Seeking God's Peace in Africa

Story #3 Fishing and eating fish

It’s been a long time since I talked about fish, partly because we have been a little unclear about the fish status ourselves—they seemed to have disappeared. Perhaps they died (without floating) or were eaten by predators, or stolen by thieves. Anyway, we don’t see them eating at the surface of the pond like we used to, and it is about time to start occasional harvesting.

So with this in mind, I put together two fishing poles and took my daughter fishing. It took us about 5 seconds to both catch a fish, and about 2 seconds more for Tovah to catch another one. So last night my daughter learned how to fish (and loves it) and we ate the first harvest of our fish pond, seasoned with herbs from our own vertical garden.

Future Plans

Our year in Kipkaren is drawing to a close, and both Jen and I have learned a great deal from our experiences in the school and in the clinic. Our next move is to Congo, but there are a couple things to do first. I have been asked to take charge of ELI’s school in Bukavu, but told that my first priority is to learn a working level of French first. I have been advised that I will need at least 6 months of intensive French study. Please pray for us as we plan to begin studying French in January, and as we finalize plans about where to study French.

Secondly, we plan to return to the US for a short trip next year to see family and to raise awareness and support for our ministry in Congo. This pushes back our intended arrival date in Bukavu, but we feel it is more important that we go as equipped and effective servants.

Please pray about these plans, for raising the right amount of support, and for our ministry spiritually. We know from the tremendous level of aid work that is going on in Congo already (with limited success), that our contribution is not going to be by worldly skill, but by the hand of God. In that respect please pray for the movement of God to bring peace to this region.

That’s the news! We would love to hear from you!

God Bless,

Davis and Jen and the girls

Story #2 Killing a big snake

I know some of you live for these stories, and feel like real missionaries should be killing snakes on a regular basis. So this is the fifth snake I have killed since being here, but by far the biggest (see picture.) It was down by my fishpond when I almost stepped on it. It took off towards our house (about 20 yards away) and disappeared into some thick grass and brush in the front yard. So I got out my machete and did some clearing until it raised its head up and came towards me. After a thorough consideration of the effects of my action on the local eco-system, I cut its head off.

(Actually, environmental conservation was hardly at the front of my mind, instead I was thinking about ridding my toddlers’ play area of large snakes.)

End of the story: it turned out to be an Olive Grass snake, a venomous snake but not yet with a recorded lethal bite.

I hope this story makes some people happy that we are true missionaries, although I know I will get worried responses from some of you ;)

Story #1 Jeptoo

The school in which I teach was founded for the education of orphans. I teach kids from 1^st to 5^th grade, but the kids I spend the most time with are the 4^th grade. Now I am only four weeks from finishing the school year, and already the nostalgia of looking back over the year is kicking in. Academically, I am very pleased with my children, especially my fifth graders who can now write a composition in English.

But more than learning how to punctuate, I am blessed to see their lives have changed. When I met Jeptoo she had been in the children’s home just four months. She is 12 years old, her parents have died of AIDS and she is in the fourth grade. She immediately stood out in class as an extreme child—extremely energetic and eager to please, yet extremely low in her work and ethics. She was often lying and stealing, fighting, and doing everything desperately to get attention. For a while it seemed she was constantly in trouble for her grades and her actions.

As more of her story came out—about a life of abuse before her adoption into the ELI family, we began to understand more. She was still suffering nightmares and wetting the bed.

Jeptoo is thriving now. I can’t point to a specific moment of change, but I have seen a slow transformation. It is just as if she has calmed down in the last few months. She doesn’t clamor and claw for attention, she now does her homework and chores, and she is resting better at night. Slowly she has risen from the bottom of the class to the middle, and socially from the rogue to acceptance.

I am so blessed to be a part of what ELI is doing here for orphans. I thought I would share this story just to let you know a part of what is going on here and to thank you for your prayers and support that keep me here. Thank you.

Dear Friends and Family,

We don’t write much about our kids, which is probably for the best, since some of you still think we are normal. But I figured I would start this email out with some news about our girls. They are 3 and 1 and full of life. Tovah’s first parent-teacher conference was to address her naked escape from school. She really likes school, and she really likes clothes, so we are hoping this was an isolated event.

Elami is not a child to be trifled with either. She wrestles with such ferocity that she totally takes out Tovah, the cat, and unsuspecting guests. She has also specialized in producing her own bath toys (to her delight and our horror). But they are well-cultured kids too: Tovah has perfected the craft of cutting newspapers into confetti. “Practicing cutting” she calls it. Lami, meanwhile, enjoys water-colors—not so much painting with them as eating them, particularly blue—it tastes almost as good as play-doh or cat food.

Tovah’s hobbies include feeding the fish, mothering the reluctant area dogs, providing tough love and close supervision to the cat, and startling the cows with her aggressive enthusiasm to feed them. We will be astounded if Tovah does not become a vet (or a poacher).

Elami spends lots of time practicing her yelling, hitting things, and generally asserting herself. With her newfound mobility she is able to assert her self further afield and the cat seldom comes home anymore. She is also determined to operate the stove and to eat the cat’s food.

We fear that our children do little to aid Africa’s stability, but we think we’ve noticed a trend towards improved family-planning efforts since our arrival.

Congo

We continue to pray about our timing in going to eastern Congo. Right now our priority is learning French (probably the most terrifying part of this move). We are excited to go and challenged at the same time. My frequent internet searches for news on Bukavu usually turn up articles that fall into three categories: Gorillas, Investment Opportunities, and Humanitarian concern. It is sad that the city closest to the world’s deadliest war since WWII generates more concern about apes and gold than people.

If I could summarize the news for you it is as follows:

1.) There has been guerilla on gorilla warfare which has lead to deaths among an endangered species (gorillas not guerillas.) The millions of dollars that go into protecting these amazing animals is funneled off to build mansions and buy SUV’s while forest rangers face armed militias for $100 a month.

2.) There is tremendous investment potential in a mining company called Banro that estimates it can remove half a billion dollars of gold in five years from an area where people on average live on less than $0.30 a day.

3.) Life is hell for many in Eastern Congo. Six armed militias and the DRC government fight across Eastern Congo’s wealthy forests in conflicts that continue to claim over 1000 lives a day, produce 25,000 cases of rape monthly, and displaced 65,000 people last week.

I read the news with my head in my hands reading through my fingers like a little boy watching a horror movie. As I read it I feel anger, grief, disgust. But I know God feels love. Jen and I feel grossly unprepared for Congo, and learning French seems insignificant compared to the problems this nation faces. But I also know that God is big enough. I know that Jesus underwent torture yet still loved and forgave.

I can’t solve Congo’s problems. Even the 17,000 UN soldiers can’t do it. I teach. I teach math, English, science, anything they put in front of me. I’m not equipped to end a war that has killed almost 5 million since 1998. Jen vaccinates babies and assesses soon-to-be moms. She doesn’t do fistula surgeries or amputations.

Pray for us to trust that God can use us with our limitations. Pray for us to learn French. Pray for us as parents, trying to take care of our family first and foremost in a world full of needs. Pray for Congo.

That’s it for today. I know this email started out happy and then turned sobering. Let us not forget the joy in our lives as we address the world’s suffering.

God Bless,

Davis, Jen, Tovah, Lami

PS. Jen has a birthday on Wednesday.

If you want to learn more on Bukavu and Eastern Congo:

Amid clashes in east Congo, number of villagers fleeing hits 300000

End Sexual Violence in Eastern Congo

Congo gold – Banro proving up four potential mines

Gorilla SOS In Eastern Congo: