this is the beach and you can see the mountains of the congo in the background.

one of the bible study/clubs of new generation that we spent time with yesterday.

these three pictures are from another club outside of our town. so many people meeting together to study about Jesus :) so wonderful!

this is africa.

• during a casual lunch conversation we somehow brought up the topic of noses. dieudonne then told us that a person's nose was how they distinguished whether you were a hutu or a tutsi during the war. they would stop random buses, cars, walkers, etc and if they didn't like your nose, they would kill you on the spot. dieudonne said his nose was a little of both so whatever group stopped him, he would have to convince them he was on their side.

• just talking randomly in a conversation i noticed two huge scars on this guys arm. i asked him what they were from and he said gun shots. he then showed us a huge scar on his leg from where they hit him with a machete. my mouth just hung open and the boys kind of laughed. this is their normal.

• we also met with the first group of street kids that new generation took in 12 years ago. they were between the ages of 3-8 years old. they are still living in a new generation house and finishing school. many of them work as well to help out with daily needs. their stories of having their parents killed in the war and having no place but the streets to live was so devastating. they have been given hope, Jesus, and a new life.

• we were sitting on the porch having a meeting and this little boy came up to us. we had our friend teddy claude translate for us. he asked us if we had any food he could have for him and his little brother. he was absolutely filthy with torn clothes. he told us that he has to dig through the dumpsters to try and find coals which he can take into town and try to sell. the little bit of money is how he buys food for his family. he didn't know how old he was, but i would guess 7. kim and i went inside and put a bunch of our food in a bag for him to take home.

this is africa.