Congo 2009

Once again this year the 2009 Congo team will be off to make a difference for the under-resourced on the other side of the world.

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Click here for letters from Congo 2008

Below are some letters and pictures from the 2007 trip to Congo, Africa.

LETTER TEN- July 12

Greetings everyone for the last time from Congo,

Half of the team spent the morning painting the houses on the Restawhile compound while the others were a Kigoma mixing cement and finishing the floors.

In the afternoon we all travelled to Kigoma for our dedication service of the school to the memory of Matt Murray. The plaque was presented in his name and Kevin Campbell spoke to entire team plus the local workers involved. Dave Marshall closed with a prayer for the school and the lives that will be impacted as a result. It was very emotional especially for those who were close friends to Matt. Mike Barnes made a phone call to Ken and Helen (Matt's parents) who were not home at the time but emailed to confirm they received the message. Let our prayers be with them today.

Our last day is done, we have eaten, had our last meeting and most are packed and in bed ready for an early start at a long journey home. Of course I must mention that time flies, as most people do upon conclusion of an endeavor of like sorts. Many people are just getting settled, and yet our plane ticket says we leave tomorrow. Although we have all witnessed dramatic events, sights and personal encounters over the past two weeks, we believe that God has used this time to stir up our hearts and our faith so that He might use us in different areas than maybe we ever thought possible. Although I do not believe you need to travel around the world to be moved by God, there is something stirring about being in these settings.

There was a message spoken in one of last Sunday's services here on the characteristics of a Godly nation. It was mentioned that in cases like Congo, blame is often passed on to past and present leaders of the nation, for the turmoil and the impoverished state of the nation. While there is no doubt Congo has been burdened with evil leaders, blame must not be passed, but rather each individual must take responsibility for the country as if it were all up to them working hard and praying for Godly wisdom to do so effectively. This might appear to be a burden in a seemingly forsaken land, but the Bible tells us not to rest our eyes on things seen but rather to look upon the things that are unseen and eternal. There is hope for this nation not because men and women have the ability to turn things around with determination or intelligence, but because with God all things are possible. Christ Jesus can change the hearts of people in this place who have turned their backs on God; let that prayer be spoken daily in our lives. Let us also be thankful for the people we have met here with great faith who are serving Him wholeheartedly even amidst the disorder.

We should never shake our heads at this nation, or Africa in general and belittle these people. Blame should not be passed but rather we should focus on our own efforts of choosing daily to love and serve our neighbors, our communities, our nation and most importantly God. For if we do the latter, all of the former will come naturally. Christ commanded us to love our neighbors and there are plenty of our neighbors here in dire need of this love that you and I have to give. God, please reveal to us how to transfer this love from emotion to action. Show us how to love and serve you better.

Thank you to everyone for taking time to read about our experiences here and especially for all your prayers. Apologies to those who did not receive a response to emails but our Internet time was somewhat limited.

May God be glorified through the efforts of all the people involved in this trip from the three continents involved.

See you all soon,

p

ps. I believe a portion of one of these emails will be read on CBC radio Moncton tomorrow morning for anyone interested. Thanks goes to Rhonda Whittaker

LETTER EIGHT- July 5

Greetings friends and family,

Sorry for the delay. Glad to hear the pictures made it through and I will try to send some more soon. We had good days yesterday and today; yesterday we visited the refuge camp and today we went to a prison outside of town to minister to the inmates.

Refuge Camp

We went to the camp in the afternoon and brought along some things to facilitate games, colouring, face painting, music etc. The majority of the people in this camp fled from the northern parts of Congo during the war. Some have moved back to more stable regions but others have no family or place to return, or no money to do so, so they remain displaced in the camp.

It is really hard to put into words what we saw, and a lot of us were speechless after we left. I want to say that it doesn't matter what these people have or don't have as long as they have Jesus because I believe that, but you cannot help but be moved when you see the situation they are in. I was overwhelmed as we sang "My Redeemer Lives" in front of about 100 children sitting on cement in an abandoned slaughter house. Their faces lit up when Gabby narrated a puppet show about Noah and the Ark...some of them have never seen white people or any of the things we brought with us like puppets, crayons etc.

