Covenant Kids Congo

Below are stories from Congo on hope and resurrection written by Christine Buettgen, a short-term missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). If your church is interested in receiving these materials weekly via email, please email us at covenantkidscongo@covchurch.org and request them today.

Nyenemo Sanguma, second from right in back row, with the Congolese Community Development team.

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

1 Peter 5:5-9

For the past few weeks, I have been charged with communicating stories to you that will help paint a picture of “hope and resurrection” for Gemena and the entire region of Equateur, DRC. For this last installment, I want to emphasize this: It is clear to me that hope lies most obviously, in the youth of this city. They are intelligent, hardworking, and understand the world in a way their previous generation doesn’t always. It is for this reason I believe in World Vision’s focus on supporting children and youth. World Vision desires to partner with emerging young Congolese leaders that are already serving as agents of change – one of them is Nyenemo Sanguma. Born and raised in Gemena, he continued his education in the US, including an undergraduate degree from North Park University and a Masters in International Development from DePaul University, and is now using his educational opportunities to make a difference in his home country. Continue Reading »

Below are stories from Congo on hope and resurrection written by Christine Buettgen, a short-term missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). If your church is interested in receiving these materials weekly via email, please email us at covenantkidscongo@covchurch.org and request them today.

Family on a dirt road in DR Congo.

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.”

Revelation 21:1-6

“It is a matter of glimpsing that in God’s new creation, of which Jesus’s resurrection is the start, all that was good in the original creation is reaffirmed. All that has corrupted and defaced it – including many things which are woven so tightly in to the fabric of the world as we know it that we can’t imagine being without them – will be done away. Learning to live as a Christian is learning to live as a renewed human being, anticipating the eventual new creation in and with a world which is still longing and groaning for that final redemption.”

― N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

These are powerful words for all of us. Especially in Gemena, despite the current challenges we face, like lack of electricity or sufficient access to clean water, we are called to be renewed human beings, anticipating and hoping for that day where we can access the outside world through power and improved health through clean water for our children and our communities. That day, where Congolese mothers see God answer prayers of provision for their children. Continue Reading »

Below are stories from Congo on hope and resurrection written by Christine Buettgen, a short-term missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). If your church is interested in receiving these materials weekly via email, please email us at covenantkidscongo@covchurch.org and request them today.

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

Phillipians 2:1-4

Ariel selling her goods.

Every morning, I walk down the “mbala mbala”, the big dirt road that takes me into town, where I find my motorcycle taxis. Every morning, I pass the same vendors of peanuts, sugar, salt, tea, and coffee, all wrapped in little plastic bags costing no more than about 5 cents. These vendors don’t often sell in quantites larger than this because most can’t afford more than 5 cents worth of sugar at a time.

Through these trips, I have come to know Ariel, who will be having a baby any day now, because I often buy peanuts from her. Three of her children are registered for sponsorship through World Vision although none of have found sponsors yet. When the World Vision International Leadership team came about a month ago, we asked if Ariel would open her home to one of the US executives named David for one night. World Vision believes in the importance of even the top leadership fully comprehending the day to day challenges that Gemena community members face. The local office in DR Congo wanted the US office to “live it”. Continue Reading »