The Key to Making Language Learning Easier: Teach Everyone Your Language!

As I have been working here in Kinshasa, DR Congo, the idea of sustainability or at least a lasting impact has always been on my mind. How will my actions here have the greatest impact? What can I do that might actually be able to change someone’s life? Am I working towards something that is actually what the people here want? Will the program continue after I have left, or will the Congolese say, “okay, that crazy Canadian is gone, we don’t have to do this anymore.”

In this spirit, our team talked to Jean-Baptiste, our host here in Congo, and asked what he hoped we could do. One thing he mentioned was that his desire for Congo is to build up the next generation, to have a strong group of young leaders coming up in the church, willing to bring about change, in the church and in society. He has a large group of students that he meets with. One piece of this puzzle that he wants to develop is the ability to speak English. Foreign investment from English speaking countries has increased in Congo, from African countries like Nigeria and South Africa, to Western countries, and learning English can change a person’s life in Congo.

Jean-Baptiste told me a story of a man who was a farmer, came into contact with a NGO that was 

developing farming. He picked up a little bit of English, and so after the NGO left, he applied for a job with a foreign importer. He worked with the importer for 10 years, built up his English skills and learned the import business. After the 10 years, the importer pulled out of Congo, but this man stayed in the business, starting small with the little bit of capital he had saved up. He is now a successful business man here in Congo, and this is due only to his having picked up a small amount of English working with an NGO.

So with this in mind, Mark and I have started an English course. We teach English to over 100 students, 70 or so in our evening class (Tuesdays and Thursdays), 25 or so in our morning class (Mondays and Wednesdays), and an advanced class of 15 students Wednesday evenings. We are teaching basic conversation, trying to build up a foundation of verbs, nouns and basic syntax that they can use in real conversation. The advanced class is learning grammar, some idioms, and more complex syntax; how to better express themselves in English. We have started a Bible study with the advanced students, which has been very rewarding.

One thing that always encourages me is how some of the students will come up to me after every class and express thanks that we are teaching English. One student comes up to me and says, “Mr. John, I am so happy that you are teaching English, I want so much to learn English, thank you.” Some of them are so eager to learn English, several of our advanced students go to the beginner class as well, just for the practice, to improve pronunciation and pick up a little bit more vocab.

In the last week, a team from Canada came on a visionary trip, representing MB Mission. They came to visit different organizations, churches and people that MB Mission has supported or is involved with. This visit has evolved how I perceive my time here or how I evaluate what my goals for my time here in Kinshasa are.  Talking with Phil Serez and Murray Nickel, the leaders of the trip, I have come to realize how important the relationships I build here can be. Rather than just looking at how my actions will be lasting, which is still important, I have begun to look at how the relationships I build can be lasting. If I spend time with someone, build a strong relationship and learn what the persons hopes and dreams are for their country, then when I come back to Canada, I can stay in contact; see how their vision is playing out; connect them to churches and organizations back in Canada; encourage the vision and give direction; and maybe some time in the future come back to Kinshasa. Who knows where God can lead with a relationship!

One person that I have met here is Sathoud (pronounced “satoo”). He is someone that Jean-Baptiste has high hopes for. He has been a great friend to us; we have him over at our house once a week. He is in our advanced English class. He is the leader of the student union for the students from the Republic of Congo (across the river) studying in the Democratic Republic of Congo; this is a huge responsibility, as there are tens of thousands of students that he answers to. He is passionate about God; he always makes sure we pray when he visits our house, and he always has something to say at our Bible studies. He is passionate about change in Congo; he made a song and a music video with a group of students, singing against corruption in Congo. If politics comes up, he can talk for hours about it. My point with this description is that Sathoud is a man with the passion, vision, and leadership qualities to bring about change in this place. If I can stay in contact with him, build him up, help him any way I can, help his vision, then I can help him to make a way bigger difference in Congo than I could ever hope to achieve by myself!

I started writing this a few weeks ago, but because it took me a while to write and internet is down periodically, I haven’t posted it yet; but without further ado...

