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Amidst the Pain, a Mother's Prayer is Answered
DUBLIN, CA (November 29, 2002) - Fifteen people from White Stone Covenant Church
traveled to Luanda and Cabinda in Angola earlier this year as part of the
church's second mission trip to the country.
The trip was partially underwritten by Chevron/Texaco Corporation, which is
located in nearby San Ramon. The company helped sponsor the first trip last
year and continued its support in Angola in areas of transportation and
housing financing. Chevron employees also offered housing for one of the
sites and shipped box lunches to the workers.
Chevron's support was secured through White Stone Covenant parishioner Evan
Simmons, who worked with Chevron in Angola for a time and had established
connections with corporate leaders. Local businesses lent support for the
mission trip, which also was supported through various fundraisers.
White Stone Covenant's mission team organized Vacation Bible School (VBS)
programs for two groups and did some painting on buildings, said Kathryn
Simmons, an associate pastor at the church who traveled with the team. At
Cabinda, the team led a one-day VBS program that attracted 1,000 people.
After the program ended, the church had more than 3,500 attend a Sunday
worship service - 500 more than the norm.
In Luanda, the team distributed clothing door-to-door in the neighborhoods
while 250 Angolans attended a VBS program. Along with VBS work, the team
coordinated a medical ministry that served about 75 people in Cabinda and
35 in Luanda. A doctor came with the group to provide basic medical care
and gather data to complement future endeavors. Some of the data came from
blood drawn from patients that will be analyzed to detect various
illnesses.
When the team arrived in Angola, they found that medical personnel were not
allowed (by law) to draw blood from anyone who had not been admitted to a
hospital. Through a series of efforts, the team was able to meet with
Angola's Minister of Science and Technology. Within a day the law was
changed. Now, any organization wishing to do similar medical research
(including drawing blood from patients) will be allowed to do so with the
proper documentation.
Later, the team met with a representative for social services in Angola
(the sister-in-law of the country's president) and made connections that
would allow other church mission groups to help Angolans. Simmons said that
future groups will be able to serve in Angola with the assistance of this
representative.
"To have all of that happen that fast was really quite spectacular," said
Simmons. "And when we met with the social service representative, I was
almost moved to tears by the response. Angola is not used to having
Americans help them. The United States has not often been helpful in the
past. This woman made it possible for other churches to be able to move
around (and do mission work) in this country."
Not everything went smoothly for the church group, however. The church had
sent a
check to a travel agency and the money was never used to purchase the
tickets. Six weeks before the trip, the team learned that they had no
airline tickets and their $32,000 was gone. A last-minute fundraising drive
allowed the group to purchase tickets and enjoy a warm reception once they
had arrived safely in the country.
"The Angolan people have been so warm and welcoming," the team reported to
the church shortly after touching down. "And if we could take even a
fraction of their spirit with us . . . we'd knock the walls down . . . "
In the midst of their second mission trip, the Simmons family gained more
than an appreciation for the country and the plight of its people. They
gained a daughter, if only for a season.
Kathryn and Evan met a grade school child named Rita last summer - the 11th
of 12 children. Rita's father was taken to fight on the side of rebel
forces. After watching two children die of starvation, her mother sent Rita
and a sister, Theresa, to an orphanage because she wanted her girls to have
a better life. The mother now lives in a tent at a refugee camp. Rita and
her mother haven't seen each other for two years.
The Simmons' considered adopting Rita from the orphanage, but when they
checked with a social service representative they were told that Western
adoptions were not allowed by Angola. The Simmons' asked if the social
service representative would consider allowing Rita to leave through an
educational visa and that request was granted.
Rita was scheduled to come and attend school this fall on 10-year
educational visa, allowing her to attend college in the U.S. if all goes
well. The mother blessed the Simmons family before they left the refugee
camp - but by then she had already been a blessing to Evan and Kathryn.
"I was prepared to be angry at the mother for abandoning her child, but
when I saw the conditions of the refugee camp I was humbled," said Kathryn
Simmons. "I found out that Rita's mother had been coming to church every
day for two years praying that someone would care for her little Rita. This
was no longer about the goodness of Evan and Kathryn - this was about the
faithfulness of a poor woman in Angola and her sacrificial love. Jesus saw
this woman and heard her prayers every single day."
To learn more about White Stone Covenant and its mission ministry to the
Angolans, call the church at 925-227-1555. An update on the Angola mission
trip is on the church web site at www.whitestonechurch.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
