Thank you for being a friend of this blog!

I just wanted to let our visitors know that we have decided not to renew this domain name when it expires on October 18. Our church (Elim Evangelical Free in Puyallup, WA) is continuing its interest in and focus upon ministry to the Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, we have decided that we can do that most effectively from our own website. (We may continue to post to this blog, but if so the URL will change to the free one provided by our blogging engine, http://ElimCongo.blogspot.com.)

If anyone reading this is interested in obtaining this domain name, who will use it for a good purpose, please send me a comment (as a response to this posting) with your contact information, and let me know. (I will keep your contact info private.) But you'll need to do it by about October 15. After October 18, we incur an $80 service fee if for any reason we try to rescue this domain name from the holding place (where they will keep it for 30 days). After that, it goes back on the open market and will probably be snatched up quickly by a domain name broker.

Thanks! And thanks for reading our blog. For news about our ministry in the Congo, after October 18, 2010 please check our website: http://www.ElimEFC.com/.

Sponsorship Started in India!

Reprinted from today's Global Fingerprints newsletter ...

1,194 and Counting!

Exciting news!  1,188 Congolese orphans and 6 children in Kolkata, India are sponsored.  Tell your friends about GlobalFingerprints!  Thank you for your ongoing partnership!

Pleased to Announce: India!

GlobalFingerprints is pleased to announce the opening of Kolkata (Calcutta), India as its second sponsorship area!  Over 250 children under the age of 10 from the slums of Kokata are awaiting sponsorship.  The cost?  $25 per month.  Sponsorship funds go toward providing education, tuition, uniforms, shoes, books, medical care, nutritional support and emotional and social support through the local church.
To learn more, watch this video: GlobalFingerprints: India

Sponsor a child in India:  www.globalfingerprints.org/sponsorship.

Two Friends in Congo…

by Mandaba, GlobalFingerprints communications coordinator

One day as we made our visit to Libenge region to meet sponsored orphans, I met two young girls who are very good friends and in our program. They are Hester and Saboko. They were waiting for us to bring their brand new shoes, love kits (more information on Touch of Love Care Kits can be found online) and other things.

I first had a talk with Hester and I questioned her on a few things relating to her life. She’s now 14 years old and in a family of all girls.  The girls have lost both parents.  All are staying with their elder sister. When the parents died, life was very difficult for this family.  Hester tried to sell a few items like bread and peanuts in order to pay for school and to survive.  When she became sponsored, life changed for her. She is studying very well and her desire is to finish school.  Her family is so happy and thanks the GlobalFingerprints program that is helping many Congolese orphans who are really in terrible situations.

My second talk was with Saboko who is 16. She is the last of 4 children in her family living at home.  She was living in a polygamous family and her mom was always being beaten by her dad.  Sometime she was living with another relative.  When her father died, life became very difficult for them. Her mom started working and receives a salary of about $7a month.  This couldn’t help them to survive. When GlobalFingerprints program came to their region, she was selected to enter the program. Now that she is sponsored, she says that,  “ I have seen many changes in my life, health and my studies. I want to thank my sponsor and the GFP program for everything.”  Now she is in high school and her desire also is to continue to obtain her diploma.

Heart Health Prayer Need

Continue to pray for healing and the best treatment for Mama Lopango, Congo program manager who is struggling with heart problems and is in need of a pacemaker. Surgery possibilities have been found in both Cameroon and South Africa, since this procedure is not performed in Congo.

Training Supervisors to Meet Deep Spiritual Needs

by Rachel Martin, Congo program director
 As you all know, through GlobalFingerprints we meet medical and educational needs of orphans. But we are always praying that our Congolese supervisors will know how to help meet the deep spiritual needs of these kids, beginning with introducing them to God who loves them and sent His Son to die for them. So, we are very excited about a training that is happening in Congo the first week of August for our GF supervisors and Sunday School teachers. The purpose: to equip them to better teach God’s Word to children. The ministry “Kids Around the World” is partnering with us, their director coming to Congo to lead the training. In a country with almost no electricity and little or no materials to work with, teaching the Bible to kids can be challenging. Kids Around the World has beautiful flannel graph materials that go through the stories of Jesus, as well as Old Testament stories such as creation, Noah, Abraham, Joseph.  The training includes all GF supervisors, as well as approximately 50 Sunday School teachers. They will be taught how to take a Bible story and make it applicable to the lives of the children.

