"Women: Partners with Christ" was the theme of the Central Africa Baptist Women's Conference, held from August 16 to 20, 2004, in Kinshasa, in collaboration with the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the All Africa Baptist Fellowship (AABF). Women from ten Baptist denominations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo hosted their sisters from Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the "other" Congo (just across the river), as well as AABF women's officers from Nigeria and Zimbabwe. It was the first time such a conference took place in Kinshasa, and the women are to be congratulated for their organizational efforts!

The atmosphere was electric as nearly 3000 women gathered on Monday morning near the national soccer stadium, the beginning of a half-mile parade to the Protestant Centennial Cathedral. Lively songs and cheers could be heard up and down the streets, as Baptist women celebrated their unity and joy in Christ.

At the Cathedral, Kinshasa pastor and AABF president Dr. André Bokondua, officially opened the conference. The rest of the meetings were held at a nearby Protestant high school, with 185 women in attendance. Fellowship was deep, as the women shared experiences and wrestled with what it means to be a faithful partner with Christ in a continent ravaged by war, famine, poverty and disease, where women and children are often the primary victims. Fervent prayer was offered for solutions to problems such as evangelism, unemployment, the economy, government instability, coming elections in the DR Congo and other countries, education, street children, and AIDS.

Rev. Maguy Pikini, a pastor in our sister convention the Western Congo Baptist Community and director of the Providence Nutrition Center for disadvantaged children in Kinshasa, addressed her sisters in Christ on the theme of "Women: victims of violence," based on the story of the rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon. My main role at the conference, along with a British Baptist missionary, was to translate messages from French into English, and vice versa, for the benefit of the women who didn't know both languages.

The ladies were challenged to attend the BWA Women's Conference in Birmingham, England, in July 2005, where the theme will be "Seeing with new eyes." It's always enriching when Christians from many lands get together, share experiences, pray, and propose solutions to their common problems. Pray that many African women will be able to go to England next summer.

May the Lord bless you richly, as you approach the Thanksgiving season in the U.S. We have frequent Thanksgiving services here in the Congo, as local churches set aside time to rejoice and thank the Lord for all His blessings.

In Christ,

Wendy