Doug Wright in Congo

Here's Doug's 3rd update from the DR Congo. The final trip report will come out in a few day... (He was due home Sunday night, August 15. They will leave the end of the week to take Sarah back to Wheaton).

I'm gett'n kind'a tired of beans. It's easy to imagine how eating too much of the same thing could lead to poor health. They still taste pretty good, but are kind of hard on the system...if you know what I mean! Really I have nothing to complain about. Joseph, my cook, takes good care of me. Although we only "touchons à la viande" (taste a little meat) about once a week, we still have plenty to eat...especially compared to the extremely poor people I've been meeting in Isiro and the surrounding countryside on my bike outings. But more on that later.

The Lord has really been answering your prayers for us! Aguma, Adara, Madrakele and I have really sensed his protection in the spritual battle. Not to mention the great fellowship, unity, encouragement and inspiration we've all experienced during the translation checking sesssions. We've almost checked 12 chapters of 2 Corinthians, and I expect we'll finish the last chapter tomorrow. Pastor Lalima gave us the ultimate compliment the other day after joining us for a checking session. He says, "Now this is really how the Logos speak, and it's powerful!" Of course, that implies that we need to bring the whole New Testament up to that standard. Next week, we'll print out 20-25 copies of 2 Peter and 2 Corinthians in Logoti for the Reviewers' Committee to check back in Todro. Then hope to finish some consistency checks and update the translation plan before I leave on Friday.

Had an unexpected surprise at church today where I met up with five Logo friends I hadn't seen for years. They'd traveled nearly 350 miles by bicycle on muddy rain-forest roads for some church meetings/training in Isiro (and a couple of them are my age!). After the service, we had quite a chat in Logoti about the progress of the translation project and how the Logo churches are praying for the team and our family. It's really encouraging to hear that the Logos themselves, like many other Christians around the world, are engaging in the battle to see God's Word translated into Logoti. And they were excited to hear that we hope to make it to Todro for the dedication in about 3 years.

I can't seem to shake a growing burden for the poorest Congolese I've been meeting here. It just doesn't seem like enough any more to just greet them and then walk (or ride) on by. And no coincidence that I've been reading a book Peggy Laney gave me on how to help the poor without hurting them (and yourself). So God sends a very special Congolese lady named Kabibi into my life. I first met her last March when she literally came crashing into one of our checking sessions. Some Congolese friends had tried to restrain her, but she was very determined to see me, the visiting "mundele" (white person). It only took me a few seconds to realize that she had more than just a mild mental and physical handicap, affecting the way she walked and causing very slurred speech. I soon found out that she had been abandoned by her parents as a child, was now about 28 or 30, a widow, and had four little kids (three out of wedlock by guys who took advantage of her frail mental condition and then split). I tried not to seem too bothered by the "interruption" of our translation work. Gave her a meager handout which seemed to console her for the moment, and she left. But I couldn't get her off my mind, and knew that I hadn't even asked the Lord how he wanted me to respond.

So guess who shows up again this time. Right! Kabibi - and even more determined than before! She somehow sidesteps Joseph's protesting gestures (he tries to protect me from the many vendors that come to the door), barges through the front door and comes hobbling right up to the translation table. Then she launches into what seemed like a 5-minute supplication for help with food for her kids, begging for mercy, stumbling over words, arms flailing, spit flying. By the end, she was actually trembling - thought she might break down sobbing right then and there. I was struck with pity for her, and even anger that any human being should have to abandon all dignity and beg like that in order to get through to hard calloused hearts like mine. Went over to her and said softly, "You don't have to ask anymore, Kabibi. I'm going to help you!" She was suddenly quiet and a big smile came over her face. I gave her a more meaningful gift, and she was off. But I still had this nagging burden that my gift wouldn't have any lasting effect, and that I hadn't really listened to the Lord.

Well, you wouldn't believe it. I just sat down to write this letter, when someone starts pounding on the front gate. As soon as I opened the gate, Kabibi comes barreling right into me with a baby in her arms and a little girl in tow. "Ok, Lord," I thought, "I'm going to try to listen to you this time." I almost had them sit on the porch, but then thought better of it and had them come in and sit on the couch. Tried to listen patiently as Kabibi stumbles through her plea - this time for help with her daughter, Ndisi's school fees. After repeating herself several times, she says, "I really can't explain what I want to say, so I brought Ndisi to explain to you."

Now Ndisi is a lovely young girl, about 10 or 12 years old, and well-spoken - no sign of any handicap - in fact, obviously quite bright, but with a look of desperation in her eyes. As I listened to her, it suddenly occurred to me, this is the answer! Ndisi is the way the Lord will provide long term for Kabibi and the other kids. She just needs a good education. I asked what she needed for school - a uniform (what a shame she hadn't had one up to then), notebooks and pens, for starters. For a relatively meager sum by Western standards, I was able to meet the need. You should've seen her eyes light up when I gave her a fistful of decent Bic pens! Then I felt led to say to Ndisi, "You should never feel ashamed because of your Mom. She loves you and your siblings so much, she never gives up looking for ways to meet your needs." Ndisi lowered her eyes as my words obviously hit home, then looked up at me through her tears and nodded in agreement.

Well the climax was Kabibi's prayer. In broken Lingala (which, by then, I was following pretty well), she thanks God for his great love for her and her children, only lamenting that she didn't have anything to offer him in return. "Oh Lord, you see us when we don't have food to eat, or enough clothes to wear, or even a roof over our heads at night, and you hear our cries for help!" Then she thanks the Lord for leading them to this fellow believer, who gave them a cup of water in Jesus' name, and then listened to them and met their need. Well by then, it was all I could do to keep from really losing it. Kabibi had finished praying, but I couldn't look up with my eyes filled with tears. When I did, both Kabibi and Ndisi seemed fixated on my tears, perhaps surprised that the Lord could break into even a mundele's heart. As I walked them out to the gate, I found myself thanking them even more than they were thanking me. I was pretty sure that I had received much more through them, than they had through me!