I was asked by the Pastor of the EPROBA (Eglise Protestante Baptiste, Protestant Baptist Church) in Shituru to please preach for a special conference at his church. I accepted not really knowing what I was getting myself into.
The first day I spoke at their women’s meeting from Acts chapter 2. I talked about how it is women’s job to preach the gospel to their children. That whenever women neglect this duty is sets up the next generation for failure. I talked about how what is happening now is we know all of our neighbors business and we gossip about it but God’s plan is for women to use their position at home (not one of the women I was talking to was employed) to encourage people through the word of God when they are going through difficulties. To pray for the sick and cast out demons. The same Holy Spirit that gives the power to men to do those things is also given to women.
People haven’t stopped talking about the message since then. Everybody got excited and the women felt empowered to be ministers of the Gospel and the men have been almost more excited about it than the women. I heard one of the elders talking to his wife telling her that he wants her to do more ministry in the church and outside of it. Even the pastor said we need more women like you in our churches it’s not right for only the men to be preaching.
The rest of the meetings also went great. The church turned out to be really open to the move of the spirit. We had altar calls that were really powerful. Lots of people got healed. Many others wanted more of God in their lives and the power of the Holy Spirit. I was especially impressed by how many men came forward or even attended at all. They were at the altar crying out for God to use them and empower them to accomplish his will on earth at it is in heaven. The church even game me money for transport which was the first church to ever do that for me in Congo. They told me I had to come back again and thanked God for my ministry and the sacrifice I had made to come to Congo.
Who knew the Baptist church would be so great?
24 November 2009
20 November 2009
Christian Education
I'm trying to get you all filled in since it has been so long. Too much good stuff to skip
It has come to my attention that Christian Education seems to be the area most ignored by Churches in Congo. I noticed it first with the kids. Kids seem to know so little about the Bible. Not even the children’s stories everyone seems to know something about. I noticed few people in Congo seem to own Bibles and even fewer still seem to read them. The church I am working with theoretically has a whole program for Christian education but unfortunately in reality does nothing. So I began to pray about what I could do and got some ideas.
First I teach at the church on Wednesday (the midweek service) and Thursdays (prayer day). I was asked to use Thursdays to teach on intercession. As God works things out supernaturally, the church I was attending in the US did a Wednesday night service on intercession using Dutch Sheets book Intercessory Prayer. So I spent the last 3 months going through the book with the Thursday group. It took a lot of work putting the main points of the book into French. It went awesome though. People were so excited about what they were learning and putting it into practice. Not only that but they were using the papers I had made up for them in French to teach their friends and neighbors the principles from the book! It was awesome and we started seeing God answer our prayers and more people being excited about praying.
I have been long suggesting and praying that the church would start a Bible study. There is so much preaching but no teaching. So I finally figured out I should just do it myself on Wednesdays. It is so much more difficult to teach in a foreign language. This is why I have been waiting for someone else to do it. But my language skills are improving so I figured I’d give it a try. Still in the mind set that surely people knew plenty about the Bible I decided to start in Galatians. We would go through it chapter by chapter talking not only about what salvation is which Paul beautifully and strongly describes but also talking about simple techniques for how to understand the Bible I had learned in college. I thought it would be great, but it was a disaster. I then got the idea to take a person and give them homework sheets to fill out. So I chose David and we have been going through different stories. I make up homework sheets in Swahili with questions about the story and they fill it out. Everyone has been doing it and thanking me for helping them get in a habit of reading the Bible and helping them understand it. We also talk about what God taught you through the passage and that has been my favorite part. It gives people a chance to participate, and helps them expect and allow the Holy Spirit to teach them something. It also demonstrates to them how they can be used as “preachers" (Rom 10) of the Word of God in every day life. It has been so effective that some people have requested me to be in charge of Christian education for the whole church. For right now I haven’t accepted but I will be making available what I am doing now to any other churches who are looking for a curriculum.
Finally I’ve been wanting to help the kids. I did research and finally found a curriculum online for kids in francophone Africa and ordered it. It won’t be here until January though (hopefully). So in the mean time I’ve been trying. I do a weekly program for the orphans in Shituru where we also provide food for them. It has been going well. I just started offering candy in exchange for the kids memorizing scripture. Hopefully that works out. I also started doing a monthly program in Toyota where we are sponsoring kids through school. I am teaching them some Bible stories too. It is so little but has really made a difference. I am looking forward to the arrival of the curriculum. I’m hoping to help churches and schools all over start Christian education programs.
It has come to my attention that Christian Education seems to be the area most ignored by Churches in Congo. I noticed it first with the kids. Kids seem to know so little about the Bible. Not even the children’s stories everyone seems to know something about. I noticed few people in Congo seem to own Bibles and even fewer still seem to read them. The church I am working with theoretically has a whole program for Christian education but unfortunately in reality does nothing. So I began to pray about what I could do and got some ideas.
First I teach at the church on Wednesday (the midweek service) and Thursdays (prayer day). I was asked to use Thursdays to teach on intercession. As God works things out supernaturally, the church I was attending in the US did a Wednesday night service on intercession using Dutch Sheets book Intercessory Prayer. So I spent the last 3 months going through the book with the Thursday group. It took a lot of work putting the main points of the book into French. It went awesome though. People were so excited about what they were learning and putting it into practice. Not only that but they were using the papers I had made up for them in French to teach their friends and neighbors the principles from the book! It was awesome and we started seeing God answer our prayers and more people being excited about praying.
