Thank You!

Thank You!

I am always amazed when I get a Christmas letter in February or March: this is not a Christmas Letter. It is a simple thank you letter in which I hope to express my deepest gratitude to those who have helped support our mission to The Congo through prayer and finances. See: compassionforcongo.org.

A little history, in 2011 two Pastors and an Attorney, met in a pizza parlor and we formed what came to be known as Compassion For Congo.  All we had was a vision and willingness to sacrifice. Shortly thereafter I was appointed Vice President and knew that I had to make a trip to Africa to see the seeds of our Mission. I went to Africa for three weeks to teach Pastors and to strengthen the local church.  I was not disappointed.

In 2013 I spent seven weeks in The Congo during this time my computer died and so I gave up on blogging.  Later the computer was lost/stolen in the airport in Ethiopia.  I am back to my Blog saying:

Thank You From 

• Two of our Pastors (Mickey and Peter) who are in seminary because of your generosity. They repeatedly expressed their gratitude and wanted me to say "Thank you."  And they were thrilled to get bicycles.  Bikes are small trucks in The Congo.

• Approximately 300 people living in the bush who received medical care from our medical doctor. They also received vision care from five ophthalmologists who traveled with us.   Twenty seven people from the bush were transported to Lubumbashi to receive free cataract surgery.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The man standing is Dr. Alain MD and the man in the red shirt was our chief ophthalmologist. Yes, the little girl seated to the left of her mom was blinded by cataracts.  Numerous people received glasses and/or medicine.  

Our mission was deeded four acres of ground on which we hope to dig a well, build housing for our Congolese missionaries, establish a church and an orphanage.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Maybe we can even send Dr. Alain and his bride to be into the bush to provide medical care for the approximately 26,000 people living in this war torn area.  The violence of war has swept through the area three times since 2011. The last time was about seven or eight months ago.  Most of the men were killed.  The women of the village first told us that there were over 600 orphans there and have now revised the estimate to over 1500. Ten of whom are now living in our orphanage in the Lubumbashi area.  For this I want to express my gratitude.

We now have three churches in the Lubumbashi area and the fourth will be in the bush approximately 400 kilometers north of Lubumbashi.  For this we are grateful.

We Are Still Dealing With:

1. Hunger and mal-nutrition 
2. Bad water 
3. An over crowded Orphanage
4. The need for a  new car to get Pastor Didier and a work crew into the bush
5. The building of a new structure for church number three
6. The ability to get orphans out of the country.

May I Say "Thank You" again. 

I can not get this software to format correctly.  I am sure the mistakes are mine.