Judy-archive

Please note my address. No, I am not working now in Zambia but as we don't have Post Offices that work, we use one in Zambia. If you write to me at the Kampala address it will be severely delayed. I don't expect to be in Kampala again until maybe July 2006!!! It seems even here there are long delays with the post. But books I sent in November have arrived safely so that is good.

Thanks for praying. My first few weeks back in DRC have been amazingly busy but worthwhile. Now I am actually in Lubumbashi with all my belongings and looking forward to having a proper office and making this house feel like home.

I had an excellent visit to Mahagi, Aru and Bunia. This was so definitely led by God. I was amazed at how much was accomplished in just a few days.

Mahagi: The first course is now under way with 10 students from three local archdeaconries. Rev Willy Bahemuka, the Director phoned very excitedly about it! In June they will run a 3 month course in English mainly for Sudanese youth workers as our contribution to the peace movement there. Then in November, God willing, we hope to have 2 youth workers from each diocese for 9 months course. This will be a higher level. Please pray for the necessary funds. But we do need to pray that the Centre is well used by local young people as well.

The mill for cassava flour was installed whilst I was there and caused a real stir as it is an excellent one and grinds the flour very well and very fast! We pray that it will be well looked after and that after having first paid back its debts and built its own proper house, it will bring in funds for the centre and give birth to other money-making projects. We are keen to see the centre self-supporting after a few years.

What is really exciting about Mahagi is that our centre has had a major impact upon the church there. They have now made 15,000 bricks towards building a new church. The different revival church groups who have really destroyed the work in the area are at last coming together and coming back into the church which is a real answer to prayer. They are so gifted in enabling people to become Christians but then bind them with their laws. Please pray for a wonderful move of the Holy Spirit to bring everyone together in love with a vision to reach out to those around them.

The church is growing also in the Lendu area around Rethy. This is a new movement and is still small but already there are 7 churches. The people are committed Christians and very keen. This was the area where the fighting started first against the Wagegere (N. Hema) before they moved south to the Bunia area.

Aru: There I spent time with the Government youth officer for that district, Mr Yuma who is a delightful Christian and very concerned for the young people. We are working together to establish a carpentry training workshop for our young people from each parish. Through him the local Government have accorded us a plot of forestland so that we can cut down trees for planks to use in the workshop and others to sell to buy their tools and then other for our own youth department as a money income-generating project. Our contribution was a circular saw. Please pray that this workshop will truly train these young people in carpentry and in the way of the Lord.

I was encouraged to see that George Odhipio whom we had sent to ISThA for theological training finishes this summer and is very keen to run the youth department in this new diocese. If the saw really works then he will also have the necessary funding.

The people in the Aru district are feeling surer of peace as the rebel leader is now imprisoned in Kinshasa with his generals. Some soldiers have been disarmed and MONUC are working on the others. Please pray for complete peace.

Bunia: I felt there was a real difference from my visit in August - more hope of real peace. They have started disarming people. I stayed with Bisoke and Furaha in their rented house in the centre of town. This gave me time with them going through all the difficulties that they were encountering. They had listened to many people who spoke many untruths about our work. This caused a real breakdown in their working relationship and so Bisoke and Furaha were working very much on their own. As a team we had a good day together singing God's praises by choosing favorite hymns of those who had died or had to flee plus our own favorites. This brought us back together and then we moved on to the Bible. God spoke to each and everyone so that when it was time to share each one spoke honestly and thus we were able to seek forgiveness and to have a fresh vision of working together. I have since heard there is a great improvement!

Jijika is still struggling but I think she will leave that man. We need to continue to pray for her as she is such a great worker amongst the girls.

We have bought a compound in a neutral area of town as a centre for work amongst the girls particularly to help them over their trauma with money from friends in Australia. We need a lot of money to finish one of the buildings and to add a children's play/educational centre and for more rooms for the girls but there are so many possibilities. It is really exciting. Please pray. They will start activities in the centre even before doors, windows and the flooring is put in!!

Bisoke and I also talked of a programme amongst the street children aged 12-16yrs. There are so many of them. He is full of ideas so please pray they will work as a team backed by the elders of the church.