Few of the children have ever been to school, they have never played games, slept in a bed, eaten a full meal, read a book, been read to, seen a house, worn shoes.........the list goes on. The fact that there is this type of poverty in the world displeases God. It is not in His will for people to be suffering like this.

The artists in the group (Joel, Jamey and Mark) were doing face painting for the children. It was surprising when we noticed older boys and grown men lining up to have hearts and things painted on their face. Joel said to me, "What do you expect when all they have seen in their life is war?" It hit me that these men and women have seen atrocities that we only see in movies, and they have completely missed out on a care free childhood, full of exploration, wonder and learning. Their focus is survival because they can't afford to think about much else.

It was the only place I have been so far where I was overly conscious of what I was touching because everything was so filthy. The poor little children sat on the ground, some of whom did not have clothes. Their were flies everywhere and open sewage running right through the middle center of the camp.

I could continue for a page describing how horrible the living conditions were and how helpless I felt to do anything for these people. I believe that just being at the camp was a blessing for these children that they might not otherwise have had. They heard the gospel and had something different in their life that God may use to bring them hope.

God absolutely loves these people and it is our job to pray for them continuously and to do what we can to help them. It could just as easily have been you or I who were born into these conditions so let us thank God for our abundant blessings. We are to be good stewards of these blessings and to help these people however possible. Let us pray that God would reveal to us what we can do for the people who live in these kinds of situations.

Prison

The prison was a half hour ride out of town and it was a bit refreshing because there was very little dust there. This was not a maximum security prison but the inmates definitely did not receive luxuries that inmates in Canada receive. The inmates will not get food unless people from the outside bring it in. Perhaps this is why Jesus told us to visit people in prison, in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). We brought enough food to feed the 400 inmates supper. There is an open courtyard where there are vegetable gardens, grass and some goats. The inmates stay in large housing type units and there is a chapel in the courtyard.

Mike Barnes and I shared our testimonies after a worship time with beautiful harmony and dancing by the inmates. 25 (of about 150 present) gentlemen responded to a call to give their hearts to Christ by the regular pastor who visits the prison so praise God for that.

We returned home afterwards for supper and had a time of sharing with some local missionaries which was extremely interesting and encouraging. We have somewhat of a restful day planned for tomorrow which includes swimming? ice cream and a restaurant. We must be going far from here because I have seen nothing so far that looks safe for swimming.

Thank you to all the people who are sending encouragement and to all the people who are at home praying and thinking of us. Pray that hearts would be open to Christ's message of salvation and that God would be glorified.

p

LETTER FOUR- June 29

Jambo everyone,

We started our day today at 6:30 and were on the "road" by 7:30. We split up into two groups and went to two different school sites: Kigoma and Rwashi.

I use quotations marks around the word road because we were only on a paved section for about 3 minutes. Once we turned off the main road in Lubumbashi it was like we turned onto an ATV trail in back country NB, it was hilarious. Alan Dunn had his dream come true today when he got to drive the Landrover along the rugged road, cowboy hat and all. He did great! There were pot holes 4 feet deep, an 8 foot ditch on either side and people, goats and chickens all over the road as well.

I hope no one is getting a negative image of Congo from these emails. There are wonderful people here, everyone has been nothing but loving and kind to us since we arrived. The things we see that are so different are due primarily to a lack of leadership and unity in the country. It helps us to appreciate the wonderful country we live in, what our tax dollars pay for and a government that we can see and hear about everyday working for us, regardless of whether or not we are always happy with their decisions...we are extremely blessed so let us be thankful.

We got significant work done at both locations. At Rwashi, a 100 square foot hole was dug for a septic tank, the girls led a childrens program all morning, and at Kigoma the frame for the roof was designed and 4 trusses were set on top of the brick walls.

Both groups were surrounded by local children the entire time. Everytime we moved around we had to say "Excuse me" "Back Up" or "Beep Beep". The children learned these phrases quickly and would be shouting them along with us. The children ranged from less than one to about 12. We saw kids who were 4 years old taking care of their baby sibblings. Babies walking around everywhere, no shoes, sitting patiently and smiling when we gave them attention. The babies rarely cry and can withstand a lot of getting knocked over by the crowds, falling down etc. The children came first thing in the morning when we arrived, sat the entire day and watched us (plus some play time) then chased the trucks as we left in the evenings. Bless their hearts. It was an emotional day for the groups as we saw how little the children really had and how much support they really need. It was like walking in a World Vission commercial.

