There is nothing better than spending time with kids in Africa. You will read more on that through Mike Scheffelin’s tender hearted words in a minute.
Thanks to your prayers and the grace of God, we have had a great trip. One more day to go – and lots of people with whom to meet. We will be training the people who attended the business seminar to form listening groups using the solar powered MP3 players containing the New Testament in French or Swahili. In part it is a reward for coming to three days of training. It is also a reminder of how important a relationship with God, through His word, is to doing business.
We have had some email problems and some very long days so I apologize for the short emails. We will fill you in on some great stories and real God moments in later emails.
Today, we walked to a school and met several hundred school children. To get to the school, we walked down into a big valley. The “sidewalk” is a dirt/clay/mud walkway. It is so steep that it is almost continuous stairs (formed of clay) down around 400 feet to the valley. We wind through a maze of houses – so close that we can touch them on both sides at times. Because it is the rainy season, there is lots of standing water – better for the malaria carrying mosquitos to breed. There are kids playing in filthy drainage ditches with putrid, off color “water.”
There are children everywhere – which is quite sad because they should be in school but cannot afford it.
We went to the school today to give solar powered mp3 players with the new testament in French and Swahili to teachers. They will use them in their classrooms. We are praying for transformed hearts and lives. Please join us.
When you think of classrooms, think no lights, no books, very little paper, one 4×8 foot chalkboard, a mud floor and since this is a good school, only 50 kids per classroom – which is less than 1/2 the size of what you are picturing.
Just remember: the kids in those classrooms were the lucky ones.
Here is Mike Scheffelin’s perspective on the day:
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. Today was a special time for the team as we were welcomed to the Congo by a Congolese young children school. We could here singing as we approached the school yard, then the emotions became overwhelming as we entered a court yard where 600 children were singing a greeting song and dance. For 15 to 30 minutes we were treated to singing and special morality speeches by the children that illustrate how lives should be lived. Personally my heart was warmed and I had a hard time holding back the tears, which would not be a problem except my job was to video the event. Working a video camera is difficult with tears in the viewfinder. This trip has been great for all of us and we are eager to share much more when we return.