Happy Thanksgiving a world away!

What a joy it is to reflect back on our trip and all that we have to be thankful for. Today is our last full day in Congo. We will be flying to Uganda tomorrow to stay until our plane leaves Sunday for Amsterdam and then on to Seattle and then Spokane. Our trip has been more than we could have ever imagined. So many great memories, some not so great, but God has been so very good to us.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thess. 5:18

Things here have been pretty busy over the past week. Emily had the opportunity to go to an African wedding. It was a lot of fun to experience the style of the wedding ceremonies here and the joyful way they celebrate. We were also able to have a couple wonderful evenings with the national neighbors that live behind the house. They came over for an american meal and then we joined them for a great African feast. The food was very good and the company even better. Things at the airport have been busy as well. Three Food tents were transported up to Dungu (in 6 full round trip flights) to start food distribution centers and help feed the people there. Thank you to all who were praying for food for those people. God is answering. Caleb was able to go on a few flights transporting relief agencies, missionaries, sick people, pastors and government workers.

"I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

Today we had a great Thanksgiving celebration. All the Americans came over to the Stritzels for a wonderful meal. We were even able to get a turkey here in Bunia, although once all the feathers were off, it was only 3 1/2 pounds including the bones, so we had chicken as well to supplement. We even got to watch the butchering right outside the back door. It is hard to believe it is already this time of year since the temperature rarely gets below 70 here. It will be quite the wake up call to get off the plane back home to a cold december! We have been greatly blessed and have so much to be thankful for. Our health, protection, friends and family that have been so faithfully praying, and most of all our great salvation. God is so good.

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For...how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" Hebrews 2:1,3

This will most likely be our last post from Africa. We will probably have one more with final thoughts and reactions once we return to the states. Please pray for travel mercies, luggage connections, etc. We can't wait to see many of you in the coming days and weeks. We will be in Spokane for a little while before heading back to Michigan for Christmas and New Years. We would love to share our experiences in more detail with those who are interested - just let us know!

Another day at the office

Well, we have been back in Bunia, Congo now for almost a week. We have been helping out here at the Stritzels house with a number of house projects. Painting, making lamp shades, building a room in the garage, and setting up an inverter. When there is room Caleb has been able to go along on different flights throughout Congo. Here is an example of another day at the office for a pilot here.

"Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Cor. 15:58

The day started at 7, traveling to the airport, preflighting, loading and then departing around 8. First, a flight from Bunia to Entebbe, Uganda went relatively uneventful until upon final approach into Entebbe we discovered there was no avgas that day. So the passenger was dropped off and then a quick run up to the MAF Uganda airstrip just north of Entebbe provided the necessary fuel requirements for the rest of the day.

The next leg was from Entebbe to Goma, DRC. That flight included flying over gorgeous lakes, around active volcanoes, over rebel occupied territory, and into a runway that had been shortened by lava flow a few years ago. We dropped off the two passengers and their baggage and then prepared to load the next group for the return trip to Bunia when we discovered instead of 275 kgs of people and baggage there was 460kgs of people and baggage awaiting us. We could not take all of it, so the people had to sift through their luggage there on the ramp to get down to the max we could take.

The return flight back to Bunia included a little more flying through rebel territory, flying with low clouds and rain, flying over large freshwater lakes, skimming the african savana at 500ft to see buffalo, elephants, hippos, and many other animals, then flying along a 16,000 foot tall mountian range, around some more weather and finally descending back home into Bunia. What a trip!

We then emptied all the passengers and luggage, secured the airplane and drove back home, stopping first for the herd of cattle also using the same road. All this by 5:00.

We have been having some great experiences here during the home stretch of our internship. We thank you for all who are praying. God has been very gracious in answering prayers. We came looking for direction and answers about the future and although things are not difinitive for all our questions, God has been true to his promises.

