February 7, 2006

Dear Friends,

Recently there was very good news from Congo. In the first vote in over 40 years, the citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo accepted a new constitution, which provides a basis for national presidential elections planned for this year. This doesn’t solve all of the problems of Congo, but it is another positive step along the way to a brighter future for the people of this country, which has been exploited and under oppression for 500 years. A stable government that is answerable to the people sets the stage for progress. All of these changes bring hope.

We have been in the United States since the end of last May, and Mike continues treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Since our last newsletter, it was decided to biopsy the residual mass beneath Mike’s breast bone. This was accomplished with some drama due to bleeding from the vessels coursing through the residual tumor, which is mostly scar tissue. According to the chest surgeon, “there was blood spraying everywhere.” However, the surgeon was able to get a good look at the tumor and good biopsies, which showed no active tumor. Now the plan is to proceed with high-dose chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. This chemo will also kill the marrow, which will need to be replaced via bone marrow transplant. If adequate stem cells can be collected from Mike, they will use them for the transplant. When we met with the transplant doctor, he asked if we had hopes to return to Congo. We replied, “Yes!” He responded, “That should not be a problem” once Mike’s immune system has sufficiently recovered. The timing on that recovery is not predictable, although it will be many months. We feel quite blessed and very hopeful.

This is consistent with the vision of Good Shepherd Hospital, which currently serves as a training site for over 100 doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians.

The community health and development projects supported by the church and Tshikaji health center continue to respond to the needs of many women and children, widows and orphans. Charity health care is provided to hundreds of villagers—vaccinations, maternity care, medicines to treat malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infections. The new village maternity center opened in 2005 and now provides a safe and clean environment for village women to birth their babies. It has four rooms: a two-bed labor room, a delivery room, and two eight-bed postpartum wards. Soon a new solar lighting system will be installed to facilitate “after hours” births.

The Tshikaji women’s development classes flourish, with hand-sewing and math instruction being added to literacy training, French language, and health and nutrition classes. More than 100 enthusiastic village women and girls are enrolled in the classes, which are free to the villagers. The community agriculture project provides seeds and educational support to 25 collective fields, double last year’s number! As a result, increased amounts of nutritious foods are available to feed malnourished children.

In Tshikaji, moringa trees are now growing in 85 percent of the households. Over 60 educational seminars, reaching over 7,000 people, have been held to instruct villagers about the causes of malnutrition and how to prevent and treat this horrible disease. Hundreds of severely malnourished children at our Malnutrition Rehabilitation Center have been treated with moringa leaf powder, a rich nutritional supplement containing large quantities of protein, iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, and B vitamins.

God’s Peace

Mike and Nancy

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 317