A Laugh That Could Heal All of Africa

That is the best way I can describe it. This little human with skinny little apendages and a swollen belly and the orangish tinted hair that comes from severe malnutrition. Laughing. HYSTERICALLY!

Not more than 3 or 4 years of age, she walked up to me with the confidence that only an extrovert of extroverts can have. I held out my arms and she held out hers and she was up in my arms. And then she started talking in Sango faster than even a Central African could comprehend. She mimicked my English with perfect intonation and pronunciation.

Her smile melted me as I held her. She attracted an audience of 50 or more in a matter of minutes. And then I began to tickle her....and her LAUGH, oh if you could hear her laugh! In those moments, all was well with Africa and her audience knew nothing but the joy of a little girl and her laughter that seemed to say " Life, what a gift and how fun it is!" She brought joy to her community for 10 minutes simply by laughing and taking in the joy offered to her in those moments.

And the most incredible thing: I GOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT JOY! That's what happens when you go where God sends you. And that joy is especially apparent when you have it to contrast with the poverty and despair of a place like Africa. I know many of you probably think, " I could never go to Africa. I could never see that kind of sickness, tragedy, and poverty. I couldn't handle it!" That is a natural reaction. But my friends, speaking from experience can I humbly say, "YOU'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG!!" God equips you to go where He sends you, and more than that He BLESSES you in ways you will never know if you stay within your own comfort zone. Sometimes He blesses you so deeply that you get to hear a laugh that could heal all of Africa. And that, my friends, is an irreplacable gift. Is He calling you to go? Let God give you a gift like the laugh that could heal all of Africa.

Laura Gibson

A Trip to Make

We have a trip to make today. Although it will be a long trip, at least it won’t be on one of the available means of transportation shown below.

No, this trip is to return to the U.S. for Barb Teach, J.P. and me, so we decided on going with this option instead!

It’s been a great trip. We got a lot of work done with the team that was here the first two weeks. And this last week has been focused on building relationships. As you can tell from previous entries, Barb has really worked hard at building a deeper relationship with Sue, Dr. Y’s wife. As I write this, she is over at the clinic right now wrapping up her time with Sue.

J.P. and I were able to work on relationships this week too, with our visit to Pama and Sayéré, as well as building relationships with ICDI staff here in Bangui. Although it is a time of much grief when a relative dies, it is also a time of renewing and strengthening relationships. The C.A.R. Representative for ICDI, Mr. David Zokwe, lost his brother last Saturday after an extended illness. We were able to go to the village where his brother lived last Sunday and share from the Word some thoughts on how God is our Fortress in times of trouble and grief (Psalm 62). Then after we returned from Pama, we were also able to sit with the Zokwe family as a way to “kangbi mawa”, or “divide up the grief” with them. So this last week has been significant in terms of opportunities to minister in relevant ways here in Africa.

Thanks again so much for all your prayers for our team over the last three weeks. Our hope and prayer is that we will come back to you changed and that we will be able to serve the Lord even better in the time that He allows us to serve there at Wooster GBC!

Grateful for His Grace,

Pastor Tom

Saturday, March 10

Spiritual Encounter at the Clinic

Barb & Sue

“That ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10).

It was bittersweet seeing the team off at the airport last Saturday. But I rejoice at what had been accomplished in such a short time by so many energetic, dedicated people. The guest house was so quiet after everyone left. I miss our team devotions – they were very special.

I have been working at the clinic this week

helping Dr. Y’s wife, Sue. There is an African nurse, Emilie, who works in the clinic also. The operation here at the clinic is a little different from that in the U.S. The patient sees the doctor and each person has a health book. The doctor writes his orders out for treatments, medications, IVs or lab work. The next stop is the pharmacy where I help Sue. Sue reads and explains each order to the patient because many can’t read. She then gets a basket and fills it with everything they need, like gloves, bandages, wipes, medications, syringes, lab slides and specimen containers. These supplies are only kept in the pharmacy.

