Having Coffee with the Army Guys

I regularly find legos, knights, army men, bouncy balls, etc in my washing machine. It's part of raising kids, boys in particular. 

I also find miscellaneous "boy stuff" in other places. 

We don't often eat at our dining table because the air conditioner in that room is broken, so approximately 350 days out of the year it is so hot and steamy that no one wants to be in the room, much less sit down to a hot meal and commence eating while sweat drips off your face.

I use the table in the mornings though. Before it gets hot, this is my station for Bible study, bill paying, letter writing, studying, planning, sewing, etc. It's my "desk." 

But this morning as I approached the table/desk, I found this:

Obviously, a boy has been here. 

If you are familiar with the organization/cleaning guru FlyLady, you know that she refers to places that attract (and seemingly multiply) clutter as "hot spots." I fell off the FlyLady wagon eons ago, but I am fully aware that my table IS a hot spot. It is conveniently located, large, and flat, so it will hold a LOT of stuff. Some days it looks like a page out of one of those I Spy books with the hidden objects. I had just cleaned it off yesterday. Now look at it.

I didn't have the heart to move any of it. All of those things are his and they illustrate him so vividly. And I love that in addition to all his little toys and his treasures, he also carries around that pocket Bible. Very cool beans, Daniel, very cool beans. 

One day, all too soon, the last bird will fly from our nest and there won't be any more puzzles, army guys, bubbles, legos, or other gizmos on my table, my floor, or in my washing machine. So today I just sat at the other end of the table with my Bible and my books and smiled while I had coffee with the little green army guys. If only they could talk to me of their adventures on my table with my son. 

Yes, I had just cleaned it off. But look how the space is being used now! Isn't that the whole point? Yes, that table is the first thing folks will see if they come visit and enter my house. Big deal. Maybe they would like to join in the fun or help put the puzzle together. I have plenty of other hot spots I can work on.

Meticulously Planned

I saw this at the grocery store today and thought it was funny. Everybody needs a "meticulously plannd kitchen thing." (spelling theirs)  Don't they?

Even though the package says: "advanced stainless steel," it is rusted already. Hmmmmm. 

For me this was a humorous reminder that I was indeed meticulously planned.  Unlike the makers of this kitchen gadget, though, God does not make mistakes or false claims. He says I am fearfully and wonderfully made, that He knew me before I was in my mother's womb, and that He loves me with an everlasting love. And THAT is somethingeverybody really needs.

"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

 your works are wonderful: I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

Trusting Truth

I'm a Missouri girl, so I can't think of a better place to be refreshed and renewed than Missouri in spring and early summer. Everything is blooming and the colors are vibrant with newness. Baby birds and animals are everywhere and all around you can see and hear their parents keeping vigil and finding food. Everything smells, well, like spring. It's a balm for the senses and the soul and I loved getting to enjoy the season again.

You would think with all of that newness I would have returned to Congo recharged and ready to go. The reality is that a struggle began in me before I left the states and followed me here. It didn't help that I was sick the last three of my four weeks home. That wears on a person. Missionary life has made me more acutely aware that every moment with a loved one, every walk down a favorite path, every routine activity we so often take for granted could be the last, so you better savor it. 

I didn't want to just savor the moments. I wanted to keep them. Watching my kids interacting with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents reminded me of all they miss when we are away. My first-born went off to college at 18 and for two years he was the only one in our immediate family on U.S. soil. When breaks and summers came and other students went home, his "home" was 7,000 miles away and unreachable. He had places he could go stay, but they weren't "home." Now my daughter is in the same predicament. My youngest struggles with isolation and life without electricity most of the time and he can't even get packages from his grandparents. 

I felt like I had cheated my children. 

Feelings cannot alway be trusted, though, and I know that. How I feel can be affected and manipulated by many things but Truth never changes. The truth is that God is our Shepherd and takes care of us as a shepherd cares for his flock.  A shepherd safely leads his flock to where they need to be to find nourishment and rest to grow strong and healthy. He carries the weak ones and the littlest ones because he knows how fragile they are and how hard the path is. God knows the path ahead of my kids and He's got them in his arms. A shepherd leads the mamas in his flock with gentleness. He knows my feelings and doesn't disregard them, but gently beckons me to trust Him. To trust Truth. 

"He tends his flocks like a shepherd: 

he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; 

he gently leads those that have young." 

Isaiah 40:11

Cool Beans In My Luggage!

