Oh how we need You!

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  John 10:11

Paul and I have come across so many needs!  Today, I found out more about my kids’ best friends, here - the Congolese refugees. Eighteen months ago, they and their parents were put in prison because they crossed into Zambia without passports.  They were fleeing their country out of desperation for safety.  The father was a driver for the opposition in the Congo.  They fled to the Rwandan border where the corrupt leaders found and captured them.  Their mother was 9 months pregnant.  They raped her and beat her.  Her baby in the womb did not survive.  The father was badly beaten.  The kids witnessed all of this.  The family fled to Zambia.  Once they crossed the border, they were put in prison because they did not have passports.  The children were put in prison along with the parents for 3 months. (The parents are STILL in prison. This is unjust!)  After the 3 months, the social services department called the missionaries about the 4 boys, and they began fostering the kids.  Not only did the kids have the emotional difficulties to deal with, they were also physically neglected.  Because of the terrible prison conditions, the kids had tapeworms, ring worm, and were not cared for properly.  The parents are scheduled to be out of prison in a month.  As of now, the Zambian government is wanting to send them back to the Congo, where the father will be executed.   The missionaries here are trying to go through the UN to keep this from happening and the magistrates in this country.

This morning after I heard about this, I went to my living room and got on my knees and prayed!   There is so much need in this world!  So much heartache and pain!  I prayed for this family with so much sadness and so much awareness of how much I need a Savior in this dark and desperate world!   Please pray for this family, that they will not be sent back to the Congo but to a safe environment. 

Also pray for this region with the upcoming dry season after the drought.  There is no maize crop and the people will be depending on food aid this year.  This is especially hard on HIV patients already struggling with poor health.  It is not for lack of effort, the people work so hard to sustain life here, but food does not grow without rain and whole maize fields stand withered and dry.  Pray that God's people will love and help each other and that more will be drawn to Him and drawn together in this time of need.  

Another need that has come up three times so far is the need for scholarships for education.  Many people here have a genuine desire to do for themselves and help their community but lack the funding for school fees.  One young woman dreams of becoming a teacher in Mwandi and two others of getting an education in agriculture and coming back to help Mwandi cattle farmers.  With better education, these families can improve their livelihood and help their community.  By our standards, their tuition costs are inexpensive - about $600 per year for a teaching degree.  We are going to get some advice on how to help people with university tuition.  This is a very big need here and could easily be met through either loans or scholarships.  We are interested in this because it seems it would build lasting changes here in the community.  Of course, let us know if you have any interest in being involved with this.  Please pray that we can help with these needs in the best way for them.

-Alicia and Paul

Life Going On

Sorry for not writing for a couple weeks! Things here are going well and we have been very busy. The cattle AI program is in full swing with trips nearly every other day into the bush to work cattle in places that have been difficult to reach at times with the rain. Home school is in a good routine and Alicia and the kids are starting to get more involved in the OVC. We have a wonderful couple from Canada in for a couple weeks to help with the AI project also that we have been spending time with. Life is slower here but only because it has to be- there is no shortage of the work or things to do!

Isaac has been staying up late to get his school done so he can go with me to the bush to work cows and has been so very helpful drawing up vaccines and being a runner for the team. “Isaac, Isaac!” the men call out and keep him busy. He wears his huge Bear Grylles knife and someone always needs to borrow it. I am so proud of him and he seems much happier now that he has been helping with the project. This morning as we headed out he and I saw a huge croc in the river by our house- the first we’ve seen in Mwandi, pretty awesome!

Ethan is always happy and has been perfecting his donut recipes with Mom. He and Alicia have made donuts a couple times that rival anything at Crispy Creme. The rest of us are in heaven- we all benefit from Ethan’s sweet tooth sometimes. He has been on a couple close to home farm calls with me and loves the work and animals.

Rachel is doing well too. She had a close encounter with a dog one morning and has been a little nervous around them since. There are dogs everywhere here and they are generally nice, but intimidating to a very short 5 year old. She is whittling now all the time with a small knife and has not cut herself yet. The things she does at 5 that we would have never let the older ones do…

I am starting to see a scratch beyond the surface of the culture and people here. I am seeing the needs around me and slowly beginning to think about how to be part of solutions. The drought is so bad that there will be people dying this year with the combination of malnutrition and HIV. Anything we can do to help the animals survive the people are extremely interested in and thankful. The men I have been able to work with have been great and getting to know them has been wonderful. As I get to know individuals I see more ministry opportunities open up talking about family and issues that affect them physically and spiritually.

The other day coming back from the bushes we picked up a lady who had been in labor for 2 days with her first child. As we drove for 2 hours in the potholes and river beds of the bush we often had to stop for her to vomit out the window. I felt so bad for her but the only thing we could do was drive on. We dropped her off with her mother at the hospital in Mwandi and I heard the next morning she had her baby and both were okay. I am thankful for daily simple opportunities like this to be a blessing to someone. When we have so much it is so easy to help in major ways. Ephesians 2:10!!

I think I will end there- look for an addition from Alicia soon!

-paul

Isaac at his vaccine station in Mugumwy

The family walking to church

Kids in Mugumwy in school?  I told them to do the pose, nothing cultural here.

-Cats update…I had a dream the cats lost and I was giving Cal a hug in the parking lot and he wouldn’t let go. I woke up at 4:30 am and turned on my phone and they had lost, weird huh? Can you really bleed blue? Glad we are here, it was depressing but easier to forget about. Sorry to all my cat fan friends in the states- I know it was harder for you, no one here reminds us about it.