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First Impressions

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on December 23, 2010
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By Valerie Ricks
Here we are!  We have arrived at

Frank Valerie Ricks holding a baby

our destination - Kisangani, DRC.  As our plane approached Kisangani, there was forest in all directions, as far as the eye could see.  Then we saw the great Congo River winding its way through it all. What a sight to behold, and to think, this is now our home!
Frank will be setting up a new FM radio station with the help of Adventist World Radio. He is also a laboratory technician.   I, as a nurse, will be helping to start the medical work here.
 
       The weather is tropical but not as oppressive as I had feared. Right now in our apartment, there is no running water or electricity hooked up yet, but we do have a roof over our heads. Currently, I am typing in the dark with battery power and candle light while Frank is pouring cold water over himself from a bucket in the bathroom. All this is accompanied by lots of gasping, oohing, and aahing! We have mosquito netting over the bed, brick walls and a tin roof.
 
The streets in town are busy with motorcycles and bicycles and a few vehicles.  Lots of little businesses line the paved roads radiating from the center of town.  Vehicles have the right of way – not the pedestrians.
Everyone is going somewhere carrying something. People are selling everything. It’s like a huge flea market. A person can even buy a drink of water tied up in a little baggie from some enterprising woman who is carrying them on her head in a basin.
As we leave the city heading for Congo Frontline Mission’s rural outpost, we see many people carrying heavy loads of firewood, charcoal, or bananas. Then the road deteriorates into ruts and holes as we pass a Catholic mission and a pasture.
My first trip to the market the next day was preceded by a heavy rain, making the market a muddy mess. Marybeth didn’t want me to go in for fear I would give up on missionary life right away. However, I was soon traipsing through the mud, garbage, and filth to get through the pathways between the stands. But at the end of the experience, Marybeth commended me since I was still smiling!
Friday we had a baptism at the Tschopo River. It was a touching scene. The students had studied with the candidates and helped by preaching at the meetings. As we followed the truck carrying the baptismal candidates, we thrilled to hear them singing for joy along the way. As people received their new Swahili Bibles, they handled them like a blessed treasure.  We sang as each one came up out of the water.
What vast unreached areas are here! Wonderful, precious people live throughout these towns and villages. Even in the most developed places the wilderness still dominates. And for these people, God has a plan – a plan to save as many as will consent to His loving call. We are here to cooperate with God as the Holy Spirit opens the eyes and hearts of these, His children. We are aware that the old foe will not give up without a fight, so please continue to pray because prayer does change things!

News in Brief

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on December 23, 2010
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  • Nathan Rittenour has returned from his trip to America. However, he did not come back alone… he brought his cousin Craigon Rittenour to help with construction and maintenance. We are so glad to have you both with us!
  • We received another container of 37 One Day Churches from Maranatha and ASI. Praise God! We will soon be assembling them for our church planters.
  • Our next evangelism training session begins on January 5, 2011. The LIGHT (Lay Institute for Global Health Training) group from Wildwood will come to conduct much of the training. Welcome, LIGHT!
  • In one of our letters we mentioned Mr. Mubue, who had gone blind while doing church planter work. We thank God that, after surgery, his vision is completely restored. Praise be to God for answered prayers!
  • Although the final decision in our land dispute is still not made, we have many positive comments from the court indicating that things are heavily in our favor. Thanks for your ongoing prayers!
  • Our construction is moving steadily ahead. Our office building is nearly complete. The cafeteria is almost ready to be used and the classroom is being painted. Work still needs to be done on the men’s dorm and lady’s courtyard.

Calls for Lay Evangelism Training

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Map of Democratic Republic of Congo“Mbandaka?” I asked in surprise. “But that’s 600 miles down the Congo River?”
“I know. But the call is urgent and you know that area is even more spiritually dark than Kisangani! We’d better go to our knees again,” Keith responded.
This latest call included the use of existing buildings, ready for us to use. Our church has virtually no presence in the Mbandaka area. Surely these people need to hear the truth for these last days also.
This was the third significant call in less than two months. The first came from the northeast of Democratic Republic of Congo. The church is forming a new field in this troubled area. They asked us to assist in lay evangelism training, construction of 20 churches, Bibles for new members, and help with two large evangelistic efforts. After much prayer, we agreed to help.

Pygmy family and their home

Then a second request came. The North Kivu Field requested us to take over the Pygmy camps that had been started in their area. Through private funding, the church had started the gospel work among 27 small Pygmy camps. Seven hundred had been baptized, but now the funding had ended. Could we take over this work as the church was not able to do so? We couldn’t allow the work among these beautiful little people to die, so again, after prayer, we agreed.
Previous calls have come to
do lay evangelism training in Lubumbashi (southeast DRC), Matadi (southwest DRC), and even as far as the country of Chad to the north. Even locally, we receive calls to send trained gospel workers to unentered areas, but we do not have enough trained workers.
And now…..Mbandaka? The Lord knows all these things and we trust Him to provide workers and means if it is His will. Surely, the harvest is great, but where are
the laborers? Which call to answer? The Lord will show us the way as we move forward in faith trusting in Him. Thanks for your prayers and support as we continue training laymen to finish the work in DRC.

