Congo - 2009

Forward

Usually I write a report strictly from my point of view and not necessarily of the whole team. This time, as the team leader, I will try to cover the activities of the whole team as well as I am able. Organizing and directing this team was a new experience for me and I learned to appreciate the work Stan and Julie Wagner normally do in the many teams they have lead. The main things were to get everyone to fill out and submit the necessary forms required by the Assembly of God Headquarters, make travel arrangements through an agent, collect the monies for the trip costs, obtaining the visas from the Republic of Congo embassy in Washington, making sure everyone had the required yellow fever shots and the recommended malaria pills.

The Team

Our team consisted of ten people, seven from Centerpointe Church: Pastor Gary and Carol Hanson, Thom Clement, Jim Fahlsing, Scott Glassic, Shannah Nevills, and Henry Weigel; two from Pennsylvania: Harold and Lisa Serfass (Lisa is Scott’s sister); and one from Michigan: Paul Phillips. It turns out that Harold is contractor and a professional mason. With his skills he graciously provided professional direction for the team. The Lord provided the skills and willing workers needed on this project.

Purpose and Work

The purpose of this trip was to assist in the construction activities and providing organization and quilting assistance to the women’s center. A secondary (or maybe it was primary) purpose was to act as “mules” for the missionaries to bring in much-needed, as well as some “wish list” items. Obtaining such items through routine mail channels is not reliable. As each team member was allowed two checked pieces of luggage, the rule was one piece of luggage was for the team member and the other was the “missionary mule.” Carol Hanson organized getting the quilting materials and my wife, Grace, assumed the role of collecting the bed sheets, towels, and wish-list items. Many items were ordered over the Internet by Pastor Gary Dickinson, Pastor Hanson, and myself. Most of it ended up at our home and was subsequently allocated to the team members to take along. The Church family was generous in contributing towards many of the things we took along.

The work accomplished consisted of laying out the structure and erecting the frame for the hangar at the women’s center; laying out the rooms and actually laying blocks for three dorm rooms; laying paving stones in the dormitory shower area; wallpapering two dorm rooms and part of the cafeteria; quilting training for Janice and the women’s center students; and organizing the supply area of the women’s center. When we ran out of paving stones we had to make some more ourselves. I should note that in the Congo blocks and paving stones are home-made by using forms and making each one individually.

Travel and the Routine

We left Dulles airport Monday evening January 26 via Air France and arrived in Paris Tuesday at about 11:00 AM. Paul arrived from Detroit by way of Amsterdam a couple of hours later. Paul and I stayed with the carry-on luggage while the rest of the team went to tour Paris for the day, as our flight to Pointe Noire wasn’t until after eleven that evening. We arrived in Pointe Noire at 6:00 AM Wednesday and were picked up by the missionaries, Pastor Gary and Jan Dickinson, assisted by some of their church members. We had something to eat, rested, and then got a tour of the city. Work began the next morning. Most of us stayed at the Bible School facilities. Thankfully, our accommodations had air conditioning, although the power was unreliable. We were delighted to have it most of the night, as originally we had not expected any air conditioning at all.

The normal routine was to have breakfast by eight or eight thirty and start work. Lunch was prepared by the ladies of the church and was very good. Pastor Dickinson saw to it that we had plenty of fruit, such as bananas, papayas, mangos, pineapple, and passion fruit. Some of these were made into a fruit salad – uhmm, delicious. After lunch we usually had a devotional, some were given by members of the team and some by local people arranged by Pastor Dickinson. Evening meals were lovely and good dinners. We did not starve, but enjoyed the food greatly.

As our stay drew to a close the Hansons departed Pointe Noire on Wednesday February 4 and spent two days in Paris. The rest of the team (except Paul) met up with them on Saturday and we took the same Air France flight back to Dulles arriving on Saturday February 7 about one in the afternoon. Paul departed from a different gate as he flew directly to Detroit.