The other night Daniel and my nephew accidentally spilled popcorn in my open suitcase. Today it is filled with blessings instead of butter.

These are gifts for the orphanage and the Mitendi Women's Center. Some items are still yet to arrive! I have amazing, generous friends and I am grateful to all who donated to make this possible. You know who you are. Dry season is beginning, bringing cooler temperatures, so the blankets and caps will mean a lot to the little ones at the orphanage. The yarn and sewing supplies will help the girls at the Mitendi Center learn to sew and crochet to earn a living. There was even some money donated that will go into the scholarship fund to the Mitendi Women's Center! 

Daniel and I leave for Congo early Friday morning and will arrive late Saturday evening. I am still having problems with my ear infection and residual coughing from the bronchitis so would appreciate prayer for no ear pain and no coughing fits that cause anxiety for my neighbors on the plane, as well as safety and that all of our bags arrive on time, undamaged, and with nothing missing. Can't wait to see David. 

Mother of the Groom

my lovely gift from Kristen's aunt Terry

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Josh's wedding. I know that no one is as interested in the wedding as I am and I have been ill so this post will be short and sweet. The first two photos are mine but the wedding photos are posted with permission and were taken by Andrea Cahill from Distinctive KC.

Rehearsal was fun not just because it was for Josh's wedding, and not just because we got to see Josh and Kristen again and meet Kristen's family, but also because we got to see our pastor, Brother Michael, again. 

Daniel escorting Kristen's sister, Amanda. It was a very emotional moment when I saw both of my boys in tuxedos at the same time. Josh is already taken, but look out world, here comes son number two!

Josh escorting me to my seat. Lots of mixed feelings here but pride and joy were way up there, along with a little bit of sadness and a big dose of "phew, we did it, we raised a boy!" 

I love this one because Josh and Kristen have a strong desire to keep God the center of their marriage and life together.

It was a very joyful day. We are so blessed and happy to add Kristen to our family. 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Catching up. A few weeks ago we flew out of Congo. Our destination was Missouri for our son's wedding, but since we had to have a layover in Belgium anyway, and we had not had a vacation in a long time, we extended our layover to a couple of days so that we could see a bit of Belgium.

I was completely enchanted with Belgium. It was my first experience in any part of Europe. I like old things, and there are lots of old things there. I like chocolate. Belgium does chocolate very well. We saw chocolatiers everywhere and I would have liked to visit all of them. 

We only had two days, so the first day we took a train (my first train ride!) to Brussels Central and spent the day doing a walking tour of the older part of town. All of the streets here were narrow, winding, and cobble-stoned. The buildings were ancient and bold, yet charming. A strange mix of gargoyles and window boxes, towers and ivy. 

For day two we rented a car and drove to the city of Brugges. It was cold and rainy and we REALLY appreciated the lunch and hot drinks we bought in the little cafes. I loved touring the old buildings and churches. One church, St. Salvator's, dates to the 12th century and contains breathtaking art pieces. 

I also fell in love with the canals in Brugges. 

In spite of temps in the forties and almost constant rain, we had a wonderful time and would have stayed longer if we could have. 

A Series of Unusual Events

This week and next, we have a series of unusual events - all of which are cool, cool beans! Yes, cool enough to say it twice.

Unusual event number one? The bad guys lost and the good guys have prevailed! I wrote about Jill Lowery and the ministry at the Mitendi Center some time ago, and their efforts to stop certain people who were stealing their land and then selling it piecemeal to other people. After a battle that took years and had to go through the courts, the ministry has won and gets to keep their land! This was very obviously orchestrated by God and nothing short of a miracle. Jill gave me permission to post her words and photos as an update since so many of you have been praying about this situation.

Here is what Jill posted: "The Mitendi Wall is happening, people!!! After too many interruptions, the crew has already completed half the wall along the back property limit! Please pray that they can finish without further harassment. I'm so grateful to all of you for your prayers and support! Love you!!!"  

"These sweet ladies are the heart of the Mitendi program. They've fought long and hard to make this happen."

If you don't know what I am talking about, here are links to my posts about Mitendi: Finding Hope in Mitendi and Prayers Needed. 




Second unusual event? Tadah! I made a dress! That hasn't happend in 13 years. And it showed. I had to rip out some seams and redo stuff. I found this lovely fabric here in Kinshasa last year.

