need a coupe of day

I am taking a couple of day off from this before I post more about the mission. I want to be authentic in my post and just need some time to process things with me right now. See you in a couple of days. -chris

Day of Rest

Day 7(here)
Well today is my first day off from work since ive been back. Slept in really late but not letting it continue this week. Last night I was talking with Rachael about how we should be practicing what we were teaching in Congo as it will also help us apply what God taught us on the mission.

Day 7 (Congo)
This entry is from the perspective of day because I fell asleep at 8:30. Slept through the team debrief because they couldn't wake me up. Sometimes you just gotta shake me to wake me.

Teaching my topic (sharing your faith) went a lot better than expected. They were following what I was saying and also Jessica did a great job with the demonstration and Josh added something to it as well. It really turned into something beautiful.

I really started to see change in our small groups and I found it very encouraging as well as exciting. They were answering each others questions and helping explaining things to each other. I didn't want to leave the group when it was time to go. Every question just opened a new door for one of us to share something different. Co-leading with Erin has been a blessing. Hearing her perspective on something and they way she breaks something down to explain it has really helped me get better at explaining things. Also she can also pick up on what I am trying to say and explain it differently and visa versa.

We went to one of the feeding centers. I got to see the children I have been praying for and who I think about when I am fasting. Their strength is incredible, I hope one day they see that it came from God. How can I complain about being hungry because I haven't had lunch yet when these children go days without food?

In the evening Erin, Fiston, Pastor (our driver) and I walked outside the gate of the guest houses into the city to get Erin units for her phone. It was really cool to be out in the city without the protection of the van or the whole team with us. I enjoyed that feeling of being exposed. I knew it was only a small amount of time but I would like to spend more time out in the city like that.

hard: "hard like wood?" or difficult?

Day 6 (being home)
Today I served at the MIC(missions information center) at church today. I was there to answer questions but everyone was asking me about the mission. I wasn't really expecting that to be all the questions I would be answering. I did tell one person about the perspectives class though.

I have really been redefining what "owning it" looks like in my life. By saying that I mean, in everywhere I serve, what can I do to glorify God more than I have in the past. Coming back from Congo has helped me realize how I can improve areas in my relationship with Christ and share His glory with others. It is very refreshing and exciting to see and understand this.

Also I am getting support from others already about returning to Congo. It was a little unexpected for it to be this soon but I know the steps I need to take.

Day 6 (Congo)
Today was a very difficult day for me. Being simple in terms of communication is a challenge for me that I was unaware of. Being science/math minded I can be very technical in my thinking so breaking it down to a simple understanding is difficult for me to do. This is something I want to work on in my life especially if I return to Congo.

I was brought to the point of crying from frustration twice today. Once in small groups and the second in preparing for my lesson tomorrow. I wasn't surrendering to God. I was trying to use my words, not let God speak through me. The team is doing a great job of surrendering and I want to follow the model that Christ set just as they have been.

The Congolese know so much about the Bible. I am amazed at how they can ask a question about a specific verse without having a Bible in front of them while I am busy flipping through my Bible trying to find out what it says.

I am beginning to realize that the things God is showing me and teaching me are for more than just here in Congo. I am suppose to bring them back to America with purpose. With time God will show me that purpose.

I can no longer let my personal struggles get in the way of what God is doing here. I have been suffering from jealousy of the leadership abilities of the other team members and I do not want to be jealous of them. They are my brothers and sisters and I want to learn from them.

"Day 5" here and there

Here
Today I was able to talk about the mission and what God is doing over there. I was getting excited talking about it. I have intentions of going back next year to continue the relationship that have been established. I received an email from Fiston yesterday. It was really exciting to hear from him and hear that he is getting rest since we left. Also he was telling me that the leaders are beginning to implement what we were teaching in their churches which is amazing to hear! I haven't even begun to look at all the video footage from the mission but will start on that this coming week.


