Back in Congo

Greetings from Congo!
I am so happy to be back in Congo. We arrived yesterday - it was raining but it was beautiful. It was and is great to see old friends. We discovered today June 30th is indepence day here in Congo and so we got an unexpected day of rest which was much needed. Our conference starts tomorrow.

When we arrived in Kampala, Uganda I got to meet with a group of Congolese refugees some of who we had met last year. The photo above is of them at our meeting. It was good to see them and spend time with them. They have gone through a lot this past year but finally have houses they live in, are officially recognized as refugees and are no longer on the streets - which is a great relief.

Congo is a beautiful country with beautiful people but there is so much destroying it. The level of corruption we have seen these past two days is worse than ever. Yet the people have so much hope. People are rising up to say they want to change the country and they want to be leaders. I was talking to our hosts and saying wouldn't it be wonderful if the African continent was not known as "The Dark Continent" but instead "The Continent of Light" or "The Continent of Hope". And with the determination of the poeple here in Congo I can see this being the case. It is always inspiring to me to come to Congo, to see the suffering and pain, to feel the intense evil and yet see the amazing spirit of the people here, their deep faith and desire to break the strongholds in this country and make it a great nation once again. Truly an inspiration for those of us from the Western world where our biggest decision sometimes is literally which restaurant are we going to eat at today!

Well, our conference starts tomorrow - so I'll provide an update in a few days. The conference is for caregivers (counselors, social workers, pscychologists, pastors, church leaders) who work with abuse survivors. The training is on how to work with the survivors and guide them through their healing and recovery process. We have many attendees who are working with human rights groups and action groups against violence. So we hopefuly will connect with many organizations and be able to equip many to work effectively with rape and abuse survivors. We are looking forward to all that God will ccomplish through this. For the first time we have materials and resources in Swahili which is going to be so helpful.

Thank for your prayers - they are truly felt and needed. Please pray for the conference.

Hello from Uganda

Hello friends!
I am delighted to be in Africa again. We arrived safely in Kampala, Uganda several days ago. We have been holding a conference for organizations that work with children. It is about recognizing children who have experienced abuse and how to help them heal, etc. It is wonderful to see so many people attend and get so much out of the trainings and teachings. We also went to Ssenge - a home for former street children and got to spend time with them. It was good. The conference continues tomorrow. On Monday we go off to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Beni. I will be able to provide a more detailed report once there.

Thanks for all your prayers - they are certainly felt and needed. Will post more soon.

Going Back!

Can't wait. In a few short weeks I'll be back in the DRC seeing old friends and making new friends. It will be so good to be back and reconnect with all again. God is good - what more can I say...

To My Friends in Congo

My Dear Friends in Congo
I think of you often - many times during the day. I read the news reports of all that is going on in Eastern Congo and I am distraught at all that is happening. The suffering is beyond words and it tears at my heart. This is my prayer to God: "O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!" (Psalm 83:1). I and many others here in the US pray for all of you often, for the displaced people, the children, the sick, the hungry, the raped, the wounded, the dying and all those trying to help. I and many others here fast and pray for a supernatural working of God to bring peace and stability. But most of all we pray to join you in solidarity - we want you know "you are not forgotten, we love you and we think of you often." We want to be with you but can't so instead we do the only thing we can - pray and fast and tell all those we know of how wrong the situation is in Congo. We also tell the people here of how brave and resilient you are and how strong your faith is in the Lord. We tell everyone of the great things that have happened in Congo and how in the midst of such darkness there is tremendous hope. You all are an encouragement to us here in the US and you teach us much. Know that we pray and pray and pray for you all every day and we cannot wait until we are with you once again.

Dear friends, be steadfast in the Lord. My prayer today for you is that you will have an overwhelming sense of God's love for you, that you will rest in the knowledge that you are His beloved, that He embraces you and you feel it. That you know and feel His presence right there by you. May God give you strength and all you need to make it through this tough and difficult time.

I love you all, be strong in the Lord and His mighty power, and may peace come sooner than we expect.

Christine