A New Year in CAR

One of my favorite scriptures for New Year's Day is "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare…"  (Isaiah 42:9a).  What new things have happened in the Central African Republic (CAR) during the past year?  What does the new year hold?

In Baboua, where we live, one new thing that has come to pass in 2009 is that we are now connected to the rest of the world by cell phone.  We are no longer quite so isolated from the rest of the world.  Another new thing is the appearance of Chinese engineers who are building a highway from the Cameroonian border to Bouar, headquarters for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR.  This distance of some 85 miles now takes about four hours to traverse on the dusty, pot-holed, dirt road that serves as the main highway connecting the capital with the rest of the world.

During the past year, peace reigned throughout most of the CAR, though there were a few small disturbances in the far north and east of this Texas-sized country.  Pray for peace to continue in 2010, especially throughout the presidential election and legislative election scheduled later this year.  According to the United Nations, "CAR is now ranked 179 out of 182 countries on the Human Development Index." This is actually a slight improvement from 2008, but it indicates the severity of problems such as infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition, lack of education and medical care, lack of access to clean water, etc.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR has weathered a difficult year.  Nearly half of its funding comes from the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).  Mission giving was down in 2009, resulting in cutbacks first of 7%, then 10% to ELCA's grants to CAR.  Programs which have suffered include treatment for AIDS patients, clean water for villages, and education for seminary and Bible School students.  So far the church has been able to make some budget reductions without having to close any programs.  Yet, if the cuts continue, some difficult decisions will have to be made.  Your continued support of our work here and of Global Mission makes a big difference in this country which is so impoverished.

One bright spot has been the construction of the health clinic in Gallo, a town about thirty miles east of us.  Questions still remain as to how to fund the continued operation of this clinic, but it will open its doors in early 2010 to help improve the quality of health care in this part of CAR. 

We want to say "Thanks!" to all of you who have supported us financially and have prayed for us and for our work here in CAR during 2009.  Your help has made a difference.  We could not be here without you.  We look forward to continuing our partnership with you, serving Christ together in 2010.

Your missionaries to CAR,

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Joe and Deborah Troester are ELCA missionaries in Baboua, the Central African Republic.   Pastor Deborah teaches Greek and English at the Theological School in Baboua. Joe serves as technical advisor for PASE, which provides clean drinking water and promotes good hygiene and sanitation to villagers. Their daughter, Christa, attends seventh grade at Rain Forest International School in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

 

 

Christmas Time!

When it comes to Christmas, I can be a bit of a Scrooge. My daughter wrote this poem to capture her father's feelings about the season.  However, the photo seems to have caught me in a good mood.

 

Christmas Time!

 

          By Christa Troester

 

Christmas time, Christmas time

The roads are filled with traffic

Christmas time, Christmas time

Everyone's busy wreaking havoc

Christmas time, Christmas time

Everyone's busy hurrying

Christmas time, Christmas time

No time for anything but worrying

 

There are Christmas songs everywhere

The same old songs filling the air

The same old songs buzzing in my head

The songs that fill me with Christmas dread

 

There are decorations all around

On the ceiling and on the ground

There's even tinsel in my beard

Does no one else find this weird?

 

Christmas time, Christmas time

No one seems to care a thing

Christmas time, Christmas time

All they want to do is sing

Christmas time, Christmas time

Everyone's honking like geese

Christmas time, Christmas time

All I want is Christmas PEACE!

 

World Toilet Day 2009

This Thursday, 19 November, is World Toilet Day—a day to celebrate the humble, yet vitally important, toilet and to raise awareness of the global sanitation crisis. Forty percent of the world's population does not have a toilet. In the town where we live in the Central African Republic, 70 percent of the homes do not have a latrine (such as the one pictured above). As you can imagine, the practice of open defecation spreads disease and contaminates water sources. This only complicates the task of the Water Management Project (known as PASE for its acronym in French) where I serve as technical advisor.

 

PASE works with villagers to teach them proper hygiene and helps to provide sources of clean drinking water. We would like to also improve sanitation in villages, but we are limited by lack of funding and personnel.   In a country such as the CAR, which has so many problems, most people are not concerned about sanitation, so the first step is raising awareness of the problem.  Thank you for your support of our program, during these times of continued financial difficulties throughout the world.

