A month ago, the Moores and the Ostranders flew together out of Minembwe to the city of Bukavu in the DRC. Lisa and I came out so we could fly back to the USA, while Miles, Emilee, and the girls did so they could deal with visa requirements, etc. for their continued stay in the DRC. Lisa and I actually decided to fly out at the same time as the Ostranders, which was three weeks earlier than we originally had planned, since there was talk of the flights being suspended out of Minembwe due to the ongoing “conflict.”

While in Bukavu, Miles and Emilee also secured many needed supplies and then the security was stable enough that their family was able to return back to Minembwe on the plane. Lisa and I continued from Bukavu on to the city of Goma via a boat ride during a storm across Lake Kivu—a journey that I wondered at times, all kidding aside, if we would end up on the bottom of the lake somewhere far short of our destination. The three-hour boat ride became four and a half hours, but the boat finally found its way to Goma, although many of its occupants (even those sitting inside) exited the boat drenched in lake water. I can now totally relate to the disciples freaking out while Jesus slept during the storm on their lake. The next day, again, three weeks earlier than planned, Lisa and I flew out of Goma on our way back to the States.

Then, just over a week ago on March 22, a very active volcano, Mt. Nyiragongo, located only nine miles from the city of Goma, erupted and sent lava flowing toward the city—destroying villages and killing people along its path. The lava flow made its way into the outer neighborhoods of Goma, stopping about three hundred yards short of the airport runway.

The volcano is 169 miles away (as the crow flies) from the Ostranders and all those we love dearly in Minembwe, so they are not in danger. What sticks in the mind for us on a personal level is that Lisa and I were originally scheduled to arrive in Goma on May 20 and ticketed to fly out of Goma on May 24. If we had followed those plans, we would have been in Goma on May 22 and swept up in the tragedy and trapped with everyone else. There have been hundreds of aftershocks since the eruption and discovery of magma/lava and poisonous gases ready to erupt up through the middle of the city of Goma. Lake Kivu has also turned color and they suspect that harmful gases are being released from the lake, everyone within a 15 mile radius of the lake has been asked to evacuate or face asphyxiation. There is also a risk of a potential tsunami. Please pray for all those affected by this catastrophe!

An update from the Ostranders on the work in Minembwe is coming soon.

Somehow!

Michael