revive-liberia

June 2024 Newsletter

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 10:56:53 GMT

The latest mission news

Dear friends of Revive Liberia,

It has been two months since we arrived safely

back from Liberia. What a wonderful trip! As you

know from the last newsletter there was quite a

bit to accomplish. The day after we landed my

brother Geoff and most of his team went to a

school the Wesleyan church sponsors in Monrovia. They joined us the next day in Buchanan. We

were greeted by almost 400 students from the

Jeremiah school at our Headquarters in a wonderful surprise! They had rented a flatbed truck

and hauled load after load of kids and teachers

just to say hello! April is the hottest month of the

year near the equator. It was unusually hot and

this made sleeping difficult. Karen and I went

from an air mattress to a real mattress and that

really helped us. We have plans to air condition

the two bedrooms not facing the ocean. There is

virtually no ocean breeze there like the other two

bedrooms get.

The food was wonderful as usual. Sarah and

two of our pastors wife's do a really great job. I

was thrilled when my grandson Bobby loved

African food. The Grand Rapids team seemed to

like it too. Darrin can't get enough of it! He trained

our pastors again. I have been praying for someone like him for years. He works for months on

his lesson plans. We walked the beach land with

the Michigan team to survey the possibility of

building a youth camp there. They were very

impressed with the property. We walked along

the beach and circled back to our Headquarters.

Everyone was excited about the possibilities of

what could be done with that land. There could be

other uses based on buildings primarily designed

for a youth camp. By starting with a blank sheet

there could be facilities for conferences, wedding

venues , a retreat center etc. I had mentioned in

earlier newsletters how much youth camps

effected both Frog and I. Our guests plan on seriously looking into developing this soon. We are

so thrilled! The idea that Frog and I have just

dreamed about is one step closer to reality!

The visiting team toured our Jeremiah school

and the Karen school while some of the rest of us

went to Fly Blue Jay. I got to see old Morris again

and we dedicated the well we had just put in. We

passed out gifts to the kids Karen had packed. It

was a great day! Upon returning back to Buchanan we slept and headed our for Monrovia. We

toured the new Teen Challenge center up country

on the way. That night we all attended a concert

put on by Kedrick, Frog's son, and his ministry

partners at our Central Church. It was really inspiring. Geoff spoke and there was lots of music. We

stayed in a local hotel and attended church

Sunday. Geoff preached, it is easy for us since

almost everyone speaks English. This was not the

case when I first came there 20 years ago. Our

American friends were presented with presents at

the end of the service. After service we headed for

the airport , that's when the fun began!

The SUV we rented from our shipper friend Jay,

broke a serpentine belt. I barely got up on the

Roberts Field Highway when it happened. They

are in the middle of making it a four lane road and

it was chaos and really hot. Sarah flagged down a

fellow in a newer Toyota pickup. The five Americans piled in and took off. Frog followed them with

their luggage. We were stranded on the side of the

road for quite a while. Suddenly a fellow in what

looked like a 1929 Toyota pickup that had rolled

over at least 4 times came to our aid. He had

some old nylon rope that he tried to fashion a tow

strap out of. It came apart just as we tried to tow

with it. It was really hot and crazy busy. I was worried and nervous about Bobby and I just sitting

there waiting. Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone

came up with a 12' tow bar. The fellow hooked us

up to his 29 model and we entered traffic. Just

them some clown in a taxi got in between us and

our tow vehicle! Everyone was yelling at him, he

finally got around , it was stopping all the traffic on

Monrovia's busiest road. We found a business we

could leave our SUV at and waited for Frog. When

he arrived the clutch went out of our truck! Kedrick

went to the main junction and found someone to

drive us to Buchanan. Bobby got a real taste of

African life that day!

The next week we passed out over 400 gifts at

the Jeremiah school. Bobby was a big help to

Karen that day. It was really hot in that block building. Darrin trained the pastors that week and we

gave the old folks new mattresses. We also held

some meeting with our pastors and teachers to

get information about how things were going.

I cannot thank God enough for the progress

made in 20 years of this ministry. There have been

so many of you that have been faithful in prayers,

time and finances these past years. For this we

are most grateful. We have much more than what

the size of our organization is. The list is long. We

have a property on the fastest growing place in

Liberia, our old wood shop location on Roberts

Field Road. We have four schools, with around

600 students enrolled. We have several church

buildings and pastors homes close to them. We

own 13 acres of prime farm land in areas that are

growing fast economically. We own a health clinic

and five sawmills. The clinic, our beautiful Central

Church and eight acres of farmland were bought

with sawmill profits, not money sent from donors!

AND, we own a lovely headquarters building and

eight beautiful acres right on the Atlantic ocean.

For the small outfit we are this is all truly a miracle.

I am humbled and forever grateful to God for all

this. I heard someone say once " There's only one

thing God asks for from anyone, a willing heart. "

With that, he can do the rest.

