Two Hours that Transformed

How do I know if the school we started in Congo will be what it set out to be, “a school where transformation of the heart takes place”?  I have often thought to myself, “Are our expectations realistic? Are our hopes too high?  Is transformation, the way we understand it, transcultural, or just what our western “Christian” perspective thinks is best ?”

I just got off a long Skype call with my colleague Fima in Congo.  I had been dreading the purpose for the call: trimming our school budget down by $9000.

Fima in his office :-)

In wonderful Congolese tradition, where time is not seen as something we waste or reluctantly give away, Fima asked how I was doing … and really wanted to hear my answer. I asked how he and the school were doing, and took time to listen to what he was saying. After a while we got to the main reason for the call … THE BUDGET.  As we worked our way down the list of revenues and expenses trying to think through the items we could reduce or where we could add revenue we branched off onto various topics, usually communicated through a story, events, or ideas related to each category.

For example, the principal from a neighboring  “Christian” school (I put this in quotations because my African colleague pointed out that Christian might not mean very much in Congo) had approached Fima earlier that morning and asked if our school (FKA) could help train some of their teachers. They wanted to learn what makes our school different. Would we be open to helping them? (We might possibly even gain a little revenue if we set up a training program).

Another idea to help reduce the cost was putting off the hiring of a school janitor. Fima’s idea was to let a young man he had “taken under his wing” do some work for us. He mentioned that he was spending time showing him how to take care of the school ground, how we wanted the school cleaned, and even how to use a vacuum cleaner  (something I have discovered they don’t normally use in Congo).  He mentioned that while he was out there working with him and getting dirty the other day, the teachers had laughed and thought it was great that the head of school was not just sitting in his office, but getting his hands dirty!

He also said, “We don’t have to put money into embellishing the school grounds because the last couple of weeks parents have started bringing little contributions of plants that we can plant on our school grounds … It will all be in bloom when you come in November!”  He also mentioned that parents were so pleased with the transformation they were seeing in their children that they wanted to help in whatever way they could. One little girl who has special motor needs has shown such improvement that the parents are thrilled!  Another boy has quit hitting other children, and many are expressing with words their love for Jesus and others. 

I also told him that some of my friends here in Germany wanted to help the education of children in Congo by participating financially in a child’s education. He was thrilled because he knows so many families that would love to have a child at our school, but they just can’t afford it!

Sand box activities ( we still don't have sand box toys, but it's fun to be creative!)

 By the end of our 2-hour “work call” we amazingly achieved what we had set out to do: “trim our budget by $9000”.  I was pumped! 

 But what thrilled me even more was the confirmation that transformation is happening in and through a little school in the heart of the huge city of Kinshasa. God (Jahweh) is breathing His life into the FATEB Kinshasa Academy to impact, encourage and bring about change in the lives of its students, staff, parents, leadership, a neighboring school, friends here in Europe, my own family, and maybe even some of you ... and that is what really matters!