In our local dialect that means "HUG!!!" We use the word mostly when we welcome new visitors to our church. And, if I was asked for a description of the recent visit of 13 members of the Olive Drive Church in Bakersfield, CA, I would simply reply, "Yambi !!!"In this case one word just about says it all.

The group was welcomed with open arms at the airstrip in Kikongo. The pastor was there with choirs and members of the church. A group of students from the Pastor's Institute was there to welcome the visitors, as were the girls from both soccer teams in our village. It was a warm celebration with singing and dancing: the kind of welcome that you only see here and one you can never forget. Yambi!!!

The group came with several projects in mind. They built a much needed bridge that will help patients to reach the Kikongo Hospital. The group also repaired the church bell tower, which was damaged by rain. They worked on the hospital electrical system and repaired the operating room lights so that the doctor no longer has to do surgery by kerosene lantern. Everywhere they went the group was welcomed with open arms. Yambi !!!

The group also prepared a puppet presentation, which they showed in a local village and in the Sunday School classes at Kikongo. The puppets were animals much like in the African fables that are familiar here in our region. The message was that we need Jesus in our hearts to really be happy. More than 350 children and adults said, "Yambi" to Jesus and welcomed Him into their hearts. This was the most important "Yambi" that we witnessed here and one that will have eternal consequences. Yambi!!!

But, "yambi" also means "embrace". As we talked on the night before the group was to return to the US, several people expressed this idea: They felt "embraced" by their Congolese brothers and sisters. Someone else said that they felt that they had "connected" with the people here. Another said, "We came here expecting to minister to you, but we were loved instead."

In the end it's the love of Christ that makes all this possible.We can reach out and connect over cultural and language barriers because Jesus did it first. "We love because He first loved us." Because we've been accepted we can accept others. It was this acceptance and love that describes the group's experience here in Kikongo. Yambi !!!