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Hope for the Children of Africa Newsletters:

Spring 2007

Fall 2006

Spring 2006

Fall 2005

Spring 2005

Fall 2004

Spring 2004

Bishop’s Task Force
Hope For the Children of Africa
Pacific Northwest Annual Conference

Spring 2007 Newsletter

Greetings!

Our Hope For the Children of Africa (HFCA) task force met on March 16th and we are now able to share with you some recent developments.

Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a partnership with people of the United Methodist Church, Sports Illustrated, NBA Cares, the United Nation Foundation, and several other groups who are raising funds to purchase mosquito nets to end malaria.  For $10 you can purchase a net that will save a life!  Donations can be made by writing a check to our Conference Treasurer (indicate in the memo section that it is for Nothing But Nets) or by going online to www.umc/nets.org .

Malaria Awareness Day – April 25, 2007

Congo is Great in 2007
HFCA co-chair Melvin Woodworth and his wife, Candice recently made a brief trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Here is their report.
What a joy it was to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home of our sister conference in Africa.  On the plane, even before we arrived we ran into Dr. Nkonge, instructor at the United Methodist University in Katanga.  From then on it was a celebration of reunions with old friends and the making of new. 
Last year’s presidential elections confirmed the hope that was born when Joseph Kabila stepped into the presidency in 2001.  His leadership has brought relative peace to the country and his election has spurred new growth in the economy.  Buildings are under construction.  Commerce is expanding.  Cell phones now reach even very remote villages.

We are asking that each church collect and bring the following items to Annual Conference:  toothbrushes (in original packaging), toothpaste, Band Aids, children's vitamins, and OTC meds (including antibiotic ointments), Schools supplies (pencils, pens, paper).  (For items with an expiration date - it must be later than October 2008.)

Please contact Terrie and Mike at skipjack@whidbey.net to volunteer!

We currently are looking for a person to serve as sponsor coordinator.  If you are a “detail” person and have at least a couple of hours per week available that you would like to fill, please contact Jan Kreidler (co-chair and interim sponsor coordinator) at 206-523-3394 or hfcajankreidler@aol.com.  She can share with you a job description and answer your questions.

OFA wants to find homes for girls like these.

United Methodist Volunteers In Mission Teams
Three teams from our PNW Annual Conference are going to the Democratic Republic of the Congo this year … a women’s team will go to WEDAEC, a team will go to Mulungwishi and a team will go to Kolwezi.  A team from Texas also is going to Mulungwishi.

H.A.I.L. Global Mission Newsletter
(Information from Noriko Lao, Conference Mission Chair)
A new electronic Global Mission Newsletter titled “H.A.I.L. – Here Am I, Lord!” was emailed to all pastors @pnwumc.org account and lay leaders on March 2.  This newsletter takes place of the mission newsletter, “Whom Shall I Send?” that was absent for a while.  According to the Rev. Phil Harrington, chair of Conference Global Action Team, “Hail” was a common greeting in the time of the Gospels.  With this word, Gabriel greeted Mary with startling news to which she responded, “Here am I.”  Yet “Hail” meant more than “hello.”  The greeting retained the connotation of the word’s original meaning, “rejoice.”  When a messenger brings news of what God intends to do in and through us it is indeed a cause for rejoicing – even when that news is daunting.  What you find in this newsletter will be “good news”, a report of the “gospel” work of our conference in the world.

You can subscribe to it and any other conference email newsletters by entering your email address in the signup section of the conference website home page (www.pnwumc.org).  Contact Noriko Lao (norikolao@cs.com) for questions.

Need a speaker?
Don’t forget … we do have people who are willing to give presentations on their trips!

An apology and a request
A couple of months ago, a very kind and generous person contacted Jan Kreidler.  That person offered to have her church community collect items to send to Congo with Jan’s team.  Jan very carefully wrote down the person’s name and email address and then put it safely away for later use.  She put it away so safely that she cannot locate it.  L  Jan offers sincere apologies and asks that the very kind and generous (and forgiving?) person contact her again … hfcajankreidler@aol.com .

On behalf of the HFCA task force, we thank you for YOUR caring and generous support for the children in Africa.  If you have questions or concerns, please know your inquiries are welcome!

Hope For the Children of Africa ~ Spring 2006 Newsletter

1.  There are some changes within the task force.  Jan & Kurt Kaiser have decided to resign as co-chairs of the task force.  We thank them for their many years of incredible leadership in this role … where they put their hearts and souls.  They will be greatly missed!

2.  Jan Kreidler has volunteered to be contact person for the girls’ sponsors.  She can be reached by email at HFCAjankreidler@aol.com or by telephone at 206-523-3394. 

3.  Annual Conference:  our theme this year is “Branching Out!”  We ask that each church take a special offering for HFCA between now and June 12.  Please bring your checks to AC, made out to PNW Conference Treasurer and indicate in the memo section that it is for HFCA Advance #101000-4.  The continued support of the churches in our conference will allow us to “branch out” into other areas to better the life of the children in Africa.

4.  Pastors’ stoles:  The women of WEDAEC (the Women’s Development and Adult Education Center) in the Congo have made some beautiful stoles to be sold in our PNW Conference.  Barbara Shaffer and Annie Hayes are in charge of this project.

5.  Fundraiser project for Mulungwishi:  calendars for the year 2007 will be available at the Missions Fair at Annual Conference.  Proceeds will go to the United Methodist Seminary at Mulungwishi.  A free-will offering of $12 is suggested (special price of $10 if purchased at Annual Conference!).  Members of former UMVIM team are encouraged to purchase calendars for their own use and to possibly sell some to family, friends, church members, etc.