We are still short four teacher sponsors at $50

monthly, and a pastor at $75 monthly. Also I am

determined to get all of our pastors homes

finished this year. We have made lots of progress

but are not there yet. We need around $5000 to

complete that task. Money goes a lot further there

than here in building construction.

“He said to them,

‘Those who want to come with me

must say no to the things they want,

pick up their crosses every day, and follow me.”

Luke 9:23

If anyone finds canvas camping chairs on a

summer closeout at around $5 or so please either

buy them or let us know where to buy them. We

will reimburse you for any purchases. We sent

several a couple of years ago and what a blessing they are! 25 fit in a 55 gallon barrel thus

making taking them to various locations and storing them really easy.

Thanks again for all the support we have

received in the last 20 years. It has truly been a

team effort!

God Bless,

Phil Eckart

President Revive Liberia

812-325-6383

584 Sherfield Rd.

Spencer, IN 47460

www.reviveliberia.org

March 2024 Newsletter

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 09:10:10 GMT

The latest mission news

Dear friends of Revive Liberia,

Praise God for wonderful blessings! Since I last wrote, so much that is good has happened. The land issue with the clinic was decided in favor of the Kangars! The court has deemed that the perpetrators of all that trouble are now wanted criminals. This is such a huge burden off them. Frog has been running "up and down," as the Liberians say, on several projects besides court appearances with this issue. We have had several contributions lately for school projects and pastor's home development. It has been at least 15 years that we have been trying to get a good well in Fly Blue Jay. The real name for this village is Qwarkporjilah. I knew it would be a challenge for us Americans, so I gave it the nickname I thought sounded like. It means "close to the forest." Funny, the Africans who are not Bassa call it Fly Blue Jay now! Our friends dug 50' by hand and hit a flat rock that wouldn't break up. We were all praying when the second hole was dug. They hit water at 30' on this try. It is finally done, along with a bathroom for the school children and a new roof on their school building! It is the home village of my old friend Morris, the former chief witch doctor. He is nearing death now, and is probably in his mid 90s. We plan on visiting him in just one week. We were also able to put a bathroom and well in the newly built Karen school. Two of our wonderful 20-year time-tested saints are getting new homes. Both men have been instrumental in spreading the Gospel and working tirelessly for our ministry. William Joe has not only run our sawmill operation for years, but he has been Frog's right-hand man in running Alive Liberia. He has sacrificed more for the Kingdom than about anyone else I know. He even gave up the blocks he had saved for years to build a house to add on a junior high to Jeremiah school. At the time he had no idea he was getting a house built by RL. Carter Joe, his brother, has traveled constantly for the Gospel, back and forth from Fly Blue Jay. He has come alongside James Soma there and that village church has grown because of it. He too has helped Frog in all these endeavors. Both men are excited about their new homes. Anywhere in the world if you own your own home you are in a huge advantage over those who don't.

We plan on leaving April 1st on the upcoming trip. It will be a whirlwind of exciting things to do and experience. Due to her health problems, it will be my wife Karen's last trip. Our grandson Bobby will be accompanying us for the first time now that he is out of college. My brother Jeff is bringing a team of five from his church in Grand Rapids. Their church supports a school in Monrovia that they will be visiting. A professional filmmaker is coming to make a documentary film about building a youth camp on the beach land. The agenda for the first week is rapid fire. We hope to visit the mission school, visit three of our churches in Monrovia, visit the health clinic, see the new Teen Challenge compound, visit Fly Blue Jay, the sawmill operation, Jeremiah and Karen schools, view the farming operation, visit the old folks home, stop by the blind community, and make a film, all in four days! That sounds tiring just writing it!

Our Grand Rapids friends are leaving after five days. Our second week is full too! Karen has sent over hundreds of supplies for the schools and gifts for the children. She will be passing them out for two or three days. Our friend Darren will again be holding a pastors conference. This one will be for three and a half days. Bobby will be helping Karen along with me and our ever-faithful African family. Frog and I will have time to catch up face to face and do some future planning. We are so excited for this trip!

It has been my dream this year to finish our pastors' homes. These men have been so faithful for so many years. I remember growing up poor in two different really small houses. Dad grew chickens for meat and we ate lots of potatoes. Mom never complained that she had only a couple of dresses. Those houses were my parents' sacrifice to God. Dad worked his way through seminary school doing several jobs. One was for Dana Corporation. After viewing his work ethic, he was asked if he was interested in moving up the ladder. He turned it down saying " I'm only here to get an education to preach the Gospel." Dana grew and made drive shafts and other parts for the Big Three. Dad and mom could have been wealthy. Having a house for the family was never an issue because we had one. A man needs to focus on his work for God and not worry about housing his family. Just a few thousand more dollars and all of our men will have their homes.

