Life....

Though I've lived in Africa for almost 20 years, I am still struck, at times, by how raw and difficult life here can be. Last night I continued teaching transformational development at a local church. This church is located in an incredibly poor, crowded, and under-served part of the city. Their little building is smack in the middle of crowded housing. The floor is dirt, though they do have a metal roof, which is quite a feat. Raw sewage runs down the dirt paths, piles of garbage are everywhere. In the midst of this there is wall to wall people - children running around and playing, often barefoot (think of the raw sewage and garbage here), men sit in groups and talk, women are cooking and selling......my STL truck can barely make it down the road due to the road conditions, the narrowness of the path and all the little tables set up with various things to sell - soap, tomato paste, sardines, phone unit cards, etc.

As I'm teaching there are rats running around on the wooden beams above my head. The air is thick with mosquitos - when I look at my interpreter (they asked me to teach in French and he interprets into Lingala) I see clouds of mosquitoes swarming around his head and I can imagine that they're around mine as well. When the lights go out (which is most of the time) people turn on their phones so they can see to take notes. At one point I stood in total darkness - I couldn't see my hand in front of my face - yet I kept teaching because they were hungry for more.

I'm teaching on local church based development - the church being involved in holistic, transformational ministry; meaning that they intentionally develop ministries that touch all aspects of the community - physically, emotionally, relationally, spiritually. It's a basic principle and one that has been proven time and time again - in both the religious and the secular communities. It's the promotion of small acts and education that can make huge changes in health - hand washing, wearing shoes, mosquito nets, clean water - and while promoting these actions the church talks about God's love for us, His desire for us to be healthy, His plan for our lives. I know it works - I've seen it work! But last night I felt overwhelmed for them. I've taught in villages and rural areas, I've taught in smaller cities. But nothing compares to the squalor, dirt, and sanitation issues of crowded, mega-urban areas. Last night the reality of life here just felt raw.

Today I had scheduled a pedicure. I have a lovely young mother (3 children - the youngest being 2 months old) who comes once or twice a month and helps me keep my cracked and dry feet in decent shape. I've known her for almost 3 years now. She is a friend. She texted me a couple of hours before our appointment to say that she couldn't make it today.......her husband died Saturday evening. I was stunned. I have no idea how he died - he hadn't been sick. I'm thinking a car accident? I keep thinking of what this means for her - a widow in her early 30's, 3 young children, and living in a culture where the wife is automatically blamed for the husband's death - no matter how he died. I wonder what she is going through right now?? Does she have in-laws who have decided to be nice to her? Or less than 72 hours after his sudden death is she already having to fight to keep her house and possessions?

Life here is raw.........What would we do without the hope that we have in Christ? Please pray for my friend......her name is YuYu.

Ministry in Pointe Noire

I really enjoyed being able to go to Pointe Noire, Congo (across the river) for some HIV training. I am a part of a continental task force that helps to implement and strategize our HIV/AIDS response across the continent. There are many spots where missionaries and/or national pastors have a desire to be involved in HIV/AIDS education and ministry, but they don't know exactly how to go about it. Everyone has their own area of training and specialization. So, along with missionary Emily Johns from South Africa, I went to Pointe Noire to help educate and train pastors and bible school students. We had a great group of very motivated learners. Pastors are such a strategic group to target for effective HIV ministry in any country. Our Assembly of God statistics are really quite impressive - over 49,000 churches or "preaching points" on the continent with over 14 million members! Imagine the effect that could be had on the continent if even just one half of these churches decided to do AIDS education on a regular basis! We had a great time with the students.....skits, lectures, Q&A, group work, etc. Participants were challenged to talk to their churches and organize HIV response committees that can help with AIDS education and ministry.

We also met several mornings with a group of at-risk girls. These girls were all mid to late teen-agers who, for various reasons, were not succeeding in school. They had been marginalized by their families and in an effort to help them have a brighter future, while keeping them off the streets, they were admitted into a girls center. At the center they learn a marketable skill (sewing) and are given personal help in learning to read and how to do basic math. What a great time we had with them! We did devotionals on their value to God and personal purity. We talked about HIV and how to prevent becoming infected. And we did role playing in how to say "no" to sexual advances. Many times girls such as these feel powerless in the face of aggressive men. It's a very male dominated culture and they have a hard time realizing that they can and should say "no" to a man.