6.  UMVIM teams:  there is only one team going to Congo from our Conference this year.  Currently there is one Individual Volunteer serving at Jamaa Letu who will return to the U.S. in July.  Two other Individual Volunteers are hoping to return to Jamaa Letu in September and stay for one year.

7.  Container:  We are planning to send another container of very specific items to Congo in 2007.  Details will be shared as we know them.

8.  Jamaa Letu II (boys):  Funds have been sent to Congo, designated for physical repairs of the facility, food, health care, education, and clothing.

9.  Kinandu:  A one-time monetary gift has been sent to support Bishop Katembo’s vision of building a retreat center for pastors and laity outside Lubumbashi.  It also will be used for youth gatherings, camp-style events.  Bishop’s long-term goal is to also provide a home for street-boys and child-soldiers for retraining and re-entry into a normal life.

10.  Did you know that Carl & Karen Landerholm have legally adopted Laeticia and Fanny from Jamaa Letu orphanage?  They are settling into life here in the U.S.  (If you or someone you know is interested in adopting one of the children, contact “Our Family Adoption” agency representatives Carl Landerholm (360-906-0228) or Jilma Meneses.  See email addresses below.)

If you have questions that you would like to ask or thoughts you would like to share, please contact the current members of the task force:

Doug Huston: cirrider@verizon.net
Jan Kreidler:  hfcajankreidler@aol.com
Carl Landerholm:  landerholm@earthlink.net
Jilma Meneses:  jmor702177@aol.com
Marian Zaske:  zaskedm@iousa.net

Hope for the Children of Africa Newsletter October 2005

2005 has been an exciting year in the life of our partnership with South Congo conference. Of course, the cornerstone to this partnership is Jamaa Letu orphanage and our precious children who are growing, maturing, and becoming young women! Here are some highlights of 2005>

1. We had 4 United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM ) teams serve in Congo this summer.

Team 5A was a medical team that worked alongside local Congolese health care professionals in several locations from remote villages to UMC clinics. While our medical teams brought needed supplies, skills, and provided some training, the Congolese staff shared their knowledge of local diseases and customs, and the partnership between the groups flourished. This team also treated the medical needs of the girls at Jamaa Letu. There were some heartbreaking moments (when a village child was brought in with severe malnutrition and died a few days later in-spite of the skills of the USA and Congolese medical experts). And there were joyous moment (viewing the amazing progress of the mothers/babies in missionary Lori Person’s special nutrition classes).  (Team leaders Carmen McFadyen  Carmen@whidbey.net  & Jan Kaiser love2trvl@imbris.com )

Team 5B divided their time between the mission station at Mulungwishi  and at Jamaa Letu. They worked alongside local crews in repairing homes & buildings at the Seminary, played soccer with the older boys in the villages nearby, and sang and danced with the girls at Jamaa Letu. Several of the team members returned home with a goal to help support scholarship funding for the Seminary at Mulungwishi (our UMC seminary in Congo). If you wish to help also, please drop a check in your church offering plate, clearly marked for Advance # 005773-4RA Seminary at Mulungwishi. (Team Leader Genie Fairhart mefairhart@centurytel.net)

Team 5C actually came from Texas, and included their Bishop. This was their first official visit to the region and they were greatly impacted by the needs, but also by the commitment of the UMC in Congo to helping themselves. They are sorting through emotions, needs, and discerning the best way for their conference to respond. We suspect it may have something to do with the boys orphanage!

Team 5D was a UMW group that spent their time at the Women’s Development Center in Lubumbashi, run by Bishop Katembo’s wife.. They brought much-needed sewing machines, learned from the Congolese in a variety of ways, taught them some new skills, sang together, prayed together, and had fun together!  (Team coordinator Barbara Shaffer barbdadd@aol.com)

There are many stories to share from these teams. If you’d like to have someone visit your church, please contact the team leaders directly for a list of people on their team that might be available and willing to speak to your church group.  

2. How I Spent My Summer Vacation> two gals from our conference can really write a good book on this topic! This summer two young college students, Shannel and Whitney,  served as Individual Volunteers through the UMVIM program at Jamaa Letu mid-June through mid-September living right at the orphanage, singing, dancing, eating, sleeping, laughing, and crying with the children and the awesome staff members. You want to hear stories? Contact these girls!  (and be sure to thank them for their dedication and love). Shannel at sassy51731@aol.com or Whitney at fauwhi28@evergreen.edu

3. Rev Melvin and Candice Woodworth spent a month in Congo this summer, speaking at various annual conference sessions and enjoying the connections they made with the people in cities and villages around the countryside. Melvin is available to share wonderful stories and photos at church functions throughout this year. Contact him at Melvinrwoodworth@aol.com

4. Watch your mailbox = If you support one of the little girls at JL, you have received, or will soon receive, drawings or notes from her. ENJOY!

5. 9 of our children at Jamaa Letu left the orphanage this year with long-lost families that they reconnected with. What a blessing. Please continue to keep these girls and their families in your prayers, as life remains very difficult in the DRC.

6. There are 5 new little gals soon arriving at the orphanage. We’ll be needing some new sponsors for these children, so share this information with your friends and family. We do not as yet have the full background stories on each child, nor photos, but anticipate those to come soon. We do know that two of them are severely malnourished, and one has parents who died of AIDS. Their lives will be transformed with the love and nurturing that enfolds them once they arrive at JL.

7. Our little girls are actually growing into wonderful young ladies! How does that happen…. They were just babies a few years ago, weren’t they? We will have several gals graduating from their high school in 2007, 2008 and 2009. So we have begun discussions with the JL Board of Directors about post-graduate schooling. As with all children, they have their dreams. Some may wish to go to the University of Lubumbashi, others perhaps the Seminary at Mulungwishi. Still others wish to learn a skill, such as sewing, hair braiding (a huge business in Congo), baking, computer tech, etc. We have set up a separate account for scholarship funds, so if you or your church would like to contribute towards that please let us know. You are directly impacting the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo!  These girls- loved & nurtured in Christian spiritualness, will help make lives better for all Congolese.

