Hello from Germany

It is just few hours in the airplane and I seem to have entered a totally different world to the one I just left behind in the DRC. It is good to be a bridge builder!

Praise God for a smooth journey without any problems! I have arrived safe and sound

Even though far away, our hearts and prayer are with the people in the DRC and the work continues. 

Here is another picture from our time in the Congo. It was taken just few days ago.

Goodbye from the DRC!

Dear friends, 

this will be my last update from the beautiful Democratic Republic of Congo

We are reflecting back on...

... four weeks of God on our side guiding our every step...

... four weeks of learning and teaching...

... four weeks of trusting and rejoicing...

... for weeks of giving and taking...

and four weeks of so much more!

Matt was invited to speak at Chai Church in Bukavu every day throughout the past week. The message that God put on Matt's heart for the people here was about receiving forgiveness from and through God, who has saved us by grace so that we can rejoice in our salvation forever. In his teaching series "The Power of God for salvation" Matt focussed on "The power of God", "The debts of men and the payment of God", "Gather the wheat", "The burden of men and the offer of God". Through the teaching the Holy Spirit has inspired some pastors and people from church to form groups, like homegroups, to continue with what has been tought and live and spread the true word of God. So far these groups are lead by our translator Michel and a friend of ours, Baba Eli.

We were also invited to join a kids/teenage prayer meeting, also led by our friend Baba Eli, in a less privileged area of town. We did not expect what we then experienced that evening: a tiny room for 60 young people who were singing, praying, dancing and kneeling before the cross. We also experienced and intimate time together and shared the story of David and Goliath with them. A question Matt asked the kids is valid to all of us and also to you, who is reading the blog right now: What or who are the giants in your life? Do we put our trust in God for Him to take care of them? Among these beloved kids was a young man, who used to be involved in witchcraft, and his sister, who used to be a prostitute. God has changed both of their lives completely after they had encountered him. Matt and I praised God for a generation of Congolese who are dedicated to life a life for God. 

Interestingly we also had the opportunity to interview and talk to a guy, who has written his final paper at university on how the UN workers with muslim faith use their work and presence in the DRC as a channel to spread Islam within the region. As for now, we do not have any other concrete evidence, but as the regional minister of justice as well as Dr. Mukwege confirmed during an interview with us the past week, at least 14 mosques have been built within 5 years only in the area of Walungu (the traditional kingdom of my tribe), apparently through some dodgy food-money trade with local people and MUNESCO funds. Let us pray for the Word of God and the Works of God, the Three in One, to be manifested and lead to peace in the DRC!

On friday, we were invited to speak at ULPG, the Free University of the Region of Great Lakes, here in Bukavu. Again we were surprised by how many people came to listen to us - the auditorium was packed with people - professors, students, lawyer, community developers, nurses and many more. Again Matthew shared the Good News and with god-given authority proclaimed that God is in control of all spheres of society, whether it is the sphere of government, economy, science, health and so on. To our surprise many professors were willing to partner with us and invited us teach for a full week at a university in Goma next year!

The other day we traveled the road down to Ngomo. The purpose for that was for Matt to record and give an interview from inside the DRC along a road that a lot of rebels have traveled on. This interview will be shown at Liberty University in the US and is supposed to encourage Christians to discover the call God has for us to be involved around the world as a church and as christians not just in our own location where we are.

Now we are in Goma. The picture above was taken on the boat on our way there. We are staying at my cousins, Claude and his beloved wife's house. Today we met our friends from Focus:Congo, who continue with the work we are doing once I am not there. Skilled and ambitious young men who dedicate much of their time to take videos where soldiers fight in front lines, collect stories of hope and organize youth events. Only God can reward their work.

Tomorrow morning at 6am Matt and I will cross the border to Rwanda and our flights will leave in the afternoon. 

As I have said before, we have been immensely blessed. It was sad to leave my family but when I said goodbye on saturday evening I was touched to see the joy in their faces to have had me there for a short while.

Full of trust of hope, Matt and I, will leave the beautiful DRC and its vibrant people in God's hands until we meet again. 

Stay in touch with us - I am looking forward to be connected with you.

My thankfulness goes to all of you who have faithfully supported us throughout this time.

God bless, 

your friend Pappy Orion

Our journey continues...

Dear friends from all around the world, 

I am personally touched and amazed by your interest in the DRC, its people and the work that is being done here by so many, who are willing to invest into a radiant future of this nation and its people. Thank you for all your comments, like and shares.

