Going back to the Congo

Hi ya'll!

Well it's true. Soon I will be heading back to work again in the DR Congo. We have booked flights to leave on the 11th of November - less than two weeks from now!

I currently only have 50% of the necessary financial support to work in Congo for the next eight months. So while I am in Beni, I will have to continue to raise that support. Otherwise, I will be returning to the States very quickly! After the costs of my visas, flights and health insurance are paid for - I have enough funding to remain in Congo for just two months. So keep me in mind and prayers as I continue to work with the Congolese leadership at UCBC.

There will be a sendoff open house at my parents' house on Saturday, November 7th. Please come out because I would love to see as many people as possible before I go back to Beni. Send me an email for more details - bethany.erickson@gmail.com

Thank you as always for going on this journey with me.

love,
Bethany

Breaking the Silence

Hello everyone,

As I prepare to leave the States and return to Congo, the country has been weighing heavily on my heart... This is Congo Week, so there have been a number of articles in papers and online. So I urge you to look at the following articles, petition for the Congo and for her people.

Why we must break the silence. http://allafrica.com/stories/200910230077.html  "A global consensus has existed for the past thirteen years. It basically says that it is fine to remain silent in the midst of the deadliest conflict in the world since the Holocaust, while the most unspeakable acts of atrocities are waged on the bodies of women and children in the heart of Africa." 

Stopping Rape as a Weapon of War. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/09/18/stopping-rape-weapon-war-congo  "The United Nations estimates that 200,000 women and girls have been the victims of sexual violence since 1998. In 2008 alone, nearly 16,000 rapes were reported in Congo. In the east of the country, a battleground for government troops, militias, and foreign armies, sexual violence is practiced systematically by many fighters."

Thank you for caring about the Congolese people... We have the duty to not be silent, to advocate, share about and pray for the people of Congo who face unimaginable atrocities. Their hopes, dreams, fears, desires and families are not so different from ours here in the States. Please petition for the Congo.

With love,
Bethany

CONGO WEEK

Around the country, people will be holding events and talking about the DR Congo. This year it is being held October 18th - 24th.

Congo Week is organized as a way to raise awareness of the plight of the Congolese people: the atrocities that are committed against the country's citizens by their own leadership, and things that can be done to change the future for the country.

Please take time to learn more about Congo, talk to people, share what you know, and pray for the DR Congo and the Congolese people. 


Here is the link to the Friends of the Congo's website for Congo Week 2009.

Thank you as always for your love and support of the DR Congo.


peace,
Bethany

ps - here is an article on BBC News about the unrest that is being increased due to mineral companies' lust for the resources in Congo

Building update

Here are photos that Grant Haun and others have sent to me recently... They speak of all the progress still taking place at UCBC, which is for the students!

It's incredible to see how much has been done to the buildings, since I left in July. And I can't wait to see it all in person, when I return soon! Enjoy the photos :)

This first photo shows how the construction workers actually build up the walls... The wood slabs and sticks are scaffolding. The bucket in the hands of the man in the middle, holds concrete, the mortar for the bricks.

This second photo shows the men lifting up the braces for the roofing of the Welcome Center. 

This is not easy work!

Here is a close-up of the work those men did on the structure of this building!

The next several photos show different views of the Community Center... And the progress that is being made!

To think we were breaking ground for this very building at the beginning of November, 2008! That was when we started to dig the foundation... In December the first of the foundation went it. January and February of 2009, we started building up the walls... And in July they were preparing the floor for concrete!

To see this building nearly ready for classes for this Academic year is incredible! And so exciting! I love to see how God provides... He really is providing and at the perfect time as well.  Without this building, we would not have the needed classroom space for all of our current students and their different faculties of study, not to mention the new class of 60 students coming in this year!

 Here is the Community Center with the first Academic Building in the background on the far right.

This is inside the Community Center... Concrete floors and students holding classes already! Notice that the windows aren't finished yet, and neither is the door. But there are walls and a floor, not to mention the roofing is up! So the students meet in this new classroom, which is a whole lot better than meeting on the outside porch (where they had been).

The back side of the Community Center (this was taken less than two weeks after the ones above)... Can you notice the changes made in that amount of time? Compare to the sixth photo above! :)

Here is an inside view of the roofing and braces for our new building.

And this is a view of the hallway inside the Community Center...

We are doing this Community Center in two stages. The first is the more practical side. When this phase is completed, it will have 16 classrooms and offices. But this is only for one half of the building. The second is the "community," part. We will be building an auditorium that will seat 1,600 people! In addition, there will be a radio station on the top section of the building. This hallway will divide the building into two - separating the classrooms from the auditorium. For now, it will just be a hallway connecting all of the rooms and offices.

There is the Community Center. Still under construction... But making progress and creating the chance for dreams to become reality for the people of the DR Congo.

With love,
Bethany