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.

Stretched Too Thin

A while back my son's middle school had a big event with water balloons, food, games, etc. Afterward, I found this and thought it looked cool (because I'm weird that way). The rainbow bands are evidence of tension and stress. The balloons were stretched or filled beyond their capacity and burst.

We all face hard situations and sometimes feel like we are on the verge of hitting or surpassing our limits, about to break like those balloons. While I believe it is good and healthy to be transparent about things like stress, burnout, relationships, etc., I also wonder if sometimes we sabotage ourselves with the power of suggestion and our drive to diagnose and help ourselves. 

Occasionally, I receive free Christian books for Kindle. Several recent titles I received deal with such topics as burnout, stress, expectations not being met, failure, forgiveness, disillusionment, and disappointment. They all had lists of symptoms so readers could self-diagnose. It occurred to me that the more focused I became on some of these, the easier it became to "see" myself in them. My grandmother used to say if you look hard enough for something, you'll find it. I began to feel like maybe I wasn't helping myself any by spending my time focusing on all that stuff. Maybe I wouldn't feel so tightly stretched mentally and emotionally if I spent less time and energy fixating on the problems.

Yes, I live in a hard place and have stress and fatigue. Yes, I have had unrealistic expectations and the ensuing disappointments. We all have. But I am learning that the solution is not to jump on the burnout bandwagon or the stress train, but to go to Jesus. Continuously. He promised if we turn to Him with our weariness of all the stupid stuff in this world, He will give us rest. 

Those books I read were all good and were written to help people. I would even recommend some of them to others when appropriate. But I think I have had too much of a good thing lately, and it began to supersede the best thing in my thoughts. For now I am giving myself a rest from the "self-help" genre of literature. One less thing to stretch my mind around. I tend to let them have too much prominence in my considerations when I should be thinking on what God has to say to me in His Book.

Their Joy and Their Heart's Delight

Have you ever loved someone so much that you hung on every word they said? 

Have you known what it feels like to love God that way? 

I came across these verses in Jeremiah this week during my personal study time. The notation is my reminder to myself of a previous implication thoses verses had for me and a reminder to continue my commitment that I made nearly six years ago to pray these verses for my children. Each time I see it, I pray again, both for them and for myself, that God's Word will be/remain our joy and our hearts' delight.

As an American, I was blessed to be born into a country where God's Word is easily accessible. It is not only available in English, but in several different reading levels so that even young people can read and understand the Bible. Most people in my home country who want a Bible can either easily find an affordable one or a free one. As a result, I think we sometimes take that for granted and we don't truly have the perspective of the Holy Word of God being our heart's delight. I know I'm guilty. 

Not so in other parts of the world. I have a friend who serves with Wycliffe Bible Translators and he has told me that the best estimate on hand is that there are as many as 350 languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I asked him how many still have no Bible translation in their mother tongue and he replied "best guesses put the number at 300 yet to be translated." How can God's Word be their joy and their heart's delight if they cannot read it?

Yes, there are scriptures available in French, the official language of DRC, and in Lingala and Swahili, the two most common trade languages, as well as some of the others most commonly spoken. But just for the sake of perspective, my native language is English. I have been taught French and have a French Bible. I actually have two, and one of them is a much simpler version that is supposed to be easier to understand. I am studying Lingala and have a Lingala Bible. I can pick up my French Bible and because I have been taught French, I know how to pronounce the words and even understand most of them. But there are phrases that have nuances unique to native French speakers. There are words I don't know. I miss something in the translation and there is a gap. Even more so when I try to read my Lingala Bible. My tutor spent several minutes yesterday explaining just one verse to me, word by word and phrase by phrase. Even if a Congolese person can somehow afford a Bible, if it is in French or another language other than their mother tongue, there is a gap for them, especially if they have not had an opportunity for good French instruction in their schooling. They cannot fully experience the richness and depth of God's Word. If you had a few years of foreign language courses in school, imagine if the only Bible you could have was in that language and not in your native tongue. 

Did you know that public education in the U.S. colonies was begun in the 1640's in order to train children to be able to read the Bible? Please pray for the people of Congo to have Bibles available in their language, and to have better education opportunities so that they can better understand scripture.  Pray that God's living, life-changing Word will be their joy and their hearts' delight. 