When we got back to the compound at Restawhile we were thankfull for shade, nourishment and water to clean ourselves. We have it extremely well here and if anyone is worried about our safety don't be, we are gated in in the evenings and we discussed that it would be perfect for raising a family (on the compound that is). We do not feel threatened even when we are off the compound.

The biggest threat will come tomorrow when we dust off our soccer shoes and play a game against the bible school's team. Apparently there is hype surrounding this game which we find ammusing. We might try to recruit some of our 10 year old neighbors to give us a hand.

Thank you all for your prayers, we are thinking and praying for you.

p

LETTER NINE- July 9

Greetings everyone,

Two great days to tell you about.

Friday we got to take half of the day off from the construction which was really nice. Both building projects are coming along nicely and we will have two solid days of work Monday and Tuesday before we leave to come home.

After work we travelled to the other side of town to a hotel that had a nice outdoor pool. We all got to swim and relax a bit which was a real blessing. The lobby of the hotel was really nice and was evidence as to what the country used to look like. Very nice decorations and sculptures. Things have since started to deteriorate however and the hotel probably only has a staff less than half the size of what would have been needed when the Belgians occupied the country. There have been developments in the country since then but with corrupt leaders hoarding money and war, it has been a slow going.

The rest of the day was spent in the middle of town just walking the streets and seeing the sights. The center is very busy, taxi's and people everywhere. Cars do not stop when you start crossing the road and there were a couple close calls...it is worse than New York.

Today was a big day as we were hosting a youth conference on site. There were about 120 teens/20 somethings who attended the all day affair which was organized by Todd Elliot. He did an awesome job! The morning session was introductions and Todd preached on living a holy life, pleasing to God citing Colossians chapter 3. There was also a choir present who did the worship music for the conference.

After the first session we had an outdoor games time. The plan was to play soccer, volleyball and Frisbee but after we noticed that everyone was wearing dress pants, dress shoes, skirts etc. we improvised and did some games with a bit less intensity. Somehow a soccer ball got loose though and before we knew it all the guys were engaged in a really intense game, regardless of what they were wearing. I saw guys running full speed wearing shiny dress shoes and some in sandals. We were worried that they wouldn't want to stop but eventually everyone was directed back inside for lunch and the afternoon session where Todd, Sarah Campbell and Jamey Cann spoke on sexual purity. The teens were very involved and had some great questions. There was time for prayer and lots of people came forward seeking forgiveness for past sins as well as strength for the future.

The day ended with a general hang out where we got to exchange emails and just hang out and talk with everyone in the courtyard area. It was a great day and I believe it was a huge blessing for all involved.

God worked out all the details and it was a huge success.

Andrew Johnson and crew have been working tirelessly from day one on the water tank/pump system on the Restawhile compound. Two 5000 litre tanks were purchased and installed and I just received word that the system is complete other than some minor details. Thanks to him and Todd for their joint effort and expertise, and all who helped with the labor.

Tomorrow we will be splitting up to attend four different churches in the morning and then attending the English church again in the evening. 8 of us will be preaching in some capacity tomorrow so please pray that God would speak to the people in attendance.

There will also be a live feed via cell phone to the Moncton Wesleyan church tomorrow at both services which should be exciting for those at home. I can't believe how many cell phones there are here. I though I would be escaping the influx but they are just as prevalent and conveniently ring when it is not appropriate, like in church.

Only three more full days here and we can't believe it. Look forward to seeing everyone at home and hope all is well.

God bless,

p

ps Jane or Ivor it has been requested that you save all the emails to save Roz from journaling. Andrew is still waiting for an email :0)

pps Johanne says hi to her family.

LETTER SEVEN- July 3

Jambo everyone,

We had another productive day in terms of construction in Congo and it was also a very emotional day for the women.

The boys spent the day mixing cement and working on a roof at Rwashi and Kigoma schools in beautiful weather. It was a bit breezy which was really nice and was even a bit chilly in the morning. We are all becoming great meteorologists...the weather never changes. Sunny and warm-to-hot everyday, hazy sunset and clear sky at night.

