Taylor in Africa

How Are You? (Or, Join the Club)

2011-03-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

When I was in middle school, my mother sat me down and explained that when people say "How are you?" (including when at church) it is a greeting not an actual question.

About the same time I learned that it was a social faux pas to be candid about one's state of mind, I was realizing that most folks don't see the world the way I do nor do they appreciate things I find fascinating. Luckily, the world is a big place and over the years I've found kindred spirits who don't mind my idiosyncrasies. We're a hodgepodge of mostly introverted geeks and we keep in touch via the miracle of the internet. Interestingly, we span a large range of professions, theologies and fixations.

So what is the glue that binds us together? I suspect it is the thing that all the Dr. Who companions have in common... the thing that Buckaroo Bonzai and the A-Team had... the thing that makes TED great... and it also seems to be the thing that attracts people to our approach at Friendly Planet Missiology.

Without ‘it,’ it can be difficult to click with someone no matter how similar they appear on paper. So what is ‘it’? I’m still working out a theory, so feel free to help me out. Folks that have “it” tend to

Be Out-of-Sync with the World. You find human behavior baffling, recognize you're operating out of a different paradigm, have concluded that you aren’t crazy (at least not when it comes to that), and have come to some sort of peace with this despite still wishing things would change.
Appreciate Quirky Humor. There are plenty of people whose passion for social justice has made them so angry that they can’t enjoy a good joke. I don’t mean biting sarcasm. I mean silly witty pun-filled banter. Take the world’s problems seriously; just don’t take yourself too seriously.
Practice Radical Grace and Hospitality. Even if someone doesn’t quite fit in (like Penny in Big Bang Theory) your first-hand knowledge of how it feels to be rejected makes you committed to including all those in need of love---from Alexandra Wallace to Congolese Warlords.
Ask ‘How are You?’ and Want to Know. You see people as individuals—not objects to manipulate to reach your career aspirations. You even gladly make sacrifices for them.
Feed your Curiosity and Challenge Assumptions. You love learning and will risk losing what you think you know in order to explore the deeper—or better—question. No belief is too sacred to be reexamined, and no one is ostracized for asking an honest question.
Take Action. You have a vision of a better way of living. Live into it and invite others to join you.

So this is an idealized list. I’d like to say it describes me well, but it’s really a description of my favorite people. I have to frequently remind myself to not be so serious, to let down my guard, and to set aside my own thoughts long enough to stop and truly ask ‘How are you?’

Success and the R.O.U.S.

2010-11-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

“This goes completely against our model,” said the head of SIFAT.
“Ours too,” I said.

It was a recipe for disaster; we’d both seen these sorts of projects crash and burn before, and neither of us wanted anything to do with a fruitless money pit. We knew what most to avoid: top-down initiatives—particularly ones that started with a “great idea” by an American and involving a sudden large infusion of money/resources. Doing so almost always resulted in the community neither taking ownership of the project nor having the political capacity/motivation to effectively maximize the potential of the resources given.

Why in the world, then, did SIFAT accept a group’s offer to help build a SIFAT training center in Lusaka, and then Friendly Planet Missiology agree to help make it happen?

I’ve been procrastinating addressing this question directly hoping that I could find an academic way to articulate what we both had intuited. After all, I do seem to be pulling a missiological version of “Do what I say; not what I do” on this one.

Simply put, we agreed it felt like a force more powerful than us had thrust us into this endeavor—assuring us that we’d been cast as actors in a grand plan. Plus, despite all the reasons why it sounded like a very bad idea, it appeared to be the way forward.

This week I realized that I already knew what to say to such questions. When our wise leader Westley was told “We’ll never succeed.” he responded,

“Nonsense. You’re only saying that because no one ever has… We have already succeeded. I mean, what are the three terrors of the Fire Swamp? One, the flame spurt. No problem. There’s a popping sound preceding each. We can avoid that. Two, the lightning sand. You were clever enough to discover what that looks like. So in the future we can avoid that too.”

“Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.s?”

“Rodents of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist.”

I think that about sums up how I feel about the realities of trying to build a SIFAT appropriate technology training center on United Methodist land in Lusaka despite the limited capacity/size of the UMC here and that none of the leaders here knew anything about SIFAT until they were informed by their bishop in DR Congo that the center would be built.

Is this risky? Yup. Can we succeed? With the dream team of SIFAT, Friendly Planet, Bishop Katembo, our new Assistant Bishop, and many local leaders, of course we will. After all, we managed to overcome many of the dangers thus far. And I’m failing to mention the challenges I know to be ahead? You betcha. Should you try this at home? I wouldn’t recommend it.

However, if you do find yourself stuck in charge of a problematic mission project [Pastors and mission chair folks: I’m especially talking to you], I’ll say to you what my family always says to me: Have fun storming the castle!

Family, Food and Collapsing the Cake

2010-11-25T12:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I write this, twenty-six of my relatives are gathered at Grandma Lois’ house. They’re eating chicken noodles & pumpkin pie and later will take over a few rows at Terre Haute’s cinema; my guess is they’ll pick Harry Potter. Stories and jokes will be retold and pictures will be taken. I figure tomorrow they’ll joyride on the “Mule” and cousin Billy’s ATV before starting their long drives back to Alabama, Michigan and the Carolinas. With the loss of Grandpa Jim this summer (our remaining patriarch on Mom’s side), it seems ever more important to keep the family traditions alive.

Since childhood, this is the day I’ve put out the antique Christmas village on Grandma’s dining room hutch. It’s a shabby looking old thing with its cardboard houses with beads glued on top; I doubt it would even sell at a yard sale. And yet, it is precious to us. Concerned that the hutch would be bare this year, Great-Aunt Marji suggested that I fulfill my duties via Skype. She’ll hold each piece up to the camera and I’ll direct her where it should go. You see, this will be my first Christmas not spent in Indiana (Stuart doesn’t get holiday leave this year), and it grieves me deeply. As hard as I try to create the illusion of being all places at once, Skype is a sad substitute at times.

Not having my matriarchs around this season, I have been thinking more about baking from scratch (i.e. me finally putting theory into practice). A good cook knows the importance of patience—that sometimes the best thing to do is step back and wait. If you stir or knead too much, you get mush or tough dough. If you keep opening the oven door to check progress, you can collapse the cake. [Do you see where this is going?] The same is true of ministry. If your goal is the development of individuals and the community, it is counterproductive to interfere too much. This wisdom can be hard to follow—especially when I am anxious for notable progress. Stepping back and doing nothing requires that recognition that there are times when our actions not only aren’t necessary, they would be detrimental to achieving the greater goal. [Frazzled pastors and helicopter parents: Do you hear me calling you out?] Mary Poppins, Pete’s Dragon and the old Circuit Riding Methodist Preacher system were onto something: when we make ourselves too necessary, we undermine people’s ability to do things themselves. We deprive people of pride of accomplishment, of building a sustainable system of problem solving (i.e. one that doesn’t require us).

This is one of the reasons why Friendly Planet Missiology is on the move. Dad divides his year between itinerating in Congo and Indiana. He gives time for the catalyst that he tossed into the mix to do its thing before passing through that community again. I take a “hands-off” approach to my ministry in Lusaka (much to the disappointment of those who wanted an old-school missionary to sweep in and ‘fix’ all their problems by throwing my American weight around). There’s no point in starting something here that would collapse without me. Even preaching in or simply visiting the congregations too often is risky business. Church attendance may increase with me around more often, but are those new members coming for healthy reasons, and how will their presence impact congregational power dynamics? And what about the mess I leave the appointed pastors (whose authority has been inadvertently undermined by my leadership) when I leave town next year? [Try explaining that to the Board of Ordained Ministry when they ask how many weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc. I performed this year]

So here’s my Thanksgiving and Advent advice to all the caregivers out there: Step back and enjoy the holidays. Appreciate the joy of breaking bread with those you love. Let the recipients of your care fend for themselves a bit more while you rest. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but remember: that soufflé must rise on its own.

Taylor

The Price of Rocks and the Glamorous Life

2010-11-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

Unlike most married women in America, I do not own a diamond ring. Instead of a shiny rock on my hand, there is a delicate pearl (just what I'd been looking for) that I found on sale for $40. It sits next to a simple band that we found in a box of wedding rings at an antique shop.

Don’t misunderstand me; I am a girly-girl who loves getting dressed up and wearing pretty jewelry, and my husband would have presented me with something expensive when he proposed had he not known me better. Fortunately, he knows that when I look at the display windows of a shop that sells gemstones I become physically ill. All I can think about is where the rocks probably came from and wonder what underpaid (or enslaved) person suffered to obtain it. My mind whirls with the testimonies of Congolese friends who have described the horrific conditions of so many of the mines—of Indian slaves locked in containers when they aren’t being forced to dig and of small children risking their lives to find baubles for foreign brides. Why would I want all that blood on my hands, ears and neck? (Yes, I do recognize the irony of me writing these words on a laptop containing coltan, which was probably stolen from Congo and sold to buy more weapons)

You can imagine how I felt, then, when I ended up with a group of American women yesterday on a tour of a jewelry workshop with a mini-lesson on gemstones. I tried to be open-minded and optimistic. Earlier this year I toured one mine in Congo run by an American company trying to operate humanely. They had high safety and environmental standards and had even built houses, schools and clinics for the workers and nearby communities. Perhaps this store would reassure me that they knew exactly where their gemstones came from, and that the miners were well treated and fairly compensated for their work. Instead, the owners talked in circles in response to my questions. Sigh.

After the circle talking ended, the group went back to oohing and ahhing the shiny rocks spread before us. (Was I really the only one disturbed that they never said they maintain a clean supply chain?) We heard all about different kinds of stones, where they are found—turns out Zambia has the most valuable emeralds in the world—and how to tell the difference between a $50 rock and a $50,000 rock. Most of the time you have to look extremely closely and often with a microscope to see the differences. The gemologist placed before us rocks of various values so we could become better at recognizing the quality ones. She even showed us the current prize in their collection. You could buy a decent house for what they’ll probably get for that large rock. (I noted an uncomfortable grimace when I remarked on what the unnamed miner who discovered it would be able to do with his share of the profits.)

Next we were told about various tricks used to fool people—many of which can even trick experts. Did you know, for example, that companies frequently irradiate stones to darken their color, since a darker shade can increase the price by thousands of dollars? We were told to ask stores how long ago their stones were irradiated; apparently they ought to sit for a year for their radiation levels to decrease.

Now here’s the thing: Say what you will about me, but I just don’t get it. If you placed before the average person two trays: one with thousands of dollars worth of cut gemstones and the other with manufactured imitations, s/he would have to look closely to tell the difference and even then might guess incorrectly. The first tray probably involved human suffering and degradation to acquire. The second was made in a laboratory and/or factory by better-paid (but probably still not enough) workers. Which tray do you prefer?

I’d say tray #2, but quite frankly, I’d much rather an option C: like a necklace of reclaimed wood or recycled glass or something. I would wear it with my clearance rack dresses and Chinese-grocery-store dance shoes while eating locally grown ‘real’ food enhanced with fresh herbs from my garden and admiring my collection of handmade art (most of which cost me less than lunch at Burger King).

a) $5 (blue crystal), b) $1,300 (Tanzanite), c) $112 (California Sea Glass)

Which is which, and which would Taylor rather wear?

Let's get this straight: This blog post isn’t about me being holier-than-thou or frugal (although my cousin is the Queen of Free). It isn’t even about my financial situation or some sort of sacrificial abstinence from the finer things in life. I am not sacrificing anything; I have a beautiful home, eat delicious meals, attend elegant functions, travel the world and look fabulous while doing so thank you very much. I am not silently judging you, my dear friend, when I glance at the shiny rocks you are wearing as you tell me how you want to end suffering in the world; I recognize that my purchasing habits are also hypocritical and we're on this journey towards sanctification together.

What I’m really trying to say is this: It is high time we step back and reconsider how we define the glamorous life because the status quo is hurting the world and not making us any happier (yes, I did just rip that off from Annie Leonard). Let's recover from our affluenza by revisiting our views on quality and style. If we don’t, we are doomed to a world where even the most glamorous of our evening functions consist of women wearing the cost of college tuition, men wearing what they wore to the office and the d.j. blasting techno all night. Is that what we really want? Is it?? Perhaps the only thing worse than saying “Let them eat cake! and Have our old clothes!” is not realizing that our cake is nasty and we're actually naked.

Of course, you should take everything I write in context. After all, I'm just that odd ballroom dancing United Methodist pastor who lives in somewhere in the heart of Africa.

Taylor

Build Week and Being a Good Friend

2010-11-12T07:13:00.000-08:00

Build Week

My last few weeks have been engulfed in the “big build” here in Lusaka. The heads of SIFAT, the Southeast Jurisdiction’s VIM coordinator, a big team from Trinity UMC Birmingham and others flew into town to start putting up buildings on The United Methodist Church’s plot of land. They worked alongside a couple hired professionals and a team of volunteers including several local pastors, pastor’s wives, lay leaders, UMW members, youth—even the Bishop’s Assistant and a representative from the bishop’s office in Lubumbashi came down to help.

The Americans and many of the others have gone home now, but the work is not yet complete. A small local team is pushing to get the caretaker’s home in move-in condition (i.e. walls, roof & doors; electricity and running water will come next year we hope) by the end of the month. I’m taking a break for a few days and leaving it to the local leadership to carry this phase of the project to the finish line.

Other phases of construction will come as the funding is raised, although the Lusaka District won't sit on its hands waiting for another American team to arrive next summer. They’ve already put together their own fundraising plans: crushing & selling stones from the plot’s rocky land and putting in a sweet potato crop come planting season. In addition to the planned SIFAT appropriate technology training center, long-term proposals from Lusaka district leaders include expanded farming, a poultry project, a sanctuary, school, parsonage, clinic, and an orphaned/abandoned children’s center.

For those who have engaged me in lengthy off-the-record chats about my thoughts on various forms of “mission trips,” you may find it odd that I have become so active in a project that involves Americans spending well over $50,000 (per workteam) to fly to Africa and volunteer on a construction site for a few days. Frankly, so do I. It is God’s quirky sense of humor, I suppose that all of this fell into my lap. Or, perhaps, I was chosen because my ambivalence kept me focused on how to make this the start of an empowering relationship that will bear much fruit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Taylor

For those interested in some of my missiological reflections from this week, then keep reading below. ☺

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Being a Good Friend

It happens to all of us: Someone we love has a problem, and we rush in to “fix” it. Is this being a good friend? Sometimes yes; sometimes no.

Sometimes what our friends or family members need is an extra set of hands to lighten heavy burden of an overwhelming task. Sometimes they need our expertise on a subject. Sometimes they need to borrow our power tools. Sometimes money is needed. Sometimes, they could just use a shoulder to cry on.

