Friday, June 26, 2009

FW: congo update - back in Kinshasa

Update from Congo:  June 26, 2009

 

We haven’t been able to get online so far in the trip. We are currently flying on a 9 passenger Cessna Caravan (plus 2 seats for pilot and co-pilot. The pilot, David is with mission Aviation Fellowship. The co-pilot is Jim Carse – a member of our team who just happens to be a pilot so he got dibs to sit up front but isn’t actually the co-pilot.

We’ve spent the last week in Tshikaji, a small village near Kananga in the south central part of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). Our routing was up around 6:45, breakfast and then off to whatever project we were involved in for the day by around 8:30 to 9:30. Somewhere in the middle of the day – usually by 2 PM, we would manage to eat and then often had a 2nd project for the afternoon. By dark (always at 6 PM) we would return to the guesthouse for dinner at 6:30 or 7. Some evenings we had additional activities.

Here’s the way things unfolded…

·       Friday – conducted Bible School program at an orphanage ROW Congo-Kasai partially supports outside of Kinshasa. 25 kids officially in the program but about another 20 hung on the fringes wanting to participate. Games, Bible stories, photos of each child we printed and gave them, animal balloons.

·       Saturday – flew to Kananga from Kinshasa and were greeted by Dr Joseeph Mulumba, the General Secretary of the Congo Presbyterian Church (CPC). CPC has some 2 million members in the nation. We actually had lunch in a restaurant in Kananga. It seems to be where they always take guests so it is considered the best in town. It is located over a gasoline station and owned by the gas station owners. We had a great evening meeting amongst ourselves and discussed the events and impact on each person.

·       Sunday – worshipped in Tshikaji. They had prepared some special music since they had many guests. Normally only 2-3 groups would come through on mission trips each summer, but this time we were in the same location as a group of 12 from Charlotte, NC (Myers Park Presbyterian Church). In the afternoon, we organized all of our materials for the Bible School programs, took a short walking tour of the immediate area, mission station, infant nutrition center, bought some papayas in the local market, etc. Evening discussion centered on the worship from the morning and concerns with whether our presence may have distracted for the service. 21 “special” guests is a lot.

·       Monday – We toured the Protestant Printing operation, IMPROKA, as well as a “pygmy” palm tree project. These little palms imported from Puerto Rico (I think) do not grow very tall and will start bearing palm nuts after only 3 years. Thus, it is a much faster planting to harvesting cycle than with the native palm trees. The palm oil is used for cooking (like cooking in corn oil or olive oil only far more is used), fuel for lanterns, making soap think Palmolive (palm + olive oil). IMPROKA also builds furniture for schools. After the tour we were treated to a traditional Congolese meal of bidia, greens, chicken, fried plantains, rice, and beans. They do not eat nearly this well every day but were providing a special treat for our group. Excellent discussion tonight on what really helps, what the Congolese really do or don’t need in the way of help, and how we can come alongside them.

·       Tuesday – Morning visit to the School for Single Mothers that ROW Congo-Kasai started in December 2007. The first class of 20 ladies were all either rape victims or had been involved in prostitution. 19 graduated. One had to withdraw due to illness. None just dropped out. All had children (35 among them). The current class of ladies (30) were greatly encouraged by our visit. The program is 12 months long so they were almost at the mid-point. The curriculum includes math, a little science (hygiene and sanitation), French, and sewing. For graduation each lady receives a new annual sewing machine so they can begin supporting themselves. Part of our discussion centered on the graduates giving some back to the school to help the next group of students.

We took a walk through the village, winding our way along the paths past palms, papaya trees, bread fruit trees, and manioc plants – across yards and around mud-brick houses with thatched roofs – and went to see 8 of the ladies from the first class. Six were in the village and two have located their business to Kananga, the large city some 8 miles away. They make the walk twice each day – in to town and back to take orders and sew whatever people order. Of the 19 women, 17 are earning a living at some level from the sewing they learned. These two are probably doing the best and have even taken some courses in embroidery, etc to advance their skills. On Monday we bought some fabric in Kananga so we could give it to the women on Tuesday and get some things made – a shirt, dress, or skirt in traditional Congolese style. By Friday the were ready for us – all made by last year’s graduates!

