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Harshe Ronald Betty 1963 Congo

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Letter Niunber 2 Dear Brethren: PRAYER As we proraided in our last letter, v/e will inform you how our prayers on our list of six requests are heing ansvrared. Bukavu^ We have had both bad and good news. They have begun holding ser vices in the Grovel's home. The greater part of the attendance is local children, but the prospects are very promising. We were distressed to hear that both of the Afiican preachers that wont to Buka- vu with Howard have been ill« 2. Bible Institute, At the present time we have 30 men in training in the Bible In stitute® There has been a total enroll- riient of 35j but five have left for vari ous reasons. 3, L^on Moduma, We have no further v/ord on him. His v.'ife is in the area and attends church here, Support. We rejoice to be able to re port that there have been some responses in ansv/er to our need for more funds# Growl famiXy is now together again. Mrs. Growl and the children v/ere reunited the early part of March. 6, Missionary recruits. There is nothing to report on this. Ever since the establishment of a congrega tion in Wamba it has been touch and go - even though they are in a large center. When Ronald visited there in December there were only about one dozen Christians attend ing, and the offering was nil. The parson age was unfit for habitation, and the preach er said he was leaving, Ronald told them he thought this would be the end of the church because few if any preachers v;ould care to minister to them. The decided to pray for a preacher and try again, A preach er did go there, and when Ronald visited them two weeks later they had an attendance of 42 and an offering of I7I francs, and the parsonage was being repaired, Ronald return ed the following week and there were 61 pre sent and a wonderful spirit, "God is not willing that any should be lost," Will you pray fors The Bukavu work and preachers' health. 2, The steadfastness of the students in the Sible Institute. -3,-That Leon Moduma will return to his Lord, 4o New recruits to enter into His work here, 5• The Wamba church. 6, The Bafwasende church; Ronald is report ing the details in the news. We want to inform you that the six weekday evenings at 6sOO P.M. our time (II2OO A,M, your time) the Christians and missionaries meet for prayer. Sunday evening it is 10s30 A.M. your time. If you pray for the work here at that time we can have a wonderful prayer fellowship one-third of the way around the world. Prayerfully, Bomili via Stanleyville Republic of the Congo March 259 -1963. For years the church at Bafwasende has been by far the strongest church v/e have. The attendance has run in the past up to 300 and even over. It has always been self- supporting, and it even helped to establish another church. But how are the mighty fallenl The attendance has now dropped to less than 100, and the offerings are insufficient to maintain their preacher,, It all started when the preacher's v/ife accused one of the leaders of casting a spell on her little son v/ho was ill. That is as serious an accusation here as murderl There v/as a lot of trouble and hard feelings. Finally, the Christians asked one of the missionaries to come and help them solve their problem. I have met with them once and after hearing everyone's side of the story I advised thorn to both dismiss the preacher and remove the leader from office. They did this, and they have now called another preacher. He is a very enthusiastic man and one of the finer men we have^ We hope now that the, hurt v/ill be healed, and the church will attain once again her former glory. We just received one ton of flour free frGm an organization that is distributing fc;)d in the Congo given by the United States, Wo are surely thankful for this; for, though we have been fortunate in the past, it is often difficult to got flour» Even then it is very expensive. We have enough that Miss Brovm can bake everyday a small bun for each of the schoolchildren. Food is so hard to get even for the Africans here at Bomili that they especially appreciate this. Last week all the missionaries were deluged with Christmas packages which had finally arrived from the States, It was a very happy time for everyone. There were many good things to eat in the boxes. This is especially appreciated now in the light of our limited diet. The mail service is atrocious. Sometimes three v/eeks and more pass without us receiv ing any mail. We have found that some let ters sent to us have been Icst^ V/e fear that some we send out also have the same fate. This is a litt-l-€i-unusual last -• month I finally received a magazine v7hioh had been mailed in April I96I - yQ3 196IS V/hile visiting the church at Bang'^s.--^ recent ly I was shocked by the sight of a i:a:i wear ing a pouch of something across his chests We are always on the lookout for charms cn the Christians, and always try to toach them to forsake these old ways. I v/as ready to launch into my familiar speech on the subject when I learned that he was not carrying a charm but it was his method of carrying his snuff. Gratefully to yc/j. Ronald Har3"i-:j
Transcript
  • Letter Niunber 2

    Dear Brethren:

    PRAYER

    As we proraided in our last letter, v/e willinform you how our prayers on our list ofsix requests are heing ansvrared.

