Church visits and Christmas

White Christmas

We are enjoying a white Christmas here in Denver. As in Congo, Christmas is about the Christ Child. We sing with the angels the arrival of the Prince of Peace and the Good News of Hope for our world. God showed his love to us by becoming one of us and identifying with us in every way. God is with us. Hallelujah!!

Family time

It is good to stop for moments after a whirlwind fall. We returned to the States on the 18th of September. A flight on the 30th brought us to Seattle to meet new members of the family. Andrew married Judy in August. She is Taiwanese and also holds a Canadian passport. Judy‘s has just finished her Master’s degree in art therapy. Her parents, Charles and Lois (western names) flew in from Taiwan and China so we could all get acquainted. Charles had worked for Lever Brothers for 20 years and knew his way around North America and food. Going out to restaurants with them was a wonderful experience. Their son, Nelson, also lives in Seattle doing his medical residency at the University of Washington. We are so thrilled for the increase in our family and these wonderful people God has brought into our lives.

Visits to 38 churches

We flew back to Denver on the 5th of October to begin driving on the 7th to itinerate in our supporting churches. This trip took us 7,000 miles to Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. In all, we did 63 presentations in 38 different churches. Some of the churches we were in have been supporting the work in Congo for over 60 years going back to Lori’s parents. One church was our first covenanting church and saw us off 33 years ago with a one year old. What a blessing to have church communities standing behind you with such faithfulness. We are most blessed.

Thanksgiving break

We did take a week break at Thanksgiving to fly back to Denver. Andrew, Judy and Amber came in from Seattle so we could celebrate together with Michelle, Jeff and Elliot. David preformed the wedding of Amber’s best friend that weekend in Colorado Springs.

Congolese elections

The Congolese presidential election has just taken place. The Supreme Court has declared Kabila the winner and has inaugurated him for a second term. However, the European Union and the Carter Center have declared that there were anomalies in the election process. The opposition has claimed victory and has inaugurated its own candidate. Pray for a peaceful resolution.

We pray the Lord’s richest blessings for you and your families for the coming year.

Mulungwishi update

We want to ask your forgiveness for being so delinquent in getting information to you about what is happening at Mulungwishi. We will explain more but first we need to tell you how much we appreciate and count on your prayers and support. Your faithfulness through the years has meant so much to us. During these past months we have really needed your prayers. So let us bring you up to date.

Deaths from measles

When we returned to Mulungwishi in March of 2011, we found the area in the midst of a measles epidemic. Even children that had been vaccinated were affected. Many died mainly because they were so malnourished. Our medical team along with Lori‘s nutritional team worked very hard to treat and revaccinate the children. Doctors Without Borders and World Vision came with extra food that was given to the people. Over the course of five months we were able to work with over 1000 families in the Mulungwishi area. Just as we left in September, our station received a large supply of mosquito nets from the “Nothing But Nets” program and a team is now working to hand those out to the community. Yea!

Education

As always, Mulungwishi and the ministry there continues to work through the different educational programs and we celebrated several graduations. About 70 finished in the High School program and took National Exams. Because of your support, 18 pastors and their wives graduated this year and are now going out to their churches in the southern province of Katanga in Congo. As we have said many times before, we never know with the political and economic situation whether we will get to graduation or not? It is always a miracle! The Lord is faithful and you have been a part of that!

Family visit, safari

Along with graduation at the end of June, we were thrilled to have Lori’s cousin, Danita, and her husband, David, come out to visit us. They are the first members of our families to visit Mulungwishi. For years, Danita has wanted to come to Africa and see what Uncle Woodie was doing. It was a great celebration at Mulungwishi because the niece of the founder of the Seminary had come for a visit. The local chief was also happy with their visit because his family had been involved with Lori’s parents. Having them there for graduation was very special. Danita worked on sewing projects with the graduates. David and Danita gave out the diplomas to the 18 graduating pastor and their wives. After graduation, David and Danita treated us to a safari to see animals and Victoria Falls. It was so much fun and a blessing! We looked upon it as our "honeymoon" celebration for our 40th anniversary this August!

VIM teams

Mulungwishi was also happy to host two VIM Teams from the El Paso area and the North West Texas Conference. As usual, these Teams were able to minister and bring their talents and gifts to the community. They were blessed and awed by the Church in Congo and the vitality they experienced. The NW Texas Team was able to participate in the University graduation of over 150 students in IT, education and SISCO Systems. A great celebration!

Related links

• Doctors without Borders -- about measles in DR Congo
• Imagine No Malaria
• Nothing But Nets
• UM Volunteers in Mission (VIM)
• World Vision

News roundup

Below is a collection of links to widely varied articles related to the D.R. Congo. Some give hope, some evoke sadness. Continued prayers are needed for the DR Congo -- for its leaders, for its women, for its children, and for its future.

• Indoor air pollution - a Congo killer (a 2007 article, but still important)
• Haunted by Congo Rape Dilemma (BBC, 2010)
• Electronics fuel unspeakable violence (CNN, Sept. 2010)
• Rape in war: the time for 'never again' is now (Oct. 2010)
• DR Congo improves education, child survival (Oct. 2010)
• Congolese women refuse poverty (Nov. 2010)
• Illegal mining continues (Feb. 2011)
• Open air justice in DR Congo (Feb. 2011)
• 50 million people lack clean drinking water (Mar. 2011)
• New pneumonia vaccine gives hope for youth (Apr. 2011)
• Kiss of life for DR Congo Pygmies (Apr. 2011)
• Sowing seeds of food security (May 2011)
• Conflict minerals in the DRC (UMC video)
• Can rainforests survive logging? (BBC)
• Lack of forest management leads to violence (May 2011)
• Ebola - A disease with no cure
• Rape, death, and the media (Jun. 2011)
• Measles outbreak (Jun. 2011)

African Land Grabs report

Land issue still hot

We would like to ask you to pray this during the next couple of weeks especially for our land situation. Inspite of having all the documentation, there are still parties claiming mining rites on our property. Dr. Kasap, President of the University, will be going to Lubumbashi this next week to meet with the Minister of Mines to get this situation ironed out. God is faithful.

We also found two interesting articles on BBC pertaining to the mineral situation in Congo. "Kenya & D.R. Congo to Probe Gold Smuggling" on March 4th, 2011. Also, "Can Conflict Minerals Really be Controlled?" on March 29th, 2011. This second article brings in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform which we applaude the Congress and Administration for passing as a step in the right direction to bring a halt to the violence in Congo.

Thank you for standing with us.

Related articles

• DR Congo 'gold smugglers' arrested in Goma (Mar. 4)
• DR Congo lifts ban on mining gold tin and coltan (Mar. 10)

Arrived in Congo

Arrived in Congo on Sunday afternoon with only an hour and a half at the border. No problems. Praise the Lord!

The work team that was to be there were held up in London so we had a good night's sleep. They came in on Monday.

We drove up to Mulungwishi on Tuesday and received a warm welcome. So good to be back in our own bed.

Thanks for all the prayers.

A fast note...

We had a good trip. No problems with customs at Lusaka. Got all the bags OK and we drove up to the Copperbelt. Staying with friends. Go up to Congo on Saturday or Sunday.