I will be joining them for this practical and so valuable training. The materials thus far have been purchased through the GlobalFingerprints VBS 2010 project from churches across the US.  Our goal is to raise $50,000.  We welcome your gift towards purchasing one of these flannel kits (about $80 per kit), together with Lingala Bibles (about  $10 per Bible) for our sponsored orphans as they finish elementary school and enter high school.  Donate to 2010 VBS Project online.
Please pray that this seminar will greatly help in teaching God’s Word to Congolese orphans.

Previous Newsletters

To read previous newsletters and for updated program information, visit www.efca.org/globalfingerprints

GlobalFingerprints is a ministry of EFCA TouchGlobal. Visit TouchGlobal at www.touchglobal.org for information on how lives are touched and hope is found, across the country, around the world, every day.

Living With AIDS

Reprinted from the most recent GlobalFingerprints newsletter ...

The translation of his name into English seems odd to the Western ear. “Bolingo” means love. “Dadokolo” means bad luck. Bolingo Dadokolo is an 8 year old little boy whose father died before Bolingo was born. Three months after his birth, Bolingo’s mother died. He was left in the care of his 78 year old grandmother.

Pastor Deolo, HIV/AIDS Coordinator of the Congolese Free Church/Congo, shares about Bolingo:
 
“He suffered from a chronic cough and scabies that covered his body. His grandmother tried many traditional medicines to find a solution to his health problems.   She also tried a recurring prayer time for the Bolingo in hopes it would chase out any evil spirits of death and sickness. Nothing helped. Bolingo continued to suffer with his varying illnesses.
 
At the urging of Kamolo, the CECU (the Congolese Free Church) supervisor for the GlobalFingerprints program, Kamolo and I went to visit Bolingo and his grandmother. After praying with them, I asked if Bolingo had ever been taken to the hospital. His grandmother said she didn't have the money to pay for a hospital visit.

Kamolo and I decided to take Bolingo to the city of Gemena where he could receive treatment at the church health center. After the initial examination, the nurse gave him a prescription for Cotrimozole, an antibiotic that helps prevent infection.

Because of his poor health, the nurse also decided to do some lab exams. Bolingo was found to be HIV positive. The diagnosis enabled him to get treatment at the government hospital. Thanks to the antibiotic Cotrim, his cough has disappeared. For the present, Bolingo is well.  Glory to God!”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are at least 43,000 children who live with AIDS. The children can be infected at birth, during breastfeeding, through a blood transfusion, use of contaminated needles or because of rape. Hundreds of thousands of children there have lost both parents from AIDS.  In February, a seminar was held at Tandala Hospital to train 300 traditional midwives in prevention of HIV transmission from mother to baby.  This training will help save babies from AIDS while bringing glory to God the Father as the Congolese Church serves their villages. Pray for great impact from the training and work of the Congolese Church with the children and HIV/AIDS needs of the country.

RACHEL'S UPDATE

Rachel is visiting the Congo April 6-May 15, Rachel hopes to talk with many of the sponsored children to learn what happened to them during the recent uprising. Pray for Rachel and the GlobalFingerprints staff as they work together with the GlobalFingerprints supervisors to visit the children.

UNREST UPDATE

We are very thankful to report that the fighting in the broader Dongo area southwest of Tandala has completely subsided. As of last week, all GlobalFingerprints orphans have been accounted for in the Dongo Region, where the fighting during the uprising was the heaviest.  The Congolese are still waiting to get an account for those in the region called Imesse. The people there fled as refugees and have not returned. Rachel will be meeting with the rest of the supervisors on Friday and Saturday.  They are hoping to get word about the supervisor and the children in Imesse.  Thank you for praying!

SPONSORED CHILDREN

1,103 GlobalFingerprints orphans are being sponsored thanks to many new monthly donors!!

CHALLENGE YOUTH CONFERENCE RED BACKPACK PROJECT

In June, 7,000 high school students from all around the U.S will converge at the Challenge Youth Conference in Columbus, Ohio.  One of the ministry outreach opportunities for students this year is the GlobalFingerprints Red Backpack Project. 
Students have the opportunity to make 5,000 Red Backpacks to send to every GlobalFingerprints orphan in the Congo, the children to be sponsored at the India launch site, and to children orphaned in Haiti’s earthquake.
On-site volunteers are needed in Columbus, Ohio.  For more information: http://www.globalfingerprints.org/challenge-conference-red-backpack-project

THANK YOU!

