About the CRC

On July 4, 2000, the Child Rescue Centre (CRC) was opened in Bo, Sierra Leone under the direction of Rev. John Yambasu and in cooperation with the Sierra Leone Conference of the United Methodist Church. The Sierra Leone UMC took the CRC into the structure of the United Methodist Church and has provided guidance and advocacy for the children. Bishop Humper brought people together in Africa and in the United States with a common goal to help the war-traumatized children of his country. The product of this is a well-respected children's facility that provides a life-saving and life-changing environment for these children.

The CRC consists of a residential home that houses, feeds, clothes and educates seventy children in a loving and safe environment. In addition to these seventy residential children, the Child Rescue Centre also supports 150 additional children living in family settings, by paying their school tuition, providing school uniforms, purchasing school supplies and providing health care. These children receive assistance from the CRC while continuing to live at home with their families or caretakers. Additionally, 30 children are being placed with loving foster care families and will receive education, healthcare and food support from the CRC.

Thanks, a million times over.

By Jessica Montes

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

I (Jessica) got to go to the children's school today. Olson was a little girl I became close with in 2007 and I got to see her again. Three other girls on the team and myself got to go visit the younger children's school. The second I stepped out of the bus, Olson spotted me and sprinted into my arms. It was the best day of my life...it's true.

Thank you SO much to everyone who allowed me to come. It was truly an life-changing experience Jeremy and I got to share.

For I know the plans i have for you, declares the lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future - Jeremiah 29: 11

By Jeremy Montes

I found myself going to the CRC just because i had a pen pal for a couple years and my sister had been previously. I didn't think much about how God might have plans for me or how this trip could effect my life. When we first arrived, i was a little skeptical about my stay because of how hot it was when i first walked off the plane. It was a little hard to breath and i was already starting to sweat. I am the type of person who loves the cold so it was difficult. The first night of sleep was also difficult because i didn't have a fan and was sweating all night. Once i got settled throughout the week, i started to see what God had in store for me. The kids were the most loving people imaginable and greeted me with hugs right away. I felt loved every second of my stay because a child or teenager was always by my side. These children literally had nothing and some had no family at all, yet they were able to love and celebrate life everyday. They treated all of each other like they were born brothers and sisters, their love for one another and God was incredible. God was teaching me a lot through the children. I learned to appreciate every small thing in life more than ever before. They way they loved each other so unselfishly taught me that i really should be doing more for others than i do for myself. "If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered." (Proverbs 21:13.) I find that most of America including myself sort of ignore the poverty we have in this world. There are so many people around the world in need, but yet we continue to satisfy just our wants. We need to be more aware of world poverty before a natural disaster like the one in Haiti arrives, because they needed our help way before the earthquake struck. I believe i learned that i want to continue to help people who are less fortunate in anyway i can and the Lord and that he has a miraculous plan for me to do so.

"do not let our love be in word and in tongue, but let it be in act and in good faith." 1 John 3:18

"And a poverty on a global scale, a fragile world with fragile air and fragile water I'm sure they'll put off til tomorrow but I don't wanna wait"

"Good News to the Poor. " - Isaiah 61

Linda's Devotion from Bono:

Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives. Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone. I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill… I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff… maybe, maybe not… But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. It's not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It's not an accident. That's a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.] 'As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.' (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.

It's not about charity, it's about justice. And that's too bad. Because you're good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can't afford it. But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drugstore. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality.

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord's blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea… And this wise man said: stop. He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Get involved in what God is doing—because it's already blessed. Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing. And that is what He's calling us to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VywJm1yWIRQ - video link

1 Timothy 6:6

Jess's Devotion:

"But godliness with contentment is a great gain."

There are so many striking differences between Sierra Leone and home. Besides the obvious, there's no such thing as a supermarket, reliable electricity or health care, etc; the children are truly alive and there's so much we can learn through the faith they live out. They worship God as if he's a celebrity ... doesn't worshipping God make much more sense than the way we've worshiped um, the Jonas Brothers or Jacob vs. Edward? They truly praise God on New Years Eve ... I tried to explain to them that I usually watch a gigantic sparkling ball drop in New York City. They dance up to the altar full of joy as they give their offering (3 or 4 times each service) ... I usually "accidently" forget my wallet. They speak so openly about all the good God has done in their lives ... evangelism has always been one of my greatest struggles. It seems that these children know what it means to be content while I find discontentment to be such a natural way to live back at home. Shared suffering does bring people together and God does have a special place for the poor:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

"Their future shines so bright, it burns my eyes."

By Jessica Montes

January 3, 2010

We went to church this morning at Centenary UMC. The service was about four and a half hours long. It was actually a beautiful service, and even more wonderful - because we got to sit by the children in the choir ... and a fan :) We each got a candle for 1 Leone to burn throughout the year and symbolize our covenant with God. Church here is a lot different than it is back at home. They dance up to the altar to give their offering and speak their prayers aloud. There wasn't enough room for us in the van so Ghanda walked Jeremy, Nicky, Tim, Barbara and I back to the CRC.

Later in the afternoon, we got to take a walking tour through Bo. I was graciously guided by Jeremy's pen pal, Abu. It was about 3 hours and very, very hot outside. We got to see the CKC, the boys school and walk through town. We got to see the live crocodile behind their school and the cemetery. The children refused to let go of our hands the whole time, even when we were both dripping with sweat and could barely hold onto each other. It's such a blessing to be able to feel so loved and show it so freely and fearlessly. I want to be able to live and love like they do - so honestly.

The Ride In

We left Monday December 28th, 2009 for Dulles Airport. The first flight was seven hours long until we landed in London. The layover was five hours long, then we had another seven hour flight to Lungi, Sierra Leone. Once we arrived in Lungi, we stayed at a hotel overnight awaiting a hour long ferry ride to Freetown then a four hour ride to the Child Rescue Centre in Bo.