 

Joe Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

 

Photo: The photographs above are of an improved latrine. The walls are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) high. The hole is about 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter, with a plastic lid to keep the flies down. The dirt floor around the hole is mounded, so that rainfall runs away from the hole.

 

Joe and Deborah Troester are ELCA missionaries in Baboua, the Central African Republic.   Joe serves as technical advisor for PASE, which provides clean drinking water and promotes good hygiene and sanitation to villagers.  Pastor Deborah teaches at the Theological School in Baboua. 

 

 

Dry Season

The following letter was sent to our Lutheran supporters regarding cutbacks in funding in ELCA-Global Mission.

__

Dear Friends,

Here in the Central African Republic (CAR) the dry season is on the way. Rainstorms are becoming less frequent and shorter. Soon the rains will stop altogether until April. People hope that the crops they have stored will carry them through till the harvest next fall.

It seems that dry season has also arrived at ELCA Global Mission. The church-wide office in Chicago foresees the possibility of a 30% reduction in giving. This is apparently in protest of actions taken in Minneapolis a couple of months ago. This reduction comes on top of a 10% funding cut earlier this year, due to the world-wide economic downturn. Losing so much funding in one year has required GM to make some drastic cutbacks in personnel and programs.

Regardless of anyone's opinions regarding the actions taken by the General Assembly, protesting by withholding funds has serious consequences which are detrimental to the work of our partner churches, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR (Also known as the EELRCA, after its French acronym). Due to this sudden drop in funding, ELCA-GM has been forced to withhold the 4th quarter grant to its partner churches. The EELRCA counts on these quarterly contributions of ELCA, which constitute almost half of the EELRCA's annual budget of $670,000 (less than the annual budget of some larger congregations in the U.S.).

Without ELCA's promised 4th quarter contribution, church projects are now out of money here in the CAR. Salaries cannot be paid, and may not be paid for several months. With no money for activities or salaries, the development, education, and evangelization projects funded by ELCA in CAR cannot do their work and are closing their doors. Other programs continue, but without the necessary funds, how long will they be able to keep on providing services?

For example, where Deborah teaches at the Theological School, students may have to go without their $40 a month stipend. Some of the students there gave up careers such as teaching to become pastors – and more pastors are desperately needed in the CAR. Now they may have to watch their children go hungry. Money for doctor's fees for their families will be impossible to pay.

Others who may suffer include AIDS patients, villagers waiting for clean water, and families who cannot afford medicines or school fees for their children. We don't think that ELCA members who have decided to withhold funds from Chicago wish for these outcomes, or even know that as a result of their actions people are suffering in the CAR.

Now is the time when you can help turn this situation around. We thank you for your continued support of our ministry, and ask your help to convince others to continue to support the work of Global Mission, especially in the neediest countries, such as the CAR. May God bless you as you serve Christ in your community and around the world.

Your missionaries in the Central African Republic,

Joe and Deborah Troester

Giving thanks: Robin Strickler

 Visit the Hand in Hand blog digest to read the first of the "Give thanks!" series by ELCA missionary Robin Strickler (Rwanda).  Make it easy:  follow the "Subscribe" link at http://blogs.elca.org/handinhand (upper right-hand box) and have new posts e-mailed to you.

 

Thanksgiving in the Central African Republic

"Osoko, Jesu, Osoko!" – "Thank you, Jesus, thank you!" sings the choir of young people as they march into the sanctuary, swaying to the beat of their thanksgiving song.  In Baboua, Central African Republic, it is the time of the Don de Récolte – the Harvest Offering.  Like our Thanksgiving celebrations, it is a harvest festival, when congregations bring in the best of their harvest, along with a special offering, to thank God for the blessings of the past year, especially for good crops and food on their tables.  Women wearing colorful floor-length African dresses come bearing dishes full of manioc or a large bunch of bananas to place before the altar.  Men dressed in long robes, or in their best T-shirts and jeans, bring their envelopes containing a special monetary gift for the Thanksgiving Offering.  Little children, led by their Sunday School teachers, file down the aisle, clutching their few francs to deposit in the plastic offering basket.  One little girl, about three years old, has to be persuaded to let go of her money and drop it in! 