Beautiful Feet

On this day, twenty-two years ago, we welcomed our firstborn into the world. On this day, seven years ago, we officially became missionaries with MAF. Both have been amazing rides so far, a blessing and a priviledge, with lots of ups and downs, lots of laughs and lessons.

I am amazed when I see God's handiwork in the lives of ALL of my kids. I am humbled when God provides for them and cares for them and I realize how much time I waste being anxious for them instead of trusting Him.

I am also amazed and humbled by the believers in Congo who love God and have a passion for reaching their lost countrymen. I count it a privilege to be in a time and place where I get to meet and work with nationals whom God is using to make disciples. 

People like the women who keep the Mitendi Women's Center going, the teachers and staff who volunteer at the Mitendi Primary School, and pastors like the two in the photo above. In this photo they are preparing for a baptism service. The pastor on the left also spends time regularly teaching Bible discipleship at the Mitendi Center - and is likely the best or only father figure many of the girls have ever had.

National pastors face many unique challenges here in Congo. Please pray for them.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Rom 10:15

Separation and Reunion

Yesterday, we held our annual Christmas outreach at the airport where MAF's hangar is. In addition to MAF and other aviation groups, a large portion of the airport is for military use. Each year we host a service with music, a gospel presentation, and refreshments. We also distribute gospel tracts and Scriptures.

We had a large crowd this year and several decisions were made for Christ. 





Maurice, one of our long time national staff, was the "emcee."

The choir from the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa (IPCK),
led by my friend Sandy, a fellow MAF wife. They were fabulous and sang in Lingala, Swahili, French and English!

Passing out Scripture literature and refreshments.

Have you ever experienced the anticipation of seeing a loved one you've been separated from? Maybe planned a trip to see them and gone through the process of packing, buying gifts, etc? Or perhaps you invited them to come see you. You rearranged furniture and cleaned house, bought gifts and their favorite foods, planned things to do together, did your best to make an environment for them that said "you are loved and cherished." It didn't even seem like work and you didn't worry about the cost, because you were doing it for someone you loved. Maybe even as you did so you were reminded that Jesus is preparing a place for you to one day come home to.

Being away from those we love is painful, painful, painful. Even just the anticipation of a reunion is cause for joy. Last Sunday our pastor shared a thought from Max Lucado that Jesus would rather die for us than live without us. He loves us that much. And that is why He chose to come here. The little card in the photo above says it all: Jesus is the real reason for Christmas. 



This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. - 1 John 4:10

Have a joyous Christmas!

The Blue in My Brown

I walked out into our yard yesterday morning and found this beautiful blue hydrangea flower. My hydrangea bush has been sickly, as you can see by the surrounding foliage. I thought it might not survive. It was almost all brown and most of the leaves had fallen off. Finding this flower was a bright spot in my morning and just a really nice surprise. The sort of thing that makes me feel like God put it there just to make me smile. I have a friend who once said these little surprise blessings were like God was winking at her - a special moment between them and a reminder that He not only loved her, but also took pleasure in blessing her.

It reminded me of something I had read earlier in the week. A fellow MAF'er had shared this article by Jason Carter. He suggests several ways to refresh and encourage missionaries. Even if that subject doesn't interest you, I encourage you to read the post because it really applies to the entire church body. His article is specifically about things people can do while a family is on their furlough, and having recently returned from our first furlough, he is pretty much spot-on. However, there are lots of ways people can bless their missionaries without waiting months or years until furloughs come around. The very first item on the list mentions letters and cards for birthdays and holidays. That is HUGE, especially in this age of emails, and social media. Real letters and cards are so much more personal.

I was reading through all the suggestions and thinking about myself and my family, mentally saying "ooh, that one!" and "oh, yes! That would be so awesome!"  about various items, when my thoughts of myself were (thankfully) interrupted. I need that sometimes.

The article states that one of the least helpful things you can do is ask a missionary to let you know if they need anything, because they won't/can't. But that isn't true only for missionaries. We all throw that statement out to people we care about and often we really mean it, really want to help, and really want to know the best way to do that. But we all also know from being on the flip side that none of us are going to go to someone and say, "Remember when you said to let you know what you can do to help? Well...." 