We are still in need of several sponsors for teachers in our Christian schools. It is only $50 monthly but they manage to get by on it. We are also needing one pastor sponsor at $75 a month. We have had two of our sponsors pass away recently. Please pray for our trip. This is probably the most involved visit we have ever made. It will be my 26th and the 20-year anniversary of my first landing on African soil. Your prayers have been working; in this crazy world, God has blessed our little ministry so greatly!

November 2023 Newsletter

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 04:05:41 GMT

The latest mission news

Dear friends of Revive Liberia,

Our God is so faithful and such a provider! I just had to share the good news we are experiencing lately. Several donations have come in lately for our school projects. We now have enough funds to install wells and bathrooms in two of our schools! This has been a need in the Fly Blue Jay school for several years. The new Karen school is out growing itself , a good water supply and good sanitation are badly needed there also. In addition to these blessings we have also secured money to put a new roof on the Fly Blue Jay school. It has been leaking badly. The salt in the sea air is terrible on metal roofs. All this is timely as the dry season has started and projects like this are much easier to undertake.

Through the years I have mentioned Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah in my communications. I had the privilege of helping Thomas go through seminary school in Kenya around 2004. After he graduated he and Hauwa moved to Liberia. He is from Liberia and she is Nigerian. Hauwa has masters degrees in two fields. Samaritans Purse hired him to plant and build churches and she to run their HR in Liberia. Thomas ended up building 200 churches in Liberia and two for the newly formed Revive Liberia. This really pulled us out of a pinch as corruption had taken funds away for this. We had promised several Zoe (Voodoo here ) priests we would build a church, if we put a school in it, outside their village. Also, my now dear friend, Morris was promised a church. He was recently converted to Christianity from his role in Zoe. From what I could decipher Morris was what would be in the Roman Catholic faith a Bishop or even a Cardinal in Zoe. Because Hauwa did such a good job running off would be free loaders after SPs money , the lawyer on retainer was over joyed . He owned land and gave them some in appreciation in a really good area in Monrovia.

They started a building on site for a retirement home and guesthouse for missionaries traveling to Liberia. We sent over several thousand dollars in roofing metal to cover it. It was stored in a shipping container we bought at our wood shop. While Frog was visiting here the security guard was bribed and all of it was stolen. At the time Thomas and Hauwa had moved to Niger and were managing two hospitals, one for Fistula ( a disease brought on by very young girls forced into marriage) and the other one leprosy, which still exists in Africa. After a few years they attempted to take a badly needed break and spend a year with us to recharge. They got separated at the airport due to some Nigerian military maneuvers. Hauwa and their adopted daughters traveled separately. Because of an unreasonable immigration agent she was refused entry and sent back to Africa under armed guard! I spoke of this in a newsletter several years ago. It was a terrible and traumatic experience.

After their time was up on this contract they were assigned pastoring an international church in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast. After they started work there God dropped into their laps something that could not be ignored, human trafficking. They started developing a ministry around trafficked young girls abondoned from other countries, tricked into thinking a good job was waiting for them in Ivory Coast. We have have a full interview with the Shelwah's on our website about this work. It's so sad and shocking but God is working through the Shelwah's to help.

Thomas and Hauwa have traveled to Liberia for a period of rest and have been working on their retirement home and guesthouse. They were finally able to secure funding to get it roofed and ready for interior work. They have run out of money to get the inside livable. We have pictures and videos on the website showing the progress and explaining what is needed . Like all of us they are trying to plan for retirement. They have given their adult lives to the mission field. Any contributions can be sent to Revive Liberia and earmarked for the Shelwah's.

Thanks again to all our partners in prayers, time, and finances. It will be 20 years of working in the fields of Africa this Feburary.

"This is the kind of fasting I have chosen: Share your food with the hungry, take the poor and homeless into your house, and cover them with clothes when you see them naked, don't refuse to help your relitaves. Then your light will break through like the dawn, and you will heal quickly." Isaiah 58:6-8

Help Build a Home for Rev. Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah in Liberia!

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:09:58 GMT

The work is only half done!

�� Help Build a Home for Rev. Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah in Liberia! ��

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We're excited to provide you with an update on our mission to construct a much-needed home for Rev. Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah in Liberia. We are seeking your generous support.

To date, we've invested $3,000 USD in interior cement plastering and acquired ceramic tiles for the flooring. We've installed essential bathroom fixtures and are nearing completion. Yet, the critical task remaining is the ceiling, which requires $7,000 USD for the entire house and half that amount for their living space.

Our current priority is to raise $8,000 USD urgently. These funds will go towards drilling a borehole, installing a water tower with a 1000-gallon tank, and powering the house with solar panels.

Cost estimates for the remaining cement plastering work are also available, aiding you in targeted prayers for our cause. Your support will make a significant impact on this project and, more importantly, on the living conditions of Rev. Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah.

We kindly ask for your assistance in turning this dream into a reality. Every contribution, big or small, brings us closer to providing a secure and comfortable home for Rev. Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah.

