Congo Fighting Update

Thank you for your prayers up to this point for the Congo. The prayers are needed! We believe our God is more than able to save, protect and heal! We are holding tight to the truth in 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace…”. We have a brief update on the situation in the Congo:

Please pray for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. What started as a dispute between fisherman in an area West of Gemena (the city where the Elikya Center is located and where we plan on working) has become a mass of men traveling through the Ubangi region of the country, terrorizing and killing people. The government is unsure of who these people are. This group of men is heading down the road toward Gemena and most women and children have fled to either the forest, remote villages or Congo Brazaville (country across the river). The men in leadership with the local church have stayed behind with the intention of protecting the church offices from being pillaged. In Tandala, a city about 50 miles West of Gemena, all people have evacuated except for the four doctors who work in the large hospital supported by the local church. Many wounded people have been brought to the hospital and the doctors are working hard to care for them, but are also in an unsafe area because of the fighting. 26 children in the orphan sponsorship program (Global Fingerprints) are unaccounted for at this time and it was reported that 3 of the orphan girls were raped and one was killed after being raped. As of yesterday, no violence had occurred in Gemena and people were fleeing as a precaution.

Our hearts are heavy at this time. These are friends of ours and the neighborhood we lived in for 7 weeks. We ask you to pray for the following things:
1. Peace in the Congo and end to the fighting
2. Wisdom and direction for local church leaders
3. Global Fingerprints orphans and leaders
4. Protection over those who have fled and the properties they left behind
5. Strength and protection for the 4 doctors remaining in Tandala
6. Wisdom and direction for ReachGlobal leadership in the States as well as
direction for us and our plans for ministering at the Elikya Center

For those of you who may have concerns, ReachGlobal will not send us into an unsafe area. So we are waiting for God’s direction in this. We do know at this point that we will not be going to the Congo in January. But that is all we know at this time. So much is unknown about the entire situation in Congo and so we also have no answers about our plans with Elikya Center in light of this. We are beyond grateful for your prayers. We are resting in the Lord.