I have been in Congo for three weeks now. It has been a very interesting time, gaining a different perspective on life. How something simple, like running water and electricity, when absent complicates so much of the rest of my life. I knew these luxuries would change things when not available, but I guess I hadn’t really thought it through completely. For example, how am I supposed to wash my clothes by hand, when we are rationed to 100 litres (sounds like a lot, but when you have to cook, clean, shower, and flush toilets with this water, it goes fast) of water a day? And 100 litres is if someone comes to fill up our water jugs. The vast majority of Congolese have to do this, but I cannot manage to wash my clothes with the little water we have and not have them still smell like soap afterwards. Maybe I should have gone to boy scouts when I was a kid…

The place we moved into here in Kinshasa has no running water; the neighbourhood has been without for 7 months. A pipe has burst, and because the government will not pay the workers anything up front, they will not fix it. Rolling blackouts, usually at the peak hours of the day, you know, those times when you want to cook, hit fairly often, and we have had to move our pots and pans outside to the charcoal fire many times.

I hope I don’t sound to much like I am complaining, it is really not that bad once we adjusted, just a bit unsanitary with having to ration water to flush with (it takes a surprising amount of water to really flush a toilet). It was a huge adjustment at first though, how much all the time added up with extra cooking time, extra washing time, longer showering time, everything takes way longer.

The situation has made me think though. I have known many Congolese, and Burundians, who have a deep understanding of what God does in their life. They sincerely thank God for what they have. This attitude of realizing that everything they have is from God and thanking him for it has really impacted me.

Living in Canada it has been really easy to take for granted the gifts that God has given me. Things like clean, running water, an education, a job, a vehicle, or even a washing machine and stove. I endeavour to not take these things for granted anymore, but come before God with a grateful heart. But more than that, I think that gaining a deeper understanding of the blessings God has given me should change the way I live my life.

If I am truly living the life Christ set forth with his example and – as Paul said – consider my life worth nothing except for the sake of the gospel, then I should use the blessings and gifts God has given me to bless others. With all the conveniences in Canadian culture, I think one of the greatest blessings we have is time. In Canada, I don’t have to spend 6 hours a week doing laundry, or 2 hours to cook one meal.

What do I do with all my extra time? I spend it on myself. There are so many things that kept me occupied. There are movies, TV, video games, concerts. Even if the diversions aren’t “unconstructive” – for example going to the gym or doing a hobby – I still was not using the blessings God has given for his glory.

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with movies and TV or other such things, but since I have been reflecting on how the Congolese are thankful to God for what they have, I have desired to focus more on God with the blessings that I have, particularly my time, and not to squander his gifts on things that I use purely for myself, with no growth. With God’s guidance, I hope to live a life that is more outward focussed, on God first, and others second.

Nuns and More

So it has been a few weeks since I last updated. A lot has happened…

My team and I have finished our French classes. We don’t have very much opportunity to practice outside of class (since most people either don’t speak much French themselves, or speak English almost as well as they speak French), but it is cool to be able to have basic conversations in French.

So for the next week we will continue to practice French, volunteer at the Mother Teresa Mission in Bujumbura, and say goodbye to all the amazing people we have met as we prepare to leave for the Congo.

The Nun’s of Mother Teresa’s Mission in Bujumbura are an amazing group of women. They have given their life to service, swearing a lifelong vow. They serve everyday at one of the two missions’ they have in the city. One is an orphanage; they have over a hundred abandoned babies as well as 40 or so elderly that have been either been abandoned to beg because their families were to poor to provide for them, or they lost their family in the genocides.

The other mission is medical; they serve the local poor and homeless that are sick and unable to pay for medical care. For the poor of Bujumbura, Burundi a broken leg can be a life sentence to begging. They are unable to access medical care, and the person with broken leg becomes dead-weight to the family. They are abandoned to the streets because an untreated broken leg means they will never work again. The mission provides basic health care like setting the bone and putting a cast on it, rescuing the recipient destitution greater than they are already exposed to.

I do not mean to portray families in Burundi as callous and unfeeling, discarding those who are useless to them. They are far from it. This is a portrait of the poverty; they are so poor that those unable to work to provide are just another mouth that won’t be able to be fed. It is a fact of life that they will not be able to provide for them.

We have been fortunate enough to volunteer with Mother Teresa’s Mission. Another of their ministries is providing food for over 150 destitute families. Every two weeks, they give them a portion of rice, beans and sugar. For Christmas, the Nuns give the rice, beans and sugar, plus soap, cooking oil and some treats. We helped to pack the food for the families.

Team Burundi/Congo with the food we packaged for the families. It was hot and sweaty in the room.

