Feet in the Furnace

We are literally in the middle of our annual Family Conference, and last night the ladies on our team enjoyed fellowship, devotions, and a little pampering. 

Our theme this year is Joy In The Furnace. Debbie Martinez, one of our team speakers/teachers, has written a Bible Study with the same title. If her teachings this week are based on the book, I would highly recommend it. 

Without giving away the contents of Debbie's book, I can share that one of the things which really stood out to me yesterday is that God was making Himself famous through Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo and He is still making Himself famous through willing servants today. It occured to me that I have never seen this happen without someone "going through the furnace." God become famous when He does something that ONLY GOD CAN DO. No one earns fame by doing something ordinary  that anyone else can also do.

Am I willing to let God do something out of the ordinary in me and through me? Am I willing to jump into the furnace and trust Him with the results?

Another thing that has stood out to me is that this team of volunteers that we have, all six of them, came to serve us and minister to us, not to make a name for themselves. They answered God's call to come to a place that many would compare to a "furnace experience" and made sacrifices to do it and others made sacrifices to help them get here, and God orchestrated all of it in his great love for us. Amazing! 

Combining Cultures in the Kitchen

I see salted fish, (as in fish that has had a ton of salt rubbed into it and been dried for preservation) in the stores here all the time. It is sold in bags by the kilo. In a country where only a minority have refrigeration or freezers, dried fish keeps for months and by cooking it in stews, greens, and sauces, a little bit can be made to go a long way toward feeding a family. I have had it on occasion and liked it but avoided purchasing it because I didn't know how to prepare it. 

Last week I bit the bullet, or the fish, and bought some. Then I asked about a dozen friends how to cook it and got almost as many answers. All agreed on one thing: soak the fish, soak the fish, soak the fish. Then soak it some more. This is how you remove enough of the salt to make the fish edible. 

Out of the package, it looks like this.

It doesn't look like it came from a Gorton's box, that's for certain.

Not very appetizing if you have anything against skin, gills, fins, tails, bones, or...

...teeth.

Just to really get into the spirit of cooking with an African flair and dressing the part, I had to put on my zebra print apron. Sorry for the quality. I don't take a lot of selfies. Other folks are much more interesting. And yes, I meant to cut my head off.

I soaked the fish all day, changing the water a couple of times. 

Then I considered all my options and decided that the easiest choice would be to simply remove as many bones as possible, season it, and saute it, so that is what I did. It is common here to just cook it into your greens, but I knew if I did that I would be eating by myself.

We had b'teku teku, fried plantain, rice, and avocado to go with our fish. (My b'teku teku explanation and recipe are HERE.) Was it tasty? Yes, but it did not need salt.

Then on Saturday I made  good 'ole American cinnamon bread so we would have it for breakfast on Sunday. I am glad I did and that we had some left over because when we arrived home from church, our guard had a surprise for us: three of his kids were here for a visit! We gave them cinnamon bread and Fantas to go with the lunch Leopold had prepared for them and Daniel played soccer with the boys for a while.   

They were here because the youngest had been born just six weeks after we first arrived in Congo and had been named after David, so Leopold wanted them to meet each other. It is common here to name a baby after a life-changing person or event that happens near the same time as the birth, and getting a new job is a big deal in Congo. Both of our guards have sons named after David now.

Prayers Needed

 


*My article for the MAF blog has been posted. You can find it by clicking HERE.

And now I want to talk about something that has become more urgent since both the newsletter and the blog article were written. You may recall my post a couple weeks ago about the Mitendi Center. 

The Mitendi Center and the Congolese Baptist Community that operates it have been under a land grab attack for some time. I mentioned before that the center is trying to build a wall around the property, which they legally own, because there are people sectioning off the property, selling it, and building houses on it. Here in Congo, possession is 9/10 of the law, in the sense that once building starts, it becomes much more difficult to defend your property in court. 


The center is in danger of literally losing it's property, one piece at a time, and even after courts and officials have been involved, no one is stopping it. No one is doing right. The workers in the photo above have been attacked while building the foundation for the center's wall, physically beaten and have had their tools destroyed and/or stolen. 




The ministry in Mitendi reaches young people for Christ and helps them build their lives on the solid foundation of Jesus, but people have intentionally broken the foundation that the workers had built for the wall at the center so that it is no longer structurally sound.








Many of the children and young women that benefit from this ministry are orphans. God expressly commands us not to mistreat orphans or widows (Ex 22:22). He warns us of the consequences of causing one of his little ones to stumble. 

Please pray earnestly for the center, the students, the workers and the teachers. Pray for Jill and for those who are representing the center and defending it. Pray for truth to prevail. And pray for those who have made themselves enemies of the children and women and are shaking their fists in the face of God. 

