Building Bukavu

One of our co-workers got a call from her husband 2 weeks ago saying he arrived home to find their home had been broken into and EVERYTHiNG that wasn’t nailed down or too big to be taken quickly, was gone. Beds and mattresses were still there but the mattresses had been slashed open, bedding gone. Houses, even expensive ones, are basic walls, not built with closets. So our workers store their clothing, dishes, kitchen supplies in old suitcases we gave them over the years. They, too, had been taken so no one had any clothes or whatnots but what was on their backs!  6 children and 2 adults, how do they cope? 

But I am not done yet. A few days later she was waiting for a bus/taxi at the place where EVERYONE waits to go up to the areas most inhabited by houses. Its people shoulder to shoulder and there are thieves everywhere slashing purse straps, etc., to steal whatever they can. A dangerous place that we stay away from but they have no choice. So she was standing shoulder to people she didn’t know waiting for her turn to be squeezed into an overflowing bus/van. She noticed movement slightly behind her.. A man with a knife and black covid mask was cutting the ladies Kikwembe (wrap around skirt fabric) to get to where her money was likely stashed rolled up in her waist area. He saw her look at him and silently showed her to keep quiet with his finger over mouth area. That means “don’t say anything or I will use my knife on YOU.” 

But the same dear friend/co-worker is a strong and courageous person. She was prepared. Last year Brenda gave all workers (us, too) a can of Mace. It was already in her hand as she had stood there and she used it on him, spraying his eyes. You can imagine what happened. He struggled violently until he fell into the filthy wet gutter while others around them wondered what was going on, probably feeling the Mace too. But it is unknown here. She just walked away and the lady, too, whose money and probably life was saved! 

This week arrived without fanfare. But only for a short time. We heard there was a fire in her neighborhood. Again her husband called to say it was close and he and the neighbors were using all the water and liquids they could find to fight the fires, while hopefully keeping their own homes safe as well. There are no fire engines or fire fighters, and fires do happen frequently.  I’m not sure how it was stopped but in the end there were 9 homes utterly destroyed, ending at the very next house from hers. That means it had been less than 6 ft away! We do thank the Lord for that!

Now what? Am I done? No. Because she and her husband are Christians and believe in helping others, they invited 2 of the burned out families to stay with them while they all figure out what to do next, giving them at least a roof over their heads. There are now 19 people staying there and she and her daughters are scrambling to find enough food to feed them all. They sleep on cement floors using whatever they have been given to cover themselves during the cold nights. 

Fortunately, she can wear my clothes so I gave her a bunch of them. Ray gave her boys and husband shirts – see photo – plus Brenda, Ray and I have given sheets, pans, anything that we have that they can use, and of course money for food, as much as we are able. 

That is just one story of things that go on here. Of course, we cannot help everyone. But for this precious friend and co-worker who does so much for us, we want to do all we can. 

Under His Wings, Jayn for the Harkemas 

Heart for Central Africa/Building Bukavu

Donations

PayPal email address – buildingbukavu4him@gmail.com

Blog/website: buildingbukavu.org – donate button here, can use credit cards or PayPal

For checks: HFCA, c/o the Harkemas, PO Box 355, Middleville, MI  49333

>Checks made out to HFCA

FaceBook: building bukavu 

“And the King will answer and say to them,’Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

We have now included the Buell School in our feeding programs. It is the school for orphans run by Tracy’s Heart that is free to the children who could not otherwise attend any school. These school children were not faring well in their studies. Without a proper diet and enough protein they are getting Bwaki, a protein deficiency disease, and consequently having a hard time learning or even staying awake. This disease will lead to death if not soon reversed.Their young bodies cannot sustain life or learning without food everyday.  However, we have no “extra” money for this. Without more partners it means a prison gets left out. That was made too real last week when a prison director called our co-worker to say one older man had already died, and others would be shortly. That is the first time someone has died of starvation in the years since our program started. So we are asking for more people to help buy food and feed both these children and the prisoners in several prisons. 

