I met Apostle Alexander when he was visiting the United States for a conference in 2020. I was working with a small refugee Congolese congregation and their pastor was a mutual friend. So when Alexander visited, I was invited to meet him and felt a very kindred spirit. When we talked, he explained that the church in Congo is overwhelmed with the amount of displaced refugees by the consequences of civil war. I agreed to pray about supporting a relief project. Shortly after he left, I got news that a village not too far from him had been attacked by terrorist rebels. When these rebels left the village, all the adult men were murdered, all the women were horribly violated and the children had been left on their own. When he called me, I Immediately put together a donation to help with relief for these women and children. When I got the report back on how they ministered to this community my heart was touched. They had brought in fresh clothing for the children and plenty of food and supplies. The women who had been violated were ministered to individually and given a package with special soap, perfume, feminine hygiene products and fresh undergarments so they could feel fresh and clean. A real Spiritual blessing.
Since then I’ve been helping as much as possible. These terrorists were randomly causing havoc all through the region. Soon children from a tribe of pygmies started to come out of the rural regions. Initially there were 4 of them. This time it was found that the attackers killed the men and women and just left the children. As the civil war was drawing closer to the area, the number of children coming to us grew. We are currently serving 46 orphans from the ages of 2 to 15. Right now they arestaying in either a 3 room building with a dirt floor or in a small tent city on the grounds of the church. It became obvious to us that something had to change. We agreed to pray about starting an orphanage. As we prayed, doors started opening and we recently put together a three phase campaign and presented it to the Lord.
Phase 1: A 25 acre parcel of land became available very close to the church. When surveyed, it was clear that we could easily construct a building to accommodate up to 50 children and room for 3 staff members.
The cost: $10,000
Phase 2: We met with an engineer who is presenting drawings of the building we would need to accommodate the children and staff.
The cost: $30,000
Phase 3: Equip the facility with furniture, appliances and general necessities needed to accommodate up to 50 children.
The cost: $5,000
As you can see by the numbers, the fact that we are presenting these figures in US dollars gives us a great advantage to get a lot done for a small investment. We have just recently started presenting these numbers to interested donors and in one week, have already completed phase one!
Our ministry model is one of sustainability . We have plans to farm, raise livestock, train the children in sewing projects that can meet the needs of the community and create our own market on site. The market will show shoppers that they are not only getting quality products, but helping to support the children. Because of our commitment to this model, we’ve assembled a group of volunteers who are willing to travel to Congo on a mission to help train the and equip the orphanage for success. The team consists of:
An expert in farming and agriculture
A trained and certified Chef to help create healthy eating practices
A Registered nurse to teach wellness and hygiene practices
An African Pastor who is an expert in sustainable ministry
We are trusting God for the fulfillment of this vision.