We thank God for our partners like you who have joined us to be the fingerprint of Christ in the lives of these children.  Thank you for your prayers and support.

GlobalFingerprints is a ministry of EFCA TouchGlobal. Visit TouchGlobal at www.touchglobal.org for information on how lives are touched and hope is found, across the country, around the world, every day.

From today's Global Fingerprints newsletter

Congo: On The Ground Status Update

GlobalFingerprints continues to grow, praise God! Together we are sponsoring 1,048 children in the Congo. Imagine how the sponsorship changes each child’s life — they are valued, and are cared for and belong to their village community. They study and learn about the love of Jesus. Being sponsored is truly an incredible blessing to each child!
Life has returned to normal for most of the Congolese sponsored children after the recent uprising over fishponds. There are three regions where many people are still living in the garden and forest areas: Dongo, Kungu and Tandala. Pray that the GlobalFingerprints supervisors will be able to locate all of the children in these regions in the next month.

Honorine's Story

A story that repeats itself over and over again in Africa is that of parents dying and grandparents becoming parents again, as they care for their grandchildren. As one of the sponsored orphans, Honorine is just such a child. She was born in Gemena in 1998. At three years old her mother died. Honorine’s father’s family took her in, but she was sick and very malnourished.

When her grandmother realized that Honorine was not healthy she decided to care for her. A lonely widow, Honorine’s grandma was very old. She struggled to feed Honorine. She could not afford to send Honorine to school. Every morning she’d go to the garden to look for food to sell and eat, but what she could find was not sufficient.

When the GlobalFingerprints program started, there was a great need to select which children would be sponsored. Honorine’s grandmother was in church when the news about needing to select children was shared with the Congo churches. She talked with the local committee and Honorine was selected due to the difficulty her grandmother was facing to provide for her. After a few months in the sponsorship program, her supervisor noticed Honorine’s health was still not improving, so he chose to take her to his house where she still lives.

Today Honorine is 12 years old. She’s been in the GlobalFingerprints program since November 2006, sponsored by the Women’s Ministry of the United Church of Sumner in Sumner, Nebraska. For the past three years Honorine’s life has changed in many different respects. Where she couldn’t attend school due to her grandmother’s poverty, she now studies with other children. She’s in third grade and making good progress. She’s healthy now because anytime she’s sick, GlobalFingerprints provides her the opportunity to go to the clinic for treatment. She also benefits from the nutritional gifts given through the program. Her desire is to finish her studies and then learn to become a seamstress.

When I was talking with her she told me happily, “This program gave me a reason to hope in life.” She also shared she is praying for all the people who help children through GlobalFingerprints, as am I.

- Mandaba, for GlobalFingerprints in Congo 

Honorine is one of the 1048 children in GlobalFingerprints whose life is being changed. Thank you for your commitment to profoundly impact a child’s future.

GlobalFingerprints is a ministry of EFCA TouchGlobal. Visit TouchGlobal at www.touchglobal.org for information on how lives are touched and hope is found, across the country, around the world, every day.

Sponsorship Update From GlobalFingerprints

1,019 Sponsored Orphans!

The goal of 1,000 sponsored orphans by January 1, 2010 was reached! Thank you for listening and responding to God. He tells us over and over in His Word that He loves, defends, and provides for the orphan. He asks us to do the same. That is what GlobalFingerprints is all about!

We are presently at 1,019 sponsored orphans and we are praying to have 1500 orphans sponsored by 6/30/2010.  We believe that God has called specific people to sponsor each child, pray that God will provide sponsors who will love them, pray for them, and encourage them throughout the coming years.  Would you be the link to tell others about GlobalFingerprints?

Update on Unrest in the Ubangi

Many of you have prayed for the situation in the area of Congo where GlobalFingerprints operates. Thank God the fighting has stopped.  However, life is far from normal there.   As of last week, there are still 100,000 refugees that have crossed the border and are living in the neighboring country Congo Brazzaville.  Pray that the Congolese Free Church could be a source of hope and life as the people return.

