more journals written from the DR Congo ...
We went to a wedding today…all day! Gosh, it was amazing, but the longest wedding service I have ever been to! The service started at 10, and finished at 5.30pm. It was such a beautiful day. The bride looked so beautiful, as did her little bridesmaids. The little church was beautifully and creatively decorated with toilet paper. The bride didn’t smile all day.. a cultural thing.
I know women all over Africa carry heavy things on their backs, but I have never seen anything like it here before. The women carry great big bags of coal that rise up metres up over their heads. They are almost bent double. My friend gave one of the women a dollar and she was so happy that she threw her bag onto the floor and did a dance on the street with such a joyous smile! It looked like she had won the lottery. It was such a blessing.
So we set off through the heart of the jungle to go our destination village. I cannot explain the state of the roads.. I will try to attach photos. You can hardly describe them as roads.. simply trenches. The trenches often were as deep as my waist. We got stuck so many times. We would manage to get the truck free out of one rutt, and then 10metres down, we would get stuck again. There was so much digging, pushing and shovelling (and taking of photos..) When you rent a car in the Congo, don’t expect to actually use it.. We walked most of the way through the jungle, with a wet baby tied onto my back! haha. One car got stuck so bad there was nothing we could do – we just had to leave it! And came back the next day, to tow it. This was just a time when you really need the joy of the Lord, or otherwise you would just die! It was hilarious. I laughed so hard! The actual mission when we got there was so worth it. The people had been waiting in their church for us for 2 days. We fed the whole village with beans and rice and carried out a couple services there. Many people got healed – I prayed for a deaf man who immediately got healed! The next day,all the women came to me with all their babies, and they wanted me to pray for them. I had the amazing priviledge of praying for so many little babes… some of them so malnourished and sick, breaking off witchcraft curses and fetishes that many of them had.
Congo is beyond anything I have ever seen or experienced before. Please continue to pray for this country, that is in such a desperate state still, with so much corruption, and still has so much remnants of the war left. There are UN people everywhere, army men with ak-47 guns everywhere. We actually got threatened once. We were coming out of the jungle, and a load of army men asked us for money, after saying no, the guy thumped the man sitting right opposite me, and automatically lifted his gun up. Praise God we were all fine.
I look forward to chatting more to you all now I am back, and catching up with all that God has been doing in your lives too. Please pray for me as I decide what I need to do next. I have a lot of decisions to make. Thank you so much for all your continued support, love and prayers. I am overwhelmed by the love I have received from you all. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends! I love you xx
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Praise Jesus!
Hi everyone
We made it! Am safely in Nairobi now. We arrived back from the Congo yesterday, after staying a night in Rwanda (in the actual hotel based from the film, ‘hotel rwanda’… very strange). Man. The trip was absolutely off the scale. Thank you all so much for praying – it was so important to be covered by my brothers and sisters around the world! It was a tough trip, but God is so much bigger and his glory came! I hand wrote some blogs, and have started to write them up. Here are the first few.. i have so much to write about, but will probably do the rest when i get home. Here is a taster of this part of the world..
23rd August.
We arrive in Rwanda. I can notice the tension already – with all the army men with their big ak47s. They wont even let me walk to some areas outside, and are all very on edge. Rolland points out that right now we are actually in the middle of the worst massacre of African history, which happened just over 10 years ago in 1994.
I am now writing this from the ‘hotel rwanda’, although its not actually called that. This was the hotel that was a refuge for many people during the massacre in 1994, with the fighting that happened. I dread to think what has even happened in this very room I am staying in!
24th August
We finally arrive in Congo! The drive from Rwanda was so beautiful. We drove for hours along amazingly windy roads, amongst the mountains. I cant wait to show you photos. Its breathtaking. As soon as we got to the border, you could immediately feel the difference! The roads are so unimaginably awful – we havent been along 10 metres of paved road at all. As soon as we got across the border, the church we were visiting were waiting for us and were dancing and singing, and playing the newspaper-horns so beautifully! Apparently they had been waiting all day. They had been fasting and praying for us to come for such a long time. It is so humbling to receive their welcome. I saw one man cry as he welcomed Darryl. I am truly humbled. The heart’s cry for more of Jesus is so deep. They are desperate for Jesus. I was so overcome by Jesus’ love and the passion of these people of Jesus. I weeped and weeped! They are so blessed with his presence, which was so strong in that place. There were people singing and dancing with all their hearts, children, some as young as 3 kneeling in awe of God, people falling under the power of God.