We have hired some local men and boys to help us out and they are extremely hard workers. Our initial thought was to pay them Canadian wages but we were advised otherwise for different reasons, so we payed them 6 dollars each American, gave them lunches and water and then the leftover food at the end of the day. They were extremely pleased with that amount. It is nice to have locals helping because they take ownership of the school, they know how things are done here and there are also lots of people who just volunteer to work for the day.

The women spent the day just of the compound holding a women's conference. There were about 65 women in total and four of our ladies spoke whose names were mentioned yesterday. They all agree it went really well. The Lord really blessed both groups and some good relationships were formed. Some of the Congolese women shared their testimonies and they were extremely moving. I won't mention details but you can ask some of our girls about it when we get back to Canada.

Everyone is healthy right now and feeling good. The guys are feeling a bit run down physically from the construction so we could use prayer for that. Jay's wrist is bothering him and Todd's knee is bothering him too. Pray that God would give the women strength for the conferences because they can be quite tiring with the language barrier and the large number of people present. Please pray for unity in our group and that we all continue working well together and getting along. God has blessed us in those areas so far.

Thank you all for your continued support.

God bless you all.

p

LETTER THREE - June 29

Jambo (Hello) from Congo!

After a good night's sleep under mosquito nets, we had a very productive day.

The sun rises around 6-6:30 hear roosters crowing and a choir singing hymns outside our building. We are separated into three different buildings at our compound and we all have a nice bed to sleep in.

The morning's work included painting, and carrying loads of ruined bricks from point A to point B. Point B was about 100 yards away and through a gate in a wall that is decorated with broken glass all along the top. On the other side of the wall is a Bible school and there happens to be about 20 kids that live on that compound. The wheel-barrows and shovels were quickly dropped and a giant game of soccer soon errupted.

The children are extremely sweet and they all speak french so our french emmersion schooling is paying huge divideds. They love to play games and as soon as you smile and shake their hands they become your best friend and are reluctant to let you go. I think we will be seeing this group of kids everyday.

We did eventually get back to work and turned a huge mess into a respectable looking building ready for finishing work. The dust here is really bad and when you blow your nose, the kleenex shows how much we are actually inhaling...that is why we have nose hair I guess.

I hear Dave, Alan, Todd, Steve M, and Andrew behind me discussing the logistics of the school building project and a water project which will both be started tomorrow.

Steve Higgs and I took a sauntered off the compound before supper and felt like celebrities. Everyone stares because we look different and they all come up to talk. We passed numerous churchs (Tarps with some lawn chairs underneith) and saw some homes that weren't much more advanced than cabins I have built in the woods at home.

What they don't have in material possessions, they definitely make up in spirit and music!!! The girls had been preparing to go to the refuge camp but their drive didn't show up so we spent some time next door at Emmanuel church. THe choir was practicing and it was absolutely amazing. Fantastic harmony and woice projection. Hopefully we will some on video.

The day is winding down and we finished supper with birthday cake for Connie and we are about to have our nightly meeting/devotional time.

We pray that God will continue to use us. The problems in this place are overwhelming and what could 24 willing individuals really accomplish even if we had millions of dollars of resources? Christ says that if we serve even the least on this earth we are serving Him, and by doing that perhaps we are changing someones world. May His will be done.

We appreciate your prayers and support. God bless you all.

p

ps. Because Johanne was sitting right here she gets a line to say she misses her family :0)

LETTER SIX - July 2

Hi everyone,

Paul is taking a break so I'm(Gabrielle) going to write. Today, the team was divided in four, one in Katanga working on the school, one in Ruashi working on the toilet blocks, Todd and Andrew worked on replacing the main Water tanks and replumbing the Restawhile water system and my team went to the deaf school near Ruashi. It was built by World Vision and Restawhile(where we live) pays for their salaries. There were 84 children eagerly waiting for us in ages ranging from 5yrs old to 18yrs old. Roz had brought a very colouful parachute and she and Connie played games with some of the children. Mike D. and Jamey played volleyball with the older kids, Sarah and Johanne did face painting, playdough fun & colouring and I had a group in another room telling Bible stories, making puzzles and playing board games. We were all amazed at how little it takes to make them happy. The teachers were amazing, doing a great job.

