No More Anonymity

photo credit: Sandy Francis

I don't know why but in the last week my comment box has had a plethora of spam comments, most of them  benign but some are offensive. Since I moderate all comments, this saved my blog from having them posted all over the place but my email box has been flooded with them. So...I am not allowing anonymous comments anymore, since that is the avenue the spammers use. Can you still post comments? Yes. But now you must identify yourself using either your own URL, AIM or OpenID. If you have an ID with Google (think gmail), Yahoo, Blogger, Flickr, MySpace, AOL, or WordPress then you already have an OpenID and you can find out what it is by clicking HERE. I'm sorry for the inconvenience but I really would not look good if I pulled all my hair out and this was the alternative. Many of you already know me and prefer to send me comments via facebook or email, and that's fine too.

The Christmas season is the time of year when I get the most interaction with our national staff, even though David sees many of them several times a week. In addition to the Christmas worship service we do together for people who work at the airport (see photo above of David and some of the other guys singing!), we also have an annual Christmas meal together with Congolese food. I really like the fact that we work with our nationals to do the Christmas outreach event because besides sharing the gospel with others, it reminds all of our MAF staff that we are in ministry together.

Remember this? Last September we paid the local vet to spay our kitten, Lily. She nearly died afterward of complications. I suspected pneumonia.

We are about 95% sure that our SPAYED kittie is pregnant. We just went through this less than a year ago with her mama, Piper, and all the symptoms are the same. I was there for Lily's surgery and SAW the vet remove SOMETHING, but obviously it wasn't what he thought it was...

...anybody want a kitten?

We are having a wonderful time visiting with Josh! We had a nice, relaxing family Christmas with devotions and gifts and homemade treats and a ham dinner. I am working on a new post but might not have it up by tomorrow. I'm still getting used to our new computer (Christmas gift, yaay!) and our internet has been unpredictable. Pray for our water situation. We are out again, so tomorrow morning David will have to drive the truck to haul water for the third time this week. When we moved here the water was great and we never ran low. We have no idea why suddenly it's off most of the time.

Something Better

African daisy photo credit: Jon Sullivan, www.public-domain-image.com

Someone sent a link to me for an article about sacrifice. When I read it, I cried. It just is not your typical write up or sermon about sacrifices where we are either told that we aren't willing enough to make sacrifices, that we don't make enough sacrifices, or that we should minimalize sacrifices we have made because we are somehow holier if we do not admit that serving God can sometimes be hard. Jesus came here prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, his very life, for people who weren't even grateful, and He told us that following Him meant taking up a cross. I don't know about you but that sounds hard.

The writer, Rachel Pieh Jones, is not whining or bitter about sacrifices, but she is honest. She points out that a sacrifice is giving up something precious for something better down the road, and that if we deny the reality of the sacrifice, we cheapen the reward. If have ever loved a missionary or been one, her article, "Why I Will Not Say I Never Made A Sacrifice" is well worth the time.

Some days are hard here. I have only been overseas two years and I have lost three relatives and had to miss their funerals, I've missed the birth of my nephew, missed holidays and birthdays with loved ones, sent a son off to college 6,000 miles away, and missed my daughter's first day of school because I was across the ocean having surgery. The separation from my family and friends IS a sacrifice. The lack of water (none here for the last few days and right now we are out) and electricity and law and order ARE sacrifices. That's not whining. That's reality. Do I ever want to tell God the price is too high? Honestly, there have been a few moments when I did. But what if God had said that when He had to decide whether or not He would sacrifice his Son for me? What if Jesus had said it?

Some days though, I get a glimpse of that "something better" and I am in awe that He would use me here. It happened today during our annual Christmas outreach at the airport where my husband works with the rest of our MAF guys. We were all sitting in the hangar. A crowd was gathered to hear how and why Jesus came to earth, a choir was singing traditional praises to God in Lingala, and in the background, I could see one of our pilots taking off in an MAF plane. Other days it's a hug from an orphan, or a warm greeting from a vendor, or a laugh shared with someone. It could be a conversation about God with my guard or a report of lives given to Christ or a life saved. Some days it's just an amazing sunrise while I'm having coffee with God, as if He put on the whole show just for me.

