Posts Tagged ‘Victorious faith Refuge Home’

I received an email from Pastor Andrew yesterday.  It has been a little more than a week since we sent him $1,120 to use toward the improvements necessary to meet the government’s new requirements for orphanages in Liberia. Though we still have a way to go to complete the improvements and fulfill the financial requirements Pastor Andrew is grateful and believing, by God’s grace, we will get there.  His unwavering faith and commitment is inspiring. Here’s what he wrote:

Dear Rev. Pevlor.

I praise the Lord for connecting us to champion His cause on Earth.

By the grace of God, I received the $1,120.00 USD that was sent towards the ongoing project. What I did, instead of using the funds on the huge renovation work that will be insufficient, I thought of handling another major area which had to do with the $1.2 million cash and asset requirement equivalent to $11,000.00 USD as of today’s rate.

The blessed part is, when I calculated the value of the structures of the Victorious Faith Refuge home, I realized that with only a thousand dollars US in the home’ account added to the worth or asset value of the structures, I have already hit that part of the requirement even a little above margin. So I saved the $1,000.00 dollars and used the $120.00 to purchase all the plates, cups, spoons, bath buckets, towels, toiletries, tubs.

We are getting there little by little by the grace of God.

Last week the first inspection group from the US Embassy visited the center in my absence, but they met men at work especially on the fence. So I am expecting the group from health ministry, finance, foreign, justice ministry and the human right division any time next week.

For now Rev. Pevlor, my major challenge is to change most of the roof, and ceilings plus some minor furnishings in their rooms. From the photo attached to this mail, you will see how far we have gone.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. God bless you Sir along with all those who are working hard to sustain the hope of these Kids in Christ Jesus.

We love you all and thank God so much for you.

Pastor Andrew




















































These pictures are showing the extent of work going on now at the home. The roof is part of the hectic renovation I am to tackle, but the fence is one big blessing in action.

Pastor Andrew

If you’d like to be a part of helping bring the Esther’s Hope home into compliance, making a donation is easy. Simply click on the Donate button.

Check back for further updates.

When I first encountered the children of Esther’s Hope I was smitten.  (If you know me that, in itself, is a remarkable statement.)  Their bright eyes,  wide smiles and warm hearts are irresistible.  And I’m not the only who would have to admit it.  I’m delightfully amused to introduce others to our children and watch them be helplessly taken captive.  Over the years, it seems everyone who encounters the Esther’s Hope group can’t resist becoming more involved.  A prime example would be Justin Prud’homme.

I was introduced to Justin and his wife, Katey, a few months ago via the Internet by a mutual friend.  Justin volunteered to visit the Refuge Home to take some photos I needed to update the EsthersHope.com website.  One visit and he was hooked.  (He shared his experience in a previous post: A Fresh Perspective of Esther’s Hope.)

I received an email last week from Justin.  He had gone back to visit the refuge home…and took a crew of friends to do some work.  Here’s his message and some photos from that project.

Hi Pastor Bill!

Justin Prud'homme

Katey and I got some friends together and went out to the Home two weekends ago to do a little DIY construction on the home. We replaced the mosquito screens on several of the windows, and then erected 4×4 posts in a cement base around the shower.

The idea is to go back in one of the coming weekends (before the rains start in earnest) and erect a privacy wall and a small roof so the kids can shower in private and have a place to change into their dry clothes in the shower. Katey and I return to the US tomorrow for a month, so we’ll probably miss the next visit, but will hopefully be there on the next one.

The kids were very interested in the work, and very eager to help. Very cute too!

I recently received email from Pastor Andrew Gombay.  He is the founder and leader of  Victorious Faith Ministries church, Victorious Faith Academy and Victorious Faith Refuge Home (the home of the children of Esther’s Hope) in Monrovia, Liberia.  Pastor Andrew is a capable man of faith and vision doing remarkable work in the most difficult of situations.  His email asked for our prayers.

God bless you Rev. Pevlor,

Pastor Andrew and Swenah Gombay

Please Sir continue to keep us in you prayers; as a church, we have decleared the entire month of February as a month of Fasting, Prayer, and Breathrough. The entire church is going through a 28 days fast and prayer day and night, we started on Monday.

