Education: Our very first group of 6 graders took their exam for completing Primary Education. In Congo, as so many children do not pursue high school education, this diploma is very important, especially when done in French. We had to hire a bus to transport them to the exam center in town, and they enjoyed a picnic during lunch break which Florence had prepared for them. We are praying all of them will obtain good results and a well-deserved diploma. 

 

 

Last month, our dear friends from Marseilles brought more books for our future library, God bless them! 

 

Our teachers’ resources also increased, thanks to some “essentials” we had brought back from France, and some dictionaries donated by the Education Department as a reward for having been rated #1 of our area as far as appearance and cleanliness of the school, and oversight of the students. 

 

Improvements: While waiting for more substantial funding to complete the medical center, we invested in a few essential items to get things rolling. We believe that, as we do what we can with what we have, the Lord will do the rest. For example, we purchased all the needed material to make curtains, bed sheets, dividers, etc for the maternity which the girls from the tailoring class will sew. We also got a couple of hospital beds, mattresses and a delivery bed for the maternity (locally made), a gynecology kit and other essentials to enable the mommies to have a safe delivery, as well as mosquitoes nets and two fire extinguishers.

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing everything to Kikimi was a challenge though, as the delivery truck couldn’t go pass the famous Mokali road, so a “pousse-pousse” had to complete the last 11 km on foot through sandy paths. (We’d appreciate your prayers, as since the completion of the installation of the water pipes, the work has come to a standstill. Please pray the road itself will be redone during the dry season before September).

 

 

Youth Ministry: Olivier has followed up on the new graduates from the our Bible Course. Thanks to your gifts, we were able to print some Teachers’ Manuals and memory books to give to each one. He also held a seminar to go over the ins and outs of becoming a teacher, which they are very eager to put into practice. 

 

 

Ministering to refugees: For decades, many Congolese have crossed the Congo River to do business between Brazza and Kinshasa, often settling permanently in Brazza where living conditions are somewhat better. However last month, thousands of Congolese were expelled from Brazzaville and landed in Kinshasa with nowhere to go. Those without shelter were put in the old stadium. Olivier went there to minister to them, distribute Activated magazines and posters, pray for them, and assist them in any possible way. He writes: “The refugees live in very difficult conditions in the stadium—lack of proper shelter and medical care. The assistance provided by both the Ministries of Health and of Social Affairs is unable to keep up with the ever increasing number of people expelled. Most of them sleep in the open, rain or shine, as the number of tents is insufficient. I was thankful to be able to encourage some of them and to pray for them.” 

 

Activated Magazines: Thanks to Big Thots and Activated Ministries we received a large shipment of Activated mags for Congo which will keep our distributors well supplied for the months to come. You should have seen those who dropped by jump up and down when seeing the amount of mags! Thierry distributes them in the General Hospital, Olivier on the largest campus of the country as well as during his human rights missions, and wherever we go people often recognize us and beg us for more, including the guard at the French Embassy! People appreciate the feeding articles and attractive illustrations that help them develop a personal relationship with Jesus in a format that is different from what they are accustomed to. 

 

A dear friend in the US recently had the brilliant idea to sponsor a large number of Bibles. People are so hungry for the Word here but often too poor to afford a Bible, and always ask us if we have Bibles on hand to give them. So we are very excited about this project which will be a huge blessing. 

 

We will close with a nice pic of Theo and Florence, who so faithfully keep things running. God bless them! They are at present busy organizing the graduation day for the children, which we’ll tell you all about next month! 

 

Thank you so much again for all your sacrifices to make this work possible. Each step of progress brings us great joy, as we know it’s only Jesus, and the love of all our friends working together to bring a little love to the needy children of this world.