Recently one of the school children, a recipient of our food program in the middle of the school day, was so overwhelmed with joy he danced and his face glowed with wonder and surprise!  Without food in the morning and little in the evenings, he viewed this as a real “miracle.” For him it could only have come from God. Never before had he eaten anything in the middle of the dayand with enough to fill his tummy. .

We are giving hope to the hungry for so  many! But we must have more funds to continue in this venue as well as the prisons. YOU can make a difference! We are praying more people will get involved and literally save lives. Remember, all donations are tax deductible and ALL funds go directly to the Congolese people. 

Will you become a team member? 

Costs:

• Feeding 75 school children 6 times a week for a month costs $650 
• FYI: Congolese schools run 6 days a week 

• A small prison with 3 meals a week costs $500-$700 a month. 
• A large prison handling 1500-2000 inmates costs $2200-2500 a month for 3 meals 

            a week. 

Those prices are supposed to include small salaries to our co-workers for buying food in quantity, firewood for cooking, and transport to out station prisons, sometimes an overnight stay, etc. However, prices of food keep going up exponentially. 

Under His Wings, Jayn for the Harkemas

“And the King will answer and say to them, ’Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to                                                                                           one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’  Matt 25:40

DONATIONS

Buildingbukavu.org for blog and donate button, 

Can use credit cards or PayPal

Checks made out to Heart for Central Africa – HFCA ℅ the Harkemas, PO Box 355, Middleville, MI 49333For comments or questions: buildingbukavu4him@gmail.com

Many people wonder how we support our prison feeding program, pay for living and working in the Congo, and recently adding a feeding program for an orphan school. Some think we ourselves pay for everything. Ha! We are not able. Let me explain. Some missions have many churches that are required to funnel money through a paid board of directors, then on to support their missionaries and their programs. Others have no funds so ask their missionaries to travel for a year or two to garner enough support from churches  to be able to leave for their chosen mission field.  We are a rather specialized version of the latter. Ours is a faith-based mission board, located in Terre Haute, Ind, called Heart for Central Africa, an LLC.. It is an independent mison not denominational. No money goes to them or through them and our board members are volunteers, all pastors or former missionaries. We missionaries, also volunteers, must find ways to raise money ourselves, something Ray and I are not very good at. But because of our age and the needs of the Bukavu area we have experience with, we decided to fund our own living expenses and leave much sooner. It is only through our church and individuals who hear about us that contribute to the work that we do.

So Ray and I use part of our social security to fund our living expenses when in Congo. But the money for the actual work therefore must come from donations. When in the States Ray has to continue to work at a job to pay for all our needs here plus fund the price of coming and going while I focus on daily contact with our co-workers in Congo, writing news updates, making sure salaries are paid, managing the donations plus taking care of our co-workers’ family’s physical and medical needs, solving problems, and running the various feeding programs. We continue to pay for all the same things while we are home in the States so that the work can continue.

That is where our very special supporters come in. We cannot do anything without them! Perhaps you are one? There is no way we can adequately thank you for being a literal team member of this mission! Our co-workers and friends in the Congo know that it is the people behind us, who make it possible for us to be there. We have no way to do that alone. YOU are the ones who enable us to buy the food, to pay our workers, and rent the vehicles and drivers to bring the food to prisons both big and small. YOU are the ones who pay marginalized single moms to prepare special porridge for the inmates who are ill or cook food for the hungry school  kids. You and others are the key ingredient to doing what we do: save lives and give hope where there was none before.

Someone recently said, “I could never do what  you do or go where you go.” I am sure that is true for most. And that’s OK because we ARE willing!. But that person also said then he could help get us there and continue to do what we do by giving! The blessing of being able to help real people in very risky and incredibly difficult situations can be yours, too, if not already. We need more team members, particularly now. Truly we ARE called to Congo.We bring the love of God to touch people in a tangible way through the most basic of needs; food. Do you have a heart to help people who live in abject poverty and have no choices? 