To be honest, there is no better place to be where you are called to - even if it takes a lot of energy, compassion, patience, discernment and strength. In return though, it is a blessing to share love, smiles and moments of forgiveness and truth with people whom we encounter on the streets, in taxis, at the border, in churches, hospitals, in remote villages and the many more places we travel to.

It has been a week since I last updated you on what keeps us busy.

First of all, Matthew and I are blessed to have this time together and bond in our friendship. He is of a great blessing to me personally and a friend I treasure.

Last weekend, we travelled to Uvira to visit a good friend of mine in Uvira, Fahamu and wife Jonni. Even though Uvira is just about two hours down south of Bukavu, where we are at the moment, there is no direct road we could take within the Congo, so we had to cross into Rwanda and take bus a from there. We then again had to cross into Congo. As many may figure, it is not always easy to cross borders in Africa. With the history we share with Rwanda it is not easy for us Congolese to travel there - personally I always have to struggle with fear once I am on Rwanda. Also, crossing borders with a "muzungu" (white person) often happens to be another challenge. However, despite some interrogation by some border controls and after some time them asking us to pray for them - it happened to be and experience to love on our neighbours and live out reconciliation while uniting in spirit.

Our friends, Jonni (an American) and Fahamu, are pioneering Youth With A Mission Congo and have started their own ministries. We were blessed to have had the opportunity to join them on their trip to a remote village and be part of what is God is doing through them in the DRC. Together we travelled to Lemera and visited a pygmie village. The pygmies are small in size, usually do not interact with "mainstream" society and have experienced unspeakable cruelties during the war due to their otherness. It was an impressive experience to gain a deeper insight into their way of life, their daily challenges but also their resilience and capability of organising themselves and their community.

I think the most amazing encounter we had was when I approached a man and started talking to him. While talking to him we figured out he was the pastor of the local pygmie church. A humble man with a passionate heart for the Lord - it was a shock to all of us when we figured out he did not even have a bible. What a man to live out a calling using the little he has in his hands, leading a church and sunday services without an own bible! We invited him to join a local pastors meeting, where we were invited to speak and preach the next day. To have a pygmie pastor join a pastor gathering was a miracle on its own. God spirit was moving and touched many hearts - the many stories I could keep on telling are testimonies of what we experienced there.

My prayer is for God to continue his works also through the ministry of Jonni and Fahamu and continue with His plan to draw His people closer to Him and unite them in unity.

We are now back in Bukavu. Matthew has received many invitations to preach and speak at local youth groups and churches. The place where we are living has turned into a place where many people come visit us, share their stories, talk about life, eat together and share life with one another.

If I am not accompanying Matthew I am busy collecting footage for our documentary "Congo-The Place I Call Home". Together with Prince, another faithful and dedicated friend of mine, we travel places around town and collect precious insights into life in the DRC.

The next week we are planning to visit Goma - friends, family and build up connections with associations.

Thank you for again for your interest, your friendship and support. When life is overwhelming, the thought that so many are backing us up here in prayer and are behind us keeps us going. 

We are together - "Nous sommes ensemble" - this is the way Congolese people say good by to manifest togetherness.

Greetings to all of you, 

your friend Pappy

Join us on our journey to the DRC from July-August 2014

Greetings from the beautiful Democratic Republic of Congo!

I, Pappy Orion, hope this message finds you well. First of all I would like to apologize for not communicating earlier. The good news is that this is due to the fact that me and the team are very busy with ministries during our 4 weeks journey here in the DRC!

To start from the beginning: My journey started on Monday, the 26^th of July 2014 from Frankfurt (Germany) to Doha (Qatar) to Entebbe (Uganda) and finally to Kigali (Rwanda). In Kigali I spent a night at YWAM Kigali where I was joined by Ryan Carter, a photographer friend of mine from Australia currently working with YWAM Restenas (Sweden). The next day we started our journey to the DR Congo by bus from Kigali through the rain forest to Bukavu. There three other friends of ours from the US, Renee, Jonathan and Matthew, joined us. It has been a week since we arrived here in the DRC and it has really been a busy one.