    Bukavu^ We have had both bad andgood news. They have begun holding services in the Grovel's home. The greaterpart of the attendance is local children,but the prospects are very promising.We were distressed to hear that both ofthe Afiican preachers that wont to Buka-vu with Howard have been ill

    2. Bible Institute, At the present time wehave 30 men in training in the Bible Institute There has been a total enroll-riient of 35j but five have left for various reasons.

    3, L^on Moduma, We have no further v/ord onhim. His v.'ife is in the area and attendschurch here,

    4 Support. We rejoice to be able to report that there have been some responsesin ansv/er to our need for more funds#

    5 Growl famiXy is now together again. Mrs.Growl and the children v/ere reunited theearly part of March.

    6, Missionary recruits. There is nothingto report on this.

    Ever since the establishment of a congregation in Wamba it has been touch and go -even though they are in a large center.When Ronald visited there in December therewere only about one dozen Christians attending, and the offering was nil. The parsonage was unfit for habitation, and the preacher said he was leaving, Ronald told themhe thought this would be the end of thechurch because few if any preachers v;ouldcare to minister to them. The decided topray for a preacher and try again, A preacher did go there, and when Ronald visitedthem two weeks later they had an attendanceof 42 and an offering of I7I francs, and theparsonage was being repaired, Ronald returned the following week and there were 61 present and a wonderful spirit, "God is notwilling that any should be lost,"

    Will you pray fors1 The Bukavu work and preachers' health.2, The steadfastness of the students in the

    Sible Institute.-3,-That Leon Moduma will return to his Lord,4o New recruits to enter into His work here,5 The Wamba church.6, The Bafwasende church; Ronald is report

    ing the details in the news.

    We want to inform you that the six weekdayevenings at 6sOO P.M. our time (II2OO A,M,your time) the Christians and missionariesmeet for prayer. Sunday evening it is 10s30A.M. your time. If you pray for the workhere at that time we can have a wonderfulprayer fellowship one-third of the wayaround the world.

    Prayerfully,

    Bomili via StanleyvilleRepublic of the CongoMarch 259 -1963.

    For years the church at Bafwasende has beenby far the strongest church v/e have. Theattendance has run in the past up to 300and even over. It has always been self-supporting, and it even helped to establishanother church. But how are the mightyfallenl

    The attendance has now dropped to less than100, and the offerings are insufficient tomaintain their preacher,, It all startedwhen the preacher's v/ife accused one of theleaders of casting a spell on her littleson v/ho was ill. That is as serious anaccusation here as murderl There v/as a lotof trouble and hard feelings. Finally, theChristians asked one of the missionariesto come and help them solve their problem.

    I have met with them once and after hearingeveryone's side of the story I advised thornto both dismiss the preacher and remove theleader from office. They did this, and theyhave now called another preacher. He is avery enthusiastic man and one of the finermen we have^ We hope now that the, hurtv/ill be healed, and the church will attainonce again her former glory.

    We just received one ton of flour free frGman organization that is distributing fc;)din the Congo given by the United States,Wo are surely thankful for this; for, thoughwe have been fortunate in the past, it isoften difficult to got flour Even then itis very expensive. We have enough that MissBrovm can bake everyday a small bun for eachof the schoolchildren. Food is so hard toget even for the Africans here at Bomilithat they especially appreciate this.

    Last week all the missionaries were delugedwith Christmas packages which had finallyarrived from the States, It was a veryhappy time for everyone. There were manygood things to eat in the boxes. This isespecially appreciated now in the light ofour limited diet.

    The mail service is atrocious. Sometimesthree v/eeks and more pass without us receiving any mail. We have found that some letters sent to us have been Icst^ V/e fearthat some we send out also have the samefate. This is a litt-l-i-unusual last - month I finally received a magazine v7hiohhad been mailed in April I96I - yQ3 196ISV/hile visiting the church at Bang'^s.--^ recently I was shocked by the sight of a i:a:i wearing a pouch of something across his chestsWe are always on the lookout for charms cnthe Christians, and always try to toach themto forsake these old ways. I v/as ready tolaunch into my familiar speech on the subjectwhen I learned that he was not carrying acharm but it was his method of carrying hissnuff.

    Gratefully to yc/j.

    Ronald Har3"i-:j

  • Letter Number 3

    Sear Christian Friendss

    PRAYER

    If you will refer to our second letter youvdll know that we have "been praying aboutsis things in particular.