The clinic

In the mornings we are so busy we don't have much time to talk. But I am a servant for Jesus Christ disguised as a nurse. I will find a way to turn Pharmacy work into Kingdom work!

When I received all the medications that were generously donated back in Ohio, little did I know that I would be the one to thoroughly count bottles of 1,000 Vitamin C, iron tablets, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen and pack them in small plastic bags. It took some time to count them out by tens and twenties and package them. That was my afternoon job. “Diko yoro” – count medications in Sango! Col. 3:23 “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto man.” Counting medicines may seem like a mundane, uninspiring task, but I prayed about how I could make this task honor Jesus. So I decided: When I count pills, I will pray for those needy people who will receive the medicines. And that's what I did! More importantly, though, I pray that they will see Jesus in the Doctor and Sue.
Barb, counting medicine

In the afternoons, the other nurse leaves so it was just Sue and I are together in the pharmacy. This had to be God’s planning because this was the time we could have girl talk and some really deep conversations about God, the Bible, and Jesus. When Sue talks about God, she says, “I am a Christian. I pray before meals and at bed time.” Her desire is to make time to read her Bible and pray and go to church, but she says her schedule is too full. I did encourage her to start the day in the Word and gave her a daily devotional book. Pray she will discipline herself to take the time to be renewed. Pray that through the remainder of my time I would be able to clarify what a “Christian” is to her.

This trip has been a life-changing experience. I will never forget what I have seen and done. I just want to thank everyone at Wooster Grace for making this mission trip possible. Also, all those prayer warriors – may God bless you!

Barb Teach
Friday, March 9

"For Whatever Will Help"

Before I left for Africa my seven year old granddaughter, Lauren, gave me money she had saved in her bank. She said it was "for whatever will help." After going with Dr. Paul Y to do home visits with AIDS patients and seeing the devastating need for medicine and food, it was an easy decision where to use Lauren's gift of love. Because of an unselfish act of a seven year old, one AIDS patient will receive the needed anti-retroviral drugs (ARV's) for ONE year!! I can't wait to get back and thank her for that special gift.

Barb Teach

The Village Connection

Meeting with the Sayéré village leadership

Greetings again from the Central African Republic! Thanks again for all your prayers for us this week! J.P. and I got back late yesterday from our trip into the villages up north. It was a very profitable trip.

We also took with us Edmond, who is employed here with ICDI to do training in "True Love Waits." We were able to introduce to two villages, Pama & Sayéré, the basic principles of village partnerships, where churches, groups, or individuals in the U.S. partner with villages to see community and spiritual development happen. We had very good meetings with village leaders there about the partnerships. In asking them what their basic needs for their villages are, both at Pama and Sayéré the first thing out of their mouths was education of their children.

Pama

For example, here is a picture of the current school building at Pama. The Director of the school told me that he and the other teacher instruct 280 students each day in six grade levels. Because of the lack of space, they cycle through the day bringing different grades in at different times.

Also included here is the school "building" at Sayéré. It was interesting to me that both villages saw education as a greater need than clean water, or health care, or agricultural projects, although all of those needs were mentioned also later in our times together. We hope to have Edmond do some follow up meetings with the two villages so that they can ask any questions that may have come up since our meetings about what the partnerships will look like...

Another great thing that happened on the trip is that Edmond and Pastor Tolzombo were able to do two presentations of "True Love Waits", a biblically-based AIDS initiative that has been promoted by GBIM and ICDI ove the last year or so. It’s very interesting what you learn when you go into these villages.

Edmond (in purple shirt) using an illustration in the "True Love Waits" presentation

For example, at the beginning of the presentation, Edmond asked some diagnostic questions about sexual activity in the villages. In Sayéré, a village of about 500 people, he asked them, "At what age do boys and girls begin sexual encounters?" The response was incredible. They said that for boys it is about 10 years old, and for girls it is 9 years old! OK, get this picture. We’re talkin’ real bush here! I mean, the road has one truck that does commercial ventures on it regularly every other day! Occasionally, another truck comes along, but obviously it’s not a very high traffic area.

