Another journal entry written while in Congo

From my Congo journal, July 17:

Today (we) went to visit Panzi Hospital in Bukavu.  We got to spend about half an hour talking with and listening to Dr. Denis Mukwege, the head gynecologist/surgeon for women needing medical care due to sexual violence.  He was very direct and clear as he explained his opinions of the change that needs to take place in Congo.

He said the financial assistance, food, medicine, etc. that is poured into Congo is causing more long term problems than it is solving.  He feels the Congolese people have become dependent upon it and are not standing up for themselves.  What Congo needs is peace.  He said the Congolese women are very strong and very resourceful.  If they had peace and an end to violence, they could solve the remaining problems on their own.  He said the Congolese church especially needs to speak out and support the Congolese people, to stand up against all that is wrong.

A break from the journal entry, some thoughts from today:

Dr. Mukwege acknowledged that if the aide from other countries was removed, lots of people would die initially.  But even now lots of people are dying due to the lack of peace in Congo, it has been that way for many years and will continue unless dramatic change happens. This was important, yet hard for me to hear.  This is a man who cares deeply for the people of Congo.  He is from Congo.  He has dedicated his life's work to serving the people of his country.  He is well-educated.  With my head, I understand what he is saying.  My heart does not like it!  I think of all the innocent children who would die if all external aide was actually withdrawn from Congo.  Dr. Mukwege is certainly right about at least one thing...  They are dying now.  I had to interrupt him and ask...  "So what can we do to help Congo without further adding to Congo's problems?"  His response...  Congo needs prayer and for people to speak up for them.  We need to encourage politicians to adopt policies that help put an end to the violence.

I must admit, I am not completely satisfied with that answer.  That can't really be all we can do!  It doesn't help the children who are dying as I type, or as you read this blog.  Prayer helps of course, but we are also to be Jesus' hands and feet in a hurting world.  So where do we find a balance in this?  I keep praying and asking for guidance in answering this question.

How do we help the children who are currently orphaned?  Yes they need food, shelter, and medicine; mostly they need loving families.  We traveled across the world to shower a few with love for a couple days.  Would my time have been better spent encouraging and training people in the village to regularly volunteer their time with the kids?  Would I spend time volunteering in an orphanage if it was in my town?  Would I do it if I didn't know how or if I would be able to feed my own children that day?  Am I called to adopt?  Are you?

What can we do to keep more children from becoming orphaned?  Check out "Run for Congo Women."  Have any of you sponsored a child from another country?  Month after month, year after year, you send money that you hope helps one child and his or her family to some extent.  Ever wondered if it really makes a difference?  I know I have.  I like the idea of this organization (Run for Congo Women) because the sponsorship helps train and get a woman started in her own business in just a year.  So while I've sponsored one child for the last 15 years, I could have helped 15 different women (each likely to have many children)!  And you can develop a relationship through letters.  Okay, I'll be quiet about it now... Just something to think about.

And now, back to that journal entry from July 17:

At Panzi Hospital, we were able to briefly meet some of the women who have experienced sexual violence.  Some were recovering from surgery and some were awaiting surgery.  It was so touching to look into their eyes and shake their hands.  One woman handed Cammie her baby to hold.  Behind the hospital there is a small forest area where some of the women rested, some were washing their clothing or preparing food.  (The hospital has no running water and does not provide food for the patients).  Many of the women had small children with them.  These women are strong, beautiful, and forgotten or rejected by many of their own family and country.  I wanted both to smile with them because of their strength and beauty, and to cry with them because of their pain.

Journal entries from my time in Congo

I wrote this while traveling to Congo, July 9:

My prayer is that I can be a source of encouragement to (my family in Congo), and all the staff at Kaziba Orphanage.  That I can help the children know that they are loved.  That I can be inspired, and inspire others to truly love and make a difference in the lives of those in need.  That I can listen and hear from God what His next step for me is.  That I can serve others without crying constantly!  That we can be safe and healthy.  That my family will be fine in my absence.  And so much more.


I wrote the following on July 14, while I was in Congo:

Yesterday we drove up to Kaziba.  It was a very long and bumpy ride.  We arrived at the orphanage in the late morning.  The older children (ages 3 to 5) sang to us.  It was very sweet and many of them are great singers.  We stayed for a short while and then went to see the mwamikazi(the acting "king" of the Kaziba area).  She invited us to stay for a wedding celebration for her daughter.  The Congolese food was very good.  I don't remember the names of the things we ate... rice, beans, sweet potato, cole slaw, chicken, etc.

After that we returned to the orphanage and of course spent more time holding the babies and playing with the kids.  We also did four small trainings: oral health, nutrition and medical information, play and stimulation for babies and toddlers, and play/interaction with the older children.  We gave the workers lotion, toothbrushes, and donuts.  For the babies and children we brought crib toys and other toys, bananas and cookies, toothpaste and toothbrushes, formula, cloth diapers, diaper covers, a baby sling, and a bumbo baby seat.  We spent quite a while there just interacting with all the kids.  Can you imagine getting about 30 kids ages 5 and under ready for bed?  It was pretty crazy!  We "helped" tuck the oldest children into bed.  We sang with them and they all laid down.  As we left, they were all standing on the bed and peeking out the window at us.

We spent the night at a nearby guest house and returned to the orphanage in the morning for a few more hours with the kids.  The biggest challenge for me at the orphanage was trying to give lots of attention to as many kids as possible.