    1 Bukavu, They have not yet opened thechurch there, but they are still meetingin the Crowls' homso They have had ashi^ as 31. ITfhile they slept one nightsomeone broke into their home and stoleabout $500 v.'orth of their belongings.They were even so bold as to enter thebedroom where the Crowls were -sleepingand steal Howard's shoes from near thefoot of the bodo Thoy need prayer forencouragement

    2= Bible Institute^ Our first term in thepreacher training school has closed asa grand success. Thirty of the thirty-five students stuck the term out. Ofthis number seventeen passed. This isnot a bad average for here. All therest improved immensely. The women'sclasses wore even more successful. Atthe opening they had only 12 women, butthe class steadily grew until it closedout v/ith'23. A few outside women askedto attend and were granted permission.One was the wife of a Mohammedan here.

    3- Lon Moduma is still disappointing us.We hope to be able to have a talk withhim before we report to you again. Wetrust your prayers will have preparedEis heart'for what we vail have to say.

    4 Missionary recruits. This prayer hasbeen dramatically answered. We receiveda letter from a young couple presentlyin Bible College. They are consideringthe Congo as their life's work. Willyou pray doubly hard for them that ifit is the Lord's will they may be led

    to come over and join us?5* The Wamba church is progressing nicely.

    The Bafv/asende church which we reported. previously has had so much trouble is

    now bouncing back. The preacher tellsus that the attendance is climbingsteadily. We had to make another visitsince reporting lastj and we found thatthe former preacher had several faultsv;hich had not been previously broughtto light.

    In addition to continuing in prayer forthese six things would you add one more toyour list,

    7 Jean Ibago, who happens to be the preacher in the Bafwasende church has beenfound to have glaucoma. He is also aleper which complicates his condition.He is receiving treatment. Pray forhis sight and encouragement.

    If you are praying daily with us will younotify us of this? Write either to ushere at the address on this letter or toMr. and Mrs. CLo Harshe, I908 Burch Ave.Lima, Ohio* ^ ^

    Prayerfully,

    Ronald Harsho

    Bomili via StanleyvilleRepublic of the CongoMay 20, I963

    MS

    The Bible Institute closed on Tuesday,April 30, and our annual spring conferencebegan the next day, Wednesday May 1. TheChristians from the churches in each areawalked in to the conference of five sessionsrunning from Wednesday evening until Fridaymorning. Our best attendance at Bomili wasnearly 300 Thursday evening. We v;ere verypleased because it is the best attendanceWe have had since Independence in I96O-.It was very well planned and presentedjand the messages were very inspiiing. V/efeel the Christians returned to their villages vath a renewed desire to shov/ thegloiy of Christ and His church to thepeople among whom they live. We pray soand trust that the next conference will beeven better attended and more inspiring.

    The day after our conference closed heroRon Butler and Ronald began a ten-d-ny safari to hold three more conferences amongthe forest churches, and one church visitat one of our farthest churches. Theycompleted the three conferences and saidthey went well. About a total of ']00 persons attended all the conferences. Butthey returned early not making the singlechurch visit because the panel truck wasrunning so badly they were afraid it v/ouldnot make the return trip. As it is theyare not sure that it will make the tripto Stan for repairs. Ron Butler has takenit now to Stan to be repaired, but the ivayeverything goes here that could be a process of weeks. It is the only vehicle wehave, and we need it very much. The Butlersare expecting a Volkswagen bus soon, but ithas not yet arrived.

    We have had our ups and downs health-wise.Several weeks ago all the children sufferedan intestinal upset. When Ronald returnedfrom the conference safari he came downwith a case of malaria. And I have beenhaving some trouble with my eyes. It isnothing serious we trust, but the doctoradvised that further tests be made in Stan.One day Eddie came into the house," Ho hadrun a stick in his eye. Upon investigationwe found a one-half inch splinter imbeddedlengthwise just under the surface of thewhite in the eyeball. IVe are over threehours from the nearest doctor, and all wehad by way of transportation was a motorcycle which does not run well. Ronaldmanaged to get a hold of the end of it witha pair of tweezers and v/orked it back out.Eddie was very brave about it all. We putsome anti-biotic eye medicine we keep hereon his eye, and ho cleared up wonderfully.Vv'e thank the Lord that we were so fortunate,

    ViTe are well and working, thankfully praising God for His grace and goodness. MayHis richest blessings be upon your servicefor Him there, as He is for us here.

