{"id":620,"date":"2010-05-13T12:40:11","date_gmt":"2010-05-13T17:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/?p=620"},"modified":"2010-05-13T13:01:36","modified_gmt":"2010-05-13T18:01:36","slug":"may-ekstrand-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"May Ekstrand Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>May 6, 2010<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_621\" style=\"width: 183px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/House-yard-master-BR-in-corner-facing-camera.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-621\" class=\"size-full wp-image-621  \" title=\"House &amp; yard, master BR in corner facing camera\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/House-yard-master-BR-in-corner-facing-camera.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"104\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-621\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">House &amp; yard<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Dear family and friends,<\/p>\n<p>We returned to Gemena on Wednesday, May 5 after spending two weeks in Kinshasa.\u00a0 It is good to be &#8220;home&#8221; at Bokonzo, even though home remains 2 rooms in the guest house.\u00a0 It is also very good to be back in Congo.\u00a0 We have had many former acquaintances, workers, church members and students, come by to say hi and chat.\u00a0 What fun!<\/p>\n<p>The news on the house is very encouraging &#8211; GREAT progress.\u00a0 The roof is on and the cement plaster on the walls is finished.\u00a0 They started pouring the floors yesterday and will do the master bedroom tomorrow.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_625\" style=\"width: 287px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/Panorama-House-walls-floor.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-625\" class=\"size-full wp-image-625  \" title=\"Panorama House walls &amp; floor\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/Panorama-House-walls-floor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"277\" height=\"104\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-625\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plastering walls and pouring floor<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Pouring concrete is quite different here.\u00a0 To pour the floor, they first lay down a layer of crushed rock.\u00a0 They cover this with the mixture of washed gravel, sand and cement, all mixed by hand.\u00a0 After completing the floor they will put in the wood ceilings.\u00a0 The truck has gone to get the planks from the village sawmill where they were cut and that trip was just delayed by this morning&#8217;s rain.\u00a0 Work is also going forward on the septic tank and the rest of the plumbing.<\/p>\n<p>We have enjoyed reconnecting with Zefanu.\u00a0 He helped in our house as cook and more from 1986 to 1989 when we lived at IPOK and Rachel &amp; Carl were small.\u00a0 When we move into our house, he will help with market shopping, cooking and some other things in the house.\u00a0 He has been working in our yard for the past two weeks clearing the area around our house so we can plant grass, flowers and trees.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for your prayers for us during the last two weeks that we were in Kinshasa.\u00a0 We were blessed getting to know those who had been invited to the US for different training and meetings.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_628\" style=\"width: 183px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/Congo-delegation-in-Kin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-628\" class=\"size-full wp-image-628  \" title=\"Congo delegation in Kin\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/Congo-delegation-in-Kin.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"130\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-628\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Congo delegation in Kin<\/p><\/div>\n<p>From Left to Right in the photo to the right are: Alfred Zondo, VP Liwawa Elenga, Rev. Lyly Yakote, Jean Sabuli Sanguma, Claudine Makuba, Precieux Sanguma in the arms of his father President Mossai Sanguma.\u00a0 In front are Dr. Aime Nkakala and Rev Isabelle Kanda.\u00a0 The Sanguma family and Dr. Aime were granted visas on their first try. The pizza party before we left was a great outing and WOW what good pizza and ice cream in Kinshasa!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_633\" style=\"width: 139px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/Hunga-Busta-Zondo-Aime1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-633\" class=\"size-full wp-image-633  \" title=\"Hunga Busta- Zondo &amp; Aime\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/Hunga-Busta-Zondo-Aime1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"129\" height=\"104\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pizza at the Hunga Busta<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Zondo and Dr. Aime are in the picture on the left.<\/p>\n<p>We also started to build a good relationship with the Consul at the US Embassy.\u00a0 While he has been very helpful, unfortunately he cannot make any promises of visas being granted.\u00a0 He clarified for us that even though the Covenant has excellent history having invited many Congolese to the US over the last 30 years, all of whom returned to their ministries and families in Congo, that does not mean that new people applying for visas will be granted them.\u00a0 The responsibility is on the person applying in their interview to present themselves as a credible person who will indeed return to Congo.\u00a0 And, when someone&#8217;s salary is very, very low honestly the Consulate wonders if they will return once having seen the wonders of the US.\u00a0 Three of the five leaders who were not granted visas have returned to their homes.\u00a0 We were not able to schedule repeat interviews for them very quickly and a long delay would mean they would arrive several weeks late for the training programs planned for them in the US, which doesn\u2019t work well.\u00a0 Two people have second visa interviews.\u00a0 Pray for visa interviews for VP Elenga Liwawa on May 11 and Rev. Lyly Yakote on June 1.