Tuesday afternoon we walked (due to a miscommunication with the driver of the church vehicle) to the village of Lubi II about a mile away. We had 38 kids officially in our program and over 100 more who sang, listened to the Bible stories, and wanted to participate fully. The local Pastor, Josiah, had designated the kids to participate (his church), so we did as instructed. Watching the faces when we hand out the pictures is just too cool. Holding one picture aloft, they all shout the name of the kid in the photo and point for the picture to be handed to him or her.

After dinner, I went to set up and test equipment for the movie to be shown the next night, The Jesus Film (in Tshiluba). We needed a sound cable to feed into the sound system for the church but fortunately a videographer who was on site filming for a documentary (from the MPPC team) had a cable. The documentary is being produced by Kim Brattain who was a news anchor in Charlotte for a number of years.

·       Wednesday – We conducted VBS in Ndesha, another mission village some 15-18 miles away. The drive is ridiculous on terrible roads, so it took around 45-50 minutes. As we pulled in over 100 children were singing, shouting, dancing, gyrating, and grinning from ear to ear. It seems they were expecting us J. Dr. Mulumba welcomed us and spoke to the children for just a moment before we dove right in. Photos, games, stories, animal ballons… for over 135 kids! We were swamped! At one point, as kids were playing with a huge 20” diameter nylon “parachute, I got a second group started with a smaller one. When I looked back while staring Frisbee, Dr. Mulumba was playing with the children and using the parachute to toss a soccer ball in the air and trying to catch it again. Umwe, ebidi, esatu, enai, etanu (1,2,3,4,5). He was having as much fun as the kids. The highlight of all 3 VBS programs had to be handprints – across the world. Kids in my church in Atlanta put their handprints on a cloth we brought over here. We then used brightly colored paint to add the handprints of the Congolese children to the same cloths. One cloth stayed at each location and one will return to GA with me to hang in our church. The concept was to communicate to children on both sides of the ocean to pray for each other. After the paint was applied to hands (using plastic plates filled with different colors so they could choose their color), the children pressed their hands onto the cloth and then rotated around to one of us to wash their hands and say a quick prayer for them. It was moving.

·       Following the VBS program, we were treated to a traditional Congolese meal of bidia, rice, beans, chicken, and palm oil at the Presbyterian University of the Congo (UPRECO). Then a walking tour of the campus (168 students – law, theology schools), a pygmy palm project, a little pig farm, and a pineapple field of several acres. These projects will help bring in revenue for the university. Tuition is $250 a year for single students and $300 for married students. Low, but the annual per family income is only $300 for the Congo – less than a dollar a day!

·       Thursday – We painted at the Kananga location for the Good Shepherd Hospital. We managed in 4 hours to do the front outside wall on the lower level as well as the central stair well area. In this tropical environment, the old paint was flaking and very mildewed, but this cleaned the appearance up greatly. The work was purely physical and very hot, but went quickly as 8 of us worked alongside 5 Congolese workers. We brought paint rollers, pans, and roller covers from the states because what is available here is extremely limited.

After painting we were treated to another traditional Congolese meal at the home of Mr. Bernard Kabibu, a close friend and the Administrator of the Hospital. His wife, Astrid had prepared the bidia, greens, plantains, rice, beans, and peanuts and they were excellent!

 

Monday, June 22, 2009

A full day!

Hi again!!!

Jimmy called a few minutes ago and the connection was very good this time!! All are well, but the water situation remains a little iffy. Last night was the bath in the bucket routine, but tonight was a shower, though not really warm! The group sent out their clothes to be laundered, but the lady did not see Jim Carse’s bag, so his clothes did not get cleaned!!!! Never fear, Jimmy had some extra ROW shirts, so they did not make Jim sit in the corner all alone!!

