Yenge W.

We were missionaries in Sierra Leone, West Africa from 1988 until the rebel war drove us out in the summer of 1994. I was a nurse and my husband a teacher in Mattru Jong... the village that Ishmael Beah talks about. The story is tragic and we can only imagine (with a little help from Ishmeal's story) in a very small way what really happened to the people there. Sierra Leone was deamed the least desirable country in the world to live in, by both W.H.O and the U.N. Not because of war, but because of poverty. Then came this 'rebel war'.
What happened there is tragic. It can only be described as evil. A horrific evil.
An evil-ness swept over the entire country suddenly (and I mean suddenly) and ravaged it, then melded out like it was never there, leaving disaster and suffering.
The atrocities at the Holocaust are known throughout the world. What happened there was equally horrible... but there is no specific person or people to blame. It was total chaos and mayhem, and more than one group at it. It made no sense at all... no clear goals, no clear target or plan, and no clear leader. Just a terrible evil mess. And mass graves as evidence, scattered all around the countryside. A country about the size of Michigan's mitten.

I pray much for this country to be lifted up by God. I remember these strong, joyful and beautiful people smiling and singing, shouting "Bua!", and "Ngawiyena?" to all who would pass by. I still hear the sweet sound of the children singing each sunrise on their way past our home to fetch water from the river, buckets skillfully balanced on their heads.


We deeply miss Sierra Leone and its people. With the availability of cell phones there these days, we have been able to talk with some that we knew and loved there again. It has been very nice. My husband was able to go there 2 years ago for a short visit to try to establish some water-well drilling.

Their's because of Christ,
-Mattru's Yenge