Love you all, see you so soon! xx
We made it! Am safely in Nairobi now. We arrived back from the Congo yesterday, after staying a night in Rwanda (in the actual hotel based from the film, ‘hotel rwanda’… very strange). Man. The trip was absolutely off the scale. Thank you all so much for praying – it was so important to be covered by my brothers and sisters around the world! It was a tough trip, but God is so much bigger and his glory came! I hand wrote some blogs, and have started to write them up. Here are the first few.. i have so much to write about, but will probably do the rest when i get home. Here is a taster of this part of the world..
23rd August.
We arrive in Rwanda. I can notice the tension already – with all the army men with their big ak47s. They wont even let me walk to some areas outside, and are all very on edge. Rolland points out that right now we are actually in the middle of the worst massacre of African history, which happened just over 10 years ago in 1994.
I am now writing this from the ‘hotel rwanda’, although its not actually called that. This was the hotel that was a refuge for many people during the massacre in 1994, with the fighting that happened. I dread to think what has even happened in this very room I am staying in!
24th August
We finally arrive in Congo! The drive from Rwanda was so beautiful. We drove for hours along amazingly windy roads, amongst the mountains. I cant wait to show you photos. Its breathtaking. As soon as we got to the border, you could immediately feel the difference! The roads are so unimaginably awful – we havent been along 10 metres of paved road at all. As soon as we got across the border, the church we were visiting were waiting for us and were dancing and singing, and playing the newspaper-horns so beautifully! Apparently they had been waiting all day. They had been fasting and praying for us to come for such a long time. It is so humbling to receive their welcome. I saw one man cry as he welcomed Darryl. I am truly humbled. The heart’s cry for more of Jesus is so deep. They are desperate for Jesus. I was so overcome by Jesus’ love and the passion of these people of Jesus. I weeped and weeped! They are so blessed with his presence, which was so strong in that place. There were people singing and dancing with all their hearts, children, some as young as 3 kneeling in awe of God, people falling under the power of God.
Love you all, see you so soon! xx
Friday, 24 August 2007
Heather's Mum says: This is the email Heather referred to yesterday.
Hi everyone. Arrived safely in Kigali - just waiting at the airport now to go to Congo. We just received this latest report from Pastor Joseph in the Congo. It’s a horrible story, and I just ask you please to pray for this country. For the women who are being raped, killed, abused. For the starving children, for the dying. Please pray for them. Please pray for us.
“Every time I leave to Mozambique , I get a new anointment and my life changes. I come back new, with new vision and more faith for doing things which seemingly were madness. When I left Beline from the Staff Conference of IRIS-held on 2-5 June 2007 and which awakened me much, I went to Pemba then left on 24th of the same month. That whole month I was touched by the Lord. My wife was pregnant and expecting to deliver. July 2, 2007 was for us a challenge. We left Maputo on 26 June 2007 and reached Bukavu on 28 June 2007 and Josephine delivered on 2 July 2007 as we expected, even though with difficulty, but God helped us. Assisting Josephine, my wife, and doing the work of God made me too busy.
We had already planned the Conference of our churches for women, five women from each church. Especially those women who were victims of rape and inhuman or wild deeds. We comforted them with the word of
God. From 12 to 15 July 2007, 203 women attended the Women’s
conference and it was a blessing. The following is some women’s
witness.
THEREZI related how she was kidnapped and taken to the jungle by rebels. They were nine women. She said they were daily raped by more than seven men and other terrible things. Some women were shot.
These women are very weak, hungry, without clothes. They are
also suffering from sexually transmitted diseases and have no medicine. While we were listening to their witness, tears ran out of
our eyes. Our wish is that we can think together in order to assist these women to comfort and enable them to go on living and care for their children who are in hardship.
We have therefore thought of starting, without any delay a
various training programme for these women. This will include tailoring, sweater making, handicraft, illiterate adult education, carpentry. Machines, cloth, sewing, threads and teachers are needed for this purpose. One woman who attended the conference was touched and then offered to us her sewing machine. We have started already with that but still more are needed.
