We've been back in our quiet little town of Buena Vista for 11 days now...the same number of days we spent in Kinshasa. It's been good to be back home, although we may never return to "normal". Our lives have been forever changed and we still find out minds wandering to our experiences in Africa. I (Debbie) have wanted to write a couple more blogs but have found it difficult to sit down and write while I have been processing all that God did during our trip. Today, I want to share some of the things I saw God do, in answer to all your prayers, while we were there...and traveling. I also want to share some ongoing prayer needs that God continues to impress on my heart.
God was so faithful to answer our (yours and ours) prayers for our travel to Kinshasa. We made all of our flight connections, all of our luggage arrived safely, and our physical stamina upheld throughout the entire time. We had one minor issue, at security in Denver, where one of Debbie's ice packs (included in her medication) had melted. After explaining it was for medical purposes--and Debbie agreeing to a pat down--we were cleared to take the ice pack. Our concern, however, was getting it through security in Brussels because they are more strict. We sent word to our friends in Kinshasa to pray specifically that we would be allowed to keep the ice pack...it is part of Debbie's cooling vest which she needs for hot climates. Because we had assistance to our gates (due to Debbie's vision impairment), we were allowed to bypass security in Brussels. God was faithful to hear and answer our prayers for all of our travel needs...even as little as keeping an ice pack.
God also faithfully took care of us in every way, physically. Neither of us had any reaction to our vaccinations or the malaria medication (which often makes people sick). Debbie, who is highly allergic to cats, spent 11 days in a home with two cats--one who liked to sit right above Debbie's head--without any trouble...not even taking allergy medicine. Now, that is an answer to prayer!! In addition, the heat was not an issue for Debbie's MS. God simply cooled the temperatures down while we were there...and gave us consistent electricity too. (It was really hot again, the day after we left, and they were without electricity the entire day.) Yes, God answered that prayer, as well!! We both slept great, even though in a strange bed and house, and God maintained our stamina, while constantly on the go.
God used Mike in ways neither of us expected. He went, hoping to be able to bless the pilots through working in any way they needed him. He was able to build them a stand for their flight simulator. In addition, he was able to bless the Congolese sentinels (guards) who work for the Francises (our host family). Mike spent time, just hanging out, with these men, communicating with them through hand motions and smiles. Just before we left, Mike was able to bless one of the men, by helping provide funds he needed, due to a family emergency. These men have left a forever impact on Mike's life and we hope Mike left a God impact on theirs.
Debbie was able to share the message of finding joy in the furnace to so many children, young girls, women, and men while we were there. Opportunities we didn't even know of before we left, opened after we arrived. She shared with a Congolese Christian school, a Congolese choir, a Congolese women's center (through the use of an interpreter), a women's Bible study, a couple's Bible study, the MAF wives, and the MAF children. God provided enough support (through our financial supporters) to give Joy in the Furnace Bible study books to each of the women in the women's Bible study, each of the MAF couples, and even the couples from MAF headquarters, who had come as part of the team to minister during the MAF Family Conference.
One thing Debbie had prayed, before going, was that God would bring in enough support to cover all of the items we were taking for the MAF families. Because it is so hard for these families to get certain items in the Congo (or it is extremely expensive), they usually ask anybody coming to bring things for them...up to the maximum luggage allowed. The idea is that they pay for those items. We took four large (49 lbs. each) suitcases filled with items for the missionaries, telling them they could reimburse us when we got there...again praying they wouldn't need to do so. The Sunday before leaving, we shared in church that we were $400 short of what we needed to meet our own expenses...that didn't include the $525 we had spent on the missionary items. By Monday--the day before our flight left for Kinshasa--God had brought in an additional $1321...enough to meet all of our expenses, enough to cover all the items we were taking to the MAF missionaries, plus enough to help with expenses we hadn't anticipated. What a joy it was to be able to gift those items to the missionaries...gifts from our supporters!! And what a huge praise to see God raise $6791 in just six weeks!!
Ways you can continue to pray:
Please pray for all those with whom we shared, while we were in Kinshasa. Pray that the message they heard will take root and grow. Pray that lives will be forever changed and that they will find joy in every trial they face. Pray even for the young children, that they will grasp these concepts and they will be able to go throughout life, facing their trials with joy. Pray for the girls at the Tabitha Center, as they choose to live their lives for Jesus, free from those things which once had them bound. Pray they too will find joy amidst the very difficult circumstances in which they live.
Pray for the MAF families...for safety for the pilots who fly in and out of the bush; for the mechanics who work to keep the airplanes running properly and safely; for the wives who maintain the homes, without so many things we take for granted; for the precious children who don't even realize the sacrifices of living there. It was interesting to hear the children share the things that are hardest for them...their trials. Two of them said the hardest thing for them is when they go to the states. They are so used to life, as it is, in the Congo, that it is really hard for them to adjust to everything in the United States. We have "too much", they said. It is hard to imagine living in a place like the Congo and not seeing how difficult it is. But I guess when that is all you've known, you don't know how difficult it is...you don't know what you're missing. When asked if thunderstorms scare them, they all laughed...they are so used to them. When asked if they are afraid of the dark, they said, "it's dark a lot because the electricity goes out." Pray they never lose these attitudes. Pray for the parents who have lived in America and do notice the things with which they do without. Pray they have joy in the ministry to which God has called them. After our time there, we can see how it can be so easy to become hardened to the culture and bitter toward the natives. It is a needy and often demanding atmosphere...one that can drain an American dry, financially and emotionally. Pray that these missionaries always remember their calling...the reason they are there.
Pray for our friend, Lori, her husband, boys, and their precious daughter K, who I wrote about in my previous blog. Pray that God would move mountains so that they can bring K home. Pray for the other hundred plus adopted children who are stuck in the DRC, unable to join their families due to the hold on releasing these children. (You can also contact your government officials, asking them to help resolve this issue, by clicking on the link at the top right of this page.)
Pray that we never go back to life, as it was but that we will be forever changed by this trip. As I wrote in a previous blog, Mike quit smoking while on this trip. Pray he continues to turn to God for deliverance from this addiction, never returning to it again. Pray that he sees the value he has in the lives of people, as he did with the sentinels. Pray for Debbie as she processes all God taught her through the women who live in the Congo...God is still putting all these pieces together. She simply has no words for so much of it.
God has opened up new doors for the Joy in the Furnace Bible study, as a result of this trip...an unexpected blessing. Please pray for Debbie as she proceeds through these doors. And pray that God will spread this message far and wide...to the ends of the earth.
Thank you for all your prayers. And thank you for sharing this journey with us. We may have additional updates to share with you, as God continues to process things within our hearts. We'll leave that up to God.
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