I met with the Church council and that was an excellent time. We talked of the youth work, the girls work, the building of the church and also the schools work. It is encouraging to see how well the Church building is coming on as well as the congregation is growing.

We visited Makabo where we had started our agricultural centre. Only the building remains but we had a good time with the local elders. They are very supportive and now feel that the centre belongs to them and is there to help them move forward. Their young people, many of them ex-combatants will help Sinza get the ground under cultivation again. Do pray for Sinza and Rev Upenji as they work with these people. Sinza's wife is still too scared to return. Please pray about that.

The Diocese of Boga will have their Synod 29th March - 2nd April in Bunia - the first time for the church to meet together after the tribal fighting as a large group. Please pray. They will also be choosing two candidates for the new Diocese of Aru. May this be fairly and prayerfully done.

This time I was sad to leave. The Bunia people are so much part of my life. I had two days in Kampala and this time Judith was there which was great. We spent the last evening in a hotel at Entebbe and then I left at 3.30a.m.

Lubumbashi: So now I am here and beginning to feel settled. Bishop Isingoma has given me two rooms as offices. One was a depot in this house but we have blocked the door into the kitchen and made one to the outside courtyard. The other is across the courtyard from the house. So they are both very convenient. We will need to work on them but it will be so good to have my own office and one for a secretary. Please pray we find someone suitable. Yesterday we watched the film, the Passion of Christ in Church and then tomorrow I am preaching at the united service for all our Anglican Churches in the cathedral which is still under construction. Bishop Isingoma and the Christians have made such an effort to get the roof on, the tower built and beginning to plaster the walls.

Return to UK: I fly from Lusaka to UK on 14th April. The 15th I have an MRI scan on my back and on 18th I go to St Luke's Hospital in London for a minor operation on 19th. We have our family gathering on 15th May and then on 20th I leave for a month in Sydney to share about the work amongst the women, girls and children in the DRC with those who have set up a trust fund for us to help with the trauma here. They are the ones who are supporting this new centre in Bunia.

Please pray I will get done all that I need to do before leaving so soon for UK.

Thank you for all your love and support. Thank you for your many gifts to me whilst I was in UK.

With love,

Judy

Sent: 13 September 2004 22:14
PRAYER LETTER FROM JUDY ACHESON – September 2004

Dear friends,

New way of working

Bisoke is back in Bunia with his family and we are all so pleased. Bisoke and Furaha have many ideas to get Agape back on its feet and he wants to centralize all the work and the accounting.

Therefore we have taken the following decisions:

1. From now on, Bisoke will send news of all activities and needs for the development of the youth work in the Diocese of Boga. No longer will any member of the team be permitted to contact you to seek funds or personal gifts. If there are any personal gifts we would still appreciate them passing through Bisoke and Furaha and as before through the Agape bank account.

2. There is a new email address d_agapeboga@yahoo.com The other address will no longer be used.

3. Furaha with a finance committee will be responsible for all accounting and she will report back to those who give them gifts.

4. Obviously personal letters and emails between friends are acceptable.

We do say thank you for all your support and would appreciate it if you would follow these new decisions.

With love and thanks,

Judy

Dear Friends,

News update

Forgive me for not writing before I left for this last lot of travelling but Joyce's email was out of order and so it didn't get through. However it seems many people were praying as I am back safely. After I left Mahagi, Kumuru and Bunia there was fighting but whilst I was there it was quiet!! What does that say?!

The opening of the center at Mahagi was a very special occasion. We praised God because everyone was very happy and they appreciated what the center will be used for. Leaders from other churches were present including a Bishop from the Catholic Church and they all said that they would send their youth leaders to train here. What a responsibility we now have. The service was beautifully led by Bishop Isingoma and the rain circled but didn't fall! The food was ready as soon as the service finished and they all ate plenty! One small cow fed 877 people which was truly a miracle.

The visit to Kumuru was important to give my condolences to the family of the Archdeacon Christophe who died in June. It was hard though to see the grave and realize he really has died. We spoke a great deal with each member of the family. They need our prayers as they move back to Aru and the children return to school. The older ones will have to try and build a house for the family.

