On the quest for hidden eggs and Easter truths

April 4, 2024

Wishing you a blessed Easter from North Carolina!  We left Congo three weeks ago and have made landfall in the USA.  At first it seemed like we were tropical birds that got on the wrong jet stream, as we were welcomed by flurries in the air.  So it goes during spring in the mountains!  This morning the flowering trees at Emmanuel’s school exploded with blossoms.  It was stunningly beautiful!  We are thankful to have a stateside home, friends and family, accessibility to health care, and a church home that receives us.  I am enjoying a pool to swim laps in again.

 

We had our beloved friends the Hoiland family stay with us for Easter this year.  It was a lovely time in the mountains.  We have to soak in the opportunities that our children have to know each other over the years.  We were blessed by Pastor Scott’s Easter message.  Every year something strikes a different chord in our hearts.  God demonstrated His unconditional love for us while we were helpless, ungodly, sinners, and even his enemies.  Enemies.  We were enemies of a holy God because of our sins…but HE CHOSE US despite all of this.  We are justified by his blood, his sacrifice and saved from wrath.  We are loved in spite of our ourselves, the ungodly.  “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life”. Romans 5:10.  The argument is that a good man is willing to give his life for his friends, but in this case the perfect man gave his life for his enemies.  Would a man in his right mind give his life for his enemies, those who seek to do his harm?  The sacrifice that Jesus made of His life shows how perfect His love really is.  The depth of the love of God is unfathomable and powerful, as Frederick Lehmann says so eloquently.  

 

The Love of God by Frederick Lehmann 1917

The love of God is greater far

than tongue or pen can ever tell;

it goes beyond the highest star,

and reaches to the lowest hell;

the guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

and pardoned from his sin.

 

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure

the saints’ and angels’ song.

 

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

and were the skies of parchment made,

were every stalk on earth a quill,

and every man a scribe by trade,

to write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

though stretched from sky to sky.

 

 

Modern Society & a Stop-over in Switzerland

We were able to visit family in Switzerland in transit back to the USA.  It had been over two years for Emmanuel and me since we had seen Grandma Anita.  How lovely to see her new home and community and how she has maintained her mobility getting to and from the store/therapy.  We overlapped with Warren’s brother Keith and stayed at an Airbnb in France.  We went from Switzerland to the USA and Emmanuel was in school two days later.  It always strikes me how society “works”-sidewalks, public services, shipping, rental cars, good roads, etc…We don’t take these things for granted.  For example we love public libraries!  In Africa public services exist but they are quite limited.  Many things have to be arranged through personal contacts.  We live in a part of the world where it is not advisable to spend time in an area without greeting the traditional chief for our personal security.  There most certainly are NOT Airbnbs in our area of Congo.  

 

Egg Hunts

We have clocked in 3 Easter egg hunts in the last week.  Emmanuel loved every minute of it!  These egg hunts are contrasted with the usual egg hunts our free-range African chickens lead us on!  Although one can carefully design a chicken coop, chickens have a mind of their own.  In Africa our chickens like to roost in trees and lay eggs at the base of tree trunks.  Every time we wish to cook with eggs, we embark on an egg hunt. Jokes about real eggs aside, we do an intentional plastic egg hunt every year overseas that the Congolese kids just LOVE.  Candy and toys are treasures to be cherished as evidenced by Emmanuel’s carefully storing his candy and toys in a massive box labeled “Emmanuel’s candy.”  Needless to say, we saved every plastic egg from this year’s egg hunts to be used in Africa.  

 

News from DRC

Almost on a daily basis we hear from our missionary friends the Staffords who continue to work in the village while we are gone.  The challenges in that environment are many and the breadth of medical practice very broad.  It sounds like they are doing well and taking the challenges in stride.  We continue to hear news of our friends, animals and tropical birds back in Congo.  Yesterday Emmanuel’s little green parrot reportedly went searching around the house for him.  It always feels like a world away when we are here and our hearts are in two places…but what a blessing to be able to go back and forth.

 

Grasslands Overflowing with Abundance

I love the contrasts of this Psalm as this describe different aspects of God as our Creator.  He is all powerful in His creating power, yet fully in control when nature is destructive.  He is able to still the waves and even the turmoil of nations.  He also cares for the land and its’ animals and brings forth abundance to meet our needs, carts overflowing.  Even the beauty of the meadow and the valley shout for joy.  What a loving God we serve that He would notice all of these things and want to bless us.  Isn’t it true that only God can still the “turmoil of the nations?”  