Travel in Central Africa

Wow, we have had a busy couple of months. I've been meaning to get to this blog for awhile now and here it is, almost May!!
I was asked to go to Pointe Noire, Congo earlier this month (early April). This is the "other Congo" - the Republic of Congo which is across the river from us here in the DRC. Pointe Noire is a town of about 3 million people on the coast of this "other Congo". Missionaries Gary and Janice Dickinsen live there. They have a large church and run a bible school, along with a young women's training center. I was asked, along with South African missionary Emily Johns, to do several HIV training sessions for various groups. Pointe Noire has a significant prevalence of HIV and the church has had very little training on the facts of the virus and how they can be involved.
My portion of the trip was quite the adventure. I'll write this in several different entries so that any one is not too long.
A driver took me down to the port where there is a lot of boat traffic between Kinshasa and Brazzaville (the capital of the other Congo). After much formality, bartering, etc. I was able to get on a little speed boat to cross the mighty Congo River. I have to say - I was a bit nervous. The river is wide and with a very powerful current. I have read that it's the most powerful river in the world as far as how many cubic meters of water pass any single point. When the river empties into the ocean it's current continues for almost 100 miles. Anyway, between the strength of the river and my worries of "upkeep and safety standards" for these boats, I was a bit concerned. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that we were offered life jackets on the boat! I was on basically a glorified row boat with a motor....it was quite weighted down and as we took off the water came up to about my shoulder level - spraying out so we weren't totally drenched. We made it across the river in under 8 minutes......which was good, although 8 minutes can feel like a long time if you're afraid of sinking!!
Once on the other side I had to pass through some very rudimentary customs steps. Fortunately they speak Lingala in Brazzaville as they do here in Kinshasa. I have to say - one of the best things Pat and I have done as missionaries is to learn the local langauge (we speak French, which is the formal, educated language - but there's nothing like also speaking the common, street language of the people!). Being able to yuck it up with people in Lingala has gotten me out of more difficult situations than I can tell!!
Once I got through the port protocol, a taxi took me to the airport. I was to take a domestic flight from Brazzaville to Pointe Noire - about 45" in the air. It's been awhile since I've flown domestic in Africa......always an adventure!!! Once I successfully navigated check in I went into a very crowded, loud waiting room where I was the only fair skinned person in sight. I have to say I was also a bit nervous about the flight. Central Africa does not have a great record when it comes to domestic flights - lots of crashes, lots of close calls! This particular airline, I was assured, was the best way to get to Pointe Noire, but even then - it's not allowed to fly to Europe because of safety standards! Needless to say, I was very happy when we landed!

Transformsing Communities

I just finished teaching a course on "The Church and Development" at the bible school. I had 36 students - all adults, most were pastors, the rest were lay leaders or hoping to be pastors. The focus of the course is to teach sound developmental strategy (the right and wrong way to do things) yet in a way that brings it down to the level of the local church. Development and public health initiatives do not have to be huge, complicated programs. There are many things that local churches can do to promote and support health, but it can be a challenge to get pastors to think on a lower, more realistic level.
Towards the end of the course I had the students break into groups and discuss a problem, or a vulnerable people group, that they often see in their neighborhoods. They then had to come up with some realistic activities that their church, with its own resources, could do to have an effect on the issue. It was exciting to see what they choose:

• Educate their church and the surrounding community about tuberculosis and where to go for treatment.
• Reading classes for women in the community.
• A community educational program on malaria with a push for mosquito net distribution and a community clean up program (to clear away water reservoirs and grasses that attract mosquitoes)
• A program that would target teen-age mothers and teach them to read and how to sew.
• A program that targets Angolan refugees, who are mostly widows from the war. They would teach them "market Lingala", so that the women would be more self-sufficient in the marketplace.
  

Each program was integrated to touch not only the physical/social problem but to evangelize and disciple as well. I was so encouraged to see how the students had finally grasped the essence of the course - they could do something to address problems within their communities. And their efforts would not only help in the daily lives of the people, but would also serve as a means to show very tangibly the love of Christ.

Movement!

Our life here can be so interesting. Daily I see things that amaze me. Sometimes I shake my head and wonder how a farm girl from Iowa ended up doing what I do and living where I live.

Kinshasa is a huge city with a population estimated from anywhere between 8 -13 million. It was originally built to hold just a few million people, with that number jumping dramatically within the last decade because of people fleeing from the fighting. Imagine a city holding several times the population that it was built for; crowding, wall to wall people, constant movement.

Kinshasa is a city that MOVES. At all hours of the day and night you can find some sort of movement; people fighting for transportation, navigating crowded walkways, fighting to get ahead in a traffic jam, bartering for local foods, etc. But there are two, one minute periods of the day when you can find absolute stillness.......the raising and lowering of the Congolese flag. There's a military camp by the kid's school. Around the time that we take the girls to school every morning, we often run into the flag raising ceremony. It's really not much of a ceremony; usually a couple of military men march out and one stands at attention while the other raises the flag. But what is amazing is what happens on the street. Everyone FREEZES; cars, taxis, pedestrians, vendors......there is absolutely NO movement. If someone is in the process of paying a cab fare both parties stop. It's freeze tag, where once you're tagged you're supposed to freeze in that exact position. If the flag ceremony is happening on a stretch of road where you can see for a good distance, people will freeze for a good 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile on each side of the flag.

Here's to a moment of stillness among the millions..........

The Grotesque Vocabulary in Congo

This columnist for the New York Times is based in Eastern Congo for the moment. I find his blog entries extremely raw, real, and insightful. The reality of what is actually happening here is heartbreaking.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/opinion/11kristof.html

Getting Started

As I look at my blog, I see that my last post was titled "Finishing Well" and that I posted it 4 months ago........I realize that to truly "finish well" one must START....which I am not doing very well with this blog. Truth be told, I'm not a real computer oriented person and I'd rather be out and about, with people, than on this machine. But I have new inspiration.....I watched the movie "Julie and Julia". I was motivated to do two things - blog and cook! I realize that every entry does not have to be a serious scripture oriented sermon, so I'll work more on blogging about life in Congo - whether it's ministry, frustrations, fun, or daily stuff. I also realized that I have several cookbooks I'd love to cook my way through......we'll see how I do - on both counts!!