Inspired to Finish Strong

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on October 22, 2010
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By Barry Mosier

Our luggage swayed back and forth as we eased over another large rut in the road on the way back to the CFM (Congo Frontline Missions) campus. The weather was unusually dry and cool as we returned from our two month trip to America. What a blessing to move back into our house, see our workers and pets again, and especially to greet our CFM team.
Nathan Rittenour was relieved to have the families of Keith, Barry, and Mtenzi back again. He had kept things together all alone in Congo while the other three leaders attended the GC (General Conference) Session, as well as other meetings.
Attending the GC Session was a thrilling experience. The meetings were inspiring and encouraging. We watched our church make decisions for the future and praise God for His blessing in the past. Our booth was very busy as people from all over the world passed by. So many were interested to hear about the needs and the work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We gave away almost 2,000 CFM dvds during the 10-day session. Just yesterday, someone from Malaysia wrote about showing the dvd to their church and how the congregation was inspired to get more involved in soul winning. We are excited about the sense of urgency to finish the work that we witnessed during the GC session and in churches this summer.
Kansas-Nebraska Campmeeting was another highlight of the summer. As we shared the hardships faced by the Pygmy people in recent years and the great needs of Congo, the members were touched. When the offering was taken for Sabbath school to launch new church planters in DRC, $6,638 was collected––enough to launch 11 church planters! Knowing the current condition of the US economy, we were quite overwhelmed by the generous response of God’s people. Although we sometimes hear that missions giving is dead, we saw that God’s Spirit still moves His people when they hear the needs in remote parts of the world.
At the end of our visit to America, we attended the ASI Convention in Florida. We were blessed to hear the exciting stories of laymen sharing their faith in ministries in businesses around the world. We were also blessed to receive a portion of the offering taken on Sabbath morning. Our project to print books in local languages and resurrect the literature evangelist ministry in NE Congo was awarded $20,000! What a blessing! Surely we are inspired to finish strong as we return to our work in DRC. Thank you for your prayers.

Digging Deeper

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on October 22, 2010
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We could hear the generator working well after midnight and knew that Nathan was still digging. The portable well drilling unit that arrived with our literature container only two days before was doing its work.
“How far did you get last night?” I inquired the next morning.
“Well, I am at 125 feet, but I have hit rock. I’m afraid that is all I can do until I get back from my two month trip to America,” Nathan wearily replied. “I’ll finish it when I get back, but I have already learned a lot about drilling wells here in Congo.”
Up until now, our campus has been using a thirty foot hand-dug well for our water supply. The prospect of a well that actually provides water that we can drink (we filter it now) is pretty exciting.
However, that is really only the start of the plans for wells. As we have considered the many sick people in the village, we see that that vast majority of diseases could be prevented with clean drinking water. Some estimates suggest that up to 90% of the illness is due to impure water.
Thus, we hope to drill wells in many of the villages where our church planters are starting new congregations. As people begin to taste clean drinking water, we believe they will also long for living water. Surely, this is a wonderful medical missionary opportunity. Thank you for your prayers in this exciting new outreach project.
Digging a Well 3
Drilling a Well with the new Portable Well Drilling Unit

Invasion Forces Arrive

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on October 22, 2010
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All thirty-seven evangelism students stared in wonder as Keith carried in his armload of material into the classroom. After setting them on a table in the front of the room, the entire class rose as one man and started scrambling ahead to grab their share of the precious goods.

“No, no!” Keith shouted. “There are plenty for all! Just go back to your seats and we will pass them out so each of you will get his share.”

Finally, a doubtful group of students returned to their seats. What was object of their clamor? What were they so afraid that they might lose out on? Bible studies in the Swahili and Lingala languages.

The long awaited container of Bible studies from Light Bearers Ministry has arrived. The journey was impressive––crossing the Pacific and Indian Oceans before traversing all of Kenya and Uganda by truck and finally reaching us here at Congo Frontline Missions in Kisangani, DRC.

Although there is a great shortage of Bibles in Congo––especially rural areas––these studies ask topical questions, then quote the full scriptural answers in fifteen lessons. The lessons are colorful and very attractive. Thus, for many people, a full set of these lessons will “become” their Bible. Knowing that God’s Word is the most powerful force in the universe, we expect these silent messengers to mount a serious invasion into Satan’s dark strongholds here.