Other times, however, our help is not only not helpful; it enables unhealthy behavior. Many who have lived with persons with addiction issues or even physical or developmental challenges understand this problem very well. Thus, the acts of giving our labor, advice, objects, money or even shoulders can help our friends or reinforce the underlying problem and ruin an opportunity for transformation.

When my father and I needed a name for our ministry, we choose Friendly Planet Missiology partly because TheoPraxis had already been taken, but mostly because it highlighted the core of our missiology: we assist in the transformation of communities by being good friends to those whom God has called to serve in them.

Much of the logic of how to be a good friend can be applied across the planet. So here’s a quick quiz for you—Which of the following domestic and international “mission projects” are examples of being a good friend and which are harmful?

a) Physically building and/or repairing a house/clinic/school/church/etc.

b) Donating food & supplies for homeless persons/schools/clinics/orphanages/etc.

c) Funding the purchasing of toys/mosquito nets/wells/Bibles/bicycles/boats/etc.

d) Sponsoring a child/school/congregation/orphanage/etc

e) Funding a scholarship program

f) Leading a Vacation Bible School in a poor community

If you answered “It depends” to all of the above, then you are correct. To discern whether an action would be helpful, one should start by studying not just the problem but asking if the solution really requires our assistance. Doing something for people that they can do themselves is rarely helpful unless both parties view the act as an expression of love--not charity. Even this is treading on thin ice when the giver is financially wealthier than the recipient. It is much better to focus on the building of relationships and wait for appropriate opportunities to be a good friend to emerge.

When it comes to being good friends to our colleagues serving in DR Congo and Zambia, the ways in which we could help seem overwhelming at times. They are up against enormous challenges; it is tempting to rush in with every ‘solution’ that we know. However, the roots of these problems are deeper than lack of cash or objects. No amount of bank wire transfers or containers filled with supplies will fix the problem just as $10 million from Bill Gates would not solve the problems in your congregation. Sustainable solutions are messier than that; in every corner of the planet they require the transforming of hearts and minds.

We are striving to be good friends to the folks serving in the trenches who are making disciples for the transformation of the world.

Thank you for being our friend.

Taylor

A reflection/discussion exercise:

Think of one of your very best friends—someone who is the wind beneath your wings. What is it that s/he does that has made the difference in your life? What has s/he refrained from doing that has boosted your confidence? When this friend helps you out of jam, what do you appreciate most about the way in which s/he offers assistance?

Now think of the well-meaning person in your life who deflates those wings. (If you can’t think of anyone, count yourself lucky—and perhaps reflect on if you are that person) Do they give you help or advice that you never asked for, assuming that you aren’t capable or smart enough to handle things yourself? Do the presents they give you make you feel more ashamed and/or resentful than joyful? Would you have to “swallow your pride” if you ever had to ask this person for help?

What do your experiences suggest about how to be a good friend to people in your community and across the planet?

House upon the Rock & Explaining Friendly Planet Missiology

2010-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

The push this month has been to get the ground leveled and the foundations properly poured before the American team arrives in Lusaka. So, I’ve been catching myself humming the old VBS song “The wise man built his house upon the rock…” and this got me thinking about a better way to explain the function of Friendly Planet Missiology:

People state-side love financing tangible development projects. We love knowing that our money bought a bicycle, a mosquito net, a cow, a clinic or a water-well. Like a house, all of these things are intrinsically good. The issue, though, is whether these projects are built on a firm foundation or whether we are being fools building on the sand. When we talk about Friendly Planet making leadership development its #1 priority, what we mean is that we spend time and resources making sure the local leadership has the desire and capacity to support a project before we start pouring money into it. Yes, the projects on the ground that we advertise may sound similar to what other organizations are doing, but the projects we ask you to finance are unlikely to collapse because they are being managed by inspiring local leaders whom we know well.

Building strong foundations can be expensive. It requires site visits, salaries, training, and follow-up. This is what we mean when we talk about calculating the total cost of a project. Advertisements that promise that “100% of your donation goes directly to purchase an X” may sound appealing, but stop and ask yourself “Where is the money coming from to make sure the X that I donate gets from point A to point B and that it works once it gets there?”

Friendly Planet cannot and will not make you “no admin costs” promises. Instead, we promise you that the funds you donate will be used to develop strong local leadership and to finance the projects of these leaders. We are very excited about the projects of the Congolese and Zambian leaders whom we have the privilege to call colleagues, and we hope that you will help spread the word about this ministry.

The Countdown is On

2010-10-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on here in the Lusaka district. The SIFAT execs are arriving this Friday and a large delegation from Trinity United Methodist Church of Birmingham, AL arrives next week. They’ve come to assist in the building of a United Methodist/SIFAT training and conference center just north of town. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, this project is a big deal and has required a large team effort:

With the blessing and remote supervision of Bishop Katembo (based in Lubumbashi, DR Congo), Lusaka United Methodists have dealt with the headaches of purchasing land, getting permits, researching logistical questions, supervising work, guarding the property, etc. SIFAT is taking on the fundraising for the construction expenses (including obtaining significant donations from B.L. Harbert construction). Students in University of Alabama’s Engineers Without Borders chapter have drafted building plans and plan to return each year for a work-week (the university gives them academic credits for this). Trinity United Methodist Church is joining the effort both in fundraising and visits. And me—I find myself serving as the “middle-woman,” passing messages back and forth across the globe and doing the legwork that others cannot due to barriers such as language/distance/transportation/contacts/lack of internet/etc.

Keep the countdown in your prayers; I’ll be blogging about how the visit goes!

A Wedding, a Funeral and other stuff

2010-09-11T02:09:00.000-07:00

It’s Labor Day weekend in the USA as I begin to write this, so I’m reflecting on this whirlwind of a summer (although, technically it has been ‘winter’ here in central Africa). For those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook, I’ll recap:

Shortly after I returned from The United Methodist Church’s (UMC) Indiana Annual Conference session, my parents came to Zambia for a visit. Mom had received a teacher renewal grant from the Lilly Foundation and was excited about having the opportunity to take her first trip to Africa in nearly 15 years. We started the visit off with an extended weekend drive down to the south of Zambia so that Mom could see Victoria Falls and go on a safari in Chobe National Park. We crammed a lifetime of wonderful memories into those few days (see photos on Facebook) before driving back to Lusaka to prepare for the second part of the journey: a family trip to DR Congo to attend the 100 Years of Methodism in Congo celebration in Lubumbashi followed by The UMC’s North Katanga Conference gathering in Kamina.

Sadly, just as we were preparing to hit the road, we were informed that my mother’s father, Grandpa Jim, had passed away. My husband Stuart scrambled into action and managed to get Mom and Dad on the next day’s flight back to the USA; we stayed behind in Lusaka, and I spent the next few days glued to Skype in order to stay connected to Grandma Lois and the family that had gathered back in Indiana. After taking time off to grieve, Stuart and I got in the car and began the long and harrowing drive across the Kasumbalesa border, since people were still counting on (and had already begun preparations for) our attendance at North Katanga’s Annual Conference.

Grandpa Jim Thompson

It is hard to express my joy in being finally able to bring Stuart to North Katanga's Annual Conference. There, he met countless friends and colleagues about whom I had spoken for years, but who lived in too remote regions for Stuart to have met them. He also got to meet the kids at our Methodist children’s home. Stuart was so glad to witness first-hand my ministry in North Katanga. …So here come the confessions:

1) Stuart confessed that up until that point he had never really comprehended what it was that I did during my frequent trips to Congo. My talk about “leadership development” and “transformation conversations” hadn’t computed. Now having seen me in action (meeting with colleagues, making my daily ‘rounds’ to the clinic, orphanage and other ministry sites, etc) it all made sense to him. “Great!” I said, “Now that you understand, would you teach me how to describe it to the folks back in the USA?” Frustratingly, he couldn’t come up with words for it either.

2) Next, Stuart made an observation that cut through the heart. “When you’re here,” he said, “you become a different person—someone who until now I’d only seen in glimpses. You radiate with love for each person you meet; it’s no wonder that you’re so loved here, and no wonder you inspire people into action! …But, if you are capable of being like this, why aren’t you like this all the time?” Ouch. Folks, I stand convicted, and I pray to overflow with love all the time.

Wedding: Since Bishop Ntambo and my Congo family had been unable to attend our wedding in the USA, the bishop declared that he would officiate a traditional (symbolic) wedding for us during Annual Conference. It was wonderful! We even received traditional wedding presents (see below), including a traditional water cooler (pot on far right). Be sure to ask Stuart sometime about the goat (also a wedding present) that kept us up all night on our "wedding night." See more Congo visit photos on facebook

Returning to Lusaka, I got to work on yet another project: helping our District Superintendent John Ilunga and his clergy-colleague wife, Mary start a sewing business (The ‘salary’ they receive from the church does not cover even the basic costs of living: Their malnutrition, lack of school fees for the children and frequent eviction notices inspired me to take action). Check out their photo album on Facebook to see what they have for sale.

August was kept busy juggling Congo communications--including helping a Congolese colleague write a grant proposal for a computer lab for our university in Kamina (I'm very excited about the video conferencing possibilities), Lusaka District tasks, the sewing project, domestic/embassy tasks, writing my lengthy Disciplinary Exam (my new fellow clergy colleagues can feel my pain on that one), and taking a much needed respite in Zanzibar with our good college friends Lou and Ilona, who were celebrating the end of their time as Peace Corps volunteers in Togo.

As always, there is plenty more to share, but I must sign off now to prepare for another round of house guests. Perhaps the guest will be you someday! (Did I mention our house has also become a de facto bed & breakfast for our Congolese colleagues traveling to and from Africa University in Zimbabwe? It seems that when I can't get to Congo, Congo comes to me.)

Much love,

Taylor

Wanna-be bohemian

2010-06-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Henna & a 30cent boat ride in Dubai (photos from last time I got stranded here)

I love the fantasy of bouncing around the globe on a shoestring budget. There’s a certain thrill and pride that comes with packing light, being frugal and working without a net—to never be certain what town (or country) you’ll be in tomorrow, how you’ll get there or where you’ll sleep once you do. This sort of lifestyle is very glamorous in the movies. In reality, it can be not fun at all. You spend a lot of time tired, hungry and stuck in places/situations that weren’t on the agenda.

It takes a certain personality for this sort of thing. In all honesty, I don’t seem to have it, but seeing that it is implicitly part of the Friendly Planet job requirement, I’m working on it. In fact, I am beginning to wonder if it is the kind of trait that is developed over time (like from Bishop’s Schnase’s new book Five Practices of Fruitful Living).

So here is my step process:

Step #1: Let go of any delusion that you can control the itinerary.
Step #2: Get over your money issues. As some famous guy wrote and my dad always repeats, “If you can reduce your problem to a price tag, you don’t have a problem; you have an expense.” Pay it and move on.
Step #3: If you can’t be where you want to be, want to be where you are. Make every situation an opportunity to learn and/or contribute to this world. (i.e. Channel your inner Pollyanna.)

I’m not sure what the next steps will be, but I’ve still got a ways to go on mastering the first three.

As my Facebook friends know, I’ve been having a lot of airline ‘adventures’ lately. As I write this, I’m stuck (again) in Dubai. Been in this airport 32 hours straight and will be here at least another 24 more. Luckily, it has free wireless, water fountains, quiet rooms, and even showers.

I’ve been trying to focus on what I can learn from this, and there is a lot that can be learned from spending time in a major international hub. The de facto world fashion show alone is intriguing. When I’m having an extroverted moment (I’m an introvert at heart), I ask strangers what they can teach me. Yes, I walk right up to them and ask. Generally they are amused and have given me some interesting answers. I often learn more about their home country or how hard it is to live in Dubai when you are a [insert any low-paying job at airport]. I sometimes even get restaurant freebies just for being someone who noticed that they exist.

So here I am after 5 full days of airport hopping sitting on the floor with an aching back and stale bag of clothes. Not exactly glamour by my definition, but I’m sure 007 and Indiana Jones often had the same problem—except they could skip to the next scene.

Indiana Taylor

World's tallest building (couldn't fit it all in the photo)

locals on commuter ferry in Dubai

Q&A #3: What's this I hear about a new training center?

2010-06-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening December 1, 2009 I received a path changing e-mail. SIFAT’s Executive Director Tom Corson and International Team Coordinator Peggy Walker were in town and looking for the Methodists. They had come to see the land The United Methodist Church (UMC) was purchasing in Lusaka and discuss plans for the new SIFAT training center that would be built on it. Sadly, their primary contact in Zambia, Rev. Jean Kalonga (Bishop Katembo’s assistant and de facto bishop of Zambia) had unexpectedly died while they were in route. Jean hadn’t had a chance to share his correspondence with anyone, so no one in Lusaka was expecting SIFAT’s arrival. SIFAT’s SOS e-mail bounced around cyberspace until it was forwarded through the Methodist connectional system to me. They only had a couple days left in town and did not know whom to call. This was a disaster in the making, but thankfully my Internet was working that day.

There are things you can do in The UMC in central Africa that are near impossible in the USA. One of them is rapid mobilization. SIFAT wanted to meet with the district superintendent, key church leaders, the lawyer (real estate agent) and see the land. No problem. I made a few “Cancel your plans for tomorrow cause SIFAT is here” phone calls and texts, picked up Tom, Peggy and Isaiah (who is from Bishop Katembo’s office in Lubumbashi) and we all gathered at the District Superintendent’s house by the next morning. Several routine tasks were taken care of while SIFAT was with us (like kneeling before the chieftainess for her approval of the land deal and briefing the member of the Lusaka District on the project’s timeline). What came next was where it got complicated.

SIFAT was able to build this training center because their connections at University of Alabama’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) had connections with the leadership of B.L. Harbert, the construction company that won the contract to build the new USA embassy complex in Lusaka. Very long story condensed, Harbert would donate skilled labor, use of heavy equipment, and a large amount of construction materials. EWB students would make blueprints for the facility (as graded class assignments) and come in May 2010 to help start building it. The catch was that there needed to be a piece of land to put the center, and the owners of the land needed to have all their paperwork/permits in order. SIFAT turned to The United Methodist Church with an offer: if the church would purchase the land and take care of the paperwork, SIFAT would have the center built on it. The land and buildings would then belong to the UMC and could be used in a multitude of ways on days SIFAT training events weren’t being held. Sound too good to be true? Well, there was a catch.

It turned out purchasing property in Zambia was the easy part; obtaining an actual title deed is tough and time consuming. Everyone we asked for advice said if we worked hard perhaps we’d succeed by 2011, but we had until April 2010 at the latest or the whole deal would fall apart. From Dec-April, the District Superintendent with the support of district leaders (especially our lay leader’s husband Chris) turned this ‘hopeless’ task into his full time pursuit. As soon as I returned from Christmas and clergy meetings (RIM) in Indiana, it became my all-consuming work as well. I’ve lost track of how many days were spent at the Ministry of Land or the number of road trips made to file forms in regional offices.

