This week in Kinshasa

My first women's Bible study in the Congo!

Kiki, Katie and I have had a great week. The girls have been teaching ESL at the ICM facility, and also at the church that Deo is helping to start. The Congolese people have fallen in love with them! On Wednesday we had a meeting with women from the remote neighborhood that the church is in. I had the privilege of telling them the account of Jesus' birth, life and death and how much He loves them. For some, it was the first time they have heard or understood what Jesus' life was really all about. Not legalism, not rules, but love and grace. Here is a picture of the women that were there that morning. Some women from LBC in the U.S. are helping to buy them Bibles that I hope to give them this week.

Friday at the home of Lucress and Yambayamba

On Friday, we spent the day at Lucress' home (Lucress is on my WM team). She has eight children. There are at least 10 living in her home (maybe 300 sq.ft). She and her husband, Yambayamba, are gracious people. Yambayamba also works with ICM. We had a great day with them.

Sarah and I in Lucress' home. We had a sweet lunch with them.

This is their youngest child, his name is Isaiah
We have all been given Congolese names now. Steve is Papa Esengo (man of joy),
Grace is Mama Myombe (woman who prays),
Kierstin is Bilongo (love)
and Katie is Kimia (peace).
They wait until they have observed you for a while before they give you a name. They actually now call us by these names. We are honored to have them.

What Our African Experience is About! CONNECTING!

I love this picture!!!!!!!!!! This is Kiki's hand in the midst of all the hands of the students she taught in Kitale, Kenya. She and Katie were teaching 1st and 2nd graders English and Math at the Mercy and Caring Children's Home (for orphans). The students LOVED these girls and the girls loved each of their students!

This may be the finest picture any Cabalka's taken so far in Africa! Kierstin took this picture and I'm very proud of her and also jealous that she could take such an innovative, meaningful shot! It seems to express how we all feel about the people we have met here in Africa. We have connected with the people and have come to love, respect, and appreciate them so much!

ICM Women's Leadership Team

Here is my team!!! We are the official:

ICM Women's Ministry Program
of the D.R.Congo

From left to right: Lucress (administrator), Sarah (director) and Angel (coordinator). We will start a training ministry in January. We are all very excited about it. Lots of work to do to get ready...but we are up for the challenge. These are amazing women and I am so humbled and grateful to get to serve alongside of them. We are also praying with the men of ICM weekly that God would bless and grow His Kingdom here in the DRC.

The Girls Dressed Out!

So many of you out there have been begging for pictures of Katie and Kiki in their legit African dresses that we felt like we needed to oblige or we'd have a mutiny on our blog....WELL...here you go.....

The girls got decked out numerous times for church and other special events in Kenya but have yet to wear them here in the Congo. We are hoping they'll dress up soon as they look beautiful in these specially made dresses from Kenya. They picked out the fabric and the dresses were made in a little shop that week.

Picture Day at TASOK!!!!!

This is the TASOK certificated staff and the office staff. It has been a great staff to work with and I have felt very supported and encouraged.

The administrative staff have given me great freedom to 'do my thing' and its been great. Sadly we'll be losing our Superintendent, Dr. Rob Leveillee, after this year. He is going to be in the States next year working with the school accreditation program. He is a tremendous administrator and will be sorely missed.


This is my shot of part of the school on picture day last Friday. This is K-12 and the small but vibrant school community has lots going and a very committed following of supporters.

School started in 1961 and we are the TASOK Condors (funny that there are no condors in the country or continent for that matter.....I think they are only in California actually....). The school named the mascot after a coach that helped start the school in the 60's. How 'bout this....the TASOK Cabalka's?????? NOT!!


These are some of my students from the 6th grade class. They think that Mr. Cabalka knows pretty much everything....which makes them all A+ students! From left to right this is Louise, Alina, Farah, and Roshni.

How Blessed are these kids to be in my PE class!?! I mean....to be able to learn from the master!!!!!!

Kiki met them the other day and agreed with me that they are adorable!