Our church planters are already taking boxes of these “invasion forces” to the un-entered areas where they are working. Light Bearers Ministry also sent us French lessons, which will help us to reach the educated portion of the population.

A big thank you to Light Bearers Ministry for this huge contribution to the spreading of God’s word here in DRC. We also thank each of you for your prayers on behalf of these Bible studies. We trust the promises that assure us “so shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not return unto me void” (Isaiah 55:11).

Unloading the Container 4

Unloading the Container

Plans for Evangelism

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Board members who attended out meeting in February

We were grateful for the board members who attended our annual meeting this past February. Gary Roberts from Chad, William Abbott from Nebraska, Dr. Tim Rittenour from Minnesota, and Pastor Makulambizia from Goma joined the rest of us here in Kisangani to chart a course for the upcoming year.

This past year was heavily devoted to campus development. Although we still have some construction to do, much has been completed. Currently, the walls are going up for the men’s and women’s dorms, as well as the cafeteria. Soon we will add a classroom to the houses and shop buildings that are already completed. These One Day Churches look nice out here in the jungle.

We are thankful for God’s blessings. At our annual meeting we set a course for evangelism this year. Our plans include over 30 evangelistic meetings with our 33 church planters. In addition, we made plans to purchase land for churches, houses, and small farms in each area. Our goal will be to make the church planters as self sufficient as possible. We have moved forward, trusting the Lord to provide funds to accomplish the work. According to God’s blessing we plan to add 30 more church planters later this year, including 10 to the Pygmy people.

By God’s grace, we baptized 175 people in the first four months of 2010. Many of these are in the Lingala speaking areas that were just started late last year. Thanks to those of you who are assisting the work with your prayers and support.

Men's dorm Women's dorm mostly completed
Men’s Dorm                                 Women’s Dorm, mostly completed

Shadows of the Past - Hope for Tomorrow

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Shadows of the Past - Hope for Tomorrow

Barry standing where Pastor McMillan was shot The bullet holes that riddle the walls of many houses here in Kisangani are a constant reminder of a grim and not too distant past. We are thankful that relative peace has sprouted out of the rubble of war.

Back in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, there was a large population of foreigners in Kisangani. In fact, there were a number of Belgian families living along the road passing by our mission. Now all that remains are the stones from the foundations of their houses, which are sold for building material.

Most of them fled the country in 1964 when the Simba rebellion erupted, and many people were anxious to push foreigners out. Who could blame the Congolese after so many years of oppression from foreigners? It was a violent time. Eventually, 1,600 foreigners were captured and guarded in the city with plans for execution. A daring rescue came late in 1964, when foreign troops and paratroopers managed to save a large majority of the hostages.

An American missionary named McMillan lived in the village of Batiambale, less than one mile from our current mission station. He had started a large and

successful church school for children. He watched most of his foreign neighbors leave as he bravely carried on with his school. He refused to leave in spite of impending

violence.

Last week, as I chatted with an older villager, he related the following story which

he witnessed with his own eyes. “One day five rebel soldiers came to his front yard

Memorial school only one mile from our campuscalling him to come out. Leaving his wife and children inside, he asked them what they wanted. They told him that they had come to kill him and asked him to come closer. He approached them and asked if they could wait a little bit while he prepared. He read for some time from his pocket Bible and then spent some time in prayer. Finally, he told them he was ready and they could do what they wanted. One of the cruel soldiers raised his rifle and shot him in the chest, killing him.” Later that day, a helicopter came and evacuated his family, including his 6 year old son Ken.

The family must have questioned why the rebels would kill a man who had come only to help. The villagers tell me that Ken is now a doctor in Canada. He didn’t want his father’s death to be forgotten, so he came back for a visit and built a primary school as a memorial to his martyred father.  We will always remember the dedication of Pastor McMillan as we pass by that primary school in Batiambale.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to this earth to help mankind. Violent men executed him. Today we have the privilege of telling people that Jesus not only died for their sins, but longs to live in their hearts. Although these shadows of the past still haunt DRC, we see a bright hope for the future in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Let us be faithful to do the work God has called us to do.

Destroying Angel of Satan

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Zabilema and Family ready to move to their new villageThe year 2010 started with great challenges for one of our church planters. After his evangelism training at Congo Frontline Missions, Zabilema and his family accepted a call to plant a new church about 15 miles from Kisangani. The family members were very excited to move to this un-entered area. However, on arriving at their new post of duty, the villagers did not welcome them as they had expected. After some time, they realized that some villagers were practicing strong witchcraft and did not want Christians to live in their village. It was not easy for the witches to force this new family to leave because they had the permission they needed from the government to stay at this village. One evening, Zabilema and his family were enjoying the cool evening breeze outside their house. Suddenly, they saw fire inside the house. They quickly raced inside to put it out before much destruction happened. It was a strange fire in that there seemed to be nothing to cause it. The next morning some people explained to them that the witches had started the fire to scare them away. Nevertheless, this man of God trusted the Lord and was not ready to give up. A few weeks later, a more serious threat came. Early one morning, Zabilema’s wife unlocked the door to cook breakfast. She was shocked to discover a trail of blood encircling the ground around their house.

