Dear Loved Ones,
Greeting. Saturday November 15, 2014 I attended the memorial service of Reverend Janey Smith in National City, California. Memorial services are not the best services I like to attend. During the service, my head was spinning over the idea of seeing all our Congolese missionaries leaving us one by one.
On one hand I want to accept the fact that they have gone home to be with the one they all served. On the other, it is hard and behind my human understanding that they are really gone. It seems that I am living two contrary realities at once. It looks like we were all together yesterday.
Those who are departing us are the people who made our Baptist history in Congo. They gave their life in order to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to our country.
They built hospitals where they treated us and saved countless lives.
They built schools where we got the best education one could find in the country at that time,
They built churches where they taught us the good news of Jesus,
They built soccer/volley ball/basketball fields where we got our exercise,
They built garages/carpentry shops where they taught us some skills,
flew us in the mission airplanes bringing all kinds of comforts and saving lives.
With their departure, the history of Baptist in Congo will continue to remember them through the good work they did in that country as we read in Revelation 14:13 “their deeds will follow them”.
To those who have already gone to be with our Maker, to those on their retirement moment, to those on the field, to those still to come we present our deep gratitude for the sacrifices you made/make to leave your Loved ones, the food you are used to, your friends, your culture, your climate and everything dear to you.
May God of love be with you and watch over you.
May the good work follow those resting at the right hands of the Master.
Yours,
Nzunga & Kihomi
Dear supporters,
Nzunga and Kihomi are both products of IM missionaries work in the Congo many years ago. When we go into a developing country we look at what we can do to improve their lives by educating, feeding, healing, providing shelter, and showing them how to make enough money to be self sufficient. All this is done as a great witness to God’s unconditional love as he showed us by sending Jesus to die for us. There was a time in this country that most of the university’s and hospital had a Christian denominational name. The three hospitals in Ft Wayne were my received her nursing training were Methodist, Lutheran, and Catholic. Many have dropped it in so called modern times. Why have we lost the fact that the best way to preach the gospel is by loving and helping others? Jesus warned us about using words only. Our mission program is the gold standard as we work with the native people to take over and work ourselves out of a job. We were thrown out of Burma in the sixty’s but the church is still strong there. Nzunga and Kihomi are right that we owe a big thanks to these early pioneers. The best thing we can do to thank them is make sure the program stays strong and we keep sending those who are called.
In His Grace and Peace,
Dennis Shewell
Mission Partnership Team Communications Advocate and Convener
Nzunga and Kihomi Ministry
E-mail: deshewell@gmail.com
Phone: 812-569-1352
Other team Members:
Les Roberson
Diana Peysha
Terry Bivens-Fry
Charles Newman