And I had one little fat quarter of brown batik which I love and wanted to use as an accent. I decided to make the waist band, belt and hem band out of it. But I didn't have enough. So I improvised and sewed the middle portion of the belt with a plain brown. 

I also had to use the plain brown on the backside of the hemband. I figured it would be on the inside of the skirt and the belt would be hidden inside the waistband and no one would ever see my little improvisations. Except, you just did.





It's hot and only having power for a few hours each day made me want to rush, so there are plenty of mistakes. But I tried on four shirts at Wal-mart last summer off the same rack and every single one had major sewing flaws front and center so I couldn't even buy one. I figure my dress looks at least as good as that. 

Unusual events three and four? Our first-born is about to get married! Since we had to fly to the states anyway, and we have to go through Brussels to do it, we scheduled a two day layover and are taking a mini-vacation! We haven't had power for over two days now and don't expect to get it for several more days. Someone dug up our power line and stole three meters! So we are cleaning out the fridge and freezer in the morning and flying away tomorrow evening! Electricity, here we come!

Please keep praying for the Mitendi Center and for Jill. The wall still has a long way to go and it will take some time to get all the illegal squatters off the land. 

Non-news is Good News!

I took this photo at our Easter sunrise service. It's always a special service, not only because we are celebrating the resurrection of Christ but also because we meet by the Congo River. It's just beautiful. These guys, and several other fishermen, were already out on the water when we arrived at six a.m. I wonder what it is like to paddle one of those little hand-made wooden boats out onto the giant Congo River, especially in the quiet mystery of early morning. I wonder if they know about some other fishermen long ago who walked with Jesus and learned to fish for men.

I wanted to post Easter photos and an update much sooner, but we had internet issues. I also didn't know quite how to go about writing what is on my mind and heart right now, and still don't, so I'll just spill it out.

I love the diversity of attending an international church. We have people in our church from all over the world who come together each week all having one thing in common - our faith in Jesus - to worship Him. 

We also had a baptism service, and one of the baptizees was Daniel's friend Nicholas. Celebrating the new life of each of the three who were baptized was even more special because we were doing it on the day we celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive!

Just since Easter, a lot of dark and tragic things have happened here in Congo. Here are some recent events, in case you haven't seen it in the news. 

A horrible train wreck killed many people. The exact number is up for debate and you can read more about it HERE. One thing that we do know is that there were people on that train who should not have been there. They had paid to ride illegally so other people could line their pockets and the train was overloaded. Corruption is rampant here, and it always hurts the poorest people the most.

Yellow fever outbreaks have been reported. Yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. Maybe the most tragic thing about a yellow fever outbreak is that it shouldn't happen. There is a vaccine. 

A power outage at a stadium incited a stampede, and several people were killed. The infrastructure here is still poor.

And in case you have seen the news, good things have happened as well, even though they did not make headlines in big papers or television. In a new twist on the saying "no news is good news," here is some non-news worth knowing.

The Congolese Baptists and the Mitendi Center finally received a court decision in their favor, against the people who were stealing their land and selling it off piecemeal! This is a vital ministry and it is a miraculous victory!

Our MAF team here does regular vaccine flights. Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders also work in DRC to make vaccines accessible to as many as possible. In April alone our pilots have flown thousands of miles for medical flights and thousands more for relief and development.

I honestly don't know how long ago this happened, but the ministry is ongoing and I just found the article. It is one of the reasons MAF is here and one of the reasons we love being part of MAF. People are finding new life in Christ through the Jesus Film ministry!

In the midst of all the death and pain that is happening here, lives and souls are being saved! Please pray for Congo and rejoice in the good that God is doing here!

When You Know Where To Look

They say an elephant never forgets. Not being an elephant, I forget things all the time. I would blame my age or my health but I have always been forgetful AND unorganized - a deadly combination. My poor husband has not gone a day without hearing "where's my?" or "have you seen?" since he married me. 

My mom used to encourage me to be more organized and to put things away before I moved on to the next distraction. She would tell me: "It's easy to find when you know where to look." If I put things in sensible places, it would be easy to find them when I needed them. 

This past week has been a stellar memory week total memory fail. I spent at least an hour looking for this so I could work on some quilt block ideas for the Mitendi Center. Just about the time I told myself that if the girls at the center can cut fabric without a rotary cutter then I jolly well can too, I finally found them.

