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).

We stopped by a summer camp on the way back. These children following me were not actually a part of the camp. They were from the nearby village and would sit outside and listen to the music from the camp kids (and 8 white folks drew a crowd also)


Stopping by the side of the road, on the way back to Gemena: Deb, Katie and RuthAnn


Katie with the Gemena group of orphans.


(Our only tourism moment) Local artists came to our porch and allowed us to do our shopping without leaving home.

The long way home...

Tomorrow morning at 7am our bags get picked up at the guest house in Gemena.

We have some breakfast and wait. We will know it is time to go to the airport when we hear the plane fly over head.

We will spend tomorrow evening and the whole day Saturday in Kinshasa. John and Dave are teaching in Kinshasa on Saturday, and our gals will have a chance to meet with some of the area women.

9pm on Saturday (3pm CDT), we catch Air France to Paris, then NWA HOME!!

When we return, this blog will be far from over. As we sort through the photos and journal entries (oh... and a ton of video!!!) we will add more thoughts to this blog!

Feel free to book mark it, or add it to your RSS reader.

Much love!

Carl (and the rest of the team)

Women's Ministry in the Congo

We had a wonderful meeting with the CECU Women's Ministry leadership team today. The women in the gray/white dress in center is Maman Ndoa, who is the President of the Women's Ministry. We laid hands on the team following a delicious lunch. We had great conversation and they shared with us all the wonderful things they are doing for the CECU regions here in Congo. Her story and the burdens on her heart definitely brought tears! The meeting was held at Maman Ndoa's house.

A life on the run.

Today (July 24th) we shared our evening and dinner with the President and Vice President of the CECU (The Congolese Free Church).

We were hosted by the director of the Elikya (Hope) Center, in the home he built near Gemena.

We started late in the afternoon, and President Bosokpale shared with us his vision for the future of the CECU. His vision was broad and aggressive and showed a powerful belief the the Holy Spirit and God's provisions for the church.

We asked questions about how we could help, and they shared their ideas, hopes, and dreams. It was a wonderful conversation about how we might all serve God in the Congo in the coming years.

During dinner we exchanged questions and ideas. Near the end of dinner Pastor John asked the President, Vice President, and Director if they're lives were impacted by the war in the Congo. The war began in in 1996-97, and greatly impacted these men and their families beginning in 2000. They each shared their stories about how they and their families retreated from the village into the jungles to seek safety and shelter from the troops. In some cases the men were separated from their wives and children, but eventually found them in the jungles. They retreated deeper in the jungles to avoid the troops and the planes and the bombings. One of the men shared that his friend's son was killed during the war, but they all had to keep moving to stay ahead of the carnage and violence.

These men shared their unshakable faith that God had protected them from complete devastation, and led them to the work they are now doing for His people of the Congo. During our dinner they thanked God for His protections during that horrible time.

We closed the evening with prayers and tears. As we prepared to leave the home, they gave us each a gift of hand-made clothing. More tears and "thank yous!"

It was a powerful evening of of witnessing, and sharing ideas and dreams

Dave Sagisser.

A few more pics

I am realizing we need more photos of Ruth Ann... I will fix that :)


The foundation this young man is standing next to is a foundation for a new building for Central Church.

Katie and Cyntha felt right at home in this class room.

Pics from Debs Camera.

The children loved to have their pictures taken.

These toddlers were sorting out some palm nuts.

Carl with his new friends.

We spent some time meeting with some of the unwed mothers and women's ministry folks at Tandala. Katie was able to hold this baby. The baby stopped crying as soon as it found Katie's arms! We have found that, no matter where you are in the world, a mama, is a mama, is a mama

Tandala Hospital

We had a chance to visit Tandala Hospital at Tandala. Tandala is one of the finest hospitals in the Ubangi region of Congo (actually, it was explained that this was one of the finest hospitals in all of the DRC).

There is a great need for medical training here. We would love to connect them with the many medical professionals in our church.


This is the dental office. Just as Katie and I walked into the room, the dentist yanked a tooth out of this man. That was quite an unexpected site.

Walking with the rest of the group to Tandala Hospital later in the day.

This is the medical lab at Tandala Hospital.

Our girls sent out some of there extra toys. We presented a few of them to some handicapped children who came to our door. This young man was thrilled to receive this new car. It was explained to us that this may be his only toy. Our girls got it in a Happy Meal.

I will try to encourage the rest of the team to post some of their thoughts later tonight (I figure that if a picture is worth 1000 words, I am way ahead of the rest of them (smile)).

Love you all!

Carl (for the rest of the team)

More Tandala Photos

This young lady was listening outside our church service.

John and Dave spent some time teaching these bible students. Many of these church leaders travelled long distances to spend this time with us.

Dave teaching on teaching the spiritual gifts.

This, dear friends, is an ant hill...(or termite hill)

Tandala Pics Part 1

Katie met this lady. Her name is Irene. Katie's middle name is also Irene. She brought Katie this pineapple for her "N'doi"

Katie and my Mother with Grandma Laurie's dear friend Mama Malia

I could always draw the children by allowing them to see themselves in the camera view finder. That is me in the middle of the gang.

Children at a Sunday School

Back in Gemena

Hello all! We are back in Gemena.

Very sorry, but we did not have access to the Internet for the last 3 days.

It is 1pm here, and time for lunch, after a long ride from Tandala.

We have MUCH to share from the past few days, and will post much of that tonight.

BUT, we wanted to let you know we have returned from Tandala and are back online.

Carl

About the Blog

Hey, a few people have asked about the Internet access out here ("If you are on-line... how remote can it be?")

I wanted to explain the set up to you.

Congo has seemed to skip a few steps in technology.

There are no land lines out here, but cell phones are everywhere.