The Airport Church, Daughter Churches, the Bible School, and the Women’s Center

Pastor Gary and Janice Dickinson are busy people. The Lord is blessing their growing ministry. He is pastor of the Airport Church, heads up the Bible School and oversees the construction activities. Janice heads up the Women’s Center where she gets girls off the street to keep them from going into prostitution, teaches them sewing skills and basic education. In the process they get the Gospel told and demonstrated to them. The Airport Church has planted two daughter churches: the Tchimbamba Church and the Plage (translated, Beach) Church. It is not on the beach but has that as a name

Ministering and Being Ministered to

In addition to the daily devotionals we attended four church services while in Pointe Noire. Pastor Dickinson set the spiritual stage for us when he gave the first devotional on our first morning before work began. He alerted us to the great spiritual warfare going on in the Congo and our need to call on our God with great abandon to have His power made known through His people.

At the four church services that we attended Pastor Dickinson interpreted for the speakers. He asked Pastor Hanson to greet the people and, as the leader of the team, called on me to introduce the team members. I took this opportunity to bring greetings from our Church Family as well as give a brief word that the Lord laid on my heart.

The Plage or Beach Church.

The first meeting was the evening on the day we arrived and was at the “Beach” Church. The church is not on the beach but had this name. Scott Glassic and Thom Clement gave “team-teaching” presentation of spiritual service in the Church. This topic was assigned to them by Pastor Dickinson. They drew on material from their personal lives as well as experiences in the service they have provided to the Church such as Sunday School and Royal Ranger activities. Pastor Dickinson followed up with a summary. During the service the power went out occasionally but a stand-by generator kicked in and light came back on. Our team mingled with the church people (language barrier not with standing), especially the children. The many children were a big hit with the team. The Church provided refreshments for us after the service.

The Leaders Prayer Meeting at the Airport Church.

Thursday evening, January 29, we attended a leaders prayer service and were blessed in spite of the language barrier. One or both of the Dickinsons was near us and provided insight into the prayer needs. The leader stated the prayer need and everyone entered into audible intercessory prayer for a time. The leader would move on to the next need. It was a moving experience.

Sunday Morning Service.

Sunday, February 1, we attended the service at the Airport Church. The thing that struck us was the very audible and enthusiastic worship that ushered us into the presence of the Lord. The church was packed as it was a combined service with the two daughter churches. I would guess in the neighborhood of 400 – 450 people were present. Pastor Gary Hanson preached on Jesus healing the leper. Jesus touched him before he was healed – a definite no-no. Pastor’s point was that we need to reach out and touch people around us with God’s love and Good News, whether these people are lovely or not. That afternoon this concept was put into practice. We were at a market near the beach and while looking at items and making funny remarks to each other, another shopper who spoke English overheard us and smiled. Thom Clement got into a conversation with him about our missions trip. Since I was the organizer of the trip, Thom called me to explain to the man what this was all about. This led to us presenting him with the Gospel. He particularly liked an analogy I used which made it convenient to invite the man to visit the Airport Church. Our driver explained where it was located in case he wanted to come.

Service at the Tchimbamba Church.

On the evening of Wednesday February 4 we attended the Tchimbamba Church. This church had a concrete floor, one wall and two sides were curtained off. The back was open for people to enter. It of course had a roof. It appeared to be the basic tabernacle structure made available through the Assemblies of God. This also was a combined service of the three churches. I was scheduled to preach. I had sought the Lord before coming to the Congo as to what to preach on and had made an outline. I continued to seek the Lord for His anointing. My topic was doing the will of the Father focusing on the Great Commission – namely proclaiming the Gospel. I cited several examples from my life as illustrations of witnessing and the inability to witness. This led to the need for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The importance of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life was highlighted. The altar call was given for both those that wanted salvation and those that wanted to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Many came forward. At that point I turned the altar service over to Pastor Gary Dickinson and joined others in moving from person to person and praying for them. It was a blessed service as Pastor Dickinson kept the altar service moving with prayer and exhortations. At the end he was tired out as also were some of us. The Church provided a much-appreciated, delicious supper for us after the service.

On the Way Home.