If the Holy Spirit can spur our hearts to want to bless and help someone, surely He is also willing to guide us in how we can use our skills, our vocation, and our resources to do it without us putting that burden on the other person.

The author also exhorts us to be like Philemon, who refreshed the hearts of others. It must be an important function, and Philemon must have been really good at it, because Paul made a point of telling Philemon how much joy and encouragement Philemon's love for others brought to him. 

When someone does something to bring refreshment to my heart or even the heart of someone I love, that is an amazing thing to experience. It never gets old. Reading this article and talking to God about it made me stop and ask some hard questions.

"Am I being like Philemon? Am I refreshing the hearts of my missionaries? my co-laborers here in Congo? my friends and family?"

"Do I let God inspire me and use me to bring a "wink," a bright spot to someone else's day, like that bright blue flower on my sickly hydrangea? because I would love to be like that."

"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." Philemon 7

God and the Cockroach

#102340244 / gettyimages.com

(Our new prayer letter just went out. If you didn't receive one you can read it HERE. If you go to our MAF web site you can subscribe to our prayer letter.)

We started school this week. This year, instead of using a full-blown Bible curriculum from a major publisher, we are changing things up a bit. I opted for a devotion book centered around something my son loves and will be interested in - animals. I wanted more of our Bible time to be spent discussing and praying together and culturing a love of scripture. I felt that all the hours of workbook exercises were accomplishing the opposite. My son was dreading Bible class every day. Yes, he was learning the content, but if he could grow up loving God's Word then he would eventually learn that anyway because he wanted to and not because I forced him to. 


Today our devotion was about roaches. Is that not a disgusting photo? It gives me the creeps. Roaches are not on many people's list of top ten favorite living creatures, but the point the author made in the devotional is that they are everywhere (polar ice caps excepted). Wherever people are, there are roaches. In that sense, God is like cockroaches. No matter where we are, He is there (Psalm 139:7-10). Not only can we not escape from God, we can't be hidden from Him by others either.

We talked about how comforting it is is to know that God is always present with us, thanked Him, and asked Him to remind us all day long that He is with us. Daniel said he would never see a cockroach now without remembering that God is everywhere. Hmmm.

That led to a discussion of the ebola epidemic and the persecuted Christians in Iraq and elsewhere and how we didn't have to ask God to be with them because He already is. We asked Him to remind them that He is with them, to guide them with his hand, and to support them with HIS strength as He did for King David.

I am glad my kids know a lot about the Bible, but I wish I had done a better job of planting and nurturing in them a love of God's Word. 

Dough Knot: Try this at home!

I have always had mixed feelings about the Proverbs 31 woman, mainly because if each of her aspects were listed in a report card I would have a long list of "Fails", a few "Passes", and maybe one, possibly two "Excels". Maybe. On a very good day.

Yesterday was a very good day. I made these:

They are called Garlic Knots, and I found the recipe here at The Recipe Critic. It did not matter that there were dishes in the sink and laundry to put away. The house was filled with a wonderful hot bread and garlic smell that worked like a siren's song to distract everyone from all that other stuff. And they tasted wonderful. My son arose and called me blessed, my husband also and he praised me. 

Score one "Excel" for the day!

This morning I was up at an indecently early hour and decided to try another new recipe I found: One Hour Easy Cinnamon Rolls. 

Tah dah!

Except that because I am me, it took two hours. I just barely got them out of the oven before the morning power outage started. And it only made a dozen. So I will have to either double it next time or find another recipe. And instead of getting up early I will have to just not go to bed the night before. (Pillsbury Grands!, I miss you!) I think now I remember why I don't make cinnamon rolls very often. 

They were quite yummy, so if you are not me, and you don't have to feed a growing man-child, and you like to get up before the rest of the world goes to bed, it is a good recipe. I think next time my family asks me why I don't make cinnamon rolls more often I will just whip up a batch of garlic knots for supper and make them forget all about everything else.

Worth Mentioning

Haiti_Van_faves (Photo credit: vanberto)

Here are some blog posts by other folks that have impacted me or resonated with my own heart recently.

The Naked Truth About Deputation - Ministry partnership/deputation/support raising from a mom's perspective. If you want to hear the heart of missionary moms and know what it is really like, this is a great read. I have had many of the experiences and emotions she mentions. A great way to gain perspective on how to minister to your missionaries and understand them better. 

