Thanksgiving In the Congo

We are thankful for the people God has set in our lives, our family, friends, brothers and sisters in the Lord. Those that we know and those we do not know yet. We thank God for you…
It is our first thanksgiving in the Congo. We are learning to rejoice in what we have and no longer look at what we do not. We use to dwell on the fact that we do not have regular running water. Most nights we have to stay up very late or wake up in the middle of the night to see if there is water, and when there is water we fill containers to stock water for needs the next day. Electricity here is very unreliable, we have had unscheduled power outages that can last a few days. The outage can come at any time of the day. If you were cooking you have to switch from the electrical stove to an outside grill (babula in Lingala), which uses coals (makala- burned wood) a very annoying process. Water and electricity are just basic things but what about transportation. We missed to perform a baptismal because the car broke down several miles away from the river and it was not safe to leave the car there and continue by foot. We go out only when strictly necessary. We have been stuck in the middle of unfamiliar neighborhoods with our children up to 10 o’clock at night with the car broken. How about the simple food we use to enjoy like peanut butter ($6.00 a jar), corn flakes cereal ( $8 for a small box of off-brand), while the quality of the imported food is not usually what you are used to eating.
We thank God because now we learn to look at what we have, we enjoy washing our hands in running water, we rejoice like children on Christmas morning when water comes during the day. We all go out in swimming suits in heavy rains to play and take advantage of a God-sent shower. We enjoy the days we get electricity without outages and learn to be patient when there is no power, and when the power comes back on we join in the joyous outcry of our neighbors as if a great unexpected event just happened. One night the kids organized to have a bonfire, it was a lot of fun. We have come to realize what a blessing our car is. Every completed trip saves us at least $10 per trip. The kids may not understand the savings as we do but they have seen the pain and trouble of catching public transportation in Kinshasa. Some people say that it is like a sport, the average person goes home sore, after fighting to get into a dangerously overcrowded bus, sit in unthinkable conditions, while the vehicle crawls through heavy Kinshasa traffic. Thank God we don’t have to do that. For the most part when the car breaks down, we know that it will be fixed and we will continue our trip home. Once the car has started, we forget the hour wait, the hunger, and we are filled with thanksgiving realizing that it is only by the grace of God that we can go from one place to another and come back home safe. What grace! When we think about the blessing of food to eat, our diet has considerably changed but we are blessed to have food to eat every day. We might not have what we want, but we have something everyday. What we eat is close to organic food and is a true blessing.
This thanksgiving in the Congo we are really thankful for the opportunity and privilege God is giving us to be in His field. We have seen lives changed, people hoping and dreaming again and putting their trust back in God. We are candidates to experience the miracle of God on a daily basis, what an honor! God did not provide us with all that we wanted, but what He does with what we have is amazing…Many times people have come to us with a financial need, no food at home, a child sick and there is no money to get him to the hospital, or a bad business deal and a person finds themselves faced with the very corrupted legal system. Often when they come to me, I am dealing with my own issues, I don’t know how I will feed my family next month, I don’t have money to get to church Sunday, etc. In all these situations there was a “BUT GOD”, He showed up, I was able to act, since money and gold I did not have, God always gave me words of encouragement and faith and people have testified to me that God intervened on their behalf. One time a gentleman that came to me with a problem came back the next Sunday with money to give to me and my family, it was not a considerable amount but for someone who first came because he had a financial problem that started damaging his marriage it is truly amazing. Only God can do that.
Tomorrow we will be on our way to the beach (in Muanda), the weather is wonderful here. We are spending a whole week in Muanda at my parents‘ inn, we are truly thankful to God. I will be preaching there and we will enjoy the wonderful things God has done, we promise to think about those who have been forced to turn on their heating system (we don’t have those here, another reason to be thankful to God). Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Senga

News July 2009

Greetings from Pastor Jean and Deborah Senga and family!

This month started with the great results from the high school student that were among us. All of the students passed their state exam. One of the high school seniors started the school year with the poorest grades in the class after being discouraged by her father concerning the concentration she had chosen since the eighth grade, but was able to graduate with the second highest grade in her school. She came back and testified in church of God’s goodness.

We are ending the month with the beginning of our ministering to the abandoned children of the streets. For our first event, we chose to do it close to home. Our church is 45 to 60 minutes away from our home. We spend close to $10 on gas every time we go to church, to spend $30 -$40 just to prepare and be at the event did not make sense at this level in the ministry, so we chose a place closer to home.

On Saturday July 25th, we launched our first outreach to the street children. We raised $60 through our local Church members here at Source d’Eaux Vive. We cooked for 50 kids, brought them tooth brushes and took care of 2 kids that had infected wounds. We had rice and beans, a meal that everyone eats here in Kinshasa. Some meals are accepted by some ethnic or tribal groups while others do not like them, but rice and beans is accepted by all. We talked to them about hygiene, gave them a chance to wash their hands before eating and offered them tooth brushes. At the beginning of the event, we took two kids that had bad wounds on their legs, wounds that otherwise were going to stay neglected, we took them to a local medical center. One of the best things we experienced was the smiles on those children faces toward the end of the time with them.

By the grace of God we will have two events like this in the month of August. We already have one scheduled for Monday, August 4th. There are some challenges to overcome. At the end of the event, five children came to me to ask help to go back to school. You might be able to help to make a difference in the lives of these kids; tuition for a year is $50, we estimate that $30 a month will feed them. Other expenses are difficult to compute; clothing can start at $40 for the year, health care averages $60 a year. You do not have to pay everything by yourself. You can commit for one specific thing, or choose to sponsor a child as a group (church, with coworkers, or as a family). Please help us make a difference. As soon as we find committed sponsors, we will commit to the kids, take them off of the streets, and put them in a family that will nurture them. Together we can do great exploits!

Hello from Kinshasa,

Already 13 days in Kinshasa. God is doing great things. Everyone is enjoying here.
Here are notes from each kid in their own words:

There is a lot of fruits trees here in Kinshasa and it rains really hard. Sometimes the power goes out, but it is very fun here. I wish you guys were here. Love Micah.

There is a lot of traffic here, there is few traffic light and there is a lot of trash on the roads. There is no fast food. There is a lot of markets here and they have monkeys for sale and there is a park where you can see bonobos. I like it here and it’s very hot. Love Jonathan.

Hello, it is very hot in Kinshasa. I like it here, I like the trees, the food, I like when we are in the car and can see the mountains. I like when it rains. I miss you, Michelle.

We have been with the church family twice on Sundays, twice on Wednesday for bible study and at an all night prayer on Good Friday. On Resurrection Sunday, Deborah and the kids sang for the glory of God! We have a growing church attendance of 30 plus members. There is much need here for employment, affordable food, water, and housing, and safe transportation. Please keep us in your prayers as we bring hope in the midst of great despair. Pray that the financial support would increase as we seek to begin outreach to the street children. That God would supply all of the needs for the church, the ministry, and our family. Pray God’s continued strength and protection from sickness and may Almighty God increase our finances that we may do more to advance His Kingdom!

Countdown!

Our plans are set for departure to Kinshasa, Congo for April 1st, 2009! We will leave from Dulles Airport and fly through Italy and Ethiopia before arriving in Kinshasa on April 3rd. We are very excited about this great opportunity to serve God. We believe God will do mighty things among us as we step out in faith to serve Him. Check back as we countdown to take off..................