The second semester of the school associated with Victorious Faith Ministries in Liberia has begun.  Pastor Andrew established the school for children of the community.  In Liberia, public schools are not free; they charge a pretty steep tuition, considering the standard of living there.  Pastor Andrew charges well below the other schools, in order to help the community.  Though they have been sanctioned by the government, there are requirement they have yet to fulfill. And, as always, the financial challenges are never ending.  I received this email from Pastor Andrew today.   

Dear Rev. Pevlor, 

I have always relied on your prayers and support. 

Please join us in prayers concerning the School. The inspection team has already started closing down some Schools and substandard colleges; they are coming to our area on Monday and I was informed that my School is on their list for 1:30PM on Monday. 

I have painted my building, and tried to set all the classrooms, but I fall short in the area of School account which is the $50,000.00LD equivalent to $800.00USD. From Thursday till now I have been trying to scout round in search of a place to loan this sum but all of the places I went asked for collateral and their interest rate is exorbitant, if it had only been for the collateral, I would have tried to give them my land deed. One of them told me that if I take $800.00, I will pay them the sum of $1,250.00 after one month. 

As I am writing you now, two Colleges have been shut down and forwarded to court until they meet the Ministry of Education standard. (1. Vision University and 2. Brenda University), and the process is still going on with Gardnerville next week Monday. 

Let’s trust God for a supernatural blessing between now and Sunday by the grace of God, for with God all things are possible.  

Remain Blessed,

Pastor Andrew. 

I told him that I would pass on the need to our friends and supporters.  Please join us in prayer.  If they loose their school license, there will be many children with no educational opportunity.  (Of course, the refuge home children will continue to be taught, as usual.)  If you feel led to help, let us know as soon as possible.   

I spoke by phone with Pastor Andrew on Wednesday morning and he told me all the children are doing well – happy and healthy.  All of the funds we sent last month (our regular monthly support) was invested in food.   

Our next monthly support will be transferred in the next few days.   

Finally, below you will find a statement issued by Liberia’s president – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – on the occasion of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.  I thought you might find it interesting.

Founding Father

By ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF
Published: February 15, 2009

Monrovia, Liberia

LIBERIANS and Americans share a history, and we have a special bond to America’s 16th president. Established in 1847 by freed American slaves, Liberia adopted a red, white and blue flag and named its new capital, Monrovia, after James Monroe.

But it was 15 years before an American administration recognized Liberia as a sovereign nation. As president, Lincoln did what his predecessors had refused to do for fear of offending Southern states.

Liberians might not always remember this history, but our connection with Lincoln lives on.

I know it does in my life. Decades ago, before I ever considered that history might choose me to lead Liberia, I remember visiting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. I saw, in towering white stone, a defender of liberty watching over the city whose job it is to uphold the Union he fought to preserve. If only Liberia had had such a guardian to keep it on course.

We suffered our own civil conflict, for nearly three decades, over control of our rich natural resources. It was ordinary Liberians who reclaimed the country and demanded peace. Whether or not they were inspired by the personal example of Lincoln, it was the belief he embodied — that the greatest challenges cannot be left to future generations — that empowered our people.

Lincoln fought to save the ideals on which the United States was founded and which are inscribed in the Constitution. Liberia’s tribute to Lincoln is to remember that the fight is never done when the war is over; that the words of any constitution are hollow unless they are defended and instilled in everyday life.

Schools have been rebuilt in Liberia. We don’t have the luxury of textbooks, nor electricity, we are working with blackboards and chalk, and teaching the fundamentals of reading and writing. Even so, President Abraham Lincoln is often invoked in discussion.

Liberia has emerged as a democracy after decades of horror as a failed state. That, in itself, is tribute to the very American ideal of hope and possibility that we honor as we celebrate Abraham Lincoln.

— ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF, the president of Liberia