Tragic Loss in Sierra Leone

It is with great regret and sadness that we announce the passing of one of our boys in Sierra Leone. Abdul Kamara passed away in the early hours of Monday, August 15. He was visiting and spending the night with extended family when a mudslide occurred on the mountain where he was staying.

As you may have seen on the news, Sierra Leone has experienced torrential rains over the last few weeks. While heavy rains this time of the year are not abnormal for Sierra Leone, this year’s rainy season has been unusually heavy.  The side of the mountain where Abdul and hundreds, potentially thousands of others were that rainy night, suddenly gave way, causing a mudslide which killed so many.

Abdul was only 15 years old, and had been in our sponsorship program since 2013. We are so grateful for the two families who were his sponsors here in the United States, and for the way they impacted and changed his life. We are also grateful to Charles Yimbo, along with other friends and partners in Sierra Leone who loved and served Abdul well. We know that Abdul had begun a relationship with Christ, and we all take comfort in knowing Abdul is with Jesus now.

While we had hoped that none of our kids were involved in the mudslide, we know and trust in a sovereign God who is in charge of all things. So many times in this life we do not understand why and how things happen the way they do. But regardless of our own limited understanding, we still trust in our God, His love and His presence in times like this. We covet your prayers for Abdul’s family and for our entire team during this time of mourning.