Dear Friends,
After much preparation, on Friday morning, April 23, my River Village Team of 5, Pastor Gustave, 3 Ngiri Villagers, and I set off from Mbandaka in our new dugout canoe, ‘Mission Jesus’, to the river village of Nzondo Ngiri, 125 miles down the muddy brown Congo River, then up the pale green Ubangi to the black waters of the Ngiri tributary.
Vast protruding sandbars in low water season forced us to meander around the edges to avoid getting stuck. Strong winds and rain struck late Friday afternoon that forced us to anchor along the river for a long and sleepless night in our chairs on the canoe. We finally arrived in Nzondo Ngiri at 1:30 pm Saturday (eighteen hours of actual river travel). Nzondo Ngiri has no freshwater or electricity. All drinking, cooking, and bathing water is from the river.
We were warmly welcomed by Pastor Gustave’s church and many village leaders. We were given a mud-brick house with a tin roof to pitch our tents. Due to our late arrival, we planned to start our farming seminar Sunday after church. Saturday night, we showed the ‘Jesus’ film to at least 500+ men, women, and children in Lingala with our solar equipment.
Sunday morning, we worshiped with Pastor Gustave’s church and in the afternoon, we presented a condensed version of the Farming God’s Way training to about 45 participants in a pole and thatched-roof school room standing on a floodplain.
Sunday evening, we showed “Espoir” (Hope) in French. Both nights the people of Nzondo Ngiri heard God’s fantastic plan of redemption and received it with great enthusiasm and requested more. In God’s marvelous grace and mercy, we trust that God gave understanding and faith to His chosen ones.
Monday, we continued with our farm training as the participants laid out and planted a “Well-Watered Garden,” a 6m x 6m demonstration plot in which we incorporated all the principles taught in the training seminar.
Early Tuesday morning, we began our voyage homeward that took only twelve hours since we used both motors. Exhausted and dirty, we arrived safely back in Mbandaka, grateful for God’s protection and the privilege of sharing the Gospel with the people of Nzondo Ngiri.
Thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support.
United in Love, Walking in Hope, Persevering in Faith
Ron