Pastor Tolzombo shares a point in TLW at Sayéré

And yet in a small bush village, sexual activity for boys and girls starts at or before the age of 10! Is it any wonder that AIDS is a major issue in sub-Saharan Africa?! In Pama, a much larger village of just under 5,000, the stats were about the same. Another question was, "How many sexual partners does a boy or a girl have on a regular basis before they are married?" In Sayéré, they said the average was about one a month. In Pama, they said that boys probably had three a month, and girls two a month! "True Love Waits" is designed for these kinds of places. Edmond & Pastor Tolzombo did a great job of presenting the case against this kind of sexual activity and the case for abstinence until marriage.

You could tell that in both villages, the presentation was very effective. Pastor Tolzombo will do follow up with clubs for those who are interested in staying pure until marriage. Please pray for a strong commitment from those who indicated a need to stay pure, and for the Lord to strengthen them against temptation and the obviously dangerous trends of their culture.

Thanks again for praying! - Pastor Tom
Thursday, March 8

Phase Three is About to Begin

Just a few hours ago, we said goodbye to most or our team that has been here in the Central African Republic for the last two weeks. As I write this, Laura Gibson, Tim, Jeana, Valerie & Zac Harley, and Rob Miller are on their way to Paris on the first leg of their trip back to the U.S, Three of us remain here for another week -- Barb Teach, myself (Pastor Tom) and J.P. Peters.

I hope you’ve been able to follow the blog over these weeks. I want to take this opportunity to thank Laura for doing such a great job at keeping the blog current. She’s done an awesome service to the team, as well as to our church to keep you informed as to how to pray for us on this trip.

Jeana deserves a lot of thanks also because much of the planning of our meals, she has coordinated. And many of the breakfasts she’s cooked herself. She’s been getting more & more Sango vocabulary, too, as she interacted with the guys who were helping us these weeks, Ossé and André. Thanks so much, Jeana!

Tim has done a great job of leading our team time every morning. It’s been great to see how God has been equipping Tim over the years to fit into the role that he had on the team. Thanks, Tim, for keeping us grounded in the Word and helping us start each day on the right track!

Rob has become known to us as the "Ice Man!" He kept the water filters going as well as equipping us every meal with ice so that the drinks can help quench our thirst in the heat we’ve experienced these two weeks. He also has been great at developing a bond with Gustav, our one driver that has helped us just about every day. Great job, Ice Man!

So what’s next for those who are left behind? It will still be a busy week for us coming up! Barb is going to be moving over to the Grace Brethren Guest House today so she is closer to Dr. Y’s clinic. She and another lady (Betty) are going to be going out every day to the clinic to help with the pharmacy in the mornings, and thereby keeping up the relationship that has been built with Mrs. Y.

Then in the afternoons, Dr. Y will be around so that Barb can help with some of the patient care and put her nursing skills to good use! So I know that she will be kept busy and I’m also sure that she will be great at sowing more seeds of the Gospel and the love of Christ in the lives of those she will interact with.

For J.P. and I, we will be traveling north this week. This morning, we will be going north about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to be with the family of David Zokwe, ICDI’s representative & government contact here in the C.A.R. Yesterday, his younger brother passed away, so the burial will be tomorrow and the wake will begin. So J.P. and I will go to be with the family for part of the day. Then our plan is to head up to Yaloké this afternoon to spend the night there. This will be a great experience for J.P., because he used to live there when he was from one to three years old. Not that he remembers much about life there, but there will be a lot of people who will be thrilled to see him after these many years. Not the least of which will be Leontine, who used to work for us. It will be great to see her reaction to seeing J.P. for the first time in over a decade!

