Tabitha Center Installations #9 and #10

Last Friday I had the privilege of being chauffeur for three of the ladies that work for the Tabitha Centers, Claudine Selenga, Marie and Charlene.  You can click here to read my first blog about the Tabitha Center.  During the week they installed four new centers.  On Friday I was there for two of the installations.

Lovely mud!  How do Congolese people stay so clean?

Supporters of our ministry have very graciously helped us with our transportation and so it was an honor to help others with theirs.  First we went to Claudine's house and loaded up 14 hand crank sewing machines and two treadle sewing machines. The truck isn't a big one so we could only fit two passengers in with all the cargo.

Of course, after I got stuck I saw how all the taxis were getting through.

We planned to deliver the sewing machines to two different neighborhoods.  The first neighborhood is Makala which means charcoal.  We traversed through some very rough streets.  I got stuck in the mud at one spot and about 10 men came along and helped us get out.  I did learn how to use the 4 Wheel Drive sort of.  It wasn't until evening that I realized I had kept the truck in 4 Wheel Drive all day.  Oops!  The good thing about Kinshasa is that when you get stuck there are usually people around happy to make a little money by pushing you out.  So it cost me a few dollars but  it was another story to add to my adventure.  There was almost a riot too, I think because some didn't think I had paid enough.  That was when we stopped and prayed out loud, not that we hadn't been praying silently before. Right after we prayed the young men stepped back from the truck and we were able to drive on through the muddy street.

When we arrived at the place for the first installation I found that we were at a house.  It was the house of the President of the women's ministry for the church that would be sponsoring the center. It was basically just a little blue gate behind some ladies selling corn flour at a table.

The story of Tabitha, written in Lingala

Inside the gate I found a very organized group or crowd of women all ready for a ceremony to begin their Tabitha Center.  Claudine Selenga and her friend and accountant, Marie were ready with a program. We sang some songs and prayed.  Then Charlene showed up.  She couldn't be in the truck with us because there was no room left. She had taken a taxi. She actually was the teacher among them. She had us turn to Acts 9:36 to read the story of Tabitha.  She taught about how Tabitha sewed for the women and children and  how Peter came and raised her from the dead.  Then she had the women turn to Proverbs 24: 30-34.  There she discussed how the sluggard is a fool and it is important for all of us to work. I was very impressed with the way she expounded on God's word.     

After Charlene shared the scriptures, we sang again.  Then Claudine stood and presented the materials to begin the Tabitha Center.  An essential part of the Tabitha Center is using the Bible and teaching from it.  So the new center was presented with four Lingala Bibles and one French.  From my observation, most of the teaching in the Tabitha Center is done in Lingala. The Government language of the Democratic Republic of Congo is French.  People with education in this country speak French.  So far I have stuck with the uneducated, what little French I know gets lost in my Lingala.
Another essential part of the Tabitha Center is the study book, Choisis La Vie, put out by World Relief which teaches young girls about their position in life.  It also teaches them basic facts about sex as well as their relationship to men.  It encourages respect for themselves.


After presenting the books, the sewing machines were presented. Being a woman that sews, I found this very exciting.  I believe all the other ladies did too. 

Of course, I enjoyed the photo ops at the end of the program.  There is more below about the next place we went too so keep scrolling down.  

Funny how I don't blend in like Waldo. :)

The pastor and friends helped us tie down the rest of the sewing machines.

The New Tabitha Center in Lemba was already established.

Only the leaders were there when we arrived.

