More from Tandala

Today they had generator for the Internet, but not for the lights. The bugs were drawn in swarms to the laptop screen making it a challenge to type. We were able to chat on Facebook but could not do Skype today.

Jared’s teaching is going very well. The students seem to enjoy it and the dialogue has been good. The class greets him each morning by standing and singing when he arrives. And whenever he makes reference to a scripture passage they write it down. Sunday he will preach in a local church. Pray for him as he prepares to preach.

They have been touched by the humble buildings and the library – we have more books in our home than their library.

The Master Planning is coming along. The language has made it a challenge, but They have been very impressed with the leadership there. Continue to pray for them as they work through this process.

Jim will leave for Gemena on Friday to begin the process of gathering stories from the widows and orphans in the program and who have passed through the program. Pray that they would have God ordained contacts and hear great stories of hope.

They continue to observe cultural things up close. You cannot look outside and not see women walking by with stuff on their heads. This morning they saw a goat slaughtered and then ate it for a later meal. Showers consist of taking cold water from a big barrel and pouring it on themselves. Shaving can be done in Tandala as there are mirrors – there are none in Gemena. And Wednesday evening Tom Cairns, Jared and Jim were hosted in a local home. A meal was served to the three of them and the family did not join in. This either meant that they skipped dinner, or would later eat food not as good. They served goat and plantains.

A big concern for them right now is the swine flu epidemic. They are keeping tabs on it. Pray that this would not affect this region of Africa or any of their travel plans in the next 12 days.

That's life in Africa

Well, Jim and I had a Skype date scheduled for this afternoon and he was a no show. After awhile I discovered that I had some text messages from him telling me that the generator wasn't working so there was no power for internet connections. Here is what I have gleaned from today:

The rain stopped everything so they had some down time to read. Jared and Jim ate dinner in a local home this evening. Because of the lack of generator, Him was laying in the dark -- bored. He said that Jared couldn't 'play' because he had to study. :-) He saw some baby goats and ate an adult goat. :-)

I hope that we can connect more tomorrow as once they return to Gemena on Saturday there will be less opportunity for internet.

It's a Small World After All

Jim Skyped this afternoon. We could see and hear him, he could see us. So we typed questions and answers and he talked.

Today was their first day of Master Planning. They toured the hospital and were surprised that it was so much bigger than they expected. The balance of their planning session was committed to prayer -- hours of prayer it sounds like. And they weren't encouraged to pray as they felt led, it was announced that "each of us will now pray" and so they took turns praying over the time they will spend this week planning.

They had a formal reception last night -- Jim said the last time he shook so many hands was at our wedding! They have learned the word "Mbote" well. Part of that was a formal presentation of the layettes and other gifts to the President of CECU who in turn formally presented them to the hospital.

Not having light after sundown has been an adjustment. You truly have to "make hay" while the sun shines. On the plus side, they are going to bed early and getting up early, so are maximizing their days. Last night they got an excellent night of sleep. Jim thinks it is getting a bit cooler and they have had a nice breeze.

While we were skyping he introduced Micah and me to Mambo, one of the Africans. Mambo has a degree from North Park and has spoken at Deerfield High School, so he can picture almost exactly where Village Church is and what it is like here. Mambo helps keep the hospital functioning. Jim also met a nurse who has been at the hospital 50 years and has known every doctor to have worked there.

Jared is teaching each morning at the Bible Institute and Jim will go with him tomorrow or Thursday when he does that.

They are still eating lots of local food, and Jim is doing better with that. He really misses Big Macs and Lou's Pizza!

Please continue to keep this vision trip lifted in prayer.

Master Planning

This week Jim and Jared will be involved with 4 days of Master Planning sessions at the Tandala Hospital. Please pray that they would have valuable input and a fresh perspective as this is their first time at the hospital and they come with no prior history associated with that facility and ministry. Continue to pray for their health and safety.

Arrived in Tandala

Jim emailed today with the following:

We have arrived safely in Tandala. I am feeling much better, but I need some food soon. We did not have lunch and then we were served dinner here after our arrival. However, I only took a little rice because I just could not stomach more local food yet.

