kampala....

Hey everyone, i'm listening to the call to prayer from the huge mosque here in kampala... it's nice to be here. We've had a crazy day ministering to street kids. i love it. I will write more later, but just wanted to leave you with an update from steve & celestia... they say it better than me...
dan


Dear family and friends,

Thanks so much for your continued prayers. We arrived safely in Kampala today. We will be here 2 days with Abby and then return to the US. The last couple conferences were incredible. We had a very fruitful conference for abused women and abuse care givers. On Tuesday 25 of the prostituted women who had prayed to receive Christ and who committed to leave prostitution came to a training we helped offer to begin to train them for a new means of making a living. One of the women shared that the day after the conference a man came up to her, and knowing she was a prostitute, offered her 10 dollars to sleep with her. She refused saying she was a new creation in Christ and wasn't a prostitute any longer. Then he said he knew her daughter was in the hospital and she needed money for her care so he offered her $15 to sleep with her (a very substantial amount of money here). She again refused and said she trusted God to provide for her. We were able to provide significant financial help for micro loans for these women as well as abuse survivors in a couple other ministries.

Yesterday we had an amazing day visiting clinics for abused women. The first was one the ministry visited last year in Butembo where we met Naama, the young woman who went insane after being raped by militia but who has had incredible healing this past year. They have now opened this clinic in Beni. They had prepared for our coming all day. They have been so thankful we have been praying for them this past year. The people of Congo have been so exploited and forgotten, so they are very thankful for our love and concern. When we arrived at the very humble little compound about 100 people were lined up waiting for us, singing and shouting. They did a service for us in the little mud wall meeting room. This is an incredible work for the mentally ill, most of whom have gone made from rape and other trauma. They have so little and do so much for "the least of these" expressly in the name of Jesus. They were so thankful for our help last year (our team chipped in together and bought them 2 motorcycles so the staff can visit patients in their homes instead of walking miles a day) and for our prayers and our return this year that they presented us with baskets of fruit, vegetables, and a live goat (complete with floral decorations). Celestia made us promise not to let our hosts cook the goat for dinner! (A very real possibility.) As we looked out a the faces of the patients, many of whom are completely out of their minds due to their trauma, and the dedicated staff, I don't believe I have ever been more humbled by a gift in my entire life.

They asked us again this year if we would go into each room of the clinic so they could briefly share the stories of each resident (told by the staff) and then we could pray for each of them individually. What a heart rending yet beautiful experience we had to minister to these suffering people. The stories are absolutely mind boggling. The most painful was a little girl who was probably the most traumatized in the clinic. She could only stand with her arms out and shake and babble incoherently. Two years ago she was raped in her village by 5 militia members. She still has unhealed wounds on her back and waist from the attack and has lost her sanity. Celestia held her while she prayed with her and gave her a red comforter that my mother had made. It had the words of a Christian hymn on it that Celestia read to her. That was the one time we saw her smile. We will send a picture of that moment when we return. Her situation and so many others seems utterly hopeless but when we heard that her name is Naama ("grace" in Swahili) we were given the faith to trust that the God who healed the other Naama last year who was catatonic from her rape could also heal this Naama.

This probably all sounds rather surreal and beyond belief but we have seen over and over with our eyes and heard with our ears both the incredible evil and suffering that is endemic to eastern Congo as well as the miracles God does through prayer and the faithful work of his people. Please pray with us for Naama's healing and for God to guide the faithful abuse workers at this clinic (CIPIMA) and the other 35 or so abuse ministries who sent workers to our seminars.

Finally, please pray for our team's continued health as we return and pray specifically for Cassie Kassali and for Heather. Cassie and David were our hosts and are the founders of Congo Initiative. Cassie had to be hospitalized this week for 3 days. She has been very ill with typhoid. Heather is an American who has been living with the Kassalis and ministering in Congo for several months. She is very ill with serious kidney complications from malaria and typhoid. She flew back with our team today and her health insurance company after seeing her blood results immediately arranged for a nurse to stay with her tonight in Kampala (with our team). They have chartered a flight for her to the US tomorrow morning.

There are many challenges here which makes the Lord so more more real and precious. We have been so privileged to serve abuse survivors, care givers, and Christian leaders in Congo and are already talking about what we might do next year. We can't thank you enough for your prayers and financial support to make this trip possible. As our Ugandan friend Jumah said 2 weeks ago when I was sick "the Devil is a liar and a thief but Jesus is Lord!"

Your fellow servants to the broken,

Steve and Celestia