For donation details and more information, please contact us directly. Together, we can build a brighter future for this devoted couple and their community in Liberia.

October 2023 Newsletter

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 06:29:11 GMT

The latest mission news

What a year it has been in our ministry! It began with challenges as we had to close down our sawmill operations due to lack of profits. However, we soon discovered the real reason behind our struggles. The individual we partnered with turned out to be dishonest and had nefarious intentions. Despite praying together initially, she aimed to seize our property through a slow and expensive legal process, draining our funds. Thankfully, after a long and arduous battle, we managed to reclaim our property, including our sawmills, tractor, and generator. Our team worked tirelessly, and we are grateful for William Joe's invaluable support. We are currently constructing a house for him and his family as a token of our appreciation.

Incredible news – we successfully raised funds for a SmartBox for the Jeremiah Dream school, thanks to the persistence of fellow missionary Gary Friesen. This revolutionary tool will set our school apart from others and attract more students. It's a game-changer, and we invite you to check it out on their website. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Gary and all those who contributed.

We still need a couple of thousand dollars to complete the security wall for the Jeremiah school. A recent break-in emphasized the importance of this barrier, especially with the valuable SmartBox now on our premises.

Our churches are thriving and expanding. The Central Church in Monrovia has new Sunday School teachers, and Pastor Abraham Zogar's church recently witnessed a revival that led to conversions. The Gospel remains our top priority, and our leaders regularly engage in community outreach and fasting.

Our medical clinic celebrated its one-year anniversary, benefitting the local community and providing employment opportunities for our African family. We are in discussions with our former partner to restart operations in Buchanan.

In a few weeks, we plan to send a significant shipment of goods to Liberia. Among the items are folding canes for the blind community to ease their transportation, new shoes for our employed friends, teachers, and pastors, as well as food, Bibles, clothes, school supplies, and storage containers.

We still need support for one pastor and several teachers who volunteer due to a lack of sponsorship.

In February, it will mark 20 years since I first set foot in Africa. Time has flown by, and despite the obstacles, our Lord has worked miracles. We've also witnessed the birth of other ministries stemming from our initial journey, and we praise God for their work.

A heartfelt thank you to all our partners in prayer, time, and finances. Your support has been instrumental in our ministry's success, and we are deeply grateful.

April 2023 Newsletter

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Thu, 11 May 2023 23:26:16 GMT

The latest mission news

Our April 2023 newsletter talked about some of the challenges we're facing, including the dangerous roads and recent minor accidents. Unfortunately, we've had to make the tough decision to cease sawmill operations due to a lack of financial progress after a major logging company shut down its operations in Liberia.

But don't worry, we're not giving up! We're exploring new income-generating possibilities, like a digital carving machine. We're also continuing our mission to serve the community by building two houses for pastors, one of whom even gave up his own cement blocks to build a school addition. However, we've identified several schools that are in need of repairs, including a new roof, well, bathroom, and fence.

On a positive note, we're excited to announce that we're sending a shipment of 27-gallon tubs filled with food, Bibles, and shoes to our partners in Liberia. We're grateful for your continued support and look forward to sharing more updates with you soon

December 2022 Newsletter

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 23:24:39 GMT

The latest mission news

It is Christmas eve as I write this and boy is it cold!

Our trip to Africa was nearly perfect! We were delayed

at the Indy airport and had to run to catch our plane

in Chicago but we made it!

Having been there so many times it is always such a delight to bring someone new. If you have never smelled the African air you are missing a big treat. Our two fellow travelers, Darren and Mark, fit in immediately.

Darren had worked so hard on training material for the pastors. That went really well! Our men are always open to good Biblical training. One of the pool liners we sent was used as a canopy in case of rain. It worked perfectly!

The men were delighted in learning and getting to know their new guests. It thrills my heart to see the body of Christ

working in such harmony to spread the Gospel.

This trip was probably Karen's favorite in all the

years we have worked there.

October 2022 Newsletter

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 13:35:58 GMT

The latest mission news

Dear Friends,

Our first annual auction was a success! We raised $4100!

Also the company that agreed to match anything we raised up to $7000 has given us up to the end of October to reach that goal. That means any funds you contribute up to that time is doubled! This would take us a long way toward a good start on our long dreamed of youth camp.

As many of you know I teach public school children the Bible once a week. These are mostly unchurched kids. It is the same with youth camps, many or even most are not familiar with our Biblical heritage.

Because of family circumstances many literally have no moral code at all. The look in the eyes of those children when they understand how much God loves them and that they are not an accident on this earth drives me.

William ( Frog ) our director, and myself were hugely influenced by youth camps. All these were lost during the war in Liberia. In my case after straying for years I am convinced that this early influence helped bring me back to the truth.

I have postponed telling the results of the auction because of our trip this Saturday. I wanted the prayer partners of this ministry reminded to pray for us while in Africa. We will be leaving the 15th and

returning the 27th of this month.