On to Aru. I stayed with Francesca which was good but she had fallen and badly hurt her foot, so was hobbling around. I was thrilled to see Pat Nickson so full of the joy of the Lord after her ordination. This joy and increased faith are changing many things at IPASC which is thrilling, giving a much more Christian base to the College.

I was able to visit many people displaced from Bunia including the staff and students of ISThA, so it was a busy time. I was so pleased to catch up with Amote Kabarole, Nyangoma's mother. What a lady of faith.

Then to Bunia. I knew people were praying and I was kept at peace throughout the visit and without fear. But it was hard to see the state of the town with UN tanks at every corner, UN soldiers behind many walls fully armed and sandbags and barbed wire everywhere. There are still thousands living under UN provided tarpaulins - it is like a city within a city, a market, shops etc. How resilient the Congolese are. I was taken everywhere i.e. not allowed to move around freely unaccompanied, invited to different people for lunch and other people for afternoon tea. So I managed to see many people and others came to the Lewis's house where I was staying. It was hard listening to the stories but within the hardship there was always room for praise and thanksgiving to God for His enabling and protection. We had meetings every day so that I could catch up with the news of the building of the new church, the schools department, the youth department, what is happening in the parish etc. We had the service in the new church as the Pastor knew many people would come to see me and he felt having two services as they normally do would be too tiring for me. I found it hard though to preach as folks had been through so much and I didn't really know where they were at but Bezaleri the Pastor added to what I said and people were very grateful. The new church now has a roof on and is making excellent progress but there is much still to be done. Exciting. I think the Bishop will be amazed when he comes over the next week or so for Confirmation service and for the Reconciliation meeting. It is years since he has seen the building!

At night there was shooting several times and yesterday I hear there was shooting during the day. There is an uneasy calm but much prayer is needed to bring a true peace to this area. The people are beginning to settle back but each tribe has it's own area and the majority are living in rented accommodation because they can't go back to their own homes as they are in the 'wrong' area. Armed thieves are causing much damage, looting at night. One lady stood up in church on Sunday and said they had robbed her of everything but left her alive. There was a special collection and she received $17 and gifts of clothes, saucepans etc. She was amazed and thankful to find she wasn't alone but had a family - the church. Some folks in the church complained that they had not received help from outside to buy Bibles, restock their looted homes etc as other churches had. But what this Church has learnt is to help each other with the little they do have and that is very precious. The numbers in the Church are growing every week. Bezaleri shows an amazing courage and an anointing from the Lord to help people during this time. Please pray very especially for him. He does need a holiday though. Jacques hopes to settle back in Bunia this week. He received a tumultuous welcome from the congregation which showed God at work in people's hearts.

I slept in the house overlooking 'mine'. Jean-Pierre, my faithful gardener since 1980 is looking after the house. He has been a rock and so helpful as he has found his own tribe, the Bira to stay in my house with him, in the Archdeacon's house, the printing office and in the pastor's house so that the houses are safe. The Bishop's house is just a shell, very sad to see. I felt though God has truly moved me on and so was not sad to see my house or sad that I was no longer living there. I felt that Bunia no longer was home for me. I was very pleased to see so many friends and will return to check on the youth work but I know God has given me another base and so I am grateful. I was actually grateful to fly out on Friday. I had become very tired.

The war has meant people are very quick to criticize, tell lies about others to bring them down. There has been so much said about the Youth team partly because they have done a great deal on reconciliation which hasn't pleased everyone and they have had to keep some of their work secret because otherwise their lives would be in danger. People have said they have told lies, eaten the funds etc etc and even Bisoke was believing what was said. It was so hard hearing all this.

But on Sunday I had a meeting with the team back here in Kampala and went through every point. There was no truth in any of the accusations.

Ø Please pray for Bisoke and Furaha. They have to fit back into a war-torn Bunia after 5 years absence. They have to realize that there are so many lies being told and they have to learn to work with the youth team who have changed so much over these years of war. They must learn to trust them.

NB: Fighting in Bunia yesterday and so Bisoke is struggling with hearing gun shots night and day. So please pray for peace there.

Judith whose house I live in here in Kampala has invited me to Tanzania for the weekend to have a break before I hit UK on 17th Sept and go straight into meetings! Having these days out means I have a lot to do in a very short time, so please forgive me if I don't answer individual emails.

