Paying it Forward: A Refugee’s Story
Fred received the honor of cutting the ribbon, along with John and his mother, and Royce & Pietie Boskers
Here at DMC, one of the great privileges we have is hearing YOUR stories of how God is at work in your church and community. Below is a story that was shared by Mr. Fred Abma, a Deacon at Bethel CRC in North Edmonton, at the recent Day of Encouragement held in Edmonton.
John Lendein is a friend of mine. He came from a tiny village in Liberia, Africa, called Bettesu. This was home for John and his parents before the rebellion war. During that time, John’s mother, Hawa, was very instrumental in bringing the Christian faith to her village. Of course this came with many detrimental consequences: she was even thrown in prison for her faith. Fortunately for John, he was sponsored by his uncle and was able to leave the war-torn country. He came to Canada by himself in 2003 and started attending Bethel CRC. Tragically, John’s father had been killed by Rebels in the Rebellion War, but John’s wife and children and his mother were able to flee to a Refugee Camp in Ghana.
After letting some members of Bethel know his story, plans were set into motion to sponsor John’s mother, wife and family as refugees to Canada. In 2005 John was reunited with his family and they were all able to come to Edmonton.
But the story doesn’t end there; for John this was just the beginning! As a boy, John had to walk a couple of hours to attend school. He had a dream to build a school in his own village of Bettesu and by sharing that with some of the members at Bethel CRC, that dream started to become a reality. Funds were raised for not only the school, but a church building also! The school was built to educate 100 children and the members of Bethel also sponsored individual children to help them purchase uniforms and books. Two years later the school was expanded to accommodate 260 students! A proper latrine was built and a well is currently being worked on for clean water. ALL of the work was done by the local people of that village.
In total, Bethel CRC raised $150,000 for Bettesu with the intention that one day, the village will be able to support the school itself. In order to do this, the village has started various micro-projects. These projects include planting palm trees for the production of palm oil and rice fields.
Two years ago, I (Fred) had the privilege to go to Bettesu with John and his mother, Hawa, to officially open the school and the church and be a part of the community for a time. It was an experience of a lifetime. It was great to see God’s Spirit working through us in a different part of the world.
What an incredible story! This gives us a wonderful picture of a family finding refuge here in Canada but still wanting to bring hope and a future BACK to their village where they came from.
As the story states, there were no other agencies helping this village out with this extensive building project; just the people from this little village and other nearby villagers – from making the bricks on site to painting it. All of the materials used were from their own village or brought from the nearest city; a real trek to get it to Bettesu. This was truly an amazing community effort.
To many, Bethel is known as the “helping church”. They are a very active church located in a lower income area and their Deacons are very involved with benevolence. This story demonstrates beautifully how churches can help people help themselves. Providing assistance in a way that creates sustainable solutions is how churches and diaconates can move beyond good intentions to providing lasting change! (Find out more here.)
John is back in Canada along with his mother, wife and 4 children and still attends Bethel CRC. He was also a delegate to Synod last year! Praise God as He continues to work in us and through us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him! (Phil. 2:13)
SO WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Does your diaconate have a story they’d like to share? Where is God at work in your church and community? Email Erin today.
