Occasionally Charles Buller is able to share images of Seminar participants from the March 2016 Coaching Seminars. Richard Mukedi serves as the Secrétaire Provincial and also was the primary organizer for CLCN’s seminar in Mukedi.
Awesome couple! And yes, their last name is also the name of where they live.
© 2016 Hope4Congo
Charles Buller will occasionally share photos of some of the precious sisters and brothers from the recent Mukedi & Kikwit seminars (March 2016). He will share names when he has them available.
“These images attempt to upgrade and personalize what is too easily and simplistically categorized as ‘lost’ with faces and names of some beautiful people with whom we now interact – and learn from – on an ongoing basis. This photo: M & Mme Mulebo (Provincial – regional – Leader for greater Mukedi area).”
Charles recently received word that M. Mulebo has begun to take very practical steps toward the creation of a coaching culture among those to whom he gives leadership. Very encouraging!
H4C Prayer Updates:
Prayer Request #1: Please pray for Daniel (we had his testimony here on our website, see this link). He was in the hospital recently with a bad case of typhoid and malaria. Please pray for his continued recovery. He is scheduled to graduate in July. Please pray that he is able to complete his studies and preparation for ministry.
Praise the Lord: We asked you to pray for Joseph’s recovery. Praise the Lord he has recovered from the same illnesses that Daniel is recovering from. We are still awaiting his testimony and will publish it when we receive it.
Prayer Request #2: Unfortunately it is common place for these young men to become ill with typhoid due to the poor sanitation conditions. Providing clean water in Congo is one of Hope4Congo’s ongoing projects. Please pray that these Congolese people understand the importance of boiling their water. Here is the link to previous problems and solutions in H4C’s attempt last year to provide a source of healthy drinking water.
© 2016 Hope4Congo
Today we’re featuring Congo Leadership Coaching Network’s newsletter written by Charles Buller regarding his most recent trip to Congo. Please scroll through all eight pages. Enjoy!
If you wish to support the work of Congo Leadership Coaching Network with Charles Buller, please contact AIMM and designate your gift for their ministry.
© 2016 Hope4Congo
Charles Buller traveled to Congo for Leadership Support Network Seminars in March. After he returned safely to the U.S. at the end of March he shared these comments and photos from the seminars.
“We held the first two seminars in Mukedi & Kikwit on ‘Foundations of Transformational Leadership.’ These two photos are of the participants at both seminars. Each image is compiled from three separate images ‘stitched’ together.”
“We were hugely pleased that many of the leaders chose to bring their wives, and even some women came on their own. In both seminars, team members Antoinette Kiswangi Kuma and Mundedi Bercie spoke on the role of women in society (veiled title for ‘women in leadership’) that nearly brought the house down (was very well received)!”
The first photo at the top of the page of the leadership coaching team was taken back in Kinshasa during their final review of the two weeks of seminars. Charles said, “What a wonderful, talented, and dedicated team!”
Prayer Requests
“Albert Mulamba began his arduous journey by motorbike back to Tshikapa following the seminars. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers. Only 4 months ago he was making his way back from a church visit when a drunk was ‘planted’ on the road to jump into the path of his motorbike to cause an accident that the village would then try to pin on Albert. While Albert was seriously wounded in the collision, the drunk was not injured at all. The trap failed. These things are the unexpected surprises that can beset a traveler in Congo DRC. Again, thanks for keeping Albert in your prayers.”
Truly this is a reminder to pray for the safety of so many Christians and all of the leaders in these photos in particular since they are targeted. Pray also that these villagers would be led to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. May they come to see a better way to live and provide for families.
© 2016 Hope4Congo
Kalenga Andre was born at Ndjoko Punda in 1980. He went to both primary and secondary schools there. The following is his translated testimony edited for clarity:
In 1993 when I was thirteen years old I was baptized. My father died that same year (a rough time for me). From my baptism onward, my desire has been to serve God. I sang in the choir for two years beginning in 1994. After that I was elected Chorale Leader and served in that role for two additional years.
Mbombo Anne and I were married in 2002. My wife and I have six children, 3 boys and 3 girls.
I was devoted to my church at Ndjoko Punda and became a deacon in 2004. When Dr. David arrived to mentor the youth in Ndjoko Punda, I worked with him and was elected to be the President of the youth in our church. I also served as a steward at the hospital. So I had the opportunity to work closely with Dr. David in both capacities.
Stan and Brad Graber along with Fred Suter came to work on the Congo Water Project. It was my privilege to work as their Director here in Congo.
My heart’s attention is drawn to advance the good work of evangelization and develop our Congolese youth. I have been preparing toward implementing this desire through my studies. The reason I came to study in Kinshasa is because of my desire to know the mind of Christ and to share this knowledge with others.
History has proven through the work of the Congo Inland Mission in Ndjoko Punda (originally the area/district called Charlesville) and the American Mennonite Church that when the Good News is preached it will bear fruit. We are summoned to continue this legacy.
