Good news about the Ebola fight
Thank you for giving to and praying for the Ebola battle in Sierra Leone and Liberia. There is some good news finally as the number of new Ebola victims has dropped sharply and more people than would be expected survived the disease when it was caught early enough and treated. The prevention strategies, quarantine actions, medical interventions, and prayer have helped to stem the rapid spread of this terrifying disease. One final push is needed to STOP it and save lives. The Ebola fighters, Time magazine’s persons of the year, are giving their all.
Has WERF support made a difference?
Emphatically, yes! Every dollar given to the Wesleyan Emergency Relief Fund (WERF) has been sent and used to meet key needs of Kamakwie hospital in Sierra Leone, supported education in villages necessary for disease prevention, provided food for desperate families including teachers and pastors serving Wesleyan churches, shipped ten large containers full of donated medical and other needed supplies, and partnered with World Hope International to obtain several ambulances. The training, the ambulances, and much of the medical equipment will serve the churches and communities for years to come.
So what’s the situation now?
The spread of the disease and the quarantine actions resulted in very little planting of crops for the next season and the loss of many jobs as businesses have been shuttered for months. There is hunger. Schools have been closed and only now are reopening. Many people were afraid to come to hospitals for assistance of any kind and so financial support coming from outpatient treatment has been low. The most desperate families, churches, and communities need a hand to get back on their feet and begin to operate independently once again.
What can we do?
First, our national church leaders in Sierra Leone have requested immediate help for a final two months of support for the 55 workers at Kamakwie hospital. By this summer they hope to be able to carry on more independently once again. A gift to WERF now can close that gap, and it can also help provide food and seed (and hope) for families willing and able to work and plant the next crop. Many need help just to feed their families and get through this time of transition in the aftermath.
An answer to prayer
I invite you to join me in making one more gift at this time to help the Ebola workers and the people that The Wesleyan Church represents in the Ebola stricken areas. They have suffered physically and emotionally so much. May God respond to our prayers and bless our gifts and turn them into a great blessing for His people. Thank you for being an answer to prayer and helping us to send a generous gift one more time to our brothers and sisters in Christ in West Africa. The Ebola fighters risk their lives—they need the tools to finish the job!
If it helps in telling this story to others, please feel free to use any of the short video clips in the playlist at this link.
May God bless you for praying and giving at this link electronically or to this address: The Wesleyan Church c/o General Treasurer’s Office P.O. Box 50434 Indianapolis, IN 46250.
Wayne MacBeth
General Secretary
The Wesleyan Church
