Life in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, of which eastern DR Congo is a part, is frequently brought to a standstill due to violence, riots, and war. The most recent country in the news from this region is Kenya. They continue to deal with the sequelea to the riots following the recent election. Life in Kenya, especially the Nairobi slums can be violent on the best of days…but since the riot my friends at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital tell me that they are overwhelmed with the aftermath.

When I think of the barriers my friends face in order to continue to heal, grow and flourish in eastern DRC, I am humbled. Such little things frustrate me, cause me to doubt or want to give up. My friend Kaluma is the president of the Congolese organization called CSCODI that first invited us to deliver training in Beni to pastors and community leaders. CSCODI is a grass roots community development non-profit located in Beni. This organization doesn’t just run free seminars for pastors, they are also working hard to build a mother-child clinic to provide ongoing medical and chaplaincy care to the needy in the community.

Our current plan is to go in November.  Mr. Kaluma Katembo, the president of CSCODI, is living in Quebec City in Canada and is trying to coordinate the trip for a seminar with a shipment of medical equipment donated by a Canadian source. While it is hard to delay the training we are eager to deliver, our top priority is the wellbeing of the Congolese community we have been called to serve. So we wait, and learn patience from our Congolese friends who have much to teach us.