Sunday - our last day in the DRC. We started the day with a Congolese church service, and what an experience that was to round out our trip! Our entire trip, we have been faced with the challenge of the language barrier, and this morning was no exception. As she has all week long, Elodie stepped in to help translate and communicate what was being said - we are so thankful for her!
The message the preacher gave this morning was on two passages of scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:23-27, and Philippians 3:12-14. The first passage includes the line, “Run in such a way as to get the prize”, and the second passage ends with, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” What a fitting way to end the trip! We are indeed running a race, but while we all feel a little tired right now at the end of our trip, we know this is not the end of our ultimate race that calls us heavenward.
Meeting the kids this week, spending quality time with the caregivers who serve them so faithfully, and getting to know Glenn and Elodie in their wonderful work in the Congo, has all served to remind us - especially me - of something very important. It is NOT about me. He calls each of us to give and serve faithfully with the gifts we have been given, and when we use these faithfully in His will, His light shines through! “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5) What if we were to ask ourselves, where is the darkness in my world right now? How is God calling me to shine Christ’s light through my life? Maybe the answer is where you are, maybe God is calling you to drop everything and move to the DRC to fill one of the openings at Christ’s Hope here. (The staff at Christ’s Hope would be SO glad to have you answer that call!)
As much as we have been inspired by God’s work on our trip, if I’m honest, there are some things about home that I have missed. Some seemingly simple things, like ice in my water and two pillows to sleep on. These can seem so silly when I look at the physical needs of so many in Kinshasa.
But what I am worried about is that we will come back to comforts of home, and we will slowly begin to forget what we have seen. That by living our daily lives, we will forget that there are those who still are in need. And more importantly, I fear that we will forget how much we really are in need - that I have NOTHING without Christ. In the darkest moments in their lives, many of the children and caregivers we met have seen Christ and the hope he has been. And it has changed their lives! When they are relying on his power and strength through multiple deaths in the family, through questions of jobs and having enough food, they learn to truly rely on God’s provision in both daily life and huge prayers! What a richness of life, that I want to learn!
We will continue to pray for Christ’s Hope’s carepoints in the DRC, and hope that you will pray, too! See you really soon :)