November 22, 2005
Dear Friends and Family,
I just finished teaching my third English class to some Congolese
seminarians, and I loved it. I am now in the library of the seminary—La
Institute Superieur de Theologique de Booth, and Walt is teaching
in the next classroom, in French, the book of Galatians. There
are concrete floors and walls, one slow fan, which the librarian
just asked of me if I wanted it to go faster, a blackboard that
says “Silence dans la biblioteque s.v.p.,” two tables
and two small desks, where four students are studying. Ten metal
bookshelves hold mostly old books. Walt has begun teaching systematic
theology, Galatians, and a course called “The Implication
of the Gospel on Leaders.” He knows he’s in over his
head, but he also feels God’s help because of your prayers.
Sometimes a student will say “Say it in Tshiluba!”
and he does, and then one will translate that into French, and
then they all say, “Ah!, now we understand!”
We are thankful and happy to be here, and almost daily say “This
is Africa! We’re here!” with big grins. When we attended
the InterVarsity Missionary Convention in Urbana in 1976, we thought
God was calling us then to go overseas! We knew life could be
a challenge overseas but because we had both been missionary kids,
we thought He would send us soon because of our desire. But He
had us wait for 29 years for His good purposes. Were we ready
for these little “normal occurrences” of life here—the
electricity or water cuts off usually once a day, an African driver
yells in Lingala (the tribal language common to Kinshasa) at Walt
as he pulls into their lane, the roof leaks on one of the children’s
beds, neighbors having an argument late at night, or, best of
all, eating delicious pineapple or papaya every day!
Evangeline (17), Theo (13), and Sarah (12) are enjoying their
new school, the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK). There are
some Christian teachers and many Hindu and Muslim students as
well as missionary students. Our children are challenged by the
amount of homework, and Theo and Sarah have difficulty with tests
or pop-quizzes, which is understandable because I have home-schooled
them until now. But they are getting good grades, for which we
are grateful. Theo tore ligaments in both feet three days after
we arrived, and it was four weeks before he could walk. He is
now swimming and playing tennis and says they hurt a little sometimes,
so we are thankful for God’s healing.
Walt and I have a French (Congolese) teacher who comes on Friday
mornings. We also speak French with our workers—Fifi, who
cooks, cleans, and irons, and Mbala, Timoté, and André,
who guard the house on rotating 12-hour shifts. They sweep, wash
the jeep, pull weeds, open and shut the gate for us, and run errands.
I practice my French with them, so it’s good for me.
Our church, the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa,
begins at 11:15-11:30 on Sundays. Starting time varies because
a French congregation meets there at 10:00, so we start after
they adjourn. The service is in English, but we have a Congolese
choir that sings French, English, or Lingala, and they are fantastic!
We are blessed every Sunday by their singing. We had them in our
home one Sunday in October and they gave us a personal concert—everything
from a “Sanctus” to a Lingala children’s song
with hand motions. Tears were brimming in our eyes!
I attend a Bible study with American women—one of Beth
Moore’s “Fruit of the Spirit” series—and
am blessed by it. There are at least five other small groups in
the church, of which I have visited two. We pray that we can gather
the names of the regular attendees (many are Congolese, but they
can’t become members because of a by-law written by the
Evangelical Community of the Congo many years ago) so that the
internationals can get to know each other and the Congolese, and
so that we may grow together in unity as a body of believers.
We would also appreciate your prayers for Walt as he preaches
and teaches. I am open to what God wants me to do in either the
church or the seminary, but I know that just learning French and
Lingala will take up most my time this year.
Going downtown is hectic. There are no rules for driving, the
roads are full of pot holes, rocks, or trash, and you may be pulled
over by a traffic police who names some minor infraction and asks
you to pay him $30 so that you don’t have to drive with
him to the bureau! It is tragic that public servants are not paid,
so they expect hand-outs or bribes to survive. There is no infrastructure
in Kinshasa, but there is supposed to be an election sometime
in December or next June. Last June’s election was postponed,
so one of our big prayer requests is that God will raise up men
and women of integrity—those who work for the good of the
people—to lead this nation.
We are thrilled by the visit of our children Walter, Jim, and
Colleen this Christmas! Jim and Colleen are, respectively, senior
and freshman at Clemson University and Erskine College in South
Carolina.
May our gracious God in His covenant meet you with hope, faith,
and strength for whatever He has placed in front of you to do.
Val, for Walt and children |
