Liberia (MNN) — Liberia celebrates National Redemption Day
on April 12.
The holiday marks the anniversary of the coup d'état in
1980 that led to the establishment of the Second Republic.
Liberia's past is tied up in the struggle against repression. It was
founded as a place to send freed slaves by the American Colonization Society
under the authority of a United States Congressional charter in 1816. The idea was that the former slaves would
have greater freedom and equality in their own space.
However, the nation's
greatest challenge has been stability and peace. That's
where Christian Resources International comes in. CRI's executive director Jason Woolford says
two months from now, near National Redemption Day, they're hoping to send
something that will provide both. He
explains, "We're sending a seed container which holds about 28,000
pounds of Bibles, and Christian literature which equates to somewhere around
18,000-20,000 books," adding, "Our goal is to get this container sent in
April, two months from today."
It's ironic that the Gospel would be heading for Liberia at
a time when the country remembers its ongoing struggle against bondage. "When we talk about National Redemption Day,
what better way to give redemption than by sending the Word of God?"
Their target is a missionary working in the interior. The CRI team is excited about the potential
for the Gospel for two reasons. First,
"We'd received a letter, and then a call
from a missionary in India where we'd sent a container before. He had mentioned
that he was able to reach 44,000 people with just one Bible. We're sending about 20,000 of them on
this container."
Second, Woolford
says, "He's working in the interior
which is mostly Muslim. That's an area that most container companies will not
ship to. We found one that was willing
to do it. Pray that once the material is
funded and gets there, that there's protection over the materials and its
transportation to its final destination."
A typical container costs nearly $11,000 to ship. It's an ongoing process of collecting, sorting, packaging and shipping. "We are reclaiming God's resources–new and
used books–that we can put on the containers. Along with it, we need the money
to send those."
Ask God to prepare hearts for His Word, and pray for the
needed funding to get the container shipped on time. Click here to help.
