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!

Remembering

Flag of the United States of America (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Having a dad who served in the Air Force, we were always taught growing up to have the utmost respect, admiration, and gratitude for our armed forces and for those who had sacrificed their time, their families, and their lives to safeguard the freedoms and rights we enjoy as U.S. citizens. We learned flag etiquette, something that is scarce nowadays. We stood when our flag came by at parades and sporting events. We always stood at attention with our hands over our hearts, except for Dad, who has earned the right to salute. We never displayed a fray or dirty flag on our flagpole. Disrespecting the flag was akin to being disrespectful toward our soldiers. It was unpatriotic. I have tried hard to pass these values down to my children.

And Memorial Day has always been about more than barbecues.

I have a wonderful friend, Julia, who is an army wife. She is also a mom and a much better writer than I am. Julia's family used to be stationed in Germany. During a trip to the states to visit her family, she had an experience that she wrote about on her blog, Dibbs on the Gibbs . Her story, Riding With a Soldier also recently was published in the Stars and Stripes! I encourage you to read Julia's story, and remember, and never, never take the sacrifices others have made, which we benefit from, for granted.

Home Alone and New Linkies

David (bottom) at work here in Kinshasa. Photo by David Francis

David has been in Lubumbashi for the last few days, doing a mini-inspection on a plane there. Even though we have been here two and a half years, this was my first time doing the single mom thing in Congo. He will be coming home late tonight and I will be very glad to see him. Power has been terrible, about two hours a day. Internet has been terrible. Someone left a toilet running over night so for part of the time water was an issue. And the cat has been sick. In fact I thought for a couple of days that Elliot was going to die.

The vet came and without examining my cat or taking any samples announced that it was worms. Elliot was lethargic, refusing to eat or drink, and couldn't even meow. I told him I didn't think it was worms because in the past when he had worms he ate an insane amount and his belly swelled and this time he was not eating at all. I also told him that we suspected he had eaten something poisonous or that he had gotten a kidney infection since he was also incontinent. The vet put him on antibiotics.

That was Monday. Yesterday Elliot got his meow back, although it sounds pathetic. And he is a little more active, meaning he will follow me out of the room now or jump up on my lap. He is drinking water and eating again but can't keep anything down so he is still losing weight. I am not sure what else to do for him.

Bug Freakout (Photo credit: betsystreeter)

Furlough is rapidly approaching and the reality of how much we still have to do in preparation is starting to make me feel a little panicky.








I have written a few times in the past about the plight of women in this country and about ministries here that are specifically for women. This week, Save the Children published a report of the world's best and worst places to be mothers, and Congo made the list. Click HERE to see what position DRC has in the list of 176 countries. Pray for the women and girls of Congo.

I added a few updates to our Media page. There are new articles, blog posts and videos for you to check out, including one about the importance and the cost of aircraft maintenance, which is what David does here.

**UPDATE Elliot is improving! He's super skinny but now that he is eating and holding his food down he should plump back up soon.

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.

Days of evil

A little boy at one of the refugee camps in Goma. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

500,000+ displaced people - over half of which are children
Daily murders, rapes, kidnappings, and extortions
Threats
Accusations
Children forced to join militias
Looting
Impunity
Corruption, corruption, corruption

I would explain all that is going on in the eastern part of DRC, if I completely understood it myself. On the surface, a rebel group called M23 has taken over the city of Goma and some surrounding villages, demanding that Joseph Kabila attend a summit in Uganda today to address their grievances. But the problem in Congo is much, much deeper than what is seen on the surface. There are factors playing into today's current events that are older than I am, some tribal, some political, etc. I have found a couple of articles that explain a little about all that is going on, the events leading up to the current crisis, and who the M23 rebels are, and I've listed them below.

Morning in Mugunga camp (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have never understood  Ephesians chapter 6 more clearly than right now.

 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (verse 12)

The atrocities I hear of going on in Goma and the east - unimaginable things I cannot bring myself to mention on this blog - are much more than fighting over minerals, power and land. It is also undeniably spiritual.

PRAY! There are godly people here who are praying. Join them. There are godly people living and serving on the front lines, physically and spiritually. Pray for them. 