We were very moved by the reception when we arrived. I look forward to showing you pictures and video. The President of the CECU (who rode here with us) said something like, if your brother does not love you then he does not think about you, but if he does love you then he will think about you and surely come and visit you. He was refering to us traveling so far to see them. They really seem to understand how difficult the journey is. I did not understand until this trip.

On a lighter note, during the formal greeting ceremony a cell phone of one of the Congelese rang in the crowd. It was fun to see that that happens here too.

The housing for us here is better in many respects. At the place in Gemena I had my own room which was 10 x 10 with a bed and a plastic lawn chair. However, I had to go outside to use the bathroom in the out house. Here, I will share a room with Jared and soon one or two others, but there is a bathroom in our room so I do not have to go outside at night (by the way the computer I am using is on French settings so I am not using contractions because they look like this Ièm).

Jared will be teaching his class at the bible institute for an hour every morning. We will then have our master planning meeting for a few hours in the morning and then a few more in the afternoon. Tomorrow will be slightly different because we need to take a tour of the hospital before we start our meetings. We had hoped to do that today, but it rained this morning so we got a much later start in the morning than we had planned.

Pray that our meeting will go well and that it will be a help to the hospital and the staff. Many people here are highly educated so I hope this is helpful in their eyes.

Today has been the best weather day since we arrived. We had lots of cloud cover due to the rain and the temp was probably in the low 70s. I actually do not think that the temp actually gets too high, but the humidity is unbelievable.

Right now I am in a make shift internet cafe on the Tandala property. They are running a generator to allow us access to the internet. The sun goes down by 6:00 so it is pitch black outside and there are no screens on the windows of this room. Because there are lights in this room we are a magnet for flying insects so all five of us here are typing and swatting flys at the same time.

The poverty here is overwhelming. People here are encouraged to build their homes by the road so as you drive you pass one home after another. We drove for hours and probably 85% of the time we were passing a house as we drove. We could see many malnourished children with large bellies. Every home has a small stand out front where they try and sell things as they can such as food or small crafts.

One of the members of our team is a Pediatrician from Washington. He has been a good resource for telling us some of the medical issues the children are facing and explaining some of the diseases. When ever we stop at a health clinic they give us a tour and tell us why every patient is there. No HIPPA rules apply. A few days ago we were gathered around one young womans bed and they said that she had been raped.

One of the baby layettes we passed out was one of the ones that Kirsten Sittler made. I was going to take a picture the mom was breast feeding. Apparently that would have still been OK to do in their culture, but not in ours. I do not know anything else about her to tell Kirsten other than she seemed very young (typical marriage age is 14-17) so this may have been her first or second baby.

They may speak like the French, but they don't cook like the French

Both Tammy and Jenn received unexpected phone calls from Jim and Jared this afternoon. It was great to speak with them, but the delay was so long that we had to say "stop" at the end of our sentences -- a throw back to ham radio conversations. Some of the things they said were:

"The roads are unbelievable!"
"The canoe crossing was worse than I expected" (a side note -- the other night Micah prayed that Pastor Jared and Daddy would be kept safe as they dug out their canoe!) :-)
"The heat is oppressive"

Jim titled this blog and is convinced that the inundation of Congolese food is why he has been ill. he said it is very bland and limited to about 5 things which are served at every meal. He is feeling much better and hopes that he will sleep well tonight and be back on track in the morning.

It is the rainy season and a big storm came through the other night which actually cooled things down and brought a pleasant breeze which lasted through this morning. They were thankful for that relief.

Jared shared that the Elikya Centre Grand Opening had about 750 from the churches there. The mayor of Gemena was there as well. There was a presentation of gifts which included a beautifully worded letter of thanks to the churches from America (including Village Church), a wood carving for the ReachGlobal staff, and a wood carving to be presented to President Obama if the opportunity should ever arise. 22 widows graduated today. The widows are truly receiving hope from the Elikya Centre as well as a vision for the future and how they can use their skills in their community and for the kingdom. They have started a communal money box with the money they make using these skills, similar to our mercy fund, out of which they can care for each others needs and help one another corporately. Praise God for this opportunity to celebrate the hope found in Him.

