From Bringing Mobility to Gabon
One of the most beautiful things we get to witness at E4 Project is the commitment from partner churches who send teams to serve alongside our partners in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Our teams differ from a lot of short-term missions teams in that many of the same people return year after year which has created incredible cross-cultural friendships and relationships that develop more every trip. Several of the people who traveled with our team from Bridge Community Church in Troy, MI have served with our partners on at least four to six teams. We are so humbled by their service and commitment to fully give of their lives minute by minute to the Kingdom of God.
Just A Minute
I’ve only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it,
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it.
Give an account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.
– Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
We shared a lot about the mobility program in Gabon that we were working toward in our last newsletter. As of last month, we saw this program come to fruition with this team from Bridge. We worked with our Gabonese partners of RBC (community-based rehabilitation) to provide mobility carts to people with disabilities throughout Gabon. The team spent the majority of their time traveling throughout the country, from the capital city to villages that took hours and hours of driving on very rugged roads to bring mobility to many who have never before had it before. Of the 197 carts sent over in our first container, the team helped distribute the first 87 in Libreville, and in four local churches in the south of the country located in Lebamba, Bongolo, Mbigou, and Malinga. The beauty of this program and doing each distribution at a church is that we get to serve alongside local churches as they reach the poor and needy in their communities.
One particularly long but rewarding day took our team to two remote communities tucked away in the jungles of Gabon. It was past midnight by the time our convoy had completed the distribution in Malinga and made it to Mbigou due to the bad roads. Our team was humbled to see the large group of people with disabilities still waiting at the church after hours of darkness. One teen who received a cart that night was weeping with joy because he could not believe that the cart was truly for him. Delivering this cart to him was worth the long and difficult trip, let alone the other 19 people who were blessed with improved mobility that day.
After working side-by-side with the team, our Gabonese partners have been continuing the distribution in Libreville and are planning another trip to the south of Gabon in November to distribute the remaining mobility carts. The church has a list of names of people needing mobility carts in the southern tip of Gabon that greatly exceeds the amount of carts we have to offer currently. With your help we hope to send more carts in 2020 and beyond. What better way can we “defend the cause of the poor and needy” than by providing those who have been crawling in the dirt with mobility? We again want to thank all of you who have prayed for this, financially supported this effort, built carts in Michigan and went to Gabon to take part in this program coming full-circle.
We wanted to focus on the team that was in Gabon in September this month, but we do have a lot of other programs and projects currently happening.
…
We are so thankful for all of you who partner with us through prayer, financial support and giving of your time to serve God in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a gift to have the opportunity to serve alongside you all.
