Jefferson Baptist Church has had a ministry in Sierra Leone since 2002, when the civil war they had been in for over ten years ended. During the war, over 50,000 people were killed, most of whom were not soldiers but innocent civilians killed by raging bands of kids randomly killing, including thousands of people having their hands and feet cut off with machetes. The war was fought primarily to control the country’s rich diamond fields. When we went there in 2002 and drove across the country, we saw a country that this war had destroyed.  There was no free public education, very little electricity outside the capital of Freetown, 80% unemployment, the roads had been destroyed, and terrible dirt and rock roads were mostly what was left. It is hard to describe what we saw in the days of “touring” the country during our weeks there. But, despite the conditions, it was very easy to preach the gospel and start churches, and when we left after a couple of weeks, we left behind four churches. From 2002 until about 2017, I made around 30 trips with others over to Sierra Leone to teach and start churches. I haven’t gone back for the last eight years because of my health, but I am going again this coming April and looking forward to it with great anticipation. I thought about Sierra Leone yesterday when we got an email from JBC that the air-conditioning had gone out and wouldn’t be fixed until next week. I heard someone say they would stay home in their air-conditioned house and watch the service on “live stream.” I thought that was a good idea; it is nice that people have that option. Then I thought about Sierra Leone, where the temperature is almost always in the 90s with the same humidity, and no air-conditioning in any of the churches. Besides that, much of their worship includes dancing, which results in most of them being covered in sweat. One of the churches I worshipped at had rows of two bamboo limbs running horizontally to sit on with no back. They were happy, joyful, and very grateful for what they had. Comfort and convenience are not wrong until we begin to depend on them for our joy and level of gratefulness. Grumbling and complaining are very common with most people in our culture, and Christians are as bad as the world. As Christians headed for heaven, we ought never to grumble or complain about anything ever again.