Then on Monday, J.P. and I will be going to Pama, a village about 35 kilometers from Yaloké. This is the village that our Wooster Grace has partnered with to see both community development and spiritual development happen. The Grace Brethren pastor there, Gaston Tolozombo, will meet us at Yaloké and then show us what is happening in his region. He’s been doing a great job of revitalizing church in the area, so pray with us that we will be an encouragement to him in his work.

Because of this trip, you may not hear from us for a few days, unless Barb gets brave and tries to send something for the blog! We should return to Bangui on Wednesday, so we hope to have something to post on the blog shortly after that.

Thanks again so much for all your prayers and interest in what God is doing through our team! Keep up the prayers this week for good contacts for Barb, and safety and an effective time for J.P. and I as we travel!

With you for the nations, - Pastor Tom
Sunday, March 4

Ministry Is A Lifestyle

AIDS home care visit
I write to you today for the last time from this side of the Atlantic. It hardly seems possible that two weeks are already over. I want to take this chance to share one story with you from yesterday (Friday).

Our now dear friends, the Y's, met us at the Artisan shops in the afternoon because they really wanted to get us a small gift as a token of their appreciation. But after the shopping, Jeana, Barb, and I went home with the Y's to do some AIDS patient visits.

We only got to have two visits, but they were well worth it. The first visit is what sticks out the most in my mind. It was a middle-aged couple that both had HIV. They had been on treatment for nearly 18 months. To look at them, you would not know they have HIV. But Dr. Y said that 18 months ago they could hardly walk much of the time or come to the clinic for treatments. Dr. Y gave them a ride back to their house, where 6 children awaited them ranging from age 2 to the late teens. They treated us like royalty, busily moving about trying to find 4 chairs for all of us to sit on.

As we sat and talked with them (through Dr. Y) we realized how much hope just 18 months of anti retro viral drugs (the best drugs on the market to treat HIV right now) can offer to a family. He told us how they pushed their two oldest children very hard in school and hoped that they would be able to attend university. He said that they knew they must prepare for the future of the rest of their children because they didn't know how much of their future they would be around for. He spoke of how hard their life was, how HIV causes people to lose the little chance of making a small income that they have because it takes all their energy away. Before we left, I asked if we could pray with this couple and their family. I told Michele and Jeremy (those are their names) I would tell their story to people back home. I told them that our church would be praying for them. Please join me in doing that.

My friends, for about $25 a year a person in the Central African Republic can be treated for HIV/AIDS! I know we cannot save or help every person, but think how often we flippantly spend $25. I know I am so guilty of this. If you went to Starbucks every day for a WEEK and got the kind of drink I do, you could have helped a mother or father with HIV/AIDS for a YEAR! Does that put things in perspective? It does for me. We really do have to give up so little to make a difference in the physical life of these people! And Spiritually, do you realize that many of these people are brothers and sisters in Christ? If they are hurting, we are hurting. I plead with you to lift those affected by this disease up in prayer. The Lord is waiting for us to ask Him to help our brothers and sisters. When we return, please ask us what we've seen. Ask us what the Lord is doing here. Peoples' futures, earthly and eternal, are counting on it.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Ephesians 3:20

Laura Gibson

March 3, 2007

Jesus Loves The Little Children

At ICDI's Orphan Center

Today we had a special day spending time with orphans, both from ICDI's orphan care center and Madame Zokoe's group from Project Hope and Charity with GBIM. These children are priceless. They smile, they play, and they tease and fight with each other; they are just like any other kids you know in that respect.

We first went to ICDI's orphan care center. It isn't an orphanage. You will not find many orphanages in Africa because families do everything they can to help raise each other's children. So you will often find grandparents and aunts and uncles raising other kids besides their own. The care center is a place that the children come to get check ups by the nurse, food, clothing, help with school fees and sometimes just play with one another. It is more like a support system.

