Dear Friends,

I recently visited a Baptist church community on the outskirts of Kinshasa where we saw 600 school children, sitting on the floor because there were no desks.The children were crammed into cramped, dark class rooms, each student copying "lessons" from a piece of construction plywood which doubled as a black board onto a flimsy notebook propped somehow on his/her knee.Where do you begin to find solutions to critical needs such as this one?In another place, families lived with young children as squatters in remnants of buildings, having immigrated to the city in search of gainful employment, but finding increased hardship, malnutrition, and subhuman living conditions.So often, the needs overwhelm us.What would Jesus do??!

Within weeks of our arrival in Congo, Katherine discovered an enthusiastic group of lay people and doctors concerned by such situations of overwhelming need. Seeking lasting solutions, they were embarking on a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program, a program based on the CHE program of Medical Ambassadors International.Katherine suddenly found herself a key member of the team because while we were in Haiti, using CHE, she worked in several communities surrounding the Danda clinic through CHE.However, this initiative was the first of it's kind in Kinshasa.It's interesting how God puts together his teams! This group had a vision, but no experience with Community Health Evangelism.Katherine had experience from Haiti, but was a new-comer to the milieu here.

At the end of January, 24 Congolese Christian colleagues, from different communities in Kinshasa, and various walks of life, came together for a seminar in Community Health and Evangelism.For a week, they studied and discussed how to more effectively come beside people with a message of hope and health because of Jesus Christ.

A skit used in the seminar catalyses a discussion on aid and development.Two young people approach a crocodile invested river, hoping to cross to their village on the other side.A number of rocks might be stepping stones to aid these young people, but turbulent waters rush by, and neither can swim.A young man joins the two on the "banks" of the river, which is a chalk line on the floor.Familiar with the river and the it's dangers, he offers assistance.One young person climbs on his back, terrified because he cannot swim.The man picks his way across the chalk drawn stepping stones, dodging fierce crocodiles, and twice almost losing his footing.The two reach an "island" in the middle of the raging river.Back aching, the man returns for the second young person. He again narrowly escapes a disastrous fall into the raging river as he carries the second young person on his back.Now, the man is too exhausted to carry the first young person the rest of the way across the river, so he invites her to hold his hand and follow in his steps the remainder of the way.With flailing arm and trembling knees, she clings, and hesitantly steps forward, one rock at a time.Soon she gathers confidence, and they make it to the opposite shore.The second young person watches in consternation.Once safely on the opposite shore, the man presses on to the village but in leaving, encourages the first young person, to return and assist the second, since she successfully crossed the last bit of rapids on her own.Reluctantly, she starts back to the island on her own, arriving safely, and proceeds with greater confidence to guide her fearful friend safely to shore.

As always, the participants perform this skit with enthusiasm and dramatic flair.Then, fueled by ideas from the skit, we discuss development.Why is development important?How is it different from aid?Why are so many development projects short lived?Why do many fail?What promotes real change in communities?Where do you begin when the needs are so many?What were Jesus' priorities?Whom and how did he train others for God's kingdom work?These were some of the questions with which we grappled during the week long seminar.

Katherine and three others facilitated the workshop together.A Congolese physician from Mbuji Mai in the south east Congo, joined Katherine and the facilitating team.He has worked with community health evangelism for 14 years.He touched our hearts with testimonies of the effects community health evangelism has had in his area of the country.When people come to know the Lord, they live more peacefully and work better together.Villagers are surprised how much less fighting and theft there is when the gospel works in people's hearts.

At the end of the seminar, we prayed over each other and the needy communities to which each was returning with a vision of what God can do through God's word and the collective efforts of God's servants.One group of young people will return to their remarkable work with HIV positive people in Kinshasa.

• Might God touch the communities where these people live with HIV, enabling them to help share the burden of care for HIV with the families affected?

Another pastor and nurse return to a community on the extremely eroded terrain below a district of plush homes in the suburb of Ma Campagne.Can God, through them, give people a vision for planting trees to protect their land, and the discipline to carry out their intentions?A doctor and two others are returning to their work at the health center of Kintambo, challenged by the number of children with malnutrition who come daily from the slum of Camp Luka.

• With God's help, can they begin to understand what is at the roots of the problems of malnutrition, and see the Gospel change the way people live?

Prayer Requests:

• As the Lord brings the work in Congo to your mind, pray for these individuals as they share their vision for the transforming power of the gospel with others.They face extreme poverty, indifference, hostility, and a serious lack of health care, clean water, adequate sanitation, garbage removal, and many basic necessities of life.
• Pray for Katherine and the coordinating team as they visit, encourage, and follow up on those working in these communities. These brave servants of God know that healing for their nation and prosperity for their people will not come from aid from afar, but from people deciding to seriously follow the word of the Lord, and work together to restore their land.

God bless you,

Katherine