Tomorrow they leave for Tandala. If Jim is well enough, they will all go, otherwise he will follow a day or two later. It is about 2-3 hours away and they will visit more health centers on the way. Pray that Jim will be healed and able to travel with the group.

Health Update

Jim texted a few more times yesterday -- texting is currently the only mode of communication and not cheap, so the messages can read like a telegram. :-)

On Saturday they met Pastor Selenga's wife and visited the health center. There were 3 newborns and he was able to give 2 of our layettes to the moms. There was also a rape victim they visited. They are seeing the heart of the ministries -- the people they serve.

Saturday evening he was not feeling well -- a combination of travel fatigue, intense heat, and local foods. Sundays Elikya celebration is expecting 100's of people -- it is an exciting event that he does not want to miss, so asked us to "pray hard" for him to feel better.

In the middle of the night their time he texted that he had vomited several times. Thankfully they all took personal pharmacies so he took a zofran (a drug used for chemo patients and pregnant moms to control nauseau and vomiting) and that stopped it. As he said, "hard to be sick away from home with only an outhouse."

His morning text (12:45 am CT/ 6:45 am Congo) was that he is feeling better, but the thought of Congolese food -- which can't be avoided -- churns his stomach. As I was typing this another text came through that said he is feeling 50% better but diarhea is now the issue. :-(

Jared is doing well and feeling fine so far. Pray for Jim's health to be restored and for Jared's to be sustained for the balance of this trip.

I also asked if all the bags arrived with them and they did. Praise God for that provision.

4-hour Church Service

Jim sent a text message this morning at 4:00 that they arrived safely in Gemena yesterday. He woke up this morning with a bat in his room. :-)

Their Sunday, like most of ours, will be spent in church. However, unlike ours, they will be participating in a 4-hour service. Pastor Selenga explained many of the practical reasons for such a long service when he was visiting here, but regardless, when you do not speak or understand the language, this is a long time. Pray that they will be able to engage with a spirit of worship despite the language barrier.

Sunday also marks the 1st anniversary and official Grand Opening of The Elikya Centre. While it has already been working for some months now, they waited to have the big ceremony until some of the Consortium churches and ReachGlobal staff could be there. The event will be Sunday afternoon (after the 4-hour church service!) Pray God's blessing on this ministry.

Traveling African Style

As far as we know, Jim and Jared's Friday travel plans were to cross the Ubangai River into the DRC today (if not today, then tomorrow). That crossing will be done in 2 large dug-out canoes lashed together with ropes. One will contain all the luggage and the other the team members. On the other side of the river is the border patrol where they would provide their passports. They have taken extra copies of their passport pages in the hope that this will make the crossing easy. (On a previous crossing all of the passport information was painfully hand copied and took over 4-hours.)

Once on the other side of the river, the 180 mile drive will begin -- on unpaved roads in vehicles with no padded seats. It should take about 10 hours before they arrive in Gemena.

Pray for:

• Smooth border crossing, specifically that the passport copies will be welcomed
• Their backs and bodies as they bounce along the African terrain for so long

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Jim sent a brief email. They have arrived in Bangui safely and had the chance to visit an internet cafe. It took him 30 minutes to email because of slow connections getting to the website and then keyboard keys in a different order than we are used to.

They visited the local seminary today, took showers, and say that it is "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

On-time Arrival

The best we can tell, Jim and Jared have arrived in Bangui. This particular flight scores 1.2 out of 5 for being on time. And according to Air France they were on-time on both ends, for which the guys are very thankful, I'm sure. We do not know if their bags made it with them and do not know how soon we will be able to talk with them again.

• Their plan for today is to sleep -- they will have all day and overnight to rest up from the travel they have done and the travel yet to come. Pray for them to sleep and rest well.
• It is also at this point that they may need to leave some of the items they brought for the Congolese simply because of space constraints (these would be taken the rest of the way at the end of the trip when the group is returned to Bangui). Pray that they will not leave behind anything that is important now for their time in Congo.
• A couple days before they departed Jared learned that he would be doing some teaching and had some concerns about how to prepare. He wrote yesterday, "I found out today that I will likely be teaching at the Bible School right near Tandala. Everyone should have a Bible and be able to particpate well in the study that I had prepared on Ephesians. That is a big help, but would still appreciate everyone's prayers." Pray for Jared as he finishes preparations and teaches.