At the Zambia Provisional Conference Executive Committee meeting in Kitwe (5 hours north of Lusaka) the end of February, we launched a conference-wide prayer and “who do you know in the government who could help us?” campaign. Not long after this, I finally managed to get a meeting with the Commissioner of Lands who assured me that we would be ready in time for the May groundbreaking deadline. True to his word, our offer letter arrived just in the nick of time.

EWB, SIFAT (along with a pastor of an Alabama conference congregation that had contributed to the land purchase) and Isaiah (representing Bishop Katembo’s office) arrived the second week of May. Together with a large team of United Methodists from across Lusaka, we began the building process. There is still a long way to go on this project, but Thanks Be to God we are out of the tunnel.

Taylor

Build Week Photos:

click to Taylor's Facebook photos here for more images from build week

Q&A #2: What does Taylor do in Lusaka?

2010-06-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

‘Fall’ 2009:

When we first relocated to Zambia in September 2009, I figured that I would be spending most of my time across the border in DR Congo, since that was my primary motivation for moving here. God seems to have had a different plan.

As a protocol abiding United Methodist pastor, I informed the District Superintendent of Lusaka of my arrival as soon as I obtained a phone and his phone number, which took some creative thinking to obtain since no one I initially asked had a clue as to the location of the local United Methodists (minimal signage since they all meet in rented classrooms except for the one Zimbabwean immigrant congregation that still worships in Shona). To my surprise, DS John Ilunga, armed with only knowledge of what neighborhood and street I lived on, rounded up a welcome team and showed up at my gate the very same day I called him. Unbeknownst to me, his family and the church’s leadership team were feeling overwhelmed and had been praying for God to send them someone to help…and then I showed up. [I know how that sounds to some ears; I eschew reinforcing the destructive belief that salvation comes from America/Europe, but what they were wanting was a flesh & blood mediator, and that role is best played by an outsider]

Taylor, DS John Ilunga, and Bishop Katembo

DS John immediately put me to work as an itinerate preacher with the focus on increasing morale and the spirit of unity in and between the congregations. Each Sunday I was sent to a different congregation in the district until I had been to them all—and then circuit rider style I started again. I itinerated with the DS and an interpreter (interpretation is a challenging task in these polylingual communities—even some of our local pastors use interpreters). A few weeks into this Brian, my main interpreter, told me that he was getting strong feedback from congregations. They suspected that he was telling me their secrets since my sermons were directly addressing their specific issues. He got himself out of hot water by explaining that I was following the lectionary and it must simply be the Holy Spirit speaking through me. I suppose that this is true; the Spirit has been shifting my worldview for some years now through profound friendships with church leaders from Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. I have been beginning to comprehend the way in which scriptures and stories resonate with the common struggles here. And, quite frankly, the Biblical stories burst off the page here in a way I had never experienced back in the USA.

In addition to preaching, I am involved in church, district, and conference meetings and training events (even hosted a district clergy/spouses dinner at my house). Co-officiating funerals is sadly a regular honor. [I plan to do a separate blog post just about funerals] The turning point in my work in Lusaka happened in early December right after the death of Rev. Jean Kalonga when I received an e-mail about the arrival of SIFAT. The SIFAT/Friendly Planet/UMC collaboration I'll save for the next post.

Taylor

We're in the news!

2010-05-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

http://inumc.org/news/detail/2085

Q & A #1: Why is Taylor living in Lusaka, Zambia?

2010-05-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

There are several possible answers to this question. With random strangers, I usually just say that my husband is a US foreign service officer assigned to the embassy in Lusaka.

The long answer as I tell it begins almost 20 years ago. It starts with my father, Rev. Dr. Bob Walters, going on a clergy trip to Zaire (now called DR-Congo) in the early 1990s. He returned with a passion for the region and its people. This passion was absorbed my me, his pre-teen daughter, as he made frequent return trips and our family hosted Congolese in our home (One of Senator Bishop Ntambo Nkulu’s daughters became my highschool roommate in order to get a quality education in the USA).

At the request of then District Superintendent Ntambo Nkulu, we launched a fundraising campaign so that the United Methodist Church in Katanga (a region of DR Congo) could purchase hundreds of much needed bicycles for its leaders. When I was 15, I and two other teens accompanied my father as he worked with Congolese church leaders and witnessed the distribution of the bikes. The experience cemented my passion and helped me decide on my college studies—a BA/MA program in International Development focusing on community development and a M. Divinity. I wanted to be a pastor with a holistic understanding of the dynamics of poverty and prosperity so I could be best equipped to support local leadership in transforming their communities.

The horrific recent war in Congo delayed my return until 2005, when Bishop Ntambo appointed me as both director of the North Katanga Conference’s community development department and his personal assistant (overseeing his e-mail correspondence and developing a conference website). I was based in Kamina, and friends like you covered most of my living expenses. During that year I led many workshops on various community development issues and concentrated my energies on the training of trainers, so that church leaders could spread these concepts in their own communities. In my spare time, I hung out with our fabulous kids at the United Methodist children’s home. I even made trips to Africa University in Zimbabwe (in ’05 & ’06) to help United Methodist Communications train UM leaders across Africa in communication technologies. From this, I’ve started coaching UM leaders from several countries.

Much of what I did could be considered seed planting. I have been enjoying watching for the fruit of my work appear—and it has shown up in surprising places. Last summer, for example, when Dad was in Kalemie (far eastern border town hit by the brunt of the war; I have never been there) he was impressed by project descriptions and proposals local leaders had created. When he commented on this, they told him that they had been trained by me! (The itinerancy system has really scattered those seeds!)

In 2006, my ‘quick visit’ to the USA turned into a two-year separation. Bishop Ntambo worried the shifting political climate could lead to another surge of violence in his conference and asked me to remain in the USA to work on raising public awareness of Congo’s plight and the heroism of our church leaders. I used this period to launch The Kamina Project (www.kaminaproject.org), the precursor to Friendly Planet Missiology (www.friendlyplanetmissiology.org), to study at Wesley Seminary, and continued to work with leaders in Congo via phone calls and e-mails. Once Bishop Ntambo gave the green light, I began making frequent trips back to DR Congo.

In 2007, I married my best friend Stuart Denyer, and he promised to support my call to ministry in Africa. Good on his promises, by mid 2009 (right after I completed seminary) he successfully got a job as close to North Katanga as he could—at the US Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia.

Now I figured Zambia would just be where I lived, and Congo would be where I worked. It didn’t take long to figure out that God had a different plan.

In fact, the District Superintendent of Lusaka and his wife (pictured below) have a very different and shorter answer to why I now live in Lusaka. They proudly say that they prayed fervently for assistance, and God sent them me. (I'll write more about that later)

Taylor

An apology and promise

2010-05-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Recently I reviewed my old blog posts looking for a certain story and came to a surprising realization: I never actually blogged about most of my important experiences and activities the past five years. Turns out that while I’m constantly composing blogs in my head, I rarely get around to posting them. Among other things, this means that you probably know very little about my adventures in Africa and the fruit that has come out of your financial support of my ministry. For this, I apologize. I have all the classic excuses (too busy, never done perfecting a post, don’t like exposing my inner thoughts and weaknesses so publicly, etc), but the fact remains that the things I see and hear here in the heart of Africa should be shared with the world, so it is high time I get over it and start blogging.

Here’s my promise to you:

In the coming days I will tell you about

a) The amazing UMC/SIFAT training center project that has consumed the past several months of my life

b) The state of the UMC’s Zambia Provisional Conference

c) My reflections from co-officiating funerals here

d) More on what life is really like in Zambia and how in the world I ended up living in Lusaka

After that, I’ll try to start filling in more backstories of my time in Congo (cause I’ve got some great ones). Maybe even throw in some tales of being stranded in Dubai.

Written while sitting on the floor of the Dubai airport,

Taylor

Title Deed and the Cavalry

2010-03-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

pictured: DS Ilunga and Bishop Katembo

Taylor here. So while my father, Biking Bob, has been riding hundreds of miles through the interior of DR Congo the past several weeks, I’ve been busy in Zambia with a much less thrilling—although also important—task.

Friendly Planet Missiology has teamed up with the folks at SIFAT, Engineers Without Borders (EWB), The United Methodist Church’s (UMC) Zambia Provisional Conference and B.L. Harbert construction in order to build an appropriate technology training center in Lusaka that will double as our church’s gathering/retreat center in Zambia’s capital city. We are very excited about all that can be done with this new facility.

There is, however, a catch that has become a heavy burden for the church leaders here in Lusaka. The agreement SIFAT negotiated was that B.L. Harbert and EWB would donate all the construction materials and labor if the Zambia Conference could rapidly purchase a piece of property and obtain a title deed for it. The clock is ticking, and the local church leaders and I have been learning the hard way that obtaining a title deed in Zambia is a long difficult process. I returned from my winter visit in Indiana to find our District Superintendent alarmingly thin; his family finances had collapsed partly due to his relentless sacrificial efforts to beat the approaching deadline.

We have refused to give up hope while knowing that in our many visits to the Ministry of Land we have met people who have spent years in their quest for what we strive to achieve in a matter of weeks. It will take an act of God for this project to be successful. Good thing we are witnesses that God is still acting here in Lusaka.

I have hesitated to even blog about this potential heartbreak, but we just gave one more call for assistance, and we’re now told that the cavalry is on its way. Last week at our conference level executive meeting in Kitwe, church leaders from across Zambia pledge to join the effort in pulling every string they can find. This weekend, B.L. Harbert offered to send in their expediter to get things moving.

Taking it to Calvary,

Taylor

Death of Assistant Bishop Rev. Jean Kalonga

2009-11-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Photos from Rev. Jean's last Sunday sermon, November 8, 2009

I am sad to report that The United Methodist Church's assistant bishop over Zambia, Rev. Jean Kalonga, passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning in the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. An open-casket service was held this morning outside the home of the District Superintendent of Lusaka. The main funeral will be held either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week in Kitwe.

Rev. Jean served as the de facto bishop of the Zambia provisional conference, having been appointed by Bishop Katembo of the South Congo Conference. The loss will be greatly felt here in Zambia and across the church.

Life in Luska: Part II

2009-11-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

above: United Methodist young adult choir hang outing out after worship.
Most live in Matero (an impoverished part of Lusaka).

Hard to believe it has been two months since I moved to Lusaka, Zambia. Rainy season has begun, and my schedule has become overflowing with activity.

My District Superintendent continues to itinerate me between the five United Methodist congregations/preaching posts in Lusaka. It feels a bit like having a “five-point charge” (being the pastor of five communities at once); I’ve already been called to respond to everything from anguish within clergy families to disharmony within the district. –So much so that much of what I’m busy doing these days cannot be shared in detail.

The Spirit has continued to provide the appropriate lectionary text for each congregation I visit. Much to my surprise, the impact of these sermons is already becoming visible through the dramatic shift in mood and collaboration between congregations.

For the first time, the clergy of the Lusaka district are (of their own initiative) gathering regularly to support each other. Within a month after my itinerate sermon series began, the district’s pastors went from not being on speaking terms to proposing they start a business together and make loans to one another to alleviate clergy poverty. I am looking forward to hosting their next gathering at my house next week.

A few hours after I left the October 31st laity training day & district council meeting (where I had taught a workshop on Methodist History and Doctrine—particularly emphasizing our heritage of ministry with the downtrodden), the district voted to form a district-level projects committee and elected me as its chair. I am humbled to be chairing a committee whose members own children sleep on the ground, yet they desire to contribute their time and resources to assist the ‘less fortunate.” We have a lot of work to do, but there is a spirit of optimism in the air.

Yesterday, I met with the bishop’s representative over Zambia (Zambia is a “provisional” United Methodist conference; its official bishop is the bishop of South Congo conference). He was in town to complete the purchase a piece of property in Lusaka where we will someday have a training center, chapel, offices, and housing. There is much excitement, since all but one of our congregations currently meet on rented property—mostly in classrooms.

above: DS Rev. John Ilunga and his wife Pastor Mary.
They struggle to finance their ministry and are supporting several orphaned children despite that they themselves are surviving on God's "daily bread."

On a sad note, I am becoming increasingly aware of how high blood pressure is killing our church leadership here in Zambia and Congo. Their daily stress, poor diet and lack of quality medical care combine with other factors in a deadly way. On All Saints Day, we lost another United Methodist pastor up in Chingola to this disease; he collapsed mid-sermon.

I ask that you continue to keep our church leaders around the world and Friendly Planet Missiology in your daily prayers. With your financial support, we continue in this ministry.

Natasha [Thank you in Nyanja],

Taylor

Life in Lusaka

2009-10-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

above: Jakarandas in bloom in Lusaka, Zambia

Taylor here.

Somehow a month has passed since beginning my surreal life in Lusaka, Zambia. I’m trying to be a supportive embassy wife (yes, I do attend the Diplomatic Spouses Association meetings) while keeping focused on my ministry, but it has been a big adjustment. Bouncing between Congo and the USA every few months can mess with your head. Bouncing daily between the social circles of Lusaka’s upscale neighborhoods and its slums---now that takes prayers for sanity. I pray a lot these days.

I’ve begun itinerate preaching in United Methodist congregations in the poorer parts of the city. District Superintendent John Ilunga selects where I go each week, and Brian, the District Secretary, serves as my fabulous interpreter. Brian and I meet each Saturday to reflect on that week’s lectionary texts (after spending the week studying them). Brian tells me what comes to his mind when he hears the texts—particularly in the context of the congregation we are about to visit. Then I propose a sermon outline, and he tells me if he thinks it will resonate. Brian has remarked that the themes I identify in the lectionary each week keep getting at the heart of the issues for congregations we visit. He says that we keep arriving in congregations at exactly the right week on the lectionary cycle.

above: Brian and DS Ilunga

The weekly sermon-prep Bible studies with Brian have been enlightening for both of us. He has asked that I start a study group with the other church leaders. I think I might do so soon. However, in addition to requests that I start offering classes, Superintendent Ilunga has dropped a big one on me: He is convinced that I am the person he has prayed for to come and start a United Methodist ministry on my side of town [i.e. expats and wealthy Zambians]. I am still discerning how to respond to this proposed appointment.

In the meantime, I am busy taking care of two dogs we just adopted from the shelter, cleaning our large government-assigned house (Come visit!), planting a vegetable garden, hitching rides to the open-air market, baking bread, e-mailing friends in Congo and the USA, attending embassy parties, taking ballet lessons (yup, you read correctly; the troupe’s winter production is raising funds for school construction), and eagerly anticipating the repair of the used car we imported from Japan so that I can spend more time out in the community.

Our new dogs adopted from the local shelter.

