April update

We pray that you had a wonderful Easter rejoicing in the hope of Christ's resurrection. We came down to Lubumbashi to celebrate with friends. David preached at the Protestant Church for the Police Force. The head Chaplain, Colonel Kalima, is a Mulungwishi graduate. We also celebrated his daughter's wedding. It was especially meaningful in that when we first came to Congo, Kalima and his wife were our students. They had a hard time getting pregnant and the families wanted them to divorce. We were able to get them to an OB-GYN doctor and with a lot of prayer, Lena was conceived. And here she is in her senior year at university and getting married on Easter weekend. What a blessing God is!!! Mulungwishi District happenings When we first got back to Mulungwishi, the District Superintendent came to see me to share what was happening in the District. One particular report was a very strong witness of the grace of our Lord. Pastor Christoph, one of our graduates of 2002 had been sent to Bunkeya. A couple of months ago a girl had been raped and murdered. Two of the three men involved were captured and accused Pastor Christoph of putting them up to it. The DS tried to intervene but the security people were very nasty and arrested Pastor Christoph and accused him of the crime and beat him severely. The DS told them to be careful of how they treated the prisoner, otherwise the same judgment they wanted to dish out would fall upon them. Pastor Christoph was sent to trial some 130 miles away and the two men testified against him. Things really looked bad for him. The DS continued to encourage him and told him to continue to pray. On the third day of the trial, the third person of the group had been caught and he testified as the others had that the pastor was guilty party. That night in his cell, Christoff cried out to God to deliver him. The other prisoner was among the people in his cell. He came to Pastor Christoph during the night to ask or forgiveness for the lies he had been telling in court. Christoph called in another prisoner to witness what this prisoner was saying. The next day this prisoner testified to what he had heard in the cell. The three who had committed the crime confessed that thy had been lying. Christoph was released and came to share his story with the DS. God had come through in his wonderful mercy to save his servant. As a postscript, the head of security in Bunkeya was caught trying to frame a merchant so he could take all his money. He was convicted and is now in prison. This story sounds like a remake of Paul and Silas!!! Settled in We have settled in nicely and have been very busy catching up with the courses that we missed. Lori is feeling better and better. She is experimenting with different foods to see which one's agree with her. Thank you for your continued prayers. Be praying also for the country as it prepares to its first election in many years.