    Sincerely,

    Betty^Harshe

  • Letter Number 4

    Dear Christian Friends:

    PRAYBE

    Some of our prayers must be continued, forthere are situations which sorely need theLord*s help and guidance. The Bafwasendeand Wamba churches have progressed nicelyso we are removing them from the prayerlist*

    1* Bukavu* We are happy to report that thebrethren at Bukavu are enjoying goodhealth again, but we ask that you continue in this prayer because the coolerclimate has proved to be very hard on theAfricans who are used to the hot, humid-.climate of the Congo basin#Bible Institute, Wg havo 25 students snrolled in our sec

  • MISSIONARIES:

    Miss Zola L. BrowoMr. and Mrs. RonalO C. ButlerMr. and Mrs. Howard A. CrowlMr. and Mrs. Larry D. DoggetiMr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Har.-shcMiss Phyllis J. RineMr. and Mrs. Clifford W. SchaubMiss Nancy C. Shewmakcr

    ADDRESS IN AMERICA :P. O. BOX 996Cincinnati I, Ohio, USA

    addresses in CONGO:Bomili Post: Bomili par

    Bafwasendo via StanleyvilleBukavu Post:B.P. 1559, BukavuOlina Post:Nia-Nia via Stanleyville

    ^ Ripublique clu Congo BOMILI, par Bjsende via Stan.Bomili,August 27> 19^3 gUT 14 1963

    Dear Friends in Christ,

    I have Just returned from two church safaris to Mamhatio It is times like these thatbring the joy and sorrow to missionary workoThe first safari started in topical Congo fashion - I got stuck trying to mount thetruck on the ferry at the river herso Out came the jaoko Upon arriving at the ohurohI found there was no place for me to sts-yj so I hard to put up in tne truoiC overni^toThe next day I learned only three or four people ?/er0 attending ssi-vices any longereven on the Lord's Dayso We managed to lauster about twenty, thoughj who came out because the missionary was there^ After a fine discussion of the problem those presentexpressed their repentance aiid stated their desire to make another start. I told themI would return the next week-end for a revival vdth them. In the meantime they aswell as all we at the mission would pray daily for the churchj and those present wouldhelp the preacher during the week to contact every wayward membero

    TTpcn leaving there we broke through a wooden bridge and had to .jaok the truck up againto slip a plank beneath ito That night I stayed at anoiii^ei' church but did not fareany better., At 1:30 A.M. I awoke with soldier ants in my hair and .^asshoppers andoockroaches in ray ooto The house was filled with soldier ants, so X moved to the truckand settled down only to be disturbed once again when it rained in the ventilator anddripped on meo The next mornin.f we loaded up the praacher and his things to move himto a new ohurcho We entered a dead-end road which praotically no road at a-lloOnly two vehicles had passed over it eihce my previous visit sis months earliero Aswe crossed ona bridge v.'e heard i.t orack asj we got off just in tiineo When the secondbridge broke behind us I began to get wervous wondering how we would get back out.Then a couple miles short of our destination a large bridge was complete!^'" caved inW had to unload the preacher's belongings there for the Christians to oarry on inWe made it back over the bttd bridgsn with the help of a heavy plank we "stole" fromanother bridge

    Upon arriving at the mission I found Betty very illo I arrived a little earlier tnanplanned and found the family had been pra,7irig I would oome back. She lay very sick forseveral days with an unbearable headache. V/e never did know what it waso It Aid notseem to be malaria* Because of this I was a day late the next weeknd getting backto Mambatio

    By then the entire attitude of the Christians had che-ngedo We had four meetings withas hi^ as 65 presento I showed the filmstrips on the "Pilgrim's Progress" and foundthis really touched themo They volunteered many promises, produced a large offeringand really seem to be on their feet for a new starts It seemed the Lord had reallybeen working in their hearts to change themo This makes missionary work worthv/hile^

    Thankfully in Christ,

    African Christian i/Iission

  • MISSIONARIES:

    Miss Zola L. BrowDMr. ajid Mrs. Ronald C ButlerMr. and Mrs. Howard A. CrowlMr. and Mrs. Larry D. DoggcttMr. and Mrs. Ronald D. HarsheMiss Phyllis J. RineMr. and Mrs. Clifford W. ScbaubMiss Nancy C. Sbewraaker

    '""io. ADDRESS IN AMERICA :P. O. BOX 996Cincinjiaii I, Ohio, USA

    ADDRESSES IN CONGO:

    Boniili i'ost: Bomili parBafwaseade via Sianleyvillc

    Bukavu Post:B.P. 1559, BukavuOlina Post:Nia-Nia via Stanleyville

    Republique dii Congo BOMILI, par Bjsende via Stan.