8. Beyond Jamaa Letu.  Our partnership extends to many projects in South Congo conference (you’ll note that with the various places our UMVIM teams have served).  The Seminary at Mulungwishi is one of those other places you can help support. The Mulungwishi Theological Seminary was founded in 1951. It provides the highest level of ministerial training for the United Methodist Church in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. All the United Methodist Bishops of the Congo, most of the District Superintendents and leading pastors as well as Congolese regular missionaries are graduates of the Seminary. For over the past 25 years the Seminary has been operating at university level recognized by the National Ministry of Higher Education. Since 1976, women have been part of the student body. The mission of the Mulungwishi is to provide the training for the future and current pastors within Congo. Contact David and Lori Persons (who have lived their most of their lives) for more details on this and other projects at Mulungwishi.  (persons_mulungwishi@hotmail.com) Lori runs an awesome Nutrition Program, works at the tiny yet highly skilled clinic that our UMVIM teams serve at (and where over 30 babies are born each month) and has wonderful stories she could share with you for 'mission moments' at your church. Here are a couple of easy ways to help support them >
1.  Attached is a recycling form for ink-jet cartridges. Order the pre-paid mailers, pop in your used cartridges, and toss ‘em in the mail box. You’re helping send a student to study at the seminary, pay professors salaries, provide books for the college, and so much more. Just Do It !!
2. Also attached is an order blank for notecards that depict each of the “stained glass” windows at the chapel on the campus at Mulungwishi mission station. These make great gifts, or why not use them for your holiday cards this season? (order soon).
3. We need more volunteers! Do you have some spare time in 2006? We could use the following skills of someone to become an Individual Volunteers and donate a few weeks/months of their time for: Teach computer-programming, Computer repair person, Handy-man (or woman) to work with locals on repairingn mechanical things, PASTORS needed to teach a course in whatever their expertise is. If you can volunteer, contact us.

9. Of course, we also will be sending Volunteer In Mission teams in 2006. Want to join one? Lead one? Let us know.

10. We work with UMCOR-NGO in Congo. At this time they are looking for one woman/young adult who speaks fluent French to work on a mentoring program for teens/ pre-teens in very rural villages. We have more details if you know of someone interested in this long-term volunteer service.

11. TESOL school (The English Speaking School of Lubumbashi) is still in the midst of their fund-raising efforts. The director is one of our Methodist missionaries, Ellen Hoover. We work with Ellen in many capacities, and TESOL is developing a plan with the staff at Jamaa Letu for improving the English of the girls that live there. Contact Jeff and Ellen Hoover, long-term missionaries in Congo (does 25 years sound long to you?) if you’d like to read their most recent newsletter and learn what they’re doing  (jehoover@mwangaza.cd) . To support TESOL, drop a check in your church offering plate, and mark it clearly for Advance # 10337- TESOL.

12. Are we going to send another container in 2006? Perhaps. Probably. Hopefully. We need to carefully assess what the needs are, have a list of specific items developed by our missionaries the Hoovers and the Persons, along with Bishop Katembo, and the staff at Jamaa Letu and the Methodist Clinics. Once that has been finalized, we’ll send out information for you to help us.

13. Mark Oct 22 on your calendars…..a special event AUCTION: Combating Crisis, Conveying Hope in Congo. 8:00pm. Seattle Aquarium. Contact organizer (and UMVIM team leader to Congo in 2006) Keith Haines at keith_ha@msn.com

14. Want to add a new young lady to your family….for real???? An official adoption agency is now in place for adopting the girls at Jamaa Letu into loving families in the USA. Contact Rev Carl Landerholm for more details. landerholm@earthlink.net

15. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our missionaries in DRC for their work on behalf of our UMVIM teams, and so much more. Jeff and Ellen Hoover work tirelessly with the teams, before-during-and after our visits. Jeff serves on the Jamaa Letu Board of Directors, Ellen is director of TESOL, and they of course even have their own lives and jobs to lead when not helping us! David and Lori Persons live in Mulungwishi where David is dean of the Seminary and Lori works with the clinic and nutrition programming. This is a simplistic version of the dedication they have to all the projects they are involved with, and once again, our UMVIM teams are indebted to them for their logistical and emotional support.  Janice McLain is a new-comer to DRC, but not to Africa. Janice works with the finances coming into South Congo conference and ensures that our money gets where it is directed. Blessings to each of you!!!

16. TO YOU> Thank you for being an important piece of this partnership between the churches and people of Pacific Northwest Conference and South Congo Conference. We support the following programs through this,  (and welcome additional financial contributions at any time during the year)>

1. Jamaa Letu = Advance # 101000-4
2. Seminary at Mulungwishi = Advance # 005773
3. TESOL = Advance # 010337
4. Kolwezi Clinic
5. Womens’ Development Center (WEDAEC)

Additionally, we recommend that you consider entering into a Covenant Relationship with one of missionaries who have committed to a life-time of service with the people of the DRC. Contact Noriko Lao if you wish to enter that Covenant relationship (norikolao@cs.com) Your church will be richly blessed by this partnership.

 17. Keep an eye on the conference website at www.pnwumc.org as we'll be adding new photos of the Jamaa Letu girls taken from various people who spent time in Congo this summer. And we're updating the bios of the girls to catch you up on what's current in their lives (thanks to Shannel and Whitney who spent the whole summer interacting them). Here are a couple of excerpts that will soon be on that site >

   Appoline (Apo) is 13 years old, her birthday is June 5, 1992, she and her sister Helene have  been at Jamaa Letu for 5 years.  Apo loves to make people laugh.  She is also a veryloving and affectionate person.  She is only 13 yet we already see leader qualities coming out in her.  She leads prayer in the morning and night very often with  the girls.She is extremely open with people and a very enthusiastic person.  She is a dance leader at church and you will very often catch her dancing throughout the day.

