During our yearly roundtrip we could again organize many new humanitarian aid items for the container and want to once again thank all of you who donated materials or helped otherwise, especially with the local storages and the transportation to our final storage in Erfurt! Special thanks also to all who helped financially, as you know, we can’t do this fulltime and voluntary work without help from outside.
Besides the humanitarian help we are also planning to bring again spiritually feeding and teaching materials, which is very much need here. In our many years of experience in this work (for Wolfgang it will be 30 years at Christmas) we found out that the spiritual aspect of our work is even more important than the physical. Everywhere we found that people have a deep desire for inner peace and happiness in their lives, which really only God’s love can fill. In Africa this is very obvious since Africans generally believe very much in God and this natural faith gives them lots of strength, especially since they have so many physical needs. In Germany I hear sometimes: “Yes, after the war people still had more faith here also” or “When I’m going through a rough time, then I also start praying”. Usually I answer: “But we don’t have to wait until we are having bad times. God is also there when we are having a good time.” But that seems to be a problem: many are forgetting God, when things are going good for them.
The different “Activated” publications which are available in French will be a big help for this inner desire of so many here in Congo, where people are very hungry and open to God’s love, comfort and strength. But just as “faith without works is dead” (Jam. 2:26b) we are trying our best to also alleviate the physical plight of the poor here.
At the moment we are very busy to establish our new mission station and to find the best way to achieve tax exoneration. Both are an especially difficult task here for several reasons. Rents and food, harbor charges and transportation costs are extremely high. The harbor of Matadi is 300 km away from the capitol. But since almost everything in this war torn land is imported and more expensive than in Europe, our humanitarian aid items are even more needed than so far. At the same time we are also checking again, where the greatest need is as we can only help the most underprivileged people.
A simple way how we can help when we are out is giving a loaf of bread or bananas to the many hungry beggars we meet on the streets everywhere. They are very thankful for every little bit of help and appreciate a word of comfort or a prayer. It inspires their life, when they see how somebody cares for them.
We would like to ask you for your continued support, so that we can help these people, and are sure that God will bless you for it as He promised in Luk 6:38 “Give and it shall be given unto you…” Please also pray with us that the new joint government between the president and the three rebel groups can establish lasting peace and that the devastated economical situation can improve even if only slowly. Thank you!
    
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