Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Its almost here!
We are in the final stages of preparing for our trip. Today and tomorrow will be spent getting the house ready to be gone for 2 weeks, packing, and all that. Emotionally we are both a little nervous....not sure about what exactly, but still nervous. Currently, travel into DR Congo is not advised, yet on we march. I am continuing to pray for God's protection on our whole group. There is no "goal" attached to this venture, but a greater understanding, greater passion, and greater self sacrifice to gain. Please continue to pray for us that we would allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Can't wait to tell you all about it when we return!
We are leaving from Fort Wayne about 1:30 am Sunday morning.......
We are leaving from Fort Wayne about 1:30 am Sunday morning.......
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Meetings for Prayer
We are holding two prayer meetings before we leave to pray for the financial situation, the trip in general, and for the country of DR Congo. You are invited to join us! We're meeting in the prayer room at Fellowship Missionary tomorrow (July14) and next Monday (July 21) from 7-8ish. We would love for you to pray with us. =)
Thank you!
Thank you so much to all of you who donated items for our garage sale or stopped by! We are sooooo thankful for the donations that we received. It went really well, had good weather, and enjoyed talking to many about our trip.
Also, if you are looking for the info on how to contribute money, scroll down to the second post in this blog near the end. The info is there!
Also, if you are looking for the info on how to contribute money, scroll down to the second post in this blog near the end. The info is there!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
What will be your response?
Last night at our meeting, Joe and Steph Johns (missional living pastor) shared with us about their recent trip to DR Congo. The purpose of their trip with to define the partnership with World Relief in Congo and to contribute to a 3 year strategic plan. Joe talked about some of the aspects of what World Relief is doing there. WR uses the churches to alleviate suffering by forming networks that are called upon to help with numerous things. One of the main focuses is peace keeping.
Some facts:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the weakest nation states in the world. The US ranks it third-- (1) Somalia, (2) Afganistan, (3) DRC, (4) Iraq. In the last decade, over 5.4 million people have died in the bloodiest man-made catastrophe since WW2. 1.5 million people are intally displaced from their homes. 45,000 people die daily from conflict and disease. The largest UN peace-keeping force world-wide is deployed in eastern Congo. Nearly half a million Conglese have become refugees--some even resettled to Fort Wayne. And the most shocking statistic: Congo is reported to be over 95% Christian......
World Relief is using church mobilization to change lives in DRC. The people there have a hard life to begin with, considering the poverty. But add in the threat of war and violence, and life gets even tougher. I am so excited to see the work that is being done there. We will have a two-part mission: compassion through widow home-building and prayer, and also documentation by getting bios of the pastors in the area for a later project.
We are feeling the weight of the pain and suffering in this country. And also some sense of amazement that no one really knows that this is happening. I challenge you to tell someone else about this tragedy. The next person's response maybe greater than mine or yours.
Some facts:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the weakest nation states in the world. The US ranks it third-- (1) Somalia, (2) Afganistan, (3) DRC, (4) Iraq. In the last decade, over 5.4 million people have died in the bloodiest man-made catastrophe since WW2. 1.5 million people are intally displaced from their homes. 45,000 people die daily from conflict and disease. The largest UN peace-keeping force world-wide is deployed in eastern Congo. Nearly half a million Conglese have become refugees--some even resettled to Fort Wayne. And the most shocking statistic: Congo is reported to be over 95% Christian......
World Relief is using church mobilization to change lives in DRC. The people there have a hard life to begin with, considering the poverty. But add in the threat of war and violence, and life gets even tougher. I am so excited to see the work that is being done there. We will have a two-part mission: compassion through widow home-building and prayer, and also documentation by getting bios of the pastors in the area for a later project.
We are feeling the weight of the pain and suffering in this country. And also some sense of amazement that no one really knows that this is happening. I challenge you to tell someone else about this tragedy. The next person's response maybe greater than mine or yours.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
More Congo News
From Gwen..........Just thought I’d pass on a couple of things you might be interested in. First is a link to a story that Anderson Cooper did for 60 Minutes a while back on rape as a weapon in the DR Congo. It’s a sobering perspective on the realities of the people we will be serving with and for.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/11/60minutes/main3701249.shtml
You may also be interested in checking out this month’s National Geographic. The cover story is “who murdered the mountain gorillas”. The author and photographer went into the national park in Congo that borders Rwanda and actually sat down for an interview with General Laurent Nkunda, the rebel leader who has been at the heart of all the fighting in the region. Nkunda and his forces control these border lands which include the land where the silverback gorillas live. It is believed these soldiers may have been the ones who killed 5 of these endangered gorillas last year. (Made the cover of Newsweek magazine last summer).
You may also be interested in checking out this month’s National Geographic. The cover story is “who murdered the mountain gorillas”. The author and photographer went into the national park in Congo that borders Rwanda and actually sat down for an interview with General Laurent Nkunda, the rebel leader who has been at the heart of all the fighting in the region. Nkunda and his forces control these border lands which include the land where the silverback gorillas live. It is believed these soldiers may have been the ones who killed 5 of these endangered gorillas last year. (Made the cover of Newsweek magazine last summer).
Less than one month to go!
Last night we had another training meeting for our trip. It was fun to spend more time with our team and get to know them better. We spent some time discussing the book and then also in prayer. Some of the topics we've discussed from the book have been hard to reconcile. These recent chapters have touched on the issue of the Bible and what we think is right vs. what is cultural differences. We've had to ask ourselves if there are thing we think are the "right way" of "the way of Jesus" that may just be our culture's way of doing things.
We also discussed the issue of poverty. We assume that everyone wants what we have, because they look poor to us. In my own mind, the easiest way to help someone in poverty is to give them money. Maybe what they actually need is relationship, someone to get to know them and find out what their true needs are. In our culture, that takes too long....we want a quick fix to the problems we see. This trip will provide us a tangible opportunity to deal with those issues of poverty.
On a different note, Gwen (leader) informed us that a week of our time will be spent in Rootshuru (sp?) which is close to the border of Uganda and the national forest. It is the hometown of the World Relief national coordinator Marcel. This area is more "rustic" as she put it, meaning it's unlikely we'll have modern conveniences. The town was also previously controlled by rebels at one time. There is no threat currently and we are assured we won't go anywhere there is significant danger.
Please be in prayer for our financial situation. Our whole team is struggling to raise the funds needed to go. Clint and I learned last night that we currently have only a fraction of what we need. God can do mighty things are we're counting on Him for this one!
We also discussed the issue of poverty. We assume that everyone wants what we have, because they look poor to us. In my own mind, the easiest way to help someone in poverty is to give them money. Maybe what they actually need is relationship, someone to get to know them and find out what their true needs are. In our culture, that takes too long....we want a quick fix to the problems we see. This trip will provide us a tangible opportunity to deal with those issues of poverty.
On a different note, Gwen (leader) informed us that a week of our time will be spent in Rootshuru (sp?) which is close to the border of Uganda and the national forest. It is the hometown of the World Relief national coordinator Marcel. This area is more "rustic" as she put it, meaning it's unlikely we'll have modern conveniences. The town was also previously controlled by rebels at one time. There is no threat currently and we are assured we won't go anywhere there is significant danger.
Please be in prayer for our financial situation. Our whole team is struggling to raise the funds needed to go. Clint and I learned last night that we currently have only a fraction of what we need. God can do mighty things are we're counting on Him for this one!
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