         Kaj was born in the year 1999, she and her sister Yav came to the orphanage 3 years ago.  Kaj is one of the special needs kinds at Jamaa Letu.  She has the most amazing  smileand loves to be held.  Like most of the girls she loves attention, sometimes she tries to get it in ways that are not so nice.  However, it is very hard to be mad at her  for long because after a smile or hug you forget why you were mad at her in the first place.  There are days, like most of the girls, when she is not herself and she does not smile or play she just cries a lot.  It is on those days that she just needs to be held and know that she is loved.

      Noella is 7 years old, her birthday is December 24, 1997, she has been at the orphanage for 3 years.  Although, Noella is one of the smallest girls at the orphanage becauseof  prior malnutrition, she sure doesn’t act like it.  She is very mature for her age, when you watch her it may seem like she is at least 10 or 11 but her size would through you off. Noella has the most gorgeous smile, that could light up any room, and thankfully she smiles a lot.  She is also one of the leaders among the little kids.

===============================

THANK YOU, On behalf of the Bishop's Task Force Hope for the Children of Africa.

Kurt and Jan Kaiser
Co-Chair/ Bishop's Task Force Hope for the Children of Africa
600 High Circle Rd
Sandpoint, ID 83864
208-263-4094
love2trvl@imbris.com

HFCA Newsletter – Spring 2005

If you are receiving this quarterly newsletter for the first time, you may wish to go to www.pnwumc.org to view past issues. We have added you to our e-new list because you have indicated an interest in the partnership between Pacific Northwest Conference and South Congo conference. Feel free to pass this along to other churches or persons who you feel would benefit from it.

1. Jamaa Letu on the web. It’s official. You can now visit www.pnwumc.org, click on ‘missions’ and you will be able to view the photos and names of each child, along with a brief description of what circumstances in their little lives brought them to live at Jamaa Letu. Use this information in creative ways> with your youth and young adult church school classes, youth group, mission moments during worship, church-wide fundraising efforts, etc.

2. Also on that same website you’ll find the previous HFCA (Hope for the Children of Africa) newsletters; information on ways we are in partnership with South Congo other than Jamaa Letu orphanage, flyers you are welcome to use in your church, information on how to sponsor a child, and more. If you have suggestions on other items you’d like to see there, let us know. (we can’t promise anything, but we can certainly listen)

3. UMVIM teams to Congo> This summer we are thrilled to have 4 hands-on mission teams going to the Congo as part of the HFCA partnership. They are:

* May/June = medical
* June/July = construction
* Aug          = construction
* Aug          = UMW-only/ connectional team

The medical team will serve alongside local Congolese medical professionals in rural health care settings, as well as provide workshops in HIV/AIDS prevention, among other topics. Two surgeons that are part of the team will update the surgical skills of Dr Kasongo, our UM doctor who serves the people of Kolwezi with tremendous skill and commitment.

The construction teams will work alongside Congolese, helping complete some projects in Mulungwishi. But they will also spend time serving the boys who live on the street by participating in feeding programs already being provided by the local UM church of Congo.

The UMW team has been invited to conduct sewing classes in creating liturgical cloths, pastor’s stoles, banners, while also teaching the significance of the symbols involved. WATCH FOR THESE ITEMS TO BE SOLD AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN 2006, with the funds to go to support the women in Congo who created them!

Each team will share their skills and their hearts with the people of Congo as they work alongside each other. The task may be medical, construction, sewing, etc, but the PURPOSE is to share their love with each other and build bonds of friendship and connection. If you would like to be a part of an UMVIM team in 2006, let us know.

4. In addition to the teams two college-age students will be serving at Jamaa Letu during their summer break from June 21-Sept 15. They’ll assist the director with administrative activities, but spend the bulk of their time in a variety of activities with the girls themselves. What a fun summer ahead!

5.  Rev Mel Woodworth will be speaking at Bishop Katembo's 4 annual conference sessions throughout July on behalf of the HFCA task force.

6. Rev Carl Landerholm will travel over with us in May to visit the Jamaa Letu girls and talk with   staff and conference leadership about future legal adoption of the girls to homes in the USA. Carl has opened an official adoption agency here that will concentrate on helping folks bring one of these little girls into their lives...for real. If you know of someone who would like to adopt a child please contact Carl at landerholm@earthlink.net.

7. And the exciting news continues>  Another volunteer will spend his time and skill to do some filming of the girls at Jamaa Letu, along with providing insights into some of the other partnership projects, and the  Democratic Republic of Congo in general. He will also spend a week with the first (medical) UMVIM team to film village life, medical UMVIM service, and the Seminary at Mulungwishi (a United Methodist Seminary in Congo), etc. This will be created into a few-minute DVD showing our Hope for the Children of Africa partnership programming, and will be sent to each church in PNW conference. We’ll let you know when this has been prepared for distribution.

8. Mail Call> Understanding life in Congo. Several of you have indicated that you have mailed items for holidays and not received a response from Jamaa Letu. One of the reasons is that there is no mail service in/out of Congo (note that the mailing address is in Zambia). This means that mail is held for missionaries, the conference office, Jamaa Letu, and all others, in Zambia until such time as someone is going across the border for major supplies and can bring it all back with them. Sometimes this is only once every few months. So delays in delivering your letters or small gift items is unavoidable. When an UMVIM team travels to Congo, they are able to bring back with them letters from Jamaa Letu for mailing within the USA once they return home. We appreciate your understanding of this ‘system’.

