Giving ALL

One of the biggest things the Lord has taught me since i have been in Congo, is the truth that all that I have is His. It started when things from my house started coming up missing, or someone would walk through the yard and take a mango or papaya off the trees, or walk through the garden and take some tomatoes. When we would go to someones house and be offered a drink and when they brought it I would notice....this is my cup! This all started to bother me so much that i would start watching everyone that came over, to make sure they didn't take anything. The way the culture is here in Congo, is if you have more than one of something then you should be willing to share. Anyway, it started to bother me so much that I started to pray and ask the Lord how to deal with it. Then the Lord brought the thought to mind, "where did you get the things you have? Did someone buy them for you? Did church members sacrifice their money so you could get them?" This thought struck deep in my heart. All that I have is given to me from the Lord. Whether he used humans to give it to me or just allowed our trees to bloom and give us fruit. It was all given to me from the Lord. So that day i decided to give all that I have to Him, and if He wants to bless someone else with something that I have, I try my best to smile and say thanks for blessing someone through me. It still can be a pain sometimes to go for something and realize that its no longer where I had left it, to later see it in someone else's house. But i have to remind myself that It was not mine in the first place. I think sometimes in life we hold on to "things" so tightly that we don't see other peoples needs.

favorite congo recipies!

CONGO GOULASH

So I made this recipe and the guys have gone nuts over it so I figured
would post it so you can try it!

1lb. ground beef
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans corn
2 cans whole tomato
1 packet of salsa mix
1 cup of mayonnaise
salt to taste

Directions:

brown the beef
and add the rest of the ingredients in a large pan.
Great over rice or noodles :)
enjoy it and comment if you liked it!

LIPTON HELPER

1lb. ground beef

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans tomato

1 can tomato paste

1/2 pound cooked noodles

1 packet lipton onion soup mix

1 package shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

brown beef add the rest of the ingredients, cheese last :) enjoy!

Gods protecting hand

Being a missionary in Congo has it challenges, But through it all our Lord is faithful. Our most recent incident happened on Thursday, While my husband and 2 friends of ours along with pastor willy (national pastor) were out making a map of the village of kinkole, to better our evangelizing. They were stopped by a Congo police, and a man claiming to be security for the border. They claimed that we had no authority to do what we were doing, and after arguing with them and trying to ignore them for about 45 min. we finally gave in. So they along with my whole family of 5, our two friends, and pastor willy and his family of 3, jumped in our van and headed for the police station. Upon arriving they made all the men go into the police station where they were asked many questions about what they were doing in the village. They were brought from person to person telling their story everywhere they went. Finally the chief said our story was OK and for them to let us go. But when the chief left, they continued to try to intimidate the men and would not let them out. they brought them to the "prison" and made them take off their shoes, belt, watches, etc.. and had them sitting on a bench after about 4 hours the police said they were going to keep them overnight! At this point Matt (my husband) called the U.S. embassy and talked to a man for about an hour back and forth. They said that the congolese police are required to call the embassy if they arrest an American. So after about 6 hours of being in this police station they finally let us go. It was definitely a night we will not forget. The whole time that Matt and the men were in the prison i was outside in the van with our 3 children. I praise the Lord for our faithful church members who came to the station, and sat with me while I waited. They were a comfort to me, and bought my kids cookies and pop. Praise the Lord for his provision, and protecting hand!