I finally started seeing a few signs of Christmas starting on the the 22. A few trees in shops and some homes had homemade decorations made from paper. I tried to greet everyone with joyeux noel but they just laughed at me and would say “bon fete.” For some reason people here like to say “Good Feast” or “Good Party” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Another thing I found interesting is that instead of saying “Happy New Year” people here say “Good Year.” It’s different but I kind of like it. I like proclaiming that the New Year will be a good year.
I found out that Da Gracia finally got up the courage to get tested for HIV and was found to be negative! God is so good. It is nearly impossible to be a prostitute in this area and not contract AIDS.
Before Christmas I met a boy about 17 named Ebi. He stumbled upon our church during a prayer meeting and decided to come in. It turns out his father was killed by Rwandan soldiers in the war when Ebi was younger. His mother died shortly after their family returned to Likasi. I guess the effects of the war and the lose of her husband was too much for her to bear. Shortly after that Ebi lost his 2 younger siblings. Life has been extremely hard for him as he daily deals with the trauma of having lived in a war zone, losing most of his family, and living with poor relatives who barely have enough money to feed him. He is only in 7th grade because there is rarely enough money to put him through school. He has recently begun struggling with thoughts of suicide and so much fear. He described how he would hear voices telling him he should kill himself of that eh was about to die. Because his mom and siblings died somewhat mysteriously he is scared out of his mind that it will happen to him too and at the same time increases his suspicions that his life is hopeless and he might as well end it. He suffered from migraines that never seemed to go away as well as other frequent illnesses. He was desperate for anything to help him when he entered our church that Wednesday evening. I was surprised to see this new person weeping as he cried out to God with all earnestness. It has been incredible to see Ebi’s transformation. He went from a scared boy ready to kill himself to a boy filled with hope and faith in God. It took a few weeks but with some encouragement and a lot of prayer he realized that God had a purpose for His life and desired to help him and loves him so much. I can’t help but wonder how many more kids there are in this country like Ebi. Their situations seem so hopeless and horrible but Jesus can change everything in someone’s life.
I still don’t have electricity. Someone actually worked on it for about 4 days in a row and did get a couple of houses in the area connected. Since New Years he hasn’t bothered to come back to work though. It’ll sure be nice to have it again.
When my parents were on their way back home from visiting me I decided to accompany them as far as Chingola the Zambian city just across the border for one night. It was incredible to be able to live with electricity, running water, speak English, and be able to go to a grocery store. I also enjoyed having an extra day with my parents.
I think I have mastered the border and the crazy corrupt border officials. Of course knowing more Swahili and having my proper permanent visa sure helps. It also helps that I have documentation stating that I am a missionary. Congolese have a lot of respect for missionaries which is such a blessing.
It was incredible being able to speak in English constantly when my parents were here. It was also really encouraging because normally I know the least Swahili out of everyone so it always feels like I haven’t learned enough but my parents knew absolutely nothing so it made me realize how much I’ve learned. Everything went really great while they were here and I think they really enjoyed themselves even with the lack of conveniences.
The more I think about 2009 the more excited about it I am. Time seems to be moving so quickly. I can hardly believe next month I’ll be going back to Zambia and on the last day of the month back in the USA. The only downside is how cold it is going to be. I just hope it doesn’t snow.
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