Mamicho

If you have read very many of my past posts, you'll recognize Maman Jackie in this photo. The gentleman in the middle is her cousin, Seraphin, and works for MAF here in DRC. Maman Jackie and I have had many occasions to work together and visit with one another at the Mitendi Center and the Bandal Center. She has been a volunteer teacher and mentor at both for a long time. 

Some weeks ago, my friend Shermeen told me about a family she was concerned about. Mamicho had no job or home and did not have a way to care for her three daughters. Her husband, gone for years, was presumed dead. She was at the mercy of others and they were living in dangerous circumstances, especially the girls. Mamicho was desperate.

We contacted Maman Jackie, who contacted other ladies in the CBCO Women's Ministry that oversees the Mitendi Center. And we prayed. Shermeen had friends who were willing to help with scholarships for Mamicho and the girls. The ladies were able to work out a plan to give Mamicho and her daughters a four-person dorm room to themselves. Mamicho was given a part time job on the Mitendi campus and is attending classes to learn to be a seamstress. The girls have all been enrolled in school. They now have food to eat, a safe place to sleep, and people who are helping them start a new life. They will also hear the gospel and receive biblical instruction and discipleship. I am still amazed at how God wove this story long ago, introducing me to Jill, who connected me with Maman Jackie. Then we moved to the TASOK campus and I got a chance to get to know Shermeen and was able to connect her with Maman Jackie. 

After Mamicho's family had time to settle in to their new home and routines, Shermeen and I, and our friend Ann, paid a visit to Mitendi to deliver some sewing supplies for the center, and to check on Mamicho and give her some clothes for the girls. 

Mamicho was excited to see Shermeen and to meet the rest of us. She was eager to tell us how well things were working out for her and the girls and how grateful she was.

I was very happy to once again get to visit Mitendi. It had been a long time. Papa Bienvenue greeted me and said "You are home!" I also really enjoyed helping him give Ann and Shermeen a little tour and explain the ministries that are in place there. 

Mamicho's older two girls are attending a secondary school, but her youngest is in the primary school at Mitendi Center.

Greeting the older girls. Besides learning job skills, the girls in the Mitendi program also have remedial education, literacy training, counseling, Bible class, and life skills classes.

These are mole crickets. They are about five times the size of regular crickets in the U.S. and they make a LOT of noise, starting at about dusk and going all night long. Some kids had dug these up and were selling them for food, after inflation they cost about a dollar a dozen. In case you wonder, the preferred preparation method is to fry them in hot oil. I did not buy any, but Maman Jackie did.

Maman Jackie, Mamicho and her daughters, and Shermeen. Please keep them in your prayers. Especially pray that Mamicho and her girls will come to know Christ, Defender of Widows and Father to the Fatherless.

This visit was bittersweet for me, because we are moving (explanation HERE in our latest newsletter) and it was my last visit. I am grateful that I had a chance to see Maman Jackie, Papa Bienvenue, Maman Excellente and the other staff members one more time and say goodbye to them, but it was hard to do. I will miss them.

Filling in and Chilling With the Girls

Photo courtesy of Mark and Kelly Hewes

Yesterday I went to the Bandal center to work with the ladies. Nothing unusual about that, except that I went without Jill. Nothing especially unusual about that either, except that instead of going to just pop in and say hello or to give out birthday treats, I was going there to get some work done. I am accustomed to having Jill around to tell me what she needs done, to help with any language barriers, and to organize our time. Jill is on a trip though, and things needed doing, so I put on my big girl britches and took myself to the center to see what I could do.

I checked on the progress of ongoing projects - whether they were completed, what problems they may have been having getting them completed, what items needed to be paid for and/or delivered, etc. They were just putting finishing touches on one project as I walked in, so after leaving the center I got to make a delivery to a happy customer.

I also enjoyed having a chance to ask how the ladies themselves were doing, to visit with them for a while, and to meet some new students from the Mitendi Center who have now joined us at Bandal. They were so much more shy and timid than the ladies I have been working with over the past year or so. They didn't even want to say their names loud enough for me to hear, so Elie had to repeat each one. It will be fun to watch them grow in their confidence and abilities, and I am praying that the more experienced ladies will take them under their wings and give them lots of help and moral support. Mama Jackie and Mama Elie will nurture them and be there to give them spiritual guidance as well as professional instruction.

photo courtesy of Mark and Kelly Hewes

Celebrating God's Greatness

I have wanted to share about this for a long time but we got so busy settling into our new  apartment and then helping Daniel transition from home school to the American School here that it is only just now happening. It seemed like whenever I had time to blog, that was also the time that Daniel needed my computer to do homework.

In August, The Women's Ministry arm of CBCO (Congolese Baptists) celebrated 50 years in ministry! I am not an official CBCO missionary or associate, but I do have the priviledge of being a volunteer, and so I was invited to attend the five day celebration. Due to transportation issues, I was only able to attend one day. That was disappointing because I had looked forward to this for a long time, but I still feel grateful that I got to be there for a small part of it and especially that the ladies even thought to invite me.

