Ed and Miriam serve in a region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where over two-thirds of the population depends on agriculture for a living, and where chronic malnutrition limits the lives of children. Ed supports and advises Congolese Baptist church programs promoting more productive, profitable, and sustainable farming techniques. Miriam promotes church-based literacy programs and trains literacy teachers. They recently returned to Africa after spending a year on U.S. /Puerto Rico assignment.

Ed writes: One big opportunity for agricultural development should open up late this year.  The US government has committed over $30 million to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen local producers’ groups and increase the efficiencies of agricultural processing and marketing over the next five years.  The project focuses on Bandundu and Bas-Congo provinces, the regions where the Baptist church has the strongest presence.  We are praying that the investments will establish an effective agricultural extension program similar to what we have done at Lusekele over the last nine years and then work with common farmers to make further efficiency gains by working together. 

• Pray along with us that local church agriculture programs, like our own and the Mennonite program in Kikwit, will play a key role in making sure that investments are made where they will do the greatest good for common people.

While setting up house has consumed most of our time, opportunities for ministry have come our way.  Miriam has met with the area literacy supervisors to brainstorm how the program might continue and expand.  Mama Mbaba, one of the supervisors, turned up again today for a Sunday school seminar which Miriam attended as well.  They spent hour thinking about how to improve monitoring of local literacy classes.  I have participated in two oil palm growers’ meetings organized by ACDI Lusekele.  Many of the cooperating growers have no real living relationship with Christ – a significant drag on building healthy, more productive and sustainable rural communities.

Next week focus shifts from preparing a working base to deciding just how Miriam and I are to be involved in the Baptist church’s witness over the next few months. 

• Pray for us and the staff at Lusekele as we begin to review what has been done in the past year and think about what priorities God seems to be setting for the work this coming year. 
• Pray too for the Baptist Convention of Congo (CBCo) as more than a dozen candidates are campaigning for the post of General Secretary.  The association of Baptist churches badly needs a person of deep personal faith, a clear vision rooted in God’s leading, demonstrated administrative ability, and unshakeable integrity.  We can’t dictate to the Spirit of God, but we certainly can pray that the Spirit will sweep through the elective assembly to bring a renewing change to the Church.
• Pray for Ed and Miriam as they meet the needs of the people of Congo in the name of Jesus.