More Tanzania Pictures From Kiki and Katie

These are more pictures are from Kierstin and Katie's time in Tanzania when they went to the refugee camp. The girls were there for a week. The last day they were there, 6 or 7 churches inside the refugee camp of 40,000 people got together and each church had a part in the goodbye celebration to thank the team from America (from Bakersfield and Fresno!!!)

The girls said it was awesome to see these churches perform and worship together...thanking God for sending the team.

I love these pictures showing how many people gathered for this celebration. Over 1,000 people were there for the send off. The team felt loved and appreciated. This may have been the best way the African people could have expressed their appreciation.

The girls said sad goodbyes and got back on a bus for the 10 hour 'dirt/pothole ride' back to Mwanza, Tanzania where they caught a plane to Kenya. Kiki said "the bus ride was like dancing, we were out of our seat more than we were in it".

This picture shows you the huge group that assembled for the send off.

I love the color of the adult folks dress. You should see Katie and Kiki's outfits that they had made for them....they would fit right into this crowd!

Next time you see them you need to insist that they wear their African clothes to show off. They said they will wait for people to ask but that they would be more than happy to put on their African 3-piece dress suits.

A Different Kind of Kenyan Animal Safari

This is the place that Kiki wrote about to some of you that had the animals with different body parts and misplaced reproductive parts. Here the girls are enjoying a leisurely romp thru the dysfunctional animal park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. All of these animals had too many female parts or a male and female part or just added parts all over their bodies!

Katie can't really tell you that she enjoyed finding out what was wrong with this particular animal but she discovered that multi-hooves on one leg on a goat are not normal!

The Kenyan's are very sad that this stuff happens to the animals and hate to see these animals in pain and suffer from some sort of dysfunction.

The girls were suffering too...in another way!




Many of you heard that Kiki and Katie went to a 'freaky animal' park and were treated to some really special animals and their personal problems. Well...here's proof that the girls went and had a great Sunday afternoon at the park! From the looks of it Kierstin is having a great time enjoying the differences in these particular animals. She said that this cow doesn't look like any of the cows she use to see on Uncle Alex's Dairy!




This thing is the wildest, MOST DYSFUNCTIONAL animal of all! The infamous Ken Beggs Animal!! Kierstin and Katie fortunately didn't have to look upon this "thing" in Kenya.

It's been said that if you get too close to this thing you may not live to tell anyone what it was like to get close. Apparently there is one of these rare but unwanted things living in California. As this blog is seen by many people living in the California vacinity you may want to be on the lookout!

Really now....would you ever want to bring this thing home to your mother? Pity those who venture near it....BE ON THE LOOKOUT!!!!!!!

Kierstin and Katie's Experience in Tanzania

Kierstin and Katie went 1st to Tanzania in Africa with a team from the First Pres. Church of Bakersfield. The goal of the team was two fold...1) To love on these refugees with God's love and, 2) To watch how the kids in the camp play...see what they do to recreat, if at all (the girls are doing a Senior Project for graduating in Recreation at Cal Poly). The refugee camp is in northern Tanzania and has been the home for these Tuti people from Burundi for the last 20 years!!!! There are 40,000 refugees in the camp. When it first opened there were more than a 100,000 in the camp.
Kierstin is speaking to a huge group of refugee kids, telling a story about Jesus loving those that others think are outcast's. It is a great story called "You Are Special" by Max Lucado. I'm sure each one of the kids that heard that story could relate to what Kierstin read and talked about. These children don't have much hope for the future as most of them have lived in the refugee camp all their lives and will probably never leave this place. Breaks our hearts and can you imagine how Our Lord feels about it?




This is a great shot of Kiki (foreground) and Katie (in the background) being totally smothered by the kids of the refugee camp. The girls said that the kids have nothing to do all day long so for the team to visit them was like the kids going to Disneyland.

The girls said that hundreds of kids would surround them and just want to come close to them. They don't often see too many beautiful women like these two!!



This is Kiki loving on one of the refugee children. We are sure those children (and adults) will never forget the teams visit to their camp.

After a week the kids fell in love with the team and it was heartbreaking for them to say goodbye.