    Dear Friends in Ghrisl;,

    0"l S Bomili

    -Sc.y>r.ib#S=fc 26, 1963

    vGryone else at the Bomili post is on safari except our family. The Butlers^ dentist about 320 miles away. On their way

    ^ dropped Miss Brown and Miss Shevraaicer off to start thescuooi lor this year*

    Our territorial government administrator is causing us some trouble. He is claim-ing that ^ult man do not have a right to leave the work of their fields i' thSrBible Institute. This would greatly reduce our number

    of students for tne present and ahout choke off any new recruits. The government18 in an economic pinch and is trying to force increased production. He is further

    ,1 h. i. .a "put illegal restrictions on the school. wmg to

    We received a piece of bad news this past week from one of the preachers Ha sent

    ;rs :s L'iris-f!2-: ;s-j: =-.j: =

    I''"' Institute closed three weeks ago. There has been a

    We simply say thanks for your constant interest and support of His work here.A TTDT n UTT ATTn-r nm-r- -

  • Icetter Niimber 5

    Dear Brethren in Christ:

    PRAYER

    This- past month we have seen very vividly the difference prayer makes. I visitedthe church at Mambati and found only threeor four Christians any longer assemblingwith the preacher, even on the Lord's Days,We arranged a revival for the following weekend and agreed to pray daily for the rebirthof the church. I also arranged to meet witha nearby church, Bafwangele, at the sametime. This church seemed to have no specialproblems.

    The following week end thrilled us tosee the fine attendance at Mambati (as highas 65) as well as an unusually good reception of the gospel as it was preached. Ishowed filmstrips on the Pilgrim^ s Progressduring the eveningsi these impressed themvery much. It seemed the Lord had preparedtheir.- hearts to repent, and several volunteered statements of their regret for straying away,

    However, the story at Bafwangele wasdifferent. The church had more of a problemthan I had realized, for indifference hadabout snuffed out its life. I could do nothing there. There wa.s no spiritual feelingin the meetings^ the gospel had no effect atall 01^ vacant faces. Things grew so badlythat we could only conduct the final meetingwith a handful of heathen, for the Christiansdid not bother to corne.

    ' The same sermons were preached at bothchurches by the same missionary, the samefilmstrips were shov/n, even the same localpreacher ministered to both churches. Theonly difference was that we had prayed forMambati - we had not for Bafwangele.

    1. Mambati and Bafv/angele. Pray that thefirst will continue to grow in grace andthat the second will have an awakening.

    2 Our territorial government administrator.Our administrator is claiming that men donot have the right to leave the v;ork oftheir fields in their villages and enroll in the Biblo Institute. This~wouldgreatly reduce our number of presentstudents and ^bout choke off any new recruits. We are expecting him momentarilyto arrive here at the mission to settlethe matter. We plan to take it over hishead if-we cannot reach an agreementwith him, for v;e feel he is taking unwarranted authority in putting illegalrestrictions on our school.

    3# Loon Moduma. No change,4, Missionary Recruits^ Pray new ones may

    come forv/ard.Jean Ibago. V/e plan to take him to Stanin a week or so for a check-up on hisglaucoma.Missionary visas* The Schaubs have received their visa and will leave theStates by boat October 2 T^e Doggettsdo not yet have thairs.

    Prayerfully,

    Ronald Harshe

    Bomili par BafwasendeVia StanleyvilleRepublic of the CongoSeptember 26, 1963

    NEWS

    We received word from one of ourpreachers last week that his little boy haddied. He recently moved into a new ministry and has been living with one of thevillagers. He did not accuse his host norhis family of anything in his letter, but hedid say the man pushed his boy down just afew days before he died. To us, this seemsto be two completely isolated incidents; butto these people it just confirms their suspicion that someone is working a curse onthem. We fear he vri.ll want to give up hisministry there and move elsewhere soon.

    The second term of the Bible Instituteclosed the sixth of September. Of the 26students, 20 passed and six failed. It isencouraging that most of those who failed intend to continue classes in pursuit of becoming ministers of the gospel to their brethrenwithout Christ. The ladies' classes closedwith 32 regular students.

