Visit to Mboukou

On Saturday morning we found a taxi and we went to an area on the edge of town where you can get an out of town taxi. We took a ride up the National Route 1 which will eventually connect Pointe Noire and Brazzaville (the capital). The road that has been redone is in great shape, but unfortunately, that does not last for long. Mboukou is only 30 miles by road from Pointe Noire but It takes 1.5 hours to get there. Village life is very different than city life. The pace is more relaxed; you might say too relaxed. Our objective was to visit the church there and to get a feel for church planting outside the city. It is our only village church in this area. There are other villages where we could plant churches but we don’t have pastors who want to serve outside the city. Leadership is crucial for any new works so we are investigating ways to train leadership for the future churches in the surrounding villages.

Village life is very different than city life. We were in Mboukou during some of the World Cup matches and missed the US vs. Ghana game. The village does not have electricity but some people have generators, TV’s and satellite dishes. You can watch the World Cup if you pay admission. We tried to rent a TV and DVD player to show the Jesus film but there were none available because of the World Cup. We will try again in the next few months before the rains come.

Moving on up

We spent a busy weekend packing and moving from our one bedroom apartment to a larger upstairs apartment vacated by one of our colleagues. The move was scheduled to happen in July but because of the medical evacuation of the former resident the date was moved forward. Our co-worker is receiving medical treatment in the US and will stay there for at least a year. The first challenge was to pack their belongings and store them. The second was to move our stuff out of storage and from the one bedroom apartment into the new location.Don’t ask how many trips I made up and down the stairs.

I wished to post a photo of our new view towards the port of Pointe Noire. Technical problems make posting photos a challenge. I will try to post the photo soon. We get a nice breeze here and are not dependent on air conditioning like we were in the other apartment.

Looking to the SW we can see the port of Pointe Noire. The port is lit up every night while other parts of the city are dark. The ships line up and wait to be unloaded or loaded. There is a stream that flows into the bay not far from our apartment. There are interesting birds to be seen. A crested hoopoe visits our yard and speckled mousebirds rob our ripe papayas.

Hello from the Republic of Congo!

We are getting settled in Pointe Noire and are spending most of our time learning about the country and this city. Here are some of the things that we discovered.

Where is Congo? What is it like?

The Republic of Congo is found in Central Africa and shares a border with Cameroun, Central African Republic to the north, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the east and south, the small exclave of Angola to the south, and Gabon to the west. It is a little bigger than Italy and has almost 2.5 million people who live in the south mainly in the two main cities, Brazzaville (the capital) and Pointe Noire (the economic center and port). The northern section of the country is mainly rain forest. Congo is located on the equator and has a tropical climate with an average temperature of 75 degrees.

What are we doing here?

Our main priority will be to help the local churches grow and plant other churches in and around the city of Pointe Noire. We will also help the pastors develop leaders in their own congregations. We will work in cooperation with the CEC-PN (Christian Leadership Center-Pointe Noire) in this task.

How can we help?

You can pray for us.

1. We are looking for God’s guidance. We are not sure how and where to start our work here.

2. Pray for our housing. We are looking for housing as well and not sure what to do. We are living in a guest house now which is a little small but larger than what we were used to in France.

3. Pray for your participation with us in the ministry here. You play an important role in all aspects of our ministry here. We are excited about what God will do in and through us as we begin this journey together in the Congo.

Christmas

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! We will soon leave these beautiful snow-covered mountains of the French Alps for our new home in the Republic of Congo. We successfully finished our French language study and are preparing to leave January 10 to fly into Brazzaville. We will be getting an orientation into the country there then going on to Pointe Noire where we will live. Our daughter, Andrea, is here in Albertville for Christmas and is having a great time enjoying the snow, the mountains, and the good food. It is such a treat for us to have her. We have spent much of the holiday with our new French friends and with some of the students who are not able to go home for Christmas. Drea has quickly remembered her French and is communicating well in the language. Pray for our adjustment as we change cultures, climates, and ministries. We depend upon your prayers.

May God bless you as we celebrate the coming of his Son and our Savior, Jesus.

Wyman and Carma Nelson

Albertville

We have been studying French very hard in Albertville, France. It is exciting and discouraging and we need your prayers. We are in class from 8:40-4:15 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with two hours of homework minimum each night and a weekend test to return on the following Monday. We are not complaining because we are making progress. We have a tutor each week as well who answers all our questions and gives us more to learn. He is a blessing to both of us.


Once a week we take a hike. Since Albertville is surrounded by mountains, it is easy to find a good trail with beautiful views. The picture we have included was taken on our last hike. God is so good to us.

We have news from the Congo. We are not going to the capital, Brazzaville, but the port city of Pointe Noire. The national church wants to start churches in that area and thought that we would be just right for the job. The church and the mission are also building a youth center there and we may be able to help with that as well. We are happy that they are sending us where they feel the churches are ready to grow. We will give you more details as we hear them. We leave France in early January for the Republic of Congo. Praise God with us. We are finally returning to Africa.

Please feel free to comment on our blog. If you have a problem doing so let us know. Continue to pray for us that we will progress in reading and speaking French. We will try to keep you posted each month. Send us your prayer requests so that we can pray for your needs as well.

All for Him who is worthy,

Carma and Wyman Nelson

First Post

We are currently in beautiful Albertville, France. I wish it were a vacation but we are here to study French and get up to speed in the language before we head on to Brazzaville, Rep. of Congo.

Our first weekend here we hiked to the top of the Belle Etoile just outside of Albertville. From the top we could see Mount Blanc in the distance.