David and I would like to thank everyone for their love in praying for us and for your financial support as none of this would happen without you.

In another article, David will be sharing about how we were able to provide a borehole well in one of the remote villages, giving cool, clean, virus and worm free water.

Mum and Baby - survivors

Since God called David and I to Sierra Leone eight years ago my heart has been so broken and troubled by the ratio of these precious women and children dying in childbirth. 1:8 are at lifetime risk of death and in the area we are working in it is even higher, also 1:4 children die under the age of five because of malnutrition, dirty water and poor hygiene.

We cannot change Sierra Leone overnight but over the years we have worked on building relationships with the local people and far out villages by getting to know them, building schools, planting churches and doing health care programmes like de-worming and vitamin programmes.

We have seen many people saved, healed and delivered and Gods light shine in these dark places of Africa and bring hope and salvation to a lost and desperate people. As we sit with these people and listen to their tragic stories of lost loved ones and children, I have held them, cried with them, and prayed with them, but only God can bring peace and heal their broken hearts. As I look around I often think, there, but for the grace of God go I.

Most people in Sierra Leone cannot afford medical care and pregnant women do not see a doctor or midwife throughout their pregnancy. There are traditional birth attendants (TBA's), local women with little or no training, who assist pregnant women for a small fee but most pregnant women don't seek help until they are in labour which is too late to detect complications and the distance to far to get to a hospital. Some women are in labour for days which often ends in a stillborn baby and for the woman a fistula which leaves her incontinent of urine which means she is a total outcast in her family and village, she has no future and no hope without God.

Two weeks ago we visited the fistula ward of the local hospital, there were 56 women there, only four of them had live babies the rest were stillborn, the youngest was 17 years old the oldest 29. We held a service in the ward, I spoke about the woman with the issue of blood touching the hem of Jesus garment and the way to God by the cross, 50 gave their lives to Jesus to who we give God all the glory, who gives these beautiful girls a hope and a future. We also prayed for all of them.

We went back to see them after a couple of days and one of the girls we prayed for who had a fistula, kidney stones and other complications had been in hospital since April was up and about, urinary catheter and IV infusion removed, totally healed, her whole countenance had changed, praise His wonderful name. Some of the girls were limping badly possibly because of nerve damage, God also healed them but the greatest miracle of all is their salvation.

Beulah Shields and Sharon Bryans from West Church, Bangor

Women and TBA Training

Bealah demonstrating how to listen to the heart beat of an unborn baby

We went to three villages in the bush, the farthest about a 7 mile walk (see it on Google Maps) from where we had to leave the 4x4. Cynthia our head of ministry shared the gospel with them and then we went into teaching. Then we prayed with all the people. It was received very well by the villager's and we saw several saved and healed. In Bandawa one of the villages, where we already have a primary school for 65 kids, we saw 5 people with eye problems healed and a 5 year old girl who couldn't speak, spoke for the first time.

On our way to one of the villages we met a girl with very bad conjunctivitis, she was in so much pain, we prayed for her and when we saw her two days later her eyes were much improved, what a privilege to be working with the poor, the orphans and the widows, and to be present when God shows up. God is such an awesome God and I give Him all the Glory and thanks for all that He has done and is going to do.

We are praying that we will be able to start building on our land very soon to bring in more orphans, street girls, offer health education, maternity care and a clean safe place for these women to give birth to live healthy babies.

Please continue to pray for us and for the precious people of Sierra Leone.

See more in this 4 minute video: