#307: Breaking News!

Dear Family & Friends,

Olivia has been accepted to Cedarville University! This was her first choice, and the only college she applied to. We are all ecstatic.


I haven't seen my wife and kids since last year! I am really starting to miss them. Becky, Olivia, Claire, Isabelle, Noah, left for Brazzaville on December 31, 2009. They are having a good time with fellow MKs (missionary kids) (Julian, Phillips, Howell) who are home in Brazzaville from college & boarding school for Christmas Break. Most of them leave tomorrow, so they had a sleepover last night at Bravo (our Mission's Base in Brazzaville).

The house sure seems quiet, because it is. This is good news. No gunshots so far this year, that I have heard. There was a major battle about 80 kms from here though last week, in a town called Enyele. The DRC-Kinshasa government reports 157 rebel fighters were killed, with 14 government soldiers injured and only 1 dead. We were expecting to receive some more wounded, but so far we haven't had any casualties of war since New Years' Day when we received a child soldier who had been shot 3 times a week before. He is doing OK now, but very hungry as all boys his age would be.

We have received 36 war-wounded, 30 very sick refugees, 12 suspected cases of severe H1N1 infection, 12 cases of malnutrition, and 6 high-level government & UN delegations, in addition to all our regular patients, in the past two months. Many of the wounded and malnourished take a long time to heal. We have gone through a year's supply of pain medicine, compresses, and rolled bandages in one month, because of the daily dressing changes. We continue to field questions from the media. The day after Christmas, Joe was interviewed on the Regional Radio Station, and had a chance to be a strong witness of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ, who was once a refugee child in Africa (Egypt), soon after the first Christmas.

As you can imagine, our team has been under a good deal of stress. Thankfully, God has provided for all our needs. We even benefitted from onsite debriefing and trauma counseling with Anne Stephens, a "Mobile Member Care" trained missionary who came up from Brazzaville to meet with us individually and as a team December 29-January 2. Anne's advice and this ongoing crisis have brought our team closer together, and for that we are very grateful!

Please pray with us for Peace on Earth, especially in the Equateur Region of DRC, and a town called Buburu. Pray for God's protection on Impfondo, Pioneer Christian Hospital, our patients and their families, and our staff. Pray for us to work well together and always be ready to treat with compassion the patients that come our way. Pray for us to have the strength to carry on when we are overworked. May God's Holy Spirit move upon the waters, and both banks of the Oubangui River, bringing health & hope to the 93,373 refugees camping out here, and those routinely residing in the Likouala Region.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. Without your prayers round the clock, I don't want to know where we'd be!

For Health & Hope,
Joseph & Rebecca Harvey
Olivia, Claire, Isabelle & Noah
Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Isabelle, Olivia & Rachel Thanksgiving Day 2009

#306b: Update

Dear Friends & Family,

I am trying to be objective, and at the same time use discretion and avoid denial. I want to be upfront with you, while not being sensational, or seeking secondary gain. If you know some of what we are going through, it may help you know how to pray for us. It is true that we remain in a crisis situation. But some of the things that sound so terrible to you, we see on a regular basis living in Central Africa and working at a referral hospital. Death and disease, civil unrest and war, injustice and persecution, are not uncommon occurences here. Just like when Jesus was born, in the fulness of time. God has called us to serve Him in Congo. We counted the cost before we came, and made the decision to accept the adventure and challenge of missionary service. While we are all affected by the tension and unrest of the past 2 months, we are probably not in any imminent physical danger.

Some really good things have happened since I wrote the last PrayerNet:

• Dr. Fuka returned home safely and is together again with his family.
  
• We had a record turnout at our Christmas Celebration Service on Sunday with 165+ patients and family members and staff in attendance.
  
• We may be at the beginning of a revival, led by our refugee patients! Testimonies of God's mercy from Gerard-- a man who lost his right arm--and other refugees, sparked times of weeping and spontaneous praise and jubilation the past three Sundays!
  
• The Air Congo flight from Brazzaville that was cancelled Saturday, came the next day, in plenty of time for Amy Riedy to make her connecting flight to Paris. (We depend on regular flights from Brazzaville to bring our medicines, supplies, and reinforcements).
  
• Several severely wounded have made a good recovery and are being discharged from the hospital. (They have no place to go though, so you can pray about that).
  
• Staff from Doctors Without Borders have arrived and are setting up an emergency office in Impfondo. They will be helping the government hospital function more effectively. That should take some of the pressure off of us.
  
• The food and fuel barges have been unloaded, and our stores are being replenished. (Pray for our medicine orders to arrive too).
  

At the same time, we continue to receive heart-wrenching cases including:

• Several babies who were born way before their expected date of delivery. We do not have enough electricity to concentrate the oxygen to keep them all alive. And some arrived too late to save.
  
• Several more patients with suspected H1N1 in severe respiratory distress. We still do not have tamiflu.
  
• A suspected case of multi drug-resistant shigella dysentery.
  
• A 6 year-old refugee girl with pelvic infection, raped a month ago in Emese (about 80 km upriver from here).
  
