Some photos from Tim & Sheryl’s trip to the Congo and the Congo Bible Camp, September 2010:
Overview | Rwanda | Uvira | Bukavu | Camp | Campground
Our trip to the Congo had 3 objectives:
The Bible camp for the deaf met in the city of Bukavu, Congo (DRC). About 40 young adults attended. To get to the Congo, we flew into London then to Nairobi, Kenya and then to Kigali, Rwanda. From there, we drove 6 hours to Bukavu, DRC. After examining some real estate options for opening a school in Bukavu, we drove 4 hours south to the town of Uvira to visit one of CMD’s schools. We then returned to Bukavu to help with a 5-day camp for the deaf. An elementary education is not easy to come by in the eastern Congo, especially if you’re deaf. Trying to get a high-school education is almost impossible. The education for the deaf that attended the camp varied quite a bit, ranging from 3rd or 4th grade up to about 12th grade. While there are several elementary schools for the deaf in the region, there are no high-schools. Most deaf stop their education after 6th grade, and the few that continue, fight incredible odds to make it in a hearing high-school. It’s heartbreaking to see how their academic struggles further compound their spiritual growth. Almost without exception, the deaf here have not more than a rudimentary understanding of the things of God. They understand the basics of sin and salvation and know many Bible stories – and know them quite well – but they lack a larger picture of the glory and nature of God, man, sin, salvation, justification, sanctification, etc. Many of them are starving to know more about the Bible and Godly living, yet their education and lack of resources prevents them from growing in their knowledge of God. The theme of the camp was “The Lamb of God”. Local missionaries Tom and Kathy Lindquist taught on the tabernacle and the NT doctrines associated with the Lamb of God. Pililo Amani, the director for the school in Uvira, also taught from the NT, while I taught on the OT history of sacrifices and the significance of the Jewish Spring feasts as they relate to salvation: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Feast of Weeks. It was thrilling to see the campers’ appetites for God’s Word, and more impressive still when a few of them pulled me aside after hours to ask more and more questions about doctrine, church management, personal sanctification and more. Be sure to click on each of the 5 links of our trip (Overview | Rwanda | Uvira | Bukavu | Camp | Campground) to learn more about the region, culture, people and God’s work among the deaf there through Christian Mission for the Deaf. |
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