Please pray for a car for me. It looks as though God has answered my silent prayer about somewhere to live during this leave. I will let you all know when I arrive in UK.

I am looking forward to seeing many folks but please I also need some rest. If I have a house to stay in then folks will be very welcome to visit.

With love

Judy

From Judy Acheson -17th July 2004

17th July 2004

Dear friends,

Loving greetings to you all and thank you for your prayers for my time in Lubumbashi and for my travel back to Kampala. You must surely have been praying because I was still in the airport in Lusaka when the plane's engines were running as there was such a confusion at the check in desk and then when I got through the final check to go out to the plane I realized I had left my computer on the ground back at the check in!! Did I run through the airport but praise God it was still there and so I was definitely the last on to the plane. It is so good being able to do the journey from Lubumbashi to Kampala in one day.

* The seminar on trauma counseling was superb. The team from Australia worked so hard and their teaching was excellent. We were grateful for all the teaching they gave us but maybe in particular that on post trauma stress, on trauma from rape and why men do it and effects of being displaced. I think this will really help many people. Sadly Azama from Kindu did not make it as she first had to wait for the Bishop to come from Kinshasa and then having delayed there were no planes. She got as far as Goma but with only two days of the seminar left we told her to return. I know she will be sad and this teaching would have helped her work so much.

* The Australian team produced a manual which they are going to translate for us into French so that we can teach others and the participants will have good documentation to use.

* Participants: We had Rev Daniel and a youngster Sophie from Kisangani. She was greatly helped over a traumatic situation she had been in. We had Rev Jean-Paul and Cecile from Bukavu who will both go back and pass on this information. Rev Atoko from Butembo hopes to help the clergy to understand about trauma and to run seminars for those who have been traumatized by the conflict within the church. Jijika, Kiza, Marie, Jacques, Deo and Sinza all participated. Jacques will go back and continue to help the Ngiti fighters to give up fighting and help them over their own trauma. We are grateful to CMS for paying for these folks to come and I know they will go back and make a difference. The Australian team had sent extra money and so we were given some to pass on to the participants to help with the follow-up work they planned.

* Willy Bahemuka and I were translating which was hard work but it meant that we could make sure that our team from Congo understood the teaching. At times it was hard on us because of the teaching was touching our own emotions after what we have been through. I was grateful for Jenny and Barb who both took time with me and I shall continue working through some emotions with Barb via email. Jenny is hoping that the women's group back in Australia will support our work amongst traumatized women, young people and children. They had been looking for a direct link. Let us pray that this link becomes real and that together we can do something positive for the many who have been so hurt through the war.

* We have left our book 1 in French at the printers but when we went today to pay and to see how they are getting on they had not kept a good enough example on the computer of the cover. Unfortunately I think the photos I used for the first book have gone to Lubumbashi in my luggage with Jean Tshiswaka and so Richard has taken a set of other photos of young people. We trust that they will produce another good cover like the first.

* I hope to do more work on Book 2 this coming week but wonder whether I really will get it ready for the printers before I leave for UK. The same applies to the girls' book. So please pray that I may know which book is priority and that we may have the funds for printing.

* Mahagi Youth leaders' training center: We can see the end in sight. Willy went to Kigali to buy books for the library, thanks to a grant from SPCK. We have tried to pick up books more locally so that we don't spend a great deal on postage from the West. Mahagi area is a little unsettled as there are two groups fighting over the gold in the area and this is making people a little uncertain about attending the opening ceremony. In actual fact Mahagi itself is safe and so we are going to ask the Bishop of Nebbi over the border in Uganda to open the center if Archbishop Dirokpa or Bp Njojo feel they cannot attend. They are no longer having the House of Bishops nor the Provincial staff meeting there. We have decided against inviting the Minister of Youth from Kinshasa as he would expect us to pay his fare! Yesterday Willy and I worked on the headed notepaper, the invitations, the courses to be followed etc. Much prayer needed but God is encouraging us to keep moving forward.

