Pastor Chris Jarrell, a member of the Board of Directors for Global Outreach, and sixteen members of the National Community Church mission team arrived in Uvira, Congo on June 9, 2012. For many of the team it was a return to a place and people who had captured their hearts on the trip in 2011. Team members have spent the year since their first trip focusing on Congo, learning, studying Swahili, advocating for Congo’s needs, making new contacts, and praying for their friends in Congo. New team members quickly learned how their hearts could be so broken and filled with love for these children at Congo for Christ.
Team member Ericka Andersen shares her thoughts on this life changing trip:
The most poignant thing I encountered was joy. Children are the remedy to so many ills of the spirit. African orphans, believe it or not, are some of the most joyful that I have ever encountered. Every hug, handshake, fist bump, tear and smile were like gifts. They were the most well-behaved kids I’ve ever encountered and some of these babes have been through more in their short lives than you even want to know. Though it is heartbreaking to think that these beautiful kids don’t have parents or families to take care of them, I am so thankful they reside in the Congo for Christ Center. There, they have loving caregivers and are led by an amazing man of God, Pastor Jeremiah Rukukuye.
If I found anything in Congo, it was hope. After my relentless reading up on the history of the country and conflicts, tragedies and evils it has endured, the last thing I expected to find was hope. But there it was—in the eyes of children— so many of them running around as innocent as can be, not yet tainted by the corruption that abounds. I saw it in the men and women of God in the church, in the selfless people who work at Congo for Christ. I heard it when Pastor Chris preached about making Congo great again and changing for the good. The crowds were always loudly cheering when he said things like that. These people in Uvira, they hope and believe in a better Congo—one that is restored where people are empowered and the leaders are good. This is possible. It isn’t quick, it isn’t easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. These kids at CCC, they love God, they love their country, they are the future of this place.
Global Outreach believes in establishing relationships and long term investment in the nations where we work. We have helped Pastor Jeremiah and CCC for over fifteen years and with your help this will continue. You can be assured that every gift you give is prayerfully used to bring healing, salvation and hope to a hurting world. In Congo, thirty seven orphans still need a sponsor. Your gift of $35 a month will help change a life.
To see more pictures of the NCC missions trip to Congo For Christ please download our July 2012 newsletter: http://media.wix.com/ugd//b27ff3_8d066ed447c170de8ffd27066f21a2a2.pdf Learn more about Global Outreach ministries in the Congo: http://www.global-outreach.net/#!congo/cf6u Will you consider sponsorship of an orphan at Congo For Christ Orphanage? http://www.global-outreach.net/#!sponsor-an-orphan/c6jz