Karen and I will be traveling with two fellows from our church. They will be training our pastors while there. We will also be dedicating the newly constructed Karen school. Frog and I are always busy catching up on all the projects we're involved in. Of course we will send time at the Old Folks Home and I plan on stopping at the blind community to see how they are doing.

Please pray for Liberia, we have heard several reports that the country is really short of rice.

That is worse than a shortage of bread here as rice is eaten with literally every meal. Our latest shipment is almost all food. It should arrive in November. We look forward to taking lots of videos and pictures for our website and Facebook page. If you ever have thought of contributing to our work now is the perfect time as it is doubled!

Jeremiah 33:3 "Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here."

July 2022 Newsletter

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 03:50:46 GMT

The latest news about our mission

I have related in the last few letters how badly we needed to finish our pastors homes. We have been through a lot in the past 18 years with

personal. Not everyone we supported in the past were worthy of their position.

The pastors we have retained have been with us most if not all of these years. They have proved their worth to us and the Gospel. Because of this I have felt driven and compelled to advocate for the completion of their homes.

We have wonderful news on that account! From two different sources we received funds for this cause. We have five homes we are working on, three of which are near completion.

Our director and myself decided to spend this money to complete the three that are nearly finished. The other two are in the early stages of completion. This way we can concentrate on getting the ones done that have been in progress for some years. What a huge uplifting feeling to these men of God! I feel a great burden lifted from me too.

Our latest shipment has just arrived! As you know the US government held up our last one. It cost us an additional $3000 for nothing. This time it was the Liberian governments turn! We had an additional $5000 to pay on top of the

usual duties and shipping costs.

This is a major prayer issue. It goes without saying we cannot continue like this. I will be reaching out to shippers in the next few weeks to see how they are coping with this.

We have been blessed with the donation of dried beans, canned fish, rice, peanut butter and other foods lately. We even have a good start on another shipment.

We are now helping a blind community with food. All this is so important.

Karen does such a great job in buying tuperware type cookware, iron skillets we find on sale and various other "luxuries" for our pastors wife's. Just little things, like sun hats, shoes, flashlights, Luci lights etc we find on sale or are donated are so important.

We just sent in a barrel a wind generator so our director can have electric power in his house on the beach land. The ocean breeze blows almost constantly and that will generate enough power to run led lights, and most important in Africa, charge cell phones, ha.

Shipping large items has become almost impossible. Two seven foot conveyors that Woodmizer donated to add length to what our LT15s could cut they sell for S2,200. The Liberian government assessed them at $8,500. The duties on these alone were over $1,300.

Keep this in prayer, shipping is such an important part of what we do.

The Karen school is approaching completion. A little history lesson here will share light on how far we have come with this school. In around 2007 Mark, our earliest RL supporter, was invited to the village called Bagayestown. He said that he actually felt the evil in that place. It was controlled by Zoe ( the forerunner of Voodoo) priests.

Later I accompanied him there. They had agreed to let us build a church outside the village so long as there was a school started in the building also. Even the trip to the village for the meeting was an adventure. A flash flood washed out a crude bridge and we approached a fast running creek about 8' wide and 6' deep.

I had just purchased a SUV the day before that we were in. This is the point where I realized the leadership skills of our director. Frog went across the creek and walked some distance into the village.

Suddenly we heard the sound of a chain saw. In another few minutes he came around the corner leading a large group of men, singing, with a huge log on their shoulders! They laid down the log, and drug it across the creek. This was repeated several times , always with singing, and a new bridge was made!

Mark was brave enough to drive across it. There was literally no road most of the way there. It was a couple of hours off any main road and we drove where there were high weeds, limiting our view and sand as deep as snow!

Once we arrived we sat in a circular counsel of Zoe priests. There were two young girls, mid teens I guessed, off to the side, shirtless, painted white and in grass skirts, watching it all. I felt as if I were in an old National Geographic magazine.

We came to an agreement to construct a building. About that time one of our "wolves" took all of our extra money. Our friend Thomas was working at Samaritans Purse at the time building churches. He went to bat for us and praise God that good organization built our church!

After some time things got bad. The Zoe presence worsened and our pastor ( and principal) was threatened. Things started getting stolen regularly. Then a relative of his was murdered while on a visit.

After that things went down hill and we replaced him with another fellow. That did not help and so after a few years we had to move out for the safety of our pastor and his family. He wondered about until he said he felt the Lord told him to plant another church and school in a certain spot.

That has worked out so well for us in Revive Liberia! It is in the bush but only about 30 minutes from our headquarters. Thank God for that location! We now own five acres there. Because it is near the highway between Buchanan and the airport the land is increasing in value every year.

As most of you know that school has been just a temporary structure of bamboo and pool covers. We were just about to close it with no means of improving it in sight. We gave a presentation at a local church and God touched the heart of the pastor there when he saw that pool cover school. Even before the service was over he announced funds to build a real school building!

