We’re home at last! (…to our earthly home, at least…) We all absolutely love living here! We pulled into Dibaya-Lubwe on February 14th; what a great Valentine’s Day gift! We were greeted by several people from the church and a group of kids from the church-school who had been practicing “I Sing a New Song” in English just to sing for us (Dan Grings started teaching it to them on a previous trip up).
We were also greeted by a swarm of Driver Ants in attack mode; in fact, when we arrived we parked the pick-up right in the middle of their attack formation. (More about these invaders later…) Martha got bit twice before we knew what was going on, so her first impression of Dibaya was not a very good one.
Martha, after getting over her initial Driver Ant attack, settled in very well. She made fast friends with the neighbor girls: playing games, singing songs, and even taking notes on Kikongo words to study. She also started singing a special music with them in Sunday School each week. She is still our “Little Princess” and enjoys the cleaner, frillier, prettier, things in life; but, she has already adjusted to mud-brick walls, constant dirt, and consistent interior insects (including, but not limited to: ants, crickets, termites, innumerable other unidentifiable 6-legged creatures, and several different varieties of spiders…most of them quite large!). Aside from merely adjusting, she has also managed to bring the prettier “Martha touch” into the house. Titus is sure enjoying having the open space. He definitely doesn’t spend much time inside! He seldom goes anywhere without his Leatherman, and spends a lot of time finding just the right sticks to sharpen. He has been riding his motorcycle at the Bible Institute property and down into town a few times. Because he is the only white boy and the kid in town with a motorcycle, he has drawn a lot of attention! All the kids in Dibaya know “Tito” (his name in Kikongo) and have been calling him “Yaya Tito” which means “our big brother Titus” which is quite an honor. Being our shy and reserved Titus, he’s not very pleased with all the attention, but he’s starting to get used to it. Ruth is also fitting in quite well. She, like Martha, made fast friends with the neighbor kids. If we can’t find her close to the house, we’re sure to find her there. She loves to play with them, chase their chickens, and even helps with their chores (one day she spent several hours helping them take the dried kernels off of corn cobs…they pound the corn into a flour to mix with their main starch, cassava). Just before leaving Kinshasa, she fell off her bed in the middle of the night, breaking her left collar bone. This made the move to Dibaya a bit more difficult (and more painful) for her. However, we praise the Lord that she healed up quite nicely! The brace is off, and she is running around like nothing ever happened.
We started school back up, after taking a short “moving break.” Martha is in 5th grade; her favorite subject is still reading. Titus is in 3rd grade; he loves to do creative writing and draw pictures to match his stories (they are always quite entertaining!). Ruth is in K4 (Kindergarten for 4-year-olds) and is quickly learning to read, count, and write (her hardest subject due to her difficulty with fine motor skills). All the kids are doing so well with their studies and continually amaze us at how fast they learn.
The Local Church
On February 19th, Titus’ 9th birthday, Sparky officially became the pastor of the church here in Dibaya. This group of believers has received very little Biblical training; most of the ones who are saved are all still spiritual babes. Sparky has been working with several key men in the church, and they are excited about moving toward being an organized church. The first objective was to walk them through what it means to be a member of a local church and the fundamental Biblical doctrines. We started with 24 charter members, but we are growing quickly and now have 42 active members. Several people expressed the desire to be baptized, and after going through a baptism study with Sparky, 16 people followed the Lord in believer’s baptism. We are being prayerfully careful as we proceed so the church will have an easier transition to a national pastor in the future. Our methods have been confusing to many in our church family because they expected us to come “do it all for them.” As a church, we will begin working on a church constitution soon. It will take time, but it is important for them to form these convictions and work through it together, rather than us handing them a ready-made document. Please pray for us, and our church family, as we help them through this growing process.
That first week as pastor, we had a wind-storm that blew the church building over (all we had left was a thatched roof sitting on the ground). Sparky went with several men from the church to cut new poles down with machetes (Sparky was mostly an observer as they actually knew what they were doing!) and then propped the roof back up. Praise the Lord; we have a church building again!
The “newness” of having white missionaries is wearing off. The people that were coming to church out of pure curiosity have mostly dwindled off; with the people just coming to see if we were going to do hand-outs. We now typically have around 80 adults in the Sunday morning service. However, though our group is diminishing in number, they are growing in the Spirit. We are pleasantly surprised at how quickly the church members are progressing spiritually. It is amazing to see what the Lord can do in the hearts of those hungry for Him and His word. They are like dry sponges, just waiting to soak up the living water. The Lord is continually reminding us of the importance of training nationals! We count it an amazing privilege to be here serving Him!
