The Big 4

Yesterday, July 1st, was our fourth wedding anniversary! We celebrated by going out to eat after teaching English class. We took motorcycle taxis to a little place across from the airport by the Gemena Hospital. Our anniversary meal consisted of goat and large portions of rice and mpondu (pounded cassava leaves). I bet Michelle never saw that coming when we got married! Soleil tagged along too (after all, where else would she be?).

June Team Comes and Goes

We recently welcomed and said good-bye to our second short-term ministry team. This time, instead of hosting two people for five weeks (as in February), we hosted eight people for ten days. It was a larger team because it was actually three teams coming at the same time. There were four high school students who came to continue a ministry they started a few years ago called Kids for Congo. Three women (two of whom were mothers of the teens on the trip) also came along with work of their own- taking part in initial planning sessions for the development of a restaurant at ELIKYA. The final member of the team came from Hidden Acres Christian Center and began a discussion with CECU’s Director of Christian Education about a new camp and retreat center to be built behind ELIKYA. So you could say it was a busy ten days.

After several weeks of preparation on both sides of the Atlantic, the team arrived on Saturday, June 4th. They had quite an eventful trip, as their “guide”, Jim Snyder (who speaks French and Lingala and knows the Kinshasa airport well) was held up in the US by an airplane malfunction and was unable to meet them in Brussels as previously planned. So they had to go it alone but were assisted in Kinshasa by two Congolese pastors. When they arrived they were welcomed with a brief ceremony/service at the CECU offices. Then we brought them back to ELIKYA, their home for the next week and a half.

That afternoon we had an initial orientation meeting. The highlights of this time from our perspective were the cultural lessons that had been prepared by our Koyamba Team. Each had been tasked to educate our visitors on a specific point of Congolese culture such as appropriate greetings, how to be gracious guests and what (not) to wear. There was also a brief Lingala primer thrown in. So the Koyamba team had to prepare and deliver a short teaching…in English, of course. They did great and the Lingala lesson by Simplice was especially engaging.

On Sunday we worshipped at Temple in the morning and that afternoon Michelle threw a surprise baby shower for Sarah that the team got to be a part of. Read more about that here.

The team’s work began in earnest on Monday. We spent that morning praying over the restaurant planning that would occur during the week. In the afternoon we took everybody on a quick tour of Gemena.

Touring the Sights of Gemena

Tuesday through Thursday the four girls went to Temple in the city to take part in a kid’s seminar for children from the Global Fingerprints orphan sponsorship program. They each gave their testimony, told a story about God’s love and presented the both the gospel and a brief lesson on AIDS using e-cube resources. Their involvement was coupled with testimonies by orphans in the program and Bible verse memorization.

The restaurant planning took place throughout the first week, included meals at two local establishments to get some local flavor and culminated in a dinner at a mock restaurant in our English classroom here at ELIKYA. The restaurant planners cooked all day, the Kids for Congo girls served and the rest of us enjoyed some absolutely delicious food. It is generally in agreement that Gemena has no real restaurants so the establishment of an ELIKYA restaurant could be a big draw and source of income for the center. It would also provide another training track for the widows and orphans.

Eating out on the town

On Friday, Dede Taylor, the Directrice of Hidden Acres, met with Pastor Passi to discuss HA’s growth and mission and to hear about CECU’s camp ministry. Afterwards we visited a school where CECU currently hosts kid’s summer camps and walked the perimeter of the land purchased for a new camp behind ELIKYA.

On Saturday we took the team to a nearby cave (where CECU also hosts summer camp) to explore and made it back in time for the ELIKYA students’ graduation ceremony.

The view from above the cave

The following Monday we took a day trip to Tandala to visit the hospital there. Read more about that here.

The girls were able to visit some of their friends in Global Fingerprints on Tuesday. Everybody also made it to the CECU garage later for a very special ceremony. Edison, the head mechanic and chauffer has been making special hand-pedaled “tricycles” for the handicapped. He was able to present four people with a brand new means of transportation that will greatly improve their quality of life.

And on Wednesday they were gone…We thoroughly enjoyed hosting them and even better, so did the Koyamba Team!

Kids for Congo

Jenna, Jesse, Anna and Alysha

A big part of the team that came out this month was four girls that make up a group called Kids for Congo. “Kids for Congo” is a partner of PEASITs Global Fingerprints program. What’s exciting about Kids for Congo is that it is a non-profit founded by kids for kids. This is the second time that the girls have been to Congo in the last two years. They have made it their mission to get more orphans sponsored and to find more pen pals for Congolese orphans in the program. They would love for you and your family to get involved. Visit their website for more information.