On the other hand, there is the orphans problem. Many children are dying because of hunger. Even adults are dying. Please do not abandon us! You are brethren, as the world is, please do not forget
R.D.Congo.
By faith, we are now caring for twenty orphans who are really
suffering from malnutrition. But the end of August, if we have care
takers, these children will be accommodated at the church and cared for. We therefore need your prayers.
NOTE: Whenever the mother has a problem, the children’s life is
affected.
On August 6, 2007 we opened our Bible School for pastors who
despite of hunger or loss of their wives or children because of war and starvation, are willing to listen to the word of God and get comforted. Our request! 72 pastors have already arrived, others have transport fare problem. But 100 are expected.
They are worried buy their families left at home without food.
Others have no Bibles
Still others have neither notebooks nor pens.
They are sleeping on the cold floor without mattresses. Our request is to get mattresses. The cost is 30 $ US each.
Water and electricity are very useful.
These planning are finally making our request. As we could meet a total person; a heart, body and mind. We need you so much to come to assist by any means as you can. There is a lot of work but there are a few workers.”
Pastor Joseph and Josephine
Hi everyone. Arrived safely in Kigali - just waiting at the airport now to go to Congo. We just received this latest report from Pastor Joseph in the Congo. It’s a horrible story, and I just ask you please to pray for this country. For the women who are being raped, killed, abused. For the starving children, for the dying. Please pray for them. Please pray for us.
“Every time I leave to Mozambique , I get a new anointment and my life changes. I come back new, with new vision and more faith for doing things which seemingly were madness. When I left Beline from the Staff Conference of IRIS-held on 2-5 June 2007 and which awakened me much, I went to Pemba then left on 24th of the same month. That whole month I was touched by the Lord. My wife was pregnant and expecting to deliver. July 2, 2007 was for us a challenge. We left Maputo on 26 June 2007 and reached Bukavu on 28 June 2007 and Josephine delivered on 2 July 2007 as we expected, even though with difficulty, but God helped us. Assisting Josephine, my wife, and doing the work of God made me too busy.
We had already planned the Conference of our churches for women, five women from each church. Especially those women who were victims of rape and inhuman or wild deeds. We comforted them with the word of
God. From 12 to 15 July 2007, 203 women attended the Women’s
conference and it was a blessing. The following is some women’s
witness.
THEREZI related how she was kidnapped and taken to the jungle by rebels. They were nine women. She said they were daily raped by more than seven men and other terrible things. Some women were shot.
These women are very weak, hungry, without clothes. They are
also suffering from sexually transmitted diseases and have no medicine. While we were listening to their witness, tears ran out of
our eyes. Our wish is that we can think together in order to assist these women to comfort and enable them to go on living and care for their children who are in hardship.
We have therefore thought of starting, without any delay a
various training programme for these women. This will include tailoring, sweater making, handicraft, illiterate adult education, carpentry. Machines, cloth, sewing, threads and teachers are needed for this purpose. One woman who attended the conference was touched and then offered to us her sewing machine. We have started already with that but still more are needed.
On the other hand, there is the orphans problem. Many children are dying because of hunger. Even adults are dying. Please do not abandon us! You are brethren, as the world is, please do not forget
R.D.Congo.
By faith, we are now caring for twenty orphans who are really
suffering from malnutrition. But the end of August, if we have care
takers, these children will be accommodated at the church and cared for. We therefore need your prayers.
NOTE: Whenever the mother has a problem, the children’s life is
affected.
On August 6, 2007 we opened our Bible School for pastors who
despite of hunger or loss of their wives or children because of war and starvation, are willing to listen to the word of God and get comforted. Our request! 72 pastors have already arrived, others have transport fare problem. But 100 are expected.
They are worried buy their families left at home without food.
Others have no Bibles
Still others have neither notebooks nor pens.
They are sleeping on the cold floor without mattresses. Our request is to get mattresses. The cost is 30 $ US each.
Water and electricity are very useful.
These planning are finally making our request. As we could meet a total person; a heart, body and mind. We need you so much to come to assist by any means as you can. There is a lot of work but there are a few workers.”
Pastor Joseph and Josephine
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Am in Rwanda
Hi
Arrived safely in Kigali, Rwanda. Stayed all day in the airport.. but going to leave in a minute. Am safe and well! Sent some of you an email, describing the reality of the suffering in the Congo,- didnt have time to send it to everyone as am really rushed here, but for those of you who did receive it please feel free to forward it on. Please pray for the Congolese, and for our team. God bless you all.
