Slug Devotion

Look at what I almost stepped on today when I opened my front door. Ew. A little while later, he crawled through the crack under my door and came into the living room for a look-see.

Daniel thought it was cool. When you have a boy, you get to learn things you might not have ever thought you needed to know. Or wanted to. This, for example, is what happens when you touch one of these creatures. When they react this way, they form a suction with the floor, so trying to get one out of the house is like trying to scrape tar off your shoe with a cotton ball.

It gave us an interesting disruption to our day and made me think again about how big that crack under the door is. Whether we have holes in the screens or cracks in the doors, they are openings that allow unwelcome guests into our home. When we have holes in our spiritual armor, they allow entry for unwelcome guests of another sort. Things like anger, fear, envy, etc. We have to spend time with God, study his Word, and exercise our faith to keep our armor in good condition.

Otherwise, we might find ourselves facing something ugly in our life that is difficult to get rid of.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph 6:13-17

Sew Exciting!

With all its problems and challenges, DRC is also a place where God is present, active and doing exciting things. Thursday just happened to be a real cool beans day, chock full of reminders of God's love for the people of Congo. I have been feeling bad about not posting and sharing about it sooner, but maybe this is good timing. Today, I became once again a stuck-at-home stay-at-home mom. Our car, which is fairly new-to-us still, has a head issue. (It is a Burton, after all.) So, today turned out to be a good day to share all the good stuff God has been doing here and remind myself what is really important. (However, I won't object if y'all pray for our transportation problem.)

Thursday morning I went to the Maison de Couture (Bandal Center) with Jill. I was excited to see some young ladies working there who I first met as students at the Mitendi Center. They had graduated and are now in the internship program at Bandal. While we were there a young girl came to speak with Jill. She had heard about the Mitendi Center and wanted to know more about attending!



My job was to inspect piles of zippered pouches. Those that did not pass inspection were set aside to be corrected. While I studied zippers, Jill was in an impromptu meeting with a woman who had dropped by to see her.

Mama Myala and Jill Lowery

Her name is Mama Myala, and I am so glad I got to meet her! After she left, I learned from Jill that Mama Myala is a literacy expert and trains literacy teachers. She goes anywhere she is invited, and in 2005, she made contact with a tribe of Batwa people (pigmies) who invited her to stay with them in the forest and teach them to read. She goes back, by a combination of truck and canoe, as often as she can to teach and to encourage them in their faith. Mama Mayala had come to talk with Jill about some Batwa girls who want to learn to be seamstresses. She asked if she could get them to Kinshasa, could they live and study at Mitendi Women's Center? Jill was able to tell her that there are people who give money for scholarships so that girls do not get turned away for lack of funds! 

Mama Myala is hands and feet of Jesus to this tribe of Batwa and to others by bringing the message of the gospel and by empowering them to read the Word of God. Please pray for her and for her ministry to these isolated people. If you are interested in helping the Mitendi Center with scholarships, you can let me know and I can connect you with Jill.

Thursday afternoon, our MAF team met at the airport for a dedication ceremony for our "new" PC-12. Our program has been hoping and praying for this plane for several years! It will enable us to reach more people at greater distances with the life changing message of Christ and with medical supplies, etc. 




Having a dedication ceremony did more than just cement our commitment to be servants and to glorify God with the plane. It brought our national staff and our expat staff together and reinforced our shared purpose and unity. It also gave us a unique opportunity to publicly share with others who work at the airport our reason for being here and the Savior whose love compels us. Pray for our pilots, mechanic, office staff, program manager, moms at home, and the people and ministries we serve here.

Ebola and MAF in Congo

Preparing to fly supplies to Boende, photo by Nick Frey

In our last prayer letter, we asked readers to pray for a quick end to the ebola outbreak and for all the medical personnel, patients, and officials affected by this virus. The outbreak began last March in a remote area in Guinea, and spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. Since we wrote that plea just a few weeks ago, the virus has gained momentum instead of slowing. Ebola has spread to Senegal and to a new area in Guinea that was previously unaffected. Last week alone nearly 400 people died, bringing the total deaths to more than 1,900. One hundred twenty health care workers have died.

Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in outbreaks that happened concurrently in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is named for the river near the afflicted village in Congo. Since then, there have been over 20 known ebola outbreaks in Africa, eleven of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

More people have died in the current outbreak than in all of the previously known outbreaks combined. 

Another change since our prayer letter was written is that an unrelated ebola outbreak of a different strain is now here in Congo. To date there have been 53 confirmed cases and 31 deaths in the Boende District. DRC has a lot of experience with ebola and the area was quickly quarantined. Boende is in a remote area, 542 kilometers from Kinshasa, and not easily accessible. That makes it more difficult for the virus to spread, but it also makes it more challenging to get needed medical personnel and supplies in. This is where MAF comes in.

MAF has actively helped in past outbreaks and our team here is already making flights to Boende with medical teams and equipment and flying back with samples for the labs in Kinshasa. One very specific way you can pray is for a portable laboratory so that medical personnel can make a diagnosis within hours instead of waiting for days to confirm if someone has ebola or not.

Please pray. Ask God to burden his people to pray and to give us hearts that are broken over the pain, agony and death that people are suffering.

Pray for all affected.

Pray for an end soon. WHO is projecting that up to 20,000 people may become infected before this outbreak can be brought to an end. I am praying that they are WRONG.

Pray for the suffering economies of the affected countries as commerce has been greatly hindered. 

Pray for the governments and people in authority who have to make decisions about how to contain the virus.

Pray for believers to have strong faith and to be instruments of peace and calm when others are feeling afraid and panicky.

Pray for opportunities for people to hear the gospel and find hope and salvation in Christ.

Click here to read an MAF press release about our connection to the current outbreak.

Click here to learn more about the history of ebola, courtesy of the World Health Organization.