Category: Uncategorized

Leja Bulela

Leja Bulela
by Brad Graber

Leja Bulela means “show that you care” in the Tshiluba language of the Luba people.

Hope for Congo attended and participated in the 2017 Annual Conference for Leja Bulela in Washington D.C. The theme of the conference was “Congo-Unlimited Possibilities, Unlimited Potential.” Leja Bulela members are part of the larger burgeoning Congolese ex-patriot community in the United States and Canada.

For more information check their website: http://www.lejabulela.org

Leja Bulela was founded in 1993 as a reaction to the expulsion of an estimated 500,000 Kasai natives from the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the early 90s. What began as a response to a refugee need exists today “to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters living in Kasai, specifically those in Tshibombo Tshimuangi.”

A key initiative has been the building, funding, and managing of a medical clinic, which serves a population of 80,000. Tshibombo Tshimuangi is about a 45-minute drive from Mbuji Mayi, which serves as the capital city of Kasai Oriental province.

Leja Bulela opened the Kalala Muzeu Health Clinic in 2011 with the goal that it would eventually be self-sustaining. Leja Bulela members donate monthly to maintain the upkeep costs and employee salaries.

Topics discussed at the conference included:
• Best practices for managing a health facility
• Impact of primary health care strategies and initiatives
• Leveraging the power of water
• Using technology to build community

Hope for Congo was impressed with their passion, commitment, and engagement in the East Kasai. It is a witness to their love and care for their brothers and sisters in Congo.

The needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo are great. The complexities do not allow for simple short term solutions. Leja Bulela is entering its 25th year of direct involvement and personal commitment to a long term goal.

Hope for Congo is encouraged by the efforts of Leja Bulela and realize the complexities in Congo can only be addressed through an array of organizations collaborating together with a common over-arching purpose, to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters living in Congo.

Hope for Congo has been blessed by the collaborative and generous donations that our supporters have and continue to make. We are grateful and humbled. The collaboration of giving and doing, generosity and action, praying and keeping in step with God will continue to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters in Congo. Let’s put our “YES” on the table and let God put it on the map.

Leja Bulela!!! Show that you care!!!
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Thank you, Brad for letting us know about another organization formed to help our brothers and sisters in Congo.

Please continue to pray for peace in Congo and wisdom for all parties to maintain it.

© 2017 Hope4Congo

DRC News

We want to keep you informed on DRC. This week we provide a link to a BBC news article. Please click the link below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-11108589

Prayer Request:
Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Congo.
Pray for peace.
May cooler heads prevail.

© 2017 Hope4Congo

Nehemiah Project

The Nehemiah Project
Restoration and Renewal

by Brad Graber

Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes. ~Isaiah 58:12 (NLT)

Hope for Congo is making preparations to embark on a long-term venture: The Nehemiah Project. We have spent ten years in prayer, conversation, and evaluation to arrive at this point.

The Nehemiah Project’s purpose is to rebuild communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight strategic locations have been selected:
• Ndjoko Punda
• Mukedi
• Kandala
• Nyanga
• Kamyala
• Kalonda
• Banga
• Mutena

These eight villages share 100 years of history through the ongoing work of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM), formerly known as the Congo Inland Mission.

Our initiative will begin with two villages: Ndjoko Punda and Mukedi. These two will serve as a model for all the others. The process will involve the church, community leaders, and faith-based organizations.

Each location will have a designated team member to serve in the rebuilding efforts. Team members will be chosen based on character, giftedness, and passion.

However, it will obviously take more than one carefully chosen person to accomplish this huge task. Hope for Congo is seeking sister churches and individuals in North America willing to adopt a community in DRC.

Financial support, prayer support, and relationship building are all necessary aspects of such an adoption. It would also be wonderful if churches and individuals could share life together with their chosen sister villages as much as time, distance, and technology allow.

Areas of focus will be determined on the basis of individual community needs. These could include:
• Evangelism
• Health
• Safe Drinking Water
• Micro Banking
• Education
• Leadership Training

Hope for Congo will share more about The Nehemiah Project as this effort moves forward. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in partnering with us.

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Prayer Requests
• Please continue to pray for peace in Congo. The unrest caused by the political turmoil is stretching relationships and rekindling ancient tribal issues even among Christians.
• Pray for wisdom regarding all ministry efforts.
• Pray that God would impress the hearts of those He wants to be involved in ministry to Congo
– through prayer
– through finances
– through short term mission trips

© 2017 Hope4Congo

Summer Posting Schedule

This is Hope4Congo’s last post for May.

As in the past, Hope4Congo will return to our summer posting schedule for 2017. We will post twice per month in June, July, and August unless there is a pressing need to post more frequently.

