Located in Makeni, Sierra Leone, Maboleh United Methodist Church (known formerly as Harbaugh Memorial United Methodist Church) has partnered with our congregation as a part of the Sierra Leone Initiative between the Central Pennsylvania Conference and the Sierra Leone Annual Conference. Served by Rev. George T. Serry, Meboleh UMC is in the process of recovering from a long Civil War that saw all of their property and materials except for the church building destroyed.
Rev. George T. Serry (left) and District Superintendent Rev. E.A.S. Kamara
CrossPoint has agreed to work with Reverend Serry in the recovery effort. Providing both financial and material aid, and working in concert with our Conference and Arms Around Africa, we see our partnership continuing to develop with a mission team visit in early 2009.
Report of Sierra Leone Initiative Mission Trip
By Ken Mengel, Conference Secretary of Global Ministries
A five member team returned to Sierra Leone on January 13, 2008. The team was comprised of three members of the Sierra Leone Initiative Committee from Central Pennsylvania Conference: Rev. Jeff Fisher, Steve Herman, and Ken Mengel. The team also included Kimberly Davis (Zion UMC, York) and Dan Snyder (Bethany, Red Lion), who documented the trip on film.
The trip was a success in terms of video interviews of the pastors of churches in Sierra Leone getting support and their personal words telling how this initiative is providing for a better life. We all felt the distribution of this video at the Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference would encourage more churches to join in the initiative.
The churches we were able to visit included Brown Memorial, Wellington, Locotown, Bishop Bachman Memorial, Jawlee Lewis Memorial, Price Memorial Mabolah, Rogers Memorial, Leader Memorial, Trinity, and Fitzjohn Memorial.
The team also spent time at Kissy Clinic, visiting the eye clinic and maternity clinic. There were many women present. There was also a medical team from the Indiana Annual Conference which included doctors, nurses, and technicians.
Albert Academy, founded by Rev. Albert from Grantville, Pa, was also visited on January 15. The classrooms were filled with students. The fewest number of students we saw in one room was thirty, and one of the classrooms had at least one hundred students. The teachers and headmasters carried switches, which definitely kept discipline in order.
Conditions in Sierra Leone are improving. Some of the major streets in Freetown were cleaner and debris was being removed. It was encouraging to see street lights working through the night. Electricity was available every other night.
We visited several Arms Around Africa sites that attested to the reality of success when finances and proper coordination and supervision are employed.
For more information about Sierra Leone and our partnership, contact the Church and check out the following links:
United States Embassy, Freetown, Sierra Leone
USAID Sierra Leone
CIA Fact Book on Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Web
The following interactive Google Map is available to help you learn more about the country:
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