Tropical Ag Training in Florida

One of the benefits that has come about as a result of our return to the Elikya Center being delayed was the opportunity for me to study for a week at Educational Concern for Hunger Organization in Fort Myers, FL. ECHO is a non-profit organization whose vision is "to bring glory to God and a blessing to mankind by using science and technology to help the poor." See http://www.echonet.org/ for more information.

During the week of February 22nd I attended a new class called "Introduction to Tropical Agricultural Development". This was a crash course on a variety of different topics including principles of community development, appropriate technologies, nursery management, cross-cultural communication, dryland farming and more. The heart of ECHO is their 50 acre Global Farm, divided into six separate "climate zones" where techniques and plants native to each are demonstrated. It was a lot of fun to wander the campus reading about the different methods and crops showcased in each plot.

A kitchen garden plot in the Semi-Arid Tropics zone

Demonstration of Tropical Highlands climate zone

I left with many ideas to consider for incorporation into the training program at the Elikya Center. The ability to sustainably grow more food and better food in their subsistence gardens is a big step towards self-sufficiency for widows and orphans in the Congo. Since every household has a garden from which they get the vast majority of their food, this is not only a big step but a necessary one. There are several challenges to be overcome, including depletion of soil nutrients and minimal inputs. But the opportunity for improvement is enormous and I am excited to see how God would use me and the training I received at ECHO.

Yep...a goat

Taro, a root crop grown in much of Africa

"and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday" (Is 58:10).

Missions Sunday at Lebanon Area EFC

Michelle and I had the privilege to speak at Lebanon Area Evangelical Free Church in Jonestown, PA on Sunday, March 7th. They devoted both morning services to missions, focusing on ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Click here to listen. Our segment begins at 20:35. The service ends with my Dad praying for us and our ministry.

March 2010 Newsletter is hot off the presses! Click to view. Past newsletters and donation cards are also available to view or download on the sidebar.

Getting closer...

Well, it is now almost mid-February, a month after our original estimated departure date. The fighting in the Congo made our return in January impossible. Aside from that, however, we would have remained stateside since we have yet to reach 100% of our required support level. But God has been good and is providing for this ministry. We are now at 81% of our required ammount in monthly support commitments. This means that we have only to raise an additional $715/month and we are there! That is good news, especially since when we returned from the Congo we were at approximately 25%! So we have much to be thankful for. Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed from your own resources to enable this vital work in the Congo!

We are hoping to return to the Elikya Center by April. We are awaiting the "all clear" from the church leadership in the Congo and are continuing to raise support in the meantime. If you would like to donate to our ministry, the easiest way to make a one-time donation or to set up a monthly contribution via credit card is to follow this link (Click here). Otherwise, see additional giving options on the sidebar. Thank you so much for your amazing support of us and our future ministry!

Zaire is for Kids

This is an old slideshow my Dad put together during our years in the former Zaire in the 1990s. He also made some other slideshows but this one seemed to be the most popular. It is a brief, educational and fun look at our family's time on the mission field...and very professionally narrated if I do say so myself.

An End in Sight

The latest from Dr. Tom Cairns on the conflict in northwestern Congo:

Last week on Dec 31 and January 1, the rebels from Inyele had been driven back to their own village. They were surrounded by the Congo Army troops and given an ultimatum to lay down arms. Instead they tried a counterattack at two places against the army, so the army attacked and by the end of the fighting 157 rebels were killed as well as one soldier. Some soldiers were evacuated with non-life-threatening wounds to the hospital at Gemena by helicopter. Supposedly there were only a few escapees from Inyele.

The military is continuing mopping-up operations but there is real hope that this will bring an end to the fighting. The next thing is for the army to begin to withdraw, giving confidence to the villagers in all the villages up and down the roads there that they can come back to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.

We are very thankful that something over $30,000 has come in from our churches and donors in the EFCA and in the Consortium. The church has developed a plan to help people with their return, including providing food staples, tarps for shelter, and other necessities to get started again.

Please be in prayer that this will really be the end and that people will quickly return to their villages. Pray that the church will be used mightily as a witness to show God’s care and compassion for them. Pray too that more funds will come in to help meet the massive needs. While there are other NGO agencies working to help, none of them are doing it from God’s heart of compassion as the CECU can do.

January 2010 Newsletter is hot off the presses! Click to view. 2009 newsletters and donation cards are also available to view or download on the sidebar.