Some Battle-Fronts in Dibaya
There are a few things we have had to contend with since arriving in Dibaya. One is the Driver Ants. These tiny little creatures are an organized militant force of thousands (possibly millions) that march in a column for miles looking for food. When they reach their target, they fan out (in precise military formation) and go into attack mode. They are extremely aggressive, persistent, and painful! For some reason, they have decided that our house is a viable target. When we see them coming, we quickly set up our lines of defense (they don’t like manioc flour so that detours them some, and they will not cross a line of diesel on the ground…however we found that they will dig tunnels under it!). The battles are not without cost, averaging $5-$10 worth of diesel. It is quite an amazing thing to watch! Last time they attacked, Sparky said, “We need the video camera…you can only get footage like this from National Geographic!” We were told that if we tried to kill them, they will send a message back to their “home base” and an army of greater proportions will come to their aid. We have been able to keep them out of the house, but it was definitely an ongoing battle. One day, Sparky had enough and hired some men to try and find the colony. They walked for hours, following the ants’ trails but found nothing. They decided to follow the trails back toward our house and found it! …in the “jungle” just 50 yards from our house! A few gallons of diesel and some matches took care of things, and they haven’t been back to our house since. Though, the battle still rages on other parts of the property, so we know there is at least one other colony close by. It’s only a matter of time until they find us again…
The termites also discovered the mission house. We have sun-dried mud-brick walls that aren’t much more solid than the ground, so the termites don’t find it difficult at all to tunnel right through the walls and eat anything and everything they can find. Before we arrived, they caused significant damage on many door and window frames. Every morning, we must look over every door and window frame, around every book shelf, and inspect anything cardboard or paper (school books, Kleenex boxes, etc.) and scrape down any trails they have started. Because of this, we have decided to build our house with a solid cement foundation/floor and cement bricks. This will cost more up-front, but we believe it will save in the long run.
Another issue has been water. We moved here during the “rainy season,” however this has not been a good rain year. We have only received a few good rain storms since arriving. We have some water tanks to store rain water, but that only works when the rain comes. In order to have enough drinking water, we have had to hire people to bring us water, one jug at a time. (We do filter it before using it.) We were given instructions on how to drill our own well and it is rapidly becoming a priority, especially since the dry season is approaching. Please pray that we will be able to find a good, clean, plentiful water source here on the property (preferably close to the house) and that we will be able to follow the instructions in order to access it.
Family Matters
April was a rough month on Myndii’s family as she had two grandparents pass away in April; her dad's mom (Pat Grooms) and mom's dad (Steve Reece). Their deaths were both fairly sudden and very close together. For a few weeks, Grandma Grooms wasn't feeling very well and losing weight; the doctor thought she had an intestinal blockage (which she did end up having). She never recovered from the surgery and passed away. Myndii’s dad flew down from Alaska for the surgery, so he was there before but had to return to work soon after her passing. About a week after he returned to Alaska, Myndii’s mom got the call. Grandpa Reece was "healthy as a horse"...in fact, when the hospital sent the death notice to Grandpa's doctor, he called to verify because he thought they had made a mistake. However, it was God's time to call him home. He had a massive heart attack and was "gone" before the ambulance got him to the hospital, though life support kept his body going for a little while. Myndii’s mom was able to fly down to Washington just in time to say some final good-byes.
It is with great joy we are able to tell you that both of them loved the Lord, and we have the assured hope of joining them in Glory someday.
From Myndii: Because we were in Dibaya at the time, without Internet access, I felt too far away to be of much comfort or assistance. (With Internet, we can make skype-to-skype calls free of charge.) I was in contact with my parents some by phone, but due to costs we were not able to communicate much or often. In all honesty, it was the first time I really felt "far away." It was a big blow, losing them both and so suddenly; however I am more confident than ever that I am exactly where God wants me to be. He truly is my Comfort! (2 Cor. 1:3) Thank you for your prayers!
Bible Institute
Things are moving along, though slowly. We arrived to 2 finished dorms, and now 2 more are in the construction phase. We also have enough funds to start one classroom building. We decided to take a more cautious approach to starting the teaching at the Institute. We are excited and anxious to get things going, but we are prayerfully considering options so we start things right! Please pray as we seek God’s will and timing in all these things! We hope to give you a full update soon on how we see the Lord directing.
In reasonable service,
~The Clancy Clan (Sparky , Myndii , Martha , Titus , & Ruth )
“…that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice…which is your reasonable service” Romans 12:1
Time in Kinshasa