2017 Ministry Trip

We had a very fruitful 10-day trip in February 2017 with Stephen, Andy Bell and Chris Nowak. We built on our previous visits and all agreed this was the best trip to date. As usual we took our full baggage allowance in bibles, books, materials, equipment and clothes – nearly 150kg!

We started with a day of sharing and prayer with the three principal pastors with whom we are working followed by a day visiting and praying with the many friends we have made in Chocolate City (the swamp community in Monrovia) and Soul Clinic. Andy soon saw his first healing of the trip, praying for a lady who suffered severe pain walking and needed a stick. She was soon running round rejoicing in her healing. Meanwhile I received the wonderful news that Laurence, whom I had prayed for on a previous trip and seen immediate release from his paralysis, was now walking completely normally. Throughout the trip we met people who testified to being healed during previous trips – many of whom had been severely afflicted for years previously.

Last year we began to encourage the church in Chocolate City to reach out to the community by starting groups in people’s homes. We were introduced to two such groups which have been very effective. The first was a “Discovery Group” for a tribal community who had very little knowledge of the Gospel. They are enthusiastic to learn more and meet each week to hear about and discuss God’s story of salvation which they do in their native tongue.

The second group was for Christians who meet for mutual support and learning. It was so encouraging to see their genuine enthusiasm for walking with Jesus. Twin boys, Frank and Joseph, who I guess must have been about 7 yrs old told how they prayed together morning and evening. We had a lovely time sharing and worshipping with this group.

The main focus for the trip was in rural Lofa county. We filled three cars with a mixture of black and white (pink actually) bodies, food, bibles and a few personal effects and set off for Ganglata. Thank God for the Chinese who have assisted us by building a road two-thirds of the way. The final two hours were rather more challenging as we were shaken and rolled and sand-blasted along the hot dusty track which is amusingly referred to as a road. We suffered no worse breakdown than the exhaust falling off one of the cars, and arrived about an hour after nightfall. We were immediately surrounded by dozens of children.

Next morning after breakfast and meeting with the town chiefs, we set off on foot for the villages. Along the way we befriended the Liberian members of the team and shared our vision for going in the name and power of Jesus with them. Each time we passed a village two or three people would be left there to bring healing and the Gospel whilst the rest continued on down the road. The following day we did much the same but in the opposite direction.

The combined UK and Liberian team took the Good News of Jesus to 22 settlements in Lofa including four towns. Over three days we prayed for more than 200 people and saw many healings including mental conditions, lameness, nightmares, various long-term painful conditions, typhoid, malaria, high blood pressure, arthritis, various injuries, unworthiness, inadequacy, depression and more… We rejoiced with many in the team who saw their first instant healings; a deaf man receiving his hearing, a seriously mentally ill man fully restored, an injured foot healed and many more. Overall, more than 70% of the sick prayed for received instant relief and many more have confirmed their healing since our return. We have been saddened and troubled by the number of people in the Lofa region suffering from epilepsy and other serious mental disorders. Of particular encouragement this year has been the number of sufferers of these conditions who have since confirmed their healing.

In addition many were introduced to Jesus and are being given help in getting to know Him for themselves. More than ever this year we felt we were walking in Jesus’ promise, “As the Father sent Me, so I send you.” Wherever we went we left behind smiling faces, healed and blessed people and a desire to know Jesus better.

The impact of our visits to Lofa and the churches that have been planted there has been tremendous. When we first went, three years earlier, the region was in the grip of the secret Poro religion, which enslaved people in the fear of evil spirits and ancestor worship. We confronted that head-on last year and this year saw a huge shift in the spiritual atmosphere. People were no longer afraid of Poro and openly asked about Jesus. The Cotton tree that had stood for many years as a symbol of Poro had been mysteriously burned in the night a few days before our arrival, and on our last day the last Poro Chief was killed by a tree he was felling. Since then, the church-plants have continued to flourish and the Gospel of freedom in Jesus Christ has been eagerly received by many more villages.

Cotton Tree

after it was burnt