The next part of the trip we were able to be a little less conspicuous by laying the treadle down in the back.  We all prayed that we would not be stopped by the police.  God made the way and we got all the way to the next Tabitha Center with no problems.  The next center was an already established program which called themselves, Dorcas which happens to be Tabitha's Greek name.  We had the installation at a beautiful Presbyterian Church in a neighborhood called Lemba. (Lemba means tired in Lingala). The women were already teaching other women how to crochet,  I bought a hat crocheted out of plastic bags for Lydia.  This program provided school supplies for the orphan children in the neighborhood in September when school starts.  They also provide some special foods for the children at Christmas time. 
Only the leaders were available when we arrived.  Charlene did a great job of changing her teaching from Proverbs 24 to Proverbs 31, to encourage the women to press on in the work they were already doing. 
This is a ministry of Reach Global, one of the missions Rod and I worked with during our first years in Congo. Our daughter Emily, is applying to come and work alongside these women in ministry.

Please enjoy the pictures below of our time in Lemba.

Crocheted items, done by the Dorcas Center.

A photo of children receiving school supplies last September.

The books "Choisis La Vie" and a instruction book for sewing.

Claudine presenting one of the 7 sewing machines to the new center.

A beautiful lady displaying their new Bibles.

Me posing for a picture with some great servants for God.

Higher Education

A lot of you know that I have home schooled all of my kids over the years.  As they have been leaving the nest I have gotten involved in other children's education from tutoring, to long term substitution, to home schooling other people's children, and then I became a Educational Therapist with NILD.
Since I am living in a country that lacks a lot in special education, I found myself in "over my head" a lot of the times. NILD is designed to work with children that have Learning Disabilities.  My students can have anything from a Learning Difference to Intellectual Disabilities.

So this year have I started on a new adventure and I am attempting to get my Master of Arts in Teaching with a Special Education emphasis.  I am actually working on it through Liberty University Online. As a result of this venture I have been able to get involved in the Kinshasa Christian School (KCS) by volunteering weekly.  Along with this I was able to get out and see Village Bandeko, one place in this city that is working with students that have disabilities.

At Village Bandeko I was very impressed with their work.  The students in the kindergarten level were learning math and were learning both to sign and to speak with their voice as well as read lips.  The school is not for just the deaf but the majority of the students tend to be deaf.

 When I visited the secondary students at Village Bandeko they were able to communicate rather well.  The students could understand my Lingala and they communicated with their teacher in French, all by reading lips.  I asked if they used the French Sign Language and they said, "No, we have a Congolese Sign Language."
The female students in secondary school were learning to sew. The male students were learning art.
Congo gets a bad name at times for their treatment of the disabled but I have to say that Village Bandeko is a great example to all of how we can seek for these students to reach their God given abilities.  I would like to see more options in vocations and careers and less segregation in occupations for genders but Village Bandeko has given a great start to these students.
 

My weekly volunteering at KCS has led me to be a part of this great school that is in its beginning stages. I have been working with students both in the elementary and the secondary school.  It has been rewarding and I am excited to what God is going to do with this school. 
The students are all loved and accepted and are growing academically and in character. 
 

 As you can see, one of my prior students is growing up and enjoying some great friendships at KCS.  Their teacher, Mr. Yves has been challenging them in their academics.

This past weekend, Kinshasa Christian School had their first benefit concert.  It was great to see how these students have been developing their talents in music.  Some danced, all played instruments and sang.  Of course in the end, they gave a big splash in the pool.
I am not sure where God is going to lead me from here but I am enjoying the journey.

A Congolese Wedding

 Our friend Pepe got married this last Saturday to this lovely woman named Joelle.  Pepe told us about a year and half ago that he was planning to get married.  First he had to earn the money to pay the dote (I am not sure about the spelling). A dote is the bride price that a respectful man will pay his future father-in-law for his bride. This meant working every job he could get.  He became a chauffeur to several of us American women.  If you have ever driven in Kinshasa you will understand why we wanted a chauffeur.  He also was known as a great "go for" man.  He knows his car parts and is good at searching around town to find what we need and learned how to shop for mondeles (white people) so we could send him out to get the big things like a 50 kg sack of flour or a case of chicken..  Another job he did was guard houses.  He also wanted to prepare a home.  If we had any dishes that we were finished with, he was happy to have them.