 

At the Tongo Lutheran Church in Baboua, the entire congregation waits as the money is being counted.  As a choir sings to the accompaniment of drums and rhythm instruments, deaconesses serve us coffee and bananas.  This is the first church I have ever attended in which we stopped and took a coffee break during the service!   (Since the service lasted three hours, it wasn't a bad idea.)  At last the good news is announced:  the total offering comes to over $300.  "What an offering!" exclaims the president of the congregation.  Everyone cheers.  This will ensure that the work of the church can continue for another year.  Perhaps they will even be able to afford to buy communion wine.  The lay pastor will receive his small salary.  Of course, offerings are taken every Sunday, but the Thanksgiving offering helps to carry the church through the dry season (November through May), when times are leaner, and food is not as plentiful. 

 

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, remember your brothers and sisters in the Central African Republic, and rejoice with them that the God of the harvest is good. 

 

Pastor Deborah Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

In Memory of Jonathan Kühne (January 27 to October 5, 2009)

The average life expectancy here in the Central African Republic is just under 40 years. That means we attend a lot of funerals. Yesterday we attended one that was especially sad.

 

Jonathan was the 8-month-old son of the Rev. Mirco and Rahel Kühne. They are missionaries from Germany serving here in Baboua. They both teach at the Bible School and have been busy raising their three boys: Aaron, Daniel, and Jonathan. On Sunday, Jonathan became ill with malaria. On Monday morning he died of complications from a disease that kills way too many people. The funeral was held at their house in the afternoon. He was buried yesterday by his swing, down by their garden.

 

Please pray for the family and for the many others affected by this series disease.

 

Joe and Deborah Troester
Baboua, Central African Republic

 

Hope for the Future?

This past Sunday I visited the Sango Lutheran Church, a brick structure with a cement floor and an aluminum roof just a quarter-mile down the red dirt road from our house.  As I arrived, I saw people in colorful clothing gathering for the service.  The catechist, wearing a scarlet robe, greeted me at the entrance, and I was shown to a plastic chair placed strategically near a window, so I could get some fresh air during the three hour long service. 

I went to see my friend Rosalie's baby Fortuné baptized.  Rosalie is my Sango teacher.  In exchange, I help her with her English.  She is studying sociology at the University of Bangui, but has taken the year off to have her baby.  Her husband, Jean-Paul, is also a student.  Fortuné was born with some problems; even though he is six months old, all he can do is cry, nurse, and sleep.  The doctor is not sure that he will develop normally. 

Yet, I am glad that Fortuné was born into a loving family.  Both Rosalie and Jean-Paul are Lutheran PK's – pastor's kids.  Rosalie's father is director of the Bible School, which trains catechists (lay pastors) for the Lutheran Church of the CAR.  Fortuné's family will do the best they can for him.

The service begins with some 20 or 30 young people filing in, singing lively praises in Sango.  After more singing, the service begins.  Finally, the moment everyone is waiting for:  the catechist calls the names of the infants to be baptized that day:  Fortuné, Stefan, Annette, Christa Elise, and five others.    As their parents carry them up to the font, I notice that little Fortuné is decked out in a red and white striped hand-knitted outfit, complete with cap.  He has the privilege of being baptized by his paternal grandfather.  Afterwards I see that Rosalie is crying.    

When I got home, I reflected on these nine children, and what the future might hold for them.  If statistics are right, at least one, and maybe two of them will not live to see their fifth birthday.  This is a country where infant mortality is high – 20% die before age five.  Of the eight or so who will live, about half will attend school and learn to read and write.  If there are four girls and four boys, three of the boys will probably attend elementary school.  Only one of the girls will. 

If current statistics do not change, only four or five of these nine children will reach their fortieth birthday.  The other half will die of preventable or treatable illnesses such as HIV-AIDS, meningitis, malaria, polio, typhoid, or simple diarrhea.    Even if they survive all this, their growth and development may be stunted by a diet high in carbohydrates (mainly manioc), and low in protein and vitamins.  It is quite possible that one of the girls will die in childbirth, especially if she is married at an early age, even as young as twelve or thirteen, which is not unusual here. 

The good news is that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR, supported by the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), is trying to help.  The church sponsors programs to build village primary schools, teach agricultural techniques, diagnose and treat HIV-AIDS, and improve access to medical care, to mention just a few of their programs.  My husband Joe works with PASE, which provides clean drinking water to villages and trains villagers in proper hygiene and sanitation.  These are all programs which can save lives and improve the quality of life for Central Africans and their children.