Love this picture as it really communicates how amazing these girls were to go and serve these people. They too fell in love with the people and their hearts broke to say goodbye.

Katie saying Hello!!!!

Hi Family and Friends!!!! I can't tell you how much I miss you and love you. I'm having an amazing time here in the Congo with the Cabalka family, they have made me feel more then welcome. Thank you for all the emails and hope to hear from you all soon. I love you!!!!




Children at the refugee camp in Tanzania.....can you find us?



Kiki and I on our safari in Kenya hanging out with the flamingo!!!!

Kierstin and Katie Arrive Safely in Kinshasa

Kierstin and Katie have made it to the Congo! We picked them up and they tell us they are glad to be with us!!! We're really glad to see them 'home' with us for the next couple of months.

They are standing at our front door (94B) and our gardener put up the tradition wreath and flowers surrounding the doorpost which represents that someone of great importance has arrived in the home. That's what we think for sure!!! So glad to have them here! They look absolutely beautiful!!!!


Katie and Kierstin immediately went to work cooking up some food they learned how to make in Kenya .. Here is Katie our kitchen whipping up Mandazi...a sweet dough that is fried in oil. They are helping us make desserts for our friends who are coming over tonight to have coffee and meet the girls.

Katie is from Fresno (Caruthers) and has been a great traveling companion for Kiki. The girls met at Cal Poly and both share a love for recreation (that's their major at school) and are both doing work on their Senior Project which is required for graduation at Poly

So great to have the girls here after their month plus adventures in Tanzania and Kenya. They arrived at 9:45am here in Kinshasa and we got home by 11:00am. Getting them out of the airport with all their luggage went smooth and with very little problem.

So great to have Kiki here with us in the Congo. In the future I will show you some of Kiki and Katie's pictures from Africa which are amazing. They had a great experience.

Where's Koko and Tata???

Okay, I've let Steve put enough 'objects' on our blog...my turn. I am quite homesick tonight for my family, and I can tell by this picture that Milo is missing me too. Koko is grandma in lingala (Congolese language)...can't you see the word forming on his lips? I'll be honest, my heart hurts badly. If you pray, send one our way tonight. Check out more of his pics on his own blog! Just click on the 'our grandson' link.
gc

The Harsh Reality of Living in the Congo

Lest you forget that we don't live in paradise (I'm sure that's what you all have been thinkin' based on the beautiful stuff I've shown you on this blog) the 10-12 foot fence all around our complex helps bring us back to reality....NO, its not paradise....No, this place isn't perfect.....OBVIOUSLY we have huge security needs here where we live. These pictures will give you some idea of what our wall, and the razor wire that stands on top of our wall, looks like. You would not want to try and climb over it for sure! OUCH!

TASOK...The Rainforest on our campus! Gotta Come See it!!

This is a huge rainforest tree that is on the TASOK campus. It is so beautiful and must be old....it's roots extend out into the road thru the campus and talk around here is that it needs to come down soon. I think if that happens I will become a tree-hugger and make them take me down if they take this amazing tree down. It is at least 130 feet tall. Congolese have told me that these trees were all over the city of Kinshasa years ago. They are very scarce now, maybe not out in the country but here in the city. You just gotta see how big and amazing this tree is! And come see the beautiful exotic birds that fly around this place....all the types of birds that are sold in pet stores that people really desire and enjoy. They're everywhere around here! You just gotta come and see!!


This is a little spider that the Superintendent, Dr. Rob Leveillee, showed me the other day. It's home is just off my soccer field...and its the biggest spider I've ever seen in my life. The body is about 3-4 inches....I would not want to meet this bad boy up close! If anybody knows what kind it is i'd appreciate you filling me in. You just gotta some see this guy too!

TASOK Photos (Con't)...Where We Live and Steve Works

This is a picture of the 'Rotunda' (the building in the center) and the classrooms and offices surrounding it. The Rotunda is the central area where the Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers hang throughout the day.

It is the hub of activity for the school and all the classes kind of connect to it in some way or other.



This picture is of the huge covered PE facility that Steve mostly works at. You can see the volleyball courts beyond the fence which is behind the basketball hoop in the center.If you can imagine...on the right is the awesome soccer/baseball field that we have for our soccer program.

