Author: SuZan Klassen

An Exciting Plan

How would you survive and grow spiritually with no Bible?
And no access to Christian literature?

Hope4Congo has a plan!

We are excited to share developments for Print On Demand (POD) technology. We last reported on this POD project in an August 7, 2021 blog post titled, Rare Luxury. hope4congo.com/2021/08/07/a-rare-luxury

The POD system has many benefits. It . . .
-Empowers Congolese people to print Bibles and books
-Creates jobs for Congolese people
-Promotes literacy among Congolese people
-Engages believers in growth through personal discipleship
-Provides culturally relevant resources to enhance community development

Because all printing is done locally, there is . . .
-No need for books to be printed until they are purchased
-No inventory to be maintained
-No complicated or costly shipping arrangement to be made

The three-year business plan for this project is created to be sustainable for years to come. The Print On Demand Media Center will be established in Kinshasa, DRC’s capital city. It will be a Congolese-led operation. Our goal to start the POD project is $60,000. The plan requires an additional $56,000 over the next three years to ensure success.

Primary ministries working together on this project:
Hope for Congo (Hope4Congo), African Enterprises, and Synergie Francophone (formerly known as BLF or Bibles and Literature in French).

Additional funds came through two grants:
Tyndale Foundation and Schowalter Foundation.

$60,000 was needed to begin the POD project.
$46,000 has been raised thus far.
$14,000 is all that is left to raise.

Only $14,000 is needed to purchase and ship the equipment. Then we can begin operations in the DRC. Now that . . . is exciting news!

Your prayers and donations will help implement this project for the people of Congo.

Designate your gift to the POD project and send your donations to:
Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM)
P.O. Box 744
Goshen, IN 46527-0744

You can also make an online donation: https://www.aimmint.org/

___________________________________________

On a More Personal Note:

Hope4Congo’s mission is to bring hope to the DRC’s next generation of believers.

I have been blessed to write for this mission. However, my life circumstances have changed due to health concerns for myself and other family members. I will be stepping away from my position as the H4C website administrator.

My heart goes out to our Congolese brothers and sisters who have such limited access to Christian Literature. I hope your heart does as well.

The POD system is a wonderful opportunity to help the people of Congo.

Join those of us who support this project with our monies, our time, and our prayers.

May our Lord continue to bless this ministry!
Sincerely, SuZan Klassen

© 2022 Hope4Congo. All Rights Reserved.

Targeted and Terrorized

I subscribe to Open Doors’ Persecution Watch. In their Jan/Feb Presence magazine they reported the following:

The church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is grieving. Believers in the eastern part of the country have been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic extremist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). In late 2021, Christians reported that militants attacked three villages near Komanda city, killing at least 19 Christians and displacing at least 13,000 believers. Many families are still missing loved ones.

Attackers also burned over 50 homes. The third attack reveals the brutality believers are facing. Inside a church compound, militants gathered and chained all those who were there seeking refuge from the killing. A pastor’s wife and grandchild lost their lives, and more than 50 were kidnapped. The need for refugee camps and provisions continues to grow.

PRAY for Christians in the DRC who have lost loved ones and are still searching for their family members. Ask God to strengthen these persecuted believers . . . our family.

My thanks to Open Doors for keeping believers around the world updated about our family through their Persecution Watch.

© 2022 Hope4Congo. All Rights Reserved.

2021 – Busy Successful Year

Hope for Congo wants to say, THANK YOU, for your faithfulness and support. You have given to this ministry. You have prayed for us. Your faithfulness to God allowed us to be your hands and feet in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Jehovah Jireh, God provides, expresses well this past year of 2021. This feels like an understatement when we reflect back. God has supplied above and beyond what we could ask for or imagine.

 

Completed six primary school classrooms
and an administrative office.

 

 

Successfully drilled a well at Ndjoko Punda.

The team located a 135 foot deep reservoir of water . . .beyond expectations.

 

 

 

Began construction to replace the hospital at Ndjoko Punda.

