Sierra Leone Mission and Ebola Update

 

Dear Friends,

 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We have appreciated every phone call, email and message that has been sent our way. This has been a difficult time for our family and it has taken us some time to muddle through our options.

 

We have taken a little time away and used the last week to rejuvenate and spend time as a family praying and talking through what is happening in Sierra Leone now. Thank you for being patient and understanding when we don’t have answers and we have been out of touch. We have certainly needed this time. Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that the Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone is only worsening and may continue to do so for some time. Travel is slowly shutting down and the case number is increasing. However, we have many friends remaining in country and living with modifications to their normal routines. This is a serious disease, however, panic is not the best solution and life must go on for most people living there.

 

Michael, Hawa and Maggie are still in Freetown and are doing very well. They are careful about traveling now and limit trips outside our home. Increased hand washing and the use of bleach are also a step that Michael is taking with our family there. Our home is also on a bit of a lock down from visitors. We are limiting contact with the public in general as much as possible. At this time, there are 11 confirmed cases of Ebola in Freetown and 757 in Sierra Leone. Michael is being cautious.

 

Michael is working on a possible plan to leave Sierra Leone for another part of West Africa. We do not know what may come of it, but he is seeking options if he sees the need to leave Sierra Leone. He will not leave unless our two daughters are able to go with him. This is not an option for our family. It is not even a consideration. There is paperwork that must be approved and ministries that must sign it, and we are now in a waiting pattern. This is not America, this is a country where things move slowly and that slowness is amplified by the current issues the government is dealing with. We must be patient.

 

At this point, we have decided that I will not be bringing our three American children back to Sierra Leone until we see a turn in the number of cases of Ebola. This is for three reasons. First, we do not want any more of our children than necessary on the ground at this time. Secondly, the cost to travel in and out of Sierra Leone is astronomical because of the crisis. Lastly, it would be much easier and more cost efficient for Michael and 2 children to travel, if the opportunity arises, than for seven of us to attempt evacuation.

 

This does not mean our work in Sierra Leone has come to a standstill. Michael is currently working with The Raining Season (TRS) to secure the orphanage and assist in a lockdown. We are both looking forward to helping TRS with some new programming and projects when we are both on the same soil. We are staying in close contact with the staff of the Southern Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone (SBCSL), helping them prepare for future church planting projects, revivals and partnerships abroad. We call Sierra Leone home. We love our work there and we still have a need for the gifts and talents God has given us. Although things are temporarily seemingly off-schedule, we see that there will be an even greater need for our work when this outbreak is brought under control.

 

What do we need and how should you pray? I am using my time in the States to continue raising support for our living expenses. We still need to raise approximately $62,000 to continue our work over the next year.  The cost of living has increased by 30% over the past 3 weeks and we have had to add extra security measures during this time of unrest. This amount needs to be raised before I can entertain going home. Please pray that people would see the need to come along side our ministry and support our work there. Please pray for the countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Pray for the individuals who live there. Pray for those people infected and those who are watching over them. Please pray for healing and a total end to this disease. Please pray for safety for my precious family there. Pray that the government will remain stable and that this will remain a time of peace and calm in spite of the confusion. Pray for God’s protection.

 

The unknown at this time is the travel costs for Michael and our two girls currently in Sierra Leone. If he is able to obtain paperwork to leave Sierra Leone, he would then need to purchase tickets that have had an extreme price increase, as well as new lawyer fees and visa costs. We estimate a possible cost of $10,000 to accomplish these tasks. 

 

Thank you again for your love and support during this time. We cannot tell you how much we love and appreciate you all. Please understand we are doing everything we can do to remain safe, make future plans and carry on with life. We were never promised that this would be an easy time when we chose to follow God’s call for our family. We were never promised an easy time. We were promised that he would never leave or forsake us and we know that he has absolute control over all of our situations.

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Michael and Rachel Ropiecki





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