9. News from UMCOR> United Methodists in the Democratic Republic of Congo believe food security is a key to the peace agreement that Bishop Ntambo Nkulu helped to broker last September. "The church bought the peace," said the bishop. United Methodist ministries in sustainable agriculture-- growing cabbages (known locally as "Thank-You, Methodists"), raising livestock, and planting moringa trees-- will help strengthen the commitment of fighters not to fight again. Now the bishop is planning for a future where the church can assist with clean water, housing, nutritious food, solid education, and decent livelihoods. See more details on the UMCOR web site at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/04/drcongontambo.cfm >.

10.  So what’s the latest news about TESOL (The English Speaking School of Lubumbashi)? The fundraising continues and you can help. As many of you already are aware, TESOL is faced with the opportunity/ne­ces­sity of purchasing the land on which its buildings are located, plus additional adjacent land and class­rooms belonging to the former French international school. TESOL has bid $225,000 for this entire property of 23 acres and 30 classrooms. TESOL is for children in pre-K to Grade 8 whose families are working in Lubumbashi. The boys and girls who attend TESOL are those who need schooling in English rather than in a local language. TESOL is a United Methodist school and Advance Special project #10337A. Our missionaries, Jeff and Ellen Hoover, are administrators of TESOL.   The school has served many United Me­thodists, along with families of other missions, Christian agencies such as World Vision, UM­COR, etc., other humanitarian agencies (Doctors without Borders, PACT, etc.). The school, very tiny during the crises of the past fifteen years, has been growing steadily with improving political conditions in Congo. If this dream of new land for a larger school is to become a reality, TESOL needs YOU. The additional land will enable the school and church to expand its education ministries. If you want to know more about how this would happen, or wish more details about TESOL itself, send an email to JEHoover@mwangaza.cd (Missionaries Jeff and Ellen Hoover).

11. Special Need> One of the little girls has a serious congenital foot problem requiring surgery.  Tantine Kibambula is not able to attend school this year because she cannot walk the distances required. If you know of someone willing to take on this extra financial challenge, please let us know.

12. Medical update on the children> While the girls are basically healthy now, there are some lingering problems that persist in a few of them as a result of their previous nutritional deficiencies, trauma, etc. Additionally, in 2004, four children underwent appendectomies. Several are showing the need for eye glasses. All of the children struggle with occasional bouts of depression or emotional stress. But the loving care by the staff at Jamaa Letu is reducing their nighttime fears and creating a sense of stability and peace in their lives.

13. Are you going to Annual Conference in June? If not, be sure to tell your pastor and lay-delegate to watch for the HFCA hand-outs (and bring them back to you and the church), visit the display table (where they will find some interesting things), and watch the video/presentation during the plenary session! We will also have some wonderful, colorful, notecards available for purchase. Funds raised will support our UM Seminary at Mulungwishi.

14.  DRCongo on the web. National Geographic has a great site. Copy and paste this link into your address bar>            

http://onestop.nationalgeographic.com/onestop/results.tmpl?search_query=Congo&property=url__title&property=url__

name&property=related_categories&search_field=related_words&category_filter=566&category_filter=567&category_

filter=569&category_filter=568&category_filter=565&structure=IN_FILE&search_index_rel_filepath=/splat_ng_search/idx/crane_

swish_stemming_on.index&or_search_terms=true

15. Are you receiving the PNW News Digest via email? This is a frequent emailing that comes from our conference office in Seattle with news of interest in many domains. We include HFCA news, as well as UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission) news, so contact Marcia Couch (mcouch@pnwumc.org) and ask her to add your name to the emailing so you’ll have current information as it comes out.

16. Ways to Support Hope For the Children of Africa

•  Pray for our Congolese friends.

• Sponsor a girl at Jamaa Letu – $393 per year

(FIRST step> Notify Kurt & Jan Kaiser at love2trvl@imbris.com that you want to sponsor a girl.  Then issue a check to your local church for $393, indicating in the memo section “Advance #101000-4.)

• Send notes/cards to the girls:

Jamaa Letu Orphanage
South Congo Conference – United Methodist Church
PO Box 20219
Kitwe, Zambia, Africa

•  Join an UMVIM team (Contact Kaisers.)

• Support the work of General Board of Global Ministries missionaries working in the Congo:

                  TESOL School – Advance #010337-5RA
                  Freshwater supply at Mulungwishi – Advance #011533-8RA
                  Ellen Hoover – Advance #07990Z
                  Jeff Hoover – Advance #07989Z
                  David Persons – Advance #07708Z
                  Lori Persons – Advance #07709Z

   17. CONFERENCE-WIDE COLLECTIONS> Is your church involved in these ?
            * cell phones > bring used cell phones (no batteries or accessories, please ) to the UMVIM display table at annual conference. Or collect throughout the year...at your high school,           college, workplace, church. These phones get recyled into the hands of people in developing        nations who have no land-lines. (and it keeps them out of our landfills).

           * HFCA collection> take an offering between now and annual conference for the girls at Jamaa Letu and our partnership programming. (see details at www.pnwumc.org missions page)

          * recyle used ink-jet  cartridges to help fund our UM Seminary at Mulungwishi. Details will be distributed at annual conference, or you can start collecting now and bring the used ones to the HFCA display table at AC.