At Madam Zokoe's Orphan Group

When we got there, most of the kids were in school so there were only about 10 children there. But they were excited to see us. Zac Harley jumped right into the mix and brought a big ball out to play with all the children. Rob had some fun shapes that expanded into cloths in water. The kids loved all of it. We held them, kissed them, and played with them. The director of the orphan care center was so blessed by balls, stickers and shoes we had brought for the kids. He spoke English very well and told us how blessed He was by this and how his children needed these things very

much.

Prudence

Also, Jeana had a school bag with gifts in it for a little girl from her sponsor back at our church, Mary Lou Cross. We told the director what a blessing it would be to get to deliver it to her, so he drove us to her school to give it to her. When we arrived, we saw a beautiful little girl named Prudence with her teacher and classmates outside. When Jeana presented her with the backpack, she smiled humbly and told us how grateful she was for the gift. I don't think she has ever had so much attention on her from her classmates! What a blessing to give it to her and tell her that her sponsor back in the States loves her very much and said Happy Birthday! I think when we had to leave ICDI's center we were all sad to say goodbye.

When we arrived at Madame Zokoe's, she was about to start her Thursday afternoon Bible group with the children. There must have been at least 70 kids there! She gave us seats of honor, introduced us, and the children put on a beautiful program for us. They sang many African praise songs and danced as they sang. They walked through the Bible, they recited all the books of the Bible, and recited even more things that I couldn't quite pick up what they were reciting.

"Jordan River"

These children looked like they ranged in age from 2 to early teens. Never have I seen such a huge group of children so well mannered and so knowledgeable of the Bible! Afterwards we played a game with them that Madame Zokoe taught us called "Jordan River." We took many photos with the children too. Overall, we were just incredibly blessed by all these children and imagined what a blessing it would be to see them in heaven one day not as orphans, but as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are so thankful for Jesus and how He loves them in the here and now when they don't have the chance to know the love of earthly parents.

Tomorrow we are heading to the Pygmy village to say goodbye to them. Please pray for us as we do this. It will be hard for us as we have really started to form a bond with these people. And then in the afternoon, some of us will be going to do some AIDS home care visits. Please pray that the Spirit blesses this time and that those with AIDS feel His love through us. And then it's Saturday morning and we are leaving! It has gone so quickly, but we all have been so blessed to be here and touch the lives of Central Africans as well have them touch our lives. I am so grateful that our church values these people so much that we have had a chance to be here and invest in so many lives. We look forward to sharing with all of you in greater detail when we get back!!! Thank you for all your prayer support. It truly has been felt the whole time we have been here.

Blessings,
Laura Gibson

March 1, 2007

A Day of Small Beginnings...

Today was a different sort of day. None of our plans seemed be working out. We planned to head down to the Pygmy village early in the afternoon to show the Jesus Film and a video on animism vs. Christianity. So this group of "doing" Americans had a lot of trouble being still and waiting to go. The guys in the group had to work on the generator and VCR set up to make sure it worked for the night, the driver was needed to go and get supplies for things that weren't working, so that left the women and kids feeling rather useless.

But that was just the beginning. Because of my lack of electrical knowledge, this won't be completely precise, but I'll do my best. First, none of the converter plugs we brought would fit right with the equipment. Second, we realized that American and European VCRs are different and we had an American VCR, but a European video on Christianity vs. Animism. Not knowing this problem, the men stuck the tape in to test it out and the VCR ate it. At this point the situation was looking pretty bleak. Jeana had gone down to see how things were going and reported the situation to us women and the kids. We all looked at each other and said: "This is definitely what Satan wants. We better start praying hard."

We all prayed together that God would work out what seemed like an impossible situation: the wrong plugs, an eaten Animism tape, and the Jesus Film yet to be found in Sango. As we prayed, we thanked God that He brought us to this point, reminding us that nothing was in our control as much as we like to think it is. Sadly, I don't think we would have felt the urgency to pray if things didn't look so impossible. After we all prayed, Jeana went down to see how things were going and Tim and Rob were praying too! Tom had gone to the GBIM mission to pick up a copy of the Jesus Film in Sango that they had just called and said they had! When Tom returned, not only did He have the Jesus Film, but also the one on Animism! And I believe it was our driver Gustov who came back with plugs that would work for the generator! All of this right after we all went to the Lord and asked Him to help us in our time of need. Things seemed to be working, so we packed up and headed to the Pygmy village about 2 hours later than intended.

