Dear friends and partners in ministry and service:
With the start of the new calendar year we are finally finding some time for SUMMARZING and REFLECTING upon our use of funds, which you have sent for our ministry. (This report does not include monies given for special ministries such as Vacation Church School.)
We enjoyed visiting with many of you while we were in the States, between July of 2002 and May of 2003. The consequence is that there were fewer projects than some other years when we were here a full 12 months.
Included is an overview list of all the projects in which we have been involved. We are delighted to note that for several there was "no new activity" this last year, (therefore no expense) because they are either "up and running", (Clothing coop) or were low priority (Community cistern).
We hope you enjoy the "UPDATES" detailing some of the blessings and the challenges!
What PRIORITIES do we have for this year? Our biggest challenges are with the Miniature Palm Tree economic development project, and Ram pump replacement/well repairs.
YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT ARE MUCH APPRECIATED!!
Shalom,
Virgil and Lynn Nelson
2003 PROJECTS UPDATE
PEACEMAKING and PALM TREES PLANTING IN CONFLICT?
Over 36 groups have now planted at least 50 palm trees, with the intial 8 groups now managing 500 plants each. Saturday Feb. 14th was to have been a TRAINING DAY (and tool distribution) for the 28 NEW groups added last year, to encourage them.
On Wednesay night the 11th, I was invited to go to Kinshasa for conference on "Leadership, Peace, and Reconciliation." To arrive in time, I would have to leave in two days, on Friday the 13th, a day before the Palm Project meeting! What a "values clash" for me - two of the areas of vital importance happening at the SAME time!
The Palm Project Chairman was CONFIDENT that he and the committe could handle the Saturday training meeting WITHOUT ME, and they did! Over 65 enthusiastic representatives attended, and the training and distribution of tools went well. In fact, my absence from the meeting was in many ways very positive. It continues to reinforce the fact that the Palm Project is not "Mr. Nelson's" or "the missionary's", but belongs to us the Congolaise! (My very "presence" can still trigger the old pattern of complaining/ demanding that the missionary "magically" solve all of the problems.)
In 2003, 3,000 seedings were planted. This year, we hope to add another 6,000. This will allow for 30 NEW groups, each planting 50 trees, while the older groups will add 150 each. After 4 years, this base will generate between $700 and $900 yearly, from the palm oil, and each group WILL REPAY the costs of the seeds and tools, into a REVOLVING LOAN FUND to foster further agricultural development. So the funds given now, WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD THE FUTURE.
PEACE CONFERENCE: "Leadership, Peace, and Reconciliation."
One NEW project added to our "list" in 2003, was the hope for ongoing training in peacemaking, reconciliation, non-violence, and conflict transformation. These goals are shared by the All Africa Baptist Fellowship, along with our partners CBCO and other Fellowships of Baptists in the DRC.
In Kinshasa from Feb. 17-21, over 50 representatives from 5 central African countries (Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, Ghana, and the DRC) met to study and plan for the future leadership needs in these vital areas. Discussions and recommendations included suggestions: for the creation/revision of seminary curriculum, training of pastors and laity, men and women, youth; and ideas on the role of individual congregations and church bodies in the "public arena" of politics, government, and society in general.
With representatives from Rwanda, and the D.R. Congo, there was excellent (and at times heated) discussion and debate over the issues between the two countries, and the "realities at the local levels" in comparison with the "talk' at the political tables.
One concrete decision was the formation of a "Fellowship of Baptists in the D. R. Congo." This newly forming group will provide a means for long overdue dialogue and planning between over 20 different Baptist groups working in the DRC.
While I had no direct role in the planning of this conference, it provided the basis for CONCRETE planning with the CBCO leadership for training workshops to be held later this year or early next year. We ARE INVITING Dan Buttry, our seasoned IM Global Specialist in Peacemaking and Conflict Transformation, as our trainer.
RAM PUMP REPLACEMENT and water system repairs:
We had hoped that this project would be funded through the World Bank, but after over a year of waiting, it was not. Tragically, all of the files prepared for that application were lost, and the computer disc sent to the World Back had not been copied. So the project's "collective memory" was lost while we were in the States.
Of the original budget estimate of $15,000, we have $4,750 absolutely secured, which can be used as a local match. With the Health Zone, the local committee is continuing to try to "re-create" the details of the "system" and the proposal, so that it can be submitted again to other potential donors.
