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Steven, our Congolese team leader, met his wife, Angel, while they were both fleeing from their hometowns during the war of 1998. The idea was to find a village where the rebels had already passed through: pillaging, killing, raping, and decimating. Hopefully some time would pass before the rebels would return to that particular area.
On foot for several days, Steven and Angel became traveling companions and then friends as they hid out with many others in the jungle village. There was little to eat except nature’s mango trees, yet they remained there for three months where they married and began a life together in the midst of war and terror.
Finally, they headed back to Steven’s hometown of Uvira. For two more years, the fighting continued and every night they would hear gunshots and screams from those who were being killed and/or raped. They said, “Every day we lived knowing that our time might be up and that during the night we would be the ones being killed.”
Peace was finally restored in their region in 2002. Now, seven years later, it is remarkable to spend time with Steven and Angel, to see the way that God has blessed their faithfulness to Him, and to see their passion for sharing God’s message, care, and provision with others.
Women’s Lives Changed
Angel works daily with other women to help them out of poverty mindsets and to equip them to change their own lives. She described to us the way she effectively empowers women:
I begin by debating with women that I meet. I ask them, “Why do you think that I have some financial resources and you do not?” Women often see themselves as inferior to their husbands and not able to get ahead. So I have to challenge them in ways that will make them think. I have to help them see the opportunities that they have around them to make something and sell it or to learn a skill that will help them support their family. “If I can do this, then you can do it also,” I tell them. I sometimes speak strongly to them, “Yes, you are going to have to work hard, but it is worth it. If not for yourself, do it for your daughters so that you will have enough money to put them through school and they can then have a better life than yours.”I try to provide them with training in simple sewing skills or other crafts they can make so that they can see that they are able to do small things to get ahead. I also show them that God's principles, when applied to their life, lead to success and strength.
Churches Multiplying Among the Poor
Steven’s work is equally amazing. After starting a church in 2006 he felt that his influence in this needy country was limited. He contacted us looking specifically for ways to multiply his effectiveness so that more Congolese could be reached spiritually and practically. He is now becoming a church-planting trainer, starting over a dozen churches during the past year and, with our help, is now training over 20 new church-planters. These leaders are working in bigger cities like Uvira, in smaller villages that are still reeling from the impacts of war, in prisons, and among unreached tribes (such as the Pygmy people). Wherever churches are started, ministry to needy people is part of the kingdom message that is shared: the hungry are fed, children are given school fees, widows and handicapped are helped, and generosity becomes a way of life.
YOU Are the Key To All of This
Steven and Angel, along with a host of growing leaders in the Congo, represent some of the most remarkable kingdom-minded, God-loving people we know. Yet over and over they tell us how much strength it brings them to have people come and support them from so far away. Tears streaming down Steven's face, as we departed, emphasized this. We feel so privileged to partner with them AND so aware that our partnership with them happens because YOU stand with us. We are ever so aware and appreciative of this!
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