1998 Harvey Holiday

HIGHLIGHTS

Columbus Day

Hi! I’m Joe & Becky Harvey’s newsletter. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you, but it feels good to be back in your hands again, being read. There’s nothing that makes a letter feel more fulfilled, than to be read, and re-read, and enjoyed and remembered!

As you know, Joe and Becky and their three girls Olivia, Claire and Isabelle, are with Global Outreach Mission as career medical missionaries to the Republic of Congo. But since they haven’t been working in Congo for over a year now ever since they had to evacuate out of there last June, they’ve been a little confused, I guess. I think they’ve been waiting until their plans are definite before sending me to you, but since that may never happen, I took matters into my own hands. And here I am!

While I’m here, let me tell you a little of what I’ve seen God doing in their lives. The last time many of you heard from them in late March, they had just finished a stint in the former Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo), at the Evangelical Hospital of Vanga. That was a great trip for them and the two months spent there working among the Congolese and missionaries were profitable and enjoyable. For Becky, the peaceful village life was a welcome contrast to her last memories of their time in the capital city of Brazzaville. Machine guns and rocket fire, looting and rioting, roadblocks, confusion and destruction were the last they experienced there. The generally simple & quiet routine of things at Vanga helped restore her fondness for life in Africa.

As for Joe, he gained lots of ideas about how to run and maintain a Christian hospital in Africa--ideas about making the most of limited resources, keeping things going, designing the buildings, and all sorts of neat stuff. He was also able to make a trip into Brazzaville, to check things out there. Ten days proved enough time to visit the shell of our home, our church, several ministers and such in the Ministry of Health and try to recover our stolen van. Try is the key word there. He had to leave it still held hostage by militia men, who refused to turn it over to us. That was a tremendous discouragement at the time, but I think it was actually God’s protection for Joe & Becky. I’ve overheard the story recently of a French priest who was murdered in his bed his first night back to Brazzaville, supposedly as a "final payment" on his vehicle that had been forced to be returned to him after the war. Yikes!

So anyway, it was a great experience for them, and they left with the idea of still returning to Congo. The "when" and "where" and "how" of that has been tough to figure out, though the "why" hasn’t changed. Why? Because God placed a call on their lives to serve Him in the Republic of Congo, and as far as they can tell, He hasn’t taken it back. So, although the circumstances change and plans fall apart, and it doesn’t always seem practical to return to Central Africa--they’re headed in that direction.

It’s not official, but I’ll tell you the latest developments that I’ve heard. Just today they set aside the whole day to pray together as a family for God’s direction. I don’t know if the destination is certain yet, but 1 think they might have a departure date set. Hopefully I will find out soon, so I can tell you. They’ve been talking about traveling to Impfondo, Congo, via the Central African Republic capital city of Bangui. (Apparently traveling through Brazzaville is still risky). lmpfondo is in the isolated northern part of Congo, and has been spared the destruction of the war. There are several missionaries who have returned there and the Harveys would work with them, focusing on the church-run clinic, and leprosy program. They’ve also been talking about a mission hospital in Bongolo, Gabon, that needed some temporary help. It would be a good idea if you would pray about all this for them. God’s timing in all these things has been hard for them to figure out.

In the meantime, Joe has been working part-time in a local ER. After the first overnight shift, Joe felt like an intern again. But by his second shift, just knowing where things were helped a lot, and he began to enjoy the work and was confident that God had placed him there. He encountered many hurting people, and was often able to share with them the true source of hope and help--God’s love--in addition to modern medicine.

Olivia (2nd grade) and Claire (K) are enjoying school at the "Harvey Christian Academy" and are both at the top of their class! Their teacher (Becky) is a bit disorganized, but she has a good heart. She is using Sonlight Curriculum, and likes it a lot. The girls love all the books. Isabelle, who just turned 2, likes to join in. . . the whole school is learning patience!

Well, I’d better not wear out my welcome here in your grip. Before you put me down, why don’t you say a prayer for these guys? Even a quick one would be fine. You could even send them a note to let them know how you’re doing. I know they appreciate the prayers and financial support they receive and pray for you as God brings you to mind. I know they’d be encouraged to hear how God is working in your life, and what you’re learning from Him.

Until next time,

Harvey H. Highlights

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