Day 5 (Congo)
I shared my message with the Church of the Holy Spirit in Buholo today. The confidence that God gave we vas incredible. It was a very new feeling but I did not have the time to analyze it so I just went with it as I began to share my message.

I made a friend with a child named David and got to get to know one of our translators a little better. He name is Frank and I wish I could describe his personality to you so you would know how funny he is. After church they asked Rachel and I if we would lead the youth service. I was unprepared for that and let my worries take over my confidence. I understand what level of readiness that God wants me to be at now.

The amount of things we are doing each day is really showing the importance of writing in my journal. God is showing me so much that I am needing to write everything down just so I can process it all later.

Tonight we went to the worship service at the church in "industriale." That was incredible to just sing and dance. I had been looking forward to it for many months. I did get a bit carried away and someone (who I thought looked like Rick James) told me to calm down. Seeing all the children excited to sing and dance during the worship was truly amazing.

Driving through the streets all I see is one giant habitat project. I understand that the city needs Jesus more than it needs repair. Although this is fuel for me to finish my engineering degree that way I could possibly be able to help with repairs on the city one day, God willing.

down time

The internet has been down for most of the day so i was unable to post on here like I wanted to. BUT..... here is the little bit I did write.

I am challenging myself to be more intentional about telling people about the mission. I find myself wanting people to ask me about it but not everyone will or they wont as the questions I want. When we were in Congo we had difficulties getting our point across in the questions we were asking due to different cultural meanings of words. there are a lot of words we use in church that mainly people from our church would understand (ex. living transparently). I am not saying they are the only ones who understand them but if I can move away from using those words I can reach a larger group of people, not only in other countries but also right here in Wilmington.

"Day 4" and current

"Current"
Readjusting to the time change since we have gotten back has been challenging. Although today is the first day that I have slept in past 5am which has been nice. I forget how much Americans can make assumptions about other countries and now I am seeing it. I start back working tonight which is going to be interesting. I don't know what it will be like but I am ok with it. That is one thing God has shown me this past couple of weeks.

"Day 4"
The team meetings are a bit overwhelming. I feel like we keep trying to figure out too much at once and everyone is excited and going very fast. Its hard to keep up with at times.

I believe our small group went well and I can work with the responses that we were given. I just hope our translator is up to par.

The attacks are still there more so of the flesh and mind now. God will guide me through them.

I share my story tomorrow with a church and I am looking forward to it. It will not be easy but I feel the confidence that God has given me to stand up and say it.

"Day 3"

Although I am back now, I am going to update each day of the mission with a new post instead of one giant post. way too much to read. Also days 1 and 2 were spent traveling and I kinda touched base on it in the last post. so here we go.

It’s really exciting to be in Africa! The full experience has been setting in since this morning and it is wonderful. I could easily come back! Just finished taking off on the flight to Kigali. We are supposed to be careful about telling people what we will be doing in Congo which is kind of a bummer but I understand it is for safety purposes. The sky and clouds are extremely beautiful, especially when you can see the city below. When we flew from Raleigh, we me some students with campus crusade going to Beijing. I have no clue what God has in store for us once we get to Bukavu, but we will find out when it happens. It will be tomorrow morning when we cross the border, hopefully.

On the flight to Kigali I met a pastor from Australia named Brian. He was going to Uganda to teach pastors there the same thing we are trying to teach here in Congo. His son was born the same day I was. I thought that was pretty incredible.

Rwanda was so beautiful it was overwhelming. The travel throught was a long six hours and parts were unexpected. We had some youth come up to our van when we were stopped. I managed to tell one of them I didn’t speak Swahili, he told me he didn’t speak English, we both laughed.

We are at the border staying the night now and we have to cut all of our original plans of teaching times in half. FLEXIBILE! Finding bugs in my bed wasn’t fun but at least it’s a bed. I am starting to realize how easy it can be in the states. I will be using bottled water to brush my teeth all week as well as to drink. These are going to be very long days. God is really working us.

God really wants me to surrender everything to Him. I am trying to reverse my fight mode that accumulated from traveling.