    Our Bible School experiment on Sundaymornings is really drawing a response in thearea. Our Sunday worship services havevisibly increased in numlDer, as have our 7*00A.M. chapel services each morning. Some ofthese newcomers are not Christians, whichpresents a wide-open opportunity to win alot of the unsaved to Christ. We feel thisnew interest has been fostered through our"Followers of Jesus,"

    We are also trying a little experimentin another field. Up to this time few of ourpeople could read. But since Independenceand compulsory education more and more peopleare learning to read and we want to take advantage of this opportunity by making edifying literature available to them. Our firsteffort is a tract called "If," outlining theplan of salvation. These are being distributed now,

    Felice, a man who helps me with thework in our house, recently stole some of ourchildren's play money. Stealing is stealing- and a sin, but the item stolen was of smallconsequence. UNTIL - he began peddling itto other Africans who thou^t it v/as realmoney. To his great misfortune some of itreached the local government office. Ofcourse an investigation b^gan at once^ andwe learned of the deed. He passed ten playbills at 1000 francs each. 10,000 francs isa small fortune to these people whose incomeis about 1200 francs a month. The outcomeis still in the future, but it is evidentthat Felice will have a great deal moretrouble than the 10,000 was worth.

    Poods are very scarce and expensive hereso we put out a garden, only to learn thereare few foods that grow well in this climate.One food that does well is green beans.Today at lunbh RonaM jokingly said, "Howwould you like to have a mess of green beansfor dinner tomorrow?" I said, "Fine." Thefact that Y/e have had them every meal fortwo weeks is beside the point.

    Sincerely,

    Setto?^ Harshe

  • Letter Number 6 Bomili par BafwasendeVia StanleyvilleRepublic of the CongoNovember 30, 1963

    lOJS

    Deax Brethren in Christ?

    PRAYER

    Our prayer hp, been answered 6oncerningthe territorial administrator who was threatening trouble for usi He h-'.s been removedfrom his post in this territory4 The newadministr-^.tor has visited the mission, andwe found him a very friendly and helpful man.The former adminic-;trator was removed beforehe had an opportunity to come to the mission.

    One-half of our prayers for the arrivalof the Schaubs and Doggetts has been answeredwith the arrival of the Schaubs on the fieldrecently.

    OOR

    1. Mambati and Bafv;angele The preacher ofthese churches reports that Mambati isstill doing well, and that Bafwangele isshowing slight si^s of stirring, Let*scontinue them on our list for anothermonth.

    2. Dog^tt^s visa. The Doggetts had originally planned to come to the Congo with theSchaubs. That v/as impossible because novisa has been gr^Jited thera, and they havebeen delayed several weeks. Mqy God grantthat all hindrances may cease quickly.

    Ibago. We now fesl better about Jeanand his case of glaucoma* Though he isstill seriously ill, he does say that hefeels much better and has less pain.

    4. Ij^on Moduma. We hope to continue prayingfor him in spite of no apparent success.

    5 Missionary recruits. If the bord wantsmore to serve Him in the Congo may He leadthose whom He would choose into thisdecision. The fields are white,

    6. The attitude of preachers. We thank Godfor' the faithful Congolese messengers of

    -.1 His Word who are v/orking with us to savetheir brethren. But, as in everything,there are those who are discontent. Vehave been gradually withdrawing financialsupport of these preachers in an attemptto encourage the churchos to accept theirresponsibilities. Some churches '"ill notdo this, and consequently some of thepreachers are having a difficult timefinancially, A fev/ of them are-quitebitter about it and have expressed a verypoor attitude. We ask your prayers thatGod will change the hearts of those 'vhosehearts can be changed, and that everyonewill work in harmony. Pray that we vailhave divine Yrisdom in de-aling. v/ith thisproblem.

    If you a.re praying with us daily will youplease notify us either at our address inthe Congo as appears at the head of thisletter or at Mr, and Mrs, C. L. Harshe,1908 Burch Ave. Lima, Ohio. If yourfriends would like to join in prayer fello-ship with us ask them to send their nameand address and we "111 keep them informedthrough sending this pr-^yer-news letter.

