The Democratic Republic of Congo presidential elections will take place on November 28th –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 9th 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 11th 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 outhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/25/joseph-kabila-congo-elections
And here are a few photos from the last week…
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| Stranded on the road when our jeep broke down for 9 hours. Definitely one of the lowest points in our lives |
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| 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 |
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| 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! |
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