October 1, 2007

Dear Friends,

A lot of our service in the Congo is to encourage development; either community or personal development. This requires a problem-solving methodology: identify and analyze the problem, evaluate possible solutions, establish a plan of action, and then implement and evaluate the plan. Periodic assessments are then done using measurable indicators, indicating some quantitative, observable, tangible behavioral or environmental change (i.e. numbers of children vaccinated, numbers of moringa trees distributed, etc.). The final step is to compare the situation at the end of the project with that at the beginning. Again, this is done with measurable outcome data. Some outcomes, however, only need to be experienced. These intangible results need no measurement—only acceptance of the obvious joy and profound gratitude that are beyond measure.

Basic rations to the neediest

We want to share with you stories about two such “projects.” The first involves Congolese Christians reaching out to people who are indigent due to age, infirmity, or social status (widows and orphans). Once a month, Presbyterian women and elders from the two local Tshikaji Presbyterian churches purchase and package subsistence items to be distributed to a group of 200 villagers who have been determined by the church membership to be truly indigent. Although we live in an area where everyone is quite poor and in need, these “indigent” people are the poorest, and they’ve been neglected, rejected, or abandoned by their families. They have nowhere to turn for help.

Tatu Kalonji, who is paralyzed by tuberculosis of the spine, is one of the beneficiaries of basic rations from the church elders.

In the last week of each month, the recipients arrive at the church, Elders and church members offer Scripture reading and pray with the poor and the sick. Then each person’s name is called and they are given an assortment of rations that include manioc flour, corn flour, soap, salt, palm oil, fish, and matches. They carefully wrap their rations in tattered squares of cloth that are normally used as bandanas. Often they are accompanied by a neighbor who helps them carry these gifts home, as they themselves are too frail. We don’t have to measure their weight (as we do with malnourished children) to see the effect of this program; you see it in the smiles of gratitude both in the faces of the recipients, such as Tatu Kalonji—who is paralyzed with spinal tuberculosis—and those of the church elders and church members, who through this program are given the opportunity as well as the means to reach out in Christian charity and kindness.

Sewing program

 Presbyterian Sewing Circle featuring Mamu Ntamba and the dress that she has sewn for her grandchild.

The second program is a village women’s sewing program. Most village ladies have never had any schooling or instruction in simple homemaking tasks such as sewing by hand. This program provides fabric, needles, thread, and instruction. The classes are taught each Sunday by two volunteers, Mamu Muboza and Mamu Ngalula, who have perfected these skills and are eager to share their knowledge and talents with other women. Congolese helping Congolese, women helping women! Please see the smile and imagine the feelings of delight and accomplishment as Baba Ntumba, a class member, said, “Now my little granddaughter Kanku will have this pretty dress to wear to church. I feel so happy that I could make this gift for her with my own hands!”

These dear ladies, who are viewed in Congolese culture as being inferior to men, have gained a greater sense of self-worth by learning a valuable skill that helps them and all the members of their family. You cannot measure this sense of worth objectively, but the tears in your eyes and the swell in your heart as you witness the true joy of these women is a far greater measure than any statistical analysis could ever produce.

We hope that through the photos of Kalonji and Ntumba that accompany this letter that you, too, will experience some of that same joy. You are such a part of all of these lives. We are all doing mission in a partnership of love. It is because of your support and prayers that all these lives are being changed. We, as the church community, have been blessed with the means and have been given the opportunity to share those resources. The Congolese are blessed, not only to receive your gifts, but to be able to function as friends in a community of “one helping the other who is less fortunate.”

In Matthew 19:26, Jesus said, “but for God, all things are possible.” Isn’t it wonderful and amazing that God chooses to act through all of us, blessing us with the joy of understanding what it means to truly love our neighbor as ourselves?

Our love from the Congo,

Mike and Nancy

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