On our flight from Pointe Noire to Paris I had a seatmate who was from Scotland. He goes to Pointe Noire to work for a month and then is off for a month. We entered into a discussion that started with his making some comment about Christianity and energy issues. I moved to separate the topics and focused on Christianity. It turns out he has a church-going mother that he says is an alcoholic but she won’t admit it. He loves her and his Dad and wants to help them – even if it means he has to go to hell. He was so passionate about his concern for his parents that he wept profusely. I quickly told him that he going to hell isn’t going to help anyone; but rather, by turning to Jesus and having his life changed could he help them. He kept steering away from Jesus and the Bible and I kept steering back to them. I asked if I could pray for him. He at first declined but later allowed me to say a short prayer. When we landed I was prompted to give him my copy of my sermon notes in which I had printed out salvation Scriptures among others. To my joy he accepted it. His name is Andrew. Please keep him in prayer.

Conclusion

Missions trips have a four-fold benefit.

• We go to bless people with our work and witness.
• Our coming blesses the missionaries.
• At the same time we receive a blessing from the missionaries and the people of the mission field.
• We go home and share that blessing with the Church family.

– Henry Weigel, February 2009

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Forward

"So then, just as you received Christ as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

When I think of my trip to the Republic of the Congo, I think of Moses and the burning bush. For me, the Congo trip was my burning bush experience (Exodus 3) – God wanted to get my attention and is calling me to a deeper relationship with Him. What may God be calling you to do? Maybe He too wants to get your attention. Hopefully He won't have to fly you half way around the world to do it...

Being in Pointe Noire allowed me to see what it is like to live under God's power and His calling. This is a daily reality for our host missionaries Gary & Janice Dickinson and Congolese Pastors Sosten, Olivie, and Arnaught. God is changing people's lives in the Congo – He is delivering people of demon possession, healing relationships, changing people's hearts, and daily providing for them. Last year Airport Assembly of God in Pointe Noire took in $87,000 in tithes and offerings – this in a nation where 70% of the population lives under the poverty line. Why? Because tithing works. God works. He will deliver what He promises.

Power Of Prayer

In addition to seeing what it looks like to live under God's power, the Congolese taught me how to pray. There is a saying in the Congo, "if your neighbors can't hear you, you must not be praying loud enough." And boy, the whole community must be able to hear them – there might be 20 people in the church praying, but it sounds like 100! But it isn't just loud praying, it is fervent praying. Why don't I pray like that? I can, and I will. Because the same God who is moving in the Congo can move here in the U.S.

Work Projects

During the day, our team was involved in various construction projects around Airport Assembly. From our time in the Congo, we:

• Wallpapered 2 dorm rooms & part of cafeteria
• Built a hangar at women's center
• Laid block for 2 rooms
• Laid paving stones at Bible School

Leondryne: Left and forgotten

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!" Isaiah 43:1

One of the most memorable stories from the trip was that of Leondryne, one of the young girls at Janice's women's center. Leondryne is a 19 year old student at the school who had only been there for 1 week before our team came. Even though she is smiling in the picture above, Leondryne's father had left her and her siblings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while he returned to Pointe Noire and tried to forget about his family. When people at the church found out he had left his family in the lurch, they demanded he bring Leondryne back to Pointe Noire or he would be exposed before the whole church.

As Leondryne had just arrived at the center, she was extremely shy and wouldn't even look Janice in the face when she spoke. But one day, Pastor Hanson, one of our team members, came into the school to take a break from the construction work. He was humming a popular Congolese Christian song and all of the sudden, you heard a gorgeous voice singing the words of the song. It was Leondryne. Even though she had been abandoned by her earthly father, she had not been abandoned by her heavenly Father who made sure she knew every word to that song.

So God knows exactly where you are at too. He knew where Leondryne was, and He knew why He had me go to the Congo. It was during the Wednesday night service at the Tchimbamba Church that an altar call was given for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I knew I had to go up as this was something I had been seeking but was frustrated by in the past (Acts 2:4). During the altar call God touched my life and the lives of many Congolese who were pouring their hearts out at the altar. And even though I did not get baptized in the Holy Spirit that night, I know it is something I need and something I will now daily seek Him for.

Just as Moses realized the ground he was standing on was holy, so too do I realize that God's power and hand is upon my life. He is looking to pour into me, an earthen clay pot (2 Cor. 4:7), His power and His spirit so that I may mightily be used of Him here on this earth. And, like Moses, I am not going to ignore the call that God has for my life. Are you?

– One of Christ’s earthern vessels, Shannah