Message from Bek's team...

Uganda/DR Congo YWAM Herrnhut Outreach Update
January 22, 2007
Bunia - Ituri Region, DRC

We have recently flown into Bunia, DRC, the main city in the northeast of Congo where the fighting originally began in 1998. We flew the 30 minute Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flight from Aru, a small, but thriving border town just 20KM away from its sister city in Uganda, Arua. We have spent the last two weeks working with YWAM Uganda, specifically the Arua branch in the northwest corner of Uganda. We were ministering in a primarily Sudanese refugee camp named, "Rhino Camp", numbering around 30,000 refugees. Many of the people under 20 were born in Uganda and do not know anything besides Rhino Camp, but are still certain that their homes are waiting for them in southern Sudan as soon as the UN sends them back. Despite the poor conditions, including no vegetables, no fruit, occasional meat, 100+ degree heat, and dusty "smoke water" for ten days, we were able to have ministry that united denominations, criticized religious, half-truths, brought drunks to Jesus, believers to repentance and recruited, challenged and encouraged believers to a more full trust of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

We have now begun to fulfill the primary purpose of our trip, time in the war-torn regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We have found a beautiful base camp in Bunia, with CECA 20, the French speaking church begun by the African Inland Mission around 1918. We live across the street from the Congolese equivalent of the CIA, who has already attempted to make us pay "taxes", but thanks to our watchful pastors and the guidance of a German missionary who has lived and worked in Congo more than 26 years, their plans did not succeed.

However, not all of our neighbors are against us. We also find ourselves perfectly placed near an ex-child soldier rehabilitation center, where the kids get a chance to learn a new trade, a trade to replace their past profession. All we had to do was ask and we found another organization that will be perfect for ministry. There is a center for young women who have innocently and foolishly suffered in the wake of unleashed violence in this region and now find themselves young, untrained mothers, hopelessly alone in the world. No one is safe, except those with authority. Both police and rebel soldiers are to blame. Only last night, Adam, our youngest team member at 17, threw a football with a 15 year-old boy who not only showed Adam the scar on his head from a bullet, but let him also feel it with his fingertips. We know our Father has plans for this boy.

Every person we meet everyday, in every place, every face, every waving hand, every sparkling set of dark eyes and every smiling mouth has seen, tasted or been touched by this terrible violence in the last decade. The pain is still seen as we drive through the city and see the remaining bullet holes in the one-story, tin roofed, concrete buildings. The roads show the wear and tear of war-torn countries we occasionally glance over in the evening news. Little known to us, the holocaust of the Nazis and the Gulag's of the Soviets are still occuring all over the world. In this region alone, the Ituri region, more than an estimated 3 million were killed between '98 and '03.

Today as we sat with the local church leaders in Bunia, we discussed our involvement in open-air evangelistic events, youth camps, prison visits, radio ministry, internal refugee aid, counseling, healthcare, teaching, training and equipping of the church with YWAM's discipleship methods. The opportunity is so plentiful, if only there were more willing people! Even the weakest in faith and the most stupid of believers would be strong, intelligent and wise here!

We are excited and fulfilled to see why our Lord has directed our steps here and what He has prepared for us. We have already seen Him teach us new things we never could have imagined without making this trip. We have seen our borders and limits pressed beyond what we knew was possible. He alone is wise, faithful and trustworthy!

Please pray for God's mighty Spirit to work in us and be in our relationships. Please pray that we will be able to completely surrender to His plans for us. Please pray for love, trust, faith, obedience, sincerity and of course, more and more love to rest in our hearts and words.

We need Bibles and discipleship materials for the thousands of Arabic speaking Sudanese believers in Rhino camp and supporters willing to help begin a farming project. The project will specifically aid the church in their difficult situation (The food ration from the UN is 8KG/month, which is enough for one adult. Many families are attempting to stay nourished on this ration.) as well as employ those who specifically wish to run forwards with Jesus and attend a Discipleship Training School (DTS, costing ~$300).

Quick update from Bek...

hallo alles-
here I am in Arua, uganda. My team has been here for almost 3 weeks, and it seems hard to believe that this is only the beginning.

These past 10 days we were in Rhino Camp, a Sudanese Refugee Camp about 2 hours out of Arua. I experienced many firsts there and will never forget the time.

We spent the first five days going to different parts of the camp meeting the people, sharing about our lives with them and more importantly hearing about their lives. Most of the people are from Southern Sudan, which is "Christian", but they are in dire need of discipleship. They have lived a life, I don't think anyone in the west could imagine. The last 5 days we put together a seminar for the people to accomodate their need for discipleship. They are so hungry for the word of God. The whole time was a very unique opportunity and we as a team were really challenged.

I don't know what to share with you, I haven't quite processed it all myself...

The heat was like nothing I have ever experienced in the month of January! It was normally 100 degrees in the room we were sleeping, and 85 degrees at night. In the sun from 12-5, it was probably 105 degrees. Heat definitely makes things more difficult. I have never done ministry in conditions like that or for 9 days straight.

These next couple days we are staying in Arua and then on Monday flying to Congo for 7 weeks!

Thank you for your prayer and support. I love you all!! I will update next when I can!


I LOVE YOU MOLLY! THANK YOU!

Bek

Message from Bek...

Dear friends...family...supporters...all other people that Bekah knows...whoever you are...Bekah seems to know a lot of people, this is Molly, Bek's sister, I now have control of her blog...hehe. She wanted me to just let you all know that she has arrived safely in Uganda. I will paste her message below, so that you can get the full "Bekah" affect, "Office" quotes and all...

i am sitting at an internet cafe in kampala, uganda. i have made it safely here and most of our team can say the same. we got separated from ryan and jonathon (leader) at our layover in cairo. they missed the flight and will be coming into entebbe tomorrow. it has been interesting and odd without them but soon we will all be reunuited! as michael scott would say `this is the worst` (clench lip...season 3). haha. anyways, we are staying in a school in a village near our contact. michael and his family have been incredibly hospitable and caring for all our needs. on sunday we will take the bus to arua and stay there for two weeks.

That's all for now, keep checking back for more messages and updates! Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts...
Molly

12 hours til take off

I want to thank all of you for your fervent prayer. It is crazy to look back to October when God first spoke to us about going to Congo and now we are leaving...hard to believe in 12 hours, my team will be on our way to Uganda.

Go God. Man He has lead the planning of this trip and know that He will continue...Before Christmas break we were 7000 euros short, now we need $2000 US. That is definitely closing the gap!!! I can't process the fact that I am going to Africa. Haha.

So anyways, we will be in Kampala for 6 days, and then the YWAM base in Arua which is more Northern Uganda. There we will work on the projects that have already been started there. From Uganda we will continue to DR Congo. It's pretty exciting because we get the chance to have a Mission Aviation private pilot take us. Once we get there, then we will meet our contact in the Northeast of Congo. We are going to work within a church, but still have yet to have any direction to exactly what will be happening...

I will update you as much as I can. I don't know how much time or resources will be available, but as Jan says "It is not always possible to rely on the Holy Spirit for prayer requests, so please, keep in contact". With that in mind I will try to let you know how God is rocking Africa.

I sent prayer cards to my family. There are 50 of them and it would be great to have all of you at home consistently praying for the team! Just ask and I'm sure the family will have a spare one!

Until next time...

Love you all!