Sounds from Central Church in Gemena

This should excite any worship pastor!

I was going through some of the audio I recorded on our trip, and came across some of the choir music from our Sunday morning worship at Central Church.

They not only had 4 choir numbers (They may have had more, I can't recall... I just recorded 4), they had 4 CHOIRS.

I recorded these live in the church service. For a couple of the tracks, I was able to sneak up front and capture it, but I tried my best to do so in a way that wouldn't disrupt the worship service (a 6' 5" white guy is going to disrupt the worship service every time he scratches his nose).

I would LOVE to record this music in a more controlled environment some day. However there is something special about all the sounds in the background.

The church had no walls, and all the sounds inside spilled out, and all the sounds outside spilled in (that sounds like a great illustration for how the church should integrate with the community, but that is a completely different post.

It was beautiful.

Track 1 - Women's Choir
Track 2 - Men's Choir
Track 3 - Mixed Choir
Track 4 - Men's Choir

Congo Presentation/Luncheon - September 28th

Mbote (hello in Lingala!) to all of our faithful prayer warriors/supporters!

Please SAVE THE DATE of September 28th for a Congo luncheon/presentation at Hope Church at Noon (following church 10:30 church service). More details to follow.

Deb Sagisser (for the team!)

Just a glimpse of the beautiful scenery!

These are three of the beautiful children that sat on the porch with me!

Today I found myself reflecting back on many of the wonderful memories of this past week. It's hard to believe that we are back after so much planning and anticipation for the Congo trip. For me, the anxiety of this trip was high, but I knew that we had hundreds of people praying for us, and that God would again prove to be our protector. We prayed that He would watch over our loved ones and give them comfort over the anxiety they were also feeling. He did all that and even more, and as I reflected back, I didn't ever feel a threat of any kind ~ PTL!

Today I also found myself missing the camaraderie of our team. I feel we shared an experience that God alone provided, and I am very thankful for each and every member of this team. We all have special gifts, and I pray that God will help us reveal the way He wants us to use those gifts to form a partnership vision for Hope Church and the CECU.

I'm also missing the brilliant smiles of the Congolese people, the beautiful scenery that God created in the Congo, and the warmth and love these people show constantly. It was so cool to have complete strangers walk up as you sat on the porch, offer their hand, and greet you with "mbote" (hello in Lingala). As we drove along the roads from Gemena to Tandala, we'd wave to those along the way, and their faces would light up and they would excitedly wave back. That particular memory popped in my head today as I was at the store and noted how we don't even acknowledge one another when we pass by. :-(

Please continue to pray for our team as we work together to form a partnership that is honoring and glorifying to God! We'll be meeting again on Sunday to begin the work.

Blessings my friends!

~Deb Sagisser

Next Steps: Global Fingerprints

Here is a great way to get involved on an individual level.

One of the great things going on in the Congo is the Global Fingerprints Orphan Sponsorship Progam through the EFCA.

One of the greatest struggles of the region is a high population or orphans. Many due to AIDS and the recent civil war.

GlobalFingerprints is a chance for you to help out. For $25 per month, you can help provide essentials for a child who has lost one or both parents.

There a many great child sponsorship programs out there, but what I really like about this one is that it is being run by the local church and needs are being met at a very specific and individual level. For now the program is only focused on this area of the Congo.

Our family just started sponsoring a young girl.

Here is a video that does a WONDERFUL job of explaining the program.

Tons (almost 1000) photos

I just uploaded all the photos I took, as well as hundreds I have gotten from the other team members.

They aren't necessarily in order, and some of them should probably be deleted (blury or dark shots), but for the raw-unedited version of our trip, check out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cebliss/CongoVisionTrip
and
http://picasaweb.google.com/cebliss/CongoVisionTrip2

(Actually, I just remembered I have a couple hundred shots on my camera that haven't been loaded yet... so I guess this isn't EVERYTHING)

Home...

We are home!!

Thanks for your prayers.

We will have much more to post soon, but now... we will sleep

Carl

More trip back from Tandala

This was Tandala as we left.


Dave and John with our good friend Deolo. Deolo translated for John and Dave at the Bible School. He is a pastor who oversees the AIDS ministry for the CECU (EFC Congo).



Oh! As promised, here is the satellite dish that we used to get Internet access (and to post these updates). This type of setup is very expensive and VERY rare out here. My understanding is that this is the only set up like this in the region (Tandala Hospital has a VSat setup enroute right now).