A prayer request for tomorrow is for a surgery John Kennedy is performing at Good Shepherd Hospital. It is a colostomy on a baby about 3 weeks old who has not had a bowel movement since birth. The baby is very weak, so say an extra prayer for strength during and after the surgery. Please also pray for John as he performs this surgery in an unfamiliar place!!

They have a full day tomorrow and Jimmy did sound tired for the first time tonight. They have been having nightly small group Bible study in the ladies duplex. The one last night lasted from 8-11 PM and Jimmy said it had become a great time to talk about the day’s events and to discuss what they had seen and their reaction to it!! This time has been very rewarding!!

They have power, but can’t get an internet connection, though Katrina, EA, and Katy have tried several times!! Maybe when they get back to Kinshasa they will be able to email!!

Please continue to keep them in your prayers!!

Blessing to all,

Jan

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Kananga

Hi again everyone!

Jimmy called today, and the reception was not as good as it has been, but he did say they had arrived in Kananga safe and sound and were settled into their rooms.  All five of the ladies are in a duplex just adjacent to the main guest house and all of men have their own rooms.  There was something about not enough warm water or water period for a shower, but the signal kept breaking up, so I am not real sure.  Anyway, they were surprised to get their own rooms with the Myers Park Presbyterian Church group from Charlotte there at the same time.  The Charlotte group came in a day earlier than our group and had gone to Lubondai for the day.  I think Jimmy said they were driving up as we were saying goodbye. 

Lib and Kay, I know you both talked to your guys today!  Your connection may have been better than mine, so if you have some more info, please pass it along!!!

Thanks for all of the prayers for the group!!!

Blessings,

Jan

Friday, June 19, 2009

Good VBS in Kinshasa

Hi everyone,

Jimmy called about 3:15PM EST to say they had had a wonderful day at the orphanage, sponsored by ROW, conducting Vacation Bible School for about 3 hours!!! Jim Carse stated that if they did nothing else, this day would have been worth the trip!! They lost a couple pieces of luggage/trunks which did have some supplies! The paint they needed for the hand print banners from Redeemer Presbyterian (our kids here put their handprints on a banner and the kids in Congo are going to do the same connecting Snellville, GA and Congo) was in the trunk, but they were able to purchase some water colored paint in Kinshasa!! Jimmy had taken a small photo printer and the kids were very excited to have their picture taken and to actually get a copy of it the same day!! Luckily, the printer runs on a battery as well as electricity, because the power has been out since they arrived and had just come back on about 10 minutes before I talked to Jimmy!

On the way to the orphanage, they dropped Dr. John Kennedy off at the hospital in Kinshasa where he will do surgery when they come back through Kinshasa next week. They leave for Kananga in the morning (they are 5 hours ahead of us in Kinshasa and 6 hours ahead in Kananga) and will be there for about a week!

Please continue to pray for safe travel as they fly inland tomorrow!

God Bless,
Jan

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Arrived safe in Kinshasa!

Great flight overnight from Atlanta to Paris. 7 of the team are on this flight together and we will pick up Jim Carse in Paris. He flew 2 hours earlier than the rest of us. Ira Dworkin is already in Kinshasa having flown in a few days ago. It is almost 2 AM East Coast Time as I write this and by 6 PM, we will be landing in Kinshasa (6 hours ahead of East Coast US. We were able to check all the trunks and only had to pay about $500 in extra baggage charges.

Everyone is excited and everyone also realizes the excellent service we got on Air France last night and will get today going to Kinshasa is likely to be the last “schedule” we manage to achieve for two weeks. We are about to enter Congo time – different than the rest of the world. Slower pace, poverty, mighty struggles. The average family – repeat family – income is $300 U.S. a YEAR! We can’t do squat with $300 a year… neither can they.

We may be able to use Skype to make computer to computer calls we will try.

Jimmy

Monday, June 15, 2009

Heading to Congo!

We are about to ROW to Congo – hopefully not! Under the auspices of the Rivers of the World Congo-Kasai Chapter (ROW-CK www.row.org) we have a team of 9 people headed out on the 17th of June to spend two weeks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Depending on email capabilities, we will try to post updates during our trip.