You can't send a letter or package here, but I can instant message a friend quickly.

The Internet here is set up on a V-Sat (Satellite) system. It isn't a common thing around here, but the ministry center is able to connect, thanks to the support of other churches (it costs about $25,000 and is the only one in the area) We have access to that satellite for 3 hours a day while they run the generator, otherwise we have no power.

I will try to take a picture of the satellite dish and post it for you this week.

A couple days of silence

Tomorrow we travel to Tandala. There V-Sat system is on the way, but has not been installed yet. I don't know that they have Internet access there.

If you don't hear from us for a few days, it is because we really ARE in a place where they are off line.

We are sorry if you don't hear from us, but I am sure we will have a LOT to write when we return.

Much Love,

Carl (and the rest of the team)

John's eyes are opening!

I walked into the dimly lit room and saw big smiles and bright faces on kids that were orphaned by HIV/AIDS. For the next hour wewere exposed to the great opportunity we have to provide care to hundreds of kids just like them. Our brothers and sisters in the EFC of Congo have a vast church-driven network to bring relief to those suffering from this tragic disease. My emotions went from joy to sorrow during the presentation. Up and down over and over again. I was depressed to see these children who had lost their parents and then so proud of the church's passion and effort to place them in nurturing homes. The church is shining a bright light into the darkness. We've heard story after story of God using the church to bring hope. Hope for this life and for eternity. My eyes are being opened.
John

More Photos from Saturday

Saturday the 19th! Here are some pictures from our day.

One of the first things we did, as mentioned on our last post, was visit a VBS program. These are the WONDERFUL kids who welcomed us with song!

After visiting with the kids, we returned to the CECU center to sit with the Women's ministry leaders and learn about their work with widows in the area.

We drove out to an area where they are doing sewing training. The women of Hope have done a lot to help these ladies. Here is our representation of the women of Hope, with the women leaders of the CECU in Gemena!

I have to post this picture because my oldest daughter complained there weren't enough photos of Mommy and Daddy (Daddy is usually behind the camera). Our family sponsored the sending of a sewing machine. We took this picture specifically for our girls, to show them where our families efforts have gone.

Saturday Morning

Good Morning America!

I will quickly hammer this one out before the generator is shut off.

It is noon on Saturday (6am in Oakdale). After a wonderful breakfast at the residence of the ministry president, we spent the morning meeting with the Women's ministry here at CECU in Gemena. We also had a chance to visit a VBS program taking place across town.

The (160) children welcomed our visit with many (loud) songs and lots of dancing. I took some video of it, but the bandwidth here isn't sufficient to support the upload. I will upload it when we return.

One of the songs they sang was a Lingala translation of the children's song "B-I-B-L-E". We returned their music by singing it in English. A few of them sang along in Lingala.

After that visit, every one of the children filed past us and greeted us indivudually. They were adorable!!!

We then returned to the CECU center and met with the women's ministry. We had a chance to drive out and see some more of the sewing machines in use. We had NO idea what kind of an impact the sewing machine's Hope has sent, are having on vocation and biblical instruction in this region.

I can not continue to say "Thank You" enough, from these people.

We shared the story of the Aprons with the leaders of the women's ministry, and gave them a picture of a couple of our Hope ladies (June and Angie) with the aprons.

It is almost time for lunch now! Most of the breakfasts and suppers here are made up of dried goods we packed from the states. So lunch is a great time for us to have the flavor of the Congolese homecooked (over coals out behind the house).

God bless you all (this blog has seen a lot of traffic... that is so encouraging to us!)

Elikya

Hey ALL!! As John would say "mbote kuwanna bahnahnah!

One major miracle was receiving every piece of luggage--16 in all, many with goodies for the nationals here. We visited Elikya today as you can see in the picture. I was so impressed with the great and plentiful ideas the workers there have put into practice through the cottage industries there. They not only sew but also make soap, learn carpentry, make stools and are interested in a few other ventures. The students in the carpentry training were all orphans who are learning a trade they can use when they are on their own.

Weather is hot but not horrible. We're doing well with that. Met the president of the EFC in Congo and John had preached at his installation service years ago when he became a regional supt. Also met the head and vice of women's ministries. So interesting to hear of their hope in the midst of so much need.

Thanks again for your interest and prayers as we are over here.

Ruth Ann

God is definately with us!

Today's experiences were just amazing and we saw God with us every step of the way. We rose early in Kinshasa to depart for the airport (which was not one of the most pleasant experiences!) and thanks to the people here that work with TouchGlobal, we got through without a problem. Seeing the faces of the people that greeted us (see posted picture) was a bit overwhelming for me, and brought the first set of tears! When we got to the Elikya Center and saw the women teaching the orphans (both girls & boys) to sew, was another God moment. What an amazing place this is. These people truly love the Lord and to see their environment and how much they care for each other, makes me feel like we sometimes are missing quite a bit of life. We look forward to coming home to share these experiences with you in person... the pictures and the words don't come close to what it's really like, but we thank God for the ability to share even this little piece! We love you all! Continue the prayers because we definately feel them. ~Deb

Cynthia works on one of the machines. Cynthia led the apron sales at Hope. It was so neat to be with her when she saw this vision completed.

Carpentry is also taught at the school.

These young men are working on window casements as they learn the skills.

The view from the Elikya center. Elikya means "Hope".

Pictures from Gemena

John and Dave riding the back of the truck from the airport.

The line of brothers and sisters waiting to greet us

Dave brought a camera for this gentlman.

Orphan students in class learning to sew. They are sewing outfits that will be used as uniforms. The sewing machines you see here were purchased using funds from the sale of aprons at Hope Church! Thank you!

MORE PICTURES TO COME SOON!