I have been long suggesting and praying that the church would start a Bible study. There is so much preaching but no teaching. So I finally figured out I should just do it myself on Wednesdays. It is so much more difficult to teach in a foreign language. This is why I have been waiting for someone else to do it. But my language skills are improving so I figured I’d give it a try. Still in the mind set that surely people knew plenty about the Bible I decided to start in Galatians. We would go through it chapter by chapter talking not only about what salvation is which Paul beautifully and strongly describes but also talking about simple techniques for how to understand the Bible I had learned in college. I thought it would be great, but it was a disaster. I then got the idea to take a person and give them homework sheets to fill out. So I chose David and we have been going through different stories. I make up homework sheets in Swahili with questions about the story and they fill it out. Everyone has been doing it and thanking me for helping them get in a habit of reading the Bible and helping them understand it. We also talk about what God taught you through the passage and that has been my favorite part. It gives people a chance to participate, and helps them expect and allow the Holy Spirit to teach them something. It also demonstrates to them how they can be used as “preachers" (Rom 10) of the Word of God in every day life. It has been so effective that some people have requested me to be in charge of Christian education for the whole church. For right now I haven’t accepted but I will be making available what I am doing now to any other churches who are looking for a curriculum.
Finally I’ve been wanting to help the kids. I did research and finally found a curriculum online for kids in francophone Africa and ordered it. It won’t be here until January though (hopefully). So in the mean time I’ve been trying. I do a weekly program for the orphans in Shituru where we also provide food for them. It has been going well. I just started offering candy in exchange for the kids memorizing scripture. Hopefully that works out. I also started doing a monthly program in Toyota where we are sponsoring kids through school. I am teaching them some Bible stories too. It is so little but has really made a difference. I am looking forward to the arrival of the curriculum. I’m hoping to help churches and schools all over start Christian education programs.
18 November 2009
Street Kids
I hardly know where to start. I will try to recap.
Section 1: Street Kids
I have been touched by all the street kids around Likasi. I started inquiring about who is helping these kids. Maybe social welfare or some government program is available. Maybe a church is doing something to help them. Perhaps an NGO or non profit. Maybe just ordinary Congolese people are doing something. The story that really touched me was Francois a 12 year old boy with a peg leg. He was abandoned by his parents as a child because of his disability. He just wasn’t worth the effort. He has never been to school. He spends his days sitting under a Jacaranda tree about a kilometer from where he sleeps at the start of town. He mostly just sits there hoping someone will give him some food. I realized the kids go somewhere at night and finally tracked down where it was.
That’s when I met Mama Betty a Catholic sister who has been working with these kids for 17 years. Seventeen years ago she heard about a baby girl named Linda whose parents both died of cholera and she had no one to care for her. Mama Betty was heart broken and took her in. From there it has grown and now she helps 207 kids. She does everything a Congolese person can do. She has a field, the older kids are street venders, using an old bus for public transportation, but it isn’t enough. The kids go hungry and only about half of them are in school. So the kids go out to the streets to beg for food. Mama Betty had tears in her eyes as she showed me the rooms and explained they sleep 4 kids to a bed (no mattresses on the beds) and more are just on the floor. She can’t take in new kids but she does anyways because it is so heart breaking. Rainy season has started so what choice does she have. The kids walk around with worn out clothes and no shoes asking for a piece of bread or anything you can spare.
It is beyond overwhelming. There are just so many of them. Even at $10 a kid for 207 kids is $2070 far more than I have. I bought them a soccer ball and I’ve never seen the kids so happy. They played and played while other kids looked on jealously since I had bought them a nice ball and the other kids had to play with their homemade trash balls made from old plastic bags. Normally helping street kids is very difficult in Africa. A huge advantage here is many of these kids have been influenced or even raised by Mama Betty who has taught them Christian values. I want to help these kids. I am praying for the wisdom and means to do so. Please pray with me.
Section 2: Christian Education
I am out of time so this is to come.
Section 1: Street Kids
I have been touched by all the street kids around Likasi. I started inquiring about who is helping these kids. Maybe social welfare or some government program is available. Maybe a church is doing something to help them. Perhaps an NGO or non profit. Maybe just ordinary Congolese people are doing something. The story that really touched me was Francois a 12 year old boy with a peg leg. He was abandoned by his parents as a child because of his disability. He just wasn’t worth the effort. He has never been to school. He spends his days sitting under a Jacaranda tree about a kilometer from where he sleeps at the start of town. He mostly just sits there hoping someone will give him some food. I realized the kids go somewhere at night and finally tracked down where it was.
That’s when I met Mama Betty a Catholic sister who has been working with these kids for 17 years. Seventeen years ago she heard about a baby girl named Linda whose parents both died of cholera and she had no one to care for her. Mama Betty was heart broken and took her in. From there it has grown and now she helps 207 kids. She does everything a Congolese person can do. She has a field, the older kids are street venders, using an old bus for public transportation, but it isn’t enough. The kids go hungry and only about half of them are in school. So the kids go out to the streets to beg for food. Mama Betty had tears in her eyes as she showed me the rooms and explained they sleep 4 kids to a bed (no mattresses on the beds) and more are just on the floor. She can’t take in new kids but she does anyways because it is so heart breaking. Rainy season has started so what choice does she have. The kids walk around with worn out clothes and no shoes asking for a piece of bread or anything you can spare.
It is beyond overwhelming. There are just so many of them. Even at $10 a kid for 207 kids is $2070 far more than I have. I bought them a soccer ball and I’ve never seen the kids so happy. They played and played while other kids looked on jealously since I had bought them a nice ball and the other kids had to play with their homemade trash balls made from old plastic bags. Normally helping street kids is very difficult in Africa. A huge advantage here is many of these kids have been influenced or even raised by Mama Betty who has taught them Christian values. I want to help these kids. I am praying for the wisdom and means to do so. Please pray with me.
Section 2: Christian Education
I am out of time so this is to come.
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