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To Our Friends,

“The parched ground will become a pool” Isaiah 35:7

Hope for Congo is “Providing Hope to the Next Generation” by contributing tools and resources to our brothers and sisters in Congo. We like to refer to this as arranging for fishing poles and access to the pond.  Proverbs says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” 

Hope for Congo cannot accomplish this alone.  We are dependent on your prayerful support.  Through your faithful giving we can be your hands and feet in Congo.

2022 has been an exciting year for us.  COVID 19 put the world and Hope for Congo on hold delaying a variety of projects that were in the pipe-line. 

We celebrated the joy of successfully drilling two water wells in two separate communities. 

We launched two additional agricultural projects in another two communities bringing us to a total of four such projects.

We have been able to lay the ground work for some significant projects coming up in 2023.

We have participated in two, week long, training sessions in Asset Based Community Development.  A third training session will take place in April 2023.  “ABCD builds on the assets that are already found in the community and mobilizes individuals, associations, and institutions to come together to build on their assets– not concentrate on their needs. The appeal of ABCD lies in its premise that communities can drive the development process themselves by identifying and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognized assets, and thereby responding to and creating local economic opportunity.”

We have purchased 320 copies of the French edition of the Africa Study Bible published by Oasis International.  The Bibles are being shipped ocean freight from India to Congo with anticipated arrival January 20, 2023. Hope for Congo will participate with Oasis International in the official launch of the study Bible in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  We anticipate a launch in three major cities that will include the capital city (Kinshasa), a port city (Matadi) and a southern border city (Lumbumbashi).

In collaboration with Synergies Francophone, Africa New Day, and African Enterprise we have purchased a print on demand system from Publish4All.  This POD will be located in Kinshasa for the purpose of printing Christian literature and making it affordable to everyone.  The equipment has arrived in Kinshasa and another shipment of consumable goods is being shipped from the United States in preparation for our launch in 2023.

We depend totally on God to provide for our needs.  As God provides, we move forward.  Our desire is to keep in step with His Spirit.  We will continue our focus in the following areas:

  1. Youth Evangelism
  2. Water Development
  3. Bible and Christian Literature Distribution
  4. Agricultural Development
  5. Infrastructure (Schools, Hospitals, Churches)

Our current project dollar needs are:

  • Hospital  $12,000 Needed to finish the construction

  • Print on Demand  $14,000 Needed for setup, training and launch of the POD

  • Agricultural Development  $5,000 Needed for on going training of existing groups

  • Water Drilling  $15,000 This amount will cover the cost to drill a well, utilize solar power generation, and a 5,000 liter holding tank for water distribution

  • Youth Evangelism  $5,000 Invested in youth camps focused around soccer, evangelism and discipleship

Your donations can be directed to our general fund or to one of the specific areas listed above.  Without your prayers we are weak and ineffective.  It is through your prayers that we see things happen.  “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” 

Designate your gift for your interested 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/

May God bless you and keep you as you move into the new year.  Thanks for all your support over the last 15 years.  Jehovah Jireh, God Provides.

  “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

Your hands and feet in Congo,

Stan and Brad Graber

Hope for Congo News Update

“The parched ground will become a pool” Isaiah 35:7

Hope for Congo is celebrating its 15th year, “Providing Hope to the Next Generation.”  Our mission is to provide the next generation with tools and resources that will strengthen the body, mind, and soul.

As we make our plans God is directing our steps.  Hope for Congo wants to share with you the direction God is taking us right now. 

  1. Hope for Congo along with our collaboration group have purchased the equipment for the Print on Demand Media Center which will be located in Kinshasa, the city capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.   

God provided the means and the opportunity to buy a new system that was already in the DRC!  This system was at a savings because it was already in the country thus saving us freight and customs.  God is good and we praise him for his faithfulness.

  • Hope for Congo has purchased 320 Bibles from Oasis International.  These Bibles are a part of the very first printing of the long-awaited French edition of the Africa Study Bible.  They are in the process of being shipped via ocean freight to Congo in anticipation of the initial launch of the Africa Study Bible in the DRC.
  • Following the completion of our first water well in Ndjoko Punda we have transported the Village Drill equipment to Mukedi in anticipation of digging our second well.  Materials are being purchased in Kinshasa and once they arrive in Mukedi we will begin the well digging process.  A team is on the ground to begin the site preparation.

You can participate in several ways.

