Greetings from Bangui, Central African Republic, where we’ve had a good weekend worshiping in Grace Brethren churches, doing a long radio interview on Radio Bangui from the Castor church, visiting with the missionaries, and much more.
We are now in our final stretch of classes. Didier (from France) is teaching illustration and scenario publishing. Jean (from France) is teaching photography and principles of composition and how to use digital cameras. Jules (from Ivory Coast) is speaking to the particulars of publishing in Africa and writing for small booklets and books.
My role is to work through a magazine article curriculum with those who are interested in this aspect–today we talked through how to do a personality feature and the personal experience article, and we talked about possible article ideas they generated over the weekend. Tomorrow morning we’ll be working on how to conduct interviews and do pre-article research. Greg Burgess is translating everything I say into French.
Didier had several days of stomach-sickness but is now recovered. It’s evening in Bangui now, and we’ve just passed through our every-night power outage of several hours. We’re in an internet cafe where the connection is terrible, but at least possible. I’ve tried numerous times to transmit photos, even downsizing them to ridiculous proportions, but it’s no use.
Tim and Ginger Hock have gone up to Yaloke for several days to work there. Today we toured the orphan care facility under construction, which is about 80 percent completed. It’s a beautiful two-story facility and will serve excellently for that ministry.
Dianna Davis is expected in tomorrow. All the missionaries are looking forward to reconnecting with her.
We worshiped in the Galabadja 3 Grace Brethren Church Sunday, which is the second-largest church in the city (after the Castor church). There were about 1,200 present in the French-language service and all our team gave testimonies and brought greetings. Then we were invited to the pastor’s house afterward for salad and tea. People here are so hospitable.
Over the weeks ahead you’ll be seeing and hearing much more as I string out a series of reports. Right now we’re in the home stretch here and must give attention to several more days of teaching and of conducting important meetings that are on our agenda.
Thanks so much for your prayers for us, but especially for the dear people here. So many of them have suffered so much, it is incredibly humbling to those of us who enjoy the security and freedom and affluence in the West.
Today I asked the president of the African Grace Brethren Church Union, M’Boi Andre, what he found to be the most exciting aspect of the church in Africa right now.
After thinking a bit, he responded “the faithfulness of the people and the pastors.” He went on to tell of some areas where ALL the homes surrounding some of our churches have been burned to the ground and yet the people and pastors are continuing to meet in the bush and to continue to serve each other as a church. Would that our American churches were so faithful!
God is working wonderfully here and I look forward to telling you much more about it in days ahead.
-Terry, from Bangui
