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