Carolynn Sharp (Liberia)

God blessed me with wonderful parents who themselves were born again when I was three years old. My mother led me to the Lord when I was five. I thank God for parents who left the world’s system to sacrifice their all to serve in full time Christian ministry. They gave us a non-materialistic atmosphere where consistent discipline and training, eternal values, old-fashioned music and work ethics were the norm. They challenged and encouraged us to serve God where the gospel had not been given. Most of all they were willing for the sacrifice of letting us go.

As a high school junior God called me to full time missions. After Bible School He directed me into nursing and during those years I became a Baptist by conviction and learned to serve in the local church.

After joining ABWE in 1974, I spent some years of more training, challenging setbacks, and support raising with eventual arrival in Brazil in 1981. The Lord gave me twenty years of ministry in medical missions along the Amazon river where I trained Brazilians for the nursing and general hospital responsibilities. The ministry also involved S.S. teacher training, discipling and counseling.

Then in 2002 the Lord re-directed my vision to Liberia, West Africa. As part of a new ABWE team I am in partnership with the African Fundamental Baptist Mission assisting in their church planting goals. I continue as the training coordinator and consultant at their clinic that was established during the civil war. We seek to make it an efficient, strong base from which to use compassionate medical care to open doors to the gospel.

The post-war country challenges are immense due to the broken family and social units, moral decay, and confusion from false spiritual teachers and organizations bringing in non-biblical philosophies. I minister with a group of Liberians establishing the New Hope Pregnancy Center through which we evangelize, disciple, give Biblical counselling and hope to those in crisis and teach on the sanctity of life, abstinence until marriage. While the country is open we seek to use the limitless opportunities put before us.

About Liberia:

• Population: 3.2 Million
• Language: English
• Religion: 40% Indigenous beliefs, 40% Christian, 20% Islam
• Liberia (”land of the free”) was started in 1822 by freed African-American slaves.
• As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world at 4.50%.
• Ritual killings still take place in poro secret societies.
  
• More about Liberia...