Things have changed now, still due to the Covid epidemic. Even more than here, prices in Congo have soared! Desperate people are doing desperate things – crimes like stealing from even the poorest people, and kidnapping for a ransome, however small, is escalating. We can no longer do what we once did with the same amount of donations. Urgently, we need more people to help support the work! If you like what we do, will you prayerfully consider giving? 

You also can help by praying;

•  for our co-workers safety
•  the prison inmates 
•  for us to have the funds to return in early November
•  for additional regular funds to continue feeding many
• A really special gift? Funds to give our co-workers Christmas bonuses! 

All donations are tax deductible.Thank you! 

Under His Wings, Jayn and Ray

Heart for Central Africa/Building Bukavu

Donation Button: on buildingbukavu.org, website and blog, can use credit cards or Pay Pal

I want to tell the story once again of how our Prison Ministry  assessed the need to branch out and feed the school children at the Buell School, in case  you missed it  This is the orphan school Tracy’s Heart recently started for those children who are living with other families or neighbors, mostly single moms, but cannot afford school fees. The families are also too poor to feed everyone adequately. When the school began Tracy’s Heart donation base could not be stretched enough to include a daily meal for the children. Until they are, we decided the children really need daily food so we stepped in to help.

The two school rooms are hooked to the open kitchen area where the special porridge is cooked for the prisoners too ill to eat regular Congo food. Our co-workers told of how the children would clamor to help carry the humongous pans up the 3 stories of steps to the waiting vehicle, hoping a bit would spill out so they could lick it off their hands. Or scrape the overflow off the hot bricks where it had been cooked. At that moment we knew we had a new and immediate need to fill.

Plus, this group of school children were not faring well in school. Oh, they LOVED being able to attend school and they WANT to be there! They know without an education they are doomed to live in the same level of poverty as they see all around them. But without a proper diet with enough protein they are showing signs of Bwaki, a protein deficiency disease, and consequently are often ill or having a hard time learning, or staying awake. This disease will lead to death if not soon reversed. Their young bodies cannot sustain life or learning without quality food everyday.  We had no “extra” money for this. Without more partners it meant a prison would likely get left out, but we’d deal with that *later. Never-the-less, we all agreed this project had to be taken on immediately. We sent someone out to buy plastic bowls and cups, sacks of rice and beans, oil, salt, onions and tomatoes and within 3 days the program began.

 

The recipients of our food program on the first day it was served at the school were so overwhelmed with joy at seeing the meal, their faces glowed with wonder and surprise, some even danced around!  Without food in the mornings and little in the evenings, the children viewed this mid-day meal as a real “miracle.” For them, it could only have come from God. One young man had never before eaten anything in the middle                                                                                                                                                                                                                  of the day and he hoped it would continue. We don’t want to let him down!

Because we have added a school to our Prison Ministry Feeding Program, a new name had to be found for our brand. ”Hope for the Hungry was chosen. We are still under Heart for Central Africa Mission LLC, are in partnership with Tracy’s Heart, and continue the Prison Ministry. The new name allows us to grow beyond prisons alone. So we are hoping and praying  more people will get involved. 

*Later has come, read more on that in the next update.

We serve a minimum of  3000+ people and get a lot of bang for your buck!! 

Costs: $2,500 per month but need

• Feeding 40-50 school children 6 times a week every month

• FYI: Congolese schools run 6 days a week 
• Includes small salaries for 4 women who come to cook everyday
• A small prison is given 3 meals a week for a month, and includes 100 – 550 inmates and staff 

• always in other parts of the country with the worst roads imaginable
• includes renting a truck and driver or several motorcycles w/ drivers
• often our co-workers have to stay overnight before returning
• A large prison handles 1800-2000+ inmates who are given 3 meals a week for a month at a time.

