Since its inception, Providence UMC has been about reaching people outside the walls of the church, both locally and around the world. Part of the dream was that someday, we would be a part of building a school in a developing country. When we officially chartered as a church in September 2009, Pastor Jacob spoke about this as a longterm dream for our church. Little did we know that God had a better plan. Two months later, we ambitiously set a goal of raising $10,600 to build a school for the Moj Village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We approached it in faith but with a little apprehension. Could our new congregation really raise that much money for a school halfway around the world?
We began communicating the dream in December but had backup plans in case that amount was too ambitious. Each week we began seeing the offering for the school grow, slowly at first, but very encouragingly. As Christmas approached, we realized that it was going to happen - no backup plans would be needed. We were ecstatic that we were going to reach the goal of $10,600. But God's plan was still not complete. We reached that goal only to see it surpassed by over 40%. The final total sent to Advance through the General Board of Global Missions (GBGM) was $15,088. Just look what God did!
The project coodinator for the school is Rev. Sambas in the Congo. He travelled to the Moj Village in February to begin site preparation. While there, he began working with the people of the Moj Village as they started work on their contribution to this project. They will be making all the bricks that will be used in the school. Pictured to the left is the leadership of the Moj Village, including the chief.
The GBGM will work with the Methodist Conference in the Congo to insure accountability. The budgets have now been approved for the project. The funds will be disbursed from the GBGM to the conference in April and work will begin.
For Rev. Sambas, the work now begins. Over the coming months, he will keep us updated on the progress and we will see this school rise from the dust of this small village in the Congo. Pray for Rev. Sambas as he oversees this project. Pray for the people of the Moj Village as they do their part by making bricks and helping with construction. Pray for the teachers who are currently teaching outside or in a small, leaky hut with almost no teaching materials, being paid only in fish and crops. Pray for the children who will be the recipients of this new facility with opportunities for education that they could not even imagine before. And offer up prayers of gratitude that God has allowed us to be a part of bringing hope for a future to a village that before had little hope.
Basic plans for the 6-room school
Elevation plan - Note the latrine in the upper-right hand corner. Up to this point, they have had no latrine for the children.
Since its inception, Providence UMC has been about reaching people outside the walls of the church, both locally and around the world. Part of the dream was that someday, we would be a part of building a school in a developing country. When we officially chartered as a church in September 2009, Pastor Jacob spoke about this as a longterm dream for our church. Little did we know that God had a better plan. Two months later, we ambitiously set a goal of raising $10,600 to build a school for the Moj Village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We approached it in faith but with a little apprehension. Could our new congregation really raise that much money for a school halfway around the world?
The project coodinator for the school is Rev. Sambas in the Congo. He travelled to the Moj Village in February to begin site preparation. While there, he began working with the people of the Moj Village as they started work on their contribution to this project. They will be making all the bricks that will be used in the school. Pictured to the left is the leadership of the Moj Village, including the chief.
For Rev. Sambas, the work now begins. Over the coming months, he will keep us updated on the progress and we will see this school rise from the dust of this small village in the Congo. Pray for Rev. Sambas as he oversees this project. Pray for the people of the Moj Village as they do their part by making bricks and helping with construction. Pray for the teachers who are currently teaching outside or in a small, leaky hut with almost no teaching materials, being paid only in fish and crops. Pray for the children who will be the recipients of this new facility with opportunities for education that they could not even imagine before. And offer up prayers of gratitude that God has allowed us to be a part of bringing hope for a future to a village that before had little hope.