<\/p>\n<p>PRAYER REQUESTS<br \/>\n&#8211; Sarah&#8217;s mission trip to Thailand May 10-17 with North Park.<br \/>\n&#8211; The visa interviews scheduled for May 11 and June 1.<br \/>\n&#8211; US visa interview in Nairobi, Monday, May 10 for Jennifer Mburu of Kenya.\u00a0 Jennifer is head of the women ministries of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Kenya and has been invited to the US to attend the Covenant Women&#8217;s Triennial conference.<br \/>\n&#8211; Patience for us as, even with overall good progress on the house, we are anxious to move in<br \/>\n&#8211; Priorities each day as we decide to: attend to email correspondence with supporters, family and Covenant stuff; check on the house giving direction and making decisions; visit neighbors which builds relationships and improves our Lingala; interact with CEUM leaders and begin to learn more about their current ministry initiatives<br \/>\n&#8211; Patience with the internet connection for email.<\/p>\n<p>Grateful for your support and prayers,<\/p>\n<p>Pete &amp; Cindy<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=620&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 6, 2010 Dear family and friends, We returned to Gemena on Wednesday, May 5 after spending two weeks in Kinshasa.\u00a0 It is good to be &#8220;home&#8221; at Bokonzo, even though home remains 2 rooms in the guest house.\u00a0 It is also very good to be back in Congo.\u00a0 We have had many former acquaintances, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>May Ekstrand Newsletter - Ekstrands in Congo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"May Ekstrand Newsletter - Ekstrands in Congo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 6, 2010 Dear family and friends, We returned to Gemena on Wednesday, May 5 after spending two weeks in Kinshasa.\u00a0 It is good to be &#8220;home&#8221; at Bokonzo, even though home remains 2 rooms in the guest house.\u00a0 It is also very good to be back in Congo.\u00a0 We have had many former acquaintances, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ekstrands in Congo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-05-13T17:40:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-05-13T18:01:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/House-yard-master-BR-in-corner-facing-camera.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/08990b6f91da9939c5c3b5649490a92e\"},\"headline\":\"May Ekstrand Newsletter\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-05-13T17:40:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-05-13T18:01:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":795,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/\",\"name\":\"May Ekstrand Newsletter - Ekstrands in Congo\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-05-13T17:40:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-05-13T18:01:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/08990b6f91da9939c5c3b5649490a92e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"May Ekstrand Newsletter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ekstrands in Congo\",\"description\":\"Glimpses, profound and mundane, into our life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/08990b6f91da9939c5c3b5649490a92e\",\"name\":\"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2b31b551d30c8a82b127b0ec8f1572498d62b706e89148248d8776b1d0402ecf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2b31b551d30c8a82b127b0ec8f1572498d62b706e89148248d8776b1d0402ecf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2b31b551d30c8a82b127b0ec8f1572498d62b706e89148248d8776b1d0402ecf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ekstrand\\\/author\\\/ekstrand\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"May Ekstrand Newsletter - Ekstrands in Congo","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"May Ekstrand Newsletter - Ekstrands in Congo","og_description":"May 6, 2010 Dear family and friends, We returned to Gemena on Wednesday, May 5 after spending two weeks in Kinshasa.\u00a0 It is good to be &#8220;home&#8221; at Bokonzo, even though home remains 2 rooms in the guest house.\u00a0 It is also very good to be back in Congo.\u00a0 We have had many former acquaintances, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/","og_site_name":"Ekstrands in Congo","article_published_time":"2010-05-13T17:40:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-05-13T18:01:36+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2010\/05\/House-yard-master-BR-in-corner-facing-camera.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/"},"author":{"name":"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/#\/schema\/person\/08990b6f91da9939c5c3b5649490a92e"},"headline":"May Ekstrand Newsletter","datePublished":"2010-05-13T17:40:11+00:00","dateModified":"2010-05-13T18:01:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/"},"wordCount":795,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/","name":"May Ekstrand Newsletter - Ekstrands in Congo","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-05-13T17:40:11+00:00","dateModified":"2010-05-13T18:01:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/#\/schema\/person\/08990b6f91da9939c5c3b5649490a92e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2010\/05\/may-ekstrand-newsletter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"May Ekstrand Newsletter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/","name":"Ekstrands in Congo","description":"Glimpses, profound and mundane, into our life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/#\/schema\/person\/08990b6f91da9939c5c3b5649490a92e","name":"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b31b551d30c8a82b127b0ec8f1572498d62b706e89148248d8776b1d0402ecf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b31b551d30c8a82b127b0ec8f1572498d62b706e89148248d8776b1d0402ecf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b31b551d30c8a82b127b0ec8f1572498d62b706e89148248d8776b1d0402ecf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Pete &amp; Cindy Ekstrand"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/author\/ekstrand\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":636,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}