A call to prayer

The Democratic Republic of Congo presidential elections will take place on November 28^th –this Monday. This will be only the third presidential election that has been held in the DRC and so far, none of the elections have been peaceful. In the past few months there have been some political demonstrations in the capital city, Kinshasa, that have turned violent. Gemena, the city we live in, has been peaceful during this time. However, the local church leadership decided that they feel more comfortable sending us and the Larsens to Central African Republic during this time. We are grateful for the local church leadership that we work alongside and we respect their decision to send us to Bangui. So, the six of us have been in Bangui, CAR since last Saturday. Our journey here was, well…it would take a lot to describe it. Basically, a truck trip that should have taken 12 hours at the most took us 28 hours. I will spare you all of the excruciating details. Just know that we arrived safely and we would appreciate your prayers for when we do return to Gemena. Michelle’s dad is coming to visit the Larsens on December 9^th and he will fly into Bangui. Our plan is to wait for him to arrive and then we will all return to Gemena on December 11^th if there is peace in Congo.

We have been using our time in Bangui for an end of the year evaluation and to plan for the New Year as a team. We are also working on some projects for the Elikya Center. Bangui is a good place to find rest as well. We are staying in a guest house with 24/7 electricity and running water. There are also grocery stores and restaurants in the city. This is a good opportunity for all of us to get some extra rest and family time. At the same time, we are sad to have left our friends and home for this time. Please pray for us as we are away during this time. We do not feel fearful and we are praying for a peaceful election. Please pray with us for a peaceful election in Congo and that God will use His church to be a light during this time of uncertainty.

If you are interested in reading some articles about the DRC election and previous history please check these out

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15904203

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/25/joseph-kabila-congo-elections

And here are a few photos from the last week…

Stranded on the road when our jeep broke down for 9 hours. Definitely one of the lowest points in our lives

Since we are in the CAR capital, we were invited to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the US Ambassador's home along with about 50 other Americans. It was a fun party at a beautiful home and we met several interesting people living in Bangui

The Ambassador's househas a swimming pool that is open to Americans every afternoon. We love taking the babies to the pool to cool down in this hot weather!

E- Team Update

We made an update video for the churches in the Congo Consortium for their meeting last week. Now that we have faster internet at home, we are more than pleased to share it with you. It is definitely worth watching. Click here to watch our update video.

Hannah's Coming Out Party

Here in Congo, moms are supposed to stay home with their new babies for the first three months after the baby is born. Part of the reasoning behind this is to help keep new babies healthy. There is even a specific word they call a mother the first three months after her baby is born—bwakele. So, the last three months Hannah and I have mostly been hanging out at home. We have gone out a handful of times out of necessity, such as to visit Mowa in his final weeks and to get Hannah’s vaccinations. But we have mostly been at home just waiting for Hannah to turn three months old so we could hit the town…well, kind of.

After a baby turns three months old, the parents have an official “coming out” service/party at their home. They invite close friends and their pastor leads the service. It is called a service to kobimisa mwana. Basically it is a baby dedication except that it is personal for just one baby at their home.

On Friday, the 28^th (a few days before Hannah officially turns 3 months), we had her coming out party. The service went a little something like this: We sang some worship songs; Sam, Hannah and I went into the house with a few people the pastor selected; the people surrounded us as we sang and then a couple people prayed over us; one of our guests (a pastor’s wife) carried Hannah out of the house while the rest of us followed and everyone was singing; the CECU Vice President held Hannah and prayed over her and then handed Hannah to Sam who then handed Hannah to me; Sam shared a brief testimony about Hannah’s birth and the gift that she is to us; Vice President Badi gave a short teaching and charged us to raise Hannah in Christ the way that our parents raised us; then a couple more people prayed; we sang some more, prayed again and drank tea together.

Now it is official…Hannah can leave the house.

Praying inside of our house

All of us coming out of the house singing.

The Vice President and Pastor Passi praying for Hannah

Our little family

The party wiped her out!

It is a blessing to be a part of this community that is so willing to surround us and support us as we raise our daughter. We are very far away from our family and close friends, but we have friends here who have added Hannah into their own families.