“In Africa, they dig for diamonds. Tons of earth are moved to find a little pebble not as large as a little fingernail. The miners are looking for the diamonds, not the dirt. They are willing to lift all the dirt in order to find the jewels. In daily life, people forget this principle and become pessimists because there is more dirt than diamonds. When trouble comes, don’t be frightened by the negatives. Look for the positives and dig them out. They are so valuable it doesn’t matter if you have to handle tons of dirt.”

— David Seabury

Kikimi News: A major step of progress for Kikimi this month was getting a generator, which we were able to purchase and bring to the school , not without a challenge though, as the roads were so bad, even with 4×4 traction, our jeep got stuck in the deep mud at some point and required 6 men to pull us out. Then it broke down right as we pulled into the school so we had to leave it there. Please pray for our old faithful vehicle.

Theo and Florence with generator

 The former storage room and dispensary are being remodeled and will soon be transformed into a library.

Library on its way

Mommy sow gave birth to ten baby piglets.

Ten piglets for mommy sow

New cassava plants are growing and feeding the kids (Cassava leaves make a very nutritious vegetable dish called “pondu”).

Cassava plants

And the students are preparing for their mid-term exams before the Easter holidays.

Primary School students

Tailoring students

Jos, a missionary friend from Holland, visited recently before going to ADH’s project in Mushapo, in the Province of Kasai. He donated a bunch of legos which he had brought with him from Switzerland. We had to explain to the kids what they were, as they had never seen the like before, but they quickly caught on and started building with gusto! Even Florence sat down to build something, marvelling at what a wonderful educational tool that was! Thank you, Jos!

Discovering Lego

Micro-Enterprise: You may remember Marie Nyota, who graduated from our Bible course back in 2011. As a single mom, she had been supporting her family by selling honey. However, she recently faced a crisis when her producer in the province of Equator disappeared. Thanks to funding from FCF, we were able to help her rebuild her capital so she can now invest in other items, such as fish and other products to restart her business while she keeps looking for honey producers.

Marie Nyota signing up to become a recipient of our micro-enterprise project

Youth Ministry: Besides faithfully teaching Bible classes every Sunday, and on top of his professional activities, Thierry also visits patients at the General Hospital of Kinshasa every week to pray for their healing and to give them Jesus. He has brought his Bible students along at different times to distribute tracts, posters and Activated mags.

Thierry’s wife, Grace, and his Bible students at General Hospital with posters and magazines

It’s hard the describe this hospital conditions, as although there are competent physicians, the building is dilapidated and run down, beds are rusty, halls are filthy, and patients have to buy every piece of cotton or syringe that is needed for their care. People who don’t have the means or have run out of money after a prolonged stay are often left to die.

Hospitalized lady Thierry visited

Thierry hooked up with a group of other Christians (named “Tabitha”) at the hospital itself who try their best to fundraise in order to supply these basic needs to the poorest of the poor. One day he came over with a list of needs, such as malaria and typhoid medication, bandages, syringes, surgical gloves, etc… So we went together to approach the pharmaceutical companies often owned by foreigners to ask if they could donate such items on a regular basis. The Lord of course didn’t fail, and we came back with a large box filled with all the basic needed supplies with promises of further donations down the line. Thierry was so inspired to see the Lord at work, and will be doing the follow-up.

Thierry delivering box of medical supplies for poor patients at General Hospital

We also decided to make a monetary donation from our association. When Thierry went to deliver the goods at the hospital, a little boy was in need of oxygen to survive. The donation was sufficient to save this little boy’s life that day.

Hospitalized child such as the one whose life was saved from oxygen donation

From the other side of town, Olivier shares: « I have recently hooked up with a Human Rights Organization that organizes various activities to bring assistance to victims of torture and prisoners in various places. For me, it’s a great opportunity to bring God’s Word to the prisoners and distribute tracts. We went to visit the prisoners at one of the police stations and I was able to tell them about Jesus. I really thank God for this.

Olivier in front of Police Station where he visited prisoners

Last Friday, we went to Makala, the Central Prison of Kinshasa, to bring pharmaceutical products as well as clothes and food for the prisoners. I was accompanied with a team of doctors and nurses. I personally visited the women’s pavilion and was able to witness to a number of them, encouraging them, praying for them and giving them tracts, posters and Activated magazines. (We were not allowed to take pictures inside for security reasons.

Olivier with team of doctors and nurses in front of Makala prison

Monthly Fellowship and Teaching other to teach others (2Tim2:2): It’s always so inspiring to hear testimonies from each one of what the Lord has done in their lives. Cedric’s brother, John, has now started a Bible study group in his own house, attended by his relatives and neighbors. Whoever is available even meets nightly for prayer and devotion. Their whole family is getting won over. His father, who has been unemployed for over 25 years, had fallen into depression. He has now found new hope.

Olivier’s little girl, Olivia, often attends our fellowships and really likes looking at the Activated mags!

Olivia looking at an Activated mag

 One of Olivier’s Bible students, Maxi, left for the States this month to study. The day before, he came over with his mom so we could give him a DVD filled with devotional Christian material to take with him. He really wants to continue witnessing while on campus, and his mom is so turned on that she wants to start a Bible study group right in her own neighborhood.

Clotilde with Maxi and his mother

We’re also been quite busy applying for grants from different foundations (March seems to be everyone’s favorite month for applications!) We’d appreciate your prayers for these, that we get positive responses, to enable us to complete the following projects: set up the maternity, dig a well, set up more water tanks for the dry season, and set up a sports field, hopefully both a football field and a basketball court. And if you could keep praying for the road to Kikimi to get fixed, we’d be very thankful, as well as for our jeep. Thank you so much for all your help and prayers, we are so thankful for them!