Arrived safely in Kigali, Rwanda. Stayed all day in the airport.. but going to leave in a minute. Am safe and well! Sent some of you an email, describing the reality of the suffering in the Congo,- didnt have time to send it to everyone as am really rushed here, but for those of you who did receive it please feel free to forward it on. Please pray for the Congolese, and for our team. God bless you all.
Friday, 17 August 2007
hi all,
I managed to get online quickly and i really just wanted to say how blown away i am by all of you. Thank you so much for all your prayers, email and encouragements. It means so much to me and reminds me of Jesus' love even more. Isnt the body of Christ great! That we are all one - working for the kingdom. Thank you so much for those who have felt called to support the Congo trip financially. I have been completely blown away by your generosity and i know it is going to be such a blessing to the Congolese people. I cant tell you how grateful i am. thank you so much for sewing into this kingdom work.
God bless,
Heather
I managed to get online quickly and i really just wanted to say how blown away i am by all of you. Thank you so much for all your prayers, email and encouragements. It means so much to me and reminds me of Jesus' love even more. Isnt the body of Christ great! That we are all one - working for the kingdom. Thank you so much for those who have felt called to support the Congo trip financially. I have been completely blown away by your generosity and i know it is going to be such a blessing to the Congolese people. I cant tell you how grateful i am. thank you so much for sewing into this kingdom work.
God bless,
Heather
Thursday, 16 August 2007
16th August 2007
Dear everyone,
Thank you all so much for all your prayers and emails – they mean so much to me I cant explain! Its so encouraging to hear from you. Congo trip is fully going ahead – all flights booked now, after much fight from the enemy – but of course God is bigger! Haha. I’m so excited. Its so quiet here on the base now – all the pastors have finished their school, and all of the holy given students, except me and 3 others have gone! It was very sad to say goodbye to everyone – I cried SO much! Patty I miss you I love you! I cant believe you are not here anymore. (Have bonded with Jacinto - can you believe it! haha. he is waiting for me at the gate of the hotel.. i am using internet here)
But its really nice in a way because now I have lots of time to spend with just Jesus. It’s very peaceful – which anyone who has been to Iris will know, is very unusual.. its usually so busy, full of missionaries, students, Iris children, village children, pastors..
Anyway, today I had the opportunity to go to Miassy, a new Iris base not far away. It’s a new model of a base, and is what Iris is hoping to do more now in the future. Well, its not really a base – it is a village that Iris has sort of taken under its wing, and a small team go there a couple of times a week to encourage, help with food and do medical care etc, and just to love on the kids. The main aim is to build up and support the actual Mozambicans with skills etc. so that it is sustainable – supporting the locals to lead, and giving them actual practical ways to break the cycle of poverty, rather than just helping with short-term problems. So they are training them in different things, such as growing food, chicken farms, medically, discipleship, giving money towards children to go to school etc. Its so great to see what has happened in the village. In the past 16 months, where children were apparently severely malnourished, ALL had scabies, ALL with worms, the children look so healthy, with very little signs of scabies and bloated bellies. The church has grown massively where it is just as packed outside the church as in, and where people are so hungry for Jesus. There really is so much peace in the village, and the children are just so gentle and loving. The village is a real sign of God’s kingdom coming in Mozambique!
This is probably the last time I will update before I go to the Congo, so here are some prayer requests:
• I would become more intimate with Jesus, that I would fall more and more in love with him and that I would lead others to loving Jesus.
• That God would use us for his glory in all things; that we would be a blessing and be blessed. Signs and wonders – for God’s glory to be shown! I have a real heart to see blind eyes opening!
• Protection, safety, favour with visas, flights would all be ok
• Funds – that God would provide everything we need
• FUN!
• Unity within the team
• That God would use this time to reveal more about my future and direction in ministry
Wow – I just read an email from Chris and he said, ‘Jesus loves you so much that you would be overwhelmed if you knew the extent of it’. WOW! I am so overwhelmed by his love. Imagine knowing more of His love, and then more! We will never get to the end of his love for us. It is more than anything! Everything is about Him and his unfathamable love for us. I have been so overwhelmed by his love recently that all I have been able to pray is about his love.