Here is my prayer point; having realised that every other area of ministry is picking up through the grace of God and my influence, the church congregation is fast improving every week, but there is this area that I feel bound and that is financially. I want you to please pray with me that the Lord set me free from every financial bondage, so that work will continue by His in Christ Jesus.

Another prayer point is that I am receiving spiritual signals to establish a stronghold of faith in nearby Sierra Leone before this year ends. But I’m trusting the Lord for the funds to start the work there. Already the Lord is opening doors of evangelism there at the moment.

May the Lord help us through this spiritual path in Jesus name.

Pastor Andrew

Our friends from Sweden, Caroline Broliden and Linda Klaesson, collected a variety of items for the Victorious Faith Refuge Home and the children of Esther’s Hope.  The items were collected locally and shipped to Monrovia.  Here’s their latest report:

Hi Pastor Bill,

Yesterday me and Caroline went to the post office and sent the package to Monrovia, Liberia. We hope it will get there in perfect condition. Most of the content is clothes, and also some bed sheets and then some toothbruses, toys, pens, and some notebooks. We hope Esther’s Hope will have use of all the things in the box.

Caroline and Linda sorting and packing the box.

We also received a code from the mail office so we are able to follow, at their webpage, the box as it travels from Sweden to Liberia. If you are interested I can give you the code and the web address, otherwise I’ll update you about when the box is expected to arrive to Monrovia so you can contact pastor Andrew in time.

It will take awhile to make it from Sweden to Liberia. We’re hoping to provide photos from the Refuge Home, when the package arrives.  Watch for further updates.

If you’d like to help the children of Esther’s Hope and have a project in mind – like Caroline and Linda – just drop us a line.  And, as always, donations are easily made with a credit/debit card using PayPal – just click the Donate button.

In January of 2007 I had the privilege of traveling with my pastor, Bill Pevlor, to Liberia. While he conducted the “Training Trainers Conference” for local pastors, I focused my time on the children of the orphanage by taking pictures and gathering information about them; information that I could use to share the plight of these children with the world.

Although I knew my job was rather simple and straightforward I wasn’t prepared for how much of an impact it would have on me and how it would change my life forever. Of course I wanted the basic information such as name, age, and grade in school, but I also wanted to get some personal information. I wanted to learn the reasons they were at the orphanage, what their likes and dislikes were and the things that make each child unique and different from the rest.

A number of days after first being introduced to the children I sat down with the administrator of the orphanage, Pastor Linus, and another caretaker to gather the information. Going into this job I knew that this would, at times, be a rather depressing task. These were, after-all, orphans in an extremely poor, war-ravaged country. I sat and listened to stories of parents being killed in the war, teenage mothers unable to care for their children, a parent with tuberculosis, a mother whose new husband did not want a child around and kids brought to the orphanage instead of being put on the street to beg.

Most commonly, the story I heard was a single parent or relative too poor to care for a child. I knew that while these stories were sad, these kids were the fortunate ones, to be at a home that cared for them and provided for them. Countless other children were going hungry, begging on streets, in numerous bad situations, taking care of themselves, seemingly without anybody who loved them or cared for them.

It wasn’t all bad though. I was also told of kids who loved to play soccer, eat, sing gospel songs, pray, write and draw. One child, I was told, loved to cook and would often cry when not in the kitchen. Another child loved to read the Bible and would lead the morning devotion for the other children.

As I sat and learned about each of these children they became real to me. A week earlier they were just poor orphans a world away around the globe and a world away from my world; not much different than many I had seen on TV or in a brochure. A couple of days earlier they became orphans that I could touch and play with and look into their eyes. But now they had become orphans who were real to me, who had personalities with likes and dislikes and who had a story of how they got to this point in their life.

They had become a part of my life that could not be forgotten. It’s easy to forget a commercial about helping orphans in a third world country or even forget meeting somebody, but these children had penetrated a place in my heart and mind where I knew that they could never leave. I also knew that I would not be the same for having met them and hearing their stories. I got more then I bargained for on that trip. I knew I would have the opportunity to help some orphans, but I didn’t know that I would end up being the one who was really changed.

If you are interested in positively impacting the life of an orphan in Liberia and having your heart touched also, please browse The Children page and consider sponsoring an Esther’s Hope child. You can also help today by clicking the Donate button to easily make a donation using your credit/debit card.

[This story continues: Liberia's Children Touched My Life - Part 2]