ARRIVAL IN GEMENA: First Update from the Congo Team
The Elim team to the Congo's Ubangi Province has arrived to Gemena, Congo, via Paris and the Central African Republic! They made it safely across the Ubangi River in dugout canoes with all their equipment. All team members are physically well, enjoying the time, and no luggage or supplies have been lost. The 5 team members are:
Cal Kierum, Pastor Brian Sharpe, Dave Barnes, Amanda McCracken, Elissa Hirschfelder
Cal said when they arrived on the Congo side of the River, a single officer was waiting for them in green military fatigues, with fuzzy pink gloves. Aside from that, they've only had to deal with one or two checkpoints during the journey, which entailed only a brief wait and the chance to visit with locals.
I've chatted (on Facebook) with both Cal and Brian this morning, about 11:30 our time (8:30 p.m. their time). They were getting ready to go into a team debrief at 9 p.m. Brian said it was very warm there and he was sweating as he typed. Cal said a storm was coming (hopefully rain will cool things down some).
But of course after it rains that means the mosquitoes come out. Pray that everyone on our team is kept safe from malaria on World Malaria Day!
Tomorrow (Sunday, which starts tonight our time), the dedication celebration at the Elikya Center begins. They are expecting 1,000 guests! Brian said he is grateful that he doesn't have to preach. He is also concerned about his ability to effectively communicate with youth leaders, given the cultural differences and the large numbers of leaders he is going to be teaching. He covets your prayers.
Cal said Dave is a little bit bored and can't wait to sink his teeth into the real work of training Elikya Center residents how to make and use the tools they will need for building up and maintaining the facilities there.
Cal says both Amanda and Elissa are very excited to be there. Amanda is already talking about a return trip and taking lots of photos. (Bandwidth is fairly tight, so thus far they haven't been able to upload any. But as soon as they do, we will post some here.)
The best way to chat with the team right now is on Facebook chat, it seems to have the best connectivity thus far. Cal said right now they have 24x7 access at Gemena, so if you are friends with any of the team members on Facebook, check your list of friends online and send them greetings if you see them online. (Also, if you do get updates, please post them to this blog as "comments" using the link at the bottom of this blog posting!)
On Monday, after the Sunday dedication of the Elikya Center, Cal and the two ladies will head to Tandala Hospital where they will begin their work there. Amanda and Elissa will be teaching English to the staff, and Cal will be working with the doctors. He has already had the opportunity to consult on some difficult malnutrition cases.
Thank you for keeping the team in prayer! We'll post updates here as we get them, so check back frequently.
- Larry
Cal Kierum, Pastor Brian Sharpe, Dave Barnes, Amanda McCracken, Elissa Hirschfelder
Cal said when they arrived on the Congo side of the River, a single officer was waiting for them in green military fatigues, with fuzzy pink gloves. Aside from that, they've only had to deal with one or two checkpoints during the journey, which entailed only a brief wait and the chance to visit with locals.
I've chatted (on Facebook) with both Cal and Brian this morning, about 11:30 our time (8:30 p.m. their time). They were getting ready to go into a team debrief at 9 p.m. Brian said it was very warm there and he was sweating as he typed. Cal said a storm was coming (hopefully rain will cool things down some).
But of course after it rains that means the mosquitoes come out. Pray that everyone on our team is kept safe from malaria on World Malaria Day!
Tomorrow (Sunday, which starts tonight our time), the dedication celebration at the Elikya Center begins. They are expecting 1,000 guests! Brian said he is grateful that he doesn't have to preach. He is also concerned about his ability to effectively communicate with youth leaders, given the cultural differences and the large numbers of leaders he is going to be teaching. He covets your prayers.
Cal said Dave is a little bit bored and can't wait to sink his teeth into the real work of training Elikya Center residents how to make and use the tools they will need for building up and maintaining the facilities there.
Cal says both Amanda and Elissa are very excited to be there. Amanda is already talking about a return trip and taking lots of photos. (Bandwidth is fairly tight, so thus far they haven't been able to upload any. But as soon as they do, we will post some here.)
The best way to chat with the team right now is on Facebook chat, it seems to have the best connectivity thus far. Cal said right now they have 24x7 access at Gemena, so if you are friends with any of the team members on Facebook, check your list of friends online and send them greetings if you see them online. (Also, if you do get updates, please post them to this blog as "comments" using the link at the bottom of this blog posting!)
On Monday, after the Sunday dedication of the Elikya Center, Cal and the two ladies will head to Tandala Hospital where they will begin their work there. Amanda and Elissa will be teaching English to the staff, and Cal will be working with the doctors. He has already had the opportunity to consult on some difficult malnutrition cases.
Thank you for keeping the team in prayer! We'll post updates here as we get them, so check back frequently.
- Larry
posted by Larry Short at 12:28 PM
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