Cleared for Congo return!

Praise the Lord! Good News! This past week, we completed the testing having to do with Lori’s eye and arthritis.

The rheumatologist was able to rule out lupus. He was not sure about the rheumatoid arthritis because he has found that those of us who are malaria carriers mess up the numbers on that part of the blood test. So we are working on the pain management having to do with her arthritis and phybromyalgia. The ophthalmologist said that the cotton wool spot on her eye has disappeared but there is still a spot on the retina.

Long story short, their opinion is that we can return to Congo. We have sent the results in the Wellness office of the GBGM for clearance to return. We appreciate so much your prayers for us. If all goes as planned, we hope to leave around the middle of May.

In the mean time, David arrived in Ft. Worth today to interpret for the French speaking delegates at General Conference. He is looking forward to being with so many Congolese colleagues and friends. Be in much prayer as our church leaders gather to dialogue about issues facing the church and what the Lord wants us to do in the coming 4 years.

Latest news ...

Back in Lakewood

A quick note to let you know what is happening in our lives and a call to prayer. After some 20,000 miles on the road we are back in Lakewood!! It was good to see and fellowship with many of you along the way and we are thankful for your warm hospitality.

Lori's eye shadow

During our last week of itineration in Arizona, Lori developed a shadow in her left eye. We went immediately to an optometrist to check it out. The shadow is gone but the spot on the retina is still there. She said we should have it checked out by an ophthalmologist as soon as we got back to Denver. Long story short, she is busy seeing a number of doctors and getting tests. At this point, we do not have results or what the treatment will be. We covet your prayers for us, for her healing and the doctors who are ministering to her.

Return to Congo delayed

We were due to return to Congo on April first. In fact the tickets were in hand. The General Board of Global Ministries and their Wellness Program have been very understanding and have put our return on hold until the picture is clearer and we know what we are dealing with.

David to be French translator

Since we were to be here through April, the GBGM contacted David to help with the French translation at General Conference in Fort Worth at the end of April. He is looking forward to being with so many African delegates and helping them with the language in order that they may fully participate in our Methodist procedures. He is especially excited that six of the delegates are professors of the Seminary at Mulungwishi. This speaks very highly of our institution and the respect that our faculty enjoys within the Church in Congo.

March prayer focus - High School

The Mulungwishi Ministry 2008 calendar asks us to pray for the High School -- for Principal Mayonde, the faculty, and all the students. The High School educates 600 students from around the region. Program specialties are Math, Physics, and Agriculture.

IRC News links

Some Internal Rescue Committee (IRC) news links related women in the D.R. Congo:

• Ending Violence Against Women (an IRC project)
• Program for survivors of rape
• Helping women heal in Congo

An ongoing crisis: Mortality in DRC

The Congolese people have been victims of war for over a decade. The most recent conflit caused:

• Mass displacements
• Collapse of health systems
• Food shortages

All of these have contributed to a major increase in mortality ... deaths equivalent to the state of Colorado or country of Denmark ... all in a decade!

In addition to the video below, please read the IRC's special Congo Special Report: Congo in Crisis.

February Prayer Focus - Elementary School

Pray for the Elementary School ... for Principal Phillip Mwembo, the faculty, and the children.

The Elementary School serves about 450 children from Mulungwishi station and the nearby villages. For many of these children, especially the girls, this is the only formal education they will ever get.

As we travel ...

Donations fund transformer repairs!

What a great God we serve and what great brothers and sisters we have in the Lord!! Our prayers have been answered. The money has been raised for the repairs for our transformer at Mulungwishi. We want to specifically thank 1st UMC Stillwater, OK; Ardmore UMC Ardmore, OK; Reynoldsburg UMC Reynoldsburg, Ohio and the Pillsbury’s in Ft Mohave, AZ for their gifts. Praise the LORD!

Pacific Northwest Conference visits

We have just completed visiting churches in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference. We appreciated so much the welcome that we received in those churches. We also had wonderful visits with so many who had visited us in Congo. It is so exciting to be able to connect with people who have caught the vision of what the Lord is doing in Congo and are taking it back to their local congregations. Some have returned two and three times to Congo. We were also in contact (particularly Mike and Terry Hobbs) with those who loaded and put together two containers for projects in Congo. The items for Mulungwishi are already there. Cartons of baby clothes and material for the Women’s School are in our living room waiting for us to return. Can’t wait to celebrate Christmas in March.

On to Northern California

We are now starting our itineration in Northern California. From here we will spend a couple of days in Southern California in Churches we were not able to visit last year. Our tour ends up in Arizona from mid-February on. We return to Denver in March to pack up and return to Africa.

Story of one seminarian

We want to share the story of one of our new students in the Seminary. Kambongo Longesa (Jean-Marie de Dieu) is married and has 3 children. He was born of Christian parents in 1962. His wife’s parents are also Christians. He grew up within the church and as he grew older took more and more responsibilities within the church. Kambongo was influential in the construction of two churches, Jerusalem and Tshiwengo. He became disillusioned with the church because of the conduct of the clergy (both Catholic and Methodist).

Later on he was wooed back into the church by the activities of the youth group, choirs and scouts. It was in a retreat lead by Pastor Sul-A-Nawej (one of our Mulungwishi graduates) that Kambongo received his call into the ministry. The verse from 2 Timothy 2:2 is the verse that inspired him to follow Christ and become a minister of the Gospel: “and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit them to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”. Pray for Kambongo and his family as he starts his studies to fulfill the all God has put on his life.