May 14, 2007

Dear Friends,

Bonjour from Congo! We have just started the long dry season where we should see little or no rain for the next four months. The mornings are cool and breezy but unlike the United States in the summer, the winds die down as the day goes on and the sun heats up the land. Today, Nancy recorded a temperature of 100 degrees in the shade outside our house. We have never seen such high temperatures here, particularly in the dry season, our winter. We are glad to live in a brick and concrete house with high ceilings and not in a village hut. 

So much for the weather report!  In April and thus far in May, we have been blessed with a lot of visitors representing the three critical areas of mission in Congo: education, evangelism, and health and development. The groups included Rob Weingartner from the Outreach Foundation; Jimmy Hite and Chip Lambert from the Medical Benevolence Foundation; Cheri Harper and Pauline Rowles from Presbyterian Women; Toya Hill a PC(USA) journalist; Bob Ellis, Joy Raatz, and JoAnn Saunders from PC(USA)’s International Health Ministries; Tom and Jan Sullivan from Chicago Presbytery; Jeff Boyd and Larry Sthreshley, two other PC(USA) co-workers. Toward the end of May, we will have the pleasure of hosting friends from Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Malnourished kids eat well today at the Tshikaji nutriton center.

Visits from the outside world are essential components for the three aspects of mission described above. The Congolese are warm, loving, and industrious but face obstacles beyond imagination. Rather than trying to imagine, we want people from the “developed” world to come and witness for themselves. The advantages of the modern world are simply beyond the reach of the Congolese. Development in Congo requires partnership. We all like to think that we could pull ourselves up by our bootstraps if we fell on hard times. We probably could, living in a nation of great opportunity and advanced technology. But when, as in Congo, there is no opportunity or technology, such a thought is only a dream. Their dreams require outside participation and investment, both economic and political. The Congolese people abound in faith in our Lord. They deserve the same opportunities that we in the rich world enjoy. 

We had some notable joys with our guests. When groups come to visit, their time is usually heavily planned in visiting and touring church institutions and buildings. They really never have a chance to get to know the ordinary people. Here, that would be the villagers. Nancy was privileged to be able to take several visitors into the village and show them the ongoing works in health, education, and individual and community development. All were very impressed and pleased to see the village health center and maternity that we have discussed in previous newsletters. They were especially happy to see both the good design (including solar power) and construction of the center as well as the tremendous service that it is providing to 9,000 villagers. Pauline and Cheri (from Presbyterian Women) held newborn village babies and distributed baby layettes made by the loving hands of the Presbyterian Women of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Sarasota, Florida. 

The group was able to see moringa trees everywhere in the village (1,000 households). After just one hour walking through the village, they started to point out “Over there is another moringa tree!” They visited the Tshikaji Health Zone office, learning of the progress in important community health and development projects and programs, as well as spending time with the 61 children currently being treated at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Center.

They also visited the women and children living at the Presbyterian Women’s housing for indigent peoples. These sites are adjacent to, or part of IMCK and the Good Shepherd Hospital, which continues to be a gem in an otherwise bleak landscape. We say “gem,” as Good Shepherd continues to provide excellent education to laboratory, nursing, and medical students as well as medical residents and other physicians who come here for continuing education. All the while, the hospital demonstrates a Christian spirit in providing excellent health care for the sick, often in the form of charity care. 

When outside visitors come to Tshikaji, we encourage and facilitate their engaging in a meaningful way with the villagers, who represent the poorest of the poor in Congo. However, they are also the people with the biggest hearts and deepest faiths. In speaking with these Congolese and bearing witness to their stories of struggle and suffering, our lives can be enriched. The reassuring strength and comfort that comes from simple, basic things, including a love of life and of God, is obvious in their every action of every day. This strength is something that the poor in Congo have and something that we in the rich world desperately need. And it is free! Their needs are to be healthy, educated, and have an opportunity to earn a good living. These very things that we take for granted are tremendous daily struggles for the Congolese. For them, there are no guarantees. 

The Presbyterian Women's housing in Tshikaji for vulnerable women is in dire need of stabilization and repair.

In spite of all this, the Congolese (especially the women hard at work in the fields in this horrible heat) sing, dance, praise God, and enjoy the lives that they have. Women who are unable to work in the fields due to disabilities and illness are taken care of in different ways. Some are grateful to live in the housing provided by Tshikaji Presbyterian Women. Jimmy Hite, a visiting architect from MBF, noted recently that the columns you see in the picture are held up only by the weight of the roof.  They are leaning, with eroded foundations and could fall and injure someone at any time. We are asking you for prayers and donations for the renovation of this decaying building, which can be sent to ECO 320402/PW housing/Haninger. To give online, click the "give" button at the bottom of the page.

We are sent as missionaries to serve the Word of God. The good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, granting us eternal life, brings hope to our neighbors. Looking at the day-to-day life of Jesus we see a ministry where He dealt daily with what was “here and now.” He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and spoke out against the economic abuses that brought about poverty. He addressed the suffering of marginalized people, rebuking leaders of the religious community who were the oppressors.

 “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

We in Congo pray this daily. Let us make it be so!

Our Love from Congo

Mike and Nancy

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 313