February newsletter

We have just completed our itineration in the California – Pacific Annual Conference. We also made a visit to Church of the Wayfarer, a new church, in Carmel. It was nice to have a break from snow in Denver but some of the cold weather followed us as California had freezing temperatures also destroying many crops!!! We were able to sneak a day at Disney Land and Sea World! We had a quick time in Hawaii speaking and also enjoying the ocean. They had some serious wind while we were there, so we felt that the bad weather followed us everywhere!! Throughout our itineration we have been blessed to see so much of our beautiful country. We have also been touched by the beauty of the lives of so many wonderful people in the churches we visited. Indeed we are very spoiled as God’s children. Congo continues to struggle as they come out of this war period and try to get back on tract. President Kabila is trying to forge the way. Please keep him in prayers and those voted in for the new government. The University and Seminary continue classes. It has been a hard time after the death of Dr. Munene. Dr. Kongolo has now become the Dean of Academics as well as the Seminary and others are taking on more hats to keep the ship afloat. Please pray for them and the all the students. Our packing begins and getting correspondence completed. We had the joy of being a complete family as Amber came for a couple of days. She continues at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. Andrew is looking at going to work in Australia. Jeff and Michelle remain in Denver.

Prayer:

• The Congo and President Kabila
• Mulungwishi and the ministry there
• Our Family and the preparation and travel ahead

Again we want to express how much your prayers and support means to us. Thank you so much and we ask the Lord’s blessing on your ministries.

February prayer focus

Pray for the Elementary Schoool - Principal Phillip Mwembo, the faculty, and children. The Elementary School serves some 450 children from Mulungwishi station and the surrounding villages. For many children, especially girls, this provides the only formal education they will ever get.

How you can help

You can be a part of the UMC's missions to the DR Congo (Haute-Katanga Province and Mulungwishi) by:

• Donate to an Advance special:
• Mulungwishi Theological Seminary Scholarships, #05773A
• Mulungwishi Women's School, #08112A
• Katanga Methodist University Professors' Salaries, #14432A
• Katanga Methodist University Program, #14433A
• Send a donation for the Mulungwishi Ministry 2007 calendar.
• Pray. See the Mulungwishi Ministry 2007 calendar for suggested prayers each month.
• Volunteer your time (Volunteers in Mission, church group mission trips to Mulungwishi, help get the word out at your church, etc.)

Cell phones drip with blood

The Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in the combination of minerals columbite and tantalite (Coltan for short), which are used in cell phone batteries. African journalist, Kofi Akosah-Sarpong has said, "Coltan in general terms is not helping the local people. In fact, it is the curse of the Congo." In addition to the chemicals being suspected of causing birth defects in families of Coltan mine workers, the mining has cause forest destruction. "Cell phones are tainted with the blood of 3.2 million deaths since 1998", reports an article by the World Rainforest Movement. [Thanks to Barbara Powers for passing this information to us.]

News roundup

Here are some of the Congo-related stories from December and January...

• Thousands homeless after floods
• Most of Congo Basin forests could disappear
• Getting Congo's wealth to its people
• Congo pygmies' problems
• National committee to standardize food quality
• Poaching devastates Congo's hippos
• Congo hippos face extinction
• "I have nowhere to go" (an 18-year old Congolese refugee)
• Capability to produce AIDS treatment sits idle in Congo

January: On the road again

We now find ourselves in California beginning our itineration in the Cal-Pac Annual Conference. It is hard to believe that our time here in the States is flying by so quickly. We arrived back in the States on August 26th after spending two weeks in Switzerland. Two churches had invited us to speak and we have so many friends in Switzerland who have been our colleagues in the work in Congo. It was a wonderful time of sharing. We were joined on the trip by Dan and Nancy Massimer of Canon City, CO. We have been long time friends and their church supports the work in Congo. September 6th saw us begin our itineration in the central and eastern parts of the United States. Our trusty blue Toyota van saw us safely through close to 12,000 miles in which we visited churches in Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. All told, we made 104 presentations in 60 churches. Side trips included family visits in Kansas, Connecticut and Texas. We made a quick visit to be with Lynette (many of you know her through our e-mail connection) in the Washington DC area. We were in Atlanta for part of our medicals. Thanksgiving was held in Chicago with my Brother John, his wife, Dagmar, and other members of the family. It was our first Thanksgiving together without any of the parents present. It meant so much to be able to be together to enforce the family bonds we have. Christmas was held in Denver. Amber flew in from Seattle. Jeff’s parents came from Illinois and his brothers live her in Colorado. Michelle and Jeff have moved into their new town home in the Denver area. Andrew is still in our town home. It was good to have both families together to get to know each other better and to enjoy the season. We need to say that Christmas in Colorado this year was definitely white and we were snowed in twice. Because of responsibilities in Congo we are cutting our year of itineration in half. We are doing six months now and will be doing the next when we return this fall. Our plans are to return to Congo at the beginning of March. We covet your prayers for us as we continue to travel and share what God is doing at Mulungwishi.

Christmas 2006

It is amazing how fast this year has past! We began it in Denver with Lori struggling with health issues. Then we were back to Congo, in February, teaching our courses and everything else. We returned to the U.S. in late August, via Switzerland. Now, we have had better than three months of traveling and speaking and hope to be back to Denver for Christmas!! Many, many miles and many, many different beds in our travels! Ha!! It has been good to reconnect with many of you and hope to see more of you in the New Year. Our home assignment will be a split year – 6 months now and 6 more months next Fall. As of now we plan to return to Congo in February. Through this year, we have experienced so many different cultures, such diverse lifestyles and such varieties!!! The one constant through out the diversity has been “family" or "family relationships”. Christmas is about family. It is important and amazing to reflect and meditate about Christmas and how God used a family. When God wanted to send His Son to earth, He had to find a family in which to place Him. Why did God choose a young girl to be the mother of Christ? Why did God choose a carpenter to raise His son? Why did God entrust the raising and care of His Son to a family? How did Mary feel about becoming the mother of the One who would save His people? What were Joseph’s thoughts concerning his responsibility to teach and protect this Child, Lord of the universe? God put all of this in creating a family!!! What about the world and her children? So many children are without parents because of disease and war. In Africa, the extended family takes on the responsibility of those who have lost parents. Many of our Pastor students have several extra children living with them. The tragedy of Africa is that these families are also becoming victims of the devastation that is continuing!! Lubumbashi, (100 miles southeast of us) the city of supposedly one million is now a hurting City of an extra added two million displaced people, with over 75,000 orphans!! A whole generation is disappearing. Grandparents are taking on the responsibility of the children that are left!!! More and more there are children without any family. The Church’s continuing ministry is to be part of the Family for these children!! Because of Christmas, we have become part of God's Family as His children – Heirs in His Kingdom! Wow! God has also put us in families to mirror what family life should be. He has entrusted our sons and daughters to us to raise as His children. We are responsible to our extended families and living out His Love to them. This Christmas, let us celebrate the families God has given us and the amazing world-wide Family of God’s children. Hallelujah!! We are Christmas family! Praise The Lord!! Praise for Christmas!!