A couple weeks ago, our next door neighbor's teenage daughter left a surprise in our front yard - a flock of pink flamingo's. I was getting home after a birthday party at the Salt Lick (all I have to say about that is "yummmm"), and at first I thought my roommate had done something silly, but then a friend who was with me saw that one of them had a note attached. I don't know if you've heard of this, but they're apparently being used for fund raisers. If you contribute to the cause, you get to pick the next victim... um, I mean "host". As I like helping others, especially young people, and I thought it was a great idea, I contributed and picked the next target... um, again I mean "host". 
Given that Kelsey was raising funds to be an international soccer ambassador this summer, I chose to let them migrate to my friend David's house (that's his yard at the right). I know how much he likes soccer (he's the Director of Business Development for Austin Lightning Soccer), and I correctly guessed that he'd contribute to the cause as well. I had to laugh, though, when he first thought it was a joke by one of his former roommates, then found a note that had my roommates name on it. She had taken the $ next door when she went over to talk to them about something else, so her name ended up on it instead of mine. Of course I set him straight. Some things are fine for framing, but I wanted to take credit for this one. So if you find yourself "flocked", don't jump to conclusions, and consider helping out by contributing to the fun(d).
My photo's from my mission trip are online at Snapfish; and here's my letter about my trip to the Congo:Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you for letting me continue to share with you what God has been doing in my life; and for supporting me both financially, and prayerfully as I went to the Ubangi region of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, (DRC). This trip was originally scheduled for the end of October, but had to be rescheduled due to regional instability associated with their Presidential elections. We left on January 24, and returned on February 11 (team shown right).
The Tandala hospital serves the population base of approximately 200,000 in the region. It has its own nursing school with an emphasis on public health, and caring for the needs of the people in that region. There are 3 full time Congolese physicians leading the ministry of the hospital.
If I had to use one word for this trip, it would be “flexibility”. Plans for this trip changed for me from day one. My first flight out of Austin was cancelled five minutes before it was supposed to take off. After 45 minutes my flight was rescheduled and I had about 10 minutes to get thru security and to my gate. Little did I know at the time that this would set the tone for the rest of the trip – especially the travel logistics.
Once we got to the DRC, with our all of our luggage (Praise God), our team was divided between those who were there to teach at the Bible Institutes in Bau and Tandala; and those working at the Hospital and Nursing School in Tandala, which is the team I was on. While I didn’t totally understand the language and therefore how I was introduced, I did manage to pick up that the Congolese were told I work with White Cross sending supplies, and that I was there to see what was going on at the hospital. This resulted in people not quite knowing what to do with me at first. They wanted to show me everything and explain a lot of things, but I got the impression that they didn’t necessarily want to let me actually do anything, which was frustrating for me. After a day or so, Thelma, had me sorting and inventorying medical supplies in the hospital depot. This was in addition to inventorying supplies at the mission house, along with preparing breakfast and dinner for the team in Tandala. I did more counting and sorting than I care to admit … and I now know a lot more about surgical sutures and clamps than I ever wanted to know.
While it seemed like all I did at first was sorting, counting, and cooking, I was able to help in other ways, and learn more about the Congolese people. The creativity of the Congolese people amazed me at times in the ways they made due with what they had. For example, the hospital had received a shipment of paper gowns, but couldn’t use them. So I ended up helping Alfonsine, one of the ladies at the depot cut them into rectangles and strips. She then sewed them into surgical masks. This not only made use of the gowns, but also supplied the hospital with more surgical masks while they waited for the next container shipment to arrive.
The Congolese people are very welcoming, and very giving. I think I shook more hands on this trip than I’ve ever shaken in my life. And while they don’t have much, they give what they have with a great amount of joy that is encouraging to see. It brought to mind the story of the widow’s mite. Their joy is also very evident in their worship. The services there last as long as both morning services at FEFC together and often include multiple offerings during which everyone files to the front to put their offerings in the baskets.
While in Gemena, we were updated on the ministries of the Community of Evangelical Churches in Ubangi (CECU), the largest Evangelical Free Church in the world after the US. Global Fingerprints, the Aids orphan sponsorship program, is still in the pilot phase, but making progress.
We were also able to see improvements being made at the hospital including a new septic system, which needed upgrading, to go along with the new latrine/shower system being built. The hospital’s administrator, and dentist, used a great amount of creativity in making improvements to the facilities.
I was also able to help by taking pictures at the World Food Program (WFP) clinic for malnourished children. While one of the other team members took the majority of the pics on the trip (thanks Dan), he had other obligations at that time, so I took pictures for the WFP administrator to use in their newsletters and reports.
Toward the end of the trip, I was surprised to find myself ministering more to our team members than to the Congolese people, and it was a major paradigm shift for me. It took me a while to realize that I had gone with a set of expectations very different than what I was experiencing. This caused some major frustrations. I felt like I wasn’t really doing anything of consequence during a fair portion of the trip. Eventually, with the help of Carol and Tom, I finally got it thru my head that ministering to the team members allowed them to do what they needed to do to serve the Congolese people.
Shortly before we left Tandala, one of the doctors at the hospital asked me if I was going to come back. Of course this was after questioning me about still being single and having no children, which I found kind of amusing.
Others here have also asked me about plans to go back. My answer to him, and to them, is the same: “God willing”.
Thank you for allowing me to continue sharing what God has been and is doing both in my life, and in the DRC. Soli Deo Gloria!
Given that Kelsey was raising funds to be an international soccer ambassador this summer, I chose to let them migrate to my friend David's house (that's his yard at the right). I know how much he likes soccer (he's the Director of Business Development for Austin Lightning Soccer), and I correctly guessed that he'd contribute to the cause as well. I had to laugh, though, when he first thought it was a joke by one of his former roommates, then found a note that had my roommates name on it. She had taken the $ next door when she went over to talk to them about something else, so her name ended up on it instead of mine. Of course I set him straight. Some things are fine for framing, but I wanted to take credit for this one. 