However, all these programs are in danger of funding cuts.  Due to the world financial crisis and to certain factions in the ELCA, offerings have dropped.  The end result may be that some of these programs must be cut.  In western CAR, where the majority of the population resides, there are few other organizations at work besides the Lutheran Church.  It is not a high profile area that you see on the news every night.  It is a place where people continue to suffer, and yet they struggle on, doing the best they can for their families.  Some, like Rosalie, are lucky – they get to finish school and have some hope for a brighter future.  Most do not. 

If you want to help, now is a good time.  It's really needed.  If you wish to contribute to our support, checks should be made out to ELCA-GM, marked "Mission Support Troesters," and send to 

The Rev. Twila Schock
Global Mission and Development Services Units
8765 West Higgins Road
Chicago, IL  60631
Telephone:  773.380.2641
Twila.Schock@elca.org

 

Back in the Central African Republic

 

Dear friends, 

 

We have arrived safely back in the Central African Republic, after our travels this past summer.  We enjoyed visiting with many of you in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, and Puerto Rico.  During May, June, and July, we visited 23 different churches and three ELCA Synod offices.  We gave two interviews to journalists.  Deborah preached 14 times in 11 different churches.  We also visited with several other pastors to tell them more about our work and about the Central African Church. 

 

Wherever we went, we received a warm welcome. Everyone expressed great interest in our work in the Central African Republic, and a desire to help.  Thank you very much for your kindness, generosity, and support.

 

Joe has resumed his work with PASE (the French acronym for Program for Water Management).  PASE is busy constructing spring boxes in the village of Cantonnier (see the photo above), near the border with Cameroon.  This region has received an influx of refugees from northern Central African Republic, due to unrest in that area.  As a result, there have not been enough sources of clean water to provide for the entire population.  With the end of the rainy season fast approaching, PASE's efforts are truly needed. It is people like you who make this work possible.  Thank you. 

 

On another note, Deborah begins teaching at the Theological School on September 21.  She will be teaching Greek to a group of eleven students comprised of ten men and one woman, all prospective pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR.  She will also be giving some Bible studies for wives of the pastoral candidates, and teaching English as time permits. Global Mission has also asked her to serve as a liaison person for the Village School Program and Women for Christ of the CAR, until personnel arrive to replace Ian and Joyce Graue, who left the mission field at the end of June.

 

Christa started seventh grade at Rain Forest International School in Yaoundé, Cameroon in August.  She is staying at a hostel with nine other boys and girls—all MK's (missionary kids).  So far she is enjoying her classes, especially history and Bible, although she says there is a lot of homework.  She had excellent grades on her first exams:  French and math.   We miss her, but will see her soon, as she has a one week fall break the first week of October. 

 

Again, we want to thank all of you for your support. We enjoyed visiting those of you that we could. Those that we missed, we hope to see you when we next return to the states in the summer of 2011.

 

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Baboua, The Central African Republic

Missionaries with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

 

P.S. Unfortunately, our laptop's hard disk crashed this summer and we lost our mailing list. Consequently, we are sending this email to all the addresses in our computer. If you do not wish to receive further emails, please let us know. In addition, if you know of anyone who would like to be on our mailing list, again, please email us.  Thank you.

 

 

Schedule of Troesters visits to Supporting Congregations

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Deborah, Christa, and I are visiting our supporting congregations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Below is a tentative schedule that we have worked out. Several of the dates (especially those toward the end of the list) have not been confirmed by the congregations. So please call your local church to confirm and to ask about the exact time of the event. If you would like us to visit your congregation and it is not on the list, please let us know and we will try to work it in. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

Yours in Christ,

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester
ELCA Missionaries in the Central African Republic

