Rich Blessings

Another lovely MAF wife made the statement about having shock over the level of poverty seen around them, but her shock came from the realization that she was wealthy. And with her realization came the reality that she has always been wealthy and never realized it.

Did you know I was richly blessed? I don’t mean I am sitting on a nest egg ready to retire or that I own gold tucked away in Fort Knox. And in this context I’m not referring to the number of our wonderful friends and supporters we have blessing us beyond measure. No, I mean I am wealthy and so are you. Don’t believe me?

• I have never had to go outside with a spoon to eat dirt in an attempt to take away the hunger pains. I know what it feels like to be full, even too full.
• I have access to enough water to bathe/wash on a frequent basis.
• We own more than one set of clothing, and are able to clean them.
• My baby owns at least one toy.
• I have never had to send my child to bed hungry.
• I own shoes.
• Not only do we have plumbing, we have the ability to filter our water and not worry about getting sick from it.
• I had the luxury of being able to afford to attend and complete (primary) school.
• I own a bed.
• I have never watched my child laying sick in a hospital bed while the doctors refuse to treat them until more money comes first.

We have been in Congo for just over three months now; some of the honeymoon period is starting to wear off, and some of the realities and struggles are starting to set in. As we are trying to learn various things to which we can cling to keep us motivated, we have reflected on these things. But sometimes this list is actually discouraging. It’s tough to be inside a house (with a roof) knowing that some people walking down the street outside have to deal with not having some or any of these "blessings".  But take a look at Matthew 5 and what Jesus said:

"…and He began to teach them. 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven...'"

In French, and in some English translations, it even says, “happy are those…” In my minds eye, I think of the faces of Congolese Christians I know. I smile when I read these verses, because I know for them there is hope. Their blessings do not rest in material things, or things to make their lives easier. Their hope, many times their only hope, is embedded in these promises of Christ. At first, I must admit, it stung when I thought of it this way. But the more I think about it, they too are blessed. Richly blessed. Lord, reveal yourself to the Congolese who don't know you, so they can learn how great of a reward and  true blessing is found in your love, grace, and righteousness.

Abundant Blessings

We are so blessed! Thanks to the efforts of our friends, we were partially moved in the Thursday we planned our move. By Friday, everything was out of the old apartment and in the new. By Saturday, the new apartment was clean and everything was in place. By Monday, the old apartment was cleaned up and the keys were turned in (gotta rest on Sundays).

Our apartment is the top  left one. 

We adore living on campus! We have a beautiful deck with a gorgeous view.

Sunset from our deck

There is a large open area of grass for Adah to play on and many new friends to play with.

Adah with her buddy Georgi

There are many missionary families right next door, so we have people to enjoy an afternoon BBQ with!

Adah and her buddy Oliver begging for corn niblets

There is even a swing set for our little monkey!

We have been blessed to have someone who has agreed to keep Adah during the day that Adah enjoys spending time with! Now, instead of opposing schedules and little time to study, we have matching schedules and more time together. I suppose we be spending more time reading!

Our schedule looks the same on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. We have class from 8:45-12:15, divided up into three classes. 8:45-9:45 is "culte personnel" ("culte" means worship) where we talk about our personal devotionals, in French. It is great practice using Bible words and reflexive verbs to talk about how our daily readings are applicable to our lives. From 9:45-10:15 is "les informations" where we talk about the news and culture in the local area we will be living. This is great practice for utilizing less often used terms such as those used in business, government, and military. Plus, it helps us to stay up to date on the current events in the Congo. We have a coffee break from 10:15-10:45 that is the same time as the Bible students. Since Adah will be elsewhere, both Kevin and I will have the opportunity to practice French with the other students, checking off one required French conversation for the day! Finally, we have "orale et grammaire" where we work on our techniques and fine tune our grammar and review what we learned in the past semesters.

The only exception is Wednesdays. We have school wide "culte" in the mornings with all of the language and bible students. It is from 8:30-9:30. Then, the missionaries ladies meet together separately from the missionary men. This is the time we have set aside each week to pray for one another. It is from 9:30-10:30. At 10:30, we begin our classes with "les informations" and then from 11:30-12:30, we have "orale et grammaire." We have a one hour break before we have our bible class or singing class (depending on the week) from 1:30-2:30. Adah is welcome to hang around during that class, so we will pick her up during our lunch break.

Chapel

All of our language learning opportunities are made so much better by being on campus. We are exposed to French daily, whereas in our old apartment, we were exposed to Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Portuguese, and English on a daily basis. We have more study time (and a bit more free time) because of our schedule and Adah has somewhere to play. God has blessed us abundantly!