Noé & Bethany Kasali: December 2012

Hello family and friends!

We hope you had a good Thanksgiving with family and friends. We celebrated in Beni with Stevie and Chris, David and Kassie, and a new young couple Ryan and Kate, who joined us here in early November. It was a good American Thanksgiving in Congo!

We had mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, cauliflower, sombe, rice, steak (yum), cake and even a pumpkin pie! It was a huge feast and one that we enjoyed as we just spent time together.

But we also were worried for and praying for people in and around Goma as there was tension there during that time. As of now, reports say that the rebel group has moved out, and the government of North Kivu (which had temporarily been relocated to Beni) is back in Goma as of Monday. So we wait to see what will happen to bring lasting peace to that area and the region as a whole. People are tired of conflict, struggle, violence, and war. We pray that we will see healing soon.

Things in Beni remain peaceful, quiet, and calm. We thank God for that blessing as other cities saw violent protests against the government and M23’s ability to take over Goma. In Beni, the protesters stayed home. Typically protests begin / are encouraged by university students who may damage and destroy public (and private) property in a way to voice their frustration. But in Beni, the students said they would not attend class for two days, and encouraged other students to stay home and let their voices be heard in a peaceful way. This was encouraging to the people of the town – it showed a new way of doing things.

On another note, we are not writing this blog post from Beni, but while on a much-needed vacation, in Kampala! We left Beni early on Sunday morning after finishing up many responsibilities at UCBC and home. We arrived safely in Kampala on Sunday night and are enjoying the electricity, rest, and rain. It’s both hotter and rainier here in Kampala… It rained about five times yesterday, and it was so warm and sunny as well! Doesn’t feel so much like Christmas, until Christmas songs come on the radio!

On the way to Kampala, we went through a little section of the Queen Elizabeth National Park, hoping to see elephants near a lake that they frequent. It was around mid-day so we didn’t see even one. However, we did see several hippopotami (is that plural for hippopotamus?) in and near the lake, baboons along the road and in trees, wild pigs, water buffalo, impala, kob (bigger than deer), pink birds in a salt lake that looked like flamingos from far, a small, but fast, young crocodile crossing the road, and wild zebras!!!! It was such a beautiful start to our vacation. We also loved going through the Virunga forest in Congo before getting to Uganda – it’s gorgeous too. The diversity of God’s creation in this area is amazing.

We are happy to have a little time off. It has been a long several months so this time is so wonderful. Since our wedding in March (and for months before!) we’ve been working non-stop. We plan to be here with a family until after Christmas, before heading back to Beni and work.

We hope that each of you are having a good week. Thank you so much for your prayers for us, for North Kivu, people around Goma, and for the country.

As Christmas approaches, our prayer is that we will not only remember Christ’s birth in this month… But that we would live as His reflection – proclaiming His birth, life, and resurrection – all throughout the year.

Love,

Noé and Bethany