  1. Pray …for God to direct our steps in the establishment of the POD Media Center.  We are targeting the first of the new year to begin the equipment set up and training of staff.
  2. Pray …for continued needed funds for the operational startup of the POD. 
  3. Pray …for the launch of the Africa Study Bible.  Celebrations and training events are being planned for three major cities.  Hope for Congo will participate in these events.
  4. Pray…for the Mukedi water drilling.  Pray for safety, access to adequate supply of water and for the management of the well system once completed.
  • Donate by writing a check and mailing it to:

AIMM-Hope for Congo

P.O. Box 744

Goshen, IN 46527-0744

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Working Together for His Kingdom,

Stan and Brad Graber

We Can’t Wait

Hope for Congo is celebrating its 15th year, “Providing Hope to the Next Generation.”  Our mission is to provide the next generation with tools and resources that will strengthen the body, mind, and soul.

A look back encourages us to keep moving forward.  Looking forward informs us of the direction we should consider.  Looking forward tells us we cannot afford to wait!  It is estimated that by the year 2075 Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 58 million.  Starvation on every level is the reality in Congo today.  While food is a daily challenge, so is the lack of spiritual nourishment for the soul. Both need to be addressed.

One of the answers to the nourishment of the soul can be addressed through digital technology.  Print on Demand (POD), includes printing books, pamphlets and other literature in single copies as needed. It has the potential to revolutionize the spiritual life of individuals as well as the larger church body.  Access to affordable Bibles and Christian literature does not exist today in Congo.

Since the invention of the printing press, by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439, printing has come to be known as one of the most important inventions of our time.  500 years later Print on Demand is a current technology that is revolutionizing the printing industry.

Hope for Congo is in the process of raising $60,000 to establish a POD Media Center.  We have raised $46,000 and we need another $14,000 before we can officially release this project.

A crowdfunding page has been set up for interested people to participate as God directs.  Innovation, technology and crowd funding has the ring of the 21st century, however that bell has been ringing for centuries.  Ecclesiastes says, “there is nothing new under the sun”.  It has all been done before.  Exodus 35-40 records the story and events surrounding the building of the tabernacle. God was all about innovation, technology, crowdsourcing and funding for His project.  God has not changed!

You can participate in several ways.

  1. Pray for God to direct our steps in the establishment of the POD Media Center.
  • Send this link to interested family and friends and encourage them to participate.
  • Donate by writing a check and mailing it to:
  • AIMM-Hope for Congo P.O. Box 744 Goshen, IN 46527-0744

What Does Hope Look Like

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

This is the first in a series of blogs to consider what hope looks like. Hope for Congo has been ministering in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 15 years. In 2007 the population was estimated between 50 & 60 million people. Today in 2022 the population is approaching 90 million people. This is a sobering statistic knowing how difficult life is in Congo. In 2018 it was estimated that 73 percent of the population live in poverty and earn less than $1.90 per day.

Fifteen years later it is proper to ask ourselves the question, “What have we been doing to make a significant impact in Congo”? What does hope look like? We will be sharing over the next several months the answer to this question, what does hope look like. How has Hope for Congo contributed to the hope that is so desperately needed in Congo?

The hope of the Gospel is the pressing need for every generation. Spiritual starvation is a fact of life for the majority of Believers in Congo. Affordable access to Bibles and Christian literature continues to be a challenge.

Over the years we have purchased Bibles in the major heart languages through the American Bible Society. Hope for Congo has been able to purchase, distribute and sell over 12,000 Bibles. Twice we have participated with another organization to distribute Bibles to pastors who had no Bible. These Bibles were given to the pastors free of charge. We distributed 600 Bibles out of a total of 6,000 that were given to pastors in need of a Bible.

In 2022 we expect to purchase the Africa Study Bible, French edition. This new study Bible has been years in development. “The Africa Study Bible is a pacesetter in using the African experience for understanding the Bible”-Dr. Mvume Dandala. More than 350 African theologians, pastors and teachers have come together to produce this study Bible. Oasis International has spearheaded this project. Hope for Congo is excited to participate in the launch and further distribution of this Bible.

Access to Christian literature is almost non-existent in the DRC. To help meet this need and to make it more affordable to all, Hope for Congo is collaborating with several other ministries to establish a Print on Demand Media Center. This media center will be located in the capital city of Kinshasa. A total of $60,000 dollars is needed to launch this project. Presently, $14,000 dollars remain outstanding before we can move forward.

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Your prayers and donations have made these efforts possible. They are bringing hope to the next generation. Donations can be made to AIMM (Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission) P.O. Box 744, Goshen IN 46527-0744. You can send in your donations or go on line to https://www.aimmint.org/donate.html and donate. Designate your gift as “Hope for Congo”.

–

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.