The old hospital was destroyed by a storm in 2019.

 

 

500 Bibles distributed.

300 of those Bibles were distributed

to pastors with no Bible.

 

Sometimes it seems things move so slowly, especially has we remember months of waiting for various parts of these projects to come together. However, we must remember, God is at work even when we do not see it. If we do not give up, in time we will reap a harvest.

Thank you for the privilege of being your hands and feet serving the people of the DRC. Together, we are sharing in this harvest.

© 2021 Hope4Congo. All Rights Reserved.

Blessings FLOW!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The drilling project at Ndjoko Punda was successful above and beyond our expectations. We received news this morning that the team found water at 55 feet. The large underground reservoir extends down 188 + feet. With 188 feet of casing installed this will provide as much water as the solar pump is designed to pump.

The next steps are to clean the well casing and install the solar pump. They anticipate the project to be completed by the first of next week. In the meantime, there is a great celebration going on at Ndjoko Punda.

A big shout out to all of you who have supported Hope for Congo in prayer and giving towards this project. We will follow up later with pics of the finished well. Jehovah Jireh!

Working Together for His Kingdom,
Stan and Brad

© 2021 Hope4Congo.com

Long Awaited Moment

A long awaited moment arrived this past Thursday for the community of Ndjoko Punda in the DR Congo.

Hope for Congo has persevered for two plus years to purchase, deliver and gather together a team to drill one of hopefully many wells to come.

We praise God for His faithfulness.

Psalm 91:2 says, “This I declare about the Lord; He alone is my refuge, my place of safety, He is my God, and I trust Him.”

Many of you have donated to this project. We want you to share in the same joy and anticipation that the Church and community of Ndjoko Punda are experiencing this week.

The first day of drilling resulted in 32 feet. Friday and Saturday went slower as they drilled through a substrate of rock.

The anticipated depth to water is 180 feet.

Pray that God would provide both the physical water that is desperately needed and the Water of Life, which offers an eternal hope.

Thanks for your prayers and support. Enjoy this short video:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMFPalxohS0tYuvrQAAtb4w

Working Together for His Kingdom,
Stan and Brad

© 2021 Hope4Congo

A Rare Luxury

Dear Hope for Congo Readers and Ministry Partners,

In the last few months, I have read several inspiring books. Those books have challenged and encouraged my faith.

For believers in other parts of the world, access to books and the joy of reading is a rare luxury.

Hope for Congo is collaborating with several ministries to establish a media center in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this collaboration we hope to provide literature and books to enrich, challenge and transform the lives of believers. We also hope to share God’s Word with those who do not yet know Him.

To achieve this, our goal is to raise $60,000. We need $23,000 more to reach this goal.

Micro Print-On-Demand Technology
Print-On-Demand technology will enable us to print Christian literature at an affordable price in both single and large quantities.

Watch this YouTube link to see how Print-On-Demand technology works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzXdsiQGE5s

Generous Crop
In II Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul talks about the ministry of giving. We are to give willingly and cheerfully, not out of a sense of pressure or grudgingly. Paul goes on to say, “The one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”

This Print-On-Demand technology will allow God’s Word to be shared with more of our dear brothers and sisters in the DRC. In other words, more Bibles and more Christian literature leads to more generous planting.

Is God nudging you to give to this exciting project?

God Loves Cheerful Givers
God does not want you to give out of compulsion or grudgingly. But with a grateful heart for all He has entrusted with you.

If you are led to give,
please make your checks payable to AIMM
and designate your gift to:
“Hope for Congo, POD”

Mail your checks to:
Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM)
P.O. Box 744
Goshen, IN 46527-0744

Or Donate Online at: www.aimmint.org

Working Together for His Kingdom,
Brad Graber
Hope for Congo

_________________Thank you, Brad_________________

If you would like more information, below is a copy of the brochure for the Micro Print-On-Demand project. ~SuZan
© 2021 Hope4Congo – All Rights Reserved