On 9 October Christo wrote, “Our radio broadcasts cover a wide area outside the three towns [in Sierra Leone] from which we broadcast … [even into] the border towns of Cape Mount county in Liberia. The radio seems to be the most effective means to reach out to people because of the restriction to movement.

“One very important aspect of our work is to refute error,” says Christo. “Some have been using the radio to scare people about God’s judgment or to claim extra powers to avert infections.”

“There are many promises [for help from foreign governments], but how fast can they set up hospitals and stop the transmission of infection? In Sierra Leone we have an average of 500 new infections every week. On Sunday 120 persons died in the holding centre in Hastings.

“Beds are full and people are being turned away. Many go home and continue to infect others. A speedy, massive medical intervention is needed to halt this disease. The prices of everything have gone up,” Christo reports, “in some cases by 50%. Food is available, but very expensive.”

While it is not primarily the mission of Langham Partnership to provide aid for the sick or needy, they are very aware of two things:

1. The pastors who are part of Langham preaching movements, for example in places like Sierra Leone and Liberia at present, are often at the front line of caring for people in their villages. They need enormous wisdom, courage and stamina as they struggle to cope and serve in the midst of it all. It makes all the difference to them to know their brothers and sisters around the world are praying for them! Not just vaguely, but according to their expressed and present needs.
2. The scale and seriousness of this epidemic is a direct threat and hindrance to the operation of the preaching movements in the affected countries. Yet God can create opportunities for the gospel in the midst of the suffering.

On 18 November Christo Jonah reported that “Sierra Leone recorded 534 confirmed new Ebola cases this week (10-16 November). Patients in the North have to wait days to have their blood samples taken. Dozens are waiting for beds.

“We now have over 5000 infected persons since the outbreak and over 1200 recorded deaths plus about 900 survivors. Some are in holding-and-treatment centres. Others are unaccounted for, presumed to be dead.

“It is unbelievable that many people are still in denial. It appears that superstition and a lack of trust in the government is hampering the fight against Ebola. People tend not to believe what the government is telling them to do. Stories are flying around that Ebola was introduced into West Africa as some scientific experiment.

“The rate of infection is going down in Liberia, but it is still soaring in Sierra Leone … We need Gods intervention at this critical time, and we need to do more Ebola sensitization and training,” says Christo.

On 25 November Christo sent an urgent update saying that “the government claims it has made monies available to pay risk allowances to workers, but some are not receiving this. In protest over non-payment for their deadly jobs, burial teams responded by using dead (Ebola) bodies to block the entrance to the hospital.”

Langham partners are working on the ground in Sierra Leone, encouraging Christians to “rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints … Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:12, 13, 15).

*Christo Jonah is the Langham Preaching Country Coordinator for Sierra Leone. This story is reproduced with permission from Langham Partnership.