A letter from Mike and Nancy Haninger in Congo
January 22, 2010
Dear Friends,
It has been several months since we wrote all of you. As you may remember, we have taken a leave of absence from the field for personal family matters. We are living in Columbus, Ohio, to be near to our family. Looking at the snow out the window is quite a change from life in Congo! We didn’t much miss the snow in Congo but, now that we are back, we realize just how much natural beauty God has provided for us around the world.
Our presence is greatly needed here in Columbus, and we are grateful to be able to help at this difficult family time. However, in spite of our current need to be “home” with our families, our devotion to serving our dear Congolese has not and will not ever wane.
Since our departure from Tshikaji, we remain in almost daily email communication with our partners in Congo. We are thrilled to report that all the programs and projects that have been part of our ministry in Tshikaji continue to perform excellent health and development work that greatly benefits our Congolese brothers and sisters. Mike and I continue to play an active advisory role as facilitators of these programs in collaboration with the skilled Congolese directors of these programs and projects. We want to share with you how the mission which you support in your prayers and with your financial gifts continues to serve the people of Congo.
Dr. John Bimvulu holding child with lymphoma.
A recent development in the fistula program is that Dr. Leon Mubikayi, the Congolese OB/GYN with whom we worked and have written of many times, has left Good Shepherd Hospital. For many years, Leon had done wonderful work caring for fistula patients. We are grateful for his service and know that others in Congo will benefit from his talent and expertise. Following Dr. Mubikayi’s departure, we received the most exciting news that Dr. John Bimvulu, the son of the IMCK hospital administrator, Bernard Kabibu, had completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Lubumbashi and returned to serve at Good Shepherd Hospital. Many of you are familiar with John’s story as you have provided gifts that were essential in supporting Dr. John’s specialty education. Today, he is in charge of the OB/GYN services at Good Shepherd Hospital, including the care of fistula patients. Last week we received a letter from John describing how he successfully repaired the fistulas for three ladies who now no longer suffer the misery of constant urine or stool loss. What a blessing John is!
I (Mike) must admit how much I personally enjoyed helping deserving ladies with this terrible problem. I cannot tell you how much joy it gave me to share their happiness with successful surgeries. However, when I received the email from Dr. Bimvulu relating his fistula success, my joy was just as great! He remarked in his letter how the training he had received working with me and Dr. Walter Hull (former PC(USA) missionary at IMCK) had served him well. The need is great for this medical work, and thanks to God the ministry for these ladies continues.
Village child eating food enriched with moringa.
The other projects that have been an important part of our ministry, including the moringa tree malnutrition project, the nutrition rehabilitation center, the women’s literacy and development project, the Tshikaji village health center, the Presbyterian indigent care program, the single women’s sewing school, the agricultural development program and the orphan scholarship program, are all progressing well under the very capable direction of our amazing Congolese partners and project coordinators. Thanks to their many talents and endless devotion to serving God and their Congolese brothers and sisters, these programs continue successfully to provide vital services each month to hundreds of poor and vulnerable villagers. We are happy to provide the 2009 annual evaluation reports of these projects at your request.
It pleases us tremendously to see the successful transition and continuation of the Tshikaji programs, which are good examples of the current recommended paradigm in mission. Since arriving in Tshikaji in 2001, our goal has always been to encourage the Congolese to take increasing responsibility for identifying and solving their own problems in their own way. This developmental step is built upon years of trust, mutual respect and perseverance, and is a profound break from a “dependency” mission relationship. We are deeply grateful to our Congolese colleagues who continue this fine work in our absence.
Today the greatest developmental challenge facing the Congolese is the lack of resources, combined with the level of poverty in Congo, which remains extreme and severe. Even in the presence of great enthusiasm, intelligence and talent, “nothing comes from nothing.” This is where great partners like you play a critical role in helping the Congolese not only survive, but advance by providing those necessary resources that lift the Congolese up and permit them to determine their way out of poverty and disease.
As we stated earlier in this letter, our love for and dedication to the Congolese, as well as our commitment to pursuing God’s mission for the Congolese remain alive and strong. Over the years, we have had the privilege of sharing our Congo “love” stories with you when visiting your congregations, or through emails, phone calls, and newsletters. We have come to know you as our dear friends and partners in mission, without whom not one of these many good programs would be possible.
Many of you have been writing us, asking if contributions can be sent to support the Tshikaji ministry. The answer is yes! Designated gifts can be sent as usual to PC(USA) through ECO 320402 with the designation Healthy Mothers Healthy Children (HMHC) which supports all the Tshikaji ministry projects. You may also send gifts to ECO 320402 for a specific project by writing the designation HMHC/fistula, moringa, orphan scholarship, etc.
Thank you, God bless you, and have a fantastic 2010!
Nancy and Mike
The 2010 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 55
Send donations to ECO #320402:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15624-3700
Healthy Mothers Healthy Children (HMHC) program supports all the Tshikaji ministry projects. Designate “Healthy Mothers Healthy Children.”
Support a specific project by designating HMHC/fistula, moringa, orphan scholarship, etc.
