Dear Friends,

Yes, in a few days I am moving from Freetown and will celebrate the Thanksgiving Day already on my new mission station in Makeni. Though not all over the world is celebrated the third Thursday of November as National Holiday of Thanksgiving but in many churches there is a Thanksgiving Day around this time of the year. In Sierra Leone a church can have several Thanksgiving Days, because the different auxiliary groups of a church (Women, Men and Youth Fellowship) usually organize their own Thanksgiving Day.

It was not easy to wait until my landlord in Makeni finished the renovation work but I became more patient when the Lord reminded me that last year I also had hindrances when I arrived to Freetown and wanted to start the work there. Interestingly the Thanksgiving Season was turning point last year as well. When I was able to finish the preparation work for the two years Bible course for Freetown, on the Monday followed the American Thanksgiving Day we started the teaching. It was astonishing to observe how God provided a special blessing on my work for the Thanksgiving Season a year ago and prepares another one for this year. "For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning" (Lam 3:22b, 23a), and every year. The Lord is worthy to thank Him.

The students in Freetown already completed one year of their study. They have break now, and the lectures will resume in the beginning of the New Year. It was very uplifting to hear their testimonies; they told me how this study program blessed and help them serving the Lord. They didn’t have hope to pursue theological studies somewhere else. Some said that my coming to revitalize the Bible study program was an answer to their earnest prayers.  Now they are praying that I could start similar work in other parts of Sierra Leone as well.

With a recent photo of the students  I also send a thanksgiving song I recorded last week.  The BBI students sing in Krio, that is a language quite similar to English. The words of the song: "Le we tell'm thank'i. Tell'm thank'i tell'm, tell Papa God thank'i. Fo wetin (H)e do, Wetin (H)e do for me, A go tell'm thank'i, wetin (H)e do for we, we go tell'm thank'i. Tell'm thank'i tell'm tell Papa God thank'i" (Let us tell Him: "Thank you", tell Father God: "Thank you". For what He does, for what He does for me, I will tell Him: "Thank you", for what He does for us, we will tell Him: "Thank you").

I wish all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving Season everywhere. May the Lord fill your heart with joy abundantly and let the Spirit of Thanksgiving give your life a new start. On request I can send more songs and photos but I don't want to fill up anybody's mail box with unwanted Kilo Bytes. Actually, I would be happy to get a feed back if you were able to open the attachment. My brother gave me the wave player for my birthday and I don't know yet, if everybody can receive an attachment like this.

Please, continue to pray for a good start of the mission work in Makeni. Ask the Lord for safe traveling to my new mission station and pray that nothing would disappear at the time of moving or later. Pray, that I could quickly finish what the landlord didn’t do and have enough strength for the preparation work of the BBI in Makeni. Please, pray for protection from those who would like to take advantages of my situation and dishonestly profit of it.

Please, pray for a great revival in Sierra Leone and also in the country where you live. I found fascinating to record a song in Africa and send it to the four cardinal points of the planet Earth. If human beings can do such kind of phenomenon beyond (my) understanding how much more can the Almighty send the Spirit of Revival to all corners of the world, if we ask Him.

Yours in Christ,

Gabriella Kamilla Furedi