I get chills as I am thinking about this, friends, as this was just the beginning of God's work! We drove the hour it takes to get to the Pygmy villages. We were actually showing the video in the school yard of the neighboring Central African village because it was the best place to show it and we didn't want the Pygmy's to get harassed for "special treatment" from the "boundjou" (white people). We had not yet been able to confer with the village Chief that showing this would be OK. Another big prayer item.

We got there and He was fine with it. Answer to prayer number who knows what! As we began setting up, tons of Central African children came over watching with curiosity and excitement. I was glad to see that, but what I really wanted was some of the Pygmies to be there too. I had prayed that on the way there several times. So I looked toward their village, and I saw Sula and Dana walking towards me! These are the two little girls in the picture with me (Laura) on the first day we went to the village. They are some of the most shy, quiet girls you will meet. Usually, when other Central African kids were around, they would always stay in the background or leave. But today they came up and shook mine and Barb's hand.


I put my arm around both of them and they stood with me. All the Central African children were looking at them and they just held on tighter. I asked God to show me how to model His love for the Pygmies to those who thought of them as subhuman. You have to understand what a reversal of treatment this was. The "important" white people were showing "preferential treatment" to the Pygmy kids! This clearly baffled most of the Central African children and made them jealous. My point was not to exclude the other children, but to convey love to the Pygmies that both the Pygmies felt and the Central Africans saw.

It only gets better. We started to show the video on animism and the crowd was still pretty rowdy. Dana and Sula sat on mine and Barb's lap on a towel I had brought to sit on while we watched. Many of the small children were still watching us, not the video. I was a little concerned that it was so loud and that the teenage boys seemed more into showing off than paying attention. But then the Jesus film started, and it was almost complete silence except for a few small children. There were no two people watching as intently as little Dana and Sula. Dana sat on my lap holding and stroking my hand, while Sula sat in between me and Barb resting her arms on both of us. Barb truly played grandma as she had about five other kids piled around her.

The crowed watched intently and respectfully. When Jesus rose at the end, many of them clapped and cheered, "J-zu, J-zu!" (meaning Jesus Jesus!). There is a prayer at the end of the film for those who want to ask Christ into their hearts. There were many "amens" said at the end of that prayer. I do not know how many people asked Christ to forgive their sins or be in their life. But I know that the Spirit was working. The Gospel was heard by hundreds and the love of Christ was shown to the least of these that night.

When we returned home that night, we prayed a prayer of thanksgiving and a prayer for all those there that night. Looking back on that seemingly "useless" day in the beginning, we all said we wouldn't have traded it for the world. Here we were, a bunch of Americans who have all the material comforts and electrical commodities one could desire. But we were sitting on African soil under a beautiful African sky with two Pygmy children sitting on our laps. These children would return home to a house of branches and sticks. We all were intently watching a generator run video of the greatest news that has ever been given to mankind. My friends, we are privileged beyond measure to get to serve our God in such a way! Our God IS an awesome God.

Laura Gibson
Wednesday February 28th, 2007

"A Song From the Past." By Jeana Harley

I was preparing some things for lunch in the kitchen with a man we hired to help, Osse. Osse is a great Christian man, and he loves to sing. He began singing a song that was very familiar to me, "Blessed be the Name." The amazing thing about it was that I remembered it in Sango because our Safari of Hope team that travelled to the CAR for six weeks in 1988 sang that song in Sango along with several other songs.

