Hello from Congo!
What an adventure the last three months have been! We left Kigoma by ship on April 22nd. Even though we paid for a room to sleep in, the room was so small and next to the engine we chose to sleep on deck the whole way. Actually, only the kids slept. Brandt and I kept watch since the waves were so big we were afraid we might slide right off the deck into the lake!
Our first priority once here was finding a house to live in. There is an extreme shortage of houses. We finally found one that hadn’t been lived in for many years. There was no electricity, plumbing or kitchen shelves or counters. Brandt has made a lot of progress to get it “liveable” but there’s still so much more to do. We still “enjoy” bucket baths daily with very cold water. Eventually we hope that will get fixed as well.
Just getting food on the table is a huge challenge for me. Meat is sold here in a very primitive fashion. Pieces of hacked beef are laid out in stalls and covered with flies. I simply couldn’t work with that system so we wait until someone is killing a cow and we point to the part we want. There are virtually no chickens available that aren’t so skinny it would be worth the bother. So we decided to raise our own chickens. Brandt built a fence and chicken coop and a friend gave us a chicken to start with. After thanking him and putting the chicken in the pen, Brandt asked our friend if the chicken was already laying eggs. The man looked confused and said, “it’s a rooster!” We were so embarrassed! I told Brandt I didn’t know how successful we’d be at raising chickens if we can’t tell the difference!
The Bible school just had its graduation and annual pastor’s seminar. Many local pastors attended as well as several pastors who rode their bicycles for five whole days in order to attend the seminar. I felt privileged to teach people so hungry for the Word of God.
The kids are settling in and viewing it all as a great adventure. I’m so glad they’re having good attitudes. Some things have been harder than I expected but it’ll all be worth it.
We thank yall so much for partnering with us to do the will of God. Moving here has been an enormous expense and so many of you have given generously and even sacrificially. Brandt and I know God called us to come back here and so we know He supplies all our needs but thank you to those of you who have been so kind to partner with us.
For financial support:
Please make checks payable to AMA and mail to:
P.O. box 22007
Little Rock, AR 72221
Write PRINCE on the memo line.
Joyfully,
Brandt, Pam, Austin, Ty & Benji