I cannot express the respect I have for these women (but I will try). The Nuns have devoted their entire life to service. They will never live a life of their own; to marry and make a family or pursue a career. They have forsaken many basic comforts that I take for granted. They receive no reward.  And they have done this for the benefit of others, to be the miracle to a sick person, to be the mother to countless orphans, to provide nourishment to the starving. I have much to learn about sacrifice and service from the Nuns of Mother Teresa’s Mission.

I know I said lots has happened, and then I only wrote about two things, but this is a long post already. More to come!

A Trip to Morambia

Wednesday, my team went on a little trip outside of the capital city of Bujumbura to the district of Morambia. We went with a volunteer, Jake, from a local organization called “Harvest For Christ.” The ministry in Morambia is for the Batwa people, that the reader may know as pygmy people. In Burundhi, one of the 5 poorest countries in the world, the Batwa are the most marginalized people. The Batwa are the poorest of the poor.

HFC’s ministry is, basically, to help the Batwa become a self-sufficient people. The HFC worker in Marambia, Vaneust, has been there for about 2 years. HFC has 4 hectares of property, on which they have built a school and conference centre, and are currently building a clinic. They have given the Batwa plots of land, on which HFC is working to build small houses for them. The Batwa are farming the majority of the property, with some of the property set aside as communal land.

The Batwa have been a nomadic people, but with urbanization and land being bought and developed, they have lost their way of life. They had no land before HFC provided this plot for them, and the children in grades 1 and 2 are the first Batwa ever to be educated. The children are learning all the basics, math, history etc., plus 4 languages: English, French, Swahili, and Qirundhi. The older Batwa are learning to farm, how to plant and rotate crops, as well as how to build a house, forming and laying bricks, building the roof.

To put into context how poor the Batwa are, the houses that they currently have are about 4 feet high, and 4 feet across and the roof and walls are made of banana leaves. The lunch the children receive at school is often the only meal they receive for the day. Most of them have never received pay for work in their life; if they get work it is only in exchange for food.

The school is a community school, and as such it serves the local Hutus and Tutsis as well. This has been amazing progress for the community, because it is the first time the Batwa have been able to interact with the other people in the community. Before this, the Batwa were looked down upon, almost as animals. This school has brought the community together.

Please pray for this project. There is another tribe of Batwa not to far away that have nothing, and HFC is hoping to reproduce this project, buying more land. Pray for the Harvest for Christ workers, and that they will be able to find more people to help with the work.

I was hoping to add some pictures but the connection is reeeeally slow. Hopefully next time!

For those who may read this and are unaware of what it is I am doing. Since September 11, I have volunteered with MBMission, doing a program called Trek. For information on MBMission please view their website at www.mbmission.org. The Trek program is a 10 month program consisting of a training phase, assignment phase, and debrief.

I have already been through the training phase of the program, which was 2 months of training in Abbotsford with 20 other people. It was an amazing time of spiritual growth, studying the Bible, spending time in prayer, and being taught by many speakers on various topics. I will probably not post anything about the training phase on my blog, but if you have any questions about it, email me or call me for a coffee when I get back!

I am now in the assignment phase of Trek. The 21 people that were in training together were split into 4 teams and sent to different countries. My team, consisting of myself, Mark, Deanna, Monica, and Marina, is going to Burundhi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are currently in Burundhi, where we will be staying for a month and a half, until January 3.

From left to right, Innocent (our french teacher), Monica, Deanna, Mark, Marina, John

In these countries we will be coming alongside the local church and helping where we can. Already in Burundhi we have seen some amazing things that the local church is doing in their community. Burundhi and Congo are among the 5 poorest nations in the world; unemployment is high and what jobs are available generally do not pay well.

My team is staying in “The Rainbow Center” and the people that work here have an incredible ministry. It is an orphanage/adoption agency, but by the grace of God all the children have been adopted out. They also financially support many of the families that they have adopted children into, and other families that would not otherwise be able to feed their children. The center doubles as a daycare, which raises money for the families they support. They have adopted out a couple hundred children and support a few hundred families.

I will relate to you a fairly common situation they have had at the center. A young woman comes to the Rainbow Center, which is known as an orphanage, and says she has found an abandoned baby. Through questions, they realize that the young woman is actually the mother. The young woman has not brought the child to them because she does not want him, but because she has no way of feeding the baby. So the center supports the family, keeping them together and meeting their needs in an otherwise hopeless situation. I cannot express how encouraging it is to meet these people and hear the amazing stories.