Stopping to Smell the Ginger

Hawaiian ginger growing in my yard

Some highlights and events I experienced since my last post:

My Hawaiian ginger bloomed in the yard. They smell amazing! I know my guards think I am crazy, for lots of reasons, one being that when the ginger blooms every couple of months, I go around the yard smelling all the blossoms and taking pictures like I've never seen it before. I pretty well cemented that notion when I picked some one day and told my guard to smell it. Ha, ha, ha, you should have seen his expression! But he did smell it, and he did admit it smelled nice. 

I went back to the Mitendi Center and the Bandal Center with Jill. This young lady is making a table cloth to fill a customer order - mine! I can't wait to get my new table cloth and contrasting napkins. 

I am praying and giving thought to how God might want to involve me with the centers and these young women.



David and I both had birthdays, so our family went out for dinner one evening. Our conversation over dinner turned to Daniel's schooling and Daniel told his dad we were studying the Great Migration. Being a humble home educator, I decided to show off Daniel's knowledge and asked him to tell his dad the difference between migration and immigration. He replied that migration is when you move some where and immigration is when you water your crops. I am a great teacher.  

David had to go to Europe for a week for training on one of our engines. While he was gone, I visited with some friends, though not as many as I had planned to. I also wrote a post for the MAF blog (coming soon), worked on our newsletter (also coming soon), and cleaned out my email boxes. In one box, I am ashamed to say, I had mail dating back to 2008. I didn't completely finish the job because I kept finding good stuff to read in there. Kind of like when you start cleaning a closet and you find old photos you forgot you had and you are compelled to stop everything and look through them. I am glad I did. I found letters from dear friends who have been praying for us since we first signed on with MAF, before we even knew where we were going to end up serving. They are still praying for us! It was very encouraging to come across that reminder and it meant so much to me that I had to write to them and tell them.

My friend Christine has a little apartment and invited Daniel and me to stay there and be part of their family while David was gone. It was nice to have air-conditioning almost the entire time and to get to spend some time with her. We had been missing each other since I don't have a car and no longer live close enough to walk to her house.

When I arrived home, we found this little guy (or gal?) hiding in our electric box.

Our electric box is not exactly the safest playground for a kitten, so we shooed him out and blocked the door to keep him out. I asked our guard where he came from since we have eight foot walls around our house. He said the mother cat carried five kittens over the wall, one at a time, so that they could all eat my cat's food, which was on the porch during my absence. She had taken four of them back and left this little one. She came back for him a few hours later. Glad I could help out that tired momma for a few days.

Finding Hope in Mitendi

Last week, Daniel and I spent a couple of days with Jill Lowery to learn more about her missionary role here in Kinshasa. I got to know Jill a little better, learn about the heart God has given her for Congo, AND - I got to see first-hand a ministry that is changing lives! God isn't just working in the bush where our MAF pilots fly every day. He is also at work right here in Kinshasa and the surrounding area.

As a missionary with the Congolese Baptist Community, Jill works with two centers. The first is called Mitendi Women's Center, or Marie Mattie Women's Center and is about a 45 minute drive from my home, in a neighborhood that is impoverished even by third world standards. Marie Mattie was the first Congolese woman to graduate from college here and had a vision for helping women. This center is a two-year residential program for girls at high risk of exploitatioin or prostitution. In addition to the women's ministry, they also operate the Marie Mattie Complexe Scolaire, a school for kindergarten through sixth grade for at risk and vulnerable kids. These are kids who otherwise would not be able to attend school. If you want to know more about what the terms "at risk"  and "vulnerable" mean when applied to children and teens, there is an explanation HERE.

When we arrived, our first sight was all the little school kids standing under a shade tree. I got my camera out and immediately a few kids noticed and started "posing."

Then more kids noticed.

And MORE! This took less than ten seconds. They were all smiles and excitement...

...until the teacher blew his whistle. 

He led them in a couple of marching songs to help them get rid of their wiggles before they headed back into their classrooms. Wish you could have been there - they were SO CUTE!

We were allowed to visit the classrooms, and in each one the entire class stood and sang a welcome song for their visitors. This has happened to me in the orphanages and other schools I have visited. It is very much a part of the culture here and even some adult groups have sung welcome songs for me.

In the Women's Center, many of the young ladies have not had much opportunity for education, so they are taught literacy, basic education, and French. They also learn skills which they can use to support themselves such as crochet, knitting, sewing, and restaurant work. It is a two-year, residential program. They also study the Bible and of course the primary goal is for these girls to come to know Christ and learn to trust in Him.

