In Bangui... Finally

Hey everyone,

We arrived in Bangui a little over 10 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. Wooster). We were supposed to arrive five hours earlier, but it was too foggy in Bangui. We flew over the city in circles for almost an hour, before we had to fly and land in Brazzaville, Congo, an hour and fifteen minutes away. There we waited until the weather cleared in Bangui.

We arrived in great spirits; though tremendously tired, spent about two hours with customs and luggage duties. We had 13 pieces of luggage! But the good news is that everything arrived and no damage was done to our luggage or footlockers. PTL!

We have already been tremendously blessed today as we learned about the orphan work led by Vision Trust and Grace Brethren in Bangui. We heard Madam,s Zokoe telling about how she got involved, by simply getting a group of ladies to study what the Bible had to say about caring for widows and orphans. She said it was unvoidable, they simply could not sit on their hands and do nothing, they had to act.

They started small, by using their own meager resources and today, with the help of believers from the U.S., she is caring for 400 kids, 100 of which still needing sponsors. ICDI is partnering with an organization called Vision Trust, and they care for 280 orphans, only 90 of which are properly sponsored.

You will hear more about these opportunities in the future, but for now, please know that God is already molding our hearts and stretching us, as a result of your prayers. We have already seen what God,s people can do in a country that lives without hope today and we have had only a small sample for a couple of hous in Bangui.

I have to quit as it is getting late, I am preaching in three services tomorrow, and it is taking me forever to type this, as I am using a French keybord. The screen on my laptop broke -- don,t know how it happened, so I am not able to use it.

Let everybody know that we are all well and God is alive and well here in the CAR. We are tickled to dream that we can partner zith Him doing work on behalf of people who are without hope today. Thank you all for letting us come!

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade