Sierra Leone pictures are available in my album at http://SierraLeone.JohnAgee.com.
I look forward to opportunities that I will have in upcoming weeks to share more with you individually, as well as through presentations at work and church!
May God bless you as you rest in Him!
John
Psalm 116:7
Besay (thank you)! I appreciate your prayers and support for my recent trip to Sierra Leone!
The entire eMi team of 8 returned to the U.S. early last week and most of us are back into our daily routines. Praise God for safe return travel and for His grace through our integration back into this culture!
As I have had time to reflect on this trip, the picture that comes to mind is the reflection of the moon in the Atlantic Ocean as we took an evening stroll along the beach near Freetown. God has continued to reveal a truth that He made clearer to me through this trip: Just as water and the moon reflect light from a source we cannot look directly at, so a holy God faithfully reflects the glory of His Son-shine through human lives. I praise the Lord for using me as an instrument throughout the trip, with what seemed like so little of my effort! My life has been blessed, and, more than ever, I cannot wait to get back and serve on a long-term basis in West Africa.
I departed the U.S. wondering whether my technical skills would be adequate to address engineering needs, and I return knowing God used my technical skills and worked through my weakness. Moreover, He used my surrendered life to share compassion with people in desperate need of encouragement and hope that only comes through Christ. I wish I had more time to spend with the people God placed in my path as I worked around the hospital site because I saw in them a hunger to learn, both about engineering and about living for Christ. There is significant Islamic tradition and practice within the villages surrounding the hospital, but I believe God will use the Mokanji hospital to reveal His greatness and draw more people to Himself. We heard encouraging testimony that one of the chiefs had turned to Christ after the hospital was entrusted to Global Outreach Mission! Please pray that this is only the beginning of a people-movement to Christ.
Praise God that He is “a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” He does not forsake, even when His people are disobedient and stubborn! (Nehemiah 9:17)
In closing this message, I decided to include a prayer excerpt from my journal entry last Saturday, March 7 while we were resting in Freetown. I spent most of yesterday going through journal entries and pictures from the trip, and I have attached another picture to share with you of the madame chief leading singing after our preliminary design presentation to the community. Watch for details on where to look for more trip pictures later this week.
Madame Chief leads song and dance
“About all that’s left to say is, ‘Wow’, God! I try to give, but I feel like I end up being more blessed through giving. How can I not give my entire life to You? How can I not say ‘Yes’ to Your call? How can I not serve You? Please don’t let me get caught up in life back home in the U.S. and forget about these people, God! … Please have Your way, Lord Jesus, and do a mighty work in the Mokanji area through the guys that I had the privilege of talking with and giving to while I was there. I trust You, both with that and my future involvement here–I really do not want to leave–I’m so torn right now, and West Africa, specifically this country, is heavy on my heart. Please provide direction and guidance! Thank you for being ‘God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries’ (Daniel 2:47)! Thank You for bringing me here and touching my heart!”
Reflecting God’s glory,
John
Bowa! (Greetings in Mende, the local language in the Mokanji Hills area of Sierra Leone)!
Thanks be to God for His amazing provision on this trip! I have a few minutes for a quick update from Freetown. Our team worked very well together, often late into the night preparing drawings of the existing hospital building and plans for the renovation. Upon our arrival at the hospital site, we were greeted by most of the surrounding villages with a brief meeting, song, and dance. I am amazed by the eagerness of the nationals to begin work on the hospital, as they are desperate for work and a functioning hospital. Several babies were born during our stay, but one infant died due to complications after the mother was sent to the nearest hospital in Moyamba. Please pray about how you might be involved in the continuation of this hospital restoration project in Mokanji, Sierra Leone.
I included a picture from after yesterday’s community meeting to present preliminary plans. The meeting went well, and the community remains very supportive and is eager for the project to start. Please be praying that God would raise up an experienced doctor to serve in the hospital and that donors would be generous toward the construction project. Praise God that funds for a deep, bored well have already been raised by a church in Buffalo, NY! Pray that Global Outreach Mission would have wisdom in sorting through well drilling proposals and select the best one for the community.
eMi Sierra Leone Team with kids at Mokanji Hospital
Please also lift up our team as we return to the U.S. after our time away. We each have responsibilities and obligations when we return, but pray that we would spend time in reflection, rest, and prayer before getting back to our busy lives. Pray especially that God would provide direction in my life, as I feel called to return and assist with construction management when the project gets started. I am not sure how all of the details will work out or how long I would be back here, but I praise God that He knows and He is faithful to direct my steps.
I look forward to sharing more about the trip with all of you in the coming days and weeks! Kay an Goma! (Thanks be to God!)
