Our Rock and Salvation in Distress.

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Dear Friends/Partners/Supporters:

During this time of anxiety, fear, and isolation experienced due to this unprecedented pandemic that has literally paralyzed our countries and people, let us trust God for support, encouragement and direction. Let us lay our worries and trouble souls in His care. Psalm 34:17-22 reminds us that " when the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. He is near to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. Though our situations may appear insurmountable but God is able to handle them.

Beloved much has happened and so much is happening by the day to our friends, relatives and love ones due to this Coronavirus (COVID-19), May God be with help us in these uncertain times and calm our minds and souls. May His peace that surpasses all understanding guide our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It is easy to allow fear, not faith to overtake us especially like Peter, as we look at all that is happening around us, let God help us to trust Him still. We may not understand the extent of our tragedy, but we need to remain steadfast in our faith. Let us unite our hearts and cling to His Word and His abiding presence in our homes, our churches, communities and beloved countries. In these critical times, May God gave our leaders wisdom to seek protection and safety for the public, help guide their decisions and actions. May each country receive every human and divine resources to combat this menace.

May our Great Physician, help our Doctors, nurses and health care workers and other service personnel that are in harms way as they sacrifice their lives for public good. Indeed He is our rock and salvation in distress, worries and doubts during this turbulent time. Let us not lose faith due to the circumstances affecting us, our God who knows, sees and hears will surely calm the storm in due time. Keep your eyes on Him. May the words of the Prophet Isaiah (40:31) be true for each of us this day: "Do not fear, for I am with you, Do not be dismayed for I am your God . I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand''.

Rich blessings!

Kokeh/Nancy

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What it Means to Hold the Rope.

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In this season of reflection and celebration of the birth and mission of Jesus Christ, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have “held the rope” with LEADLiberia for so long. You’ve heard me use this expression over the years, but may not be aware of its early origins.  

As shared in Andrew Fuller: Holy Faith, Worthy Gospel, World Mission, the commitment (and the oath) to “hold the rope” was wonderfully demonstrated by a band of mission-minded pastors from the 1700’s. Here is an excerpt from John Piper’s book:

“Andrew Fuller, more than anyone else, felt the burden of what it meant that William Carey and John Thomas (and later, others) left everything for India in dependence, under God, on this band of brothers. One of them, John Ryland, recorded the story from which came the famous “rope holder” image.

He wrote that Carey said:  Our undertaking to India really appeared to me, on its commencement, to be somewhat like a few men, who were deliberating about the importance of penetrating into a deep mine, which had never before been explored, [and] we had no one to guide us; and while we were thus deliberating, Carey, as it were, said “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.” But before he went down . . . he, as it seemed to me, took an oath from each of us, at the mouth of the pit, to this effect—that “while we lived, we should never let go of the rope.”  

LEADLiberia would not have such a rich story if it were not for the many Spirit-empowered brothers and sisters who have supported our journey in sharing the light to the challenging, unexplored (and sometimes dark) West African ministry field.  

A few powerful examples of “holding the (our) rope” include faithful brothers and sisters who were …

  • Holding our rope ― in the darkness of two Liberian Civil Wars.

  • Holding our rope ― as the mission of LEADLiberia was equipped and birthed.

  • Holding our rope ― as we persevered into our dense land to reach untrained pastors.

  • Holding our rope ― in the darkness of our crushing Ebola crisis.

  • Holding our rope ― through the meeting of our critical ministry transportation needs.

  • Holding our rope ― in the challenge to build and acquire our SEED vision and farm.  

  • And many, many more.

There is great beauty and validation in the way our rope has been held.  As His Word says in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 …  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and all were made to drink of one Spirit. God has consistently cast the vision for ministry and missions as a team effort – a band of brothers and sisters using their collective gifts and resources as “one body” to His glory alone.  You need to know that your tight grip strengthens us every day.

Although we continue to have resource challenges (which keeps us wonderfully dependent on our Lord), I have always said what I am most interested in is deep “ministry friends over funds” and devoted “ministry partnerships over pocketbooks.”  

Thanks so much for your commitment to never letting go of the rope. Your prayers and participation, as well as, donation and devotion are forms of encouragement that mean more than you’ll ever know.

“Sola Gloria" (His glory alone), "Sola Christo" (Christ alone)!

KOKEH

 

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