Sorry for the radio silence. It has been a bit crazy lately.
Hang with me for the next few paragraphs, I am struggling with words and feel a
bit rushed because my computer battery will only last for so long!
Our family began praying about moving to Sierra Leone almost
2 years ago. We wanted to serve the poorest of the poor and bring the love of
Jesus to a country that has little understanding of him. This is what drives
us. It lights our fire, it is something we can’t stop talking about. Coming to
visit, we were able to see faith at work through the staff and children at The
Raining Season. It is an orphanage that understands loving God and loving
people. Orphan care is another topic near and dear to our heart. TRS captured
our heart. We jumped at the chance to help TRS in any way possible. Just Hope
International, although not in the business of orphan care, wanted to help TRS
move to a community that would allow them to have more space for the children
and an opportunity to help more kids who are discarded, forgotten or in need of
someone to stand up for them. We saw an opportunity to help TRS by joining with
JHI. Although we loved our time in Bauya, it was evident that we could not
share our attention with the building project and our passions that I mentioned
earlier. We never intended to only build a structure, we want to grow the
kingdom. Our time with JHI confirmed that desire and revealed more of what our
true work here should be.
So, what does this mean? A few things, actually. Our church,
The Bridge Fellowship, will now become our sending organization. This opens us
up to more of the ministry we love and to meet what we feel truly called to do.
We will also be partnering with The Raining Season to do community outreach
programs, here in Freetown, the country’s capitol. This will also include
discipleship training both in the community and in the center itself as well as
helping with various other tasks at TRS. We are so excited about this new page
in our lives and feel blessed to have this opportunity.
Our family is making the transition to Freetown and life out
of the bush! It has had its’ advantages (ice cream seems to be the most
important one to my children…and Michael). However, we were very sad to leave a
community that we loved being a part of and people we considered family. It is
a bittersweet change. We are securing housing, starting to get in the rhythm of
living in a city, meeting our neighbors and trying to find our silverware! Also,
we are getting used to indoor plumbing and a stove that doesn’t require
charcoal. The times they are a changin!
Please go visit The Raining
Season’s website. It is an amazing organization and their aren’t enough good
words for me to say about them. You will love it.
There is a down side, of course.
We initially wanted to come to Sierra Leone as volunteer missionaries. This
involved raising our own funds and support. Our move here was expedited because
JHI wanted to offset our living costs so that we could move earlier. Now that
we are no longer a part of JHI, it is up to us to raise the support we need to
live here while working. Normally, this would be something we would do while
living in the US. However, we have 2 Sierra Leonean daughters that cannot bring
back to the US yet. I think anyone can understand that leaving our children
behind is not an option for our family. They are so much a part of our lives
and hearts that to leave them would feel like ripping off an arm and leaving it
behind. So, we are going to attempt to do this across an ocean. We need
financial support. We need both monthly donations and one time gifts. We need a
miracle.
Frankly, we should be more
nervous about this portion than we are, but we know that God has laid the
foundation for the task before us and so far he hasn’t given us a job and not
provided the way. It is expensive to live here. The numbers seem huge and we
cringe a little every time we review them but we are certain God is capable and
he will get the glory.
We are just going to be as
specific as we can. However, please keep in mind that TIA(This is Africa) and
it is likely to change any second! We anticipate our monthly living costs to be
around $3,500.00 per month. We anticipate onetime costs to be approximately
$36,000. This will include our rent and transportation. It will also include
furnishings and household costs as we did not purchase those personally when we
came but only for JHI. This will also include airfare for a return trip home at
the 2 year mark for our family.
We did not anticipate this change
when coming here. We are still trying to wrap our heads around all the changes
taking place right now. We have planned a budget through next March at which
time we will be making a trip home to spend some much needed time with friends
and family. We will have lived away for 2 years at that point and will need to
regroup as well as fundraise. This also gives us time to settle into a new job,
city and life.
We have been blessed to have so
many people give so faithfully to our work here and support us financially as
well as through prayer and words. We came to serve, but we have seen so many
people serve us time and time again. We have been humbled and in awe of the
sacrifices so many are willing to make in order to send us to spread the word
of God’s love. It has been such an awesome example of the hands and feet and
body of believers. Thank you for being a part of this adventure with us.
Wow, now that all the big news is
out of the way, here are the details. We are now having all funds go through
our church, The Bridge Fellowship. All funds designated for us will be sent
straight to us. They have a user friendly website where monthly automatic
withdrawals can be set up as well as one time donations or checks can be sent
directly to the church. (See below for details) All donations are tax deductible
and if you have any questions or concerns about financial donations, ministry
happenings or just curious about what the heck we are doing, please send me an
email. We believe in transparency and we are happy to talk through anything
that might come up. Also, if you don’t have a home church, you have to check
them out. They are truly amazing! They are not perfect, but they so love Jesus.
It is also my intention to make
weekly posts. I don’t always see our life as extremely exciting so please, send
me questions you have or curiosities. I don’t always notice the craziness of my
life anymore but I’m sure other people do, so give me some suggestions!
Ways to give:
for the Ropieckis. This is easy and completely secure.
THE BRIDGE FELLOWSHIP
5066 LEBANON ROAD
LEBANON, TENNESSEE 37087
5066 LEBANON ROAD
LEBANON, TENNESSEE 37087
You can also send a
check to the above address and just put “Ropiecki Africa Mission” on the for
line.
A third option is to
just drop it in the offering plate on any Sunday morning at The Bridge. Again,
just mark it for Ropieckis.
615-547-2739-Call The
Bridge office if you have any questions about giving or about the church.
Ropieckir@gmail.com- feel free to drop
me a line. It’s nice to hear from home! I will be happy to answer any questions
I can and find out who knows the answer if I can’t!