Karen broke down in tears! She was so burdened about the schools condition. Everyone is excited in that neighborhood now! We will be needing funds to dig a well and put in a bathroom but the school building is soon finished! As I reported in a previous letter a tree fell on it before it was finished. God will not allow Satan to be victorious!

We are now planning a trip to Liberia in October. There will be four of us, two fellows who have never been there. Our African friends are planning a great dedication for the Karen school upon our arrival.

We have another sawmill operation up and running in the Cape Mt area. This has been a long time coming and if successful it could help Alive Liberia to start funding their own operations. This has been going on already with the expansion of the Jeremiah school into a junior high and other projects they have funded themselves.

Our container goods have been distributed and you can see the smiles!

We will be checking on our various projects like feeding the folks at the Old Folks Home, visiting the blind community and all the construction projects being worked on.

We also need one pastor sponsored now and three teachers. We also always need laptops!

Thanks as usual for all of you who regularly pray and donate financially to this work. We are humbled by the year after year commitment from so many. Pray for us as we plan this trip.

Distribution to families

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:05:33 GMT

A new update about distribution of tubs, barrels, and buckets to institutions, Churches, congregation members, widows and children in need.

One of the recipients is a single mother whose husband was a Pastor in Rivercess. He died unexpectedly while playing soccer one day.

Since then, Revive Liberia has been taking care of her. Last year, she moved to the Beach house to help with meal preparation three times a week for the Old Folks.

A house is being built on the Campus for her and her children. Moving to the Campus afforded her the opportunity for her and her little children to live together.

Last Sunday, two of her kids graduated from the pre-grade. The younger one came second in their class. Her loss has been great, but she rejoices in her children.

We are so grateful to Revive Liberia for restoring hope to the hopeless. We were able to bring more happiness to this family when we delivered the tub to the front of her new house that is being constructed.

Here are some of the other people who received these supplies.

What a joy. Thanks to you all. To God be the glory!

Sawmill Reopening

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 04:37:17 GMT

Over the years we have been going through some struggles with how to benefit from our Woodmizers as well as our Mobile Dimension sawmills since our prior wood supplier could no longer supply us. So many of our families rely on the sawmills for steady jobs and income, so this lack of work created a void.

We made contact with Abigail, the head and owner of Aqueba Groups of Companies. She has been sawing and shipping only Ekki timber.

She asked us to do business with her company to supply our sawmills to saw on a profit-sharing basis. This was a big step to have a new partnership so that our people can be working and the sawmills can provide value to the local community again.

We went and built a shelter for living quarters as well as a warehouse for the sawmills

The County Officials, citizens and Government Officials came to dedicate the sawmill.

After this ceremony we will soon be starting effective sawmill operations once again. Praise God!

Fly Blue Jay School Distribution

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:48:17 GMT

Fly Blue Jay School (locally called, Qxwlakpoylain) recently got some supplies that were distributed to the students and teachers.

So much excitement was felt by all as the distribution of toys, coloring books, pencils, and other gifts were handed out to the students.

The teachers were given canned food such as beef, sardines, beans, rice, and some nice plastic bowls. Donations such as these are so appreciated and welcomed.

A short video of the distribution.

Revive Liberia Missions Inc. March 2022 Newsletter

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 23:37:44 GMT

A lot has changed since the newsletter I wrote last fall, both in the world and in our ministry. It seems as if the world is spinning out of control. God has protected our mission throughout the many, sometimes tragic, events that have struck Liberia and the world. The Liberian civil war lasted 14 years and ended in September of 2003. I first arrived there in February of 2004 witnessing first hand the devastation of almost all the infrastructure. Not just roads, food produc tion, energy supplies, schools, churches etc., but the terrible toll on the human mind. One tenth of the population was killed outright. Many more died due to starvation or lack of medical atten

tion. Almost everyone ran from their homes, for 14 years, to survive. Rebuilding a country left in this condition proved almost impossible. When things were just getting better Ebola hit. This devastating disease had a 90% mortality rate and was terribly contagious. After that things settled down once again.

After that things settled down once again. However, the exporting of all the agricultural products produced before the war never materialized. This meant foreign moneys coming in were mostly from charity. This, among other things, kept the country poor. Then came Covid. This hit poorer countries especially hard. Restrictions on economic activities made a bad situation much worse. But through this all, God has protected our ministry. We are small compared to most Christian overseas missions so it doesn't take much trauma to affect us. Through all this, our Lord has had his hand of protection on us! I cannot thank Him enough for His mercy and grace despite the world falling apart around us. It reminds me of the scripture " We are unworthy servants, we have only done our duty" Luke 17:10

We have made progress on three of our pastors' homes. This is a goal of mine that this year we complete our pastors' parsonages. These men of God have sacrificed more than I can know for the Kingdom. With less than $10,000 in donations, all of them will have their homes completed. Having a decent comfortable home for one's family is so important when your whole life is dedicated to others. We have been working for 15 years and longer with these men. Sometimes there is no substitute for time in proving someone's devotion and integrity. These men have proven worthy of their calling.

