DRC experience

Welcome to the DRC: Where the cars are driven on the right side of the road. and the baggage on the buses and trucks is twice the side of the mode of transportation. Where you eat a lot of meat and there is no cow in sight (In joke) :D 

 Where the level of poverty is impossible to ignore, and the brokenness due to war is evident, however the power of Gods love is spreading like a wildfire. 

A World Vision well near one of our communities, there are at least 100-200 buckets there a day to collect water for everything from drinking, cooking, cleaning. This is what is life is like when you don't have access to running water.

I have had a desire to go to the DRC for a while, while I look back, I can see how God has been guiding me here for years. As a teenager my family had sponsored a child from the DRC. One of my friends went on a trip with Hands at Work and experienced the DRC, and then shared it with me. I bought a book about a missionary who had served for 20 years or more. These little moments in life now appear to be arrows pointing in one direction and path me traveling to DRC. 

It wasn't until I arrived in Zambia in May, did I really begin to have a desire to experience the DRC for myself, I met a guy who is a long term volunteer with Hands who had been there a couple of time and he begun to tell me stories and the passion he feels for the nation of DRC in contagious and clearly a reflection of Gods heart. 

I discovered in DRC they speak french and swahili and both languages I knew a bit of, not as much I thought though when I arrived, I realised all I had were the basics but its a start. The biggest problem is because I've been speaking Bemba here in Zambia since July, my brain was thinking in Bemba and I really struggled to switch my brain into Swahili/French mode. One funny moment was one tired afternoon a lady greeted me and as I shook her hand I said Mulishani (how are you in Bemba) of course she smiled politely and walked away, Ish!! I thought to myself, "I'm in DRC brain not Zambia."

Another cool thing that was a part of this trip was I got to travel with 2 Swahili speaking Kenyans, out of anyone I went with Kenyans, the place in which my African journey begun and where I first fell in love with Africa. 

So we arrived in DRC and like I said the level of brokenness and poverty you cant ignore, but one of the most amazing moments, was when we pulled up to a park with a group of 15 street boys, some of their clothes hanging over the playground equipment, the guy who was hosting us pulled over near the park, he honked the car, none them looked up, then he called out to them and they looked over with bright faces of recognition. They all stood up and ran to the car like children running to the loving arms of a parent. They called his name, Papa. And gave them a bag, he said he sometimes buy them polish and brushes so they can earn money shining shoes in the street, other times he brings them food. Sadly most these boys don’t have parents and those that do can’t provide for them or care for them. But the  act of one man, brings hope and joy into their life, God’s love is on the move, it takes us to act and to see the world through his eyes. As growing up I have a band on my wrist that had the letters W.W.J.D = what would Jesus do, and the response of my friend I believe is what Jesus would do.
As part of our trip I got to be a part of a training called, Connecting with Children from Petra college. 

http://www.petra.co.za/

The training is about seeing the importance of children, to identify with God’s heart for children and to have some skills on how to connect with children; to get down to their level and enter their world of play. And as most cultures, African cultures this is definitely not the norm, children play in the dirt, it’s not appropriate for adults to participate in their play, is it? But to really connect with children and experience the love of a child and to make the child feel truely valued and loved is to be a part of their world instead of trying to get them to enter your world, a world that makes no sense to them and they aren’t ready for. We completed the training over 5 days, and lives were changed, eyes were opened. Care workers were given practical tools of joining children in play, teaching games and telling stories and they got opportunities to practice it with children in the community and the love that spread through this community in the short time this training happened, was unbelievable and it happened because adults chose to play in the dirt and acknowledge the things important to these children. And they modelled to other adults, how to connect with children. Having had training in early childhood development this made me SO excited to see. Like I said before I feel God’s love is a wildfire and is spreading all over, healing hearts, lives, communities and one day the nations. 

We all believe, God is going to do something big in Goma too, it is a place, that is very broken, pain and lives been torn apart by war, famine and who knows what else, but we know God has plans because if you look back on his history, his track record God has a habit of changing the broken into the beautiful, making the seemingly  impossible possible, and choosing ordinary people to do extraordinary thing. We also saw a lot of spirit opposition from the enemy over the team who were travelling to our training, the day of their fight there was a mix up and they missed their flight, the next flight was supposed to be Sunday but they managed to get a flight on Friday instead (God always comes through) and on their way to the airport they had an traffic accident and sustain injuries and their baby was unharmed. And as they arrived at the destination of the training they couldn’t keep from singing and dancing and praising God for seeing them through. The Joy of the Lord is their strength. 

The most impacting part of my DRC experience, was meeting a boy who had troubles with his legs, he can’t go to school but really wants to. 
And God put him on my heart and prompted me to pray for him and encourage him, so I shared these words with him;

 Jeremiah 29:11-13 I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. In those day when you pray to me I will listen and if you seek me wholeheartedly you will find me.


 
I know that when this said in the bible it was talking about a promise that people had to wait many years for their promise to be fulfilled, they had to be patient and had to persevere. And I know God has a plan for this boy I met to be healed and to go back to school we just need to trust God for his perfect timing. He will give him the strength to persevere in this situation he is in. And I get the opportunity to write is story and share with people and see what God can do in the heart s of people.

 To be honest through this experience I feel sort of like Peter in the boat, in the story of Jesus walking on water. I was so confident in God and desired so much to see a miracle to see his power. But then when going to the boys house, I felt like I was walking on the water but then I begun to look at the waves, and left feeling like I had been told, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” and it is easy to get discouraged, but God is good, he convicts not condemns. He works on our faith and look what happened to Peter, yeah he denied Jesus three time, but in the book of Acts 2, he preached up a storm and God used him to do a good work. 

The biggest thing that God taught me in DRC is the importance of sharing God’s love with people we come in contact, his love has the power to change lives.

Here is a song that sums up what God is teaching me

Mercy me – Wont you be my love

When you fall asleep tonight in your warm and cosy bed

Know that I’m awake and I’ve got no shelter and no food

I am not alone my friends are broken and lost

Looking for someone to lead them to my cross

I need your help, I need your help

Wont you be my voice calling

Wont you be my hands healing

Wont you be my feet walking into a broken world

Wont you be my chain breaker

Wont you be my peace maker’

Wont you be my hope and joy

Wont you be my love

On the other side of the world

She is just a few days old

A helpless little girl with no family of her own

She is not to blame for the journey she is on

Her life is no mistake

Wont you lead her to my cross

Wont you be my voice calling

Wont you be my hands healing

Wont you be my feet walking into a broken world

Wont you be my chain breaker

Wont you be my peace maker’

Wont you be my hope and joy

Wont you be my love

To those I call my own

To those I’ve set aside

as spotless without blame

The chosen ones my bride.

We will be your voice calling

Wont you be my hands healing

Wont you be my feet walking into a broken world

Wont you be my chain breaker

Wont you be my peace maker’

Wont you be my hope and joy

Wont you be my love