Here is an excerpt from an update that James sent out about his recent trip back to the DRC.
Enjoy!
"...Thanks for your prayers during my recent trip to
the DRC. I arrived back in Michigan as scheduled Friday evening after a very
interesting and challenging trip. God once again proved His faithfulness in
times of uncertainty and confusion.
Air travel was a challenge with delayed flights and
mechanical problems, but all 6 boxes arrived with me - a miracle in
itself!
I had the privilege of traveling with a doctor from
Ohio, the founder of Project Congo. "S" was accompanied by her college-age
daughter and a friend who is a nurse. The ladies and I stayed at a hostel in
Bukavu DRC, and traveled each day to the St. Vincent Medical Center where I
worked in the lab while the others saw and treated patients. Each day brought
challenging medical cases where God used their skills to touch many
people.
I was able to train 2 of the Congolese doctors on
the new lab equipment. They will now be the trainers of the rest of the lab
staff. A new room was built on to the existing building to house the new lab. It
was bright, open, and clean - a vast contrast to the rest of the
facility!
There was an official opening of the new lab on
Tuesday, June 24. The local TV station was there to cover the event - and it
truly was an event! They asked me to officially "cut the ribbon" that was across
the door. I was also asked to give a speech and present my students with their
certificates. God enabled me to do this in grammatically correct French! We saw
the news later that evening and saw ourselves on TV. Quite unusual for our
trips.
On Wed of the second week, we boarded a passenger
ferry at Bukavu on Lake Kivu for a 6.5 hour trip to Goma DRC. There are no
passable roads between the 2 cities, so the lake passage was our only choice.
The name of the vessel was "Emmanuel". How appropriate - "God with us". He gave
us safe passage across the lake - even though we were told of a similar boat
that had recently gone down with the loss of many lives. Our Congolese hosts
were concerned for our safety after this news, but God was truly with
us!
Once in Goma, we were taken to the Dom Bosco
school and clinic where I was able to repair some equipment that was installed
there a number of years ago by WWLAB, but had been damaged in the recent civil
war in that area of the DRC. I only spent one night there, but was blessed by
the hospitality of a group of priests who administer the
organization.
On Thursday morning, I crossed the border into
Rwanda to begin my journey home. The authorities at the border were reluctant to
give me a transit visa. Some of you were alerted to this, and prayed. God
answered! After much discussion and waiting it out, I was in a taxi on my way to
Kigali airport. The drive through the Rwandan hills was truly spectacular. Such
a beautiful country with such a violent history. My driver was playing a CD of
Swahili hymns. Even though I didn't understand the words, the familiar melodies
brought the English lyrics to mind, and were a great encouragement to me. The
first song that was playing when I got in the vehicle was "He Leadeth Me".
Coincidence?? I think not!
The flights home were long, but did not require
running through airports to make connections like on the way there!
Thanks again for your prayers and support. God
truly answered and continues to teach me many things as we serve at WWLAB..."
Serving Together
James
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