Abraham, Matilda, and Wade

3 stories:

Abraham.
Last night Kyle, Daniel, and I were getting motos to ride over to our new rafiki's house to hang out. It was almost dark so it was hard finding motos. We had two already, but could not find a third. Therefore, Kyle and I jumped on the back of the same one. I had a scarf covering my face to 1. cover up from the dirt that loves to cling to my face when we ride and 2. to mask the odor coming from our motodriver.... I was VERY close to his face. Anyways, we were off. Right away he started speaking to us in a wonderful mixture of Swahili, French, and English! yay he knew English quite well. He asked us our names, after saying that his was Abraham. Kyle answered with, "Pastor Kyle and Pastor Katarina." His response, " OHHH you are pastors!! I need to talk to you Pastors!" He excitedly explained to us, that his wife was Christian and also pregnant. His dad though was Islam, and therefore he was Islam. But his dad just died, so he did not need to be Islam anymore. He "wanted truth. to be a Christian." His words. We talked the whole ride. When we arrived at our destination, he continued to press that he needed to talk to us. Kyle asked if he wanted Jesus right then, and he shouted YES. So right there with our other moto driver watching, Kyle led him in a prayer. It was amazing watching him translate and respond, with the biggest smile on his face. At the end he hugged Kyle, and started SOBBING. SOBBING. He was crying sooo much. It was quite the moment. And one of my favorite moments of our whole trip so far. Abraham just said 'thank you thank you' over and over again. He was sooo happy. He and Kyle exchanged phone numbers and we are going to all hang out soon. We'll probably go to church with him and his wife this Sunday. Yay for the moto drivers of Congo... they're incredible.

Matilda.
Yesterday, Daniel, Kyle, and I went to Heal Africa again with our pastors. We wanted to continue praying for the people there. It is literally my favorite thing to do here in Congo. Without our Bethel team present, Kyle and I were able to go around and pray together. Fun! Things started out more slowly, until we reached a wonderful girl named Bertie. She had two casts on her legs and she was in considerable pain. She was squirmy and so uncomfortable when we met her. We prayed for her legs, and after several different times ALL of her pain went away. She was so joyful and happy, smiling from ear to ear. We loved on her a bit, and then told her to tell the two women next to her what just hapenned to her. Spreading testimonies is the best way to build your faith! What God did for someone else he can do for you. What God did for you once he can do for you again. Which brought us to Matilda. Matilda was a beautiful mama who was stuck in her bed. When we asked her what was wrong with her she said, "paralyzed." She could not feel her legs when we were touching them, and she could definitely not get up. She had considerable back pain as well. We prayed for her once, and she said she could feel something moving in her legs! Plus, she started wiggling her purple painted toes! We got very excited and started praying again. After that round, she bent her legs all the way to her chest and said she could not do that before! yayyyy. Kyle then told her that she was going to walk. She moved into a sitting position with her legs dangling off the bed, and we prayed again. Her back pain was gone and she got up! She walked up and down the hospital aisle. INCREDIBLE. She said her hips still hurt though, so we prayed again. haha. She then was doing laps up and down the aisle with Kyle. Coolest thing I've seen. For sure. What's funny is Pastor Mboto later told us that Matilda was talking to him while we had moved on to her daughter. She was saying, "they won't leave until we're healed will they? haha." Pastor said, "nope." She said that we were different from the other people who come to the hospital to pray. Amazing.

Wade.
Last week at Heal Africa, Kyle met a mzungu named Heidi. Heidi was here in Congo with an organization called Discover the Journey. They are based out in LA, but have been following 3 child soldiers since 2007. They just finished filming their documentary. Kyle exchanged contact info with her, and that was it. Then a few days later, while we were staying with our friends in Rwanda, in walks a man named Wade. Wade just flew in from New York, and was staying in the same place as us for a night. He is a lawyer to be, and happenns to be a part of Discover the Journey as well. He is meeting up with Heidi and the rest of the team tomorrow. Crazy. The next day we then leave for Goma, and before we get on our bus we stop at a coffee shop. In walks Heidi. Crazy. We run into her again, and talk with her. Exchange more info and say goodbye. We then our on moto's in Goma riding to our house, when Wade, and the team see us. Crazy. Anyways... Kyle and Daniel say that it's no coincidence we ran into them so many times. haha. We contact Wade in Goma, and met up with the team last night. They are incredible! They are Christians, but DTJ is not a Christian organization. They basically make films to raise awareness about injustices hapenning to children. They're documentary on 3 child soldiers is going to be released in summer or fall. Which by the way, the clips we got to see are INCREDIBLE. The stories of the team are amazing, and so inspiring. One of the boys they were following got recaptured, and the team spent years tracking him. They finally found him and paid for his release from the army this fall. Wow. Anyways, this group is absolutely incredible. Look up their website, http://www.discoverthejourney.org/.
It's amazing creating new friendships out here, as well as meeting young people who are out here doing amazing things with their lives. Dedicating so much of themselves to others.

Quick Praise Reports:
Cassandra received an incredible donation for a car! So we are currently car shopping. This will be a huge blessing, meaning we can get to and from the bush quicker, cheaper, and safer.
My allergies the past couple days have been much better! yayyyy so thank you to everyone who's been praying! GREATLY appreciated.