Everywhere we go there is so much need...sometimes it gets overwhelming. We have been giving a lot of the things we brought to the poor families we meet. We brought lots of school supplies to the deaf school and will bring "care packages" on all our ministry trips. I will give you our schedule so you can pray for us as we minister and work.

Tomorrow, we are having a ladie's conference and Senga, Roz, Gabrielle and Sarah will be the speakers. Lindsay, Sarah and Stephanie will be dancing. Please pray that the Lord will anoint us as we seek to minister to our congolese sisters.The guys will be working on the two building projects and hopefully placing one of the two new water tanks.

On Wednesday we will be going to the refugee camp to minister to the poor families who live there. Others will be working on the building projects.

On Thursday we will be going to the prisons. Again, some will be working on the building projects.

Friday is an open day but we may go to the maternity ward at the clinic nearby to bring the many layettes we have. More work on the building projects.

On Saturday we are having a Youth Conference and Todd has been given the responsibility to organize it. Pray for him and everyone involved.

On Sundays we are expected to sing (some of us have formed a worship group with Steven playing the guitar). The african are amazing singers. No one wanted to sing after them!!! But they have been gracious to us and told us they loved our music. We are also expected to provide speakers for the 4 different churches we go to(our group divides into 4 groups). One speaker for the main service and one speaker for the Communion service. Then on Sunday night we will be in charge of the english speaking service at the Methodist Center. Speaker, songs and dance. Your prayers mean a lot to us and makes you partners in the work. A lot of our effectiveness depends on you...so don't forget to pray.

" The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

God bless!

PS. A special hi to Bethany and Naomi.(Karen too)

LETTER TWO - June 28

Greetings family and friends,

After a failed attempt at sending an email from the airport in Kenya, I now write to you safe and sound from our accomodations in Lubumbashi, D.R. of Congo. We still have not slept in a horizontal position and after finishing a nice home cooked supper we all look fairly spent. If we are left with more than 10 minutes of free time, people will be found sleeping in strange positions. We are all excited to sleep in a bed tonight.

We prayed a prayer of thanksgiving upon arrival because God was very gracious to us in our travels.

Spending the day in London on Tuesday was nice although it felt like winter. We toured the city on foot and saw some classic sights. We were all anticipating getting on to Africa though, and we were all happy to board the next plane on the journey.

9 hours from London to Kenya was a long flight and most people slept as much as they could with mouths wide open which made for some interesting pictures :0) We had a short layover in Kenya and then 3 hours to Lubumbashi.

As the plane was landing we saw people biking on the runway. It was an accurate preview for the order displayed at that airport...chaos in our terms, but perhaps just a different way of doing things. Cram 200 people in a small room and throw a bunch of bags in the middle, then tell everyone to start yelling while sifting through the pile. It was humorous but we did lose 17 bags, so our prayer warriors at home could pray that they get returned. We are doing well to share though and no one seems too upset over it.

I will wait a couple days until we adjust to write about the sights we experienced driving through the city today. Our minds and bodies were exhausted and it wasn't a pleasant sight for sore eyes. This place is as bad as any have seen.

I hear the team singing in the next room as we are doing our evening worship and devotional time. Everyone is in great spirits and are excited for what God will do on this trip. Please pray that God's will be done.

Thank you all and everyone wanted to send personal notes saying that we miss you and love you.

PS- To Steph's mom: We prayed for her burn that she got the night before leaving. The swelling and redness is gone and she is pain free, praise God. She wanted you to know it is fine now.

LETTER FIVE - July 1

(Sunday evening)

Greetings everyone,

We had a jam packed weekend and we're all very happy for a restful day today.

On Saturday we were not permitted to work outside the compound because it was independence day, so we stayed on site and did work on the water system. We are in the process of installing two new water tanks, that we purchased, which involves a lot of work as well as painting and installing doors on new bedroom facilities in the building that we started work on the first day. It is nice to see improvements to things that may not have received attention without the extra hands around to help.