May 24: Grace Lutheran Church in San Juan, Puerto Rico
May 24: St. Johns Episcopal Cathedral in San Juan, Puerto Rico
May 28: Puerto Rico District of the Caribbean Synod ELCA
May 30: Son Lights in Puerto Rico Emmaus Community
May 31: Union Church of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico
June 2: Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Venice, Florida
June 3: ECHO in Fort Meyers, Florida
June 7: First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale, Illinois
June 14: United Lutheran Church in Cavalier, North Dakota
June 14: Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grafton, North Dakota
June 15: United Lutheran Church in Langdon, North Dakota
June 16: First Lutheran Church in New Rockford
June 17: United Lutheran Church in Brocket, North Dakota
June 18: Our Savior Lutheran Church in Rolla, North Dakota
June 21: First Lutheran Church in Williston, North Dakota
June 23: Western North Dakota Synod, Bismarck, North Dakota
June 23: Zion Lutheran Church in Ashley, North Dakota
June 24: Eastern North Dakota Synod, Fargo, North Dakota
June 27: Resurrection Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Illinois
June 28: St. Peter Lutheran Church in Emden, Illinois
June 28: St. Paul Lutheran Church in Peoria, Illinois
June 28: St. John Lutheran Church, Hartsburg, Illinois
July 1: St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Urbana, Illinois
July 7: Zion Lutheran Church in Farmersville, Illinois
July 8: Central Southern Illinois Synod, Springfield, Illinois
July 8: Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sparta, Illinois
July 19: Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in De Soto, Illinois
July 19: First Lutheran Church in Murphysboro, Illinois
July 23: Epiphany Lutheran Church, Carbondale, Illinois
July 23: First Presbyterian Church Dinner at Giant City Lodge
August 2: Blessing at First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale

Note: This schedule was corrected after the summer was over.

World Water Day: March 22, 2009: Sharing Water . . . Sharing Life

The United Nations has designated March 22 as World Water Day.  The theme for this year is about sharing water and sharing opportunities. For the more than one billion people on our planet that lack access to potable water, sharing water is about sharing life. For without access to potable water, people, particularly children, die from entirely preventable diseases.

 

The entire world is struggling with the current economic crisis. Just as in the developed world, the employers here in the Central African Republic have had to reduce the number of their employees. There are more needs and suddenly fewer resources, as NGOs and mission agencies are facing cutbacks because funding sources have less money. If you can give, now is a time when your gift would be most appreciated.

 

Please remember that through your support, prayers, and contributions you are sharing water and life with the people of the Central African Republic.

 

On a personal note, we are traveling to Puerto Rico and the States this summer (May 21 to August 5) for our Home Assignment. We hope to see many of our friends, family, and our supporting congregations. However, these are spread from Puerto Rico to North Dakota and it will be difficult to see everyone. Be watching for additional emails on where we will be when.

 

I will end with a quote from Kofi Annan, "We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation and basic health care."

 

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

March 2009

"Sing to the Lord a new song.!" (from Psalm 98:1)

A new year fills us with new hope.  Like a blank slate that has not been written on, it represents new challenges and new opportunities. What do you have planned for the New Year?  What will 2009 bring for you and your family?   In the United States we hope for a better economy, perhaps a new job for ourselves or for a friend who is unemployed.  We hope for peace in the world and wisdom for its leaders.  We may wish for better health, for better relationships, in short, for all that is good in life to come our way. 

 

What will the New Year bring for the people of the Central African Republic?  Peace is uppermost on the minds of many:  the chance to live life in tranquility and without fear.  Food is another wish for many Central Africans—enough manioc to fill one's stomach, and maybe a little meat and vegetables besides, at least on some days.  Good health would also be uppermost on the minds of people whose average life expectancy is less than 40 years of age and dropping. 

 

While we in the U.S. might wish for a new car or a bigger house, someone in the CAR might hope for a source of clean water to drink that lasts through the dry season.  A woman who has to walk a mile each way to fetch water out of a dirty stream for her family might dream of having a well just a few hundred yards from her house.  Others may wish they had a latrine—never mind if it's a very nice one or not.

 

Many challenges face the people of the Central African Republic, one of the ten poorest nations in the world.  Many challenges face the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR as they strive to help their neighbors through programs such as PASE (the French acronym for "Water Resource Management Project").  Your prayers and gifts in the past have helped us serve together with our Central African colleagues in providing clean drinking water and hygiene training to villagers in the CAR.  Thank you for your support as we continue to work toward meeting the challenges of 2009!

 

On a more personal note…

 

Audrey Plisch arrived from Chicago on December 9 to help Christa finish sixth grade as a home-schooled student.  Audrey is an energetic retired teacher, with lots of experience in middle school, as a former guidance counselor and dean of students.  Pray for her continued adjustment to life in Africa—especially the warmer climate and the French language—and for continued good health.

