Wednesday, November 17th

Bon Jour! It is Wednesday morning here in Congo, and our first full day serving at HEAL Africa. Yesterday we made the long bus ride from Kigali, Rwanda here into Goma. We were greeted at the border crossing by Chelsie Frank and Mamma Virginia from HEAL. Chelsie is our CPC Staff Liaison, and has been in the Congo for over two years. She spent a year working at HEAL, but now currently lives in Beni working at a Bilingual University.

Yesterday we had a full tour of the hospital, and were familiarized with all the different facets of what happens here. Judy, an OBGYN Doctor, got right to it and saw 10 patients in the matter of a few hours yesterday afternoon. Her and Patricia, who is also an OBGYN Doctor, began surgeries right at 9:00 this morning. Chris (general surgeon), Melissa (NICU nurse), Alli (adult intensive care nurse), and Alson (Medical IT and Supply Chain) all fit right in to their respective specialities this morning making up the ‘medical team’. They are each paired with a Congolese doctor whom they will be working with for the remainder of our time here.

This morning began with praise and worship in the chapel at 7:30 AM. What a beautiful display of God’s glory over all the Earth when two different languages, cultures, and styles blend together to worship one God. Pastor Bizi, from Congo, delivered a message in French that was translated into English. Paul then introduced our team one by one to those in attendance. Paul, Steve, and Andrew are each paired with one of the three Chaplain Pastors at HEAL. The ‘ministry team’ will spend their time both within the confines of the hospital as well as out in the city of Goma. Steve is also working with the in-house musician to plan a collaborative worship effort throughout the week.

Cool Moments So far:

Riding the tube in London and watching Paul and Steve, in deep conversation, realize they were about to miss our stop. Hearing our yells to ‘get off!’, they burst through the busy traffic and dove to a graceful exit despite closing doors.

What are the odds? We shared a plane ride with Skip and Mary Fay from Bujumbara, Burundi to Kigali, Rwanda. Mary is the daughter of Pastor Emeritus Roger Anderson and his wife Dottie. They were on their way back to the states after travelling Africa to work with Coffee farmers.

Upon arrival we were warmly welcomed by a lunch put on for us by the staff at HEAL. After lunch we all introduced ourselves. We were very impressed and thankful for Chelsie and her interactions with the people here. It seemed as though every room she walked in everyone stopped to cheer for her!

A few prayer requests:

Pastor Bollingo, the head pastor at HEAL, lost his sister yesterday unexpectedly. Please join us in praying for him and his family through a difficult time.

Pray for all the Doctors and nurses as they carry out their work with the patients. Pray that God would be the ultimate healer and work through their hands and feet.

Pray for our ministry team as we get ready to go out with the pastors and minister to those outside of the hospital.

Thanks for reading and check back soon!

-The Congo Team