We are loaded down! We have at least six containers of medical supplies and medicines, a portable ultrasound machine, Bible School materials for two village locations and an orphanage, more than 450 pairs of reading glasses and Rx glasses, hundreds of toothbrushes, animal balloons, solar Bibles (in French), a Lingala solar Bible, a Tshiluba solar Bible, The Jesus Film (in Tshiluba), 3 laptops, an LCD projector, and a ton of other things. All totalled we will have thirteen 24 gallon Rubbermaid Action Packers in addition to cramming our personal bags with everything imaginable!

It’s going to be hot, humid, and great! But we’re excited!

Here is who is going:

  • Shruggy Stranahan (Austin, TX) – Trip Organizer, Retired
  • Lilibet Wilkerson (Laurens, SC) – Educator
  • Katrina Manier (Nashville, TN) – Educator
  • EA Manier (Atlanta, GA) (Elizabeth Ann) – Accountant
  • Katy Manier (Stanford Grad School) – Business Consultant
  • Dr. John Kennedy (Stone Mountain, GA) – Surgeon, Chief of Staff, Dekalb Medical Center, Decatur, GA
  • Jim Carse (Monroe, GA) – Businessman
  • Ira Dworkin (Cairo, Egypt) – College Professor
  • Jimmy Shafe (Grayson, GA) – Director, ROW Congo-Kasai Chapter; Board Member, North American Liaison Bureau – Université Protestante au Congo

-Jimmy

Children in Dem Rep of Congo


These kids are eager to hang around missionaries. On the 19th we will be conducting VBS for kids just like these guys at an orphanage in Kinshasa!

Universite Protestante au Congo (UPC)

Part of the purpose of our trip will be to visit the UPC campus in Kinshasa. UPC was founded in 1959 in what was hten Stanleyville. Following the chaos of Independence in 1960 and rebellionthroughout the first half of the 60s, the college was relocated to the capital city of Kinshasa (then Leopoldville). We believe education is the long term solution for the Congo and all of Africa. Education steeped in Christian faith can change lives even as it helps to build a nation. UPC has a school of Theology, school of Business, school of Law, and a school of Medicine. Check out the web site and campus scenes for the North American Liaison Bureau at www.upcongo.org.

Congo Trip Schedule

DateLocation and Event
June 17Depart Atlanta for overnight flight to Paris
June 18Depart Paris for all day flight to Kinshasa – lodging at Methodist Presbyterian Hostel
June 19Conduct Vacation Bible School Program at ROW orphanage outside Kinshasa.
Dr. Kennedy will visit the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (built by Dikembe Mutombo Foundation) and consult on upcoming surgeries.
June 20Commercial flight Kinshasa to Kananga – guesthouse at Good Shepherd Hospital, Tshikaji
June 21Worship at Tshikaji Presbyterian Church
June 22Kananga and Tshikaji – Meet with Dr. Mulumba, General Secretary of Congo Presbyterian Church
- Tour Kananga IMCK hospital
- Visit hospital infant nutrition centers
- Visit palm trees project
- Visit IMPROKA program
- Dinner at IMPROKA
June 23Tshikaji
- Conduct children’s program at Lubi II village
- Visit Sewing School for Single Mothers
- Dr. Kennedy will work/perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital
June 24Ndesha
- Conduct children’s program at Ndesha
- Visit UPRECO (Université Presbyterian Congo)
- Dr. Kennedy will work/perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital
June 25Kananga / Tshikaji
- Work day at Pax/IMCK
- Sarah visit Tatu Mande while we paint at Pax
- Dr. Kennedy will work/perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital
June 26Tshikaji to Kinshasa by Mission Aviation Fellowship Cessna (Fly over village Lubondai)
June 27Recreation Day in Kinshasa area
- Dr. Kennedy will conduct workshop at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital
June 28Worship in Kinshasa area
June 29Visit Université Protestante au Congo
Visit Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital
- Dr. Kennedy will perform surgery at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital
June 30Depart Kinshasa – overnight to Paris
July 1Arrive Paris – 3 hour layover before departure to Atlanta