• Rice and beans in huge sacks are cooked by the inmates in vats over open fires
• Specialty porridge is cooked by our co-workers for those too ill to eat other foods
• Includes salaries for our faithful co-workers, purchasing food in quantity, women to cook, hiring transport and driver, plus firewood or charcoal (made locally) for cooking

Under His Wings, Jayn for the Harkemas

Heart For Central Africa / Hope for the Hungry

“And the King will answer and say to them,’Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 NKJV

DONATIONS:

Blog; buildingbukavu.org for donate button, can use PayPal or Credit Card

Snail Mail: Heart For central Africa, ℅ the Harkemas, PO Box 355, Middleville, MI  4933

• Please write checks to HFCA and include box number on envelope

FaceBook: Building BukavuEmail : buildingbukavu4him@.gmail.com

We are back in Congo at last! It is still what we were used to, at least for the most part. But after being gone for 11 months, there are circumstances that are once again plenty frustrating. Traffic is MUCH worse owing to more vehicles and no rules of the road. It can be a nightmare, and one might want to plan by the clock for the least traffic.

To think that the Ukrainian situation doesn’t affect the entire world is false. Our first night here with visiting coworkers, it was all they could talk about. And they were understanding of the problems, especially concerning Russia’s oil. Why? Because it has affected life here in a very damaging way. Prices of everything have skyrocketed. No, not like in the U.S. More like 35 to 50% higher or more. A year ago, bread in baguette form was 3 loaves for $1.50. Today, we went to our favorite store, and it was 3 for $4. In the past, whenever I went to that store, I always bought enough loaves to send several home with each of our workers. They cannot afford such luxuries, so the families were thrilled. Now, at the new price, I cannot do that as regularly. 

There is a shortage of gasoline, and what is available is more than $6 a gallon and continuing to rise. That means that the price of riding on motorcycle taxis, or in vans and buses, the mode of transport for most people, has gone way up, too. Congolese food has risen literally overnight, and many can no longer afford to feed their families well or even every day. 

Making meals is always a problem, at least for me. What grows and is available here is limited. Today, I happily bought a few things at my favorite grocery store to increase my ability to make meals more easily. A large bottle of mayonnaise, a can of tiny peas (they are grown here but are too large and mealy), a can of mushrooms, an apple ($1), olive oil from Spain, napkins, peanut butter, four-berry jam, sardines, and a round loaf of sliced bread freshly baked that morning. Mind you, we have to buy bread often because it has no preservatives and gets green quickly. But don’t we love having the real thing! 

On the brighter side, I was once again greeted warmly by the young Lebanese man who owns the store, now stocked with more imported items than I’ve ever seen here. He says I remind him of his mother back in Lebanon, and for some reason, he always comes to greet me with a big smile, then puts goodies in my cart, telling the cashier they are free. This time one was a box of Milka chocolate-covered praline hearts. He greets Ray with a fist bump and asks where we have been. But he doesn’t give Ray any freebies. (Sorry, Ray, you don’t look like his mother.)  However, I do share. I left with a smile and a happy heart over enjoyable little things, like friendly people and small conversations. When I got home, I read the prices on the receipt. Yikes. Yes, prices have definitely gone up! 

Work and home are tightly intertwined. We have people around us 24/7 who talk a number of different languages, plus their traditions and cultures are drastically different. We always have to be alert, to listen and hope we understand exactly what they are saying or vice versa. Sometimes we think we’ve communicated something exactly right only to discover we didn’t, and the person is doing something quite different than we intended. 

Just this morning, I was giving Annie a list of veggies and fruit to buy at the open market. Red onions (onyo rouge) are most prevalent here. But I wanted a couple of white onions for a specific recipe. I couldn’t remember what they are called nor the word for “white.” So I wrote “onyo muzungu.” Muzungu is the word for a white person so I thought it might get the idea of color across. Oops! Mweupi is the proper Swahili word for the color white. Or blanc is French for white; you can use either. By her shocked reaction and the peals of laughter that ensued, I knew I had made my mistake of the day. (Only one of many!) White onions are more expensive and not always available, but she found them. So I put the correct word back in my memory. For me, where language is concerned, mistakes are boundless! 

