Back in the States - getting ready for Eastern Congo

Downtown Minneapolis from a recent bike ride

 We so appreciate your prayers during the shutting down of the Medair programme in Bangladesh. It was a process fraught with unanticipated challenges and tasks. But we are globally thankful for the way the process was completed. The handover of our projects to partners went well. And most of our colleagues have gotten new jobs (some were so committed through the end of the programme that they did little job research until the process was over!). 

We hit the ground in the US on the 1st of May. The next day we flew to GA for a debrief. That was a really helpful process! One of the things that we did was to identify losses (both longer term and those related to our nearly 4 years in Bangladesh). And one of those losses is the opportunity to walk alongside one of the most vulnerable peoples of our world - the Rohingya! It is difficult to let go of our identification with them, even though it was the right time for Medair to shut down the programme. 

In many ways, we were (relationally) closer to our Bangladeshi colleagues than to the Rohingya, so we are dealing with the loss of those friendships as well. 

But it has been great for us to have 2 months to spend with family & friends (you can see ongoing relationships with family/friends in the States or around the world as part of our loss as well - it seems to be getting harder and harder to leave our kids each time we return to the States and then take off again). We were able to spend a bit over a week with Annika in OH (and a few more days with she and her boyfriend, Rudi, when they came to MN) along with lots of quality time with Nathan & Anna and Lydia who continue to live in MN. We also made a trip to CA to see some of Christine's family and ride the Amtrak from San Francisco to San Diego. This time has filled our relational cups! 

https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/dr_congo_map2.htm

Our time in the States is drawing to an end today (our new contracts with Medair started on the 1st). Because of the tension between Rwanda and DR Congo which has been building for half a year, we are planning to book tickets to Kinshasa, rather than to Goma. In that way, we will be able to work directly on getting our permanent visas in the administrative capitol of Congo (Kinshasa) before leaving for our work site (Goma - in the east). Originally we had planned to go directly to Goma and send our passports to Kinshasa for processing. During the time we are in Kinshasa, we will probably be able to visit some of the bases where there isn't currently tension. But, given the current situation, the team in Goma was uncomfortable with us being in Goma without our passports - in case there would be an evacuation. So our plans are shifting a bit, as we head to Kinshasa. What's new?

Many of you are already aware of the situation in Eastern Congo. There is significant unrest in the area which has created 6.5 million internally displaced persons in the region. Medair works to respond to the needs of these persons, and their communities. We have several field bases besides the main coordination base in Goma (where we will be living when we get our visas from Kinshasa). 

Phil will be taking up the logistics manager (LM) role in Congo. He was LM in Bangladesh, but the two programs are hardly comparable. The Congo program is much more complicated, dealing with multiple bases and getting a great deal of procurement from outside the country (and having to, thus, deal with customs). Christine's job title is Community Engagement, Safeguarding and Accountability Manager - a long title for a role with a variety of hats!! She will focus on the work Medair is doing in communities - trying to build ownership and resilience at the community level (so communities can better cope in times of unrest), streamlining the work of volunteers, and focusing on the crosscutting issues of protection (a huge issue in the humanitarian aid sesctor) and feedback. 

Finally, we have been supporting the son of a Beninese pastoral couple (who are dear friends from our time in Benin) as he attends a university in Ghana for a BS in Biomedical Engineering. Manu is graduating from this university in September, so we would simply like to know if anyone in our network has connections in this industry? He would like to continue his studies in North America as well as beginning to work, if possible. So let us know if you have any ideas! He is essentially the retirement plan of his parents in Benin - so his entire family is relying on him. 

Whew! We have been trying to get this done since landing in the US. Thank you for walking with us on our journey, which now takes us to DRC. 

Praise: 

• Christine finished the 'story' of Medair's health & nutrition work over the past 4.5 years - yeah!
• For good rest and time with family and friends
• For purpose in our lives!
• For jobs found by most of our former Bangladeshi colleagues

Prayer:

• That those who now care for the Rohingya in our former facilities would have a deep sense of vocation and work with the Rohingya volunteers in serving those in the camps. 
• For a peace based on justice in Eastern Congo and with its neighbors
• For our adjustments to new roles
• For Medair getting their customs convention signed in Congo
• For cohesion in the Medair Congo team as Christine & I add to their number
• Manu finishing up his studies well and prospering, in all senses of the world, as he moves on