Pray they will be strong in the Lord in in his mighty power! (vs 10)

That God will raise men up to stand against the devil's schemes (vs 11)

That they will be able to stand their ground in these days of evil (vs 13)

That in these dark times their feet will be shod with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (vs 15). 

That their faith will remain strong and that the evil one's flaming arrows will be extinguished (vs 16)

That they will depend on God and his Word (vs 17)

That God will give them words to fearlessly spread the gospel (vs 19)

Just pray.

More information about M23 and the turmoil in east DRC:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/23/congo-war-criminals-rights-violations-bars

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20468755

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20476677

Firsties

Here are ten of my most recent "firsties," things I did for the first time:

* met Rita Chapman, a missionary serving in Kikongo whom I've been hearing about since 2008. Very Cool Beans!
* washed myself with gasoline. Peeyou.
* "jumped" electrical phases in our breaker box. Needed to learn and now I have.
* went through a Congolese military checkpoint. Ok.
* led a group of high school girls in a Bible study. These girls are fantastic!
* made pickles that actually stayed crunchy. Too salty, but at least they stayed crunchy. (whisper: They taste like Claussens.)
* drove more than three miles one way from my house, and back. Survived. Barely.
* went to the consulate for the U.S. embassy to renew our kids' passports. Not fun.
* went to a parent/teacher conference for my daughter, a senior. Somehow when we were home schooling her it seemed way too odd, even for us, to have parent/teacher conferences. hee hee.
* took my new friend Hannah to the orphanage with me to play with the kids. This is Hannah.

There is just nothing like hearing a little kid giggle!

Obviously, God is not letting me stay in a rut or get too set in my ways. Living a Christian life takes "muscle," which brings me to the subject of my new post, "Move That Muscle" on the MAF blog. I hope you'll check it out.

When the Bad Guys are Also the Victims

photo taken in Kinshasa by Thomas, used under Creative Commons

Last week our team had the pleasure of meeting with Jon Lewis, who previously served here with MAF. Jon wrote a blog article about the changes he observed in Kinshasa and Congo since he was last here. I highly recommend his article Congo's Clock.

Two things Jon mentioned stood out to me, one because our family had recently made the same sad observation. On our recent drive to the interior for a camping trip, we passed numerous villages with mosques and only a couple with evangelical churches. The Muslims are fighting for the DRC, and they are doing it with a weapon that the national church here does not have – money. Because of that, they are gaining converts at an alarming rate. Other cults that spend a ton of money here and have an increasingly strong presence are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons. One of the things we discussed at the meeting with Jon was that there is a discipleship void here. Even in the Christian churches, pastors are often untrained and believers hold on to their old beliefs in witchcraft and magic, trying to make them mesh with their new faith. Pray for the Christian churches in Congo, for strong faith, for discipleship, and for the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers.

Money is a powerful motivator anywhere, but here especially. Which brings me to the second point. Jon spoke of a “myriad of mini dictators who use the ‘Wild West’ nature of this country” for personal profit at the expense of everyone else.

Here is a recent example. The higher-ups in SNEL, the electric company here, decided there was not as much money coming in as there should be. That is true. Many do not pay their bills unless they are threatened with losing their power. The result is that SNEL workers have been on a rampage for a week and are still at it. SNEL doesn't really even know how much power people use, so thThey don’t even have accurate records of payments because half the time they don’t have electricity in their own office and can’t enter the information in or print a receipt when someone makes a payment. They show up, seemingly randomly, at people’s homes or even confront pedestrians in the street and make ridiculous demands. They went to the home of one of our MAF families and demanded receipts for every month back to the 1990’s, when this family has only been here since about 2006. They came back later with a soldier carrying an automatic weapon and a big cable cutter to cut their power and it took some persuasion to get SNEL to give them more time to get receipts together. Their house is actually owned by MAF, so there is a paper trail to prove the bills have all been paid and eventually this should be straightened out, though they might be forced to pay some money. I just learned this morning that another MAF family is now being harassed. The electric company is even cutting power to people and businesses for not paying the supposed debts of previous tenants!

