Dear Friends:
May the peace of the Lord be with you. June 6, 2003, we will be saying goodbye and heading on to Haiti. Our departure is also our invitation to you to come and visit us where we live and see what we do. We would love to show you around our churches.We praise God who always sustains us in spite of our sins. Our United States assignment has been very rich and a blessed experience.
The Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas, has been very sensitive to our needs. We do not know how our life would be if we were not there. Students whom we had to teach have blessed our hearts and opened our eyes to a new understanding of things.
We have visited many places and many churches. We have met many friends we have never dreamed of. Everywhere we went, our American and Haitian brothers and sisters were and still are extremely wonderful to us. They have opened their hearts, their homes, and their churches to us. They have shared with us their best beds, food and all kinds of gifts. We truly say THANK YOU.
Our children are doing fine. Nzunga Magimvuyu 21 years old (sophomore) and Nzunga Mafungu 20 years old (freshman) are enjoying Judson College in Elgin, Illinois. They are struggling with college life as most college students do. Magimvuyu is interested in medical school while Mafungu is looking ahead to communications and business. They will stay here and are in need of a place (family) they can call a family away from home.
- We are counting on you friends and supporting churches to include them also on your prayer lists.
Nzunga Giguya 13 years old and Nzunga Pambi 10 years old (on April 19) will be going back to Haiti with us. They have enjoyed their experience in American public schools even though with the cultural pressure. They are now more confident that they can study anywhere in this world as international students. They are excited to go back to Haiti and meet their old classmates.
- They would appreciate prayers as they get the feelings of not belonging to any particular society.
Many people have asked us if we are happy in Haiti. Some have wondered about our safety and the work we do. We are happy in Haiti as fishes are in the water. We deeply believe that the safety of all of us is in the hands of God, the Creator. People die in Haiti, they die in Africa, in Asia, in Europe and in the United States. Cemeteries are in all countries. As to our work, we are in Haiti to cry and to rejoice with our brothers and sister Haitians.
As we look forward to getting back to our mission field we plan to continue training feminine leadership over a broad range of subjects. Meanwhile, we pray that we can start building the women's training conference center. We plan to tour our churches for our evangelization mission. On another plan, we want to train our university students in building more research skills. We are also thinking about helping more girls at all levels gain some education. We believe that to educate a woman is to educate a nation. We have been deeply concerned about using sports as an evangelization tool. The experience was very encouraging. We plan on intensifying this sport ministry while using it also as a bridge between youth and old, Protestant, Catholic and voodoo believers, men and women.
We are encouraged to go because we know that you care for us. Your expression of love has been a vital force for our ministry in Haiti.
- We would appreciate your prayers for our brother and sister Haitians as they struggle with the hardships of life and the skyrocketing inflation. The Christians of our Baptist denomination and its leaders will greatly benefit from your prayers.
May once more, God keep you in His care and bless you, yours and your different ministries.
Yours with thanksgiving and heartfelt gratitude,
The Nzunga Family