Karen and I have now completed two weeks away from the US. Here’s a picture of what’s been going on and how to pray for us.
I’ve tried to phrase this like a conversation or interview, because I think that’s interesting. But I had to put words in your mouth… I hope you’ll play along. Please read on!
You: How was the first week back?
Me: Thanks for asking! This week has been overall quite positive. Pregnant with unknown, but in the end things have gone quite well. We’re tired, but French is flowing well, and we even started Swahili lessons!
Jet lag was intense for us, especially for me (Mark). I was awake from 11:30-4:30 the second night, and then 12-3am the third night. My cough was also part of that, and it complicated things for Karen. My cough is loud and intense, and it wakes up anyone around. But praise God, we’re now both sleeping almost all the way through the night. My cough is still with me, but it has reduced dramatically. I was even able to sing without coughing two days ago (first time in a long time). It’s still worst when I lay down to sleep, and still wakes Karen up some. Karen has been very sweet and patient with me.
There were several encouraging happenings on the ultimate frisbee front. First, one of the guys I’d been meeting with regularly has said that he really believes in Jesus and would like to be baptized. He’s a Muslim background person (one of only few I’ve met in Bukavu), with Jehovah’s Witnesses also in the family. I’m praising God for working in his heart, and also that another member of LePhare has been meeting with him individually for Bible study the last 2 months or so. Another is that two of the frisbee players who already went to church with me have actually started a Bible study among some of the other players. This happened without my prompting, and it’s just so exciting to see God at work! They’ve been meeting already for 5 weeks. Third, one of the female frisbee players who had moved away several months before Karen and I left is back in town and is playing ultimate, and (without our knowing) she has started attending LePhare! This again is without Karen and mine’s orchestration, but God has been using members of LePhare for these things.
It’s been really wonderful to have time to do house keeping! In my (Karen) previous job, I was too stressed and busy to think about much, and our domestic worker, Joseph took care of laundry and 3-4 dinners a week. Then we travelled 4 months and didn’t have our own place. Now Joseph is only coming once a week, so Mark and I are doing a lot more meal planning and sharing preparation. I did laundry (used a friend’s washing machine). And have been going to the market more often. Someone pointed out that this may be a good way to connect with women in the church. ;)
We’ve had the opposite experience we were expecting with water and electricity. That is, more power and less water. We’re getting water on once every 3-4 days. It typically comes on between midnight and 4am, so one (or both) of us get up to turn on the faucet completely. Since only a trickle comes out even with the faucet open 100%, it takes several hours to fill up all of the different buckets we have in our house. But we eventually get almost all of them filled, and it lasts us the next 3-4 days until the water comes on again. Power, on the other hand, has been pretty good! It’s come on basically every evening for 6-8 hours, and has notably been able to keep our fridge consistently cold! Well, cool at least. 😊
We had several different meetings last week with people in the church trying to start putting flesh on the schedule we’ve been imagining for ourselves. Things in Congo are often very fluid, and so it takes time to figure out what’s really an option and what isn’t. In some senses, it can feel like we’ll have way too much to do, but our pastor has encouraged us to not fill up our schedules right now because the longer we’re here the more things will come up and they’ll get full anyway.
We’re feeling the squeezing of time already here. Because we try to not be out at night, and because much of Congo runs a bit behind schedule, and because many things end up getting cancelled, or coming up… it just feels like it’s hard to get things moving very much. People are often going to funerals, weddings, or have duties to fulfill at school, and it actually makes things difficult to really get together. Combine that with the fact that the prime social hours for most Westerners (after work/school, from 6:30-9pm) are not available, and it just makes things difficult. We’re looking forward to buying a car and being able to be out after dark a bit more.
In the meantime, I (Karen) am enjoying lots of good reading, both specifically for different ministry meetings (Systematic Theology, Evangelism according to the Master) and books I’ve been wanting to read for a while (Mirror to the Church, Organic Church, Cross-Cultural Leadership).
You: Wow, that was a really long answer. Do you want to take a coffee break or something?
Me: No, I’m fine (cough).
You: Are you sure your cough is getting better?
Me: Yes, yes, it’s just not gone all the way. Thank you for being so caring.
You: Well, you’re so welcome. You know I’ve always liked you and Karen so much. Anyway, how can I pray for you?
Me: There are several different things to pray for. Let me tell you about them in bullet point form so that it’s easier to read later when you’re praying.
You: That’s such a good idea!
Me: Oh, you flatter me!
1. Bible studies with frisbee players and women.
a. I’ve started meeting with my “frisbee leaders” group again. (Tuesday afternoons)
b. I’d like to start up another group.
c. Two of my colleagues from church have also started a Bible study
d. Karen is starting to meet with some frisbee women
e. Karen is also starting to meet with some of the women at church
2. Choosing what to do with our time - so many things to be done.
3. Living into new lifestyle that is less task-oriented and sometimes gives less of a feeling of accomplishment.
4. Outreach to Expatriates “Expats" (Foreigners) - who and how to structure it and when… basically everything, raising up partners to reach other expats from among the expats
5. Financial support - Congo still very expensive, and unexpected things are still coming up regularly (like having to buy new locks because the outside part of our apartment was broken into), and we're still $700 short of our monthly commitment financial goal.
6. Good relationships with ministry partners here: Nicolas, Augustin, Celestin, Luc, Salomon, Achiza, and Rachel.
THE END!
Thank you so much for taking the time to pray for us! If you have any questions or ideas or just something you want to say don’t hesitate to contact us!
In Christ,
Mark and Karen