PASTORAL SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL/DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS:
1. CHICKEN HATCHERY: "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched."
When we left Kikongo for the States July of 2002, this project seemed poised for success, with a stock of 50 adult hens and 5 cocks, and sufficient supplies to allow a three-month transition as the egg hatching process was to begin. An incubator had been purchased, and if the hens gave only HALF of the anticipated number of eggs possible, we were estimating 750 eggs a month with 250 going into the incubation system, and the others being sold to local folk to "place under their laying chickens."
We returned in July 2003 to find 12 adult hens and 2 cocks. Obviously the project was fraught with problems and mis-management, and after our return, the Agricultural- Development director was fired. A new project committee has been formed, and it is now trying to "re-build" the stock, using local "methods". If egg production can be increased sufficiently, the incubator will be used again.
2. MICRO-ENTERPRISES: Students are continuing to fabricate "samples" of products which we hope to sell in Kinshasa to help them earn a portion of their school fees. So far we are experimenting with fiber floor/door mats, zaga-zaga's (a shaker used in worship), and wooden crosses. Other possibilities: art cards, wooden wheel barrows, and knives.
CORN GRINDING MILL BACK IN SERVICE (ALMOST):
The Corn grinding mill arrived back in Kikongo in December, after a one and one half year trip of over 10,000 miles for repairs in the USA. There were MANY miracles in the transportation of this 80-pound mill, and its repair. While the company who manufactured the mill would not honor its product, LEHMAN'S CATALOG's owner G. Lehman, contributed $500 to help with the costs of repairs and shipping. (They HONOR their customers!)
After a week of service, one of the two grinding stones came "loose" from the drive shaft, and we have just received an e-mail telling us the exact placement so it can be re-attached. SO, we hope that this week, it will be up and running again!
TWO NEW LIBRARIES ESTABLISHED:
There's a "captive" audience at the hospital who need encouragement and diversion, and also students in the Nursing Program who need medical book resources. We have gathered books and are funding 3 part-time staff for the new hospital site. In a neighboring village, books are secured in a locked box and taken to the church each Friday and Sunday for people of all ages to explore its treasurers. A storyteller animates stories to the room full of children. There is talk among the leaders of starting a regular Sunday school! With these two new sites, there are 5 libraries now functioning. Books continue to be translated into the local language. With your help we are striving to increase readership!
SEWING AND CLOTHING COOPERATIVES:
The sewing machine has been WELL USED to make school uniforms for sale at prices "below the market" to families who are desperate to send their children to school but cannot afford the uniform. The machine has been sold to one of the members, and is now fully paid for, so the next machine can be purchased to continue the cycle. Your gifts have allowed purchase of fabric when it is "on-sale" in Kinshasa.
The CLOTHING PURCHASING COOPERATIVE continued to function well during our absence, and just this month received another "bale" of used clothing from Kinshasa. This time they chose to buy a bale of t-shirts, to be re-sold at reduced prices here in the village. The coordinating committe always recovers enough to purchase the next bale(s), but has not yet caught our vision as to this being a "ministry" with the widows and orphans who cannot afford to pay "at all" for clothing. Still, it is a major step toward making much needed clothing available at affordable prices.
REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS EXPANDED: (MICRO-ENTERPRISE PROJECTS)
A new "level" of revolving loan fund was added this year: $300 was made available to the five organizations/departments in the village for projects they might wish to start to increase their financial resources. The recently formed non-profit agriculture association is administering this new fund.
The "OLD FUNDS" supervised by the local church development commitee have had a mixed level of success. The WOMEN'S group HAS recycled their $150, 6 or 8 times in loans of up to $50. The MEN'S group made one large loan of $150, and has yet to collect. So they are blocked until they are willing to resolve the collection issues.
UNIVERSITY of KINSHASA: CHAOS CONTINUES:
Despite the gradually increasing stablity provided by the "Transition Government", the University of Kinshasa system is in chaos. Since the faculty is not being paid in a timely fashion, students are demanded to pay the professor directly for grading homework and for grading exams, etc. The calendar of the school year is constantly in flux as well, with the beginning and endings of semesters constantly being re-adjusted.