When we were preparing to come here last September, I looked for the Sango words to the songs we sang, but couldn't find them among my boxes of pictures and flashcards. I was so excited to hear this song in Sango again. The two of us began singing it together in Sango. He then told me that Barb Wooler had taught him that song. Barb had traveled with us in 1988. I told Osse that. He said he was in Bata in "88 and that he remembered our team coming. We joked about me having long hair at that time. I then pulled out our team shirt from "88. (Some things you just can't part with).

He recognized the shirt and we began laughing together. I asked him if Barb taught him other songs, and he began to sing another one I knew. I quickly grabbed by journal and began writing the words to the songs down. The next day, he brought his songbook to allow me to write down other songs. I have a songbook with me that I bought here in 1988, but I guess even songs here change over time. I quickly realized in September that my songbook was outdated. Well it is almost 20 years old. Osse and I sat down and sang some of those songs together. It was neat to realize that I had met Osse 19 years ago and to meet him again now. I am learning a lot of Sango from him, and he is learning to cook "American" food from me.

Andre is also helping us with cooking and cleaning. Now before you go thinking that having hired help around the house is a luxury, let me explain a little about life here. It is sort of like camping out. You have to make do, be creative and do everything the long way from making coffee to washing dishes. Each morning Rob and I walk to the market for fresh eggs, bread, etc. This was done before 7 am. Often I had already been up preparing things for the day or prepping the kitchen. We would prepare breakfast, wash everything by hand, boil the water for a final rinse, rinse everything in boiling water, fill the water bottles with filtered water (this took 15-20 minutes some morning because the filter is very slow), plan the lunch and supper menu, make a shopping list (translating it into Sango), and pack up for the day. We didn't even get to laundry until we hired Osse because laundry is an all day affair (and sometimes into the night). We didn't arrive to our work site the first day until 11 am. We quickly realized that this wasn't going to work. So Osse and Andre are a blessing. I forgot to mention that the kitchen is smaller than most bathrooms, hotter than a sauna and lacks all resemblance of modern conveniences. I receive facials over the gas "stove" several times a day.

Anyway, Andre was also around in 1988. In September, when we were here, Andre was our cook, and I remembered him. Now I have another opportunity to see him and work with him. I taught him how to make baked French toast today. He had never made it in the oven before (by the way, there is no temperature gauge on the oven so it's always a guessing game). But I told him it was faster than on the stove when cooking for a group for people.

Everyone is doing well except for a few bouts of diarrhea here and there. Val and Zac want to say hello to everyone at church and school. They were able to present the $195 from Wooster Christian School's dime drive for medicines to Dr. Y and his wife on Friday night. They were very touched. They said it could buy parasite medicine for 975 people or could provide medicine for 50 AIDS patients. Thanks so much for bringing in those dimes and having a heart for people here. We hope to see Evidence and Juvenal, the two children our church's children's department sponsor, soon along with another girl named, Prudence that is also sponsored by someone in our church. We'll let you know when we get to visit them.

Keep praying! God is faithful and so good.

Jeana Harley

February 28, 2007

Defending the Defenseless. By Tim Harley

"Learn to do right! Seek justice! Encourage the oppressed! Defend the cause of the fatherless! Plead the case of the widow!" (Isaiah 1:17).

Tuesday we returned to the Pygmy village to help dig holes for the latrines. It was especially rewarding for me to begin this partnership because we had visited this village in September, and our hearts were touched by the desperation on their faces. Malnutrition, disease, hunger, lack of water and overall lack of hope had taken its toll on these people. It was exciting to begin their return to having hope again.

It is amazing to think what a latrine and future water well will do to improve living conditions here. Our work was difficult, using picks, spud bars and shovels; our progress was slow, but consistent. The hole we worked on was about 4 ½ feet deep when we started. The other one was about 2 ½ to 3 feet deep. The Pygmies had started both holes. When we finished for the day, the first hole was 8-8 ½ feet and the second was 5 ½ - 6 feet deep. It was great to work side by side with Gustov, our driver who is Central African, and the Pygmy men. We took turns switching holes and helping the Pygmies with their hole. Everyone jumped right in to work; our unity was awesome. We thank the Lord for the strength to endure. We worked until we ran out of drinking water.