Look for posts on Thursdays: June 8th & 22nd, July 6th & 20th, and August 10th & 24th. Until the next post, please consider the prayer requests below as ongoing concerns.

Prayer Requests:
• Please continue to pray for peace in Congo. The unrest caused by the political turmoil is stretching relationships and rekindling ancient tribal issues even among Christians.
• Pray for wisdom regarding all ministry efforts.
• Pray that God would impress the hearts of those He wants to be involved in ministry to Congo
– through prayer
– through finances
– through short term mission trips

Please join us June 8th for our post on the Nehemiah Project.

© 2017 Hope4Congo

Call to Prayer

The political situation in Congo has become even more tenuous since we first brought it to your attention. Your fervent continual prayers are requested for this entire month.

We’ve been reminded that the “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Satan’s tactics include: misinformation and disorder. Together these can lead to dangerous chaos since the deceiver comes only to kill and destroy.

In contrast, wherever God is at work, He brings truth and order and new life.

The Congolese church is mobilizing nationwide prayer for peace in Congo. They are not taking any political side.

We here at Hope4Congo are not taking the side of any political group either. Rather we hope to be on the Lord’s side. We pray for God’s miraculous intervention to end any potential conflict.

To that end these are our urgent prayer requests for the DRC:
• De-escalation of Emotions
• Calm Reason to Prevail
• Objectivity
• Clear Accurate Information
• Wise Honorable Individuals to Step Forward
• Formation of a Healthy Coalition
• Healthy Dialogue
• Trust and Mutual Respect to Develop Between All
• Reduction of Tension
• Truth
• Wisdom
• Order
• Peace

Please join us in praying for Congo everyday this month.

Thank you,
Hope4Congo Team

© 2016 Hope4Congo

News from Congo

We’re interrupting Matthew Harder’s story this week to send you the following.

News from Congo  We’ve received this important information via Jimmy Shafe with Rivers of the World–Congo. He shared a letter from Gwenda Fletcher below. The need is urgent for 23 children in Ditekemena. Please consider how you may help. Prayer and financial suggestions are at the end of the article.

Yesterday (Monday) saw a return to calm and quiet in Kananga and Tshikaji. Many services that had been suspended (hospital employee vehicle, motorcycle taxis, public busses) resumed and shops in Kananga that had been closed since last Thursday reopened. The barriers between town and Tshikaji were removed and it is now possible for us to move about freely. Tshikaji primary and secondary schools will stay closed for the rest of the week and if things remain calm, will reopen next Monday. In Tshikaji, the availability of staple goods is limited and as a result prices have risen sharply. We are told this is because folks aren’t yet ready to believe the calm will last so they are hanging onto what they normally would sell. We just heard this afternoon that passenger flights are scheduled to resume on Thursday.

On Sunday, when the military came through Tshikaji in search of militia and did a lot of shooting of rifles and firing of mortars (Praise the Lord there were no casualties) things were fairly quiet in town and the director of the Ditekemena Centre took advantage of the calm to move the children to various homes closer to the centre of town. The 23 kids are spread among 5 different homes. Unfortunately, the food stores at the Centre were looted and all of the food stolen. That leaves the program in a tough spot because with the arrival in early September of 10 refugee kids the funds they had for 13 children suddenly had to stretch for 23. With various complications related to the CPC treasurer’s absence due to illness, Pastor Mboyamba’s visit to the US, normal processing times and the recent disruptions, the program doesn’t have any funds on hand. Thankfully, some generous folks have sent donations to PC(USA) for the program and we hope the money will arrive in Congo by the middle of October, but for the moment things are rather desperate. There was to have been a meeting of CPC leadership last Thursday to prepare an appeal to CPC churches for help with the costs related to the sudden arrival of the refugee kids but of course the meeting was cancelled when the violence erupted. We hope the leadership will be able to meet this week so an appeal can be made in all area CPC churches this coming Sunday if conditions are stabilized and services are held. The director of the Centre has contacted the pastors of CPC churches in the neighbourhoods where the children are distributed and has asked them to mobilize their congregations to help the host families feed and care for the children they have taken in. Please pray with us that the response will be generous, that like with the loaves and fishes it will be multiplied to meet the need and that these kids who have all experienced significant loss and trauma in their short lives will now experience an outpouring of Christian love and concern.

Prayer Requests:
• Please pray for these children and their caretakers
• Please continue to pray for the political situation in Congo

Opportunity to Bless These Children:
A donor has pledged $1,000 immediately to match the first $1,000 pledged by others.
Your contribution can be sent to:
ROW-Congo
3640 Hewatt Court
Snellville, GA 30039

We will return to Matthew Harder’s story next week. Thank you for your understanding.

©2016 Hope4Congo