Please keep me in your prayers,

Taylor

All Survive Crash of United Methodist Mission Plane in Congo

2009-06-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

From the United Methodist News Service:

All Survive Crash of United Methodist Mission Plane

All persons aboard survived the June 12 crash of a small mission aircraft on take-off from the Diengenga airstrip near the city of Lodja, Democratic Republic of Congo. The pilot, United Methodist missionary Jacques Akasa Umembudi, and four passengers, were flown to Kinshasa for medical examination. Umumbedi sustained a head injury, but numerous scans indicated no internal damage. His wife, Missionary Poto Valentine Shutsha, was with him in the hospital, where he also was visited by Bishop David K. Yemba, who leads the Central Congo Area of The United Methodist Church. The four unidentified passengers were released without treatment. The aircraft is insured through the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. The aviation ministry provides transportation, notably in the Congo region, where there are few roads or public conveyances. Umembudi is assigned to the Wings of Caring Ministry, based in Kananga, and has been flying for almost two decades. – UMNS

Watch our New Video!

2009-05-22T06:41:00.001-07:00

UMCOR update

2009-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

news from the United Methodist Committee on Relief:

DRC: FARMERS PRODUCE NEW FOODS

In Kamina, Democratic Republic of Congo, farmers are learning how to process their crops to make new and marketable products by using UMCOR-provided equipment and training.

In collaboration with World Initiative for Soy in Human Health, UMCOR provided five VitaGoats, a non-electric food processing system that allows new food products to be created. VitaGoat has the capability to process soybeans to make soymilk, yogurt, soy butter and coffee; create cereals from corn, wheat and rice; and produce sauces or purees from fruits and vegetables.

These foods have an extended shelf life and may be used in the home or sold in local markets to increase a household’s income. An additional benefit to processing is that it makes it easier for vulnerable groups such as weaning toddlers, the elderly and people living with HIV/AIDS to consume more nutritious foods. To support this work, please give to DRC Emergency, UMCOR Advance # 198400.

Friendly Planet Blogging

2009-05-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hi folks-

Just a friendly reminder that I'm blogging more on the Friendly Planet Blog these days. Don't forget to check it out!

http://friendlyplanetnews.blogspot.com/

Interview with Bishop Arthur F. Kulah of UMC-Nigeria

2009-04-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Dauda Marafa from the United Methodist Church's Nigeria Conference, just sent me the transcript of an interview with Bishop Kulah, who has had a very challenging first year as bishop there.
Read interview

Watete's Good Friday Sermon

2009-03-31T09:01:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what pastors in the Congo say in their sermons? My friend from North Katanga, Mbayu Ilunga Watete just sent me the manuscript of his Good Friday sermon that he will be preaching in a congregation near his school, Africa University. Click here to download the Word file.

Death of Church Leader's Child

2009-03-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

Please include in your prayers this week our friend Arthur Mpoyo (works in North Katanga Conference's community development department) and his family. I just received this message from him:

"I am sorry to let you know about the death of my second child. I tried to go with him in Lubumbashi for treatment. Finally, he died in February 14."

The death of Arthur's young son, like the deaths each year of so many of our Congolese friends' children, could have been prevented with access to quality medical care. Let us continue to work to put an end to such tragedies.

Metals in mobile phones continue to help finance Congo atrocities

2009-03-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Global Witness Press Release – 16/02/2009

Annual industry meeting highlights need for due diligence on supplies

As the Mobile World Congress opens in Barcelona on 16 February, Global Witness is calling on mobile phone manufacturers to audit their supply chains in order to exclude minerals financing the armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

There is a direct causal link between the metals trade in eastern DRC and atrocities perpetrated by armed groups against Congolese civilians. Recent work by Global Witness and the UN Group of Experts revealed that all of the main armed groups involved in the current fighting in eastern DRC finance themselves through the trade in high-value minerals. These minerals are processed into metals such as tin and tantalum, which are used in the manufacture of mobile phones.

“The surging global demand for mobile phones has been helping to bankroll armed groups in Eastern Congo’s conflict,” said Annie Dunnebacke of Global Witness. “Mobile phone manufacturers need to undertake checks all the way up their supply chains to make sure they are not buying from mines controlled by militias and military units.”

The UN Group of Experts’ latest report, published in December 2008, asserts that the world’s fifth largest tin-processing company, Thailand Smelting and Refining Co (Thaisarco), buys ore from an exporter who is supplied by mines controlled by the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR is a Hutu militia whose members are alleged to include perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The group continues to commit grave human rights abuses against Congolese civilians. Thaisarco, based in Thailand, is owned by British metals giant Amalgamated Metal Corporation (AMC) Group.

Global Witness recently wrote to major mobile phone manufacturers as well as mineral and metal traders to ask them what due diligence measures they are taking to ensure that their sourcing practices are not fuelling the conflict. While some firms have pledged to tighten their supply chain control, the mobile phone industry as a whole lacks sufficient measures to guarantee that phones and other electronics are free of conflict minerals.

“Mobile phone users do not want to buy products that are associated with crimes such as murder, torture and rape,” said Mike Davis of Global Witness. “If mobile phone manufacturers want to avoid the risk of a consumer backlash, they must act now. The Mobile World Congress is a prime opportunity for an industry-wide commitment to comprehensive due diligence measures.”

click here for more information

Union UMC United with DR Congo

2009-03-04T04:56:00.000-08:00

From the UMCOR-HOTLINE Digest for Monday, March 03, 2009:

Union United Methodist Church in Conway, South Carolina, recently took on a new challenge to meet the church’s needs while benefiting the people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The new initiative, called Union with the Congo, raises funds to split equally between Union UMC’s much-needed church repair work and construction of wells and latrines in partnership with UMCOR’s work in DRC.

Union UMC, a small church of about 150 members, raised a remarkable $14,200. The funds will cover the needed church repairs and dig one well and latrine in the Kamina area of Congo where people lack access to both. Please support UMCOR’s work in DRC by giving to DRC Emergency, UMCOR Advance #198400.

Prayer Requests

2009-02-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

Please pray for my dear friend Shabana Banza, a pastor's son and English major, who has been too ill to attend school the past few weeks. We are trying to determine the causes of his sickness, but one of his medical problems is related to a brutal attack he suffered last year that badly hurt his forehead and jaw. If you would like to assist with his medical expenses, please let me know.

Please also pray for Pastor Itela. He is currently in Zimbabwe awaiting a miracle. He began his masters degree in the Peace Leadership and Governance program at Africa University on the hopes of a scholarship opportunity that fell through. Now he fears he will have to return to Congo with his degree half completed, since he has not found the funds to register this semester. If you feel called to help Rev. Itela complete his studies, which have focused on addressing domestic violence, please let me know.

We're now on Facebook

2009-02-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Friendly Planet Missiology now has a Facebook page!

Launch of Friendly Planet Missiology

2009-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

It's official!

My father (Rev. Bob Walters, D.Min.) and I--and our wonderful board of directors--are launching Friendly Planet Missiology (FPM). The new blog is up and the FPM website will be up later this spring. Our work as FPM will begin this summer (after I graduate and Dad leaves his conference job for his new appointment to FPM) when we return to North Katanga. Dad will be doing an extensive visitation and church leadership development tour via bicycle of areas hit hardest by the recent war and hopes to include in this tour a visit to the homes of all the Congolese pastors who visited us in Indiana last May. This tour should take 2-3 months to complete. Good thing Dad received intense survival training while serving in the Marines!

As we launch Friendly Planet, we are retiring the name Kamina Project while continuing and expanding upon the work began with it. Why the name change? It's simple: Congolese folk outside of the Kamina District weren't crazy about the old name when we expanded beyond Kamina and arrived in their towns. (It would be like trying to bring "The Indianapolis Project" to Evansville)

For more information on what's going on, visit the Friendly Planet News Blog: http://friendlyplanetnews.blogspot.com/

Taylor

BBC video on Child Labor in Congo

2009-02-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

Recent Letter from Zimbabwe's United Methodist Bishop

2009-02-17T15:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends:

Greetings in the Lord. Thank you very much for your persistent attention to The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe and Pastors and the congregations are coping.

Introduction

It is now common knowledge that Zimbabwe is going through serious economic challenges characterized by hyperinflation. Politically the country is isolated from the international community. This means that friends are few and help is scarce when it is needed most. The negative impact is so evident in the breakdown of the basic infrastructure. Water systems have ceased to function especially in the capital city, Harare. The much publicized cholera outbreak is partly as a direct result of the breakdown of water reticulation leading to poor living conditions for the people. There is nothing much to talk about regarding the health delivery system. Zimbabwe had developed an admirable school system but it is now difficult to know how many of the rural schools will be able to open for the year because of lack of teachers. To make the whole situation even more desperate is the widespread hunger in the country. Agricultural unpreparedness, compounded by erratic rains leading to droughts has led the one time breadbasket of Southern Africa into hunger and famine.

The Zimbabwe dollar has virtually lost any value as a currency to the point that most goods and services are now sold for US dollars or South Africa Rand. Very few people can have access to these foreign currencies, and hence more suffering for the majority. The government has authorized some retailers to sell their goods in foreign currency. Most of these goods are imported which means that to get anything one must have foreign money. What has happened is that everyone is demanding US or Southern African Rand for goods and services. Nobody wants to have Zim dollar anymore because it is worthless.

Impact on the Church

In any economic downturn it so happens that the church faces untold challenges. The welfare of pastors depend on the church members who in turn are facing all these hardships. The church itself as a collective becomes helpless as it fails to help its members in these difficult times. Finance Boards of the church have pegged pastoral support in US dollars with the hope of trying to cushion them. But the members do not have such foreign currency and therefore there no support to talk about. Such a scenario is more so in the rural areas where almost everything is at stand still. many pastors will not be able to send their children to school especially because the remaining schools are charging school fees in foreign currency which they do not have.

To travel in their districts or circuits District Superintendents and Pastors obvious need fuel or gas which is sold in US dollars. Pastors cannot visit their church members even in critical times for lack of transport. Public transport is now paid in foreign currency. It is indeed a tragic story for the church. When i call for cabinet to meet- and we must indeed meet to put up strategies of how to resolve some of these challenges- I have no idea how many District Superintendents might be able to make it because transport hurdles.

Hospitals

The major challenge which our church hospitals are facing is the migration of nurses to neighboring countries in search of ways and means to survive. To retain them one must be ready to pay them what is called retention allowance in foreign currency which the church does not have. Shortage or even total lack of drugs makes the whole situation gloomy.

Congregations

Although the people continue to do their best by working and continuing to be creative in meeting the challenges, they have indeed reached breaking point. Even as I write I cannot contemplate how these congregations can support their pastors and themselves as well.

People are just surviving by the day through the grace of God. The situation on the ground defies any attempt to plan because circumstances change so fast that we have learned to live on a daily basis.

Means of Survival

For the few fortunate ones, sons, daughter and relatives who have left the country and are working in the neighboring countries send some back home and this has helped in some little way. Others engage in cross boarder trade and bring home some foreign currency. In most cases these are few compared to the majority who have nowhere to turn to.

For the church some partners have done tremendous job of doing all they could in helping in one way or the other. The help could be a consignment of drugs to the hospital, cholera kits etc or it could be few dollars to help the so many pastors who are scrambling just to survive with their families.

Conclusion

The year 2009 is not showing any clear signs of being different at all. The problems are increasing by the day. We hope that if the rains continue maybe some people will be able to harvest a little but it is too early to tell whether the country will be spared from another drought. The unfailing source of our Hope is that we have Jesus Christ who promised never to leave the faithful alone. As I write this brief knowing that you servant of God have requested for it, I am feel up; lifted in Hope.

Thank you

Grace and Peace

Bishop Nhiwatiwa

Resident bishop-Zimbabwe Episcopal Area.

Rwanda's Move Into Congo Fuels Suspicion

2009-02-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Some in Mineral-Rich Region See Broader Motives Than Disarming Hutu Militiamen
By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, February 13, 2009; A01

KIGALI, Rwanda -- With thousands of Rwandan troops fanned out across eastern Congo's green hills, many residents and international observers are questioning what is really behind the operation in the mineral-rich region and how long it is likely to last.

The official explanation, offered by both Rwandan and Congolese diplomats, is straightforward. After two wars and a decade of mistrust, the two nations finally agreed to deal militarily with a common menace -- the Rwandan Hutu militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, or FDLR, which reorganized in Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide and has been a principal cause of the deadliest documented conflict since World War II.

By some estimates, at least 5 million people died in multi-sided wars over more than a decade, mostly from disease, hunger and the collapse of human services associated with the fighting. The humanitarian catastrophe was largely ignored by the United States and other Western nations, while United Nations peacekeepers failed to halt the violence.

In acting now, Congo and Rwanda have in theory ended a proxy war that had played out for years in eastern Congo. Rwanda pulled the plug on rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, whom it arrested last month. And Congo abruptly turned on its longtime ally the FDLR, joining the Rwandans in an operation to hunt down the militia.

"Rwanda and Congo have decided to come together as neighbors," said Joseph Mutaboba, who was Rwanda's envoy during several rounds of talks. "And we have been able to tackle the problems that are ours."

But some observers see much broader economic and political motives behind Rwanda's military foray -- its third in Congo in the past decade -- that have more to do with Rwanda's regional ambitions than with the 6,000 or so FDLR militiamen. As recently as October, Rwandan officials had cast the militia as "a Congolese problem," saying it did not pose an immediate military threat to Rwanda.

"Is the FDLR now suddenly on the verge of becoming more militarily powerful? I don't think we've seen that," said Alison Des Forges, a Human Rights Watch researcher and leading expert on Rwanda. "And if they haven't, then what you have is Rwanda trotting out an old warhorse of an excuse to go in again. The question is, what is the intent?"

The stakes are high for the joint Rwandan-Congolese military offensive against the FDLR, given its potential to trigger more regional instability than it resolves. Rwanda's two earlier invasions succeeded in disrupting the militia's operations but also helped spawn more than a decade of conflict that at one point drew in as many as eight African nations in a scramble for regional supremacy and a piece of Congo's vast mineral wealth... read entire article

Letter from Bishop Ntambo

2009-02-03T15:02:00.001-08:00

Pictured: 2009 North Katanga Task Force Team (Bishop Ntambo seated)

Dear Bishops, Partner Conferences, brothers, sisters, and friends:

In the name our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I would like to present you with honor my best wishes for the New Year 2009.

Of course, the year 2008 has gone with all its mysteries. However God continues to renew things from day to day. Therefore, it is a great pleasure for us as people of God to share our joys, sorrows, strengths, and weaknesses for the sake of strengthening our mutual relationships.

We want to thank you sincerely for your moral, spiritual, and financial support which brought materialization of the dreams of our Conference. In return, we commit to be the good stewards to spread the good news that you have planted in North Katanga through your actions.

Besides, we pray the Almighty God of grace and mercy to rescue the world from the harsh economic crisis.