 

Psalm 65: 5-14

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.

⁹ You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.^[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
¹³ The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

 

 

We would love to connect with you during our time in the USA and Europe this summer.  We appreciate your prayers and support.

 

-Pray for Emmanuel’s studies at Grace Academy as he finishes out third grade.  Pray also that he would be blessed in playing soccer on a local team and gain skills to give him confidence.

-Pray for Warren’s eye surgery next week and improvement in his visual clarity.

-Pray for us as we re-connect with friends, family, and supporters.

-Pray that we will be a blessing to others and represent Christ to others during our time in the US

 

 

Many blessings to you!

Lindsey for us

 

 

On the Heels of Rainy Season

February 27, 2024

Balmy Dry Season

Greetings from Nyankunde!  It has been a balmy and windy 90 degree week here in central Africa.  Rain is on the horizon though! We are in the middle of dry season, the days are hot, and deep fissures develop in the earth where crops used to be.  Last week someone lit a fire on the hillside by our house, smoking out our bees and sweeping across a large swath of land.  Fortunately our home was not threatened as the flames leaped from one place to another.  It remains to be seen if our almost 10-year old bee hive survived…

Green Pets

At the moment we have a green lovebird that has a preference for all things green, and a chameleon on the chandelier!  It seems that this species of bird “sees” in shades of green, or fluorescence.  We wonder if he prefers the color green, as it provides camouflage and protection from predators or if it has another function. This is life in Africa somehow a bit closer to nature and the earth.  What a fun life it is for Emmanuel (and for us for that matter) to learn about God’s creatures from caring for them firsthand!

Rural Medicine

It has been a blessing to have our missionary colleagues, the Staffords, at the hospital again.  Dr. Bob Spencer, an American cardiologist, is now here for his fifth visit to provide support the medical work in Nyankunde.  It is always an encouragement to us to have him here.  I am busy seeing babies on maternity and looking at how to improve care of newborns in the region.  We had a set of triplets born this last week who are thriving and returning home tomorrow!  We continue to have challenging cases of tuberculosis, of about 20% of hospitalized children.  It is a very high statistic and a sign of a chronically ill population.  There has been a movement towards traditional healers and so many people are not seen until late in the disease.

I recently heard the statistic that about 40% of Africa now lives in cities.  We definitely see this reality in DRC.  It is true then also that there is a migration of medical professionals to urban areas and away from rural areas.  There is an increasingly growing number of subspecialists here in Congo, but many of them teach and have limited clinical practices.  We are somehow an exception working here in Nyankunde, in that we provide specialty care to a poor, rural population.  We hope that it makes a difference and hope to make these services more available to people who need it.  We also hope and pray that health care will be something that keeps bringing people back for care and to hear the Gospel…like it was from the 1930s and onward.  This is our hope!

Warren uses the tools that God has given him to teach and improve the quality of care in the region.  This last week a little girl came in with respiratory distress, having inhaled a popcorn kernel.  After two attempts the popcorn kernel was successfully removed by bronchoscopy and the child sent home.  There is another child with an airway problem that the bronchoscope has been useful to diagnose.  It is more difficult to treat things in this austere environment, but we do the best we can! Warren continues to share his love for training physicians on the use of ultrasound at our sister hospitals in the region.

A popcorn kernel

Spring is Coming!

We are looking forward to being back in the USA for the springtime!  We will visit family and friends in Switzerland on our way to (and back) from the USA.  Emmanuel will play on the local soccer club team with his friends and finish 3rd grade with his friends.  It has been refreshing for us to have homeschooling support through Grace Academy and for Emmanuel to have a consistent set of peers when we return.  It is a unique life to be a kid in central Africa speaking French/Swahili and then life in small town North Carolina.  We are looking forward to connecting with friends and family in the USA!

Prayer Requests

Pray for the growing security concerns in our neighboring provinces of North and South Kivu around Goma. The area is on the brink of regional war with the rebel group M23 and Congolese security forces.  There have been increasing threats extending over the border from Rwanda.  Goma, the capital of the province, is becoming cut off from rural areas and therefore food is expensive and scarce.  There are over a million refugees from the region flocking to Goma.  This does not directly affect us, but it is of immediate concern and has reverberations throughout DRC.