Jet lag is one of the very first challenges we must overcome whenever we return. It takes time to be able to sleep only at the right time. Until we get regular sleep during our Congolese nights, we are just trying to keep our heads from bobbing and falling asleep in terrible positions during the day. Sadly, staying upright doesn’t always help. But it is passing, and we are eager to get to work!

Under His Wings,

Jayn Harkema, Heart for Central Africa/ Building Bukavu 

“Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out blessings will be saturated with favor.” (Prov. 11:5 TPT)

DONATIONS : 

Website/Blog: buildingbukavu.org – can use PayPal or credit card

Snail mail: HFCA the Harkemas, ℅ PO Box 355, Middleville, MI 49333

Facebook: Building Bukavu

Email: buildingbukavu4him@gmail.com

Ray and I hope you had a memorable holiday season with Christmas being the star activity. We know from personal experience that may not be the case in every instance due to various reasons. Yet the birth of Jesus is not about food or festivities but about a heart that can be full of peace and joy in spite of storms that may swirl around us. We, too, have had “storms” coming against us which threatened our return to Congo. But our desire to return is strong so we never gave up hope. Now it seems the storms are beginning to abate and we may soon see the sun again.

We are SO GRATEFUL for those of you who have continued to donate to the mission of feeding prisoners both physical and spiritual food in the Congo! We really appreciate those who give monthly, too. It helps to know how to plan and budget where the needs are greatest. The result is that many, many men and women have been spared death through starvation and many have also accepted the love and forgiveness of God that knows no end through the work of Jesus. Presently we are trying to serve 6 prisons though we do struggle to stretch the finances. 

I do apologize for being so slow in keeping up with Building Bukavu news and photos. It has been a rough 6 months. Ray and I had Covid over Thanksgiving and that was pretty difficult in itself. But then, due to Diabetes, I had major complications and was hospitalized. With the Lord by my side, I made it through. But it took many weeks for me to gradually recover, and I couldn’t even handle phone calls or texting! I’m still regaining strength day by day and the leg progress I had made after my knee replacement surgery was lost a bit. The pain I still have from that surgery back in July has been determined to be nerve damage. It will heal in time but nerve growth is slow. The result is I was directed to a pain doctor who IS helping and I am encouraged I will eventually be able to return to the Congo. Now I am back in physical therapy preparing my knee to function well again.

Ray is doing great though loathing the c-c-cold weather here in Michigan. He, too, is so eager to return! Though I must say we had one of the best Christmases with our family in many years. All our 5 children and spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were home and together for the holiday, which doesn’t happen often. We met at Eli (youngest son) and Harmony’s newly purchased home after moving here from Memphis, while Ted (oldest son) and Jen visited from Virginia with their 2 grown children, too. So having to be home over Christmas had its lovely pleasures!

And the work goes on. I get photos every time our co-workers take food to prison and the results are amazing. However, we have a problem in that the Congo will no longer let us post pictures from inside the prisons, in particular the faces of the prisoners. It is a fineable offense and would result in not only thousands of dollars in fines but a prison for our co-workers and we would be barred from returning. I’m sure pictures of giant bags of rice, beans and flour will get boring. We have yet to figure out this conundrum and get you the info you’d like. 

Some of the prisoners from outlying areas in the country are from militia groups, military or army, or rebels of any kind and are much more dangerous than what we might find around Bukavu. So the government is in the process of setting up one prison just for these men. It is a good plan to keep them separated. The good news is these men, too, are eager to hear of God’s love, hardly able to believe they can be loved and forgiven! So many sob and rejoice and vow to change their lives. 

However, they are transporting the not-as-dangerous prisoners out to the Bukavu prison. It was set up to hold roughly 700 men and women, now it must hold more than 2000. So life in this vastly overcrowded prison will get even more difficult. We have found the directors to be overjoyed at what we do for them. So we are free to minister and pray and provide food for all.

• Please pray for the prisoners, the prison directors to be wise in how they run the program, and for peace to reign inside.