* Praise God for a move forward in reconciliation: A team from the Great Lakes area is involved in bringing the Ngiti and the Hema from within our church back together. Jacques was present when the Archdeacon, an MP and the Ngiti Chief went to Bunia for four days. This was a very helpful time for them. They were in Church on the Sunday and that was a precious time of healing. The Bishop is happy to meet up with Ngitis in a meeting in Nairobi and from there they hope they can hold the Synod in Bunia with everyone present. Much to praise God for and much to pray for. Jacques is deeply involved and has already had an opportunity to meet the Bishop who was thrilled. So it looks good. The Bishop's visit back to Boga at the end of May has given him fresh courage and concern for the church. Please pray for Jacques as he obviously is highly appreciated and everyone depends on him for leadership.

* Please pray for peace in DRC: There is fear that fighting will break out again between DRC and Rwanda in the Bukavu area. The area around Bunia towards the lake is still not settled. Many are not impressed with what is happening in Kinshasa so much prayer needed.

* Programme up ahead:

* I am taking a few days off to rest and recover from busy few months before starting on Monday on Book 2 or the girls' book. Judith who owns this house comes back Monday night for a couple of weeks and so it will be great to have time with her. I come and go and we have not been here together for ages.

* I plan at sometime to go to see Janet and the family after the death of her husband, Ven Sinziri.

* To Mahagi probably around 9th August to help Willy prepare for the opening ceremony on the 15th. Please pray for the necessary funds and that it will be a day that brings glory to God for all that He has enabled us to do and that this center will be used to help many young people both locally and from throughout Congo.

* Hopefully I will visit Bunia after the 15th Aug when the various meetings on reconciliation are over. We all felt it was much better for me not to be around at that time.

* I leave here on 17th Sept for UK and will let you know my programme when it has been fixed. It looks very busy but I am looking forward to seeing many of you!!

With love to you all and please do feel free to email me direct as it is not as expensive as it was when I was in Bunia.

May God richly bless and refresh you during this holiday period,

Judy

From Judy Acheson -10th June 2004

Dear friends,

I have now been in Lubumbashi for a month and am at last sleeping well most nights. Being here in some ways I have stepped back a little from the horrors of the war and can think of others issues relative to our youth work.

I can see the wisdom of the choice of relocating here as Bishop Isingoma is on hand to give advice and the excellent Diocesan team is willing to form a committee to support and help me think through various issues. We have not met yet officially.

We have chatted about another youth book that we need to produce - looking at the problems in this country and the challenge this is for young people. Each one is working on different subjects. We tried out some of the subjects with the 4-6th form young people in one of our schools and received some very interesting replies. However this will involve a great deal of work and so will be book 3 'Enjoy your Country'.

I have therefore decided book 2 needs to be on faith issues - 'Young people enjoy your faith.' I worked on many of these subjects whilst in UK in 1999 and although I will need to revise and edit I am hoping that I could have this book ready for the printers before I leave for UK mid-September.

I also need to revise the first girls' book but this is proving harder work than I had anticipated.

The big draw back here in Lubumbashi is the electricity supply. I am grateful that my new super computer has an excellent battery so that I can work for longer than the electricity works but it is very frustrating and frequently means I work at night when there is power. We have just heard they have stolen 300m of cable so we have no hope of power until we sort out where to get electricity from!

A very positive plus is that Bishop Isingoma has managed to install email here in the Diocesan center and if and when we have electricity it means we can use it all the time at a very reasonable rate. That means I can keep in touch with the Diocesan youth workers.

Situation in the country: Bukavu was taken over last week officially by the Banyamulenge, a tribe in the east there but actually it is the Rwandans who have moved in once again. We heard yesterday that 100 women and girls were raped in Bukavu. Thankfully they have withdrawn but today there was an attempted coup against the President. He is getting very unpopular. Please pray the world will see what Rwanda is doing but also pray for our government that they keep to their part of the deal and expel the interahamwe

Deo and Sinza to Gety: They are hoping to visit this month but are waiting to hear whether they have the necessary funds from CMS. Please pray for safety and for helpful teaching on reconciliation and planting different vegetables to battle against the malnutrition that is affecting so many.

I have at last finished most of my reports of my travels but please pray with me that money will come in to help the youth around our dioceses. Otherwise it means we talked for nothing and it makes me feel useless, having seen the needs but have nothing at all to pass on to make any change. We need to find a donor who is committed to youth work - any ideas?

