God's hand in the Congo

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

~John 14:12

While the DTS team was in the Congo, they saw God's hand moving in many miraculous ways.

Here are some of the highlights:

One young girl was lying in the hospital after collapsing and becoming unconscious. The team prayed for her and she immediately regained her senses. They were then able to talk with her and discovered that she had been ridiculed at school by her teachers as well as by other students. As result she had allowed a root of bitterness to form in her heart, which was affecting her so much that she was becoming physically ill. The team talked with the girl about forgiveness and about how to not allow negative things from others impact her life. This girl received physical and emotional healing that day!

A woman who had been suffering from severe headaches since 1985 also received prayer from the team. After praying for some time, the team discovered that the woman believed that she had been cursed by the witchcraft of a neighbor. The team explained that even if this other woman had tried to hurt her, she must still walk in forgiveness and love. After explaining the importance of forgiving others in receiving forgiveness from God himself, the woman's headaches stopped at once. She was immediately healed and began praising God! The woman even decided to seek out the neighbor who she believed had cursed her to reconcile the relationship and share God's goodness.

There were many other people in a Catholic mission hospital in one town who were very ill. As the team moved around from one person to the next, God began working. Patient after patient took up their mats and left the hospital at once. Bingi relates that she was even nervous that the workers there would be upset from loosing so many patients. God's faithfulness still prevailed, and instead of becoming angry, the staff wanted to know more about the power of God and his healing touch!

Although there were many great experiences on this trip, there were also many challenges and the people of Congo still need to see God move in their lives. Stay tuned for the next post about these things!

Remain in me...

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

-John 15:7, NIV

It was not an easy trip for the members of DR Congo outreach team, but then again nothing worth giving up safety and comfort for ever really is. After a few months of training at the YWAM Arua base, Dorothy Bingi and her team of DTS students and staff embarked on a journey across the Democratic Republic of the Congo to reach God's people there.

The trip itself was quite perilous. The roads in Congo are tumultuous; sometimes it took the team several hours to travel only a few kilometers. They often found themselves in parasite infested waters trying to make a way for the vehicle to pass. At times, they were forced to sleep in the Congolese jungle with no tent to protect them from the rains, wild animals, venomous snakes, and armed government and militiamen. It would have been easy to say that it was too difficult and too dangerous. Most people wouldn't have tried at all, and those who did would have probably turned back. However, Bingi and her team knew that God had called them to reach his Congolese bride and that He would give them the strength they needed to fulfill his will.

"Generally, I would say because we persisted, even when things became harder and harder, we saw the hand of the Lord. If we had given up we would not have seen Him do anything." ~Dorothy Bingi

The team chose to remain in the presence of God and to trust in Him to renew their strength. No matter how difficult the night was or how challenging the journey had been, they were always filled with new joy and strength upon reaching each village that God had sent them to. God was always faithful to his word, and wherever the gospel was preached signs and wonders followed those who believed. The team saw God's hand perform many miracles throughout their time in the Congo.

There was a man who had been paralyzed for some time. He was unable to walk and at times he could barely speak. His body and his mind were both struggling to function as their Maker intended. The DTS team was told about this man, and they decided they needed to pray for him. After spending about twenty minute in prayer the man began to speak to the team. He confessed to them that he had wanted to become a skilled hunter, so he visited a local witchdoctor in hopes of receiving a potion or a ritual that would help him to develop this skill. Rather than being able to find food with ease after his visit, he was unable to hunt at all. Eventually he began to hear strange voices in addition to losing his ability to walk. The team new that God is a God of deliverance and that he brings freedom to the captives. So with faith in the word, the team began to pray and declare God’s truth over this man’s life. Within a matter of minutes he was completely healed. The next day the man followed the team for 6 kilometers, singing and dancing all the way; he was filled with joy for what God had done for him.

God moved in many miraculous ways and taught the members of the team many valuable lessons on this outreach.

Check back to read more about God’s miraculous works and the needs of the people in Congo in the coming posts!

King's Kids January 2011

(Written by J.S.)

King's Kids

~An Aroma to God~

The 25 children smiled with glee as they sat in a circle and learned for the first time their very own "sign" name. It was the first day of the week-long King's Kids programme, and it was combined deaf and hearing children. The facilitators included sign language in every activity.

Some hearing children who had never even known a deaf child were now interacting and smiling with them. It seemed that each hearing child was on the edge of his/her chair readily trying to grasp this new language. During the worship times, the children were trying so hard to do the signs that some of them even forgot to sing. The mixture of deaf and hearing children brought some new dynamics in the King's Kids programme and challenged them all to learn to work together.

One of the leaders, Netty, was very impacted by this and said, “I have a disability myself, so it really encouraged me to see deaf children working with normal (hearing) children. I think it's a new thing in Africa and so you want it to change them. You want their perspectives to change; you want every one to feel valued and important like God sees them...”

On a typical day during the King's Kids programme, the children divided into groups and put together a daily verse from the Bible. Next they spent time in worship and then did a craft. After the craft, someone shared a short devotional from the Bible.

Finally there were “parachute games” with a very large and colorful parachute that illicited many squeals of laughter.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good” was the theme for the King's Kids. On the second day there was a craft to make a mask, which represented our need to repent before God.

After the craft was finished the children then somberly stepped outside and had a quiet time with God. Some of the children went under trees, others sat on the log bridge, but all were very quiet and fully focused on God. Netty commented on this day by saying, it “was good... It challenged me, and some of the things the children said about how it helped them... it encouraged me. Adults have issues and have to deal with them daily...so do children. I think it's acknowledging your weaknesses and dealing with them, so God can deal with you further... it makes you a better person.” At the end of this day they took off their masks before God as if saying, “We are ready to repent to you God.”