We have one of the nicest facilities in the entire country. Our students enjoy these facilities alot and make good use of them everyday in PE and in the sports program after school!

The left picture is the guys locker room and my office. The picture on the right is what I see when I come out of my office...the bball court, volleyball courts, and the soccer field.


If you would step off the little porch where my office is and go to the back of the building, this is what you'd find...pictured at right. Our awesome pool in which Grace and I are working out in (soon Kiki too!) which is really nice.

I will be conducting swim classes here in PE and this place will really provide great relief as the sun gets more intense and burns up the Congo. We are already getting in better shape from swimming the 5-6000 yards that we're doing regularly.....well, maybe more like 1000-2000 but who's counting????

TASOK The American School of Kinshasa

This is looking at the entrance to our school and where our home is, The American School Of Kinshasa (TASOK).

The property is on 47 acres with a natural Rain Forest on the property. There are exotic birds and plants all over the place. It is a beautiful facility with 120 students...grades K-12 on campus.




This is the elementary school here at TASOK. The students are from all over the world...they are great kids who have really worked hard in classes this year. Their attitudes have been terrific, even while the Congo goes thru these election growing pains. Each class has between 15 - 25 students in them. I am teaching PE to many of these students (not just to the older students...which is a new experience for me), but have had a great time with them.

What Happens When The Lights Go Out!!!!!

Last night our lights went out (and stayed out for a couple of hours)....this has been way more typical lately then when I first got here in August. Well, Grace and I started playing cards by candle light out in our porch and at one point Grace said we needed to take a picture of our experience of being in the dark (NOW I KNOW MANY OF YOU HAVE FELT LIKE I....STEVE....HAVE BEEN IN THE DARK FOR YEARS). Well, I started playing around with my time elapse shots and got what I think are some very interesting shots.

The top one is just cool cuz of the double image of both of us. The middle one is shot from outside our home through the screen at Grace playing solitaire while I play with my camera. The bottom one is my favorite as it is a time exposed shot of those flowers that I call the 'Cobra flower' (look at earlier blog pictures to see more of these flowers).....I left the lens open for 25 seconds on a full moon lit evening with my Canon on a tripod. The only light on those flowers comes from the moon. I love that! I hope you enjoy it too.

That's what we do when the lights go out....well...that's not all we do.....(one thing we don't do it is microwave popcorn.....duh, Libby...with no electricity the microwave doesn't work! Oh, yea........Libby, we don't even have a microwave! Nor a mixer, toaster, TV, and a few more things either....Grace said we are missing our friends and family too.......true but we have made many new friends that we have come to love and respect here in the Congo). Enjoy!!!!

Driving in the City of Kinshasa....

I have been so fascinated with the city of Kinshasa and how it all works and functions and how the people are making it here. Many are poor and needing to ride to/from work crammed into the vans and cars that are used for taxi's....here are a couple of examples of public transportation. Also along the road you'll find just the right part for your car or maybe a wheel cover if you're missing yours. You'll also see plenty of carts carrying huge loads of all different types of things...here are some barrels that will be used for some purpose. They load those carts down and pull and push them (on foot) all over the city. These people work so hard!!!!

Our 1st Congolese Church experience!

These are pictures from our Sunday church experience at our 1st Congolese church. It was an amazing morning and afternoon as we met Deo and Sarah's new church family. A number of adults and children came forward to be prayed for, there's was great worship music, and the message from Romans was preached in French and Lingala...neither language in which we could understand.....but what we did understand were the smiles, heart felt handshakes communicating that the people really did appreciate us being there, and the great time we had playing with the beautiful children. It was a blast! By the way...in the 2nd picture from the top, that's Deo in the robe with the red drape and Steve (I'm the white guy in glasses) on the left!

Pray for this new work please! The church is in area that really needs a great fellowship and the people are very excited about having it there. Grace just went to a women's meeting there on Wednesday and led a Bible study for about 20 women. Pray for the women as Grace helps the church coordinate an effective program to meet their needs.