After a two-week fact-finding trip to Bukavu, Congo in April 2016, during which we stayed with the Heart for Central Africa (HFCA) missionaries already there, we felt a draw to return to work in the Congo, where we served in the 1980s. As we saw and experienced what HFCA was about, we eagerly asked God to show us where we could be used.
For Ray, there was little doubt as to how important his gifts and talents would be, both physically as well as spiritually. He was asked by the HFCA field coordinator to consider taking on The Sawmill Project, which had begun with her husband several years before. As a result of the illness and unexpected death of her husband, the sawmill project could not be continued and all the machinery sits unused.
Ray can provide training to local men in several trades and in business, a service and end product to individuals as well as churches, plus financial help to various mission projects. The Sawmill Project consists of a portable sawmill and tractor that can be moved to a tract of land anywhere. The trees can then be cut into boards on site and sold for building. In time, the project has the potential to become self-supporting, paying living wages to the trained workmen, with profits used to buy more trees and fund other projects within the churches or Tracy’s Heart, a mission that educates, trains, and gives hope to abused and trafficked women.
Jayn’s gifts and heart are for teaching biblical truths that alter our everyday lives for the better, enabling others to see and walk in the love of God, to experience the joy of personal relationship with Him, to be encouraged by the Word, and to have hope for the future and joy in the now. Meeting with the spiritual formation committee in Bukavu, a small group of local church leaders dedicated to helping people in area churches to grow and mature, her heart was ignited. Teaching on a Sunday morning, sometimes in partnership with Ray, will give credence to the joy of marriage and the teamwork that’s possible when each spouse has value. Encouraging men and women to see that women are valuable assets to their husbands as well as to the church is much needed in this part of Africa.
Together, we have the responsibility of turning the present home of Brenda Buell, senior missionary and field coordinator, into a duplex for two families and/or short-term guests. We all are veteran missionaries. We know full well the limitations of time and physical energy. If our work is to grown and continue, we need more and younger people to take over. Providing a place for future missionaries to live, as well as for ourselves to live, is vital. Land is scarce now, renting is very expensive, and buying is prohibitive. Safety is also an issue. By living together, we are better equipped to handle potential political upheaval. We hope to finalize plans for a small addition in order to turn the house into two separate living quarters. Thus, one of our goals this first year will be finding the skilled laborers and products needed to do the work and obtaining cost estimates so we can raise the funds to build.
Until we get there and get settled in, become reacquainted with the language (Swahili) and people, what we do may shift a bit. We are open to doing what is needed as we are capable and as the Lord leads.