Mission: Congo

Dear Friends,

My summer vacation ended quickly when school started on Monday. My last couple days have been quite hectic and tiring, but it is a good tired because I am glad to be back at school and working with the children everyday. There are many many children at the school. The Director told me Monday evening that there were close to 200 children the first day and there are still more coming to sign up. This is way up from last year, where we had just over 100 children at the school. I am not sure how they all fit, but someone it works out. More »« Less

Dear Friends,

Again I apologize for the long time in between my updates. The days seem to be going by so fast. Sometimes I think I feel so used to my life here that I forget I should stop and write about it.

Here is what I have been up to the last few weeks. More »« Less

Dear Friends,

I am sorry for letting so much time pass since my last update. It seems odd but since I have been able to access the internet from home I have been forgetting to send updates on what has been going on here.

The month of August has brought me some great memories. The first weekend of the month was a territorial music festival. It was fun watching all of the different groups perform, but it was also a long and tiring day. It was probably the longest meeting I had ever been to; there were 34 numbers on the program, and the meeting started at 10am and finished close to 3pm.

The next weekend: More »« Less

Dear Friends,

So, Saturday afternoon I am squished in the middle of an African bus, sitting in between two seats, bumping along down the road, on my way to the farewell service for the Territorial Youth Secretary, and the topic of conversation all around me is the Officer (Pastor) moves. Who is moving where? Who is replacing who? and so on and so forth.

More »« Less

Dear Friends,

This weekend Congo had their presidential elections. It was interesting because elections in Africa are very different from elections at home.

On Sunday, voting day, everything was closed. Everyone was supposed to just stay home or go out to vote. I joked with the kids that we switched the days this weekend, because we even had to hold church on Saturday morning instead of Sunday morning. So, we said that Sunday came before Saturday this week.

But I think the biggest and perhaps the saddest difference between elections here and there is the lack of enthusiasm or excitement about the election. Basically most people here were not that excited about the election other than they wanted to make sure the right person won so the country remains in a peaceful situation. Although there were thirteen candidates, that didn’t really matter because the president was going to win, and if he didn’t he would make sure he did. It seemed to me like the election was just for show.

Its good to live in a country where I feel like my vote counts.

Things are going well with my english class. I have about 7 students depending on the day.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Tracy Pilewski

Dear Friends,

This weekend while most people back in the USA were celebrating the July 4th Independence Day, The Salvation Army here in the Congo was celebrating Founder’s Day. Saturday afternoon there were meetings at all the corps (churches), an officer (pastor) from a different corps came to teach about William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, and his mission for starting The Salvation Army.

Then on Sunday there was a divisional united meeting where hundreds of Salvationists were encouraged to stand up for the Mission. Christ has given all of us a mission and we all need to stand up and follow it. (If you are not sure what that mission is, then you need to look no further than Matthew 28:16-20).

So, that is the latest news from The Salvation Army Congo Brazzaville Territory, but what is going on with Tracy?

Since school is not in session now, upon the request of many people, I have begun teaching English lessons, open to anyone who would like to learn English. So far, I have two students. I was a little surprised at first because several people have told me they want to learn English from me and they are going to come. I am told that there will probably be more this week, and hopefully more people come. But the way I see it, even if I only have two students I will be able to get to know them well and hopefully God will use me to be a blessing in their lives.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Tracy Pilewski

*UPDATE: Since I wrote this letter, I now have 6 students in my English class.

Dear Friends,

Last week I wrote that we were preparing for the end of the year party. This week I am happy to report that the end of the year party went very well.  Of course there were a few bumps, but over all I believe it was a good end to a successful school year, and I can see that the school leadership has good plans to make things even better next year.

Perhaps I’m biased, but I must say that I think the most impressive part of the program was the English skit by the second grade class. One of the students played the role of the teacher and they held a mock English lesson. The students greeted the teacher, they sang a song, they each introduced themselves, they named several classroom items, and then they went over the seven days of the week. The students really did a fantastic job. I could tell that the parents and the guests were very impressed, as they watched.

Even after the party was over and everyone had left, I was talking with the Director and he was still talking about what a great job the kids did with the English class. He explained to me that it is rare to see children that young speaking English like that. Here in Congo Brazzaville all the students begin learning English in what is equivalent to our 6th grade.

Some private schools offer English at the primary level, but it usually begins at what would be our 4th or 5th grade. Even then it is usually just a few words like “good morning”, “how are you?”, and “goodbye.” So, you can see how this short skit by the 2nd grade class pleased the parents.

What really amazes me, though, is how God can do so much with so little. I didn’t always feel like I was doing much, just teaching a little bit of English each day. But at the end of the year it adds up. Now the parents are very happy with what is going at the school and this in turn helps the school to work well.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Tracy Pilewski

Dear Friends,

This was the last week of school. Now we are preparing for the end of the year party which will take place Saturday the 27th.

I believe that the school year ended successfully. I was looking through the results of each class and there were very few students who didn’t pass and will be repeating the same class. In terms of my work, well, the students are not fluent in English, but I think they learned quite a bit in the months that I have been here.

The students in the older class have fun trying to speak in English the little that they have learned and they are always asking me to teach them more. The younger classes are always very excited when I come and work in their classes. The second grade class has even prepared a mock English class skit to present at the party and show their parents what they have learned.

The parents are also very pleased that their children are learning some English. At a recent parent meeting many of the parents expressed how happy they were that their children are learning English and that even the preschoolers can greet someone in English.

Now that school is out I am not really sure what I will be doing, but I know God has some plans for my summer. I am looking forward to planning some special activities for the children, since many of them will just be hanging out at their homes all the time. I am also looking forward to visiting some other parts of the Congo and participating in the different youth camps that are planned.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Tracy Pilewski

Dear Friends,

The big event this week was definitely the Matondo on Sunday. In the local language Matondo means thank you. Matondo is held twice a year here, in June and in December. Basically Matondo is a celebration thanks God for bringing you through another six months of life and giving back to God what He has given to you.

We had been preparing for Matondo for a the last couple months, so I was very interested to see what it would be like. Several weeks ago envelopes were handed out to everyone, and we were told to fill the envelope with money. Now you didn’t just get one envelope but you got one for each group you are a part of. I got three; one for the area where I live, one for the youth, and one for the Corps Cadets.

Then on Sunday the day of Matondo, we brought our envelopes with us to church and gave them to the leader of the group the envelope was for. During the service the leaders brought up the money and gave it placed it in a large bowl at the front of the church. Something I found interesting was that some groups in something symbolizing their group. For example, the envelopes from the Corps Cadets were placed inside the Corps Cadet manual and the envelopes for the Mother’s League were put inside a purse.

Giving is very important here. There is a collection taken at every meeting, even at rehearsals and Bible Studies. But it is not just at church. From a young age the children are taught to give some of what they have to their friends. I often see the children at school breaking off a piece of their bread or candy to share with their friends. At home it often seems like we have a mentality of, “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours.” But here it is more like, “What’s mine is ours.” I believe this is one of the many lessons that God has brought me here to learn. I mean what we have is not really ours anyway but was given to us by God, so it makes sense to want to share with those around us and to give back to God what He has been gracious enough to give us.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Tracy Pilewski