 When there is a marriage in Congo, there are at least four different big events.  There is the traditional wedding in which the groom pays the dote to his father-in-law and the family agreement is made.  Then there is the legal civil wedding that is done at a local government office.  After that there is the church wedding which is when the bride and groom say their vows in church.  Then there is the reception.  We were invited to the reception.  We were told that the reception would begin at 9 p.m.  We actually had a big event that evening and didn't get home until 9:20.  By the time we got to the reception it was 10 p.m. and we arrived just as the wedding party arrived. Therefore, I was able to snap these pictures of the bridal party standing outside the reception room. 

 Since the bride and groom are usually an hour late, everyone was inside and ready to greet and cheer them on.  The wedding party then parades and dances down the center to the main table.  Oh, the guests bring whistles that are blown constantly, there is music blaring and there is also extra noise like sirens going off through  the sound system.

 Once the wedding party is in and set down, they are presented by the MC.   Pepe's cousin and a good friend of mine, Christian, was the MC.  Many comments were made about these two both being the babies of their families.  They were presented along with a couple that have been assigned to mentor them through their first year of marriage.

 Then the families and friends present gifts to the bride and groom.  Each group is called forward and they parade through the building with their gifts.  Most of the gifts are not wrapped and the givers love to flaunt what they are giving as they dance.  They received everything from a foam mattress, to a chest freezer,  to a coffee table, to plastic laundry baskets, to a small electric stove.   Well we gave them an envelope with some money in it. Not quite as creative. We did "dance" or as Rod says, "Shuffle" for about two steps.

 We were surprised when we got to the buffet of food before midnight, 11:30 p.m.  There was chicken, beef, french fries and plenty of delicious food.  Unfortunately we were rather worn out and not hungry so we chose to skip out on the food and go home for a good night sleep so we would be ready to teach Sunday School the next day. 

Tabitha Center

Claudine Selenga teaching the women in the vocational center.

The Tabitha Center is a new ministry here in town started by Claudine Selenga.  She began this ministry after having a Bible Study with her own daughters and some neighborhood girls.  The study she was doing with them was called "Choose Life" published by Would Relief.  Claudine found that these neighborhood girls were very confused about basic facts of life.  She realised the great need throughout Kinshasa for young women to have basic training on their position in life, options for living outside of prostitution, and valuing others.

Figuring out the pattern to a favorite skirt.

Kinshasa is a city with approximately 12 million people.  Many girls come to Kinshasa with hopes of completing school and   then getting a job to support themselves and their families.  Life in Kinshasa is very expensive and many families cannot afford to finance their children all the way through school.  Often the girls drop out and resort to prostitution.  Many children in families in Kinshasa are thrown out on the streets either after being accused of sorcery (witchcraft) or a step parent refuses to accept them into the new marriage to a biological parent.  One-third of the children on the streets are girls and many of them resort to prostitution.

Claudine has a desire to reach out to these girls and help them with training in tailoring, cosmetology or cooking in order to find better options for living.  The first Tabitha Center was opened in the neighborhood of Bendal next to a bar.  The building had been a brothel until the ministry took it over to make it into a vocational school. 
When I visited several weeks ago, I noticed their daily schedule on the door.  Each day begins with Bible and then studying "Choose Life".  Then the vocational training begins.

When I arrived it was already close to 10 a.m. and only one girl showed up.  When I enquired as to why, I was told that many of the girls already have their own children and they have to wait for someone to babysit for them.  Others need transportation to get across town.  I asked if they would begin at the beginning of the schedule when the girls arrived.  The answer was, "Of course!"  So the girls will get Bible teaching and life training even with a relaxed schedule.
There is a great need for these vocational schools to be located in neighborhoods throughout Kinshasa so girls do not have to travel by taxi to get to school.  Claudine's vision is to begin 15 vocational training centers by April 2014.  I just had supper with the mission director, Jim Snyder, on Thursday last week.  They had just dedicated another center.  In five years they want to see 1,000 centers opened in Kinshasa being directed by women in the church who can teach what they know already.