We are incredibly grateful to be here. I won't deny there are sacrifices. But there is also "something better."

I'm not on the "A-list."

My portion of this post will be short today because other things are getting priority this week. Our son, Josh is back for a visit after a year's absence and we are relishing every minute. We've really enjoyed doing things together as a family again, talking and catching up, and just basking in his glow (kidding, but we ARE very happy just to have him around).

We love our new home and all its little quirks, but we have not been enjoying the regular flooding we've been experiencing every time it rains. Since this is rainy season, we are talking about several floods a week in our basement. One area is just for storage. Another area was a laundry room until David rerouted the plumbing and wiring for me and moved the machines up so I wouldn't have to go down steps in the dark or in the rain. But one room is for our guards to keep their stuff in and to have a place that is theirs. Here's a picture of the water line from the flooding. It's over two feet high.







Part of the problem was trash (coke bottles, motor oil, broken dishes, old soccer ball, etc) that had washed down into our drainage system. A huge part of the problem, though was our neighbor's yard. This drainage ditch runs through several yards, the entire length of our backyard, and drops off into a ravine that feeds the nearby river. When it works properly, those concrete slabs are over the culvert, rain water drains into pipes like the one in this photo and travels out of the yard. But in our yard, instead of water going into the pipes, sand is washing out of them and water is flooding the yard and the basement.

Matthew came over and the guys started prying up the concrete and found that our culvert was filled 12 inches deep with sand that had washed down from the neighbor's yard! So the neighbor is getting a new retaining wall and repairing his side of the problem. An unexpected blessing with that is that one of our guards is skilled in concrete work and masonry and will get the job, so his family will have a little extra money this month.




I wanted to write something inspirational for Christmas but haven't been able to get my brain to switch to creative mode. My friend Shawn Lantz wrote a piece about the birth of the King for her blog that I think is well worth reading. She makes several good points, one of which is that the shepherds who received the birth announcement would not have made society's "A-list" and those who would have at the time were unaware of the birth of Christ. I will never make the "A-list" by society's standards either, but because Jesus humbled Himself and came as a baby for me, I am now a daughter of the King! Check out Shawn's article, "A Foolish Birth Announcement."

Hurting for Newtown

Remembering (Photo credit: Puzzler4879 (Thank You for 500K Views))

I just don't even have words adequate or appropriate for what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut yesterday. This did not happen in a country at war, such as Congo, at least not on the surface. I have no doubt there is a spiritual war. Our country needs Jesus, just as DRC does.

When I saw the news last night, I cried. For those moms and dads, those kids, that community, the father of the shooter who lost a son under such awful circumstances, and my nation. I went to David and told him what happened and the news was so horrible and stunning that he asked me if I was sure it really happened and wasn't some sort of sick social media rumor. I'm still crying. I don't know how anyone can not be heartbroken and grieving over this.

Today I am still alternating between shocked and crying. I can't even imagine how much worse it must be for those immediately affected, those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries.

And yet, I am thankful that my heart is broken. The alternative is far worse. I would rather mourn with those who mourn, as painful as it is, than be desensitized or unable to feel compassion, love, or mercy.

I am thankful and encouraged to see so many responding so quickly to offer whatever they can to comfort and help. It gives me hope.

I am thankful for teachers who acted quickly to protect children.

I am thankful that as a Christian I can go boldy in prayer to my Father in behalf of others, knowing that He loves them and that this did not catch Him by surprise.

Praying for comfort and healing, and for hearts to turn to God who loves them and wants them to know it. Father, please pour your mercy and grace on the families in Newtown and help them in their time of need.

"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Cool Lingala Beans!

Lord's Prayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I've mentioned in the past that my friend Christine's husband pastors a Congolese church here, and that she leads a Bible study for the women twice a month in her home. She invited me to be part of that long ago and I really enjoy being able to help in whatever way I can, even if it's just serving snacks and answering the door. Most of the women know French but a few do not speak it well. The dominant language is Lingala, so much of the time I sit listening but not comprehending. I have a special place in my heart for the women of this country and I often wish I knew Lingala so I could better communicate with them.

