​The beginning

 

I was born in a small village in Liberia called Bettesu in 1972. I’m the only surviving son of three siblings:  I lost my two sisters before I was even born. Our village, Bettesu, was in complete spiritual darkness until my mother became a Christian. Her faith in God led my dad to Christ, eventually bringing light into our village. However, their story was not without trials and or persecution. They were often beaten and jailed for their faith in Christ. At one point, they were forced to hide me under their bed in the middle of the night at the age of three so I would survive the mob that descended on our house, leaving them half dead. They didn’t give up their faith in Christ. 

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A DREAM

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There was no school close to our village, so at the age of 9, I had to walk by myself for an hour and a half to a village that had a school. The road leading to the school was very dangerous, especially for someone so young. In 1983 at the age of 11, I left our village, with my parent’s blessing, to pursue education. In 1982, before I departed, I had a dream in which a beautiful school and a health clinic were built in our village to provide education and health care accessible to all the people in and around our village.

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DEVASTATION

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In 1990, the civil war brought Liberia to its knees, my dream of higher education and the hopes that someday, a school and medical clinic would be built in my village were dead. In exile, I struggled along with my parents to survive which we did through the grace of God. In 2001 my father was killed by the rebels, leaving me and my mom completely devastated. At this point, I didn’t think my childhood dream would ever be possible. Once again, I found myself in exile, this time alone with no father and no mother as my mom was also hiding from my father’s murderers.

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HOPE

 

In September of 2003, my uncle, Nathaniel Bimba, and his wife, Ruth Bimba, sponsored me to come to Canada. My arrival in Canada brought a new hope and a new start for me. I came to Bethel Community Church where they welcomed me not just as a friend in Christ, but as a son in Christ. Attending Bethel renewed my faith and attending The King’s University brought hope. Bethel supported me and sponsored my mom, my wife, and my kids to join me in Canada, and as if that wasn’t enough, they helped me to rekindle my childhood dream for my village and community. In 2014, Bethel donated the money and built an elementary school in my village. They also rebuilt the church where my parents were beaten, jailed, and prosecuted for their Christian faith. Over 300 kids annually, since 2015, have now enjoyed free education with all their school materials provided for every year by Bethel Community Church.

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BY GOD'S GRACE

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Bethel isn’t done yet and God isn’t finished his work yet. In 2022, the church partnered with Better Together Liberia (our new charitable organization) to construct a medical clinic that will bring much-needed medical relief to thousands of people in and around Bettesu once complete. A childhood dream from 1982 is about to be fulfilled by God’s divine power and grace. Please join Bethel Community Church and Better Together Liberia to complete this dream and bring much-needed education and health care to hundreds of kids in Bettesu, Liberia.

This is a short history of BTL that is still in the making.

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John Lendein, President, BTL​​​​

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