This is a report from the June 2010 team visit from Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas and New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

See Gateways Video report

The sights. The sounds. The smells. This was Africa. Not the Africa you would find flipping through a National Geographic magazine with lions, elephants, giraffes and vast sunsets burning in the sky. This Africa was one focused on people and, unfortunately, poverty. Walking off the plane straight onto the jet way, we were all stretching our legs and soaking in everything Africa. After sweating in line at customs and loading our umpteen bags on top of the van we had for the week, we were off to explore the adventures that lay before us.

We arrived in Freetown and stayed there for the first night; however, most of our time was spent in Bo with the Fresh Hope and Heaven’s Garden Baby Rescue Center. David Craig, the founder of Fresh Hope, worked alongside us all week. After settling in our hotel in Bo and enjoying a breakfast of bread and eggs, we were off to explore and experience Bo, Sierra Leone. The marketplace and neighborhood areas alike bustled with motorcycles and kids playing in the street. Children everywhere would run up to us yelling “Poomwe!” which means “white person.” They wanted us to snap them (take their picture) and hold their hands. These children would hold our hands and follow us even though they had no idea where we were headed; they simply wanted to be with us. We enjoyed playing with them and being able to communicate with them for the most part in English.

Though we didn’t want to leave the kids, we had work to do. The local pastor, Abenigo, who works with Fresh Hope, was headed to the ma"During the next hour or so, I saw heaven invade earth"rket place for street evangelism. A few of us went with him while the others helped out at Fresh Hope’s orphanage and Heaven’s Garden Baby Rescue Center. The men from New Life Church who joined us on this trip helped our guys fix a well that was broken at the orphanage. In the meantime, Abenigo was bringing revival at the marketplace! For a while, it seemed he was preaching to himself, but then slowly the locals gathered to hear. Many raised their hands after his preaching to receive Christ and be baptized with the Spirit. That’s the point when our team joined in. We split up among the crowd and laid hands on them as the Spirit led and prayed for them. Thinking this was what we came to do, my team and I began to think we accomplished our goal, and we were, therefore, about to leave ... when all of a sudden I heard a commotion in the crowd. I looked over and a woman was lying on the ground slain in the Spirit, and Abenigo was just going after her, motioning with his hands, and praying in Spirit and in truth. During the next hour or so, I saw heaven invade earth. Many more were slain in the Spirit as Abenigo prayed over them. Furthermore, many were healed of physical infirmities right before my eyes. "I saw a blind woman receive sight, a deaf lady receive hearing and demon-possessed people set free". There were many others who would have received healing that day; however, they would not give up their ties with Islam and/or the Secret Society (the name for witchcraft in Sierra Leone). We found this to be one of the main problems in Sierra Leone: multiplicity of religions. Most do not understand that to confess Christ means to renounce all others. Leaving the market place that day, we felt like we were walking straight out of the Gospels. People were bringing their friends to receive healing and many placed their faith in Christ. Though street evangelism was filled with excitement, our adventures had only begun.