We finally engage to the continuation of our partnership. With this letter, we enclose the newly produced brochure which includes most information on North Katanga with its development, the same information can also be found on our website: www.northkatangaumc.org.

May He who loves us more than anything make this year a year full of hope, wonders, and grace.

Bishop NTAMBO NKULU NTANDA

Wings of the Morning

2009-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

A recent letter from Gaston & Jeanne Ntambo:
Reason for Wings of the Morning:

A few months ago a young lady in her late twenties was brought to the airport to see if we could help save her life. Her baby had died close to midnight the day before in a village far away from any clinic or hospital. With the baby half delivered, they traveled 40 miles on a bicycle throughout the night hopping to get help at the next larger village of Kitenge . The small clinic in Kitenge did not have any one with enough experience to deal with such a case. I was at the airport in Kitenge on other business around 9 o’clock when they brought this lady to me. A 15 minute trip to the hospital at the village of Kabongo would have saved her life. She died before we could get her in the airplane.

In my 14 years with the wings of the morning flight ministry, the Lord has been able to use me to save many cases like this.

I can recall only 3 cases where it did not go well. One patient died during the flight after bleeding to death, and 2 others on different flights while waiting for the vehicle to transport them from the airport to the hospital, but never because Wings of the Morning could not reach them for any reason when they needed help, until recently.

During, the past few years Wings of the Morning has been relying completely on you to save lives. With your help we have been able to reach out to many people in areas where roads no longer exist. There is little hope that the government will fix these roads soon. The only hope for many of the 6 million people in the North Katanga area is your compassion. We need your help in purchasing the fuel necessary to maintain the life-line for these brothers and sisters.

The year 2008 was the most challenging one since my wife Jeanne and I joined Wings of the Morning in 1995. We had our hopes fixed on a new aircraft. We have envisioned a Cessna Caravan 208 that would use cheaper fuel and that would carry more load, allowing us to reduce the number of flights. That dream has not materialized and before we knew it, our only usable airplane was running out of engine hours. As a result, I spent thousand of dollars and many hours in the bush away from my family to fix another airplane that had not flown for 13 years but had a new engine ready to be installed. After many hours and a lot of complication in the middle of nowhere, we now have the best small airplane in the world. It is pressurized which means it flies higher and faster to save fuel, and also very well equipped with weather radar, etc. It is a ready for mission 6 sitter airplane and it has already flown for over 100 hours and doing a marvelous job. We believe that with just the necessary fuel, we can maintain the life-line for another 6 to 7 more years with our small but magic airplane.

As long as there are people out there needing our help and our government showing little hope in better infrastructure, there will always be the need and reason for Wings of the Morning for your brothers and sisters in Christ many miles way.

GASTON & JEANNE NTAMBO

WINGS OF THE MORNING, NORTH KATANGA CONFERENCE.

THE GENERAL BOARD OF GLOBAL MINISTRY ADVANCE SPECIAL # 08597A

Planting the seeds of faith in Africa

2009-01-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

Another article about North Katanga that ran in Warrick Publishing newspapers:

Planting the Seeds of Faith in Africa

Bob Walters, director of leadership development with the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo several times in the last 18 years. He recently shared with Warrick Publishing the struggles the Congolese are faced with and how things have changed since the country’s civil war.

“In the area of poverty and the diseases of poverty and all of the development issues that are related to that, it’s kind of two steps forward and one step back. So, there is still a tremendous amount of need,” he said. “But, in the development of the church, it really has come in the 15 or so years that I’ve been going, when you step back and look at the big picture, they really have come a long ways from a primarily missionary-led mission effort to a fully-functioning, self-governing church with local leadership. It’s a very strong church, and in fact, within the United Methodist church, it is probably the strongest conference we have (with) a million members now.”

The churches in Africa play a more prominent role in their communities than their American counterparts. The church still offers all of the same services there as it does in the United States, but a church in the Congo also takes on some of the services that would typically be offered by the government in America.

“It’s just much more the center of the community — community development; we work on agriculture; the church provides education. In the North Katanga Conference, I just happen to know this number, the conference supervises 321 elementary and secondary schools. Now, about a third of them are church-owned; the rest of them are public schools that the church manages on behalf of the government,” said Walters. “So, they don’t have the same sort of philosophical separation of church and state that we would.” Even beyond that, the church provides healthcare, running some of the government-owned hospitals in addition to its own hospitals and clinics; the church offers agricultural training and other community development training. And it even helps with peace-building.

“The church is much more directly active in conversations with warring parties and peace-building,” said Walters. “The church has negotiated local peace accords. So, when you say, what does the church mean there, it really does almost everything.”... read entire article: http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2009/01/14/warricknews/news/08congo.txt

Baker Chapel builds on faith

2009-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

The Boonville Standard/Newburgh Register just ran an article on how United Methodist congregations in the Evansville District (starting with Baker Chapel) raised $40,000 for church construction in North Katanga.

http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2009/01/14/warricknews/news/01faith.txt

Note: The photo they picked from my website for the story is of children listening to a youth choir of Ziona UMC in Lubumbashi, a large city on the Congo/Zambia border. Ziona's construction was financed primarily by a United Methodist Congolese businessman and his wife. The money raised by Baker Chapel, Fletcher Chapel and members of the Evansville District is slated to go to church/parsonage construction projects Lubudi, a community much further in the interior. Lubudi will be receiving visitors from Indiana in 2009.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2008-12-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Kamina Project, soon to be part of the newly formed community & leadership development collaborative, Friendly Planet Missiology.

We’re grateful for your many gifts of time and financial resources this year. In 2008, you helped us make both a winter and summer trip to North Katanga (full of site visits, conversations, brainstorming sessions, & miracles), financed a spring tour of Indiana for six North Katanga pastors (thanks to all who assisted with hospitality), wrote to your representatives, and mobilized your friends and family for assisting North Katanga projects such as ‘Bikes for Pastors,’ ‘Cement & Roofing for Construction,’ ‘Nurturing Orphaned & Abandoned Children,’ and ‘Scholarships.’ One group of nurses even sent hundreds of uniforms for our medical centers.

We’re cycling back to DR Congo in 2009—This time going deeper and having more fun.

Watch for more news this winter.
With all my love,
Your (graduating from seminary in May) director,

Taylor

Health Update

2008-12-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Rev. Willy Banza just sent an update on the health concerns from the previous posting (bolding mine):

The child [Mama Alpho's son] is still in Dr. Packy's clinic under treatment.
God has really answered your prayers. The child is recovering bit by bit. Now he can at least answer to some questions and can even cry while injected. These are things he could not do before. Medicine is being administered so far.

Clarise is now back in the home. She can walk by herself. This morning she even came to see me at my home just to greet me and assure me that things are going on well.

Continue to pray for the children in the DR Congo. Malaria is now killing seriously.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2009.

Rev. Willy
UMC Town Parish
Kamina District

Prayers for Healing

2008-12-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

I just received word from Rev. Willy Banza, the chaplain of our Kamina Children's Home, of illnesses to include in our prayers:

Our Clarise (see photo) is hospitalized for appendicitis.
Mama Alpho, spiritual mother to our children at the home, and her youngest biological child are hospitalized with a very serious case of malaria.

Lubudi Partnership News

2008-12-10T14:38:00.001-08:00

AU Scholarship Needed
The Rev. Kalau Itela is a graduate student in Peace Leadership and Governance at Africa University. He is a United Methodist pastor from the Lubudi District in the North Katanga Conference, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rev. Itela is writing on the culture of domestic violence in war torn DRC.

If you or your church is interested in picking up all or a part of his scholarship, please contact Bob Walters at the Bloomington Center. bwalters@sicumc.org or 317-408-5036. The Institute of Peace Leadership and Governance at Africa University is training our strongest pastors for major leadership roles in the United Methodist Church in Africa. In regions like the Katanga Province of the DRC, the United Methodist Church is the difference between war and peace, death and life, despair and hope.

Evansville District Partners with the Lubudi District
In Sunday morning worship at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Newburgh, Evansville District Superintendent Glenn Howell presented Indiana Conference (Bloomington Center) staffer Bob Walters with three checks for church and parsonage construction in the Lubudi District, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Baker Chapel challenged with $10,000; the Spencer County/Warrick County Cluster of Churches matched with $10,000; and the Evansville District trumped with $10,000 with another $10,000 to come later. This amazing partnership grew out of the hospitality the Evansville District provided our Congolese general conference delegates visiting in Indiana this last summer, including the afternoon Baker Chapel folk and Congolese pastors swapped their compelling stories. Said Carl Barnett of Baker Chapel, “We had to do something. So many people helped us rebuild.”

The District Superintendent of the Lubudi District, the Rev. Kanumbika Kasenga has sent word that 10,000 bricks have been fired and construction is ready to begin. The support from the Evansville District will pay for cement and roofing. There should be enough money to build two churches and two parsonages. Bob Walters and Taylor Walters Denyer will be in Lubudi this next summer working with the district superintendent, pastors, and lay leaders in leadership development, community development, and peace building. Delegates from the Evansville District are hoping to join them there.

Rev. Itela's article on Domestic Violence

2008-12-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

Rev. Laurent Kalau Itela, a North Katanga UMC pastor who is studying Peace and Good Governance at Africa University, recently e-mailed me a copy of this paper he has written on issues of domestice violence in Lutenga, DR Congo:
www.kaminaproject.org/documents/Itelaandviolence.doc

Update from United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

2008-11-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

From The UMCOR Hotline for November 18, 2008
DRC: FLEEING TO SAFETY

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), thousands of civilians were forced to flee from their homes into neighboring Uganda to escape the outbreak of violence that has been sweeping the country. UMCOR is working through its partner Action by Churches Together to provide emergency relief to those displaced by the conflict.

Earlier this month, ACT members distributed a 14 day food ration to 150 households in a camp for internally displaced people. A stock of medicine was delivered to a health center and a therapeutic feeding center continues to assist 90 children. The amount of aid to reach those affected is minimal however, because the region continues to be unstable. The most immediate humanitarian needs are for food, sanitation, medical care and psychosocial support. Refugee camps have been raided, forcing uprooted people to once again flee the violence. ACT members are waiting for the violence to subside to proceed with administering the needed aid.

The humanitarian emergency is described as “catastrophic” according to news reports. About 250,000 have been displaced including 60,000 children. Many people have walked for days to reach safety. Support UMCOR’s relief efforts in DRC by giving to DRC Emergency, UMCOR Advance #198400.

UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. You can also give online by clicking on any of the "Give Now" links. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.

Clothing & Supply Drive for Kamina Children's Home

2008-11-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

This just in from Kamina Children's Home's Executive Director, Stephanie Matthews:

Yesterday, I received word THERE IS a container bound for Africa in a few short weeks -- THAT WILL have space for items for the kids at the orphanage in Kamina, DRC.

I'm writing to request your personal assistance in gathering clothing, shoes, toiletries, medical and school supplies -- as I launch the 1st of 2 "Drives" to support the orphans.

Action Item

RSVP -- Email me ASAP if you are willing to be involved at this time.

My email: stephaniematthews1@msn.com

After receiving your response I will immediately follow-up with an action plan -- and a specific area of focus for you.

1.) Action plans will detail items needed

2.) Clothing drop locations around Columbus, OH + pick-up schedules (if outside Columbus)

3.) Deadline for gathering items

4.) A request letter (for friends & family) plus email flyer you can forward to your mailing list that explains the clothing drive/purpose

5) Additional information

Your commitment simply requires your ability to spread the message to your email lists, friends & family and to pray for our success as we obtain much needed clothes and necessities for those who have so little.

I look forward to hearing from you! Please let me now if you can be involved.

Many blessings always,

Stephanie
www.kaminabeautiful.org

Congo in the News

2008-11-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

Brothers and Sisters,

I have mixed emotions that articles about Congo have been in the Washington Post newspaper nearly everyday over the past few weeks. While we have successfully broken the media silence, I am daily reminded that the violence in Eastern Congo is getting worse, with signs that this could turn back into a full-blown war.

If your local newspaper is not covering the conflict, I encourage you to follow the situation through news outlets such as the BBC, Washington Post, and AllAfrica.com (after informing your newspaper that you would like to read more about Congo).

Praying for Peace,

Taylor

How We Fuel Africa's Worst War

2008-10-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Just received this article through Congo Global Action (of which the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Board of Church and Society are members):

How We Fuel Africa's Worst War...and it's starting again
Sources: Johann Hari
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Independent. UK

The deadliest war since Adolf Hitler marched across Europe is starting again – and you are almost certainly carrying a blood-soaked chunk of the slaughter in your pocket. When we glance at the holocaust in Congo, with 5.4 million dead, the clichés of Africa reporting tumble out: this is a 'tribal conflict' in 'the Heart of Darkness'. It isn't. The United Nations investigation found it was a war led by 'armies of business' to seize the metals that make our 21st-century society zing and bling. The war in Congo is a war about you.

Every day I think about the people I met in the war zones of eastern Congo when I reported from there. The wards were filled with women who had been gang-raped by the militias and shot in the vagina. The battalions of child soldiers – drugged, dazed 13-year-olds who had been made to kill members of their own families so they couldn't try to escape and go home. But oddly, as I watch the war starting again on CNN, I find myself thinking about a woman I met who had, by Congolese standards, not suffered in extremis...[read full article for story about the woman and her children]

There are two stories about how this war began – the official story, and the true story. The official story is that after the Rwandan genocide, the Hutu mass murderers fled across the border into Congo. The Rwandan government chased after them. But it's a lie. How do we know? The Rwandan government didn't go to where the Hutu genocidaires were, at least not at first. They went to where Congo's natural resources were – and began to pillage them. They even told their troops to work with any Hutus they came across. Congo is the richest country in the world for gold, diamonds, coltan, cassiterite, and more. Everybody wanted a slice – so six other countries invaded.

These resources were not being stolen to for use in Africa. They were seized so they could be sold on to us. The more we bought, the more the invaders stole – and slaughtered. The rise of mobile phones caused a surge in deaths, because the coltan they contain is found primarily in Congo. The UN named the international corporations it believed were involved: Anglo-America, Standard Chartered Bank, De Beers and more than 100 others. (They all deny the charges.) But instead of stopping these corporations, our governments demanded that the UN stop criticising them.

There were times when the fighting flagged. In 2003, a peace deal was finally brokered by the UN and the international armies withdrew. Many continued to work via proxy militias – but the carnage waned somewhat. Until now. As with the first war, there is a cover-story, and the truth. A Congolese militia leader called Laurent Nkunda – backed by Rwanda – claims he needs to protect the local Tutsi population from the same Hutu genocidaires who have been hiding out in the jungles of eastern Congo since 1994. That's why he is seizing Congolese military bases and is poised to march on Goma.