Victoria's House

Smiling Rebecca George; Rev. George's New Bathroom

Life is a struggle and we never know what will come our way. In the last newsletter, I spoke of a church that was helping us build the badly needed Karen school. Things were going great and our director was really pushing to complete it before we arrived in late March. Well, while he was away someone decided that a tree might be a problem later and promptly cut it down. It fell directly on the newly constructed but unfinished structure. As with all of our projects we are limited on funds to complete them. We are sure God will provide us with money to fix this tragedy!

Karen School under construction

Karen School under tree

Our largest school, the Jeremiah Dream school, has added on the building and now has a junior high! This was all done with our African partners own money! Praise God they are getting on their feet financially and able to do projects like this! Also, they have added on to the building housing our administration offices. This is where the church meets but for the students chapel meetings it became too small! This too they did with their own money.

New Jr High addition on Prophet Jeremiah Chapel

We have one school in the Monrovia area. It was started by one of our long-time pastors, Harris Yates. He saw these poor street kids with virtually no chance of an education and built a school. We have given as much as was possible to help him. However, that school badly needs a bathroom. What they have now is hardly describable. $1500 would go a long way in giving these inner-city kids good sanitation.

Harris Yates School

We have made great progress with our Old Folks Home feeding program. Some of you know that we are supporting two of our pastors' widows. One, Victoria, we have hired to regularly cook for the old folks. Because they are so close to our headquarters we have built a small house for her and her three children. Our African partners have been very efficient with the limited funds we raise for projects like this. Praise God the old folks will get regularly cooked meals now. We can't wait to see this in person!

Old folks enjoying a cooked meal!

God has blessed our economic development program too! Because of Covid, things have slowed down in the logging industry. The big outfit ICC stopped logging altogether and so our supply of logs slowed down to a crawl. They offered us their marginal logs for really cheap. This is one reason we have been able to build so efficiently by using our own lumber. As they closed up shop for a while, they gave us two very valuable tools. One was the Massy tractor which has been such a big help in pulling logs. The other was an electric saw. The brand name is Mobile Dimension, it is built-in Oregon. They have hooked it up with the generator we sent a couple of years ago. The video of it operating is very impressive! Our Alive Liberia friends are also talking to someone about exporting lumber, we pray this succeeds.

Mobile Dimension Saw

As I write this, gasoline has just topped $4 and diesel $5. We had shipped our director an older Nissan Pathfinder. It has proved to be up to the job of rough roads and the hard work of towing one of our trailers. However, it gets a mere 12 to 14 miles per gallon. We had bought a small crew cab Ford pickup a few years back. The engine gave out soon after we acquired it. In Africa, the most popular pickups are these small Fords and Toyotas. They are crew cabs and mostly diesel. God has blessed us with a really good mechanic after all these years named John. He has researched and found that another good engine is around $3,000. I am concerned that as fuel costs rise, Frog won't be able to operate freely about our ministry. That little pickup should get 25 to 30 mpg. Prices are higher in Liberia than here and the world oil market is unsettled. This is an urgently needed request. Frog being mobile is crucial to the health of this ministry.

The Ford we are needing to purchase

The container we shipped so many goods in last November is due to arrive on the 12th of this month. Please pray that it goes smoothly in customs. At least the American govt didn't seize it this time! We are due to leave for Liberia on the 19th of this month. We plan on departing Africa on the 30th. There will be five of us, Karen and I, a woodworking specialist and his daughter, and a fellow from our church who will be training our pastors. Much praying, please! This world has come unglued and we are leaving the country.

Once again we wish to thank everyone who supports our ministry. Without your regular prayerful and financial support we could not do this. This life is so fragile. We recently lost our first pastor supporter, Nelson Rubble, he and his wife Mariam had helped us from 2005, he was 82. Also, my first cousin Mark Eckart, for 19 years served as the district superintendent for the Wesleyan church in south ern Indiana. He was perfectly healthy and at 60 years of age died of a massive heart attack. Each day is a gift and we all need to be ready to meet God. ,

God Bless,

Phil Eckart

President Revive Liberia

812-876-4348

584 Sherfield Rd.

Spencer, IN 47460

July 2020 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 06:49:45 GMT

ICC cooperation with RL sawmilling efforts, job opportunities working for ICC, ICC job listings.

May 2020 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 06:47:23 GMT

Pandemic update, Sawmilll and Medical Clinic still moving forward, shipping containers with supplies for arriving in July and December, Medical clinic update (building is making progress!), new land purchase for logging and making charcoal to sell - pool-tarp buildings being set up for living space.

