I would like to share with you about an incredible opportunity God has given me this summer to work with a child sponsorship program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for seven weeks this summer!
For all my friends and family, this blog will be my way to update everyone on what God is doing in the DR Congo while I'm there. For myself, it will be my way of saving memories, sorting observations, and sharing experiences. I hope this serves as an encouragement to all who read.
Just a little bit of background... Serving God in Africa has been a childhood dream of mine, ever since I heard about missionary heroes like David Livingstone. In recent years, I have taken a few very short missions trips in the States, as well as a week-long trip to Haiti with my church in 2012. But it was never long enough. I wanted to be completely immersed in the culture and stay for a longer time in one place, doing mission work, telling people about God and serving God in another country. Finally, after waiting and dreaming and planning for an opportunity like this, I found the perfect window of time--the summer in between high school and college.
But where would I go? Although I was open to whatever God had for me, Africa was always in the back of my mind for a destination. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine, Chloe, had gone on a 7-week trip to Thailand with Trek 7 through Reach Global with the EFCA church. Each summer, Trek 7 utilizes the help of college-age students in 15 different countries for seven weeks. This seemed like a great ministry, and after looking into the different trips, I became excited about the Gemena trip in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I prayed about it, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
For this experience, I will be able to combine my passion for photography, children, and missions while working with a child sponsorship program, Global Fingerprints. I will join my team in traveling to different regions to take pictures of the children and train Congolese Global Fingerprints staff in effective use of child messages and images for their sponsors. Additionally, we will spend time discipling orphans in the ELIKYA (hope) Center, where they learn a trade and biblical worldview over nine months.
The other reason I was excited about Global Fingerprints is because of a special connection with a little girl.
Meet Ozima, the beautiful young girl that I have been sponsoring for over a year through Global Fingerprints. This child sponsorship program partners with churches around the world, caring for their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs by providing education, healthcare, social development, and spiritual teaching. Currently, they are stationed in six countries, one of which is the Congo where I will be staying, and where Ozima lives. We have been able to keep in touch occasionally through messages on the Global Fingerprints site. However, communication can be difficult in the remote Democratic Republic of the Congo, and my dream would be to meet Ozima in person. (Although I recently contacted the missionary we will be staying with, and she said it would be impossible to meet her as she lives too far away from where we will be staying and road travel is extremely difficult). Still, my hope is that my experience with Global Fingerprints will help me to understand where Ozima is coming from and know better how to pray for her and how to encourage her in my messages.
Enter, Chloe: I have a friend coming on the trip with me! Chloe, along with another college-age girl will be going on this trip. We are very excited to live in the Congo, learn the language (Lingala), meet the kids, and see what God has in store for us!
In conclusion, I'd like to thank everyone that has helped me raise funds and has prayed for and promised to pray for me this summer. For those of you who would like to know, here is a list of prayer requests for our trip.
- Please pray that I will deal well with the challenging living conditions (i.e. no running water, excessive heat, etc.) and that I will trust God in this and be able to effectively minister in this culture.
- Pray for our team, for strong unity, and that poor internet connections will be overcome so that we can get important information posted about children in need of sponsors.
- Pray that we will be able to be an encouragement to the full time missionary staff with Global Fingerprints.
- Pray for clear communication with the language barrier, whether working alongside our team or ministering to the children.
- Pray especially for our relationships with the children, that we can share God's love with them in a way that will have a lasting impact.
- Finally, pray for daily dependence on God, that we will be refreshed every morning, focused on God, ready and willing for anything that God may bring us. Pray that God would give us eyes to see like Jesus.
"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12
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