When they asked the villagers to explain what this meant, they said, “Your home has been cursed. There is no escape. Someone in this house will die.”  They further discovered that the witches had given them one week to leave the village or else the destroying spirit would come to kill part or all of the family.

This was a big test to the man of God. Instead of leaving his post of duty allotted to him by the King of Kings, he prayed earnestly and decided to stay. When the mercy period ended, the destroying spirit came to accomplish his evil mission of death. However, instead of destroying the Zabilema family, one of the family members of the head witch died.

The people of village were shocked. They were sure the missionaries would die because the witches had always done whatever they wanted before. This miracle of the Zabilema family opened a new page in this village, which was a demon headquarters. Now, Zabilema has six people worshiping the true God with him and three have already been baptized.

“Satan’s armies are many, and God’s people must spread over all the world, planting the standard of truth in the dark places of the earth and doing their utmost to destroy Satan’s kingdom” {Evangelism, p. 18.2}

Please pray for the thousands of church planters all over the world, that they may have protection from God against the spirits of Satan.

The Night the Army Attacked

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Barry Mosier

The frantic whining of our dogs in the porch rudely awakened me at 3:15 am. We raced to the door to find out why they were acting so crazy. As we opened the door, they fled into the house in terror.

A quick investigation proved our worst fears. The army was indeed attacking us. They had already entered the back porch and pantry. A look outside revealed that they had already surrounded most of the house. We were under attack from ARMY ANTS. We call them siafu here.

They travel in columns searching for food. If you walk through them unknowingly, they defend their column vigorously! They climb onto your clothing searching for a place to bite, and when they do

Column of ants on the move 4bite…. Well, let’s just say that everything else you are doing becomes unimportant until you pull of the biting ant. It gives the phrase ”ants in the pants” a whole new meaning! The big ones will produce blood and when you pull them off, the head often pulls off and has to be taken off separately.

In my flashlight beam I saw they had already invaded the woodbox on the south side of our porch. I grabbed a container of kerosene and poured a trail of it across the cement floor hoping it would discourage them while I tried to assess the situation better.

The dogs were racing through the house barking from the ants still attached to them. Marybeth and April tried to remove them and Marybeth made the mistake of taking one of the dogs out to tie up a ways from the house. She was back in a flash picking her assailants off her as quickly as she could.

Reports started to come in. “Dad, they’re in mine and Andrew’s room, but not real bad yet,” April shouted over the still whining dogs. “I’m flushing the ones in the bathtub down the drain,” called Marybeth. “They’re attacking on the south side,” I called back as I CAREFULLY walked around the house to research the extent of the problem. I knew that I did not have enough kerosene to deal with them. We prayed for the Lord to help us repel this invasion and praised His name for the dogs and their early warning. Otherwise, they would have totally taken the house and we wouldn’t have known until they got into our beds.

April saved the situation with her quick thinking. “Dad, remember that the locals use mihogo (cassava) flour to repel the ants.”

“Yes, run to the cook house and get some from the guards,” I called back.

Marybeth started dipping strips of cloth in kerosene while I placed them in strategic entry points to avoid further infiltration. Soon Nikolai, the guard was back with the first bowl of flour and started sprinkling it around the house. As I went out to help him I felt sorry for him. After sprinkling a little, he

Closeup of Army Ants 2would have to run aside and pull off the attacking ants. I raced back inside and put on my gum boots and tied kerosene soaked strips around the tops. This was the answer. I went out and took over the flour sprinkling operation and sent the guard for more flour. It took three bowls of it.

Let me explain a little about cassava flour which is the main staple of food here. In the process of turning it from tuberous roots into flour, there is a fermentation process. In the end you have a stinking, fermented flour that none of us has learned to eat. The fact that it is repulsive was proved by the ants. They fled in terror from that flour! They hated to even walk across it.

After about an hour the Lord gave us the victory. The ants were clearly on the run as their columns moved away from the house. I have a new appreciation for mihogo flour. I love the stuff and we have determined to keep an adequate supply in the house at all times. Not for food, but for ant repellent!

The Bible tells us, “Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways…” Friends, if we as workers for Christ were half as organized and fervent as these ants, would we not have finished the work before now? Let us move forward column by column to assault Satan’s strongholds with the truth!!


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