 

Also last month, Mariel Viera-Bernier returned to Puerto Rico where she will resume her studies in anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico.  Mariel was a big help with Christa's studies, and enjoyed trying to speak Gbaya with local kids!  She enthusiastically tried eating boa, antelope, manioc, peanut sauce, and ndole (kind of like turnip greens with ground up pumpkin seeds in them).  Much to her disappointment, she never got to try caterpillar sauce.  Mariel's excitement about new experiences was catching. You can read her blog at boricuainafrica.blogspot.com

 

Please pray for our continued good health and energy for our work.  We have had a few relatively minor illnesses this past month or two, but are all now in good health.  We thank those of you who continue to pray for us.  It has definitely helped! 

 

We wish each of you a blessed and joyous 2009.  May the peace of Christ accompany you and your family throughout the year.

 

Sincerely,

 

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

January 2009

 

Dr. Joe Troester serves as technical adviser to PASE, the French acronym for Project for Water Resource Management.  This is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in CAR, sponsored in part by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  PASE seeks to provide safe drinking water through construction and maintenance of wells, spring boxes, and slow-sand filters, while also teaching good hygiene practices that can lessen water-borne illnesses. 

 

 

 

Advent in the Central African Republic

Dear friends,

 

Christmas greetings from the Central African Republic (CAR)! 

 

As I write this newsletter, we are in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic (CAR). The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) recently purchased two new Toyota pickup trucks for the mission work here. We brought them to Bangui to get them through Customs. Unfortunately, getting new vehicles through Customs is probably not an easy job in any country. We had hoped to return home before Thanksgiving, but we were unsuccessful.

 

As Thanksgiving passed, we noted that we are thankful for many things this year. Despite Deborah's appendectomy in March, we all remain in reasonable good health. Mariel Viera-Bernier (a college student and friend from Puerto Rico) is here this semester helping us with Christa's education. [Her blog can be found at boricuainafrica.blogspot.com] Audrey Plisch, a retired teacher from the Chicago area will be teaching Christa next semester. The Lutheran Church in CAR will soon have two new vehicles. We are also thankful that we are part of 60 percent of the world's population who have access to a toilet. I know that many would consider it inappropriate to talk about bathrooms in a missionary newsletter, but since I work with potable water, it is appropriate for me to mention it.

 

November 19 was officially World Toilet Day, but the 2.6 billion people worldwide who live without access to safe, private toilets do not get much press. Here in the Central African Republic, very few people have access to a toilet. Most use the nearest bush alongside the road, unwittingly committing what the Unicef calls "the riskiest sanitation practice." Open defecation shares disease-carrying materials with neighbors and the community as a whole.

 

Educating people about construction and proper use and maintenance of latrines does not seem like typical missionary work, but it is important to the health and well-being of the people of CAR. Our partner in ministry, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR, is concerned about the health and well-being of all Central Africans….

 

 

 

Joe's colleagues have been able to use many of the things they learned to help in their visits to local villages.   This month they are focusing on building a spring box in the village of Cantonnier. In order to protect the water coming out of the spring, a concrete "box" is built around it.  Pipes are installed so people can fill their containers with clean spring water, instead of having to dip them into a pool filled with mud and debris, where goats, cattle, or sheep may have been wading.  Such small construction projects, plus education in health and hygiene can really help decrease the incidence of water-borne diseases. 

 

 

PASE has been focusing on building spring boxes and teaching hygiene to villager. In the New Year I hope we are able to expand our work and begin working with sanitation.

 

 

Prayer requests:

 

1. Thanksgiving for our tutors:  Mariel Viera-Bernier and Audrey Plisch, who arrives in December to take her place.  Please pray for safe travels, good health, and a quick adjustment to living in Africa. 
2. For peace and security in the Central African Republic.
3. For wisdom for the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR, especially Rev. André Goliké, church president.
4. For the work of PASE as it continues to provide clean drinking water for villagers and to educate them about the importance of sanitation and hygiene.
5. For ELCA/Global Missions as they seek a new West Africa Director and new West Africa Regional Representatives, to replace Rev. Eva Jensen and Louis and Mytch Dorvillier, all of whom have moved on to other positions.