It is a lie. François Grignon, Africa Director of the International Crisis Group, tells me the truth: 'Nkunda is being funded by Rwandan businessmen so they can retain control of the mines in North Kivu. This is the absolute core of the conflict. What we are seeing now is beneficiaries of the illegal war economy fighting to maintain their right to exploit.'

At the moment, Rwandan business interests make a fortune from the mines they illegally seized during the war. The global coltan price has collapsed, so now they focus hungrily on cassiterite, which is used to make tin cans and other consumer disposables. As the war began to wane, they faced losing their control to the elected Congolese government – so they have given it another bloody kick-start.

Yet the debate about Congo in the West – when it exists at all – focuses on our inability to provide a decent bandage, without mentioning that we are causing the wound. It's true the 17,000 UN forces in the country are abysmally failing to protect the civilian population, and urgently need to be super-charged. But it is even more important to stop fuelling the war in the first place by buying blood-soaked natural resources. Nkunda only has enough guns and grenades to take on the Congolese army and the UN because we buy his loot. We need to prosecute the corporations buying them for abetting crimes against humanity, and introduce a global coltan-tax to pay for a substantial peacekeeping force. To get there, we need to build an international system that values the lives of black people more than it values profit.

Somewhere out there – lost in the great global heist of Congo's resources – are Marie-Jean and her children, limping along the road once more, carrying everything they own on their backs. They will probably never use a coltan-filled mobile phone, a cassiterite- smelted can of beans, or a gold necklace – but they may yet die for one.

White House Response to DR Congo Violence

2008-10-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Posted yesterday on www.whitehouse.gov

On October 27, 2006, by Executive Order 13413, I declared a national emergency with respect to the situation in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706), ordered related measures blocking the property of certain persons contributing to the conflict in that country. I took this action to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States constituted by the situation in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been marked by widespread violence and atrocities that continue to threaten regional stability.

Because this situation continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States, the national emergency declared on October 27, 2006, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond October 27, 2008. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13413.

Request for Computers for Methodist U.

2008-10-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

The following is a letter that was just e-mailed to me from Rev. Kabongo with a request that I share it with others. I am not sure how we would ship used desktops, but considering the lifespan of a computer, I encourage your congregation to send money for the purchase of a new one. With enough funds sent, perhaps we could hire someone to purchase them in bulk in South Africa and ship them from there. (They are also available in Lubumbashi at a high mark-up)

Taylor

Dear Friends,

The Methodist University of Katanga Extension of Kamina, located in Kamina the UMC/North Katanga Episcopal Area has started in 2006 with two faculties: Public Health and Theology. Last year, the Faculty of Psychology and Education has been opened. But the need is still there.
A part from Lubumbashi (600km) and Mulungwishi (450 km); there is no such a Faculty where this formation is being given. For this very reason, the Board of directors of the Methodist University of Katanga, Extension of Kamina has decided to open a new Faculty of ICT (Information in Computer Technology) in Kamina this year.

Therefore, we ask to anyone who is willing to assist this Institution with second hand machines (desktops) or new ones to contact us on these addresses:

In Congo: Rev. Boniface Kabongo Ilunga
Director of the Institution
Phone: (+243) 81 485 0696
Email: bkabongo12@yahoo.fr

Or in Belgium: Rev. Betty Kazadi Musau,
Email: Bkazadi2001@yahoo.com

Grace and Peace!
Sincerely yours,

Rev. Boniface Kabongo
Director

Recent Fighting in E. Congo Has Uprooted 100,000 People, U.N. Says

2008-10-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, October 16, 2008; A15

NAIROBI, Oct. 15 -- Renewed fighting between the Congolese army and forces loyal to a renegade general has displaced more than 100,000 people in the eastern part of Congo since August, according to U.N. officials, who described the situation as "catastrophic."

The fighting has mainly been in the hilly, forested eastern province of North Kivu, where Laurent Nkunda has over the years established a kind of fiefdom, flying the flag of his party, the National Congress for the Defense of the People, taking over villages, levying taxes and broadcasting his own radio programs.

Nkunda, an ethnic Tutsi who maintains close ties to neighboring Rwanda, has said he is protecting the region's Tutsi minority from ethnic Hutu militias led by a core group that fled to eastern Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In recent weeks, Nkunda has expanded his ambitions, vowing to "liberate" the entire Central African nation of 65 million people as the government of President Joseph Kabila struggles to assert control.

Nkunda and Rwandan officials have accused the Congolese army of collaborating with the Hutu militias instead of disarming them, as Congolese and Rwandan diplomats agreed to do in an accord signed last year. The accusation, along with allegations by Congolese authorities that Rwandan soldiers had crossed into Congo to aid Nkunda, have raised concerns that Congo could once again slip into a wider war... read entire article

NY Times writes about Congo

2008-10-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Rape Victims’ Words Help Jolt Congo Into Change

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

BUKAVU, Congo — Honorata Kizende looked out at the audience and began with a simple, declarative sentence.

“There was no dinner,” she said.

“It was me who was dinner. Me, because they kicked me roughly to the ground, and they ripped off all my clothes, and between the two of them, they held my feet. One took my left foot, one took my right, and the same with my arms, and between the two of them they proceeded to rape me. Then all five of them raped me.”

The audience, which had been called together by local and international aid groups and included everyone from high-ranking politicians to street kids with no shoes, stared at her in disbelief.

Congo, it seems, is finally facing its horrific rape problem, which United Nations officials have called the worst sexual violence in the world. Tens of thousands of women, possibly hundreds of thousands, have been raped in the past few years in this hilly, incongruously beautiful land. Many of these rapes have been marked by a level of brutality that is shocking even by the twisted standards of a place riven by civil war and haunted by warlords and drug-crazed child soldiers.

After years of denial and shame, the silence is being broken. Because of stepped-up efforts in the past nine months by international organizations and the Congolese government, rapists are no longer able to count on a culture of impunity. Of course, countless men still get away with assaulting women. But more and more are getting caught, prosecuted and put behind bars.

European aid agencies are spending tens of millions of dollars building new courthouses and prisons across eastern Congo, in part to punish rapists. Mobile courts are holding rape trials in villages deep in the forest that have not seen a black-robed magistrate since the Belgians ruled the country decades ago... article continues with video as well.

Join Congo Week! Oct 19-25

2008-10-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

Sisters and brothers,

As some of you may have seen in small blurbs in your newspapers, the violence has returned to eastern Congo over the past two months. An estimated 100,000 people have again fled for their lives.

Please help Break the Silence about this evil. You can start by participating in Congo Week: http://www.congoweek.org/

Their website contains many resources you can use to educate your local news media and community--including worship service materials. One simple thing you can do this Wednesday is turn off your cell phone from 12-6 and put this message on your voicemail:

“Did you know that Congo has anywhere from 64 - 80 percent of the world's reserve of Coltan, a natural resource that is central to the operation of our cell phones? As we benefit from coltan nearly 6 million Congolese have died in the deadliest conflict since world war two as a result of the scramble for coltan and other minerals key to the functioning of modern technology. Join us in solidarity with the Congolese people and turn your phone off for a day”

Praying for Congo,

Taylor

More on Children of Congo Exhibition

2008-10-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

CHILDREN OF CONGO
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION DEBUTS IN COLUMBUS
World-renowned photographer unveils images of Congolese children highlighting
the power of the human spirit

Columbus, OH – October 1, 2008

“Children of Congo” photographic exhibit, two-week special engagement opens Saturday, October 18, 2008 at the 4th Street Studio, 1950 North 4th Street, Columbus, OH 43201. Artist reception from 7:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. The exhibit is free, open to the public and suitable for all ages. www.kaminabeautiful.org, www.4thstreet-studio.com

Forty-percent (40%) of proceeds from select photographs to benefit the Kamina Orphanage, Democratic Republic of Congo a 501(c)(3) non-profit under the United Methodist Church.

Artist Talk and slide show presentation will be presented Saturday, October 25, 2008,
from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. RSVP required. Space is limited. Please call [614] 893-2199.

When you think of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), remember this one statistic –
50% of Congo’s populations are children age 14 and under. Now add into consideration, most children do not eat everyday, extreme child mortality rate, AIDS, death from curable disease and the possibility of civil war. Faced with seemingly overwhelming obstacles, millions of children will nevertheless endure . . . millions of children whose strength exemplifies the power of the human spirit. If they are willing to fight this hard to live, to seek education, to become self-reliant, productive members of Congo society, then shouldn’t we fight as hard to support them in this battle?

For additional information: www.kaminabeautiful.org or
Contact: stephaniematthews1@msn.com
Phone: [614] 893-2199

Excerpt from Warden Message

2008-09-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

United States Embassy - Consular Section
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

September 24, 2008

Over the past few weeks, heavy fighting has resumed between the Congolese army and the forces of renegade general Laurent Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). Other illegal armed groups have also been involved. Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands of people have been displaced. This fighting has undermined the already fragile peace process that began with the signing of the Goma Agreement of January 23, 2008.

The UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC) has put forth a disengagement plan and is trying to bring the parties together through the AMANI (peace) program, but fighting has spread and intensified around Goma, particularly in Masisi and Sake, prompting further displacements. Many NGOs have pulled out of the combat zones due to the increasingly dangerous security situation. The Consular Section received reports of civilians throwing stones at UN vehicles and public facilities on September 22. Tensions remain high and threats to personal safety are higher than normal, but Americans have not specifically been targeted.

The U.S. Embassy has restricted Embassy employee travel to and within the city of Goma for essential business only. American citizens in the Kivus are encouraged to review their personal security plans and evacuation routes...

Children of Congo Opening!

2008-09-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

Bonheur

2008-09-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

Bonheur
image (c) Stephanie Matthews Photography 2008

I had a wonderful time this morning racking up a huge phone bill by calling various friends in Congo. When I called our kids at the Kamina children's home, each child insisted on his/her turn to chat--making it a heavenly long call. They are doing well, but our oldest boy, Bonheur has been sent back to Lubumbashi to seek a solution to his deteriorating eye sight. Please pray for him.

Kamina Greetings

2008-08-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Kamina and have lots of news and stories to share. Below are some of the highlights.

Professional photographer Stephanie Matthews of Columbus, OH and I traveled from Lubumbashi to Mulungwishi by car where we toured the seminary/university and had a wonderful visit with missionaries David and Lori Persons while we waited to catch the northbound train. Some adventures and thousands of photographs later, we finally arrived in Kamina.

below: Before I even got out of the train in Kamina, I scooped up my goddaughter Ann Taylor through the window (photo by Stephanie Matthews).

In Kamina we were able to make site visits to several church projects, meet with project directors to discuss their challenges and goals, attend North Katanga’s 2008 Annual Conference, hear and document heart-wrenching stories of church leaders who survived the recent war (and of their loved ones who did not), brainstorm and fellowship with old and new friends, and spend many hours with our kids at the children’s home.

We also broke bread regularly with Rev. Daniel Rasmussen, senior pastor of Center UMC in Indianapolis, and his family. Rev. Rasmussen was the main preacher at Annual Conference. His congregation funded this year’s distribution of bicycles and mosquito nets. As many of you know, the South Indiana Conference has just entered into a formal covenant relationship with the North Katanga Episcopal Area. Making sure that all of our church leaders there have a bicycle is one of our goals.

below: Dan helping in the bike distribution ceremony (my photo)

While I normally return from these trips with a ton of my pictures to share, traveling with a professional photographer made my point & shoot Kodak seem a bit pathetic, so I let Stephanie take most of the pictures this time. She got some amazing images and is looking forward to sharing them both in gallery exhibits and in-depth slide show presentations. In fact, she’d love to be invited to your town. She teases us on her new website with some of her favorites images from the trip: www.kaminabeautiful.org

below: Stephanie in action (my photo)

Anyone who has spent time with me in the past three years knows how I adore the amazing kids who live in our children’s home in Kamina, so it didn’t surprise me when Stephanie fell in love with the kids too. What did surprise me was the announcement she made to me before breakfast one morning. It started something like this: “Taylor, I’ve slept and prayed on it, and I know what I’m supposed to do. I’m moving back here next year to help transform this orphanage into the premier children’s leadership academy.” When Stephanie met with Bishop Ntambo about her ideas and offer of assistance, tears of joy came to his eyes. Be on the lookout for more information about the kids and plans to help them reach their fullest potential as church and community leaders. Stephanie—The Kamina Project is thrilled and will support this vision anyway possible.

If you'd like more details on specific projects in North Katanga or how to get involved, don't hesitate to drop me a line!

Rev. Bondo on faculty!

2008-08-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

In June, I reported that Rev. Bondo (whose scholarship came from one of my childhood congregations in Indiana--thanks again!) graduated with high honors from Africa University. I found out at North Katanga's Annual Conference that Africa U. was so impressed by Bondo that in a rare move they asked Bishop Ntambo if they could have him as the newest member of their faculty!

Bondo-- We'll miss you back in North Katanga, but we're so excited about what you will accomplish in your ministry as a mentor of church leaders.

North Katanga Area Needs Bikes for Pastors

2008-08-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

From the August-September 2008 Nexus (photos of bicycle distribution are my edition):

From the floor of South Indiana Annual Conference session, Pastor Bill Talbott of the Vincennes District challenged each pastor and congregation of the South Indiana Conference to purchase a bicycle for a pastor in the North Katanga Episcopal Area. (Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Bicycles in the Congo cost $110. We buy them there to stimulate the local economy. To buy your bicycles send the check to the South Indiana Conference Treasurer, (1520 South Liberty Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403-5167) marked for Bicycles for African Pastors. Bicycles for Pastors is a General Advance Project of the North Katanga Conference.

The South Indiana Conference has been a major supplier of bicycles for pastors in the North Katanga and Tanganyika-Tanzania Conference since 1995. Bicycles are distributed at annual conference and the bicycles parking lot is a demonstration of the strength of the conference. Another 49 bicycles will be distributed this summer, a gift of Center United Methodist Church (Indy West District). Between now and next conference session, we’d like to have enough raised for 200 bicycles at each conference session, North Katanga and Tanganyika-Tanzania.

-Bob Walters, SIC

above: North Katanga Annual Conference parking lot
below: Bikes ready for distribution ceremony

Baby Pictures

2008-08-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Below are pictures of some of my favorite babies in Kamina.

above: Arlette and her baby/my goddaughter, Ann Taylor (her father is Shabana Banza) below: Tanteen and her baby/my "niece" Evangeline (her father is Kayembe Herggie)

above: My newest godbaby, Taylor, and Mama Regina, a church leader and widow who accepted the challenge of raising her after the birth mother died. Mama Regina, who had served as the midwife, named the baby Taylor because she was given to her the day she learned I was about to return.

below: Esther, our youngest "baby" at the Kamina children's home.

above: I can't believe how big she's getting. In 2005 I took pictures of Mbuyi arriving at the children's home and taking her first steps. Now she's a little lady. (photo of Mbuyi by Stephanie Matthews)

below: Ok, sure they aren't babies anymore, but my boys Pascal and Michelle were back when I fell in love with them at the children's home in 2005! (photo of boys by Stephanie Matthews)

Thanks to the nurses at Methodist Hospital

2008-06-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Below is an e-mail from Dr. Kasanka. Thanks again to the nurses of Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis who collected scrubs for the doctors and nurses in North Katanga.