• A 3 year-old girl violated this weekend, probably by her uncle, here in Impfondo.
  
• A 37 year-old unarmed fisherman who got shot by a sniper in the right arm while spreading his nets yesterday morning near Dongou (50 kms upriver). He may need an amputation.
  
• A 22 year-old combattant who got shot 4 times 4 days ago. All 8 wounds (entry and exit) are infected, and he will most likely need an amputation of his right arm.
  

The physician's assistant who accompanied the patient has been operating on injured rebels in the rainforest. He tells us that he will bring 10 more patients with gun-shot wounds tomorrow. Please pray for the continued safety and security of our mission and hospital compounds. We are trying to discharge those who are not critically ill, and enforce strict visiting hours to limit the number of people roaming about.

God is in control. We are privileged to be here for such a time as this, when help is greatly needed. O come, let us adore Him.

For Health & Hope,
Joseph & Rebecca Harvey
Olivia, Claire, Isabelle & Noah
Tuesday, December 22, 2009

#306: Red Alert

Dear Team Members, Friends & Family,


Since October 28, 2009, we have been in a state of heightened security at Pioneer Christian Hospital here in Impfondo, Congo. That was the day that we received the first civilian casualties from fresh fighting in Dongo, a town in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since October over 77,000 refugees have flooded across the Oubangui River into the Likouala Region of Congo from the Equateur Province of DRC.

We received two more waves of war wounded in November, and hear that more are on the way. From collateral damage, streams of very sick refugees and residents have been flowing into Pioneer Christian Hospital for HELP. Currently more than 50% of our patients need nutritional support, have only the clothes on their backs, and no means to pay for the care we administer. At the same time, we are trying to stem the tide of a confirmed Swine Flu epidemic that has already taken the lives of 3 of the 10 contagious children.

We are glad to be here doing our best to stretch our limited resources and minister effectively to very real needs, but the stress of being so close to a war zone is starting to take its toll.

Things seem to be getting noticeably worse instead of better. God knows if things are about to turn around, or descend into complete chaos, but I believe He wants us to be prepared either way.

A lot has happened just this week:

• On Tuesday, Laurent Fuka (17 year-old son of our surgeon) arrived home after evacuating from Bwamanda, DRC, where he has been attending boarding school for the last year and a half. He and 7 classmates spent a week, fleeing from the rebels on foot, pirogue, UN motorboat, and truck. They had several close encounters on the way. Before leaving one of Laurent’s classmates went to the market to buy some food and was killed by the rebels.
  
• Tuesday evening we were called upon to treat two wounded rebels at the government hospital. One is a 14 year old boy with a bullet in his right humerus. The other is a 22 year old with a bullet in his buttocks.
  
• Tuesday night some people came to the government hospital looking for the wounded rebels, intent on rendering vigilante justice. The staff was able to hide the patients, but this significantly delayed them from getting the care they need.
  
• Wednesday morning during morning report at Pioneer Christian Hospital our maintenance staff heard gunshots coming from the river. This was around the same time a Central African Riverboat was released by the rebels after being held overnight. Occasional gunshots have been heard several other times this week too.
  
• On Thursday local public high school students went on a riotous rampage after the government teachers went on strike instead of administering final exams for the semester. The students trashed their school, then attacked several private schools in town, beating up other students and staff, destroying classrooms, and smashing computers. The gendarmes and police were called in and ended up arresting 11 students.
  
• Thursday night a river boat and barge hired by the United Nations to bring emergency food rations for the refugees came under repeated attacks from armed men in dugouts, and motorized longboats recently stolen from the UN refugee agency in DRC. The barge was flying the UN flag and the pusher was flying the Congo-Brazzaville flag. The attack was finally repelled with support from a Congolese military attack helicopter.
  
• Friday we were interviewed about this crisis by a correspondent from Bloomburg News Service. Maybe it will play on National Public Radio.
  
• Friday night a river boat barge loaded with fuel for Impfondo was also attacked. Congo-Brazzaville government soldiers traveling with the barge opened fire, reportedly killing a number of DRC rebels, whose bodies fell into the river. The boat arrived in Impfondo this morning with a helicopter escort.
  
• Saturday the regular Air Congo flight was postponed, and some people say it is because of the increased military activity downriver from Impfondo.
  

I think we have no choice but to raise our security alert level and review and implement emergency planning.

I didn't want to write this message. As far as we know, we are not in immediate danger, but we do need your help. If you would be willing to join our intercession team to pray for our protection, wage spiritual warfare, and ask for peace on this part of the earth, please send a short message to Danielle Ralston and let her know what day(s)/time(s) you will be praying.

In the meantime, we continue to prepare for our special Christmas Celebration at the hospital chapel scheduled for this morning, Sunday, December 20. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Harvey New Year. Bon Dimanche!