Our work was not without challenges. Not only was the ground hard and dry, but also the people from the Central African village near by came by to see what was going on. Many just watched, but a few others were not happy that we were helping the Pygmies. Some shouted insults; others questioned why we were wasting our time and energy to help the Pygmies. Zacary and Valerie gave the Pygmy kids a soccer ball, but the villagers scoffed saying, "Why did they give this nice ball to the Pygmies? They don't know what to do with it." At the end of the day, I gave one of the Pygmy men my gloves. But soon a villager tried to take them away. I sternly intervened, and the man gave the gloves back. I thank God that we could stand up for the "least of these". The villagers consider the Pygmies almost non-human, but we see them through the eyes of Jesus. We pray for the opportunity to reach out to all the people groups here and to show them the love of Christ.

Tim Harley

February 27, 2007

"Do They Have Hopes and Dreams?" (Warning: shocking picture below!)

Today we spent most of the day out at the Pygmy villages in the beating hot African sun. Our project was to help fill a hole with dirt and to help dig their latrine hole deeper. It was at 5 ft. and needed to go down to at least 20 ft. We all took turns pitching in and helping whether it was shoveling, pull up the bucket of dirt, or using the spud bar to dig up the earth. Muscles I never knew I had hurt today. But it felt good to labor for the Lord.

But as usual, that was not the part of the day that touched me or many of the other team members the most. We had brought a big ball, some bubbles, and a Frisbee in hopes of interacting with the kids. Slowly but surely, the kids and mothers would appear from their homes into the field we were working in.

I am struggling right now how to describe them to you. This is a whole different level of poverty. I have never seen children (and adults for that matter) so malnourished, dirty, and timid. Their hair has dirt and wood shavings all through it, their bodies have open sores that have flies crawling all over them, their belly buttons have umbilical hernias, and their bellies are so swollen they look like they could burst.

They came over and sat near us and watched us work. Then Valerie and Zac, as only children can do, started up our interactions with these kids. They had bubble wands for the kids to use and showed them how to blow bubbles. With their shy little faces, they meekly reached out to try this strange looking toy. But when they did, smiles would creep onto their faces reminding us that children are the same the world over. Then we got out a huge beach ball and played a game of the "kick the ball in the circle" that 4 of the pygmy children were brave enough to join in on.

As I watched them, I couldn't help but feel hopeless about the plight of these children. Their future is so bleak. I thought of American children and how if you ask them what they want to be when they grow up, they readily can tell you, "A doctor, a race car driver, a professional sports player, a teacher, a veterinarian….". They all have hopes and dreams. And I wondered, "Do Pygmy children have hopes and dreams?" Surely not the same as American kids. But I think they must. I think their dreams are probably things like not being sick, having enough food to eat, having a family, and being left alone by other Central Africans who pick on them constantly. When I thought of this, I was able to have a little more hope. Very soon, these people can have a latrine and well that can change the health of their whole village. Improving their health, will allow them to live longer and have healthier families. The hope for other Central Africans to treat them fairly is much harder a dream to fulfill. They talk down to them and make fun of them constantly. They harass them and ask us why in the world we would help these disgusting Pygmies. They say this in their presence. Whenever we are playing with the Pygmies, the other Central Africans from the village nearby try to steal the spotlight.

I don't know how to solve or work on this problem with the other villagers. But I know that while we are here, we will keep showing the love of Christ to the Pygmies without discrimination. We will do our very best to let them know these "boundjou" (white people) love them and that is because the love of Christ is flowing through us. The love of their Creator and Maker for them is the reason we do what we do. Pray that we will be able to begin conveying this hope and truth to them.

Laura Gibson

Tuesday, February 27, 2007