Greetings in the name of our Lord. I want to inform you that I received
the scrubs you sent to me last week in Lubumbashi. Say thank you to
the nurses of Methodist hospital who collected these 200 scrubs. Nurses
and Doctors in the clinic I am working and the one I am supervising say
thank you very much for the gift. It's a real big help. I greet all the
members of your congregation. Hope we meet soon.

In Jesus name,
Dr. Kasanka

Click here for more about Dr. Kasanka and the projects he supervises

Congratulations Bondo and Suzanne!

2008-06-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

North Katanga's own, Rev. Desire NDAY BONDO, earned his Masters of Arts in Religious Studies from Africa University this month with a GPA of 3.84. Below is a letter from Bondo and pictures of the big day.

MY STUDIES IN THE NEW MASTER PROGRAM IN THEOLOGY 
I am proud to be one of the three graduate pioneers of the new Masters program at
the Faculty of Theology, the Masters of Arts in Religious Studies (MARS). I majored
in Ministerial Studies or Pastoral Theology, which deals with the pastoral ministry
on the ground. My area of concentration was Church Administration.  

Many people take for granted the fact that the church already knows its purpose on
earth, and there is no need to undertake theological studies, especially at the Masters
level. My studies however have proved the opposite.  

The Masters of Arts in Religious Studies program has helped me to discover where
the church is now, where it was supposed to be, what it is doing now, and what it
was supposed to do. Out of these findings, I am able to bring relevant contribution
to the ministry in the church in sharing the precious knowledge with others in the
church and the community.  

The program also opened me to the world of research in church matters. It taught
me that the knowledge is to be searched beyond the blackboard, through the library,
in front the screen of a computer, and going down to the field in order to collect
findings to enhance with church activities. So the program has made me qualified
in research action and it has prepared me to confidently undertake further studies.

During this era of globalization, the church needs highly informed people to send
to the world in order to competently face the challenges brought by globalization in
spiritual and temporal needs. Africa University, in the Faculty of Theology, through
the new program of Masters has proved to have understood it. We are the first fruit
of this plan. We are ready to bring our contribution.  

Rev. Nday Bondo Mwanabute

Click here for an earlier posting about Bondo and his wife Suzanne

Pictures/Report from North Katanga Pastors' Visit

2008-05-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

I just finished uploading pictures and a mini-report of the two-week visit from North Katanga church leaders earlier this month. As always, there is a lot more to share than I had the time to include (I could write a book just on the conversations we had on the road trip!), but hopefully my new virtual "scrap book" will give you taste of what happened.

http://www.taylorinafrica.org/photoalbum.htm

A special thanks to everyone who financially supports The Kamina Project; your gifts (plus the hospitality of those we visited along the way) were how we were able to host these amazing leaders. FYI: We kept housing and other costs low by staying at the S. Indiana Conference's Camp Moneto and the homes of United Methodists.

Pictures from Katanga Leaders' Visit

2008-05-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to seeing Dan Gangler's (editor of the Hoosier United Methodist) pictures of the visit from members of Katanga's governor's cabinet. In the meantime, here's a couple photos I took. One is with Dad at the Indy 500 track (we met Tony George and some famous drivers), and the other is Katanga's minister of health posing with the statue of Riley at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.

Katangan Dignitaries in Indy

2008-05-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

The E-HUM (electronic journal of the Hoosier United Methodist) ran two articles on a recent visit of dignitaries from the Katanga province of DR Congo (here via invitation of Bishop Ntambo) to Indianapolis. The Kamina Project provided the hospitality (Dad was the chauffeur/coordinator; I was the interpreter):

SOUTH INDIANA CONFERENCE INTRODUCES KATANGA LEADERS TO STATE

The Rev. Bob Walters, associate council director of the South Indiana Conference, introduced two Katanga Province cabinet members of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to officials of the Daniels Administration today, Monday, May 19, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. State Senator Patricia Miller, of Indianapolis and a member of Old Bethel UMC, helped with arrangements and hosted Dr. Ilunga Ndjoko, minister of health, and Sula Kabasa, judicial assistant to the Governor of Katanga. This morning, the delegation met with Dr. Suellen Reed, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Virgil Madden, policy advisor to Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, and Matt Harrod, assistant director of Research and Policy Analysis with the Indiana Department of Agriculture. They also met in the Governor’s office with Steve Acres, the governor’s economic advisor, and Earl Goode, chief-of-staff.

Ndjoko and Kabasa asked each of the Indiana officials for assistance and partnerships in developing Katanga, a fledgling democracy, in its economy, education, health and agriculture. Ndoko said Katanga was blessed by God and contains cooper, cobalt, gold, diamonds, uranium and other minerals. In closing, Goode commented, “We are excited about the possibilities.”

Each of the Indiana State officials welcomed the idea of continuing conversations with the DRC in general and Katanga in particular. Taylor Walters, daughter of Bob Walters, served as translator for the delegation. The younger Walters has served in North Katanga as that conference’s director of communication. She is now a student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

Katanga’s Governor Moise Katumbi Chapwe and Bishop Ntambo Nkulu of North Katanga, also a Senator in the DRC Parliament, were scheduled to meet with Governor Daniels’ staff, but were unable to be present for these introductory conservations. Governor Daniels is in Iraq.

The United Methodist Church has been an active partner with Katanga in education and health.

For relaxation, the delegation spent Sunday, May 18, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as guests of IMS CEO Tony George at the request of Mark Eutsler, a lay member of the Linden UMC and an officer of the 500 Festival. – e-HUM

SOUTH CONFERENCE INTRODUCES KATANGA LEADERS TO METHODIST HOSPITAL

In addition to introducing the two-member Katanga delegation to Governor Daniels’ staff and giving them a VIP experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The Rev. Bob Walters, South Indiana Conference associate director of missions, also introduced them to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis beginning with a Monday, May 19, luncheon.

Dr. Ilunga Ndjoko, minister of health, and Sula Kabasa, judicial assistant to the Governor of Katanga, met with Dan Evans, CEO of Clarian Health; Rhonda Smith, VP for Patient Care Services at Methodist; Dr. Mike Niemeyer, Chief of Intensive Care Services at Methodist; and Steven Ivy, Sr. VP of Values and Pastoral Services of Clarian.

The first hour included a discussion of health care policy and financing as well as a review of their needed resources. Their needs include equipment to rebuild their hospitals and clinics, updated training for nurses and physicians, and trained hospital and clinic administrators. The next two hours included a tour of hospital facilities including mother-baby areas, intensive care, trauma, and radiology.

The two Katanga government leaders returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo this past Tuesday. Talks and more visits between Hoosiers and leaders of Katanga will continue. Walters told e-HUM that their visits to both Ohio and Indiana United Methodists and to state leaders were a very productive first round. – e-HUM

Action Alert- H.Res. 1227

2008-05-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

Action Alert from Congo Global Action:

Dear Friend of the Congo,

Congo Global Action is seeking your immediate action!

House Resolution 1227 has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives condemning the sexual violence occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo and calling for the United States and the international community to demand an end to this cycle of violence.

Contact your Member of Congress today and ask them to support the women of the DRC by becoming a co-sponsor of H.Res. 1227!

Introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and co-sponsored by Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC), H.Res. 1227 calls on the U.S. Administration and international community to take the following actions towards addressing this issue:

Urges the United States Agency for International Development and international community to provide victims and potential victims of rape with greater assistance for health care services, psychological and social counseling, and legal advice;

Calls on the government of the DRC to end the widespread sexual violence by holding all armed groups, including members of the Congolese armed forces and police, accountable for their actions;

Calls on the UN Security Council to take immediate steps to ensure that the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Congo, MONUC, is fully funded to increase troop presence and deploy in areas where sexual violence is most prevalent.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been described as one of the worst places on earth to be a woman. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have become victims of brutal rape, used as a tool of warfare. Please join concerned advocates around the country in ensuring that their voices are heard. We can help bring hope and peace to women in the Congo!

Please join Congo Global Action in thanking Congresswoman Maloney and Congressman Miller for bringing these atrocities to the attention of the United States Congress and demanding an end to the impunity that forces the women of Congo to live in fear.

Visit http://www.house.gov/ to find your Member of Congress and https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml to write to your Member.

To learn more about H.Res. 1227, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/

For more information on lobby activities, including talking points, sample letters, and advocacy toolkits please visit www.congoglobalaction.org.

Congo Visitors

2008-05-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings all-

The Congolese delegation has been with us for one week now, and we've been having a wonderful busy time. I apologize that we were not able to accept all the visitation invitations we received and that I haven't done a better job keeping you updated on our schedule (which keeps changing); things have been happening so rapidly! Once I have time to stop and breath I'll start sharing with you some of the many new stories I have to share.

This week we'll be bouncing between Plainfield, Indianapolis and Terre Haute. If you'd like to come visit the group, give me a call. I assure you that even an hour conversing with these amazing pastors can be life changing.

BTW- If anyone has a laptop or digital camera they would like to donate this week, they would love to receive them.

Lots of love,

Taylor

Congolese in Missouri!

2008-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

I received word from Rev. John Mutombo last week that he has arrived safely in the USA and is spending a few weeks at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri before continuing on to General Conference in Texas. While at St Paul, he is helping Pam Couture transcribe her book and has guest lectured in the Leading the Affluent Church class. Professor Shannon Jung tells me that John did a terrific job.

John reports that Bishop Ntambo, Dr. Kasanka and Gaston are also at St Paul this week to formally receive the school's Good Samaritan Award.

Election News from Zimbabwe

2008-04-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

An e-mail from Lloyd Nyarota, our United Methodist communicator in Zimbabwe:

Dear Friends,

Grace and Peace!

As I promised you all, I am updating you on the situation on the ground during the Zimbabwe harmonized elections:

The results of the House of assembly are out and are as following:
Movement for Democratic Change(MDC) Led by Morgan Tsangirai Have Won -99 Seats;
Zimbabwe African National Unity (ZANU-PF) Led by Robert Gabrial Mugabe have won- 97 seats; MDC Led by Auther Mutambara have won -10 Seats, and an independent Candidate Pro Jonathan Moyo Won -1 seat

The nation is still waiting for Senatorial results and the Presidential Results.

We the Church leaders in manicaland Province in Eastern Zimbabwe we have written to the President of The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission expressing our displeasure on the delay to announce the presidential Elections results. The statement is below. The situation in the Country is currently very calm. Keep on PRAYING FOR ZIMBABWE GOD IS OUR HELPER.

Yours Brother in the ministry

Lloyd

Rev LLoyd T Nyarota
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Zimbabwe Episcopal Area
Area Projects and Communications coordinator
Phone: +263-20-64043/ 62733
Cell: +263-912-891800/ 11-645715
website: http://www.7villages.com/RevLloydNyarota
"In Partnership to achieve Discipleship, Church Development and Christian Unity"

Letter from the Churches in Manicaland

The Chairman
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission

April 3rd, 2008

As representatives of Churches in Manicaland we have observed that the polling exercise of Saturday, March 29th, 2008 was conducted in our province peacefully and in a manner that gave the voting public confidence that the results would be announced swiftly and truthfully.

We are now deeply concerned that the results of the presidential vote have not yet been announced. Delay is causing unnecessary anxiety to the Zimbabwean public and the world at large. As results were posted at each polling station and collated at constituency level several days ago, they are known to the public. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s delay in making the announcement creates a dangerous power vacuum, sets up conditions for chaos, and delays the important process of national cohesion and healing.

We appeal to you as the Chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to ensure that the presidential vote is announced immediately.

God demands that justice, truth and peace prevail in all that we do. We pray that your Commission will be an instrument for God’s work.

Churches in Manicaland:
Roman Catholic Church, United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe, Elim Pentecostal Church, United Methodist Church, Anglican Church, Apostolic Faith Mission, Christian Marching Church, Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, United Baptist Church, Full Gospel Church, Family of God Church, Hope Alive Christian Assembly, True Vine Church, Miracle Faith Gospel Ministries, Nyasha Faith Ministries, Mt Zion Ministries, Jesus is Alive Ministries International, Power in Blood Church, Faith City Church

The Greatest Silence on HBO

2008-04-01T13:33:00.001-07:00

The Greatest Silence, a documentary about women and children in the Congo, premiers on HBO this Tuesday night 10pm/9c.

watch the film's trailer

East Africa U. Methodist Newsletter

2008-03-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Below is a link to download the October-December 2007 newsletter of the East Africa Conference of The United Methodist Church. Its editor is my friend and fellow United Methodist Association of Communicators-Africa Region member Pepson (Pepi) Mbabaye from Burundi.

Download October-December 2007 newsletter.

Rev. Gertrude Mukalay Mwadi

2008-03-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share with you my joy that Rev. Gertrude Mukalay Mwadi, a pastor from North Katanga (who was serving in Kamina while I lived there) and Africa University student is spending this semester studying at Wesley Theological Seminary, where I attend.

It has been wonderful to have a friend from Kamina here to talk about Congo and practice my French and Swahili. I still can't get over how she is managing to keep up with classes even though she started learning English less than 2 years ago! We're not sure yet if her school schedule will permit her to visit Indiana before returning to Africa in May.

Visitors from North Katanga

2008-03-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am getting so excited about all the leaders from North Katanga who will be arriving in the USA next month!!! (and am so jealous of everyone who will be able to visit them all at General Conference--I have final exams to pass) For those of us who won't be able to fly/drive to Texas next month, there's good news. Bishop Ntambo is dividing the large delegation into small groups and sending them out to speak with North Katanga Partnership conferences for a couple weeks after conference ends.

South Indiana will be hosting about 7 church leaders from North Katanga in early May. If you or your congregation would like to attend or host an event for them, please let me or my father, Rev Dr Bob Walters, know as soon as possible!

Updated Photo Album

2008-02-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

I finally finished creating an online photo album of last month's trip to Congo, and also placed on youtube a clip of a United Methodist children's choir in Lubudi. Enjoy!

http://www.taylorinafrica.org/photoalbum.htm

Congo on MSNBC

2008-02-13T11:36:00.001-08:00

The war in Congo received some coverage on MSNBC this morning.
Watch the news clip, Deadliest War since WWII

Millions worth of medicines to Congo

2008-02-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to finally be able to announce this! (I'm also looking forward to reading Pam's book when it comes out; she spent several days in Kamina this January doing interviews for it)

By Michelle Scott*
Feb. 7, 2008 | KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (UMNS)

A diverse coalition of organizations have come together to provide medicines worth up to $14 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Rev. Pamela Couture

The first and largest shipment of medicines arrived Feb. 2 in Kinshasa through a cooperative effort by Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Mo.; The United Methodist Church of North Katanga; Islamic Relief USA; the United Methodist Committee on Relief; and Interchurch Medical Assistance.

