International Humanitarian Services in collaboration with the Sierra Leone District Council (P.A.W.) is working to assist families that have lost loved ones and their homes.

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Monday morning (8/14/17) around 4 AM people were buried in a mudslide as they were sleeping in their homes. The mudslide washed away many homes in Regent, a mountainous district on the outskirts of Freetown, causing homes to collapse. At least 4,000 people loss their homes, 400 bodies are in the morgue, countless others are believed trapped beneath the mud or missing.

People are wailing uncontrollably as locals are reportedly trying to recover bodies from the rubble and mud with their bare hands. One woman reported losing more than 11 members of her family in the disaster, while another man said he had lost his wife, mother-in-law and children. Hundreds of people are coming to the area to look for their loved ones, that may have lived in makeshift housing settlements that may have been swept away by heavy rains.

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Bishop Mona Reide made history in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc., March 19, 2017 at their Board of Bishops Spring Conference in Mobile Alabama, when she was elevated to become the first female Bishop with a Diocese in the history of this organization. Bishop Reide is the Diocesan Bishop for the 34th Episcopal Diocese of the Republic of Sierra Leone for the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc. In this capacity her responsibilities include seven main churches and several branch worship sites; four primary schools and one secondary school; a 10-acre farm and additional P.A.W. owned properties. In 2012 she became the first female Suffragan Bishop in the State of Michigan and first female with an international appointment in Ghana, West Africa. She was licensed in 1992 and ordained August 7, 1996 in Houston Texas, USA by the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc., (P.A.W.). In 2006 Bishop Reide founded her first church in the USA, Grace International Outreach Church, located at 1901 Massachusetts Ave., in Lansing Michigan USA, where she currently serves as the Senior Pastor. 

 

Since 1992 in several developing countries, Bishop Reide has taught the church doctrine and administration, as well as providing pastoral and ministerial guidance for ministries at home and abroad. She has led religious crusades, disaster relief efforts, free health screening, children's nutrition and education programs, women's empowerment training, as well as providing micro business loans and school scholarships for k-12 and university students. Dr. Reide has traveled to remote areas of Liberia and Ghana towards the end of their Civil Wars, worked with immigrants and former child fighters, evaluated Christian seminaries in Cuba and Jamaica, and coordinated major shipments to Tsunami victims in India, earthquake victims in Haiti and the less fortunate in the Dominican Republic.

 

In 1992 with the approval of her pastor Bishop David L Ellis, the International Missions Department of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World under the leadership of Bishop Clarence Moore, authorized Dr Mona Forbes-Reide as the 1st PAW Missionary to Ghana West Africa, along with her children. Evangelist Katheryn Jones dedicated her vacation to laboring beside Dr Reide in Ghana, for the initial trip and on 3 other occasions.  

 

Her appointment to the University of Ghana extended Dr Reide's stay in Ghana, during which time she planted 25 churches that became the foundation for the establishment of the Ghana District Council. From 1997 to 2000 Dr Reide continued with approval and support from her now former pastor, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III. Dr Reide's first convert, Suffragan Bishop Emmanuel Baffour Awuah labored tirelessly with her helping in the establishment of the churches and assisting with day-to-day leadership. In 2000 Suffragan Bishop Awuah became the chairman of the Council where he continues to serve faithfully today.

 

In 1994 Dr. Reide became a member of the International Missions Board of Directors, serving as the first female Vice Chair in 2002. She successfully served as the first female Chair and President of the International Missions Board of Directors from 2005 to 2014. Her leadership has included the provision of support and oversight for I.M.D. activities in 60 countries along with supporting several new initiatives including; the International School of Missions, Cross-cultural training and outreaches during PAW Conventions, the Global Missions Round-table, the implementation of the International Missions website, social media implementation (Facebook), the Global Presence publications, international witnessing tracks, videos and the creation of the International Missions logo.

 

Prior to her elevation to Bishop, Dr. Reide continued to labor faithfully in Ghana with a team of committed volunteer religious and humanitarian workers under the leadership of Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, and Bishop Gary Harper. In 2000 Pastor Charles H. Ellis III was elevated to the office of Bishop and assigned to the newly designated Ghana West Africa 41st Episcopal Diocese. In 2011 Pastor Gary Harper was elevated to the office of Bishop and assigned to the Ghana West Africa 41st Episcopal Diocese. Her Ghana outreaches included free health screenings, women’s empowerment seminars, funding for female entrepreneurs to start or expand their businesses, nutrition projects for children and their families, and religious crusades.  

 

Bishop Reide has trained over 2000 religious and humanitarian volunteers to work in other countries. Dr Reide has worked with Heads of State including Presidents and Ambassadors; along with Ministries for Women and Children Affairs, Health, Education, Culture and Religion, as well as key NGO and religious groups in the countries of Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, India, Liberia, Cameroon, Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas and Barbados. In 2015 Bishop Reide coordinated the first National Women in Ministry Conference, in Lansing MI.

 

Bishop Mona Reide is married to Attorney Jerome L. Reide, Ph.D., and is the mother of five children: Malik, Maisha, Maya, Asantewa and Asante; and has six grandchildren: Karaan Bey-Forbes, Sydney Forbes, Kayla Yeboah, Kezia Yeboah and Kwame Yeboah Jr. She has an earned doctorate from Wayne State University and a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan. Her religious studies were through Aenon Bible College. Her professional background includes 34 years in the academic and nonprofit arena. Including providing academic oversight for programs with an annual budget of $50 million dollars, a staff of 300 employees across the state of Michigan and 20 professional academic staff members that have had a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of families around the world.