Pierre

A boy named Pierre just came to our community from the boonies of the Democratic Republic of Congo to receive operations for severe scoliosis. He was orphaned at a young age and has been taken care of at an NGO in the Congo that our church partnered with this past year to help support their feeding programs. Now--through twists and turns and miracles and God's hand at work in the hearts of Consulate employees (to get passports & visas), U.S. senatorial officers (to help get the visas), church members, St. Louis University Hospital doctors, and basically everyone who has had a chance to meet and/or pray for this special kid--he is here, and we are blessed.

Doctors at SLU said they would donate the surgeries for this little guy, and a family from the church has adopted him to stay with them while he stays in the states for up to six months. They have been watching Veggie Tales and learning how to eat "fofo". When he has come to visit the church office these last few days, he has had a big smile on his face. I've learned four things in his language:
Mbotu--Hello
Sanga nini--How are you?
Tokomono na nsima--See you later!
daidai--sticky (this last one is especially helpful. I'm not sure why it stuck in my brain, but it did. ).

I see the blessing of God's kingdom in strange ways every day. And I love my job.