Greetings from the snowy Chicago suburbs, where I'm serving as missionary-in-residence at Judson University during my US/Puerto Rico assignment! The weather is pretty overwhelmening for me, since I call myself a cross between a desert rat (I grew up in Las Vegas) and a tropical house plant (I work in the Congo). In spite of the cold, I'm enjoying teaching a cultural anthropology class at Judson, and when it gets a bit warmer, I'll be speaking in churches about what the Lord is doing in the Congo.

I have time these days to think about some of the wonderful people who have touched my life in the Congo. Let me tell you about one exceptional family.

Henri and Ruth grew up in a Congolese village, not far from the mighty Congo River. When they started courting in the early 1980's, no one told them that it would be unwise for them to get married and have children. As they started their family, Henri became well-known as a Christian singer, composer and choir director, challenging his friends and neighbors to follow Christ. The couple has four children: twin boys, Treasure and Hope, now in their 20's, and two teenagers, a boy Elisha, and a girl Mada.

Henri and Ruth Lembe, and all of their children, are afflicted with retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition which causes a person to become progressively blind. Henri and Ruth had completely lost their sight by the time they got married. Their children had the gift of sight when they were young, and the whole family worked together in their fields and doing other household tasks.

Before Henri moved to the capital city Kinshasa in the 1990's, he had never heard of the Braille alphabet, so he didn't know that a blind person like himself could learn to read. When he made that marvelous discovery, he eagerly began learning, and did his best to teach his wife and children on the rare occasions when he returned to the village.

The entire family moved to Kinshasa in 2003, to enable the younger children to go to a special school for the blind. Now, the twins are almost completely blind, and the two teenagers have almost finished elementary school, learning Braille and other skills as their night vision and peripheral vision begin to decrease. They are preparing for the day when they, too, will lose their sight.

What is surprising about this amazing family? Just this: Every time I visit them, I think that I am going to 'bless' them in some way; but it is the other way around. Their profound Christian faith, trusting God even when life is most difficult, is always a tremendous encouragement to me. The whole family sings together, laughs together, and shows the warmth of Christian love to everyone who comes to their home.

One of my favorite songs that Henri has written is about the apostle Peter, when he denied the Lord: 'Peter, you've listened to Jesus teach, you've seen him heal the sick, you've walked on the water with him. How could you deny him?' The last verse is addressed to the listener: 'Don't be so self-righteous and quick to judge Peter. Haven't you seen Jesus at work in your life; yet don't you deny him too? Don't deny him; follow him!'

People who are disabled in any way are often marginalized in Congolese society, and many become beggars. Pray for them, that they will find ways to earn an honorable living. Pray for the church, that members will not be afraid to reach out to the disabled and welcome them into the fellowship of believers.

May the Lord bless all of you in this new year 2008!

In Christ,

Wendy