Don't Send Your Used Shoes to Africa...or Maybe Do Send Them - This post is by a blogger in Djibouti, another African country, but I have seen the same effects in Congo. Sometimes our "kindnesses" actually hurt the economy and employment rates here instead of helping. There are great needs and great ways to help, but careful consideration is essential. If after reading this you want to help in more direct, positive ways, write a missionary or expat friend and they can give you good information and resources.

The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying - What does it really mean to be blessed? A very interesting and thoughtfully written piece. I liked it because it touches on the inner conflict I have after knowing faithful Congolese Christians, seeing the circumstances they live in through no choice of their own, and trying to reconcile my western idea of blessings with the seeming lack of blessings in their lives.

I think these were worth sharing and would love to hear your thoughts. 

Daniel and I had an interesting experience this week. I am still trying to narrow down all the photos and words to a manageable number for a blog post, but here is a sneak preview. See if you can guess what these photos all have in common.

Our First Furlough Christmas and a Big Announcement!

This year we did our Christmas in multiple phases to accommodate the schedules of our families. First we drove to Emily's school to get her for her break. All of us then drove to Josh's to have a Christmas party with him and Kristen. A few days later we went to Tennessee and had a birthday party for my dad and two more Christmas parties. Here are a few highlights.

Josh's contribution to Kristen's tree: the sock monkey I made for him last year.

David always used to read Luke chapter 2 at the beginning of every Christmas celebration. When the kids learned to read, they began asking if they could read the Christmas story.

Emily and Kristen

The perfect ornament for someone who lives for bacon.

Sock monkeeeeees! Very cool beans!

I don't understand how a kid who turns the Raggedy Ann and Andy ornaments around backwards on the tree because "they are creepy" can then proclaim that this is "awesome."

Meeting up with Jim and Nancy Smith for lunch. They are dear friends and fellow missionaries that we met in Congo. It felt a little strange to be seeing them on this side of the Atlantic but it was a real treat to get to spend time with them.

We had a very nice Christmas season and we are grateful. We also feel grateful and blessed to share this very Cool Beans announcement: We have reached 100% in our ministry support and are going back to Congo on schedule! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the many who pray and give and make it possible for us to go. We are ambassadors for Christ but we also represent you and we are honored. 

Happy New Year with love from the Burtons!

Mary Had A Baby Pooch

Nativity scene on display in Perstorps kyrka, Sweden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For those of us who are detail people, I don’t know if there is a single truly accurate nativity set or painting out there, anywhere. Even discounting the fact that no one knows what Mary or Joseph looked like, how many shepherds, etc were there, or even what the manger looked like, every single nativity scene or figurine of Mary the mother of Jesus that I have seen depicted her as being radiant, with perfect hair and beautiful skin and a nice flat tummy tucked behind her belt. In real life, Mary had a baby pooch. She had, after all, just given birth. She probably also was exhausted and had circles under her eyes. Joseph might have looked a little haggard too.

When I was a kid, I used to let it bother me that most nativity scenes I came across depicted Mary as a blue-eyed blonde. Didn’t anyone read their Bible and know that Mary and Joseph were Hebrews? I have since seen many different nativity scenes featuring several nationalities but it no longer bothers me. I guess I decided that the intended message being conveyed wasn’t that Mary looked like this or that but that Jesus came for ALL mankind. 

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the details of something that we miss the simplicity. The beautiful, simple truth of Christmas is that God loved us and sent his Son, and loves us still.

I hope your Christmas this year is sweet and simple, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Merry Christmas!

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

But I managed to do it to my favorite RevereWare sauce pan. We were cooking and heard a popping noise. When we lifted the pot, the bottom had come off. I got my set of RevereWare pots for a wedding gift, twenty-three years ago this month, and have dragged them with me everywhere. I had sort of taken for granted that they would last til I died. I did not even know these pots were two pieces instead of one. Oh, well. Now it fits in better with this family of cracked pots.

Thursday was my last evening with the ladies Bible study group from Nsango Na Bomoi, Christine's church. I will miss these faithful women and look forward to seeing them again in January.

We had to order them to smile for the camera! The Congolese usually sport serious faces when they have their photos taken.

What Time Is It?