Will any of this money actually go back into repairing and maintaining the infrastructure? Or to pay the SNEL workers who aren’t at the top of the ladder? Probably not. The SNEL employees have little or no training, no uniforms or even ID badges, no proper tools. When there are repairs made to our line, we have to pay for the materials and labor. When will it end? When they finally upset someone who has more power and clout than the head of SNEL.

SNEL is not the bad guy though. Well, ok, they sort of are. But they aren’t. SNEL is only one piece in the puzzle of corruption and love of money; pawns in the hands of the real enemy. I know God can use this ugly problem for his glory. One missionary friend, when they went to her house to confront her, invited them in for a drink and presented the gospel to all of them in their own language. I don’t know how well it was received, but I know they heard it and the seeds have been planted. As I was thinking about all the people being forced to pay the debts of others, God reminded me that Jesus voluntarily paid my debt, and the debts of the SNEL officials. Please pray for them, that they will come to understand Who Jesus is and that He paid their debt, if they will only accept Him.

Why this post has no pictures

It takes several times longer to post to the blog from here than it would from say...almost anywhere else, and I need time to work on our newsletter this weekend, so I'm changing things up a bit. There will be no photos and less writing.  (All the articles I've seen about being a good blogger say that not having photos means death for a blog. Hope not.)

 Here is a little bit more of the good and bad about Congo. I hope you will take a look at these. But first, a story that didn't make international news, or news anywhere, even though it affects thousands of people.

When we came back from our weekend trip to Nkara, things here in Kinshasa had changed. The commercial center was barren. All the "shade tree vendors" were gone. Driving home one evening, we passed a group of at least a hundred police officers who were moving on foot in the opposite direction. In their wake were up-turned metal "buildings", broken plastic chairs and tables, and fires. Lots of fires. The wooden kiosks that the sidewalk vendors had been using were ablaze. The officials had decided it was time to "clean up" the city. Instead of doing something about sanitation or crime, they went after the vendors. Admittedly the vendors cause congestion and make it difficult to walk about. They also provide produce and bread to a huge population of people who don't have transportation or cab fare to get to the stores. But now these people have had their inventories burned or destroyed and have no means to support their families. I wanted to jump out of the car and yell at the police "These are your people!" To better understand the corruption here, you should know that the vendors in the military housing neighborhoods were left alone to continue business as usual.

I don't pretend to fully understand the conflicts that occur here.  Often their origins go way back and are complex.  I do know that a general named Bosco Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.  Soldiers in the DRC army who are loyal to Ntaganda have deserted and now there is conflict between this rebel group and the military.  The UN has evidence that Rwanda is sending troops and supplies across the border in support of the rebels. Doctors Without Borders, whom MAF partners with here in DRC, has posted this article about the impact on the region. Read more HERE from the BBC if you want to understand Rwanda's role in this better and HERE for more about the history behind the present conflict.

Now for the good part I promised you. The climate here is tropical, a nice word for hot and humid.  The equator runs right through this immense country.  But did you know that the Democratic Republic of Congo also has glaciers? They are in a mountain range that borders the DRC and Uganda. Project Pressure has information and some amazing photos HERE .  I did have a good chuckle at the quote referring to the Congolese porters under the third photo: "Their experience on ice is limited." Of course it is.


Please keep this amazing, troubled country in your prayers.

A Historic Day for the People of Congo

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Today was a historic day for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The International Criminal Court has issued it's first verdict - guilty.  Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, after a prolonged trial that began in 2009, has been convicted of abducting and recruiting child soldiers as young as 11 in the eastern Ituri region and using them to participate in armed conflict.  Lubanga Dyilo has been accused of other atrocities, including abducting young girls and forcing them to serve as sex slaves.  I have a teenage daughter and a ten year old son.  I can't begin to imagine the agony those children and their parents have suffered.  There are still others out there in Congo and in other countries who exploit children and use them as weapons.  There are still thousands of child soldiers in this country.  There is still much to be done, but today a step was taken in the right direction.  Finally, the cycle of impunity may truly be breaking.

The Congo needs justice.  She also needs healing.  Pray for truth to prevail, for an end to impunity, for healing, hope and salvation.

related articles:
Lubanga guilty of using child soldiers
In landmark ruling, ICC finds Congolese warlord guilty of recruiting child soldiers