Welcome to The Koinonia Trust December Newsletter Issue No.5
Reflections from Momo
Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him and I am helped; therefore my heart rejoiceth and with my song will I praise him
I bring you greetings from Monrovia in Liberia. In times like these when everything seems to be wrong, there is a reason for us to praise the Lord, He has been our shield and strength our provider in our time of need. As a team in Liberia we are joyful for His unlimited grace and love toward us. This year has been very different and when I look at the work which has been done for the last twelve months despite the circumstances God hands has been in all of it. We give thanks to Him. Frances left the shore of Liberia in March, because of COVID-19 and funding issues she has not been able to come back yet. Her absence has given us the opportunity to demonstrate the skills we have learnt from her teaching and mentoring and she continues to be committed to the team here but we are hoping and praying for her return to Liberia.
Reflections from Frances
What a year 2020 has been. It will go into the history books. As you read this I know each of us has our own story to tell. Here in Ireland we have not just suffered loss of life but also multiple losses in terms of employment, social contact and freedom of movement. I once heard that ‘there are two types of pain, pain that hurts and pain that changes your life’. We can choose to become angry and resentful from that pain or choose to allow it to do a deeper work within us that strengthens our faith. As I reflect on the last 12 months I personally have experienced Gods comfort and grace through the long periods of solitude and loneliness. He has used these times to bring me into deeper waters of maturity spiritually, emotionally and mentally. As we allow God into those places of pain He comforts us and I know in time, we can use that comfort for others when they suffer. In this very challenging year I want to say a special thank you for your acts of kindness, your donations and prayers. They are bringing hope and comfort to the poor and most vulnerable in Liberia as they contribute to our ongoing work. In October during our last newsletter we were in financial crisis for 2021 and we give thanks to all those who have donated and undertook to do some fundraising. We are halfway in covering our overall budget for 2021. Thank you and please continue to pray and support us, you are important partners as we seek to demonstrate Gods love, care and grace to the Liberian people. Though many people feel He has forgotten them in their suffering you help us remind them that He loves each one and that He has a plan and purpose for their life. You support helps us to give them hope in Him.
Updates from Liberia
Community Well Project
We want to say thank you to Momo and the community team for the amazing work they did in digging and completing the well. A thank you to the ladies who also cooked and fed them each day. The biggest thank you to The Liberia Mercy Partners for funding the project and for Siddharth Thawrani who sowed the first seed and Peter Flaka for giving us the site for the well.
The Homework Club/Study Class
Since recommencing in Sept we have 126 children attending. The classes are going well and the parents continue to be thankful for the service.
The Koinonia Trust Football Club
The football team is coming on great, there are 30 teenagers attending coaching three times a week. They have played three games now, drawing at all three. Frances has connected with Ambassadors Football Global which is a Christian organization that develops grass roots football ministry. We are exploring how best we can work together to incorporate this ministry within the soccer teams in our community.
Tailoring
There are 6 people continuing to attend the tailoring class and their skills are increasing.
Choir
The choir is continuing at a slow pace as we continue to look for others to direct it. Our current choir director is back at college and presently we have someone from the community helping.
Prayer Points
We give thanks for all the answers to prayer from the last time, the finances for The Trust and keeping the team safe as they dug and installed the well and for continuing to keep us all safe and healthy.
- Pray for all those we come in contact with both in Liberia and Ireland that God would give us opportunities to encourage, mentor, disciple or equip others with skills that supports Gods plan and purpose for their life.
- Pray that funding will be available for Frances so she can return to Liberia.
- Pray that God will open doors financially for us as an organization and that we will find a core funder(s). Our overall budget is approx. $15,500 a year.
- Pray that God will continue to give us wisdom and good health to lead
- Pray for the team in Liberia that God will continue to protect, guide and provide for them.
- Pray for our Board of Directors that God will give them opportunities to fundraise and advocate for The Koinonia Trust. We thank them for their support as they work alongside us.