The day we visited, Mama Jackie was teaching sewing class.

The girls learn with hand-cranked sewing machines...

...and hand-drawn lessons, without patterns. 

The way our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did it.

Currently, funds are being raised and efforts are being made to build a protective wall around the center property to stop attempts to steal and sell off the land, to keep animals out of the vegetable gardens, and to increase the safety and security of the girls who live there. 

This gentleman had the task of getting water for mixing cement - a time consuming task when you have to draw the water by hand from a cistern with a homemade bucket and funnel.

The next day we visited the second center, Marie Mattie Maison de Couture. This center is an extension of the first one, sort of an internship program so that when the ladies graduate from the two-year program, they have a chance to refine their skills and earn money while doing it. On the days that Mama Jackie is not at the Women's Center, she is at the Maison de Couture. The "house of sewing" is in the city and has better power and electric sewing machines. Some are hand-crank machines that have been transformed into electric machines!

The ladies sew school uniforms, clothing, surgical drapes and bed coverings for hospitals, baby layettes, and more.

One of Jill's tasks is to inspect each completed item, since the girls are still in the learning process. Each intern then has to correct her mistakes before an item can be sold. This teaches them to take responsibility for and pride in their work and to understand the importance of doing one's best. It also reinforces the core verse for the center: Colossians 3:23-24, which says “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” 

Jill and Mama Jackie are always on the lookout for new things for the interns to make and sell, increasing their skills and their potential to earn a decent living for themselves. Here they are inspecting a quilted zipper pouch that I had with me so they could see how it was made. 

I am sure I left out something, or several somethings, about this vital ministry, so I have included links below to the Lowerys' web site and to a site with information about the center. I asked Jill if there are any specific ways to pray for the ministry and this is what she shared with me.

First: Pray that the girls will persevere and complete the program. They face many obstacles.                                                     Second: The greatest stress right now is getting the wall built and bringing an end to the problem with the man who is trying to sell off the land that belongs to the center. Pray that God gives favor over corrupt officials.                                                         Third: Pray for Mama Jackie for continued health. She has given her life for the ministry and without her, there would be no center.

Useful links:

Lowerys' Web Site

About The Fence Project

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.

Testimonies

Worship BG - Not To Us (Photo credit: bemky)

We just got home from church and I wanted to jot down my thoughts before I forget them because I left feeling so blessed and grateful. When the hard moments come, it helps to be able to look back through my journaling and remember these kinds of moments, the moments when I feel God's presence so strongly.

The sermon was about the importance of our testimony. Not just about sharing my testimony, but about remembering it. About not forgetting and losing sight of who I am because of it. About not forgetting how I even came to HAVE a testimony. He shared about the ten lepers, and the one who returned "praising God in a loud voice." His first testimony. 

A family dedicated their new daughter to the Lord and testifying to their love for God and vowing to teach her and train her in His Word.

After the sermon, we shared communion. The church family remembering Christ's sacrifice and giving thanks. That, in itself, is a testimony. 

Daniel's friend is a new believer and today was his first opportunity to share communion with his church. Daniel chose to skip the kids' class and stay in "big church" to share his friend's special day with him. It hasn't been all that long since his own first communion and he remembers how special it was. Two young boys showing the world that they are Christ followers. Another testimony.

Sandy, our music leader, led the choir in "Amazing Grace," and opened it by singing the first verse in a solo a cappella. Oh, my! Another.

As a last act of testifying in unity, we sang:

"For all your goodness, I will keep on singing,

10,000 reasons for my heart to find!"

There is power in a testimony. When one of God's people shares with others about the things He has done, there is power in that. It brings people to Christ. It uplifts and encourages people. It strengthens and emboldens them. It gives people hope. It glorifies God! And, I think, it must please Him very much.

Counting Down

Flowers in my yard, NB

MAF missionaries live in challenging conditions 24/7 and MAF takes member care seriously. We can't be effective in ministry if we are "running on empty" spiritually or physically. Each year we have a family conference, sort of a concentrated sabbath rest.  We spend time in worship, discipleship, fellowship, building team unity, and de-stressing.

Most often, a team from the U.S. comes to offer their gifts in teaching, encouraging, music, and serving to minister to us. Often new friendships are forged during their time here and I think by the time the conference ends and they return home, they are impacted as much as we are.

Our 2014 conference is not until April, but the countdown has already begun and folks on both continents are already preparing. Here's a little countdown of my own:

 In the five years we have been with MAF, we've attended four family conferences, in three countries, and they have all been times of restoration, encouragement, refreshment and growth.