Mahagi Youth leaders' training center is moving towards completion. Rev Willy Bahemuka is working so hard and although is permanently being frustrated he keeps going and we are hoping that on the 15th August when we officially open the center it will be finished and even furnished. Please pray for the necessary funds for this final step. The first set of students is expected to start on 4th September for three months. v We were very sad when Ven Christophe Sinziri died after a very short illness. He was such a special person and the work in his Archdeaconry of Kumuru in the far north of the Diocese of Boga had made great strides forward. He was planning to go to UK for a visit in September for the centenary celebrations of St John's, Seven Kings. Please pray now for Rev Isaac Agele who has been chosen by Bishop Njojo to take his place. Please pray Frederick Ngadjole will be able to get all the travel documents and a flight for him.

I have written to CMS area secretaries asking them to fix up dates for visits to churches when I am leave from mid-September and once I have firm dates I will let you all know. We still do not have any money for Sinza to come with me as planned and so it looks more and more unlikely. I am going to try and get church visits done straight away so that I have a length of time for a proper rest and switch off!

Programme up ahead:

I leave again 3rd July to go back to Kampala for a meeting on 4th with the team who are going to speak at the seminar on counseling from 8th - 15th July. Will there be sufficient peace in the east for some of our folks to attend?

After this seminar I hope to visit Bunia - my first time back since I had to leave. This may coincide with the conference that is being arranged to reconcile hopefully the Hemas and Ngitis from our church. Should I be there or not?

To Mahagi to help Willy prepare for the opening ceremony. We do not yet know whether the Archbishop will have the necessary funds for the Provincial Staff meeting and the House of Bishops at the same time there in Mahagi.

A possible visit to Kumuru to see Janet and her family after the death of my great friend Christophe and to attend the youth conference.

Preparing book 2 in Swahili and book 1 in French for the printers. But we need the funds.

So I think that is all for now, plenty to pray about. Thank you for your continuing support and look forward to hearing from many of you.

With love,

Judy

From Judy Acheson -15th March 2004
15 March 12.05 pm

Dear friends,
Tomorrow I leave for Kindu and Kalima. I have never visited this diocese so I am looking forward to it very much. I praise the Lord that He has enabled me to fly everywhere now with UN which means the flights happen and I will keep to my programme. It also means I don't have to sit amongst the luggage or on the floor!!
The visit to Bukavu has been very busy but has been useful to see what is happening here and what the needs are. The major problem in this whole area is the presence still of the Interahamwe. They are still raping women, girls and even men now. The FDD from Burundi were down on the plain around Uvira and Fizi for 5 years causing havoc but have now left. So people are left with nothing after systematic looting. I asked Benita who will come to study here in Bukavu in September from Uvira to provide her own plate, cup and spoon. She replied that they have one plate and one cup and that is used by their father, nothing else at all!! Can you imagine that level of poverty?
I met up with 86 women and girls who had been raped, some of them more than once. I praised God because I had no idea what I would talk about, what message to give but He undertook and they were comforted. But such sorrow, such horrific stories. There are 5,500 known rape victims because they have had medical treatment but what about all the others who have either died, hidden themselves away from shame or stayed in the villages? It is a major problem. Please pray that we as a youth department will know how to respond to the needs of the girls who have been raped; 12 girls under 12 have had full hysterectomies just for a start!! All these girls need support, counseling, jobs or money to return to school etc etc.

As I travel around I am picking up more and more needs. We have to think seriously about self-financing projects that will enable the youth department to function in each diocese. Please pray for wisdom and for the right response as I listen to the needs. The youth would love to do so much and in some places are amazing having built the church with bricks they made etc but in other areas they have nothing and yet...
I know that when I get back to Kampala on 13th April I will have much to do sifting through all the material I am receiving and seeing if and where we can help. Please pray for folks to respond so that we can encourage the youth. This war has destroyed their hope, their plans and any possibility of making money. Fields of food destroyed, trees uprooted, houses razed to the ground, everything looted and then the raping on top.
Please pray the Interahamwe will leave. They estimate that there are around 10,000 of them in the forests to the east and north-east of Bukavu.

Kindu will have it's own set of problems so please pray for emotional strength as I listen to more stories.