Im so excited for you cornwollians and Trinitarians coming to cornwall for the mission! I am praying. Its so exciting. Bless you guys. Hannah – you’re amazing. Im excited for you to get to know my Trinitarian friends, and vice versa. I have heard lots of good things about new wine too – that’s so cool. Am glad you all had a great time. Am coming home to England on the 3rd of September.. man its going to be strange… I cant wait to see you all again though!
xx
Dear everyone,
Thank you all so much for all your prayers and emails – they mean so much to me I cant explain! Its so encouraging to hear from you. Congo trip is fully going ahead – all flights booked now, after much fight from the enemy – but of course God is bigger! Haha. I’m so excited. Its so quiet here on the base now – all the pastors have finished their school, and all of the holy given students, except me and 3 others have gone! It was very sad to say goodbye to everyone – I cried SO much! Patty I miss you I love you! I cant believe you are not here anymore. (Have bonded with Jacinto - can you believe it! haha. he is waiting for me at the gate of the hotel.. i am using internet here)
But its really nice in a way because now I have lots of time to spend with just Jesus. It’s very peaceful – which anyone who has been to Iris will know, is very unusual.. its usually so busy, full of missionaries, students, Iris children, village children, pastors..
Anyway, today I had the opportunity to go to Miassy, a new Iris base not far away. It’s a new model of a base, and is what Iris is hoping to do more now in the future. Well, its not really a base – it is a village that Iris has sort of taken under its wing, and a small team go there a couple of times a week to encourage, help with food and do medical care etc, and just to love on the kids. The main aim is to build up and support the actual Mozambicans with skills etc. so that it is sustainable – supporting the locals to lead, and giving them actual practical ways to break the cycle of poverty, rather than just helping with short-term problems. So they are training them in different things, such as growing food, chicken farms, medically, discipleship, giving money towards children to go to school etc. Its so great to see what has happened in the village. In the past 16 months, where children were apparently severely malnourished, ALL had scabies, ALL with worms, the children look so healthy, with very little signs of scabies and bloated bellies. The church has grown massively where it is just as packed outside the church as in, and where people are so hungry for Jesus. There really is so much peace in the village, and the children are just so gentle and loving. The village is a real sign of God’s kingdom coming in Mozambique!
This is probably the last time I will update before I go to the Congo, so here are some prayer requests:
• I would become more intimate with Jesus, that I would fall more and more in love with him and that I would lead others to loving Jesus.
• That God would use us for his glory in all things; that we would be a blessing and be blessed. Signs and wonders – for God’s glory to be shown! I have a real heart to see blind eyes opening!
• Protection, safety, favour with visas, flights would all be ok
• Funds – that God would provide everything we need
• FUN!
• Unity within the team
• That God would use this time to reveal more about my future and direction in ministry
Wow – I just read an email from Chris and he said, ‘Jesus loves you so much that you would be overwhelmed if you knew the extent of it’. WOW! I am so overwhelmed by his love. Imagine knowing more of His love, and then more! We will never get to the end of his love for us. It is more than anything! Everything is about Him and his unfathamable love for us. I have been so overwhelmed by his love recently that all I have been able to pray is about his love.
Im so excited for you cornwollians and Trinitarians coming to cornwall for the mission! I am praying. Its so exciting. Bless you guys. Hannah – you’re amazing. Im excited for you to get to know my Trinitarian friends, and vice versa. I have heard lots of good things about new wine too – that’s so cool. Am glad you all had a great time. Am coming home to England on the 3rd of September.. man its going to be strange… I cant wait to see you all again though!
xx
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Congo
I ended up not going to zambezia in the end, as God told me not too. Am actually trying to organise a trip to go to Congo at the moment! Am going with a small team with Rolland, Georgian Banov. Iris has a new baby base there, and are gradually starting to take missionaries there. Am going to go encourage the church, preach the gospel, heal the sick and love on the people there. It is such a desperate, desperate country and there is just extreme poverty. Children die every day simply of starvation. It is a very dangerous country, but I know if i am in the centre of God's will, i am safe! But please please pray for me. At the moment, to arrange the cheapest flight possible, and for God to release finances, as we need to raise a lot of money for the mission, and when there, for safety. we are hoping to leave on the 21st ish, and just go for one week. Thank you so much for your continued love, prayer and support, love heather x
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