We wish to send you an update on recent progress with the work of My Vision for Refugees.

Please thank your congregation for the generous Christmas Miracle gift from City On A Hill. It was a blessing to all of us at Home of Hope and has been used to advance the work of providing for the well-being of our children in N’Zérékoré, Guinea.

Thanks to the generosity of donors like your congregation, we were able to build new bathrooms and a kitchen. The cooks now are not required to do their cooking outside in the weather, and the children are no longer afraid of using the latrine, which was formerly only a hole in the ground. We also purchased a generator that allows the children to study at night. New solar panels were also added, enabling us to have power to operate ceiling fans, as well as the lighting (for comfort, convenience and security).

These improvements made it possible for us to host a Mercer on Mission group of nine students and two faculty members for three weeks in May and June. Their visit required us to hire two extra security personnel and two extra cooks.

Dr. John Dunaway, one of the two Mercer faculty members on the Mercer on Mission team who is also chair of the My Vision board, shared the following reflections: “Our students fell in love with the children at Home of Hope. We all enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Guineans in their beautiful forested southeastern region. The Mercer students tutored the children in English and French and thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. We were blessed to join in the community service outreach projects with the children, as well as the youth group. It was a tearful farewell when we had to depart.”

Here are some comments from the students:

· “It was truly amazing to see how My Vision for Refugees has transformed the life of so many children, has motivated young men to help their community and themselves, and has positively challenged damaging old beliefs and traditional practices.”

· “I know that I left a big part of myself in N’Zérékoré.”

· “I fell in love with Guinea and N’zérékoré and Home of Hope and the 14 children there. If given the option, I would stay there, I would live there for as long as I could. I honestly think those children changed my life.”

· “My immediate response to this trip is that I want to do more in the future to help Mr. Johnson’s organization however I can, and to make a return trip to N’zérékoré at some point in the next couple of years.”

All this was possible because of generous donors such as the members of City On A Hill.  We pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and everybody in your congregation. May the Lord bless you, your family, and all our dear friends at City on a Hill Church.

Yours in Christ,
Samuel Johnson

Sam will be available this Sunday (October  14th) before and after worship if you would like to meet and talk with him.  Learn more about this ministry and how to help support it visit: www.MyVision4Refugees.org