Ah, the missionary life…
Where else in the world can you: -meet with a married couple from your church, which had some domestic violence issues last night -drink a cup of coffee -conduct worker devotions with the Bible Institute workers -arrange for someone to cut your palm trees and discuss the best way to get the oil from the palm nuts to help support the Bible Institute in the future -weld a broken frame on a rented bicycle, in order to return it this afternoon (believe it or not, it will be returned in better shape than when we rented it) -coordinate with other missionaries to schedule an international meeting -prepare to preach in 2 church services, each one to be preached in a different language (one of them to be translated into a third language) -figure out how to shim truss boards on the house in order to eventually have a level (ish) roof when the other materials arrive…
…in that order, and ALL before 10:00 am on Wednesday morning
Another Ministry Opportunity
Myndii, teaching English at the local University, opened up a new ministry opportunity that caught us a bit by surprise. We have now been introduced to a new group of people in Dibaya: the English learners. We have been shocked at the amount of people interested in the English language. Though we haven’t found anyone that we would describe as fluent, there are many with some “basic” English. In light of that, we started an English church service on Wednesday afternoons, just before our regular prayer meeting. Our first service was canceled due to a sudden rainstorm (rainstorms cancel just about everything here) however the following two weeks we had 26 and 21 in attendance. They were a bit disappointed that we had to take a break for the trip to Kinshasa, but everyone promised to come again when we return. Please pray that this will become an outreach of our church, and that those attending the English service will have their lives transformed by the Word of God.
Visitors
Myndii’s parents are now in the final stages of preparing for their trip to the Congo, and are scheduled to arrive in just a few short weeks. They will be our first official short-term mission team! Along with coming to visit with us and the grandkids (and bringing us lots of goodies…like cheese and a washing machine belt!), they are looking forward to helping here on the field. We look forward to their ministry here to the Congolese, as well as to our family, and help with our house construction project. It will also be a lot of fun sharing Congo with them. The trip will be a short one, but we are hopeful it will not be their last.
In order to get Myndii’s parents, we are in Kinshasa to pick them up. We left Dibaya on May 10th. Praise the Lord, the roads were not too bad on the way in. Please pray for safety in the capitol city, our trip back to the interior, and Chris and Dorothy Grooms as they travel from and back to America.
Projects
Our house is progressing, one day at a time. We now have the roofing material but due to some other “distractions” we have not been able to put it up yet. After it is up, we can put in the windows and start working on interior walls.
With this trip to Kinshasa, we hope to get some more Bibles and supplies for the next construction stages. Here are our current estimated project costs: Legal documents and fees $1,000 Bibles (we need French, then others as provided for) $ 500 100 Kituba hymnals (rumor is, they are available) $ 275 Lumber (for interior walls) $2,500 Paint and varnish $1,000 Kitchen/bathroom cabinets $2,000 Ceiling $2,000 Tile for bathrooms and kitchen $1,500 (Eventually, we would like to tile the whole house as we can’t find cement sealer here, which makes it nearly impossible to clean the floors. Total cost for the whole house should be around $4,000)
If you are prayerfully considering participation in one of these special projects, please contact IFM; their information is to the left. If you have a specific project you would like to help with, please designate with a note. THANK YOU!
Furlough
With our furlough starting in just 9 short months, we are starting to look at our schedule. Since our time in the States will only be 6 months long (26 Sundays), we need to carefully and prayerfully consider how to spend this precious time with you. (Lord willing, with internet availability in Dibaya, we will be able to keep the calendar on this site up to date with our furlough dates and plans!) Please pray with us as we look at dates, contact supporters, and start making a schedule.
Time in Kinshasa