Our Congolese accountant for GlobalFingerprints sent this message last week:
    “Thanks to God that the war here is ending, because of God’s grace. We have heard from the Supervisor in the Dongo Region, who told us that there is much instability in the lives of the orphans. For some of the orphans, their caregiver has died. As children fled from the war, they were so afraid of soldiers and guns. For sure, many of our orphans have much more fear in their minds today. In Dongo, the Supervisor is still trying to find all of the orphans in GlobalFingerprints. It is the same in the Imesse Region, though that Supervisor has not yet been able to come to our office to give us a report.  I ask myself, If it has been hard for children who have their parents, how hard must it be for our orphans? And for sure, once people return home, there will be even more orphans.  In Mark 10, we see that Jesus loves the little ones. And they are an example of faith to us. Jesus said that He gives us peace.  It is not like the world gives. That is my prayer for our orphans,  that they would have peace that comes from Jesus.”

Schools right in Gemena have opened, and life is returning to normal. But all along the road, many people are still in hiding, fearing their own soldiers. There is also vandalism happening by groups of young people. As we receive detailed news about certain orphans that cannot be located, we will notify the sponsors.

How can you pray?
1.    Pray for all the orphans to be located and accounted for.
2.    Pray for emotional healing as many have faced much trauma.
3.    Pray for the safety of Program Manager, Lopango and Communications Director, Mandaba as they travel to the different regions to meet with supervisors and as many orphans as possible.
4.    Pray for more sponsors!

Valentine's Day Project

Visit our website and check out the project for Valentine’s Day – “Love Kits” - for the orphans. (These can be done anytime, not just on Valentine’s Day.) There is a flyer and a PowerPoint under “Resources” at www.globalfingerprints.org . This is a great project for families and children!

Thank You!

Thank you for leaving the fingerprint of Christ on the lives of these children!

Another update received today from Dr. Tom

Latest from the Fighting in the Ubangi

Happily there has been little reported fighting in the news in the last couple weeks. It seems that the military has quelled the fighting in the Enyele area. The big problem now is that the many refugees are still very reluctant to return to their homes. This are something over 100,000 in Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic, as well as a similar number estimated still living in the forests within DR Congo. Many are waiting for the army to leave before they will feel safe.

Jim reports that one good friend says that most of the villages from Dongo up toward Tandala remain ghost towns with no inhabitants. In Bobito, 5 miles from Tandala, they are still waiting for the government to come clean up the town after the fighting there left bodies in shallow graves and latrines. They are also concerned about unexploded mines that might have been left. If you’d like fairly recent news in English check out: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87743

Celebrations are in order!

Jill Hall and Rachel Martin report that we have now exceeded the goal of 1,000 orphans supported in GlobalFingerprints by January 1. Read their report on the web and praise the Lord with us: http://www.efca.org/reachglobal/reachglobal-ministries/efca-touchglobal/globalfingerprints/celebrate-globalfingerprints

More Good News From the Congo ... Keep Praying!

The news about the fighting in the area of EFC ministries in the Congo is still positive and improving. Here is an update received from Dr. Tom today:

Congo News for January 7, 2010

Some Encouraging Signs on the Front: Last week, on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, the rebels from Inyele were driven back to their own village. They were surrounded by Congolese army troops and given an ultimatum to lay down arms. Instead they tried a counterattack at two places against the army, so the army attacked. By the end of the fighting, 157 rebels had been killed, and one government soldier. Some soldiers were evacuated with non-life-threatening wounds to the hospital at Gemena by helicopter. Supposedly there were only a few escapees from Inyele.

The military is continuing mop-up operations but there is real hope that this will bring an end to the fighting. The next thing is for the army to begin to withdraw, giving confidence to the villagers in all the villages up and down the roads there that they can come back to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.

We are very thankful that something over $30,000 has come in from our churches and donors in the EFCA and in the Consortium. The church in the Congo has developed a plan to help people with their return, including providing food staples, tarps for shelter, and other necessities to get started again.

Please be in prayer that this will really be the end and that people will quickly return to their villages. Pray that the church will be used mightily as a witness to show God’s care and compassion for them. Pray too that more funds will come in to help meet the massive needs. While there are other NGO agencies working to help, none of them are doing it on the ground and from God’s heart of compassion, as the CECU can.