Sierra Leone church leader John Bundor
The Ebola virus has struck the Kailahun District of Sierra Leone—specifically Buedu, Kissi Tongi chiefdom—and church leaders and Bible translation partners are asking for our prayers.
As of last Friday (June 13), 16 in this small community had died—three were literacy learners with Lutheran Bible Translators. Many more across the country continue to fall ill, and the death toll is mounting.
People in the community are fearful. They cannot properly bury their dead without fear of contracting the virus. They are afraid the sickness has no cure. Because so many who go to the hospital end up dying, many mistakenly believe that medical practitioners are injecting patients with wrong medicine, so families are taking the sick out of hospitals and the area is full of chaos.
Church leader John Bundor (pictured above) said, “…we are weeping and [there is] nobody to console us just as it is stated in Jeremiah 31:15 ‘A voice is heard in Rama, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children because they are no more.’”
Hardworking people, pillars of the community, are dying on a daily basis. Vibrant church leaders are gone. “When will our beloved land be healed from this deadly disease?” Bundor asks. “Other communities and districts have shunned us. Our good friends have cut off friendship with us. Offices are closed. Our development partners are gone. We are like [an] orphan that has no caretaker.”
The disease is believed to have spread when a church prayer group gathered around and prayed for a woman in their group who had contracted the virus. A week later, all those who had prayed for her became gravely ill.
The local church stands on the promise in Hebrew 13:5, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” They believe Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Pray for the Kailahun District—specifically Buedu, Kissi Tongi chiefdom. Pray that God would deliver this community from sickness. Pray that many would find comfort in God’s Word in the midst of this tragedy. Pray that believers would share the Truth of Jesus so others might hear it. Finally, pray that Sierra Leone and its leaders would be transformed by the healing power of Christ.