Comings and goings.

On the right is Bilonda, at the grade promotion we celebrated in June. Even though he was 2nd in his class & had been with us for over 4 years he decided to leave last month. I am sorry he left but glad that he at least is with his family even though they aren't able to put him in school. And the other picture is of Patrick who left for 1-1/2 years but after going all around Lubumbashi decided he would return to us no matter what. Unfortunately it is too common for some of the boys who have been with us the longest to decide to leave. But I am grateful that the Lord has brought much more stability to the mindsets of all the boys so that now we are at 30 boys.

Sunday afternoon.

Here is a picture from earlier this year (2009). I am just just hanging out with the boys, letting the clothes dry, waiting for food to cook, looking pretty cool in my African fabric skirt.

Brothers united

After 7 years of not seeing each other Yannick's (R) brother Andrew came to see him last month. They had been separated when their mother died & the extended family pretty much chased them away. Andrew was able to get our phone number after Michael & Yannick had visited the uncle's house and one of the uncle's children gave him the number. He was choked up when he first came in & saw his younger brother. They sat & talked about the difficulties they had experienced and Andrew was able to encourage Yannick to do well in school, listen to the people over him & to follow the Lord. Andrew leads a prayer group in his church & is on the worship team.

Kamba

Here is Kamba. He is a wonderful comedian... and an expert at getting out of doing his chores.. or delaying to wash his clothes.
He will make you laugh & laugh... He's busy here making noise & is there under the tree blessing the checker game.

Emmanuel

This is the chubby Emmanuel. He can sing and sing. He knows many songs & has a very beautiful voice. Plus he loves to dance. He is in 3rd grade & does very well except when he is irritating the teacher... then he'll be kneeling somewhere while class continues. Through out the day it is very common to hear "EMMA"... meaning that someone is angry at him or irritated at him. He is not bothered and just argues back or goes on to the next place to create a stir. He drives me nuts... then comes back and flashes a smile that makes me forget what the problem was.

Ministry of restoration

Michael & 5 of the boys went to a town near Lubumbashi to see if they could connect with the boys families. They were successful in finding Pascal's family. Unfortunately his mother had died the day they arrived, but his father was very glad to see him. He wept loudly upon seeing Pascal and prayed and thanked God.

(L to R) Shadrack, Michael, Mutombo, Dieu Merci, Joe & Pascal.

Hunger in Africa.

Here is a map showing the places where people are not getting enough to eat. The countries that are red are where the suffering is. Congo is the large country in the center of Africa. It was listed as second from the bottom of all nations in hunger. The report noted that 72% of the people in DRC do not receive enough food.