"For all the promises of God find their yes in Him (Christ)." 2 Cor. 1:20

While there is still a lot of fighting and rebel activity, there have been some encouraging reports. Like you read earlier flights are still going into Goma, the rebels are still outside of town, but supplies and food are getting to refugees there. Also in the north in Dungu flights are getting in and out of there as well, trying to get food and medical supplies to displaced people there. There is still a large problem with Congolese troops running from rebel forces, although outside Nyankunde last week there was a skirmish where they didn't run and inflicted some casualties on the rebels. Most importantly continue to pray for the church. It is in much distress and there is much opportunity for ministry and outreach.

Return from Nebobongo

Well, we are back from Nebobongo. Nebobongo has become well known due to the work of Helen Roseveare who was a missionary doctor for many years including during the Simba rebellion in the 1960's. We ended up staying 6 days in the village which is about an hour and 15 minute flight (Cessna Caravan) northwest of Bunia. Our time there was a struggle and also very enjoyable. Looking back it was an incredible blessing and experience for us. There is a German missionary family living there, Bernd and Anni Lutz, with their 3 elementary aged children along with 4 short term (9 month) German missionaries. It was great to see how they are ministering to the community through girls clubs, bible studies, and prayer meetings. It greatly encouraged us in how we can reach out to the community we will be serving in someday in the future.

The week was a challenging one for a number of reasons. One was that there not really much for us to do. We didn't speak the language to communicate with people and everyone else was busy going through their normal weekly routine. Although this was a struggle at times, it did allow us a lot of time to talk about what we had experienced with MAF, Africa and missionary life in general. It was great to "catch up" on all we had seen and done.

Another challenge was Caleb getting sick, as well as the majority of the Lutz family. Due to something we ate (the mushroom pasta sauce is currently suspect) there was a very fitful night of sickness followed by about 24 hours of almost continual sleep and slow re hydration. Finally early tuesday morning the fever broke and food began to look good again. We got to see first hand some of the challenges of living in such a remote place. There were no Sprites or Saltines to help with an upset stomach. We had to heat water on a kerosene burner for showers, fought off cockroaches, spiders, and tiny biting ants on the bed which found Emily very tasty (Caleb-not a bite).

The week did have some great joys as well. After Caleb had recovered, we were able to go with one of the short termers to the secondary school and join his english classes for the day. We told about our families, school, american life and then answered questions they had for the remainder of each class. It was a lot of fun to hear their questions ranging from the recent elections to marriage customs to US foreign policy and welfare system. They found great amusement at the fact that Caleb is only 23 and even more that Emily is older at 24!

The greatest joy was the friendliness of the people and the openness of the community. Most of the other places we have been, everyone has walls around their houses for security. In Nebo it was nice to walk down the paths and be able to wave at people in front of thier houses. Everyone would stop and greet us; we even had someone stop their bike, get off and shake our hands before continuing on his way. The few that did speak english would come by our house and talk with us and pray with us, which was a great encouragement to us. When the people heard that one of Caleb's flight instructors was Bill Kilgore, (who lived in Nebo at one point while they were in Africa) we became instant celebrities! It was really neat to see how much of an impact Bill and Jan and their family had made on the community and people in less than a year of living there. Bill and Jan - Nebo says Jambo sana! (and can you pay for their school bills :-)

Here are a few verses that ministered to us this last week and thought they would be encouraging to you as well:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called accorging to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"For we do not have a high priest (Christ) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses..." Hebrews 4:15

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, not the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

"In him we have obtianed an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." Ephesians 1:11

Out to the bush

Well tomorrow morning we are heading out to Nebobongo, a more remote village to spend 4-7 days. We will be out of contact during that time. At one time there was a pilot and a plane based there, but not now. There is a missionary couple there we will be interacting with. Hopefully we will be able to encourage them and also bring in some much needed supplies when we come.