Personally, I like this dress and would like one made for me.

Reach Global, the American extension of the mission is hoping to team with the Tabitha Centers and send out teams to encourage the women serving in these centers.  They also are financially assisting to start the programs.
If you are interested in assisting with this ministry to can receive more information by contacting

Ready to get to work!

Reach Global
901 E 78^th St., Minneapolis, MN  55420
You can follow this link to give a donation. Then follow the "give" link.  Then you can specify for the Tabitha Center Project #2200-5414.

Today, March 10, 2014, I went to visit the Tabitha Center again.  Claudine was there with several women to meet me and tell me about the center.  I took my friend Tasha and her daughter with me.  I really enjoyed talking with Claudine.  My Lingala has not improved over the last 10 years since I have been working so much with English speaking students or students learning English.  It was refreshing to speak Lingala with somebody from Tandala area again.

 Claudine was waiting to start their day with some other ladies when I arrived.  It looked like they were in between classes.  Two of the ladies that came had just finished up the classes with Claudine at the Bendal Center and were getting ready to do an internship in other neighborhoods. 

 It was nice to meet Claudine face to face finally.  We are still getting to know each other and hope to spend some time with some English lessons in the near future.

 Just recently the Bendal Tabitha Center started teaching the women how to do hair.  This will give the women another vocation to earn money for their families. 

 Yes, we drove my truck to the center.  I still appreciate those who gave so that I could have this truck to get around in Kinshasa.  I also greatly appreciate my husband who keeps it repaired and in shape.

Adah and I got to pose with the ladies.

Tasha and I plan to go back with our fabric to ask the Tabitha Center to help us with our sewing.
For a most recent update on the Tabitha Center click on this link: Installation #9 and #10.

The First Language of the Day

In the heart or stomach of Africa!

When we were in the first stages of learning Lingala, my husband would often comment that the language he began speaking, besides English in the morning was the one he responded to everyone for the rest of the day.  In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the government language is French.  At that time the country was called Zaire.  So we started out in January 1991 learning French.  After three months into school we found out that we would be moving to Tandala in Northwest Congo.  The women of the village usually did not speak French so we would want to know Lingala, the trade language.  Since Rod would be communicating in airports and with government agents he needed to have the French.  So I switched to
learning Lingala and Rod continued learning French.

Equateur is in the Northwest corner.

When we finished language school, we moved to Tandala and there began settling in only to be evacuated after six weeks.  You can read about that HERE.   It wasn't until the following year that we returned and while we waited for Rod to be able to get his flight standardization completed, Rod started studying Lingala and I continued studying.  We were able to spend two weeks in the village of Limpoko where we each had a tutor each day and we learned to love the people we lived among.  It was while we were down there that I made one of my big bloopers in language.  Rod was planning to go hunting with a couple of men the next day.  When his tutor invited me, I told him.   "Nakobota bana lobi,"  which means, "I will give birth to children tomorrow."  I actually meant to say  "Nakobatela bana lobi," which means, "I will be watching children tomorrow."
As the months went on, Rod found that if he stepped out our door speaking Lingala first in the morning, he thought in Lingala all day.  If he stepped out the door speaking French first, he thought in French all day.  I have to say that I never got efficient enough in French to switch from one to the other.
This week I was studying Priscilla Shirer's book, Discerning the Voice of God.  The following paragraph really spoke to me.  "We begin our day surrendering ourselves to Him and asking Him to heighten our spiritual senses to see and hear Him throughout the day.  Then, as we do the mundane tasks that consume our lives, we purposefully turn our awareness inward and say, 'God what do you think?' (2012, p.37)."    I saw this as my husband saw the language situation.  If I start my day focusing on God, then when I step out of my quiet moments with God I know I can speak His language when things get tough.  I can turn to God and say, "What do you think?" and I know he will hear and answer in a language I
can understand.

Shirer, P. (2012). Discerning the voice of God (7th ed.). Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press.