Now I am getting an opportunity to help Christine more, be involved with many of the same women that come to her Bible study group, AND learn Lingala! Some of the women wanted to learn English so Christine is teaching them and invited me to come. I can help them with pronunciation and since I speak French, I can also help the ladies by explaining to them what some of their strange new English words mean in French or by giving them the English word when they give me a French word. They in turn teach me the Lingala words and correct my pronunciation.

Lingala (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Over ten million people speak Lingala as either their primary or secondary language. Lingala is spoken in Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congo Republic, Angola, and Central African Republic.





I don't know how long it will take me to learn Lingala on a proficient level, nor where it might take me in the future or how God might use it. I do know I am excited about this opportunity to learn the language and to build relationships with these women and help them reach their goal to learn English.

Dirty Jobs: Kinshasa

crosstown traffic (Photo credit: FredR)

People in Kinshasa make their living in varied and resourceful ways. By far one of the toughest jobs I see people doing on a daily basis is the job of the pus pus. If Mike Rowe came to Kinshasa to film an episode of “Dirty Jobs,” he might very well spend a day with a pus pus. In Lingala, “kopusa” means, “to push”, and a “pus pus” (poos poos) is a cart with two wheels and handles on both ends. For a fee, a man with a pus pus will come and transport items for you from one place to another. If it fits in the cart or can be tied to it, they will haul it. It’s a hot, hard, dirty, and dangerous job. Nine months out of the year the temperature averages upper nineties by midday. There are a lot of hills in Kinshasa, and very few sidewalks, so these guys are forced to push their carts in the streets. They can’t go very quickly and traffic is terrible. I have seen one get hit by a car and the driver just kept on going.

What sorts of things ride around town in a pus pus? Some cargo we have seen:

Garbage
Scrap iron
Pieces of a car
Tires
Lumber
Firewood
Bags of cement
Gravel
Furniture
Plants/flowers
Jugs of water
Sheets of tin
Live chickens and goats
A live adult cow (our favorite thus far)

The pus pus is a vital service in a city with a poor infrastructure. I have never seen a U-Haul or a moving van here. You can pay a neighborhood company for basic trash service. The company in our new neighborhood is called VDT or Vie Décente pour Tous (Decent Life for All). For ten dollars, they will give me eight flimsy garbage sacks. If your trash won’t fit into their bags, they won’t take it. Each week they send a tiny flat bed truck which is kind of like a modified three wheeler to collect everyone’s full bags. Where it goes, nobody knows, but if you can't burn it or bury it, that's your only option for trash removal. There are city trash receptacles, but they are few and far between and when the trash gets hauled from them in the big trucks, no one I have asked knows where it goes. There is a small river near my house, lined on both sides with garbage. There are mounds of garbage at the bottom of my hill. Mounds of garbage line the river banks we pass as we drive through the city. I am always hoping that none of that garbage is mine.

Remember this? That was our back porch the day we moved in. There was also stuff about the yard like shower stalls, plumbing parts, and old garbage from the previous tenants. I remember being tired and overwhelmed already with the unpacking, not having water pumped into the house yet, not being able to use a stove, and the work on the house we still had to do and then I saw this and just wanted to cry.

As of this week, my porch looks like this!
(Kudos to my amazing husband who came home exhausted every day and then worked on the big plumbing leak, the outlet with 400 volts, and ran new plumbing and wiring so I could have my washer and dryer close at hand!)

Where did all our garbage go? 

I would bet that even this gentleman doesn't know its final destination. We had to hire him to bring his pus pus cart and haul the big stuff away. I’m sure he thought I was crazy when I went out to shake his hand and say hello, and crazier still when I asked if I could take his picture. It was probably a good thing that I stopped myself short of calling him my hero. 

We paid someone to take the yuck from our home and make it clean. Today I am thankful for a Savior who takes my sin as far as the east is from the west and cleanses my heart. Please say a prayer for all the men and boys in Congo who push the pus pus carts, for their safety and for them to come to know the One who can take their “garbage” and sin away and give them clean hearts.