By God’s grace and for His glory,
John
As I read through Ezra this morning at London Heathrow Airport this morning, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness to reestablish His temple in Jerusalem through Nehemiah and many others who returned home to Israel. The builders had an amazing excitement and dedication to see the task accomplished, even though opposition hindered the progress.
During the 11 year conflict in Sierra Leone, more than 1/4 of the population were displaced, and the country plummeted to the bottom of the human development index according to a UN report. There is a great need for believers to return home and establish places to worship the Lord within Sierra Leone. Please pray that God would raise up leaders to take on this effort and to continue spreading His name and His gospel around the country. May God’s glory spread through places like the community hospital/school site that our team will be preparing plans for, as well as through rebuilt churches and homes. Pray that the gospel would break through and bring lasting change to this devastated country as they rebuild.
I would also appreciate your prayers for the spiritual opposition that I anticipate our team will experience. Pray especially that the power of Jesus would bind the power of the occult and evil influences, and that many eyes would be opened to the truth of God’s Word. May we as a team be strong representatives for God’s heart to reach the peoples of Sierra Leone. We desperately need His strength and grace!
Speaking of our team, I am eagerly awaiting meeting them here in London before we leave for Freetown. Continue to pray that we would work well together for the glory of the Lord.
Thank you again for your prayer support! It is a crucial part of this trip.
Rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord and this opportunity to serve the God of heaven and earth,
John
Praise God that we all have our passports back with visas for entry into Sierra Leone! The process went smoothly, thanks to Global Outreach Mission (GOM). You can learn more about their ministry at www.missiongo.org. Our team of 8 engineers and surveyors will be serving GOM by producing plans for the hospital/school site. Please pray that our interaction with GOM staff in Sierra Leone would encourage them to continue ministering and serving on a long-term basis.
Additional prayer requests for the next few days include the following:
Thank you all for your commitment to support God’s work through me in Sierra Leone over the next two weeks! I can hardly wait to leave Denver for Freetown on Thursday morning.
Safe because of my Strong Tower,
John
Once again, God has provided amazingly! Plans are in place, finances are covered, passports and visas are back to the team, and we depart for Sierra Leone on Thursday, February 26th. I am going with a team of 8 engineers and surveyors to design hospital plans for Global Outreach Mission. Below you can find some prayer requests that I compiled. I appreciate your prayers, and I look forward to providing further updates from the trip!
Because of the mercy God richly poured out through Jesus Christ our Savior,
John
Time has passed quickly since my last trip out of the country to Indonesia, and I was quite disappointed that my planned trip to Cameroon did not happen this past January. God is faithful, and He has provided another opportunity for ministry in West Africa!
At the end of February, Lord willing, I will be heading to Sierra Leone with Engineering Ministries International (EMI). Although the trip will be short (about 11 days), I am greatly looking forward to the joy of serving in one of the poorest countries in the world. My team will include an architect, a planner/landscape architect, a surveyor, a structural engineer, a mechanical engineer, and an
electrical engineer; but none of these positions have been filled yet.
The EMI team will be serving Global Outreach Mission (GOM) by preparing rehabilitation plans for the Mokanjo Hospital, a site recently turned over to GOM by the three Paramount Chiefs in Moyamba District, the largest district in the Southern Province. Sierra Leone is emerging from 11 years of civil war, during which the Mokanjo Hospital site was completely ransacked. Currently, people who become ill must travel 5 to 6 hours to reach the nearest functioning hospital. Many from this area have died before reaching medical assistance.
There is a great need in Sierra Leone for hospitals, especially because of the high infant mortality rate. Sierra Leone is also the lowest ranked country on the Human Development Index, and the seventh lowest on the Human Poverty Index. Praise God for the invitation into this country to work on a needed hospital project! The local leaders gave this renovation task to followers of Jesus, believing it would be done timely and properly! Is that not an incredible testimony of missionaries and local believers?
As I prepare to go, I would be grateful for your help in one or both of the following ways:
1. Please pray for this trip. This is the most important thing you can do to support me and to be a part of this ministry opportunity. (James 5:16b, 1 Peter 3:12a)
Prayer Requests:
2. I would also appreciate your financial support. At this point, the trip is estimated to cost between $2500 and $3500, depending on airfare. You may either give online through EMI’s website or give checks directly to me (made out to EMI with a memo of Project 5483 – Agee). I am grateful for your consideration of any contribution amount, whether it is $25, $100, or $500.
The website for online donations is https://emisecure.org/donate.html
Please include “Project 5483 – Agee” in the Designation box.
Pray that many in Sierra Leone would be thirsty for the living water of the Holy Spirit that Jesus referred to in John 7:37-39! May Christ receive the glory for what He accomplishes through this trip! I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks and months.
When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.