6 hour drive, 1 flight, 2 trains and a few days late, here I am in Lancaster for the HOPE International Leadership Summit. Despite the late hour, I quickly met other interns with amazing stories ranging from Bolivian roots (coincidently the same country my girl friend is from) to a moving Rwandan background (and already a few words in Kiswahili, specifically hujambo which means hello).
Saturday was packed with worship, devotions and meetings. First, we drilled Jessy, one of the vice-presidents, about the HOPE microfinance model before hearing more about the origins of the Christ-centered organization from Jeff, one of the two original founders, and finally interacting with a panel of country directors including Manny, who serves in Brazzaville right over the Congo river near Kinshasa the capital of the DRC (african geography 101 for you beginners). Fascinating topics and questions throughout the day with several eye-opening quotes which I attempted to retransmit in part to those of you enjoying the weekend via Twitter. The evening was more relaxed as we partook in smore making and several entertaining theological discussions.
Sunday was a well-deserved day of rest. Most of the staff was recommended/chose to attend Calvary, which was a memorable experience in itself due to the very large size of the congregation. Soccer resonated with several of us during the afternoon before we had dinner with our passion prayer groups. I was also blessed to meet Modeste, the finance director for the DRC, later in the evening as well as have a lovely conversation with Catherine, who served and lived in Lubumbashi for nearly 7 years. After another very encouraging time of worship and praise, I sadly failed to beat one of the big guys in ping pong (maybe next time).
Voila, these are obviously some very down to earth reactions which I plan to revamp once I am actually experiencing joys and hardships in the DRC. Feel free to leave notes of encouragement, recommendations and especially questions. I would love to hear your opinions throughout the summer. In the meantime, may the Lord fill you with joy this next week.
Roger
