Dear Friends,

Greetings and Merry Christmas to all! We arrived in Kinshasa, the capital city, on November 20. Our 2½-day trip gave us little chance for sleep, but much excitement and a whirlwind tour of London during an 11-hour layover on our second travel day. By now we have adjusted to the relocation, living on "Congo" time (jet lag), and are happily in full swing here!

While in Kinshasa awaiting our trip to Good Shepherd Hospital in the village of Tshikaji (near Kananga), we are staying at the Methodist Presbyterian Hostel, which is a basic but comfortable hostel used by many folks traveling in and out of Congo. Meals are served in a community dining room, affording us many opportunities to discuss critical health and social issues with visitors here.

Our time thus far in Kinshasa has been very busy, with many people to meet and things to take care of. We visited the U.S. Consulate and registered our residency embassy and are making application for 5-year resident Congo visas. Two trips to the Mission Aviation Foundation office were necessary to have our computers conformed by a terrific computer technician (whose wife had their first baby two weeks ago) for e-mail usage in Congo. This is a high-frequency-radio based system for remote areas without telephone.

We have had the great fortune to meet the coordinator for the SANRU III (SANRU stands for "Sante Rurale" that is, rural health), a multi-organizational partnership that does community health rebuilding and primary health care development in Congo. PC(USA) is a major partner and financial contributor to this five-year (2001-2006) project, along with USAID (United States Agency for International Development), ECC (Church of Christ of Congo), and IMA (Interchurch Medical Assistance). We were invited to attend a SANRU presentation at the USAID office that was both informative and illuminating. At that meeting we learned an alarming new statistic: in some regions of Congo today, 75 percent of all the babies born are dying from extreme malnutrition and disease before they reach the age of two. It seems that every day God is placing pivotal people on our path to assist us in seeing more clearly what our role might be in this country and how we can best be of service to God and our Congolese brothers and sisters.

Experiencing the sights and sounds of Kinshasa has served to be a life-changing event for us. The best estimate is that there are 7 million folks crowded into a city that for years has been ravaged and devastated by violence, pillaging, and disease. Many of the large office buildings are in ruins and are currently being used as makeshift housing. There is no sanitation, no safe water supply, no trash pickup, and intermittent electricity. To send a child to school is very expensive and uses a major percentage of the household budget, so many children are on the streets begging or trying to sell just about anything they can balance on top of their little heads (like a dish full of plastic baggies of water). We have driven though housing areas where the living conditions were unbelievable. To receive health care, one must have money "up front" and buy one’s medications. Therefore, many suffer without any medical services.

However, in spite of all this, the Congolese are quite warm and always greet us with huge smiles. We have frequently been asked "How are the people in New York doing?" as the Congolese are so saddened by the recent tragic terrorist events in our country. We’re constantly meeting amazing people who need so much and ask for so little. The last two Sundays we were pleased to attend services at the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa. What a great experience! The joy and spirit of love in that church was so inspiring, and the choir was fantastic! We wish we could record some of the music here so you all could enjoy the beauty of Congolese voices praising God with such great enthusiasm.

One day recently, Dr. Makambo, a Congolese physician, took us to two Presbyterian health centers. First we went to a maternal/child health center providing maternity services (prenatal and delivery), childhood immunizations and growth-monitoring, women’s health, and contraceptive care. A short drive from there was a general medical clinic and nutrition center for the treatment of malnourished children. Later that day, we toured the Protestant University of Kinshasa, with Dr. Murray Nickel, a Canadian Mennonite missionary and emergency room physician who spent much of his childhood in Congo.

Murray and his wife, Faith, are working in development projects that empower the people. The university has a medical school, and we spoke with many faculty and staff there. This was a powerful experience that we will share more fully in future newsletters. It is truly amazing how good a job people can do with so few resources when they are motivated by love. However, we don’t want to leave a "feel good" impression with that statement, as the huge disparity between our health systems is not consistent with "loving our neighbor as ourselves." Simply stated, the conditions were deplorable.

We ask that you pray in earnest for the dear people of Congo who suffer each day from the sad effects of extreme poverty: hunger and disease. Please pray also that God will continue to keep us on the path that has been selected as our work here.

With grateful appreciation for your support and encouragement.

Nancy and Mike Haninger

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 31