The highlight of Saturday was definitely the big soccer game. All the guys had a pre-game meeting after lunch to discuss strategy and figure out who could play what position. We knew we would be playing younger, faster, more skilled, more athletic etc etc competition so we would have to beat them with...wisdom? :0)

We met the team outside the compound and took taxi's to the field. Taxi=Volkswagen or Toyota minibus that should seat 13- 15 people. The motto here is "There is always room for one more" so that meant 27 people in at once. It was hilarious and only safe because the potholes made it difficult to travel with any significant speed.

Anywho, we arrived at the field and didn't want to touch a ball and reveal our shame until the last possible moment. The other team was super psyched, they had jerseys and a large crowd was accumulating. We started to realize that this was serious and we didn't want to disappoint our loyal fans (the rest of our team who had no other option but to be there).

The opening whistle blew and there was no turning back. The Congolese maintained possession for most of the first 30 minute half, but did not score until the twenty minute mark. Our keeper Todd Elliot surprised us all with amazing zeal between the pipes, stopping shots left and right. Our primarily British fullbacks were a strong contingent giving support to Todd, and Jay Moore was a threat as striker.

The temperature was blazing and we were doing our best just to run with the other team. The closest we came to a goal was after a partial breakaway by Jay which led to a rebound which their keep was scrambling for...Jamie Cann charged the net and kicked the ball loose. Unfortunately he almost knocked the keeper out so play was whistled dead.

The final score was 3-0 and we were all very happy with our efforts. The game was really fun and there were probably 150-200 people out to watch the 'whites'. After the game both teams returned to Restawhile for refreshments and fellowship. They performed songs for us and we also sang for them. Not that anyone was keeping score but I think they beat us at singing too.

Sunday

Early this morning the team split up into four groups and went to four different churches. The meeting places ranged from actual buildings with pews etc to a structure built with bamboo poles and makeshift tarps. The services were about 4 hours long consisting of: praise and worship time, prayer, message, break, praise and worship, shorter message and communion. After the services the elders of the churches fed us a fantastic meal of chicken, rice, potatoes, cabbage and bananas. The time with the elders was very nice and it was nice to discuss our concerns and encouragements to each other.

Where there was an interpreter, some of our guys delivered the message. Kevin Campbell, Todd Elliot and Alan Dunn delivered sermons and Mike Barnes delivered a shorter message.

This evening we went to a church service that was in English and was all white people which was different. Short and long term missionaries congregated for a time of praise, worship and prayer. Kevin Campbell delivered a great message.

Our plan for tomorrow is to get back to work on the schools and to minister at a deaf school for a few hours in the morning. Pray that their ears would be opened and that God will use us to bless them in some way.

Thank you all for your continued support. It means a lot to our team and especially to the people we are meeting here everyday. God is working through your prayers.

Happy anniversary to Troy from Johanne, she loves you and misses you.

We received our bags and no longer have to share clothes.

If anyone wants to send a personal reply to someone on the team feel free to do so and I will make sure the person gets it.

Miss you all,

p

LETTER ONE - June 25

Greeting everyone,

If you are receiving this email that means that you are a friend or family member of one of the people listed below, who will be travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo today for a 17 day missions trip. 19 members are from the Moncton Wesleyan Church, 4 are from Great Britain and one is a full time missionary in Congo. The purpose of this mass email list will be to keep you informed, as frequently as possible, as to what the team is doing and it is also a way for people who are praying for us to stay informed. Thank you for those of you who have been praying, and to those who are receiving this and don't really know what's going on, I hope you will read the emails as they come.

Our main project on the trip is the construction of a school in the city of Lubumbashi where we will be staying. There are a number of other projects we will be doing and some of our main goals are: to share Christ's love with the Congolese people, to create positive relationships between the two countries and ultimately to bring Glory to God.

Thank you all and God bless

David Marshall (team leader)

Gabrielle Marshall

Julie Vale

Connie Thornton

Lindsay Smith

Rachel Newby (Congo)

Jason Moore

Stephen Marshall (UK)

Stephanie Legere

Senga Lake (UK)

Rosalind (Roz) Johnson (UK)

Andrew Johnson (UK)

Steven Higgs

Johanne Gallant

Todd Elliott

Alan Dunn

Mike Doiron

Mike Barnes

Mark Cann

Jamey Cann

Sarah Campbell

Kevin Campbell

Joel Arsenault

Paul Arsenault