Kinshasa suffered severe social unrest and violence in the month of January that took the life of several civilians, and resulted in the main university being closed down and internet/sms communications being shot down until recently. Communication are now slowly being restored in some parts of the city. Thankfully we have been out of the country for administrational purposes, but our communications with our Congolese partners has been greatly hindered, which explains why we have so few pictures this month.

Needless to say, knowing our Congolese volunteers were in danger, and being cut off from communication made us very desperate. We felt so helpless, but so thankful to have Jesus to turn to. All we could do was pray, and commit everything into His loving hands, which was very good for us spiritually. We are very aware that our work in Congo is only Jesus, and that He alone can keep it going. Well, once again, He didn’t fail, and we were so thankful to hear that everyone was safe and that the situation had calmed down.

We were so happy to hear that every single one of our food donors continued giving to feed the orphans during the time of civil unrest. We trust that the Lord had His angels protecting them, as we heard on the news many foreign industries were severely looted during that time.

    Building Projects for 2015:

Some improvements we are planning to make in 2015 are the building of two shower stalls, installing sinks and plumbing in the medical center, building a concrete stand for larger water cisterns for the medical center, and building a classroom for the vocational training. Also set up solar panels for electricity, to cut down on the cost of running the generator. Please pray for skilled and honest masons and plumbers, that they will do a good job and that all these additions will be completed this year.  

We have received an official letter of congratulation from the Ministry of Education for our school in Kikimi, which of course is very encouraging; highlighting the quality of the education, the oversight of the children, the training of the teachers and the good management of the school. 

Letter of Appreciation from Education Department

Library:

We took advantage of being in France to order some beautiful Christian books for our little library which we will bring back with us to Kikimi. 

New books for our library in Kikimi

 In addition to purchasing a consultation table for adults and another trolley, with the funds we had left her, Florence was able to have benches made for the patients waiting for consultation, as well as bedside tables for the medical center and the maternity. Even though we are planning to further furnish and equip the medical center this year, it is now fully operational and two babies were born in January.

Here’s a pic of Florence giving a medical check up to a 7 month old baby who was previously born in Kikimi. She is using the solar maternity kit for light. 

Florence giving 7 month old baby a medical check-up

New Baby Born: Theo’s Testimony

We will let Theo and Florence tell you in their own words how the Lord saved the life of this newborn baby:

“This is an experience we have had time and again with the Lord whenever there has been war or civil unrest in the country. This testimony is about the woman who gave birth in January during the time of trouble we suffered. It was on January 18, while shooting was going on in the city center that this woman went into labor. Labor was long and hard, as is often the case for a first baby. Finally, at midnight, the baby was born, the mother did not tear, but the placenta had torn inside the womb and the baby would not breathe. We were so thankful for the solar maternity kit and the generator Espoir Congo had set up, as it enabled us to save this woman’s life and her baby’s. We were praying desperately for safety, as there were soldiers rummaging around looking to harm the innocent. We prayed also desperately for the baby while administering manual cardiac massage and pumping oxygen into his nostrils. Finally, after 19 mn of reanimation attempts, the baby cried and sneezed, his life had been saved. We understood that God never abandons His children in the midst of suffering, just like He did it for Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Both mommy and baby are healthy, as you can see in these 2 pictures.” 

New born baby in Kikimi

New mommy and baby in Kikimi

 

Youth Ministry

This project has been greatly hindered by the recent upheavals, as the main university where Olivier has been giving Bible studies was shut down, a dormitory burned down, and many students lost their lives. We have been unable to resume communication with them, which could mean that internet communications have not been restored there, but we heard, thankfully, that none of our students have been hurt. Thank God for His protection.

The other group in town had to stop their activities for a whole month because of the civil unrest, but have now resumed.  

Return to Home Page