18. . BACKGROUND> Bishop Elias Galvan created the PNW Conference Hope for the Children of Africa task force in 1998.  Since that time, nearly $600,000 in funds have been donated through conference-wide fundraising efforts.  Working in partnership with the South Congo Conference our PNW Conference has:

•    Built Jamaa Letu orphanage – a safe, loving home for up to 60 girls orphaned from war or AIDS
•   Dug a well for fresh water at Jamaa Letu and installed a generator to produce electricity (replacing candle use at night)
•   Provided a fair wage and a secure job to staff persons at Jamaa Letu
• Assisted feeding programs for street kids
•  Provided medical treatment and food for refugee camps
• Worked with the Women’s Development Center, training key village leaders in nutrition, family planning, sewing, gardening and more
• Repaired and helped complete school buildings and churches
• Shipped two 40-foot containers filled with medical equipment, medicines, books, clothing, computers, gardening tools, blankets, toys, and more
• Linked with an official adoption agency for the purpose of legal adoption to US families of the girls at Jamaa Letu.
• Send numerous UMVIM teams to work alongside people of Congo in outreach and love

The list continues to grow as we further our conference-wide efforts, and send UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission) teams.

Our partnership brings HOPE to the Children of Africa and the people of the PNW Conference through our “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”

Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 11:53 AM

Subject: HFCA Newsletter, spring 2004

Greetings from the Hope for the Children of Africa task force!

1. Some wonderful new opportunities are beginning to unfold as our partnership with South Congo conference matures. One of those will allow individual churches to develop a sister-church relationship with a church in the Congo. Details about this will unfold at Annual Conference in Moscow, Idaho in June. So be sure to have your pastors and lay delegates bring this information back to your mission/outreach committees.

2. Great news for those of you who contributed towards the container that was shipped last fall from Tacoma to Lubumbashi. It has arrived at the border of Congo and is in the process of going through the exhaustive customs process before it reaches it's final destination. The local church community is very excited and eager to put the wonderful donations to the best use possible. Thanks to YOU! What was in that container? Examples:

    * medical supplies for our church clinics who have excellent staff but little or no supplies to treat patients with

    * robes and stoles for new pastors that graduate from the UM Seminary at Mulungwishi, most of whom are able to provide their own.

    * clothing for several street children programs run by the church - mostly boys, these children generally have only one shirt and pants to wear, most often thread-bare and ripped

    * shoes and flip-flops for the street boys, who are barefoot and subject to disease and cuts daily

    * a grain mill for Jamaa Letu to begin an income-generation program by milling grain for people in their neighborhood, thereby earning an income for the orphanage and teaching the girls some business skills

    * office supplies, furniture, and computers in high demand at Jamaa Letu, the Bishop's office, and elsewhere

    * religious books to augment developing library at the Seminary at Mulungwishi

    * garden tools for our Missioners of Hope to use in skills-training as well as food production

    * clothing and toiletries for the ladies at the Women's Development Center, run by the Bishop's wife

    * and of course, clothing and toys for our precious little girls at Jamaa Letu

    * and much, much more

3. A significant amount of funding was sent early this year to help two of our Congolese doctors perform much-needed surgeries among people who live in refugee camps as well as in the region of Kolwezi. This was a gift from the medical UMVIM team last fall and has been a tremendous blessing to everyone involved.

4. A large contribution that came from an anonymous donor was given to the Women's Development Center to assist them with repair of their water system. This Center brings women from all over southern Congo to learn skills-development, nutritional education, gardening, family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention, and more. The dorm-setting is wonderful, but has been lacking water for bathing and drinking.....items we take for granted here in our comfortable corner of the world. What a joy for them to able to have fresh water now as well.

5. $5000 was donated specifically to purchase food for the refugee camps that our UMVIM teams have worked with.....Camps Diana, Katuba, and Kasapa. If you have been to one of these camps, you know so well the benefit of this gift. It will be used to purchase such "luxury" items as cassava flour, cooking oil, and the ever-popular dried fish to feed the hungry women and children who reside in these camps until it becomes safe for them to travel back to their homes in the middle and northern regions of the DRC.

6. If you were at Annual Conference in June 2003 you witnessed Tom Wilson of the UM Foundation, giving a check for $15,000 to Kurt and Jan to go towards food for hungry people somewhere in the world. We are pleased to share with you that this was divided among three special programs in the Congo: (1) the boys orphanage that is being developed for street boys in Lubumbashi, (2) a hunger program in the village of Likasi, and (3) Tshifmay Ministry, run by one of our Missioners of Hope, Dieudonne (many of you know him). This donation was given from a farm estate where they felt throughout their entire lives they helped contribute towards feeding people of the world. And they prospered in their business; so they wanted to give more "to the least of these"....children who could not feed themselves. If you know of anyone who would like to make a contribution such as this, large or small, please get in touch with us. One person CAN make a difference in the lives of so many!

7. Conference-wide collection "CHANGE FOR CHILDREN" begins April 11 and concludes June 20. Be sure your church participates. Details will be in the pre-conference handbook which goes to your lay delegate and pastor. Talk with them in early April after they have received this packet. You'll also see notices in the PNW News Digest and district news letters. Simply collect spare change each week and see how it adds up to make a "change" in the lives of children in Africa. Bring your church's collected amount (in check form, please) to opening ceremonies at Annual Conference in June.

8. Have any cell phones laying around? UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission) is collecting these. Can you be the person who gets this started in your church? Collected phones should be brought to annual conference. Why collect used cell phones?

There are almost 200 million idle cellular phones in the US  today. With
people upgrading their service every 18-24 months on the average, that
number is expected to grow by 130 million annually by 2005. Cell phone
owners are reluctant to throw their old phone away but don't know what else
to do with them. Most say they'd love to donate them to a good cause.
UMVIM,WJ is enabling them to do just that.

Consider collecting phones at your area high schools, college campuses, local business, etc

The phones come through UMVIM, WJ (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission, western jurisdiction), and go to an organization that specializes in refurbishing them before sending them onward through their contacts in developing nations, where the need is critical since many countries do not have land lines. Without cell phones, there is little if any communication. We have first-hand experience with this in several mission sites that we have served at.

