2008-04-30 Update From Jessica

Hello friends!

 

Greetings from hot and humid Congo.  It’s good to be back after 5 long weeks in Kenya and Ethiopia.  Here are some things we can thank God for and some things to be praying about.  

 

Praise:

·       We traveled safely and had good health the entire 5 weeks

·       We had a great time at the conference.  Everyone was of one heart and mind, and we all learned a lot.

·       My presentation on church mobilization through survey activities went really well.  I was the youngest and least experienced to present, so I was relieved that it was well received and felt privileged to have the opportunity.  

·       Everything went really smoothly for our travels and plans.  We hadn’t planned ahead for our few days of vacation in Nairobi, but it worked out perfectly on its own (thanks to some friends from eastern Congo who were also on vacation!).  Our vacation in Ethiopia came together really nicely as well (thanks to our friends there too!).  

 

Prayer

·       Special urgent request:  My friend Allie who works here for the construction of the US embassy has decided to pursue raising funds for the orphanage I’m involved with whose property was put up for sale.  On Friday we went to talk to Mama Dorcas who runs the orphanage and we realized that it would be better to raise funds to build a new center rather than to purchase their current building which needs a lot of work and isn’t really adequate for their needs.  That same day the owner of the property came to announce that it has been sold.  Please pray 1) For provision for the orphans in the immediate future—that the new owner would let them continue to rent and/or that they could find a new temporary place 2) For setting up the project and raising the funds 3) For the construction of a new orphanage.  

·       We continue to work on our survey of language and Scripture use in the churches in Brazzaville.  Pray for Dana as she grapples with how to organize and analyze our data.  Pray that we would be able to set up more interviews with pastors and continue to make good contacts with churches.  

·       The conference was really stimulating and I was hoping it would be a good springboard for our work here, but for some reason I’ve felt rather down the last few weeks.  Pray that I would work with all my heart each day and have a strong vision for what God wants to do.  

 

Thank you for your prayers!  Please share with me how I can pray for you too!  

 

Jessica