The life of one of the deaf leaders in the King's Kids programme really touched the heart of Netty. “Wilfred," Netty said, "encouraged me so much. He comes from a good home. He's a Christian, and his brother looks after him because his Father died. Beautifully enough, he has that passion to want to learn and want to do better, and help others who are deaf to do the same. He's trying to learn to lip read and he's just lovely. He's full of integrity and wants to do things for others.”

On one of the days the kids and leaders walked for an hour and a half to a swimming pool, stopping along the way to see different aspects of God's creation. Then they swam and had a picnic before making the return journey.

At the end of the week we had seen growth in the children's lives and even their signing had improved. They tried hard to communicate with the deaf and were proud of what they had learned. The parents were so appreciative and excited to see what this programme had done for their children. It was the deaf and the hearing working together to taste and see that the LORD is good.

GO Camp goes to Southern Sudan

Hi! My name is Ashley and I have been helping staff the youth GO CAMP 2011 here at YWAM ARUA...3 days teaching and discipleship training followed by a 2 week outreach. After being stretched and challenged over the past 3 days, the students are all very excited to leave for Kajo Keji, Sudan tomorrow to reach out to the people there over the next couple of weeks :)

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF KAJO KEJI!

It is a significant time to be in Sudan! The people of south Sudan are voting in a referendum to determine whether Sudan remains one nation or separates between the Arab-Islamic north and the predominantly Christian south.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS HISTORY MAKING SEASON FOR SUDAN.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12141082

The students are preparing a drama for the outreach to Southern Sudan, and are excited to share the love the Jesus. We are looking forward to seeing how God leads us as we minister there. Please pray for us and for the people of Kajo Keji!

We built an 'Assault Course' on the base to use as a team building exercise...the students had to work together to get over, under and through different obstacles. It was fun to watch all 10 students struggling through the water and mud, learning to be a team and working through difficult obstacles together. We hope this will begin to unite them together as they prepare for their outreach.

CLICK TO WATCH A VIDEO CLIP OF THE ASSAULT COURSE

Please stand with us in prayer for a few things:

1. for safety and unity on the team as they minister in Southern Sudan

2. for the people of Southern Sudan as they wait for the results of the Referendum vote...the outcome will affect all of their lives

3. for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done in the nation of Sudan

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!!

DTS Outreach to Lobone Part 3

DEAF MINISTRY

We were lucky this year to have 4 deaf students on the DTS, 3 of these students joined the team to Sudan.

On a daily basis these students taught local deaf and their families how to communicate with sign language using pictures, demonstration and fun games. It was lovely to see all the people come, anxious to learn, with a new hope of communicating to their loved ones and friends. It was also so encouraging for the hearing students to see the patience and willingness of our friends as they taught.

PASTORS AND GOVERNMENT LEADERS SEMINAR

We had 2 sessions with local pastors and government officials. Using what we learned during lecture phase on Leadership and Team Dynamics, we were able to instill some useful ideas and tools to develop the community of Lobone. After the sessions we felt that God really used us to teach these men and women, and we got a sense that what they learned will not be forgotten.

DTS outreach Part 2...more stories from Lobone, Southern Sudan

LUNCH.....

We were all a little bit worried about the potential of being served bush rat for a meal, but as it turns out, it tastes pretty good and we all digested it quite well.

Bush rat restaurant

We went to eat with the local pastors and government officials that we had been teaching about Leadership and Team Dynamics that morning. It was a nice way of getting to know them better, to hear their hearts and to find out what they had learned from us.

FUN TIMES WITH LOCALS.....

We played volleybal atleast 3 times per week with the local youth.

Our kids played and coloured pictures with their kids.

SCHOOL MINISTRY

School ministry team walked 30 minutes, 3 times per week to spend time teaching and having fun with the children. During the morning we taught Bible stories and verses using different methods like drama. After the teaching time, we played games outside with the children. They loved having us there and enjoyed getting their pictures taken.

Stay tuned for more stories and pics in Part 3!

2010 DTS Outreach Stories and Testimonies Part 1

SUDAN

I will begin by saying God is so good.

It never ceases to amaze me how God will use us if we allow Him, if we stand back and let Him work through us, if we give up control and let Him lead the way. I have many stories that I could share about our Discipleship Training School outreach in Lobone, Southern Sudan, I will highlight a few over the next couple of weeks to give you just a taste.



BOSCO


20 Years old, former LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) captive, addicted to alcohol, rejected by family and friends. This boy was found by members of our team sitting alone, looking tired, malnourished and sick. This boy's feet were the home of many worms, called Jiggers. His home was infested, and his feet so badly eaten that he could no longer feel any pain.

I met Bosco one morning and knew right away that we did not have the amount of medicine to help him. The hospital authorities were reluctant to admit him becuase his case was so bad, but we advocated for him, and they finally admitted him to hospital for treatment. Over the next 2 weeks, his feet, although scarred, were free of Jiggers, and his face shone like that of someone who was finally loved...he had hope that life could be different.

We spoke to Bosco about Jesus, and told him that he was loved not only by us but by a great big Father God. He never gave his life to Christ while we were there, but I know that Bosco's
life was changed. I know that God will continue to work in the life of this boy, He will continue to transform him, He will continue with the work that we could not. Bosco knows that now he is not alone.