Preparing to move... AGAIN

We are buying a house!  It should close tomorrow and we hope to move into our new home on Saturday!  I am so excited for our family to make this move.  We have been living in small spaces and without a yard for the kids for most of their lives.  Our new home has an extra room that will be our dedicated school room, plus a yard with lots of room for running, gardening, and hopefully chickens eventually.  And all this for about the same monthly expense as what we were paying for rent at our last condo.

As we were filling out all the papers for the house purchase, one document in particular was a little surprising.  We had to write all the addresses Joel has lived at in the last 10 years.  Can you guess how many?  Our list for him was 13 addresses; one of those was 2 years at the same military address, but in reality probably included 2 to 4 moves.  That makes at least 15 moves in 10 years for Joel.  Poor guy.   The count for me is 9 moves in 10 years.  And for the kids... Tabby Cat has lived in 7 different homes in her 5 years of life (this next one will make 8) and Baby Oliver has lived in 5 homes in his 3 years.  Ugh.  Hoping we can stay put a good long time and stop the moving insanity.

School has started!

Homeschool is in session at our house!  Little "Tabby Cat" is starting Kindergarten and "Baby Oliver" will be joining in with what he wants to do and doing some preschool work.  So far both kids are very excited about school each day.  They have been waking up at 6:30 and trying to talk me into starting the school day by 7:00 am!  Perhaps I should just dive in then, but I am not a morning person.  Our school day starts at 8:30; Tabby watches the clock and I can't be a minute late.  Pretty cute.  Hoping and praying for a wonderful school year with lots of fun and learning.

This is a picture of the kids dressed and ready for the first day of school.  I wish the picture captured their bare feet!  One time when I was about six, I forgot to put shoes on before getting in the car to go to school.  We were half way to school before I realized my error and asked my mom to turn around.

Imaginary Friends

My wonderfully creative children have developed some very detailed stories of their imaginary friends.  Their imaginary friends join them on the occasions when Tabby Cat and Baby Oliver stop being cats and turn into people.  My daughter becomes "mom" to my son (which in turn leaves me to be "grandma").  Yes, my son very frequently refers to me as Grandma.  They have blue friend dog, pink friend dog, yellow friend dog... a new color of dog for each new story they tell.

A few months ago my daughter added her friend "Baby" to her imaginary repertoire.  Baby is a 44 year old mother.  Baby has lots of kids, but the one we hear about most often is named Angel.  Angel has somehow become my daughter's alter-ego.  Today I heard a scream in the house.  We don't allow screaming in the house so I went to talk to my imaginative darling about it.  "Oh that," she quickly responded, "That was Angel screaming.  I can't do it in the house, but next time we are at the beach I'll show you how loud Angel can scream."  Wow.  She is quick.  And this is certainly not the first time that little "Angel" has been the culprit behind mischievous behavior.  Oh the irony.  How did my precious little Tabby Cat choose names like "Baby" for the 44 year old mom and "Angel" for the little girl who gets blamed for every misbehavior.

A world away

Traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo presented me with some challenges.  I knew God wanted me to go and I was very excited by the opportunity to go.  I didn't know how I was going to afford the trip, or have funds to help out Kaziba Orphanage... But God took care of that.  I got sick from both rounds of immunizations and was really sick on the way home and for a few days after...  But God took care of that.  Thinking about the horrible things the people of Congo face on a daily basis kept making me cry and I was worried that I would cry during my whole time with the kids at the orphanage... But God took care of that.  Congo continues to be a very dangerous place to go and I was kind of scared about my physical safety and health... But God took care of that.  I could go on, but I'm guessing you get the idea.

Being so far away from my kids was the hardest thing I had to face.  Would they be okay without me for two whole weeks?  Would I be okay without them?  Would they think they were somehow less important to me because I was leaving them in order to go and show love to other kids?  What would their lives be like if something happened to me while I was in Congo?  Like I said, Congo isn't exactly the safest travel destination in the world.  Let's just say I had a lot of fears about traveling so far from my precious and beloved babies...

But God took care of that!  My kids did great without me.  Yes, they missed me, but they had lots of fun with Joel (dad) and with Grandma, Grammie, and cousin Haleigh.  I didn't die after all, so I got to come back to them!  There were a few nights when I cried myself to sleep because I missed Joel and my kids so much, but all in all I was okay too.  And they didn't think they were less important to me.  Instead they learned a little bit about what it means to care for others in the world, what it means to share and do without some things (mom, in this case), and a tiny glimpse of the blessings we enjoy here in the United States compared to other places in the world.  They are even making plans for their futures that include mission trips and adoption!

My sweet kids,  "Baby Oliver" and "Tabby Cat" (ages 3 and 5)

Family in Congo

This is me at the airport in Ethiopia, after a day and a half of travel with only 3 hours of sleep.  My little blue buddy there is Henry the Hippo, who came from Japan to join us in Congo.

My human travel companion, the lovely Cammie:  she is my husband Joel's cousin (and my dear friend).  Thanks for jumping in and joining me on this adventure Cammie!

My beautiful sister-in-law Holly and her daughters, Mia and Ellie, our newest nieces!

Me, Holly, Isla and Natalie (my other 2 sweet and adorable "Congolese" nieces).

Somehow I did not take any pictures of my brother-in-law, Mike.  (Sorry Mike, nothing personal I promise!)  He was there too!  Mike is Holly's husband, the father of these 4 sweet girls, and the director of Food for the Hungry in DR Congo.  It was wonderful to have the added benefit of spending quality time with my amazing family members who have been living and working in Congo for the past 3 1/2 years.