By Curt Peterson
Since my last journal entry, I have had limited access to the Internet and a computer. This is the common challenge with communications with Africa – limited Internet access in most places and limited bandwidth when there is a connection, making timely, consistent communication difficult.
My itinerary has taken me from Gemena in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Nairobi, Kenya, and now through Juba to Malakal, Sudan. Here are some of my reflections and experiences in the past several days.
Worship began in the Bokonzo CEUM church at about eight o’clock Friday night. From my guesthouse bedroom I heard choirs, congregational singing and passionate praying, preaching, and praise. When I retired for the night at 11 p.m., the worship was still under way. I dozed off with the sounds of prayers and singing wafting from a sanctuary filled with devout believers.
In the morning, I learned that the prayer service went on all night as it does on Friday nights once a month. This passionate prayer service is for the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of God to be released through the church into the community and the world that God loves. What a powerful reminder to me of the fervent faith of the believers in Congo.
Saturday morning our Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flight in the Cessna 206 followed the Congo River south for four and three-quarter hours to Kinshasa. A late afternoon and evening of rest at the Centre d’ Accueil Protestante (CAP) guesthouse prepared me to continue my visit to Covenant World Mission partners in Africa. When we fly in and out of Kinshasa, we are escorted by a protocol team consisting of a police officer and airport protocol agent, Kwale, along with Pastor Danu and a driver for the vehicle they provide. Kwale has become a trusted friend and security support for my six trips to Congo since 2003.
Arriving at Nairobi on Sunday afternoon, I was greeted by Samuel from the AIM Mayfield guesthouse. This clean and hospitable accommodation is provided for missionaries and mission-related travelers by African Inland Mission. They also operate the Rift Valley Academy, which we had the opportunity of visiting on Monday. The academy is the school where three of Covenant missionary James Tang’s children attend while he is serving in Sudan. The top photo shows the Rift Valley classroom building.
This 40-acre campus for 550 students has a missionary and support staff of more than 100 individuals and serves the mission of God by providing excellent care and education for children of missionaries in East Africa. Covenant Pastor Wally and Donna Coots served at the academy for seven years and, according to the headmaster, they had a significant impact on the emphasis on discipleship and the spirited tone of the campus during their years of service. Wally is now serving as associate pastor at Forest Park Covenant Church in Muskegon, Michigan.
Another member of Forest Park who is also in the Rift Valley is Dr. Tim Mead, an orthopedic surgeon who heard a call from God to establish a children’s orthopedic hospital in Kenya in partnership with CURE International. The center photo shows Dr. Mead (at right) at the hospital with Curt Peterson and Cindy Ekstrand, who with her husband, Pete, serve as regional coordinators for Africa with the Department of World Mission.
In the past 12 years, the CURE hospital has developed into a model hospital in Kenya, averaging more than 2,000 surgeries per year with more than 7,000 children screened through mobile health clinics and a residency program involving doctors from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Cameroon. Forest Park Covenant and Bayside Covenant in Roseville, California, are among the churches that are actively involved in this work. Three new operating rooms have been funded by the CARIS Foundation. The lower photo shows a mural that is displayed over the central nurses station at the CURE Kijabe hospital.
Kenya is a beautiful country that is more developed in its infrastructure and industry than other countries in East Africa. Tourism has been a significant part of their Gross National Product. However, because of tribal conflict following elections in late 2007, tourism has suffered the past 18 months with significant unemployment.
The extreme drought in Kenya over the past two years (featured in the September 7, 2009, edition of the New York Times) has especially affected rural areas where people are suffering without adequate food (one meal a day) with cattle and wild animals dying for lack of water and food. This has become another disaster area in Africa.
Our prayers and advocacy for the people of Kenya is needed now.
To read previously published reports, select from below. Covenant News Service will publish additional updates as they become available.
Congo – A Place of Joy, Challenges, Opportunity
Congo – We Have Lot to Learn About Faith, God
Congo – Face-to-Face Best Way to Build Relationships