UMVIM,WJ does receive a small contribution for each cell phone we collect. This will go towards continuing the work of the United Methodist Volunteer In Mission program, specifically to help connect the people living within the western jurisdiction to areas of service at home and abroad. (UMVIM is about connecting people through hands-on Christian service. )

We certainly appreciate your assistance in keeping cell phones out of our land-fills, and getting them into the hands of people who need them so much; while at the same time helping to raise some funds to continue the work of UMVIM,WJ.

Collection points:

1. Cokesbury (800-605-9403, Douglas Wood, seattle@cokesbury.com)

2. Wesley Homes (contact Holly Isaman 206-870-1301 )

3. Kurt and Jan Kaiser (208-263-4094, love2trvl@imbris.com)

4. Sand Point (Seattle) UMC (Jan Kreidler, spcommunity@qwest.net 206-523-3040)

5. Sandpoint (Idaho) UMC (Jan Kaiser, love2trl@imbris.com 208-263-4094)

6. Bellevue First UMC  (425-454-2059)

7. ANNUAL CONFERENCE

9. And speaking of UMVIM......I don't see your registration on my desk yet for the RALLY this summer ! Visit this website for details about the daily schedule of exciting events, the workshops and leaders, and to register: www.gbgm-umc.org/westernvim.

Hopefully bit and pieces of this update can be used in your church newsletters. Spread the word!!!

Thank you,

Kurt and Jan Kaiser on behalf of the HFCA Task Force

"Help me not because I am poor, but because I am part of your family" ....sign on the wall at the Methodist church conference office in Fiji.

HFCA Newsletter Fall 2004

Holiday greetings from the Hope for the Children of Africa task force.

Please share this newsletter with members of your congregations, places bits
in your church newsletter or bulletins, etc.

We want to thank you for your continued support and prayers for the little
girls at Jamaa Letu orphanage. They're growing in faith and health each new
day, in part because of your love and gifts.

What's new???

1. We are hoping to create a page on the Pacific Northwest Conference
website just for Jamaa Letu. Look for this to happen sometime early 2005.
You can check the website out at www.pnwumc.org. Once the Jamaa Letu page is
up and running it will have the stories and photos of each child, along with
so much more.

2. It's that time of year......50 little girls and 11 staff members would
love to receive holiday greeting cards from those of you who would like to
send them! Mailing address:
                Jamaa Letu Orphanage
                South Congo Conference-United Methodist Church
                POBOX 20219
                Kitwe , Zambia , AFRICA

3. Your church received a "Gifts of Love" catalog recently. Talk with your
pastor about this. It allows people the opportunity to purchase much-needed
church school curriculum and Bibles for our family in the Congo .

4. Jamaa Letu is working it's way towards self-sufficiency. One of our
long-range goals is to allow them to support themselves. But this will take
time, patience, and some creative ideas on their part and ours. One of the
ways we're reaching this goal is by assisting them in the purchase of a
large bus (about 30 passenger vehicle). This bus can be used to transport
the girls out of the city to play in the countryside; but it will be mainly
out-sourced as public transportation for folks to travel to areas hundreds
of miles from Lubumbashi . The 'rent' they will receive for this service will
significantly strengthen their budget. Thanks to those of you who are
assisting with this purchase.

5. Four different UMVIM Teams will be serving in Congo during the summer
2005. The medical team will be stationed in the Mulungwishi area, serving
rural villagers health needs alongside local health care providers. The
construction team will help the folks in Kolwezi with new-church
construction. A combination medical/ construction team will also be in
Kolwezi , continueing with the church building, and working in the UM clinic
there. And a women-only 'connectional' team will return to the Women's
Development Center in Lubumbashi to talk with local young women about issues
of importance to families and community.  If you wish to join a team, please
let us know!

6. Exciting news....we have two young women from our conference that will
spend the full summer in Congo , living at Jamaa Letu with the girls. They'll
share in the chores, dry some tears, create smiles (and memories), and no
doubt give plenty of hugs! If you know of anyone who would like to spend
several months in volunteer mission service like this, please have them
contact us.

7. Several of the children at Jamaa Letu are maturing into young
women.....can it be possible our little girls are growing up? Some will have
dreams of attending college. We are planning to set up a scholarship fund
for those with post-high school educational goals. If you'd like to be a
part of this, we welcome hearing from you.

8 . WAYS YOU CAN ASSIST:

    * Cell phones.....YES we are still collecting cell phones for UMVIM.
Collect them from work, school, family and friends. Place a box in your
church. When you get 50 or more, let me know and I will send you a pre-paid
mailer to ship them. If you have only a handful, feel free to send them to
us at any time.

    * Calling all ink-jet cartridges! The Seminary at Mulungwishi (a UM
institution) is collecting used ink-jet cartridges. There's not cost to
you...just send them in a pre-paid mailer and the money gets credited right
to Mulungwishi. Simple. Collect them from your work, school, home. The order
form for having pre-paid packets is attached in .pdf. format.

    * TESOL (The English Speaking School of Lubumbashi), one of our UMC
Advance projects in Congo, has an opportunity to purchase land to build a
new school. Dr Ellen Hoover (missionary of 25 years in Congo) runs this
wonderful school. If you'd like to help with donations to support this
purchase, please drop a check in your church offering plate and mark it
clearly for ADVANCE # 010337-5RA TESOL. What a wonderful holiday gift this
would make for that person 'who has everything' .


9. ADVANCE Numbers of importance:

    #101000-4         Jamaa Letu = support of our little girls
    #007989-0        Missionary support for Jeff Hoover
    # 007890-2        Missionary support for Ellen Hoover
    #011533-8RA    Fresh water supply at Mulungwishi
    # 010337-5RA    TESOL school

Send your contributions through your church treasurer, marked as noted
above. If your church wants to be in a covenant relationship with one of
these missionaries, we can put you in touch with the ways to do that.