If Christians are awakened intellectually to study their Bibles they will see God’s Word provides the best way to live. I hope to raise awareness among the Christians in Ndjoko Punda in particular and in the larger district community in general.
Thank you Kalenga. It warms our hearts to read of your service from a young age and of your continued desire for growth. May God richly bless your studies and fulfill His desires for your ministry. May He also bless and protect your family.
***
Regarding future testimonies: We have been awaiting the arrival of Joseph’s testimony, another young man we’ve helped to support. However, we recently received word that he has been sick. Please join us in praying for Joseph’s recovery.
© 2016 Hope4Congo
Good news is all in our perspective. Sometimes it’s so close up that it might not seem like good news. We have to take a step back in order to see it.
We received a bit of Good News regarding the mission work of Baptist missionaries, Glen and Rita Chapman in Kikongo. The following edited excerpts are from the Chapman’s January 2016 letter:
Dear Friends,
As you (may) know, Kikongo has suffered from its isolation. A couple years ago, a small cell phone tower was installed at Fatundu, about 20 km. away. Even though Fatundu is in a valley, and so is Kikongo, it was discovered that there were hot spots up the hill in the grassland.
Recently, however, it was discovered that there is a hot spot right on our front porch. The signal is strongest right against our living room window. Now all hours of the day and night, people come to our house, right outside our bedroom to make phone calls.
Many of the youth cannot afford phone credits, so they call some friend to transfer credits. They have to leave their phone on right next to our window for the right moment when someone makes the transfer.
Our porch (complete with benches and shade) has become a real hangout. This gives us access to all the village news. People think we are so generous to provide them with a hot spot. The village elders don’t have hot spots at their houses. Only the missionary’s house has it. This gives an illusion of power and good will.
I have been threatening to shut the spot down, even though I have no idea why the blessing has fallen upon us and nowhere else in the village. For a while we took the benches off the porch, but people just brought their own chairs or sat on the cement porch.
We feel like we are living in a fish bowl, but people consider it their right to come to our house anytime.
New things swirled around us throughout 2015, mostly good changes.
We’ve come a long way since January of last year when we were dealing with all sorts of conflict on the station. The church was divided over a pastor leading a prophetic syncretistic splinter group. This year we managed to get control of the church. We now have a former student who is the strong pastor we have been looking for.
During the New Year’s celebration organized by the Scripture Union, one of the men known for his ties with sorcery, played the drum the whole night long at the prayer vigil. He declared that he wanted to begin the New Year differently.
On New Year’s Eve, when people typically get drunk, we came up with a different strategy to keep people off the streets. I began projecting on the soccer field as soon as it was getting dark. I projected a thriller movie: Anaconda. When the movie was over I joked that the only safe place to be on the station was at the church. Lights and instruments had been set up so that as the movie ended, the best place to be was the church. The strategy seemed to work.
We made it through the New Year’s celebration without much trouble. Some fishponds were harvested, so even though we did not have a Christmas cow this year, we still had tilapia for New Year’s dinner.
The biggest change at Kikongo is the new University. We graduated a small class of eight from the pastoral training program in June. In order to respond to the need around us, we moved the pastoral training up to a University Theology program and added two other majors: Agriculture Science, and Teacher training. Our enrollment immediately jumped to 80 for the three majors. Ten times the number we graduated in June. If you are a young person, Kikongo is the place to be!
We already have a solid infrastructure to build from. We have classrooms, dorms, and wireless internet. We have also made significant investment in furnishing the dorm rooms, and installing solar powered lighting in the classrooms.
We have to follow the government requirements for degree programs. This means that we have to bring professors from outside to provide instruction on a modular basis. Those who visit Kikongo are impressed with how far we have come in the first year. We have reversed the rural exodus, as youth from Kinshasa are coming to Kikongo to study.
You should hear the students boast about their university! We are being warned that in the fall, we will have more students than we can handle.
It is a real challenge to provide quality education in a Christian environment. Rita is still working with the families of those in the theology program. She is also the school librarian. I (Glen) am teaching Old Testament and Hebrew.
Last year at this time, it felt like we were losing control of the church, the women, the youth, the hospital and as always, we had difficulties with the government. Kikongo has really made a turn around and by God’s grace, the New Year offers hope for training and developing the future leaders of rural Congo.
Kikongo is the hot place to be in 2016!
Blessings from the Chapmans
***
What intriguing news—full of unspoken prayer requests and praises to God. Please remember the Chapmans in your prayers.
The powerful draw of their personal hot spot shows the cultural differences. It would be hard for most westerners to deal with people showing up at all hours and yet…it certainly looks like God has used it to increase His influence.
May God protect and encourage the Chapman family. May He be glorified in His work at Kikongo.
© 2016 Hope4Congo
Hope 4 Congo 
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