Thanks for your prayers. This past month has been incredibly busy but so worthwhile. On to the second month now in the diocese of Kindu in Kindu and Kalima where Louise Wright lives and works and then on to Butembo in the diocese of North-Kivu via Goma.
With love and thanks,
Judy

From Judy Acheson - 8th January 2004

Dear friends,

Just a quickie to ask you to pray for Sinza going with Jacques to Gety to run 7 seminars, one in each parish on reconciliation as well as talking about planting vegetables etc. There is severe malnutrition there and a poor understanding of different food values. The war has obviously made the situation worse. Sinza has gone in with a large amount of seed.

Prayer requests:

It takes three days to walk to that area through the forest. They start tomorrow Friday early. So safety along the way and enough energy to do it!
The major problem is that if folks there in the Gety area here there is money, Jacques and Sinza's lives could be in danger. They intend to leave money in each parish as they go through so that when they come back for the seminar it will look as though the parish have found the food.
They will have to walk from parish to parish, so again that needs energy especially after working so hard with the teaching and practical work.
There are many different groups amongst the Ngiti with nothing seemingly to hold them together as one group. In fact they have killed amongst themselves and caused much pain to each other. So not only do they need to be reconciled to the Hemas but they have a major problem amongst themselves. So please pray God will work miracles as Sinza teaches and that in each place they will find those who can pray with the ones who need prayer in the evening. Sinza and Jacques are rather on their own in this.
That folks will see the value of Sinza's teaching on planting green vegetables and so take this up.
We do not know when they will be back. So prayer for Naomi, Sinza's wife and two children here in Kampala. Naomi's youngest sister Blandina died about a month ago from Sickle cell anemia. She had been sick on and off all her life but a courageous girl with a beautiful singing voice.

Praise:

Deo's wife gave birth to a little girl at 6.30a.m. today and both doing well. Great rejoicing. I am sure Alice, their 3 year old will be thrilled.
We took our Swahili and English editions of our revised first youth manual to the printers this week and today we went and saw the cover – great. So we are excited and within two weeks we will have 2,000 Swahili copies and 1,000 English copies. This means I can go with the swahili ones on my travels later this month.

Prayer:

We had to change printers and we are really pleased we have but the price is higher. Even so the books work out on average as £1.07 for 116 page book, an amazingly good price for the quality of printing, binding and coloured cover. But it means that we are short of the extra money. God is the great Provider and so we look to Him.
The seminar on counseling starts on Monday – Friday and we hope everyone will arrive safely this Saturday from Bunia, Bukavu, Uvira, Kindu and Kalima. Kiza has already arrived from Aru. Please pray for their safety as they travel and that God will greatly bless our time together. There are also 15 ladies from N. Uganda coming and 2 from Sudan.
Jeanne from Hoima from the Lendu refugee camps is also coming. Do you remember you read about her in Jijika's letter how God worked amazingly in her life? So special prayer for this young lady that God will richly bless her during the week and that she will be anointed by the Lord to go back and help many others.
We will be having to translate all the teaching and so please pray for Willy Bahemuka, just finishing his Masters at Mukono Christian University here just outside Kampala and myself. Also the translation won't disturb the others.
I am trying to think what my programme should be as I visit each Diocese later this month and am beginning to get teaching material together. But I do not have sufficient funds to have seminars in each place with the youth and maybe not with all the parish youth workers. So please pray that in each place God will make it very clear what the programme should be. I believe I should spend plenty of time with the Diocesan youth worker, giving him extra training, and time with the girls' worker where there is one. I hope to pick up what the situation is like for the youth in each area and then together with the Diocesan team seek the Lord in preparing a plan of action. May my visit be an encouragement in each place.
Please pray for travel as it is anything but easy. However I will try and send another email with more details on travel and dates.
Richard and Jijika are planning to visit Bunia later this month. Please pray for this.
They hope to start work on the new church this month. They are waiting for the builder to come from Kinshasa. Praise God for a large gift which will enable them to finish putting on the roof, and maybe doors and windows put in. Pray that they know what the priorities should be. We are so grateful for these gifts.

Thanks for your support and prayers for us all.

With love to you all and thanks for our cards, letters, emails and good wishes,

May the Lord bless you this year,

Judy