Tandala Hospital

On June 13th we took a day trip to visit the Tandala Hospital. Many of the team members had heard about the work that had been going on at the hospital for years and were excited at the opportunity to go and see it firsthand.

The visit, brief as it was, had an impact on all who went. The work at Tandala faces an uphill battle right now because of a recent dip in support from US churches. There is not enough money to buy medicine or pay the doctors. It is hard to quantify the impact that this has on the health care that is provided for the entire Ubangi region. Needless to say, there is an enormous need here that you and your church could help meet. To learn more about the Tandala Hospital and how to get involved, click here.

Beds without mattresses

Shelves without medicine

Sarah's Baby Shower

The first full day the team was here Michelle hosted a surprise baby shower for Sarah. Read Sarah’s post on their blog, Snyders in Congo, for more on that.

May 2011 Update

At the moment it is a little after 2:00 on the afternoon of May 31st- a fine time to send out our monthly update. Right on time; though by the time we make it to the mission to send and receive e-mails it will most likely be June.

Much of the past month has been spent making preparations to host a short-term team flying into Gemena on June 4th. The team is coming for several reasons; 1) to begin planning for the construction of a restaurant at or by ELIKYA, 2) to minister to orphans in the Global Fingerprints sponsorship program and 3) to do some planning for a new CECU camp/retreat center to be built behind ELIKYA property. This “teams within a team” approach means a more affordable trip but can be difficult to organize logistically. So during the past month we have put together a schedule, divvied up responsibilities among ourselves and the Congolese “koyamba” team we’re training and made sure that all the details are worked through thoroughly.

The team that is coming is from Boone, Iowa and is eight-people strong. They will be accompanied by Jim Snyder and Rachel Martin (veteran Congo missionaries and our immediate supervisors). There are four teenage girls coming out under the banner of Kids for Congo, a non-profit organization that has partnered with the Global Fingerprints program here. They will be visiting with orphans in that program and teaching Bible lessons at a local CECU church. Those involved with the restaurant planning will remain at the Elikya Center and will work through some of the initial questions regarding the establishment of a restaurant. It is hoped that this restaurant will be both a source of income for ELIKYA and a training platform for those interested in learning about it. The camp planning will take place primarily on Friday, June 10th.

Pray that the Lord would prepare the way for this team as they begin their travels in only a few days. Pray that their ministry would bear fruit and that their visit would be a big encouragement to the church here in the Congo.

Our English classes have continued as usual. We have purchased some new curriculum that is being brought out with the team and are looking forward to making the switch. This coming month we will be upping the hours of class per week from six to eight by adding 2 extra hours for conversation, discussion and dialogue. They are getting some from the weekly English club that we are a part of every Saturday but it will be helpful to have even more exposure and more opportunities to practice speaking. They will, however, have some great opportunities for the ten days the team will be here. Pray that our students would increase in their English ability and would be encouraged.

Aside from teaching English and preparing for this team, I have continued with the development of an agricultural program here.

We encountered a very difficult situation that has affected the ag program this past month. Mowa had selected a local agronome to help with the teaching. He is a very hard worker and very knowledgeable and practiced in the field of agriculture. About a month ago his wife died very suddenly and he was accused of poisoning her. He was subsequently jailed and was only released within the last couple weeks. It remains a very difficult situation for him as he has lost his wife and much of his livelihood (his place was ransacked when he was jailed) and is still dealing with the suspicion that has been placed on him even though he has been acquitted by the district court. Pray for him as he is dealing with his grief and the uncertainty of how to proceed.

Soleil is growing up fast. Lots of people tell her that she’s a mokolo (adult) aleady. She resists learning to sit because she’d rather stand. She rolls over as soon as she is laid on her back. She babbles and gurgles and drools constantly. She grabs at anything that comes close enough so she can put it in her mouth. So I wouldn’t call her an adult quite yet. She is a lot of fun and we are really enjoying being her parents.

Well, that’s May. Keep our ministry in your prayers. There is more transition ahead as the Snyders will be leaving us for Gamboula where they will have their baby. So it will be our turn to hold down the fort.

In Him,
Aaron and Michelle

Soleil learning English at Saturday English Club

Spreading mulch at a Foundations for Farming demo

There are mangos...and then there are mangos!