10. Here is what Port Angeles UMC is doing to raise awareness of the girls
at Jamaa Letu......."  we're planning our third annual Valentine's BakeSale
and card-making "event".  Our Sunday School coordinates donated baked goods
and offers them for sale to the congregation.  Then, while folks peruse the
baked yummies, they are also encouraged to use markers, rubber stamps,
stickers, etc. to make cards for the girls.  This year we're adding another
component ... our Sunday School will be making and selling packets of 12
cards, which will come complete with address information for Marie and
Tantine.  I'll think we'll call them "Send a Card a Month" packets or some
such.  A way to try providing more than just $$ support.  "  If your church
is doing something fun and creative, let us know!


11. Sharing the joy.........Ruth Tabu was born in 1993 with a cleft lip in a
small village of the interior region of Democratic Republic of Congo.  About
7 years later, during the Congolese war, she was forced to watch as her
parents were tortured and murdered by rebels rampaging her village. A
miraculous escape allowed her to stow-away aboard a train bound for
Lubumbashi where she made her way to a refugee camp set up by the UMHCR.
There she was found by the director of Jamaa Letu orphanage, sponsored by
the United Methodist Church. Taken in to the orphanage, she began to heal
her emotional wounds of war through the love and nurturing of the amazing
staff. But she was withdrawn and self-conscious around the other children
due to her cleft lip. She experienced bouts of serious depression for such a
young child. She rarely laughed. She hid from mirrors. Smile Train changed
all that. Ruth no longer shuns the mirror, in fact she smiles into it. She
laughs with the other children. She has been transformed from a child of
fear and rejection, to a beautiful, happy, more secure young lady thanks to
the skills of the surgeons of Smile Train and the love of the staff at Jamaa
Letu. The surgery was performed because of a generous gift from her
'sponsor' that enabled Ruth and two adult chaperones to travel out of Congo,
and across the border into Zambia. Blessings to them.

12. A final report / a word about why Hope for the Children of Africa task
force exits, and what PNW conference has accomplished in recent years.....


(1) Vanessa was living on the streets with her mother, begging for food.
Then her mother died . Vanessa was alone. Now she finds comfort, food,
medical care, and HOPE at Jamaa Letu. (2) After their parents were killed in
the war, Rosita, Tete, Mujinga, and Rosa walked from Angola into the Congo,
sleeping in fields at night, grubbing for food in the dirt. They now live at
Jamaa Letu where they feel safe, loved and have HOPE for their future.  (3)
Appoline and Helen ran for miles after being forced to watch as their
parents were brutally killed by rebel forces. They were severaly
malnourished when they found their way to Jamaa Letu. The nightmares are
diminishing as each month passes. They found love and solace at Jamaa Letu,
but also coping skills for the trauma they endured, and now live with smiles
and HOPE.

In 1998 Bishop Galvan created the Hope for the Children of Africa task force
in Pacific Northwest Conference. Your generosity through annual
conference-wide fundraising efforts has raised almost $500,000 during this
period. Where has the money gone? What has been accomplished in partnership
with South Congo conference United Methodist churches?


·        Jamaa Letu orphanage was built -  a quality, loving home for 60
little girls who lost their families to war or AIDS

·        Street children feeding programs are able to continue and grow

·        Refugees in area camps receive life-saving medical treatment and
life-sustaining food

·        An old abandoned building was transformed into a regional Women's
Development Center, training key village leaders in nutrition, family
planning, sewing, gardening, and much more

·        Walls and roofing are being completed for United Methodist schools
and churches

·        Staff persons receive a fair wage and a secure job at Jamaa Letu

·        Visitors from South Congo conference traveled throughout Pacific
Northwest conference to share stories about the work of the Congolese church
and the partnership with PNW conference churches. One year we were blessed
to hear from Francine Tshisola, director of Jamaa Letu; another year several
churches were infused with the energy and spirit of Missioners of Hope
Claude Masuka and Dieudonne Tshifunga .

·        Twice our churches filled 40-ft shipping containers with items that
were requested by the Congolese, such as books, medical equipment, clothing
and shoes, office equipment, gardening tools, computers, blankets, toys,
medicines, and so much more.

·        Jamaa Letu's special projects: A well was dug for fresh water
supply to keep the girls from getting sick. A generator was installed to
produce electricity and replace the candles used for lighting at night.

·        Pews were installed in churches that formerly had only floor space
for the congregation

·        UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission) teams build the
communication link between PNW and South Congo conferences through hands-on
mission service involved in all the projects above.

  The partnership between Pacific Northwest Conference and South Congo
conference continues to develop into a deeper relationship each year.
Hands-on mission teams will continue to bring the skills of the construction
worker and the health care provider, the love of the child-care giver and
feeder of street children. New ideas for creating self-sufficiency for Jamaa
Letu are developing. Sister-church relationships are encouraged between PNW
and South Congo churches. The growth of the UMC in Congo is phenomenal and
you are a part of that growth process in so many ways. Your continued
contributions to Hope for the Children of Africa, Advance # 101000-4, will
enable continued nurturing of this relationship; and let's not forget those
precious little girls who are part of "our family" at Jamaa Letu. Because of
your prayers, and financial support, they too will continue to grow in faith
and HOPE.

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When we sit down to our Thanksgiving table this year we will give special
thanks for each of you that have helped make life a little more cheerful for
the 50 little girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. THANK YOU and
HOLIDAY BLESSINGS TO EACH OF YOU.


Bishop's Task Force Hope for the Children of Africa

Kurt and Jan Kaiser, Rev Melvin Woodworth, Jan Kreidler, Marian Zaske, and
Bishop Paup