A 3-Way Partnership

A letter from Gwenda Fletcher in the U.S. on Interpretation Assignment from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

May 2016

Dear Friends,

When the Congolese Presbyterian Church (CPC) education delegation arrived at Lusamba Primary School last November it was almost impossible to navigate the road.  In Congo the usual reason for that is poor road conditions, but in this case it was because the road was clogged with singing, dancing, flower-waving people!  The entire village, from the chief in his ceremonial hat to the women wearing celebratory palm fronds to the children excitedly jumping and shouting, had turned out to welcome the representatives sent by the CPC to visit the next site at which a mud-and-thatch school would be transformed into a beautiful new building.

An enthusiastic welcome from the students

After viewing the existing deteriorating mud-and-thatch school buildings the delegation and crowd moved inside the Presbyterian church on the grounds of which the school was situated. There Mr. Albert Mputu, the Administrator for CPC’s West Kasai schools, shared with the villagers the fantastic news that the Korean Presbyterian Church of Fresno, California (KPCF), had decided to raise the funds to provide Lusamba Primary School with a new building.  The crowd erupted in joy. When the cheers, ululations and clapping had subsided Mr. Mputu explained to the gathering that they would also have an important role to play in making their long-held dream of a new school building a reality.  CPC school construction projects are collaborative efforts requiring the full cooperation of three partners—the U.S. partners providing financial resources, the CPC providing construction expertise, project oversight and long-term follow-up supervision, and the beneficiary village providing work-site help and ongoing building maintenance.

One of the existing classrooms

Most of the residents of Kalonga Mpoyi village are subsistence farmers who have extremely limited financial resources, but they are eager and happy to participate in other ways.  It is customary for construction workers to be fed and housed when they are at remote work sites, and the village of Kalonga Mpoyi gladly provides lodging and daily meals for the crew.  As in most villages in Congo, there is no running water in Kalonga Mpoyi, so the members of the community take responsibility for carrying from the river to the site all the water necessary for construction and for the construction crew’s drinking and bathing needs.  The men of the village set up a rotation of night guards to watch over the site to ensure the security of the work tools and equipment.  Children keep the site clear of debris and work hard to pack earth in the classrooms before the cement floors are poured.  And, finally, it is the responsibility of the entire village to maintain and care for the new building so it will serve the children and families of the community for years to come.

First-grade students

This entire project got its start when Dr. Man Jong Yoo and Mr. JR Lee, members of the Korean Presbyterian Church of Fresno (KPCF), visited Congo in the fall of 2014. Upon returning to Fresno they shared with their congregation what they had seen and experienced.  The KPCF congregation began a process of prayer and discernment to discover how God wanted them to be further involved in ministries in the Congo. In the fall of 2015, as a part of that process, KPCF member Daniel Ha attended the Congo Mission Network (CMN) meeting in Richmond, Va., where he met George Collins.

Presbyterian World Mission encourages and facilitates mission networks like the CMN as a way to build communities of mission practice.  Through mission networks Presbyterians in the U.S. who are passionate about God’s mission can connect with the PC(USA)’s partner churches and mission workers throughout the world.

George Collins is the treasurer of Build Congo Schools (BCS), the Congo Mission Network’s education-focused subcommittee that is the unflagging driving force advocating and supporting the CPC’s education ministries. George and Daniel were able to talk extensively about the ways BCS is working to transform education in the Congo.

Parents at the meeting in the church

After Daniel shared what he had learned, the KPCF congregation decided that God was calling them, among other things, to provide a school building.  The fund-raising campaign at KPCF started the week after Thanksgiving and astonishingly by January 10 this generous congregation had raised the full amount necessary to rebuild Lusamba Primary School! The funds were sent to BCS in late February and ground was broken on March 25.  Since then construction has moved at a fast pace. At the current rate of construction, the new building at Lusamba Primary School will be occupied and in use in early June—before school lets out for summer.

Lusamba Primary School is the fourth school built under the BCS/CPC partnership and the first to be financed by a single church.  Because of the effective partnership model where the three partners—U.S. donors and BCS; the CPC; and the beneficiary village—all play a vital and essential role, every school so far has been finished on time and on (or under) budget.  Thanks to all of you who pray for, contribute to, and work on behalf of the Presbyterian education ministries in the Congo.

John and I leave again for Congo in mid-June.  We return greatly encouraged by the devotion, faith, inspiration and commitment to God’s mission in the world that we have seen in the congregations we visited across the U.S.  This recent period of Interpretation Assignment has highlighted again for us the truth that “… in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  Thank you for sharing with us in the unity of the body of Christ and for the prayers and financial gifts that make it possible for us to serve in the Congo. Our ministry is not possible without your support.  If you are able, please considering increasing your financial support for our ministry in this challenging time.

Blessings,

John and Gwenda

The Congo Mission Network’s next meeting is in September 2016 – details at: http://www.montreat.org/congo/