Mattru Jong River, which was their only route inland at that time.

Later we met Charlie Harvey. It was no coincidence that he bears the same name as Betty Harvey, whom I mentioned earlier. Her family took one of his ancestors into their family and gave him their name. Charlie, a layperson, was responsible for planting the Kissy Road Church in Freetown. He served there for 12 years until Bishop John Pessima became pastor.

Before we left, the members of the Danville congregation who joined us at the cemetery sang “Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah” in the Mende language and with a local flair. It was a beautiful yet troubling time as we considered the incredible cost some paid to serve God, and the relative ease we face today. Can we ever take it so for granted?

Anyhow, it was a good day. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we meet to discuss and plan for the future of the Mattru Hospital. The paramount chief, local health officials, conference leaders and hospital board members will be present. Pray for me as I seek to lead them through this process, and that what we conclude and commit to will indeed take place. Half measures will not be enough. We need doctors, surgeons, administrators, and community health workers who will demonstrate the same passion to follow God wherever he leads and at whatever the cost.

11 Feb Progress on UB Dormitory in Nicaragua

The new dormitory under construction in Masaya, Nicaragua.

Here are a couple of photos of the dormitory project in Masaya, Nicaragua. While there are no teams there at this time, the conference continues construction on it own. More work teams will travel later this year.

The dormitory will eventually serve as housing for short-term teams visiting the country and as a training center for the conference’s more than 35 pastors and churches planters. The dormitory will house multiple classrooms and space to house 45 guests quite comfortably.

11 Feb Recap of the Jan25 – Feb 3 Haiti Work Trip

A team consisting of UBs from Canada and from King Street UB church in Chambersburg, Pa., worked in Haiti January 25-February 3. Joan Sider, a member of the team from the UB church in Toronto, Ontario, sent back daily reports. Those reports were compiled in one lengthy feature which you can read here on UBCentral.org.

A medical team went to Haiti February 5-12, so they are finishing up their work. Joan has also sent reports on their work, which will also be compiled soon.

10 Feb Four Hoosiers Arrive in Sierra Leone

Bishop Phil Whipple brings greetings to the Sierra Leone National Conference during the concluding service of their annual meeting in Freetown on Sunday morning, February 10, 2013.

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Just a few hours after our three-day journey to Sierra Leone, we had the opportunity to bring greetings to the national conference of Sierra Leone at their closing service being held at the Kissy UB church in Sierra Leone.

We look forward to meeting with the Mattru Hospital board, conference leaders, and regional health officials to continue work on a strategic plan to carry the hospital forward with the assistance of outside medical, administrative, and community health workers.

However we’ll also visit a number of UB churches and the region where the Vai People–124,000 Sunnis Muslims–live on the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia.

But first we might get a little sleep.

NOTE: This message was sent about 7am Central Time, which would be noon in Freetown. There are four travelers: Bishop Phil Whipple, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, associate director Donna Hollopeter, and a physician from Auburn, Ind. Read more about the purpose of their trip.

08 Feb Sierra Leone Travelers Delayed by Weather

L-r: Bishop Phil Whipple, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, associate director Donna Hollopeter, and a physician from Auburn, Ind.

As mentioned yesterday, four Indiana travelers–Bishop Phil Whipple, Jeff Bleijerveld, Donna Hollopeter, and a physician from Indiana–were to leave for Sierra Leone on Thursday, February 7. Unfortunately, because of snow in Chicago, they weren’t able to leave Fort Wayne, Ind., and had to change all of their travel plans.

Originally, they were to fly from Chicago to Brussels, Belgium, and then on to Freetown. Now, they will leave Fort Wayne around 4:30 pm today (Friday, Feb. 8), fly from Chicago to London, and then on to Freetown.

They are scheduled to arrive in Freetown at 5:20 am on Sunday. Ferries from the airport to the city don’t start running until 8 am. The meeting of Sierra Leone Conference ends at noon, in Freetown, so they probably won’t make it for much (if any) of the conference.

This is Bishop Whipple’s first visit to Sierra Leone, though he previously traveled to Africa when he was a local church pastor.