 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.  We look forward to hearing from you, and perhaps to visiting you personally while we are on furlough in summer 2009. 

 

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

November 2008

 

Dr. Joe Troester serves as technical adviser to PASE, the French acronym for Project for Water Resource Management.  This is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of CAR, sponsored in part by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  PASE seeks to provide safe drinking water through construction and maintenance of wells, spring boxes, and slow-sand filters, while also teaching good hygiene practices that can lessen water-borne illnesses.

Troester October 2008 Newsletter

Dear friends,

 

Greetings from the Central African Republic (CAR)!  We are happy to report that the political situation here is looking more. Because of this, Global Mission has given our family permission to move to Baboua, CAR, a small town about 30 miles from the border with Cameroon.  This area has remained calm and largely unaffected by the unrest.  Joe has been working there each week and returning to Cameroon on the weekends to be with Deborah and Christa, so it will be good for the whole family to be together again.  We hope to be settled in Baboua by the end of October. 

 

We have good news to share.  A college student has come as a volunteer to teach Christa's lessons for the fall semester.  Her name is Mariel Viera-Bernier and she is a second-year student at the University of Puerto Rico.  Mariel is fluent in both English and Spanish and was home-schooled herself, so she is a major asset to Christa's education.  She is a member of the Union Church of San Juan, our former church in Puerto Rico, where Deborah served as associate pastor.  Mariel is excited to be here.  She hopes to apply with the Peace Corps or to do more short-term mission work after graduation.  Please keep her in your prayers. 

 

In December Audrey Plisch, a retired middle-school teacher, counselor, and dean of students, will arrive to finish up the school year with Christa.  We are blessed to have both Mariel, and then Audrey, to help with Christa's schooling this year.

 

Meanwhile, Deborah has been able to spend more time in language study.  She has already been invited to conduct a worship service in Sango at the end of November.  Sango and French are the two national languages of CAR.

 

Joe and Deborah had an exciting experience in July.  We accompanied four Central African colleagues to a week-long Red Cross training in sanitation and hygiene at the village of Dekoa, about three hours north of Bangui, CAR.  Thirty village education workers, including our Central African colleagues, were given 30 hours of training over four days, including teaching basic hygiene, preventing water-borne diseases,  and helping villagers organize a water committee to protect and manage sources of clean water.   Most of the classes were taught by local Central African Red Cross trainers, who did an excellent job.  We were impressed that one woman who attended the seminar walked over 35 miles to get there, carrying her 6 week old infant on her back!  

 

Joe's colleagues have been able to use many of the things they learned to help in their visits to local villages.   This month they are focusing on building a spring box in the village of Cantonnier. In order to protect the water coming out of the spring, a concrete "box" is built around it.  Pipes are installed so people can fill their containers with clean spring water, instead of having to dip them into a pool filled with mud and debris, where goats, cattle, or sheep may have been wading.  Such small construction projects, plus education in health and hygiene can really help decrease the incidence of water-borne diseases. 

 

Prayer requests:

 

1. Thanksgiving for our tutors:  Mariel Viera-Bernier and Audrey Plisch, who arrives in December to take her place.  Please pray for safe travels, good health, and a quick adjustment to living in Africa. 
2. For peace and security in the Central African Republic.
3. For wisdom for the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the CAR, especially Rev. André Goliké, church president.
4. For the work of PASE as it continues to provide clean drinking water for villagers and to educate them about the importance of sanitation and hygiene.
5. For our move to Baboua, CAR, that all will go smoothly.
6. For ELCA/Global Missions as they seek a new West Africa Director and new West Africa Regional Representatives, to replace Rev. Eva Jensen and Louis and Mytch Dorvillier, all of whom have moved on to other positions.

 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.  We look forward to hearing from you, and perhaps to visiting you personally while we are on furlough in summer 2009. 

 

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

October 2008

 

Dr. Joe Troester serves as technical adviser to PASE, the French acronym for Project for Water Resource Management.  This is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of CAR, sponsored in part by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  PASE seeks to provide safe drinking water through construction and maintenance of wells, spring boxes, and slow-sand filters, while also teaching good hygiene practices that can lessen water-borne illnesses.