I also spent an hour (or two) looking for the receipts from last month's water and electric bills. Now utility receipts are one thing I never lose because it is a humongo hassle here if for some random reason the utility company decides to claim you never pay your bills and threatens to cut you off and you can't produce your receipts. But I couldn't find them anywhere. Later as I was going through a shelf I saw a folder I didn't remember the purpose of and opened it to find our utility receipts. Then I remembered selecting that folder specifically for keeping the receipts in so that they would be easy to find if I ever needed them. Aaagh! 

My family and close friends, if you are reading this, I know you are shaking your heads at me but are not at all surprised. 

Not being able to find things isn't always my fault. We went downtown on Saturday to shop for a phone for my birthday. At the first store we tried, an employee told us that the phone I wanted but wasn't willing to pay their price for could be purchased at a significant savings if we bought it at a different store. He even called ahead to make sure the phone was in stock and to guarantee the price. Then he told us where to go. 

We thought we understood his directions but we ended up in a part of the city where there were lots of police (not a good thing in Congo) and after going down several ONE WAY streets the wrong way (in our defense, they were not labeled) and having no success finding the store, we decided to just head home. As we turned a corner to get back out on the main road, lo and behold, there was our store! It's easy to find when you know where to look, which we didn't.

After we got home I wanted to finish what I had begun with my sewing, so once I concluded my search for the iron, I managed to do these. Both are a type of crazy quilt square. I am not sure yet how I will use them.

I am so glad I DO know where to look when I need peace, direction, comfort, strength, or forgiveness. I don't have to search frantically for Jesus because He is always with me and He never loses his own. I just have to call out his name. 

Team Spicy

Photo credit: Debbie Martinez, joyinthecongo.blogspot.com

The last day of Family Conference is always the most emotional for me. By that point, I am tired, which always makes me emotional anyway, but there are other factors. Knowing the conference is nearly over and friends whom I see once a year or less are about to return home. After days of worshiping together and asking God to have his way in our hearts, in our team, and in Congo, we are all more united, more focused, and more cohesive - and it is challenging sometimes to figure out how to let the conference end but still hold on to that. The fun and fellowship are ending and we are all going back to life-as-normal-as-it-gets-here. Unity, staying focused on what we should, and loving so well that others can tell we belong to Jesus just by observing us can over time come under pressure from fatigue, stress, and circumstances. It is a constant battle, so pray for all of us that we remember the lessons we learned about finding joy when we go through the "furnace", the trials of life.

Our last day included more worship, study, and prayer. We also had some time for communication as an organization, sharing information and ideas and making sure we are all on the same page not just as ambassadors for Christ but also as representatives of MAF. 

We also had an impromptu softball rematch. MAF won. 



Our evening began with devotions and then ended with a "variety show." If variety is the spice of life, our West DRC team is really spicy! We are such a melange of talents, interests, and passions that it will be very interesting to see how God puts that all together for his work here. Next year, the dynamics will be different. Some of us will have followed different paths and will be deeply missed. But God gave us the gift of our time together in Kinshasa, learning, letting go, loving, and laughing with each other. A little joy in the furnace. 

A Day at the Farm - the SNAKE Farm

Friday, after our worship time, we went to a "snake park." Kinshasa is home to the only center where venom is collected from snakes native to Congo for the purpose of making anti-venom. 

Our guide showed us the venomous snakes first, proudly proclaiming that in his fifteen years working with the snakes he has only been bitten seven times. Sounds like a fun job. 

Five of his seven bites came from this little guy. 









This is as close as I ever wish to be to a cobra. 








These snakes were beautiful but deadly. They make an ominous warning noise when they want to be left alone.

Next, we saw the non-venomous snakes. Those of us who were willing were allowed to handle these snakes. Our guide had a little fun with that, walking about in search of victims volunteers. 

One of the first things Brad (our conference speaker) said to us is that rejection does not equal failure. Sometimes it seems like MAF and other mission groups have been here for a long time and done all God has asked of us to the best of our ability but we've seen little fruit. But Christ said that when we are rejected we should remember that the world rejected Him first. Brad also pointed out that it is an honor just to be able to serve and represent the One who has saved us, regardless of the outcome this side of heaven. Important truths to remember.

We had a softball game between the Lubumbashi team and the Kinshasa team. 

Everyone was invited to play and we had lots of men, some children, and one girl - me. Everyone had a good time, and while there was NO rejection on our ball field, team Kinshasa did feel the sting of defeat. 



We ended our day with dinner out for the adults and a pizza/movie night for the kids.

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!