Mistaken for a Tomato

Tomatoes (Photo credit: burgundavia)

Saturday I was invited to a "spa night." Every few months a group of us expat ladies will grab our plastic tubs and favorite nail polish and gather for a little pampering at my friend Christine's house. Christine always lights candles, makes a pretty display of all her scrubbies, soaps, lotions, etc, and heats tubs of water. We soak our feet, chit chat, polish our nails, and just enjoy some time to relax and unwind. Feet take a real beating here, and so can your sanity, so we sort of help both areas at the same time. We always have such a good time that we all agree to have "spa nights" more frequently, but everyone has different family dynamics, ministries, and obligations so it is hard to find time when we are all available.

A couple of days later I was talking to our guard, Leopold, when I felt something hit my toe. I looked down and the chicken was going to town trying to eat my toes. I shooed her away. She came back, pecking determinedly. Leopold shooed her away. Again she returned. As I shuffled from foot to foot while trying to finish our conversation, he finally grinned and said "She thinks your toes are tomatoes." I can honestly say I had never before been mistaken for a tomato, and it struck me funny.

We say and hear a lot of things here that we don't think anything about, but in a "first-world" setting, would sound bizarre. Here are a few more examples:

"Turn off the hot water heater BEFORE you turn on the a/c or you'll overload the voltage regulator."

"Don't turn your car lights on before it gets really dark or you'll get pulled over for impersonating a celebrity." (This really did happen to a friend of mine.)

Lily in hiding!

"Don't let your kitten out of the yard. If you do someone will eat it."

"We don't have school Friday because there's supposed to be a riot."

"I'm pretty sure I have worms."

"I got electrocuted today." "Again?" "Yeah."

"How did you get that bruise on your shoulder?" "I walked into a door knob." (Houses here have ridiculously high door knobs.)


More quotes from Congo: Give Me Back My Ziplock Bag

What's Happening?

English: Bunia, Ituri, RDC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We had a crazy rain storm last night. Water was coming down faster than it could drain out of the yard so we soon had water up to the bottom of our jeep, in the laundry room, and in the room our guards use. Our internet was knocked out by lightning and won't be back until at least Monday, so I'm at a friend's house, drinking her tea and enjoying her air-conditioning while I borrow her internet. Woohoo! Let's hear it for friends!

In Make a Difference Today! I wrote about an opportunity to help MAF send vaccines for children in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Giving Tuesday. We surpassed our goal of 100,000 vaccines! If you click HERE you can view a thank you video that features two of our team members from here in Kinshasa.

I wanted to give you an update on what is going on in the east and how it might be affecting MAF staff. If you haven't seen the news about Goma and the rest of east DRC recently, you can check my posts Days of Evil and The Media May Ignore Congo but Christians Cannot. Here is the latest update from the MAF website:

Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo — 11-29-2012 — MAF pilots in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, report that things feel relatively “normal” in this eastern DRC town, despite insecurity in other parts of the region.

Bunia is located some 325 miles north of Goma, the city of one million inhabitants that was taken over by the M23 rebel group last week.

Though many NGOs have evacuated their staff in the region, the three MAF pilots in Bunia are conducting their usual flights for church, mission, and humanitarian organizations. Some of those flights this week included delivery of medicines and medical personnel, transport of a Bible translator and a medical patient, and conveyance of church workers to an area where they are conducting outreach activities. 

Amid riots last week, MAF relocated its families (including children) to Kampala, Uganda, on Tuesday, Nov. 20, leaving three pilots in Bunia to provide flights for those in need.

Last weekend, the people of Bunia celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the CECA 20/Africa Inland Mission church in the DRC. Thousands gathered at the city stadium for a lively time of worship and celebration. Many from outside of Bunia were in town to attend.

Here are some more recent articles:

Britain suspends Rwandan aid on DR Congo rebel support

M23 Rebels delay pullout

Please continue to pray for peace and healing for this volatile region.