A couple days ago we were also able to visit Nyancunde, which is where we thought we would be helping MAF relocate back to from Bunia. Just before we got to Africa though militia came back through Nyancunde looting and causing trouble. MAF has not been located there for about 6 years, but the buildings look as if it has been uninhabited for a quite a few decades. Many of the roofs have been stolen from previous invasions. It looks like it will be a while until MAF moves back in, but we were able to encourage the national workers there that MAF is going to return someday and that they are not forgotten. At one time it was the central hub of MAF Congo with 6-7 planes and a number of pilots, maintenance hanger, woodshop, communications hub, and much more. Now it is very much a ghost town. It can be hard to understand why God would decree such destruction to occur to such a vital ministry. It is a good reminder though to those of us preparing to go that there is still much work to do. We are not continuing the ministry but expanding it. Not filling a spot, but influencing direction. Pushing forward from the status quo, bringing the gospel to places it hasn't been, or at least hasn't been this generation.

Please pray for the people of eastern congo. There are hundreds of thousands that have been displaced because of the termoil. So many with no shelter and no food. There are many people displaced to the north of us near a place called Dungu. There really isn't a way to get food to these people either, the airstrip nearby is too hot to go into, and the humanitarian organizations are trying to figure out how to get help there. There are also a lot of recently displaced people to the south of us out of Goma on the Rwanden boarder as well. It has been in the news a lot lately. The ceasefire was absolved by the people who initiated it. Please pray for peace, it really doens't look like there is an end in sight. This kind of thing has happened a number of times and the people are at the end of what they can take. They need a hope that tomorrow may be better than today. Ultimately there is no real hope apart from Christ. Please pray for Christ to change their heart, that they might find hope in Christ.

"For to this end we toil and strive, becasue we have our hope set on the living God" 1 Tim 4:10

Thank you to all who were praying. Here are some prayer requests, some new, some not answered yet.

Praise - Health. Caleb's cold seems to be gone now, we'll find out tomorrow for sure during the plane ride :-)

Pray - For the people of DRC, for peace to reign in the country, wise leadership, and most of all that they be reconciled to God through Christ.

"and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." Col 1:20

Pray - For displaced peoples in both Dungu and Goma. For food to eat. (great to pray at dinner time :-) For disease not to spread.

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:35

Pray - For our visit to Nebobongo, that we would be able to be an encouragement to the missionaries there in a place where it would be easy to get lonely.

Pray - For continued wisdom as we learn more and more about Africa and MAF.

Pray - For God to continue to work in us to make us more like Christ, and through us, not with our strength but His.

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:11

Back in Bunia

Hey everyone, we just arrived back in Bunia yesterday afternoon. Our time in Kampala was very good, we moved houses for the last week and stayed with Stan and Pam Lincoln. He is the maintenance specialist for the Congo team and since they do their maintenance in Uganda, they are stationed there. Caleb really enjoyed the last week of maintenance on the Congo Cessna 206, a plane Caleb is very familiar with from Moody. He was able to help out and even got to do a cylinder change which is a rarer occurrence. It involves taking a section of the engine apart and replacing some parts. Emily continued to plug away at her sewing project. She was able to finish the couch cushions even admist all the power failures and they look great!

We did get the chance last weekend to visit AIM AIR in Entebbe. It was a lot of fun to spend time with the Weeks family. He previously flew for the Army and also worked for a helicopter company before feeling called to Africa. They have been here for almost 3 years. We also got to see the smaller operation they have in Uganda with 2 airplanes and 3 pilots.

The last couple days we visited Eupulu, a town in DRC which is on the edge of the second largest rain forest in the world (Amazon is the largest). We got to meet some new people who work with zoos and organizations that preserve different species. They mainly work with Okapias, which only live in the DRC. They look like a cross between a horse and a zebra. It was a nice mini vacation on our way back to Bunia.

Today we were able to go to church for the first time here in Bunia. It was a french service, which made it a little harder to understand, but Sheryl let us know some of the outline and what texts he was using. It was neat to see people worshiping knowing that God understands French and loves to hear his name in it!

"The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." Psalm 98:2-3

Prayer Requests:
-For our time here in Bunia, especially with not being able to communicate as well with the people because of the language barrier.

-Health, Caleb is recovering from a cold that makes flying not so fun.

-Peace and safety in Congo, there are still activities off to the north and recently south in Goma where there is a cease fire (for now) with the UN.

Thanks to all who are praying! God has been showing us great things!