Pray for our witness for Christ through healthcare…that we would take opportunities to share the hope that we have in Him!

Pray for our preparations to return for a season to the USA.

Pray for health challenges, tropical fevers, and the like.

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”  Romans 5:3-5

Blessings for us,

Lindsey

Year of the Chicken & Rabbit

January 26, 2024

Wow, January has really flown by!  Warren has declared 2024 as the “Year of the Chicken” but thus far it seems to be the “Year of the Rabbit.”  At the moment we have 47 living creatures in our care!  This includes 21 meat chickens, 2 roosters, 6 laying hens, 2 parrots, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 12 rabbits!  The BIG theme of the month on our little Congolese homestead is that of baby bunnies.  Both of our females had their kits, so presently we have 8 babies.  They are born without any fur and are so tiny (except for their HUGE feet), but they quickly double their size.  It is amazing how much joy these little animals can bring.  It is also good for Emmanuel to have the experience of caring for animals.  We also are waiting on a bunch of chicks which should hatch any day.  

Emmanuel has a green lovebird he affectionately calls Grio.  You know, like Rio the movie with a “G” to indicate that it is a green parrot.  Emmanuel taught Grio how to fly and prefers to ride on his shoulder all the time.  I am realizing that not just everyone has birds that can fly around the house!  So between our African grey parrot and Grio there is a lot of flying around our living room.and we have baby. Rabits from Emmanuel

Hospital News

We are completing a rehabilitation on the Women's Surgery ward which is starting to take shape.   It will be wonderful to have a nice space for women!  This building, built by Richard Dix in the 1970s is still in relatively good shape and we are thankful to have been able to help with needed repairs.

Our hospital numbers have been increasing, as are the numbers of patients coming from outlying areas.  We believe this to be a sign of improved security and dialogue between different tribal communities.  I have had several challenging patients at the moment-one with kidney failure from an unknown protein-losing kidney disease (nephrotic disorder).  I don’t believe I have ever had such a sick child.  It is difficult to provide the true intensive care that she deserves.  I am trying to do the best I can with limited resources, but there is no dialysis, no option for kidney transplant.  

A little boy came to see me this week for a medical follow-up.  We treated him for tuberculosis of the kidney and he had a miraculous turn-around.  I almost didn’t recognize him.  After looking him over, checking his blood pressure, etc, I said “He looks great!  What is the problem?”  They said, “Nothing at all.  We want to know-can he can eat salt again.”  He looked nervous.  But after I said, “Absolutely, yes!”  he gave me the biggest smile I have ever seen.  It was like he had opened a much sought-after gift for Christmas.  Can you imagine feeling joy over something simple like salt?  It is true though that salt brings much flavor to food which brings joy.  This is what Christians are supposed to be like in the world.  We bring joy and meaning to everyday experiences because of the presence of God in us.

We have been seeing a lot of complicated pregnancies and very sick babies.  I happened to be in the operating theater one night to receive a baby after a caesarian section.  The woman had an immediate complication to spinal anesthesia, lost consciousness, and stopped breathing.  Her color changed and I knew she needed immediate attention.  The anesthetist began breathing with a bag, while I grabbed the epinephrine and started chest compressions.  Fortunately she responded well to treatment, her color and vital signs returned, and she started breathing again.  There are many things to learn from this case…but it demonstrates the risks of childbirth in this part of the world.  Each year we follow about 20 orphaned babies with formula, all who lost their mothers due to birth complications.  This is a reality and one that we want to fight hard to change.

Warren has had more complicated orthopedic and general surgery cases again.  We are grateful that his vision appears to have stabilized some, but there will probably always be cases that are difficult for him now. 

Another Family Joins the Work

The Stafford Family moved back to Nyankunde this week and we are so happy that they decided to return. Peter is a general surgeon and Rebekkah is an ob-gyn.  It is a blessing to have missionary colleagues.  Emmanuel is happy that there are 3 other missionary kids to play with that speak English!  We have found that God calls people to certain places at certain times.  We pray for them in their transition and rejoice in God’s faithfulness in their lives.