February 2020 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 06:05:38 GMT

Cancelled March 2020 trip, economic problems, gas shortage, vehicle for sale.

January 2020 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 06:01:43 GMT

Container loading and clearing customs, March trip and Shepards Global Classroom, 55 gallon barrels with food, books, and supplies for Old Folks Home, Wood-Mizer reduced-price LT40 providing ways to train in a skillset for students and adults, economy suffering, update on George and Central church, Medical Clinic future plans, George's quarterly report, wind generator for beach house.

October 2019 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 05:58:58 GMT

Jeremiah school runs out of water, Principle's house now fully purchased, requests for Jr. High program, Fly Blue Jay building needs roof,New Pastor (George) of Central church needs house close to ministry, various other building and land developments, Wood-Mizer donating two mills and $11,000, used LT40 being offered at less than 1/3 price, shipping costs for books, supplies and materials.

May 2019 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 05:55:42 GMT

Road conditions, 1-year celebration for married Pastors, Abraham Zogar church and home update, Jeremiah school building, Old Folks sponsorship, house for $3500, various schools needing better buildings, Medical Clinic for Frog and Sarah.

August 2021 Update

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 09:43:56 GMT

Woodmizer has provided RLM with the opportunity to purchase an additional mill for our ministry in Liberia.

The mill has been refurbished by Woodmizer and they have offered it to RLM for only $2500, a price much lower than they might have sold it for at market prices. We thank God for them and their participation in our ministry.

We have raised the money to purchase the mill. We are working on the funds needed to ship it from California to our headquarters located in Indiana. From there it will eventually placed in a shipping container bound for Liberia.

April 2021 Update

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 09:43:54 GMT

Woodmizer has provided RLM with the opportunity to purchase an additional mill for our ministry in Liberia.

March 2021 Update

jacob@greenlightstudio.co (Mark Kearns) — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 09:06:05 GMT

Woodmizer has provided RLM with the opportunity to purchase an additional mill for our ministry in Liberia.

revive-liberia

June 2024 Newsletter

The latest mission news

March 2024 Newsletter

The latest mission news

November 2023 Newsletter

The latest mission news

Help Build a Home for Rev. Thomas and Hauwa Shelwah in Liberia!

The work is only half done!

October 2023 Newsletter

The latest mission news

April 2023 Newsletter

The latest mission news

December 2022 Newsletter

The latest mission news

years we have worked there.

Read more...

October 2022 Newsletter

The latest mission news

Jeremiah 33:3 "Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here."

July 2022 Newsletter

The latest news about our mission

Distribution to families

A new update about distribution of tubs, barrels, and buckets to institutions, Churches, congregation members, widows and children in need. ﻿

One of the recipients is a single mother whose husband was a Pastor in Rivercess. He died unexpectedly while playing soccer one day.

﻿ Since then, Revive Liberia has been taking care of her. Last year, she moved to the Beach house to help with meal preparation three times a week for the Old Folks.

A house is being built on the Campus for her and her children. Moving to the Campus afforded her the opportunity for her and her little children to live together.

Last Sunday, two of her kids graduated from the pre-grade. The younger one came second in their class. Her loss has been great, but she rejoices in her children.

We are so grateful to Revive Liberia for restoring hope to the hopeless. We were able to bring more happiness to this family when we delivered the tub to the front of her new house that is being constructed.

Here are some of the other people who received these supplies.

What a joy. Thanks to you all. To God be the glory!

Sawmill Reopening

We made contact with Abigail, the head and owner of Aqueba Groups of Companies. She has been sawing and shipping only Ekki timber.

She asked us to do business with her company to supply our sawmills to saw on a profit-sharing basis. This was a big step to have a new partnership so that our people can be working and the sawmills can provide value to the local community again.

We went and built a shelter for living quarters as well as a warehouse for the sawmills

The County Officials, citizens and Government Officials came to dedicate the sawmill.

After this ceremony we will soon be starting effective sawmill operations once again. Praise God!

Fly Blue Jay School Distribution

Fly Blue Jay School (locally called, Qxwlakpoylain) recently got some supplies that were distributed to the students and teachers.

So much excitement was felt by all as the distribution of toys, coloring books, pencils, and other gifts were handed out to the students.

The teachers were given canned food such as beef, sardines, beans, rice, and some nice plastic bowls. Donations such as these are so appreciated and welcomed.

A short video of the distribution.

Revive Liberia Missions Inc. March 2022 Newsletter

July 2020 Newsletter

May 2020 Newsletter

February 2020 Newsletter

January 2020 Newsletter

October 2019 Newsletter

May 2019 Newsletter

August 2021 Update

April 2021 Update

March 2021 Update

A new update about distribution of tubs, barrels, and buckets to institutions, Churches, congregation members, widows and children in need.

Since then, Revive Liberia has been taking care of her. Last year, she moved to the Beach house to help with meal preparation three times a week for the Old Folks.