Click to download the audio version of “Merry Christmas to the ILF family”
Dear ILF family,
As we approach this Christmas season, we like to wish you and your Family a Merry Christmas. We feel grateful to have such a dedicated team in our ministry that has grown beyond all imaginations. Through your faith and dedication, we have reached the hearts of so many, you have shown nothing is impossible when we trust our heavenly father. Our community is where it is today because of God’s mercy and his presence in ILF projects and our faith in His vision. In light of that, the children in our communities have a school to call their own, a health and nutrition program with a dedicated and caring nurse, 200 acers of sustainable farming, drinking water, 100’s of lifesaving surgeries. The list goes on and on. But most importantly, we celebrate the countless souls that were saved because our community felt the love of Christ through your servitude and leadership guided by the Holy Spirit.
Even though 2020 has been a rocky road for many, it also has presented a unique opportunity for us to look within, to reexamine our spiritual strength and the depth of our faith. The opportunity to either get lost in the disappointment and sorrows of this unprecedent season, or chose hope and trust that we are not defined by our circumstances, that beyond every disappointment, there is a God who has promised to walk with us through the shadow of valley of death.
As we get ready to celebrate this Christmas season, it is great reminder to recognize that the king of our faith was not born in a castle surrounded by royal staff and care givers. His mother was not ushered by the loving hands of a mate. She was carried into a barn on the back of a donkey giving birth to the king of kings with goats looking in, and his royal bed was a manger (a feeding box for farm animals). And history proved that it all was a part of a bigger plan. The donkey, the barn, the goat, the manger, even the lonesome Mary and Joseph had to be there to demonstrate the magnitude of what was yet to come years later. The salvation of the world on a cross. Now that, is a hope worth hanging on to. knowing that God is working in the midst of all hardships to grow us into his eternal unity, knowing that this year, in a small part of the world, in a tiny community outside Makeni, Sierra Leone, there is a ministry that is part a much bigger plan in God’s kingdom; and we have the privilege to partake in that plan, knowing that God is shaping a plan that will impact his eternal kingdom and that your role is essential to that plan. Through every student in Revive Africa school, every village that you visited during the Revive outreach, nightly prayers and every mask distributed, Through every broken heart that you comforted and every hand that you held in love, through every single one you, God is growing our ministry in his trust, sovereignty and his obedience. Matthew 5:16
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”.
So, in this Christmas season, we like to extend our gratitude to you for all your hard work, for your love for one another, your spirit of teamwork and sheer dedication to glorify God’s kingdom.
May your Christmas be blessed with love, care and happiness this season. Merry Christmas.
Cyrus Mafi
Chairman of the Board