• Pray also for our faithful co-workers who travel into difficult areas and prisons on roads and territories that are dangerous.
• Pray for us to be able to return very soon. 

One thing the prisoners ask for is Bibles and songbooks. Want to help? Purchased there a Bible in French ($13 ea., prices have risen) or Swahili ($8), or a songbook ($3).

Thank you and may the blessings and protection and favor of the Lord be upon you!

Under His Wings, Jayn and Ray Harkema  

Heart for Central Africa

We’re home! Home! #1 home that is, back in Michigan. It is not always easy to return home. The trip itself is grueling and the changing of cultures is not an easy transition emotionally, physically or mentally. There are challenges to living in the States, too, as you well know. So the transition requires changes in our thinking, as well as our habits that at our age may not be as simple as once, was, even after only a few months of being away.

Jet Lag is real. It means we can fall asleep at inappropriate times. 4:00 pm here means it is 10:00 or 11:00 pm in Congo depending on Daylight savings time. We are usually asleep by 10:00 in Congo which means here we cannot stay awake at dinner time. Our bodies, it is said, take 3 weeks to readjust to any time change, especially such a big change. Plus, we cannot sleep during the right times. Consequently, we are tired all the time and the brain does funny things.

Crazy things. For example, I am making a meal and I KNOW I have Parmesan cheese and I KNOW exactly where it is, I can “see’ it in my mind’s eye. I go to the refrig to get it from the third shelf down in the door. But it’s not there. I go to a certain shelf in the pantry….but it’s not there either. Not only is the cheese not there on that shelf but that shelf is not there either! I stop to think….. that Parmesan IS in both those places…….BUT IN CONGO. Oops. Shift gears. (And remember to put that on my grocery list)

Swahili words slip into our conversion when we are unaware. Some Swahili words are better in their meaning than English words. Some appropriate phrases just roll out of our mouths without even being aware we are not speaking English. Oops. Shift again.

Things we are so happy to have when back in the States:
For Ray –
being able to drive at normal speeds without police stopping us to demand money. (Top speed in Congo is 25 mph for certain blocks, all other times = 10mph)
Freedom to come and go at any time of day or night without explanations.
Ice Cream and real Butter

For me: –
Eggs that I don’t crack open and throw out. 1 out of every 4 is too old or worse. (Actually, I still cook them but feed them to the dog)
Vegetables, many, many kinds!
Family and friends!
Freedom to come or go without police stopping us to demand money
Water to shower and wash my hair, no tension that I won’t have enough to rinse out all the soap (or hair color, shhh).
There have been plenty of problems that cropped up in Congo since we left. But I will praise God, for He has been faithful to His Word. What men may have meant for evil, He has successfully turned things around for good! Tracy’s Heart has been inspected and qualified to become recognized as a legal Congo school. That’s a really big deal and government officials will not cause us any problems. Wonder of wonders, it also means we can finally begin a school for orphans, until now only a dream! There have been crises’ but in almost every case the problem was overcome, even bringing unexpected blessings!

SOS: NEWS JUST IN…
The Volcano north of Goma has erupted causing major tragedy. Thousands of homes have been destroyed. People had to leave Goma with little more than the clothes on their backs. Certain areas as yet unaffected have been told to evacuate as another earthquake may be imminent. The refugees are flooding Bukavu, hoping to find food and shelter. That means prices are sharply rising and food is in short supply. Now, everything is shut down meaning more shortages of food for residents and refugees alike. People have heard that Tracy’s Heart fed people during the Covid epidemic so they are knocking at our gates pleading for food. As a result, we are taking donations to purchase food that our co-workers can pass out to refugees. This is a catastrophe that not only centers around Goma but is bringing long-lasting serious problems for Bukavu.

The danger doesn’t stop there. If the Methane bubble at Lake Kivu’s bottom gets disturbed by more earthquakes or Lava, it could literally blow up. All living things would be snuffed out immediately. We are praying for the blessing and mercies of God to prevent that from happening.

