Urgent Need

Early Responders Needed for Liberian Emergency

Rarely does the opportunity to give have the ability to affect so many lives for good.

God Loves Kids was founded by Lovie Phillips in 1974. Shortly after the founding of God Loves Kids, Lovie Phillips’ husband, Rev. H. Syvelle Phillips, founded Evangel Bible Translators (EBT), a ministry devoted to giving the Bible to those who can not read it in their own language. Since the founders of both ministries are married to each other, it's easy to see how sharing resources and cooperating has come naturally over the years.

While a pastor in Southern California, Syvelle Phillips became involved in an extensive mission project for the nation of Liberia, located on the Western coast of Africa. Founded in 1847 by former U.S. slaves and other African-Americans, the country has a unique history and connection with the United States. (The capital, Monrovia, is named after our fifth president.) The project came to close when he left his church and started EBT. Since that time, Pastor Phillips always had a soft spot for the Liberian people.

In the ‘80s, Pastor Phillips was invited to speak at a small church in New York City. Before he spoke, a member of the congregation stood before his small church family and asked for their help. He told how he became a Christian when a missionary traveled though his village in Liberia. He was directed by God to translate the Bible into his tribal language, the language they understood best. He then walked for weeks to get to the capitol city to get an education so he could translate the Bible. His quest brought him to New York to continue his studies. Wandering though the streets, he prayed that he would find a church and heard a song he recognized coming from a doorway. He followed the music into the church, where later he would meet his wife (the Pastor's daughter) and baptize his two children.

As he stood before the congregation, he explained that he must leave to go find a school he had heard of, one that that taught the science of linguistics, so he could fulfill his calling to translate the Bible for his tribal group in Liberia, and he needed their prayer and support to go. Syvelle Phillips, sitting on the front row, not only knew about the school, but was intimately involved in sending dozens of translators through the linguistics program. He stood up and said “Brother, not only do I know where this school is, I have a key to the front door!”

From that moment on, Syvelle Phillips and “Ben” Gboffua became friends and partners working together to accomplish their common goal of translating the Bible.
Pastor Phillips raised the money for tuition and Ben got his degree and returned to Liberia. A few years into the project, Liberia was decimated by civil war. Ben’s wife, Elaine, and his daughters were able to escape and return to New York, but Ben was taken as a prisoner of war. He miraculously escaped during a mass execution and walked at night across Liberia to Cote d'Ivorie. Meanwhile, Pastor Phillips, working with the help of the State Department, was able to locate Ben and reunite him with his family and church in New York.

Currently, Ben is back in Liberia. His translation of the Bible is almost complete. His quest is almost done, and on the way he has planted churches and has become a father figure to numerous children, mostly teenagers and victims of the civil war. Now his church in New York is aging and unable to support his work. Ben, faced with the unthinkable, could not stop helping his extended family any more than he could stop helping his own, so he turned to us for help. God Loves Kids is asking our donors and sponsors to consider sponsoring one of Ben’s many kids. One time donations will be helpful as well.

Pastor Phillips, in the midst of treatment for cancer himself, is raising funds to help Ben get a necessary surgery to prevent him from going blind. If you can’t sponsor, please ask your friends, family, and church to help us help Ben and take care of his children. Ben's eye surgery will cost $10,000.

We need 15 sponsors right now for Ben's kids. Please consider the impact a commitment of $35 or more per month will make in the life of one of these Liberian children and in the life of our friend Ben. Your help with this project will also take a burden off of Syvelle and Lovie Phillips in this difficult time.

SPONSOR A LIBERIAN CHILD NOW
To make a contribution contact us at info@ccckids.org or 972.771.8886 (toll-free 877.633.3005), or mail a check to God Loves Kids, PO Box 354, Rockwall, TX 75087. You may also donate via our secure website at GodLovesKids.com