Dear Friends,

May the peace of our Risen Lord be yours as we celebrate the 2002 Thanksgiving Day party. May you feel the joy of being in fellowship with one another, as we all get ready to eat the turkey.

In his evangelistic letter, Dr. Kikama Kividi of New Community Church of Chicago wrote: "The Democratic Republic of Congo does not celebrate Thanksgiving as a national holiday. The local church's feast of, "Matondo" is the closest practice to the American Thanksgiving spirit. The word "Matondo" from the Kikongo language means thank you. Each local church selects one Sunday during the year for a big and special offering called "Matondo," e.g. Thanksgiving. This special offering is used to finance a project, which the church cannot afford alone. The members would invite many other churches and friends to join them in the celebration and bring their contributions. The receiving church is expected to "pay back" this generosity one day during their "Matondo."

In Haiti, our country of service, the country we have come to love and to cherish, they celebrate the Matondo in the same spirit as their brothers and sisters in Congo. The Congolese Matondo is called "Fete Moisson"-"the harvest feast," in Haiti. Among other things, it is this fete moisson that has led us to relate to many churches of our Baptist denomination as well as the churches of other denominations.

As for my family, we consider each day as a Thanksgiving Day. We rejoice in the Lord who graciously gives us the day so that His name can be lifted on high.

Since June 2002 we have been in the United States. We consider this time to be one of thanksgiving. The Central Baptist Theological Seminary has welcomed us beyond our expectation. They gave us a well-furnished house, a car, and an office equipped with all one can think of. They know how to take care of us.

Everywhere we go to visit churches, our brothers and sisters go to many extra miles to make us feel welcome. They open their hearts, their homes, their restaurants, and their churches. We have been touched to the point of saying that the words "Thank you," are not enough to express our gratitude. We pray for all of you that God gives you what your heart needs the most.

Our two youngest children, Nzunga Pambi Benita, 9 years old, and Nzunga Giguya Gracia, 13 years old, have been blessed in their own special way. Going from a school of 18 children to public schools of hundreds of children has been a stressful learning experience. They have learned that children can be rude to each other and that it is not only adults who kill each other. They have come to appreciate more their time spent in Haiti and are looking forward to going back. They are glorifying God in small, as well as in big schools.

The two older children, Nzunga Magimvuyu, 20 years old, a sophomore, and Nzunga Mafungu, 19 years old, a freshman, are both attending Judson College in Elgin, Illinois. They are struggling like all the college students with papers, tests, and reading. Mafungu is on their college's basketball team warming up the bench.

While we do not all enjoy the cold weather, the children are looking forward to the coming of snow with a real excitement.

We say, once again, Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for your prayers and the care you take of us. May God watch over you and give you peace.

Yours with thanksgiving,
Nzunga Mabudiga & Kihomi