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