The U.S. Department of Defense and American Embassy in Kinshasa facilitated the shipment. A second shipment is planned.

The idea for the donations originated with the Rev. Pamela Couture, vice president and dean at Saint Paul School of Theology. Couture has been working in the North Katanga area to document oral history surrounding peace building efforts following the Second Congolese War. In the process, she formed a close relationship with Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda of the Congo Area.

United Methodist hospitals in the Central Congo, North Katanga and South Congo areas will be the primary recipients of the medicines, as well as other hospitals and clinics in need.

click here to read the rest of the article

Life of a pastor's son

2008-02-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Shabana Horace Banza has written an essay about what it was like for him growing up the son of a United Methodist pastor in North Katanga. His testimony is powerful-- a must read for anyone who seeks greater insight into the faith and sacrifices of United Methodist church leaders serving in the Congo.

I have done almost no editing to this essay; I wanted to leave it in his voice (read it remembering that English is his 5th language!), but if you have any questions about references he makes or would like to know more about Shabana, you can contact me or just ask him yourself. His phone # is 011 243 810470275 (it doesn't cost him to receive international calls). Click here to read this

The above picture was taken of Shabana this January, while he traveled with me and my father as our interpreter, guide, teacher and friend.

Kamina Children's Home update

2008-02-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

Our babies are approaching puberty!

As the kids living at our children's home grow up, we must adjust accordingly. For one, a security wall was recently built around the complex. (Yes, I was sad to learn we were building a wall, but sometimes tall fences make for good neighbors--especially when you have minimum overnight adult supervision for over 50 kids many of which are teenagers with raging hormones) From all reports, our kids are maturing into wonderful young adults, but just imagine if 54 youth from your congregation had a lock-in every night!

I've also learned that in the past two years, about half a dozen of our children in the internal program have been reunited with extended family members! (with the chaos of war, families were scattered; some are just now beginning to receive reports of the location of loved ones)
Two of these reunited girls, Michelleen and Olga, are quickly become singing celebrities at the United Methodist parish they continue to attend.

These reunions don't mean that our numbers are going down, though. Between the death of grandparent caregivers and persons who come to Kamina for medical emergencies, town authorities continue to bring children to the home's door. And with college tuition bills around the corner, the home would be happy to receive your support.

Building Mission Outposts

2008-01-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

Pictured above is one of The United Methodist Church's chapels in the Lubudi District. (The man with the book and child in his arms is the pastor) Hundreds of United Methodist pastors in North Katanga serve in remote communities just like this one, providing a United Methodist presence to those who live far too far into the bush to attend a town parish. In these small communities, the pastor is truly the pastor of the whole village--with responsibilities to the well-being of all (This particular chapel assists two blind women.)--even though they often have no cash salary and struggle to feed their own children.

Please pray for these brave and self-sacrificing church leaders. Ask yourself, your friends, Sunday School class, and congregation-- Is God calling you to affirm and support their work? Could you provide the funds for a tin roof, so they can worship together during downpours? Could you purchase materials for the construction of decent housing for the pastor and his/her family? Perhaps you are called to contribute to efforts to cover school fees for their children.

Soon I'll be posting an essay written by Shabana Banza on his experiences growing up the child of a UM pastor appointed to remote communities. His testimony both inspires and breaks my heart.

Natural beauty of Lubudi

2008-01-25T04:01:00.000-08:00

I'd say that we visited the Lubudi waterfall as part of assessing the local resources (including the hydroelectric power plant), but mostly we hiked down to it because, well, it's an amazing waterfall!

P.S.- You too can witness the beauty of Congo if you join our July delegation back to Tenke and Lubudi.

Nigeria News

2008-01-25T03:44:00.000-08:00

While we were in Congo, The United Methodist Church received quite a blow in Nigeria--The new UM Bishop of Nigeria, Bishop Kefas Mavula, died unexpectedly. This is a tragedy on many levels; so much had been done to resolve the conflicts in the Nigeria Conference, and the election of Bishop Mavula had been seen as the beginning of a new day.

Please keep Nigeria in your prayers--especially as we wait for the report on his cause of death (many suspect poisoning).

Here is a link to his obituary.

My Ann

2008-01-25T03:11:00.000-08:00

First things first-- pictures of my sweet Taylor Ann and her mother Arlette (daughter/wife of my dear friend Shabana Horace Banza). Both mother and child came down with malaria while I was there--what a scare! Even scarier- Shabana, unlike his wife & child, looked skeletal when I arrived and has a new scar on his forehead; he hadn't told me (said he didn't want to upset me) that finances had gotten so bad for them this year that he took a security guard job at a mine outside of Lubumbashi; he was attacked and hospitalized for two weeks (no income during his recovery, of course). Makes me feel like a real jerk for not fully getting what he meant over the phone when he said that he'd been sick and life was just "a little bit ok."

Home

2008-01-25T02:58:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

Sorry for the long silence--there aren't any internet cafes in the Lubudi and Tenke Districts. Wanted to say that we returned home safely last night and have many stories and reports to share. So much share--where to begin? Updates on the lives of old and new friends from North Katanga? The great adventures we had (including riding on a freight train)? Sharing of what The United Methodist Church is doing in the Lubudi and Tenke Districts and how The Kamina Project plans to be involved?

There is so much to say, so I'll post in pieces. Please be patient as I try to articulate all that is in my mind while keeping up with my studies (My seminary classes have already restarted).

Lots of Love!

Taylor

Leaving Monday

2007-12-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

Dad and I leave for Congo this Monday (31st) and will return January 24th. Please pray for our safe travel.

Peninsula-Delaware Conference in Central Congo

2007-12-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

Thought you'd be interested in reading the UMC's Peninsula-Delaware Conference's report of its October 2007 trip to Wembo Nyama in the Central Congo Conference.

Read their report: http://www.kaminaproject.org/documents/2007RDCOctoberVisionReport.pdf

Congo Trip!

2007-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

pictured: community near Lubudi District

Good news!

My father, The Rev. Dr. Robert Walters, and I are going to spend this January visiting church leaders in North Katanga Conference's Lubudi District. If you're thinking to yourself "Lubudi? Where's that? I don't know anything about what United Methodists are doing there," you are not alone. There are great things happening--and great things that could happen--in Lubudi. Sadly, lack of infrastructure makes it difficult for leaders in the Lubudi District to share the news of their work (including progress on construction projects aided by congregations in the USA) and challenges with others.

Our upcoming visit to Lubudi will be a first step towards addressing these communication challenges. We plan to return with plenty of pictures, stories, and ideas.

BTW- We still hope to send at least one delegation from Indiana to North Katanga after General Conference. If you are in good health, have an adventurous spirit, and have a gift for hearing and sharing stories, let us know! (Skilled film-makers and computer/internet savants--we'd love to hear from you)

News from Nigeria

2007-12-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

written by Dauda Marafa Goding, UMC communicator
December 10, 2007

The 25th session of the Nigeria Annual conference of the UMC-Nigeria area was rounded up yesterday in Zing venue of this years conference. Presided over by the Resident Bishop Kefas Kane Mavula, the one week conference was orderly conducted without the usual tensions experienced over the past few years, signifying that the healing and total reconciliation is a matter few steps. The conference had in attendance the Dean Pero Provisional annual conference Rev. Samuel Sule and a delegation of the Taraba State government who came in with a solidarity message from the Executive Governor Pharmacist Danbaba Suntai, a Christian of Lutheran extraction.

The communique issued at the end of the conference indicated that most contending issues of the conflict have been resolved except for a few which it hopes to resolve before the next general conference and appreciated the contributions of sister conferences in the States German board missions, Finland, GBGM, WACC and personalities such as Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo and Prof. Ethel Johnson among others. It further lauded the symbiotic relationship of the church and the government pledging to partner with the government and other organisations in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic through its Rural health facility.

Kayembe is engaged!

2007-12-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

Herggie Kayembe, a medical student (awarded scholarship from Bishop Ntambo) at The UMC's recently opened university in Kamina, has announced his engagement to longtime sweetheart Tanteen. (hope I spelled that right!) They hope to be married sometime next year.

(Above: picture of the two taken in 2005)

Kimba and Fabrice training in USA

2007-12-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

Good news!

North Katanga conference's Rev. Kimba and Fabrice Ilunga Mujinga are in Fairport, NY right now being trained in the Sirolli Institute's community development methods. Their training is part of Kamina Friends' economic development initiative in Kamina. I am hopeful that this project will reach its full potential.

Our Jackie on Christmas Offering Poster

2007-12-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

Wanted to share my joy that our photograph of Jackie, who lives at The UMC's Kamina Children's Home, was chosen for the main poster/add campaign image for the 2007 Bishop's Christmas Offering (going to various children's ministries) for the Indiana Area UMC. You can see the add featuring Jackie in her pretty blue dress on the back page of the Nov/Dec edition of Indiana UMC's Together newspaper or here.

Remember Jackie when your congregation asks for gifts to the Bishop's Christmas Offering!

Congo rebels mass for surrender but set demands

2007-10-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

By Joe Bavier

Reuters
Thursday, October 25, 2007; 8:52 AM

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo set new conditions for disarming on Thursday, stalling the surrender of hundreds of fighters who have begun massing near a designated U.N. camp.

Renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda, who has battled the army since August, said he would send more than 500 of his soldiers on Wednesday to a specially prepared camp in North Kivu province, for them to be integrated into the national army... read more

Atrocities in East Congo Attributed to All Parties

2007-10-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, October 24, 2007; Page A13

NAIROBI, Oct. 23 -- A variety of armed groups, including the Congolese military, have routinely terrorized civilians across eastern Congo in the past year, with killings, massacres, rapes, abductions, looting and other brutalities perpetrated by all parties in the conflict, according to a report released Tuesday by New York-based Human Rights Watch.

About 370,000 people have been displaced since November, when the latest fighting began between forces loyal to renegade Congolese Gen. Laurent Nkunda, the Congolese army and various militia groups left over from a civil war that officially ended in 2002, the report said.

An estimated 143,000 people have fled their villages in the past four weeks alone, including at least 8,000 who have crossed into neighboring Uganda in recent days, according to U.N. officials... read more

UMAC-AR in Action

2007-10-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Pictured: Workshops and Fellowship at the 2006 (first official) gathering of UMAC-AR members--hosted by Africa University and United Methodist Communications.

Just wanted to share with you my joy that the members of the United Methodist Association of Communicators-Africa Region (UMAC-AR) have recently begun a very energized conversation (via e-mails) about how to move forward to become a highly effective network of communicators. They would very much like another gathering for skills training and collaboration (the USA-based UMAC, for example, meets annually). Once they finish creating a proposed date, location and agenda, it will be time to support members in finding funds to pay for their transportation, housing, and registration fees. The Kamina Project has offered to be a sponsor of the gathering.

Would your congregation or conference be interested in co-sponsoring? Would you be a good workshop leader (training people how to use computer programs and/or other means of communication) and be willing to fly yourself to Africa (probably Zambia) for a couple weeks? If so, let us know!

New Chaplain at Kamina Childrens Home

2007-10-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Bishop Ntambo Nkulu has recently appointed Willy Banze as the chaplain to The United Methodist Church's Childrens Home in Kamina. In addition to his pastoral role there, Banze takes care of the storeroom and is making a biography of each child in the orphanage so that friends of the home in the USA can learn more about the children. The home's former chaplain, Rev. John Mutombo, will still be in the children's lives; he has been appointed senior pastor of the nearby UMC congregation that many of the children already regularly attended.

Betty got married!

2007-10-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Rev. Betty, the main communicator for the North Katanga Conference , was just married in Lubumbashi. Best wishes, Betty!

Birth of baby Taylor!

2007-10-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

I'm am very proud and excited to announce the birth yesterday morning of Taylor Ann (yes, named after me), the first child of my dear friend Shabana Horace Banza and his beloved Arlette. Both mother and daughter are doing well. Shabana and Arlette are currently living in Lubumbashi, where Shabana is in a university degree program to improve both his English and computer skills. (I suspect that he may go to seminary someday, but being a preacher's kid, he knows too well the hardships of being a Methodist pastor in Congo) The two met in Kamina while Shabana was working as the young adult tutor/mentor for the kids at the UMC's Kamina Children's Home. Shabana, whose name roughly translates to "great father/father of many children," joked with me that he is happy he won't be teased so much about his name now.

I am now even more anxious to return to Congo and finally meet Arlette and baby Taylor!

Rev. Mande's article

2007-10-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Rev. Mande's (Africa U graduate and pastor in North Katanga conference) published paper on a theological response to the Mai Mai conflict is now available electronically. As far as I know, this
is the first time a pastor from the North Katanga Conference has been published in a scholarly journal.

To read Mande's paper: www.kaminaproject.org/documents/Mande.pdf

Prayers for medical mission trip

2007-10-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

Just received word from a friend at Epworth UMC (Rehoboth Beach, DE) about the mission trip to Wembo Nyama, a community in western DRC:

Taylor, a group of about 8 from Delmarva are on a two week medical (eye surgery) mission trip to Wembo Nyama. When they heard there was no electricity there, they purchased solar panels to install and leave there for lights and work in the surgery room of the hospital. Perhaps you heard of the plane crash near Kinshasa that killed thirty-some people around 10/4; the solar panels were on that plane. The group went anyhow- and may have been able to buy additional panels there. I got this last message second handed, so I do not know any details. Herb High

Prayers for Rev. Kimba

2007-10-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Rev. Kimba, North Katanga's VIM coordinator in Lubumbashi, lost his father this morning. The funeral will be on Wednesday. Please hold Rev Kimba and his family in your prayers. His email is ekkimba187@yahoo.com should you wish to be in communication with him.

Congo Global Action

2007-10-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Wanted to make sure you've all visited the website of Congo Global Action, a much needed (and growing) coalition of several organizations working to make a difference in Congo.
http://congoglobalaction.org/

Unfortunately, I've just been informed that they have had to postpone their November advocacy event until sometime early next year.

Laptops for Children

2007-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the project to provide low-cost durable laptops for children in poor regions of the world? They're getting ready for their big distribution launch this fall. Sadly, DR Congo is not one of their pilot countries (and, no, they won't sell a bunch to us to distribute there), but Rwanda is, so it will be exciting to watch what happens there, especially since their goal is to provide these laptops to all children in need.
http://www.laptop.org/

BTW-For a very short time next month, they are running a "buy 1, get 1" for your child (quantities limited)
http://www.xogiving.org/