Kikimi News

You probably wonder if the library shelves were finally completed. The answer is YES! Our Indian friends from Inter Decor built 10 beautiful shelves, 3 will be for the library, 3 for the classrooms, 2 for the office, and 2 for the medical center. We even managed to transport them to Kikimi, and were planning to go and set it all up but heavy rains have made the road now inaccessible, so we’re in need of a little more patience before finalizing things.

Another victory, is that the Ministry of Education supplied us with manuals for grades 5 & 6! It’s a real answer to prayer, as up till now, there were only books available for grades 1 to 4. Progress is on the way!

 

Health and Medical set up

Many people have asked about Ebola. Thankfully, it hasn’t reached Kinshasa, but what an opportunity to teach and enforce hygiene, which can be a challenge in areas without running water or electricity. Thankfully, we have installed 2 more cisterns at the school to collect rain water, purchased filters to purify the water, installed hand-washing facilities for the children with good disinfectant, and serviced the sanitary block where some pipes needed replacing.

 

The medical center is slowly getting set up. The building was painted, windows installed, curtains stitched, equipment purchased, electricity hooked up… what a difference from the tin shed the villagers were using last year!

 

Outdoor kitchen

Another important aspect of staying healthy is the way food is being prepared. Up till now, we haven’t had any proper kitchen in Kikimi, so food for the children was prepared village style on a charcoal stove on the ground.

… And when it rained, the poor mamas would get wet. We just finished building a very simple outdoor kitchen, nothing fancy, but with counters, a brick oven, and a roof overhead.

 

New Bible study groups

Gerse and Patrick, who completed their medical studies a few months back and graduated from our Bible Course, have teamed up and started a Bible study group in their part of town, where the youth are very needy. Over 20 young people have signed up for the course. Please pray for their anointing and positive fruit from their efforts.  They could also use prayer for the finalizing of their status as medical doctors which is taking longer than expected.

Olivier has also started a new Bible study group at the main campus, and is faithfully distributing the Activated magazines at his work place. 

 

Eschatology Seminar

With so much happening in the world, and so many doctrines flying around, the Lord showed us to conduct some seminars to cover the fundamentals given in the Bible about the signs preceding Jesus’ return, such as those covered in Matthew 24, Daniel and Revelations, to whet the appetite of our students so they will want to study more for themselves and base their faith on the Word rather than fleeting interpretations.

 

The power of forgiveness

We’d like to end with a special testimony Olivier shared with us during the retreat. For us, this testimony shows the power God’s Word has on people, its ability to heal broken spirits, turn bitterness into forgiveness and hatred into love. Couldn’t it be the key to put an end of the conflicts this country has suffered for decades, costing millions of lives?

I used to be a youth leader and have been doing missionary work since 2009 with Espoir Congo. I am teaching the 12 Foundation Stones Bible Course to a group of students at the University of Kinshasa, I also do counseling in schools, jails and prisons with the human rights organization I work for.

What I am about to share is a living example of the impact this Bible course can have on people, and the potential it has to bring lasting solutions to some of the problems our country has been facing, in particular those caused by tribal hatred and violence. I am originally from the province of Kasai, where my family owned land and houses. Back in the 90’s the main tribe of Kasai started to persecute the people from my tribe, they took over our lands, burned our houses, and forced us out of the province. Both of my parents died at that time. That is how my sister and I came to Kinshasa, when I was still a boy. My heart was full of bitterness towards that tribe that had done that evil to our family, and I promised myself that one day I would take revenge.

But after following the 12 Foundation Stones Bible course, something changed inside me, and I understood that hatred and revenge were not the answer. Then, when I became a teacher of the course, it so happened that one of the students who enrolled is from the very tribe that had persecuted my family. I had to make a choice. It was not an easy decision for me to forsake my bitterness and to forgive, but God helped me. How could I teach His Word and not apply it to my own heart? I let go of my hurt, anger and bitterness, and now, I can testify that Gerse and I have become best friends.

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