    5^rst of all, vm ^-rould like to send our- brst wishes for the Season. V/e pray that

    you mil enjoy a blessed Christmas. ^Right now we ?ire betv/een som.esters in

    the Bible Institute and thought v.-e -wouldlike, to talce this opportunity to write some of

    the amusing situations th^.t arise under a, newly-independent government. The last trip

    to Stanleyville provided some very colorful. incidents.

    The most typical and irritating occuredwhen Clifford Schaub tried to get a postoffice box in Stanleyville, The issuingclerk was habitually gone, but he finally wascornered and gave Cliff the box of a delinquent renter. The clerk cut off the lock ofthe previous owner and Cliff put on his new,expensive lock. However the next day Clifffound his lock removed and another in itsplace. When we left Stanleyville Cliff still

    -did not have a post office box.The Volkswagen dealer was telling Ronald

    about a parts order they had made that hadbeen weeks overdue. Immediately upon receiptof the notice that their shipment was in theywent down to get the parts that had long delayed their work. They learned that theparts had been in Stan a month, but someonehad forgotten to notify them. Salt was rubbed in the wound when the shipping companywould not release the order until they paida month's storage charges.

    One morning at breakfast the waiterspilled coffee in the saucer at our table.He promptly picked up the cup and' poured thecoffee that was in the saucer on the floor.Then he replaced the cup in its saucer on thetable. A morning or so a,fter this I heard anAfrican customer ask the waiter for a fork.The waiter said there v/asn*t any. I told thewaiter we werp' finished with the forks at ourtablei he could remove ours. He picked upseveral forks, and handed one of them, un-v/ashed, to the man at the next table. Thecustomer took the fork and began eating.

    We are teaching the churches it is theirresponsibility to support their own ministers.A few preachers are displeased v/ith thisarrangement because the churches are lax inmeeting their salaries. One preacher approached another and asked him to go to thegovernment to make a complaint that the mission was not paying preachers* salaries. Thepreacher being approached replied, "TheProtestants refused to let me be a preacherbecause I was a leper. This mission accepted me, trained me, and made me a preacher.Now I have glaucoma and they furnish me medicine and take me to the Stanleyvilld doctorregularly. I would be blind if it v/as notfor them, and you v/ant me to be a Judas topeople like that. I wall not accuse them. "We foel this is our reward.

    Sinc..-.xyj

  • MISSIONARIES;

    Misc Zola E. BownMr. aad Mrs. Ronald C. ButlerMr. and Mrs. Howard A. Crow!Mr. and Mrs. Larry DoggcttMr. and Mrs. Ronald D HarslieMiss Phyllis RineMr. and Mrs. Cliflbrd W. SchaubMiss Nancy C. Shewmakcr

    Stfiul eyvi He

    Dear Friends in Christ,

    FORWARDING AGENT:Mr. Milton W. Dills

    FORWARDING ADDRESS :African Christian MissionPost Office Box 996,Cincinnati I. Ohio, U.S.A.

    CONGO ADDRESS ;L'Africao Christian MissionBomili par Bafwasendc via StaoleyvilleRepublique du Congo, Afriquc

    Because of tho confu.sion ..hich surrounded tl,e achi-evic^C of independence brfcthe Conro.u "l recoived a deed to tho pro^.-ertj at ulina. We had a Contract'with the i^Glixian irovernraent to buv thp rimriAf+.-ir 11 >__

    iBdependeuce arrived; and everything ground to a halt. We are now trvinr^ nce a^ainto get a deed to the property. I went to Paulis last week and talked^ath the director of the land title office for the province. lie assured me that we could buy theproperty. itecause his ty:dfit is ao busy, thoa-Ii, it vill be necessary to Taait untilij c"?Wi-fct i t tviicd. ftjav oft

  • MISSIONARIES:

    Miss Zola L. BrownMr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Bul!i:rMr. and Mrs. Howard A. CrowlMr. and Mrs. Larry D. DoggcnMr. and Mrs. Ronald I). HarsUeMiss Pbyllis J. RincMr. and Mrs. Clifford W. SchaucMiss Nancy C. Shcwinakcr

    ADDRESS )N AMERICA :P. O. BOX 996CiDciooati I, Ohio, USA

    ADDRESSES IN CONGO:Bomili Post: Bomili par

    Bafwascnde via StanleyvilleBukavu Post:B.P. 1559, BukavuOlioa Post:Ni(i-Nia via StanleyWIle

    -jV Republique du Congo, BOMILI, par Bisende via Stan,BomiliDecember 2, 1963

    Deax Friends in Christ,

    It has lieen


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