Under His wings, Jay for the Harkemas

Heart For Central Africa
Building Bukavu and Prison Ministry
DONATIONS
Donate button on Website: buildingbukavu.org Can use credit or debit card or PayPal
Snail Mail: HFCA ℅ Harkema’s, PO Box 355, Middleville, MI 49333

You may remember that we were proposing a reconstruction project in the outdoor work area at Tracy’s Heart. There was also a huge need for a larger classroom area and the next step in the dream was to have a street level shop where the wamama (ladies) who had graduated could sell custom made clothing, and other gift-type goods. Long time supporters of Tracy’s were happy to help it expand to give more marginalized women in Congo hopeful futures. Building  products like wood, majanja (corrugated metal for roofing), sand, stones, cement, etc. were ordered. It looked like both projects would soon get off the ground. 

But unexpected legal issues cropped up making the plans an impossibility. It was a crucial and tense week as we pondered and prayed what to do. The future of Tracy’s was at stake.  The Prison ministry and feeding program is under the auspices of Tracy’s Heart, too, and it needed  a safe space to store the many large sacks of sorghum, rice, beans, etc, away from critters,  plus an outdoor kitchen to cook it all every week. What were we to do? 

Soon after, Tracy’s staff and the Prison staff came together to pray. It was there that we received direction. The conclusion the Lord brought to us rather unexpectedly: we were to look elsewhere for more adequate facilities and move the entire mission out! Our part was to have faith in God that this is His mission and He would make a way where there seemed to be no way. Armed with a list of all the requirements we could hope for to expand the work, it became Byabeca’s job to locate possible houses to look at.  Rental property prices are very high here, and buying even higher, we did not know what she would find. To be truthful, we couldn’t imagine how this could happen nor how long it would take. Even the dream of starting a school for severely underprivileged children was included in our “dream it” list. That way children of the ladies who would go through future Tracy’s  programs would have the opportunity to begin school, too.

It is no exaggeration to say within 2 days Ray was asked to drive us to look at 3 places. Brenda did not feel good at all but the prospect of finding a place so quickly so astonished us that no one wanted to miss out on the viewings. All 3 places had possibilities but one stood out completely with its possibilities, not to mention its beauty, cleanliness, and amazing yard. It met every line on the “dream it” list,and more!  But what would be its rental price? After a few days the owner, who knew of Tracy’s Heart and the work that we do, as well as hearing good things about the people who work there, was thrilled to think we might be his renters. He agreed on only $200 more a month than we had been paying!  Our heads were spinning with the speed at which our prayers had been answered. Indeed, God is in the Blessing business and within a week we had moved in. 

“Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the Glory……”     Eph 3:20 NKJV

The yard, which had been beautiful in the past, was way overgrown and bushes and trees of all kinds, many rather exotic, abound, but everything needed major trimming or removing. But as I may have mentioned before, one of our zamus (night watchmen) is really a gardener and loves that work. He was brought in to begin the clean up and now works several days a week at the new Tracy’s Heart. Included with the property is a garage on street level which will soon become the longed for shop where some of our graduating ladies will work. We have already turned a corner of the yard into an outdoor kitchen where the prison food continues to be made. 

The much anticipated graduation of the present class of ladies is now scheduled and it will be a big event. Those that learned to sew, make patterns, and tailor clothing are working on their final examination: a complete outfit for themselves, each one out of the same fabric, with a fashion show at the ceremony. It had been delayed because of Covid plus the shortage of space for guests. Invitations are going out, (hand delivered as there is no mail service here) and some very special guests will be joining us. Yes, the excitement is building! 

Under His Wings, Jayn

In the U.S.-  Heart for Central Africa Mission,  a 401(c)3 organization

In Congo – Tracys Heart Foundation.org and Building Bukavu.org

DONATIONS – donate button found on buildingbukavu.org, Credit or debit card or PayPal

Snail Mail – HFCA ℅ the Harkemas, PO Box 355, Middleville, MI  49333

Email: jayn.a.harkema@gmail.com