Where there is only one runway. Your plane lands, turns around at the end, and comes back up the runway, while you hope whoever's landing next is paying attention. Green Toyota Corolla Taxis and overloaded trucks with bald tires swerve & sway to hit the smaller potholes. Women in colorful clothing carry water on their heads, and babies on their backs. Barefoot kids play soccer everywhere on the dirt streets. The train to Pointe Noire rattles by with people sitting & singing on top of the boxcars. Chickens meander through the yard scratching for bugs. Avocados & safu wake you up by falling on the tin roof at night. We have arrived safely at our new home! We are enjoying setting up house here as our formal language studies begin. The past few weeks have brought us through the Blizzard of '96 to a temperature of 96 (oh OK, actually 87, but that was another blizzard). Incredible changes, but we've enjoyed seeing God provide again & again!
We believe that one of the reasons God brought us here to Brazzaville for language training, rather than France or Quebec, is so that we can minister to the missionaries and internationals who live & work here. These people are often under attack. They live without the security of medical care that they trust. When you feel you have no one you can call about your child's fever, or that pain in your side, minor problems can quickly become major actors in the theatre of the mind. The familiar thought of going back to that place you understand and where you are understood becomes even more appealing. As a result, assigments are cut short in search of medical care which we could provide while we're here (with your help and God's strength). These evacuations leave important jobs undone and ministry opportunities unfulfilled, as workers leave the field prematurely.
By working a few hours a week, as we study French full-time, we can help these people stay healthy, work efficiently, and feel more secure about living here. We can also offer counsel and comfort on those rare occassions when evacuation is neccessary. God's workers need to be encouraged! We praise God that He has sent us here for that purpose! We are excited about this real need that we can meet now, until we know Fren
Would you please pray for us as we establish rapport with the medical community, missionaries, internationals, and our Congolese brothers, sisters, and neighbors? Pray that we will be able to offer an excellent standard of care as we practice our skills. Pray that we will have the supplies when they're needed. Pray that God will use us to bring healing and revival to the missionaries, church leaders, and internationals in the Congo. Pray for the safe delivery of several infants this year (including ours).
In addition to prayer, perhaps you work in a medical field, and can provide us with some practical assitance. We are in the midst of setting up a combination exam/procedure/lab/LDRP/nursery/patient/ guest room in our new home where we hope to do checkups, sick visits, minor surgery, and low-risk deliveries. The enclosed list contains items we thought would be useful to send at this time. Used but still useable; and opened, but not used, is fine! If you intend to send us something, please contact us ahead of time to confirm shipping arrangements, or email Dr. Robert Wilson.
Remember, You may be God's answer to your own prayers!
Love,
Joe & Becky, Olivia, Claire & XY?
"Then He said to His [twelve] disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field...'" (Matthew 9:37-8)
"...These twelve Jesus sent forth..." (Matthew 10:5a)
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