Dear Praying Friends,

Our senior class of 4 students and their spouses celebrated graduation from the Bible Institute in Kimpese at the end of June.Please pray for them, left to right in the back row of the picture, between B.I.. Director Pastor Ruben Mumpasi and myself, with wives of the three men in front:

Emerson Nsasi is a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Community, and will return with his family to minister in Kinshasa.His wife gave birth to twins soon after he started pastoral studies.

Antoine Kuama is from the sister church of the British Baptist Missionary Society.He and his wife will minister in a rural area, near where the first Congolese Baptist convert was baptized in the 1880s.

Gertrude Mbenza, from our sister church the Congo Baptist Community (CBCO) is married to a pastor, and the two of them will minister in their home region, near the Atlantic coast.

George Buanda is also a member of CBCO .His wife learned to read while at the Women's School.They will serve in a rural area, not far from Kinshasa.(The two CBCO students, Gertrude and George, both graduated with honors!)

Gertrude Mbenza receives her diploma and gift books from visiting dignitaries, the director of the Kimpese rural health zone (SANRU III), and the mayor of Kimpese.Gertrude's husband is behind her, coming out to offer congratulations!

The political climate in the Congo remains tense as these new pastors begin their ministries, but citizens are hopeful as they begin registering to vote in presidential elections.There were rumors in Kinshasa that violent demonstrations would accompany Congolese Independence Day celebrations on June 30, but apart from isolated incidents, the situation in general remained calm.We continue to hear horror stories of massacres in the eastern part of the country, about 2000 miles from where we are.Pray for those who are affected by war and violence!

Now that school is out, I'm so busy with other activities that I wonder how I ever found time to prepare lessons and teach!I've added a second twice-weekly program at Radio Bangu: "Biblical Panorama" is an attempt to give a biblical answer to sectarian teachings which are spreading in our area.An AIDS seminar, the CBCO retreat in Minkelo, occasional trips to Kinshasa, and mediating a conflict within the church takes lots of time!Please pray!

Blessings,

Wendy