preaching in the 900 member church here in Goma this morning. This photo shows 1/3 of the interior;

To God be the glory! Now a 930 member church!!

Following the conference, we drove out to an area of the city that has never seen a white person, or so I am told. the level of poverty was new to me. I thought I had seen the worst, but......

There are probably even worse places, but it is hard to have those pictures in your mind!

these are the orphan children cared for by the church. They share generously form their nearly demolished resources!

walking on volcanic rock was very difficult for me.

These are some of the women cared for by the local church.

 stopped to pray for a blind/crippled man

 you can see that this volcanic rock is everywhere. they make fences, houses, and of course, the roads are VERY special!

There is a picture of this active volcano further down on this blog

Goma Pastor's Conference.......what an honour to stand in a room with these front-line heroes of the Gospel!

They say they were encouraged and strengthened by the Word of God during our tie together.

They face so much violence, danger, and poverty. God chose them for this position, they are so dedicated in spite of all the odds stacked against them!

Pray for them, there is nothing greater.

along the way, as I travel and preach, I make new friends, meet old friends, and get blessed time and again! These lovely ladies, on behalf of the women in our seminar, presented me with the material used as a uniform by the church women in the denomination (CEPAC). They tell me that when (not if) I return, I must wear it!

Goma

We are passing through Goma for a few days. As you can see, the city has a large looming volcano in the background.

Today is the first day of Pastor's Conference. We are expecting 80 pastors, and counting on God's presence with us in a special way!

These pastors are such dedicated, hard-working men, I am not worthy to stand before them.

Would you pray that the pastors will be encouraged, and strengthened?

My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me! (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This little one is holding her 'before' shoes, and wearing her new ones.....

They are showing you their appreciation and happiness, for the school uniforms and books....

Tupende Wazee (to love seniors)

This was a WOW day!!!

The seniors of Bukavu are marginalized and suffering. They remain in their rooms, dependant on someone caring to feed them or even care.

*Mapendo, received a vision from God to start a program for these people. Saturday was the first meeting! Not just the first meeting of this group, the first meeting of any program focused on seniors, in Bukavu......ever!

The response was very moving! "How did you get such an idea?"  "We sit at home with no food, and often have no one to come"
One lady cried with joy! They were so happy......you cannot imagine how their hearts were encouraged and how thrilled they were to feel they had somewhere to go where they counted!

Words fail me to describe how big this was!

*Mapendo and Raha are part of our team in Africa. We depend on their wise counsel, and we are so honoured to work alongside them!

These are the orphans cared for by Bethsaida Church.
A caring donor has paid for their school fees!

However, they still could not enter the schools because they have no uniforms or supplies.

With school opening in just a few days, the need was urgent.
Thanks to TBA's compassionate donors, we were able to meet that need!

Thanks to you!