On Thursday, the 24^th, we visited a local NGO called LAV (L’aissez l’Afrique Vivre), which is helping former child soldiers, raped women and vulnerable children. This was a great opener for us because here we learned about the value of forgiveness. We talked to a young lady who was raped by militia. We can see and hear from her story first hand that God has touched her heart and has given her the courage to work along side former child soldiers who might have been from the militia group that abused her. The DRC is full of such stories, but also stories of redemption, forgiveness and love. People slowly understand that the only medicine to healing their wounds is giving everything to Jesus Christ and believing in the power of the cross. This the message that we have been preaching throughout our time here in Congo. 

Apart from that we were invited at a wedding, invited to preach at three different churches and made to daytrips to remote and rural areas, Kalehe and Walungu, where we ministered to many living in the bushes and deep forests of the DRC where a lot of fighting is still taking place.

Having Ryan Carter here has also been of a great blessing. He has dedicated his time, finances, passion and skills to helping us with footage for our documentary and project “Focus:Congo”. Through the eyes of a lens and his pictures, I have again discovered and seen the beauty of my nation. Congo is surely one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Ryan has captured breathtaking moments and experiences during our journey. I can remember war him saying: “The people of Congo are beautiful and photogenic!”

This for me is what God has given us, the Congolese people, despite all the struggles, the war and desperation. There is joy and there are smiles on people’s faces, there is hope and there is brightness covering darkness. No matter how long the night, the day and sunrise is sure to follow. I believe it is time for the people of the Congo to walk in the light - the light that is leading to greater pasture. Transformation will happen in the DRC if those who believe in God’s power get touched by it and become actively involved!

Renee, was here for one week and was mostly working with “Chahi Hospital”, a hospital working in the outskirts of the city Bukavu, mainly focused on the treatment of malnourished children and pregnant women. It was a great blessing to have someone like her, who is experienced in this area and has a heart for people, become part of us for a week. On monday she was called to the hospital when a kid was brought there and was about to die. Renee rushed to the hospital and when she got there she realised that the child was given wrong medicine before he got to the hospital. She quickly intervened and miraculously the kid recovered. It gave us joy to see that God is using us here in Congo in different ways and spheres. We are six people on the team and each one of us with a different expertise. We have seen how much this dynamic is working out very well. We are all contributing to the team and making sure we are using our gifting to help the advance God’s kingdom.

Jonathan and Ryan have had lots of chances to preach the word of God in churches, Taxis and on the street. We are seeing people recommitting their lives to Christ by preaching the gospel, repenting from their sins and acknowledging the greatness of Christ. 

We have had lots of challenges as well. I came here with very little finance so I am only trusting God at the moment that He will provide for me to be able to accomplish what He has called me here at such time as this. We have had some challenges with the Police trying to bribe us, which we could not agree to but God nevertheless paved the way for us. We know that in all of this Jesus is still God and He is guiding us, providing for us and protecting us in all situations. We give glory to Him and keep on trusting that He will use us here in great and mighty ways. 

We have been travelling to places occupied by rebels and it went all well. We have seen the gospel being spread in these places. Today we are travelling to Uvira, a little town close to the border of Burundi. For some of you who have been watching the news the last month, there was a massacre in this town where the rebels came and slaughtered women, men and children. We have been invited by a couple, who is pioneering YWAM Congo at the moment, to do a pastor training and of course we will be there to encourage the people and help them realise that God cares for them and wants to have a relationship with them.

Please pray for us that God will be with us, protect today as we preach the Gospel and we would be tools for the Holy Spirit to do His works of redemption, healing and truth!

Thank you for all your friendship, support and love towards me and the people of Congo.

Blessings,

Pappy Orion 

Congo counter-insurgency commander killed in ambush

The colonel in charge of military operations against rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed in an ambush along with three other soldiers.

Colonel Mamadou Ndala, who helped to secure the military defeat of the M23 rebel group in November, died of his injuries after a rocket attack on his vehicle near the village of Mazizi in North Kivu province, government spokesman Lambert Mende said.

His killing indicated the challenge facing DRC's government and the country's 21,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in their efforts to pacify dozens of armed groups operating in the east of the vast central African nation.

"Colonel Mamadou Ndala has just passed away," Mende said. "We have not yet identified the attackers."

Ndala was in charge of tackling the ADF-Nalu rebels, a Ugandan group which has stepped up its attacks in eastern Congo this year and has been identified by a UN peacekeeping mission as one of the main obstacles to peace in the mineral-rich region.

ADF-Nalu has been blamed for a spate of recent attacks and kidnappings around the town of Beni in North Kivu, including the deaths of at least 60 civilians in two attacks last month.

Ndala was returming from Beni airport without a military escort, sources said.