Congo is 6-hours ahead of us if you are tracking them in real time. As they go along, please feel free to leave comments for them on this blog. They would be so encouraged to see these as they continue through these next weeks.

A Day in Paris

Jim and Jared have arrived in Paris with no issues. However, neither of them slept. Today they will be sightseeing (it's Jared's first time in Paris) as they wait for their next flight which leaves Paris at 11:20 PM (4:20 CT) arriving in Bangui Thursday morning at 5:00 AM (Wednesday evening 11:00 PM CT).

Pray:

• For energy as they go through the day
• For a smooth flight to Bangui
• That all their luggage would arrive with them in Bangui (they have 5 checked bags -- 2 with personal items and 3 with items for the Congolese, including a trunk they are couriering for the Evangelical Covenant Church)

Update: Jim emailed this afternoon with the following below. Please keep these guys in your prayers the rest of today -- their travel night.

I am exhausted. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame & Arc de Triumphe (sp?). We will try and get showers in now before we go to the airport. I hope to sleep at airport before we go and if lucky on the plane. I walked to the 1st floor of the Eiffel Tower. We spent a lot of time walking today. Feet are very tired and I am very thirsty.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Jim and Jared are in Philadelphia getting ready for the next leg of the trip -- Paris. All bags made it with them and are now checked through to Bangui -- obstacle #2. Some of the bags were a few pounds over the weight limit, but we thank God that the agents did not charge them any additional fees for this.

Their flight leaves at 5:40 CT arriving in Paris at what will feel like 1:30 in the morning. Please pray that they will sleep on this leg of the trip so that they will have the energy to see Paris and enjoy their day there. Pray too that the bags will make the connection and that they will arrive in Bangui with Jim and Jared -- that's obstacle #3.

.

Samantha "helping" Jim pack (or unpack -- depending on your perspective)

A Good Nights Rest

Today is it -- all of the last minute preparations for the Congo are being completed. Tammy was able to spend the day with Jared, and Jim was able to spend time one-on-one with each of his kids and his wife at some point today. They will leave early Tuesday morning for the first leg of the trip -- flying to Philadelphia. This leg is on United and the balance of the trip is on Air France. A longer layover in PHL has been planned in case their bags don't make with them from ORD. Once in PHL they should be able to consolidate their flights and have the bags checked all the way through to Bangui. They will arrive in Gemena around mid-afternoon our time on Friday or Saturday (portions of the travel itinerary are still a bit unclear) -- it will be a long trip.

Please pray for:

1. A good nights rest tonight -- it may be the last for many nights.
2. All of the bags to be where they need to be, specifically that they arrive in PHL with them and that they arrive in Bangui with them.
3. For a kind-hearted ticket agent when they check in with Air France in PHL. There is no reason that they shouldn't be able to show all their tickets and check their bags through to Bangui -- unless the agent can't be bothered.
4. For the ability to sleep on the plane -- they will have 2 red-eyes, 2 nights in a row followed by a dug-out canoe ride and a 10-hour drive on unpaved roads.

As Jim and Jared are able to communicate while they travel, they will and this blog will be updated with the answers to these prayers.

Jim's Back and Jared's Brain

Jim did something to his back a day or two ago and has been in some pain since then. He has been doing all the things he normally does when this happens but it just isn't getting better. Please pray that God would heal his back quickly so that travel -- specifically maneuvering his luggage and sitting so many hours in planes and bouncy vehicles -- would not be difficult for him.

Also, Jared just found out that he will be teaching for 5-days at the Bible Institute. Please pray for him as he figures out what this involves and preps for teaching in the midst of all the other final preparations they are making.

Visas Arrived

Great news! Less than a week after submitting for visas to both Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they were approved and returned -- Praise God for this quick turn around and answer to prayer.