Sew this page ( p. 83) - Result 1 (Photo credit: atibens)

Sewing tools (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;" (Ecclesiastes 3:7) 

This week I have experienced all of those. 

A time to speak: I had to talk to my kids about the consequences of procrastination and doing things half-heartedly. That's not the kind of speaking I enjoy but there are definitely times for it. There were also times for praise and encouragment. I went to my daughter's last school pep rally and got to see her play in the band and perform with the show choir. She had a solo and her microphone failed but she kept on going. Youngest has recently exercised a lot of patience and self-control for one his age so I got to praise him for that. Good times.

A time to keep silence. We are in a busy time right now that mostly revolves around our senior's end of year activities and around goodbyes. Last night our church had a party for the seniors in the youth group and each senior in turn had family and friends gather around them to pray for them. I had to let someone else pray for Emily. I couldn't speak my prayer out loud. It was too personal and I knew if I tried I would lose it in front of everybody. 

A time to sew. I wrote a couple of posts ago that I was going to clean my sewing machine and pack it away until we come back from furlough. I lied. I saw a pattern on the internet for a toiletry bag and had to try to make one. It was supposed to be a cosmetic bag for Emily but it turned out kind of masculine looking. That's ok. I have boys too.

I started with these tutorials: Plaid Scottie's Box Pouch and Skip To My Lou's Boxy Cosmetic Bag, combining elements I liked from each.

and with this. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? If you want to sew a toiletry bag, you first need a vinyl, asymetrical apron with no strings. Here's the thing. There is no Walmart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Hancock, or JoAnn here. No place where I can go to buy things like heavy weight interfacing or fusible vinyl. So I had to improvise in order to come up with a spill proof lining. All I could find that came close to what I needed was this apron.

I did have some medium weight interfacing, which I ironed on to the fabric. It helped but not as much as I had hoped it would.

Like the fabric? I bought it from TASOK a couple years ago when my son was still going there and they had their 50th anniversary. It was designed by the students!

You are not supposed to sew when you are tired. But since that would mean no sewing for the entire 25 or 30 years of child-rearing and I am not a patient person....

See anything wrong here? That's right. The zipper is inside out. I sewed when I was tired. This is what the Bible calls "a time to tear." And that cheapo blue vinyl LOVED my seam ripper. Not. Had to cut some new pieces of vinyl.

I did finally get these made. They aren't as sturdy as I would like but they are cute. And the zippers are right side out.

Numbered With The Transgressors

I wasn't going to blog today. I have so much to do, and so much that should already be done but isn't, that somethings just had to give and today it was going to be the blog. 

Then I read Charles Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening" devotional for March 30 Click here to read). When I read Spurgeon's writing, I can't simply skim it or speed read it. His older English obligates me to actually stop all my mental multi-tasking and just focus on what he was trying to say. No zipping through. That's a good thing. We have so many easy to understand paraphrases and translations of the Bible available to us that I think it is easy to "zip through" without completely focusing all of our thoughts on what we read and meditating on it. Reading the works of people like Charles Spurgeon and Oswald Chambers is good mental exercise and builds study skills that I can transfer to my reading of the Bible. 

On my huge list of "things I thought I already knew but seem to keep learning again" is that Jesus doesn't just love me as I understand love, He loves me with an intensity I can't begin to fathom. He didn't just die for me, He also identified Himself with me. 

"Now, when the sinner is brought to the bar, Jesus appears there Himself. He stands to answer the accusation. He points to His side, His hands, His feet, and challenges Justice to bring anything against the sinners whom He represents; He pleads His blood, and pleads so triumphantly, being numbered with them and having a part with them, that the Judge proclaims, 'Let them go their way; deliver them from going down into the pit, for He hath found a ransom.' Our Lord Jesus was numbered with the transgressors in order that they might feel their hearts drawn towards Him." 

He came and was numbered with us, the transgressors. Sometimes we generalize that and forget that He didn't just become a face in a crowd of sinners that suddenly turned on Him. He counted the cost before He came, and did it anyway. He was loving and thinking of every individual one of us while He was being crucified, paying the price for each. Your price. My price. 

Because Christ was numbered with the transgressors, I can rejoice that am numbered with those whom He has made new. 

He is risen! Have a joyful Easter!