Coopers in the Congo: Wishing you a Happy New Year

January 1, 2020

Christmas Celebrations & A New Year

Another year has come to a close, just like that. There is something about opening a new year and marking the year gone past. We are thankful for friends and family near and far, churches and individuals who support our ministry. We are truly blessed that you are in our lives. It seems like 2019 was a time when the Lord was ploughing a new field for us and we are planting some different crops. Emmanuel is more rooted in his identity as an American kid and what it means to be a valued son. We enjoyed our time in the Blue Ridge mountains and we are happy to be back in Nyankunde these last months. We are trying to treasure our days more as gifts from God.

It wasn’t a white Christmas here in Congo, rather a

balmy and tropical one. Our tree is artificial with many handmade ornaments and LED lights. Emmanuel had to be convinced that Christmas would still come even if there wasn’t any snow. I think he was really worried about it. I told him that we could read about snow and make snowmen on paper to make up for the lack of snow. He accepted this. On Christmas morning he was happy to see his stocking full of treasures and presents under the tree. He said something

A balloon Christmas tree for a party

Making crown hats

Baking cookies

like, “Mom, Christmas comes even in Congo.” His favorite present was a camera. He opened it and said, “Oh wow. I have been dreaming about this.” It brings such joy to see someone experience joy! This year he also said, “Christmas is about Jesus being born, I didn’t know that before.” It is fun to see his wonder and understanding grow. Celebrations are more simple here and butter for baking in limited quantities. Advent takes on new meaning, the period of waiting for Christmas to come.

This Christmas I meditated more on the fact that Jesus came to earth as a recognized King. He was a long anticipated king, but came almost 600 years after the last recognized king of Judah. He was recognized initially by those from foreign lands, not by his own people. I love that Jesus was recognized as a King by other Kings who weren’t even a part of Israel. The kings of Persia came specifically to find the “one born king of the Jews.” I don’t often think of Jesus as King, but it was at the core of his identity. He was a perfect King with the authority to rule and judge, to give pardon, and to lead the direction of a peoples’. Someone his Kingship became more clear at the end of his life, just as the Magi foretold. It is fascinating that Jesus taught more about a KINGdom than about any other subject. And Jesus does accept the title of King when questioned by Pilate. ”My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place….You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” John 18: 36-37

We celebrated on Christmas day with our fellow medical missionaries and Congolese

colleagues. It was a lovely afternoon with fun activities for the kids, complete with making crowns and re-enacting the Christmas story. And food, there must be food if it is a Congolese Christmas party. It was lovely watching the children play and enjoy simple joys. It really felt like “OUR” Christmas party, not just something we hosted, but a Christmas we shared together. There is a lot of joy in living life together.

New Plants

I am finding simple joys in trying new plants and trees in this environment. This year I have

Tree seedlings for the hospital

planted a cinnamon bush, lemonbalm, various herbs, and most recently vanilla. To plant trees, one really has to have the long-term perspective of what it will be like in 10-15years.

An Extended Project

All of you who know Warren know that he always has a project at hand…a treehouse, a climbing gym, a re-furbished toy, etc. Ever since returning to Congo he has been working on a rocket stove hot water heater. It has been at least 3 months and there have been multiple iterations of it. The rocket stove is a very efficient wood burning stove with steady air intake. Add a water jacket, water reservoir, and pressure regulator and whaalaa! We now have an outdoor shower and bathtub in the garden which receives hot water from the rocket stove. This is what one does for a good hot shower in a limited resources setting. I am hoping that we are nearing completion of this water heater.

Medical Work & Hospital Garden

We continue on with medical work and teaching here at CME-Nyankunde. Warren sees his share of trauma and foreign bodies and difficult surgical cases. Just offering good medical care in the face of poor medical care is a significant part of our ministry here. To do our work with integrity and compassion in the name of Christ is a powerful thing. These have been challenging times for our staff who has not received a true salary in the last 3months. We are a government hospital, receiving support from the European Union. So we are put in a difficult situation.

Our pediatric garden is shaping up slowly. We have a fence in place and now comes the

Beginnings of a pediatric garden

placement of more trees/shrubs/flowers and play equipment. It will be lovely to have a green place for the hospitalized children to truly play and explore the world. Stay tuned for more in coming weeks.

Prayer Requests

-Pray for encouragement of our staff in the face of difficult financial times.

-Pray for the initiation of the CME women’s farming project and various other hospital projects.

-Pray that we would have vision for where God is leading in the New Year.

-Pray for more prayer and financial ministry partners

Many blessings,

Lindsey for the Coopers