As we help them with plumbing and various things around the house we remember what it was like for us moving here.  It is a blessing to be surrounded by nature and live close to where we work.  I love being able to have a garden and fresh food and go for evening walks.  We feel blessed again to be able to share our world with missionaries again.

Orphans

On New Years Day there was a special event for orphaned children.  It was a lovely event with 100+ participants, Bible stories, and treats.  It is difficult to think about the reality that these children live with, but God knows each one of these children.  This event was good for me to put faces on the problem.  You can see immediate, obvious effects of armed conflict like displaced peoples, hunger, food insecurity, and injured people.  But then there are even more hidden consequences, such as orphaned children.  We need to be prayerful for these kids and ask God to be intervening in their lives.

Prayer Requests

Thank you for your faithful prayers and communications.  It means a lot to us to hear from you.  We will be back in the USA from mid-March through June this year!  Emmanuel will finish 3rd grade at Grace Academy, so we will be based in North Carolina.  We look forward to this.  It can be hard to leave our life here…but it is important for his education and for us to stay connected to friends and family as we live in a challenging part of the world.

-Pray for visitors through our mission, CHSC, and Samaritan’s Purse who will visit in February/March.  Pray that they would have a good understanding of God’s calling on our lives and that they could be an encouragement in collecting stories and interviews.

-Pray for the many medical needs of rural peoples and that our hospital would be able to provide quality health care.

-Pray for Warren’s eyesight to be stable and even improve.

-Pray for our friends the Staffords as they adapt to living here.

-Pray that we would seek to encourage others and plant seeds of hope in people’s lives.  

-Pray for the many orphaned children in this area.

-Pray for continued improved security of the region.

Blessings,

Lindsey

Christmas is a fulfillment of the promises of God

December 2023

 

Wishing you, our friends and family a Merry Christmas!  It has been a year of travels, all of us growing older (and wiser), dealing with challenges with Warren’s eyesight, and of “staying the course” with burdens that come with being the only medical missionaries at Nyankunde Hospital.  We choose to hang onto hope for eastern Congo and for the Church in this area.  We pray for the Lord to call other people to work in rural parts of DRC.

 

Warren provides much needed surgical services at Nyankunde Hospital.  He always seems to receive very challenging cases and does not give up.  He has initiated an ultrasound learning program between our sister hospitals in eastern DRC.  He dares to dream that bedside ultrasound will become part of daily patient diagnosis and care.  I, Lindsey, continue to serve as a pediatrician, caring for critically ill children often with malnutrition and infectious diseases.  My heart is moved by the needs in surrounding villages and a desire to work boldly across tribal lines. Rural life provides hobbies like processing cocoa beans into chocolate and raising rabbits.  Emmanuel is growing up in Africa in the village where he was born.  He enjoys reading Greek mythology and loves all animals.  Rural life provides hobbies like processing cocoa beans and raising rabbits.  We plan to be in the North Carolina this spring for Emmanuel to complete third grade with his classmates at Grace Academy.  

 

At Christmas we are reminded anew of the promises of God and His incredible love for us, in our broken condition, our broken world.  From the very beginning of time God had a promise to redeem His people from their sin and brokenness by entering into it Himself.  It seems that God wanted us to see all these  promises fulfilled in His Son.  Jesus would be born in Bethlehem of a virgin and would be called Immanuel (Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14).  Jesus would be born as a descendent of Abraham, and called out of Egypt (Numbers 24:17; Hosea 11:1).  He would be born into a time with incredible human suffering in Ramah and establish a new kingdom to “reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Jeremiah 31:15; Isaiah 9:6-7).  Jesus fulfilled these (and many other) prophesies perfectly and proved His trustworthiness!  We can be assured that His promises for us are good.

 

We appreciate your friendship and support, your prayers for us.  It is a lovely thought that we are never alone, that we are seen and loved by God through each other.  Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Israel and Gaza, in Ukraine, and all those who need a breakthrough and peace this side of heaven. 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

 

Lindsey, Warren, & Emmanuel Cooper

 

 

-Here is an additional link to Epistle where you can sign up to receive updates by email:  

https://coopers-congo.epistle.org/subscribe

 

 

-To learn more about our ministry with Christian Health Service Corps or join our team:  

https://www.healthservicecorps.org/staff/dr-warren-and-dr-lindsey-cooper/