Happy Easter from the Central African Republic

Dear friends,

 

Greetings from Central Africa! We have had quite an exciting Eastertide—Deborah had to have an emergency appendectomy on March 19. She is making a good recovery, after spending Easter in the Protestant Hospital at N'gaoundéré, Cameroon. God was good to us, in that everything worked out for her to receive the care she needed. Dr. Jim Mongé, of Duluth, Minnesota, an excellent surgeon, had arrived in Cameroon just two days before, and was able to do the surgery. Deborah wishes to thank Dr. Arroga, director of the hospital; Jean Baptiste and his team of nurses in the intensive care unit; and Dr. and Dr. Solofo here in Garoua-Boulaï, who diagnosed the problem. Thanks also to Jim and Karen Noss for their hospitality in N'gaoundéré.  

 

During January and February we enjoyed the visits of folks from Michigan, North Dakota, and Texas. Rev. Paul Owens and several other members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Alpena, Michigan were in Cameroon in January. Rev. Owens is a former professor at the Bible College in Garoua Boulaï, Cameroon, just down the street from our house. He and his parishioners came to visit the Bible College and other Lutheran supported institutions in Cameroon.

 

In February members of the Central African Republic's Partner Synods traveled to the CAR for the dedication of the Women's Center and a new church in Bouar. We traveled together with them to Bouar, where we were warmly welcomed by the President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in CAR (EELRCA), Rev. André Golike, and his colleagues. While there, Deborah had the privilege of preaching at the annual women's conference of the EELRCA. She preached in French and the sermon was translated into Sango, the local language. Joe was also present at the women's conference, as one of his Central African co-workers, Josephine Oumarou, addressed the women on the need to use water from a clean source or to treat it before drinking it. Joe and his co-workers still have a lot of work to do regarding hygiene education. Many Central Africans do not know the importance of making sure their drinking water is clean.

 

Even though the women of Central Africa live in one of the poorest nations in the world, in an atmosphere of war and violence, it was inspiring to see how enthusiastically they sang, danced, and worshipped during the conference. We even enjoyed a humorous moment when one group presented a short skit, showing how we are all "sheep who have gone astray"—with some women acting as sheep and others with small sticks trying to guide the sheep onto the "straight and narrow way."

 

Each region brought an offering to help defray costs of the conference. The total offering, from all over the country came to around $150, yet this represented a tremendous sacrifice on their part. This is a nation where people are living on less than $1 a day. According to U.N. statistics, the CAR is the fifth-poorest nation in the world.

 

Sadly, some churches from northern CAR were not represented at the conference, as they had disbanded, along with the entire village, due to violence in that region. Refugees from northern CAR continue to move south and west into Cameroon, in search of safety from bandits and rebels in this war-torn country.

 

We urge you to inform yourselves and your churches about what is going on in the Central African Republic, and to keep the people and the churches of that nation in your prayers. The violence and unrest is directly related to the problems in Darfur, Sudan, and Chad. Unfortunately governments in that region have been unable to stop the fighting and protect their own citizens from rebels and marauders.

 

Furthermore, the government of the CAR has not been able to pay its civil servants. This means that public schools are closed, public hospitals may not have doctors or nurses, and other government services have been curtailed. In this humanitarian crisis, church organizations and other NGO's are often the only source of help. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is doing its part as we assist the EELRCA, together with our Lutheran partners in Germany, Denmark, and elsewhere. It is important to continue to support ELCA efforts in the CAR. Contact Global Missions at the address below to find out how you can help.

 

Rev. Twila Schock

Global Mission and Development Services Units

8765 West Higgins Road

Chicago, IL  60631

Telephone:  773.380.2641

Twila.Schock@elca.org

 

Thank you again for your prayers and your support,

 

Joe, Deborah, and Christa Troester

Baboua, Central African Republic

April 2008

 

Prayer requests:

• For peace in the CAR, and a just resolution to the conflicts in that region
• For wisdom for church leaders and missionaries as to how to respond during this difficult time
• For safe water for all
• For safety during travel in the CAR

For the right teacher for our daughter Christa, who will be entering 6^th grade this fall; we are still seeking a teacher for her, so that Deborah, who is an ordained pastor, may be more active in assisting the local church. For more information see: http://www.elca.org/globalserve/pd/gm2/car_elem_teacher.html

 

Mailing address:

Joe and Deborah Troester

B.P. 111

N'gaoundéré

     CAMEROON

 

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