I am also especially grateful that the day I got to attend was the day of the march (parade). Getting permits to have a march is a big, expensive process in Kinshasa, so there aren't many opportunities to participate in one. This was my first. Jill and I, marching with thousands of Congolese ladies, were not. conspicuous. at. all. I had a blast!

We had a marching band, even!

The worship team. Excuse the bad photos. The lighting was terrible.

There was a special choir of women from several different churches. That's the choir in the background. This choir had many, many participants.

The congregaton. Over 5,000 women attended. Some travelled from the interior, which is no small sacrifice. 

We heard several guest speakers, including my friend Jill, but it was all in Lingala so I can't tell you much about the messages. I can tell you that there was an abundance of joy, gratitude, and enthusiasm. These women face circumstances that are unbelievably difficult on a daily basis, and they were overjoyed just to be there in God's house celebrating and worshipping together. The theme was "God has done great things for us" and the speakers recounted some of those things in their talks. 

When it came time for the offering, that too was a joyous event. There was no solemn, grave-faced passing of the plate. All 5,000 of us got up and while the worship team played music and danced, we marched and/or danced up to the front to place our offerings on the table. Most were singing. All were smiling. I realized that even for those who only had 500 francs (about 45 cents) to give, they saw it as a great privilege to show God their gratitude for his grace and work in their lives by giving to Him. It made me cry and it made me think with shame of times in my life when I have taken the privilege of meeting in God's house with other believers for granted or been ungrateful in my heart even in the very act of giving with my hands and saying thanks with my mouth.  

Cool Beans In Our Garden

We went to the Mitendi center today to deliver some fabric, sewing supplies, and paint. We also took pictures of the wall that people have been intentionally knocking down and destroying. 

Every time I return to Mitendi Center, more wall has been destroyed and it really saddens me. We used to have a nice five-foot tall wall. Now it is mostly in pieces on the ground, and there is no protection from squatters, thieves or garden-raiding wild animals.

It also saddens and angers me that people have come and built homes on land that is not theirs.

There are important dates coming up in the land case, so please continue praying for the judges to make a just decision soon.

Even though the long-going land case can at times be discouraging, some really coolbeans stuff is happening at the Mitendi Center and the Bandal Center so there are also lots of reasons to rejoice and be thankful.

The girls at Mitendi are learning to grow a garden. This helps offset the food costs and gives them knowledge that will serve them well when they graduate and go out on their own. Working hard, waiting for results, and reaping the reward also gives them a feeling of accomplishment and something to be proud of.

One of the foods they have been growing is Mbwengi, similar to black-eyed peas and very easy to prepare.

 The ladies in our internship program at Bandal have been learning to make cushions and covers for furniture and throw pillows. 

This is harder than you might think because most of the time when you purchase a couch or a set of furniture here, none of the cushions are the same size or even symmetrical so each piece has to be custom-fitted, whereas in the U.S. they would all be identical and one pattern would work for everything. It is a good skill to have because there is always a demand for new upholstery and pillow covers. 

A New Project

photo by Jill Lowery

For those who've been praying for the Mitendi Center and the court case, here is an update. In last week's post, I mentioned a need for prayer for Thursday's court date. The opposition requested, and was granted, a continuance, so everything has been pushed to next Thursday - Thanksgiving Day. That is not a Congolese holiday so that date was not significant to them, but my American friend who directs this ministry now has to spend her holiday sitting in a courtroom. Please continue praying for the center and for a right and just decision by the courts. And also pray for Jill, that in all this God will strengthen her, give her wisdom, and grant her a thankful heart, encouragement, and contentment in all situations.

We have been working on a new project with the girls at Bandal. These girls are graduates of the Mitendi Center and are in sort of an internship or apprenticeship phase, continuing to build their repertoire of sewing skills and improve them while earning money to support themselves. The new project is a request for several small, lined, zippered bags.

Many of them already have experience making zippered bags but we wanted everyone to use the same technique, follow the same pattern and sequence of steps, and practice precision. So we held a couple of workshops this week and last week, showing them how to do everything from tracing the pattern and cutting to doing the zippers and corners. They did the work, we just walked them through it. Then we supervised while they made more to be sure they "got it" and to help with any problems. 

In the states, our culture equates professionalism with quality workmanship and a high work ethic. It is not quite the same here. In addition to honing their skills, the interns are also being taught the value of correcting their mistakes, that customers will pay more for quality products and take their business elsewhere if workmanship is poor, and that ultimately their success is up to them. It is sometimes a not-so-fun part of their training, but it is for their own good.




Daniel usually does school work when I am at the Center, but he tagged along this week so we put him to work, which the girls found amusing.








I have spent enough time with these young women now that they feel comfortable making jokes and sharing laughs with me. Jill and I had spent a day going through all the steps and figuring out the best way to teach them to make these bags. We even made tiny prototypes so that we could show them how the zipper and corners ought to be done and how it should look. They thought our little bags were funny and jokingly told us we earned a "zero" grade on our work, but in the end it really helped them to have a visual example to study.