This year, two people who are dear friends of one of our team members have sensed God leading them to come help with our family conference. Would you take just one minute to look at Mike and Debbie Martinez's blog: Sharing His Joy in the Congo and pray for them? Maybe even consider helping them get to Congo?

This year's conference theme is Joy in the Furnace. That's not a reference to the climate, even though it topped 100 degrees yesterday. Please pray for all of the people preparing for this conference and all of our team members here who are so looking forward to it!

 And pray for the MK's, the missionary kids. They need rejuvenation and encouragement too and the conference will include programs for the kids and teens.

I don't have good enough internet today to re-post them here, but if you want to see photos of some of our past conferences or read about their impact on our family, just click on the "family conference" label at the bottom of this post.

The Problem Behind The Wall

Stone Wall (Photo credit: sobriquet.net)

When we moved into this house in October 2012, a lot of work had gone into preparing it but it was still in need of a lot of TLC. David is still making repairs. His progress is sometimes slowed by other circumstances, including the fact that now we have lived here long enough for some of the original repairs to need their own repairs!

One toilet, from day one, had issues. Previous occupants had installed it improperly. It is an unbelievably loud toilet when the tank is filling. The tank is not level. One side is a full inch higher than the other, so parts don't align properly and they break quickly. Like within days. So we quit buying parts and the only way to flush it was to remove the lid to the tank and stick your hand in the water and pull up the thingymabobber yourself.

We have more than one toilet so my way of dealing with it was to avoid using it.

This past weekend, David decided to try a different approach. Instead of the typical "push button" on toilets here, he fixed a wire to come up through the hole where the button would normally be and made a temporary handle so that now you can just pull the wire up and it lifts the thingymabobber and does the flushing. Yaay!

The hot water connection beneath the sink in the same bathroom had recently begun dripping, so while he was in there he decided to tighten that connection. Almost as soon as he grasped it, the knob broke off in his hand and water started spewing everywhere. You can't just shut off the water to one room in this house like we can in the states, so it was a big deal to have to shut off the water pending a repair. Our Saturday agenda had just been rewritten.

When David attempted to removed the broken piece of plumbing, the next section had rusted through and ALSO broke off. That made our big deal even bigger. Here, the walls are concrete, not drywall, and they concrete right over the plumbing. David spent hours with a hammer and chisel trying to get through the wall all the way back to the broken pipe without breaking more than one ceramic tile or hitting the sink with the hammer. The power was out during all this so I was sitting in there holding a flashlight for him. Neither of us would say it out loud but we were both really hoping that the next section of pipe would not also be rusted through and would stay intact.

The next challenge was finding the right parts, but a local hole in the wall "hardware store" actually had enough of what we needed to at least get the wall closed back up and be able to turn on the water again. I won't have a usable sink in there until we find a couple more parts but at least I have water to the rest of the house and my bathroom got a good mopping!

Very often in Congo, what appears to be a small repair turns out to be a big one.

I think sometimes people are like that too. We never know when someone does or says something to us that has a hint of anger, criticism, or malice what is lying on the other side of their wall and what might be going on with their inmost parts. Maybe they have a burden or a hurt that is way bigger than we can know. Maybe deep inside they have broken places that need God's love and healing.

Party In A Jar

designed by Daniel Burton

We are studying insects in school, so for an art project I challenged Daniel to construct an insect. The only rules I gave him were that it had to have six legs, a head, thorax and abdomen, and compound eyes. He could use any materials and the insect could resemble a known species or be imaginary. I gave him an A on his insect, pictured above. Very cool beans, Daniel. 

Not so cool are the other insects in our home right now. One would think that if no people, food, animals, etc were in the building for over six months that whatever ants or bugs were there would either get hungry and go elsewhere or they would starve and die. Nope. The ants found us on day one.

After a flying roach nearly hit me in the head, one crawled across my foot, daily wiping ants off the kitchen surfaces even when no food was left out, and a poisonous centipede was found crossing the living room, I decided to take offensive action. 

So yesterday I got out my recipes and made ant bait and roach bait. Centipedes like to eat roaches, so presumably getting rid of roaches would give them less incentive to enter the house. 

Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart.

I had to ask Daniel to make the ultimate sacrifice and drink a Coke so I could have the bottle cap. He's such a martyr.

Here is the ants' reaction only five minutes after I put the bait out.  

The recipes are obviously different, but both have boric acid as their primary ingredient. Boric acid is scarce here and I brought my own from the states. We can buy bug spray, but this is much less toxic, less expensive, and smells a lot better. My cats even ate the roach bait once and were ok. I put onion in the roach bait now and Elliot stays clear of it.  

Disney - Snow White's Scary Adventure - Queen Witch (Photo credit: Express Monorail)