For Health & Hope,
Joseph & Rebecca Harvey
Olivia, Claire, Isabelle & Noah
Sunday, December 20, 2009

#305: Needs unmet as refugees flee from Congo to Congo

BRAZZAVILLE, 9 December 2009 (IRIN) - Aid agencies have been unable to fully meet the needs of tens of thousands of people who have fled inter-communal clashes over natural resources in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

And according to the Humanitarian Affairs Minister in the neighbouring Republic of Congo, the refugees' destination, time is of the essence.

"We are also afraid of low water levels in the River Ubangi [which separates the two Congos]," said Emilienne Raoul.

"From 15 December it will be difficult for boats to navigate the Ubangi,"
she added.

"There are now 77,488 refugees in Congo-Brazzaville," said UNHCR's crisis unit chief Ben Boubacar Diallo.

"Given the number of refugees, the aid would appear to be insufficient. The needs are enormous," he said, adding that the situation in DRC's Equateur province had yet to improve.

"We will keep supplying domestic kits [comprising mattresses, mosquito nets, blankets, basins and jerry cans] while mobilizing agencies," said Diallo.

"Conditions are harsh. We have not yet registered epidemics because agencies offering health services have been efficient and vigilant," he said.

So far the humanitarian response has involved:

- The World Food Programme on 8 December sent a boat with almost 300MT of food and 1,500 litres of fuel up the Ubangi river to the northern Likouala region, where the DRC refugees are now living along a 160km stretch of riparian territory. Some 90 percent of the refugee sites can only be reached from the river.

- The Italian government announced it has donated 300,000 euros
(US$442,597) to help meet the most pressing needs of the refugees for the next six months.

- The World Health Organization has made 2MT of medical supplies available to the Congolese government for delivery to the refugees.

- Some 500MT of food is warehoused in the southern city of Point Noir but wagons are needed before they can be railfreighted to Brazzaville, from where they will be sent to Likouala.


© IRIN. All rights reserved.

[This item comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Terms and conditions.

Received Sunday, December 20, 2009.

#304: Sidelines, Frontlines, Bylines

Dear Friends & Family,

Being on the sidelines of the frontlines gets you in the by-lines. We are starting to feel a little bit like our hospital is a MASH unit. Every week we receive more direct and indirect casualties of the ongoing conflict across the river in the Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is peace and security on our side of the river, while just a few miles from here, villages are being looted and destroyed. About 10 high-level delegations from Brazzaville, Kinshasa, the UN, and international aid agencies have passed through our gates. We are grateful for the interest, but also want to protect our patients' privacy, and make sure their needs are met with more than political promises. Many of the delegations that came had members of the press accompanying them, so Pioneer Christian Hospital has been in the local, national, and African news a lot lately (see sample article below).

A Battle of a Different Kind. This week we also received a village fisherman who was attacked by a panther. The cat snuck up behind him while the man was sitting calmly at his campfire by the riverside, drying fish. Between the panther's teeth and claws, half of the man's scalp was ripped off. It took his family and friends 4 days to get him to our hospital. It didn't take as long for the flies and bacteria to find him. We aren't sure how to cover his infected skull, or how long he can survive as he is. Please pray for his survival. Curiously, another man approached me privately yesterday to offer me a panther skin. Coincidence?

Nurses Needed. Now that we have 3 full-time physicians, and an influx of refugees, our chronic need for more nurses is even more critical. On a daily basis we are confronted with the need for our own Nurses' Training Program. We just cannot hire and keep enough nurses, no matter how hard we try. The pool of healthcare professionals in Congo willing to work long-term in the remote Likouala Region is simply too shallow to draw from. Please pray for us as we continue to work through the setbacks and successes of trying to begin our own nurses' training program. After receiving approval on the local and regional level, the central government once again refused our application. We have to submit a revised proposal. Our new goal is to start in January 2010. Please pray for us as we reformulate our application and recruit and select candidate students this month.

Thank You. Thank you for your prayers and support. Without your help we could not be here enjoying the rewarding work God has given us.

For Health & Hope,
Joseph & Rebecca Harvey
Olivia, Claire, Isabelle & Noah
Wednesday December 2, 2009


ReligiousIntelligence.Com
Security List
November 25, 2009
Communal violence has claimed at least 100 lives and displaced 53,000 people since the end of October in the DR of Congo’s northwest Orientale province, the UN said Monday. On Friday, two villages were attacked, but in one of them, Burburu, 8,000 people had fled for fear of a raid, announced the UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC), which could not give casualty figures. Burburu is 150 kilometres (95 miles) south of Dongo, on the banks of the Oubangi river, which separates the DR Congo from Congo-Brazzaville. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there were clashes at Sabasaba, 25 kilometres southeast of Dongo, in which about 10 people died. The violence broke out on October 29 and 30 in Dongo between the Lobala, or Enyele, people and the Bamboma (or Boba) people, who come respectively from the villages of Enyele and Monzaya, but are also installed in other nearby places. For years, these ethnic groups have argued the right to waters rich in fish and the dispute has flared up into violence. The UN says people have been killed with machetes and firearms. Some have also drowned, trying to cross the Oubangi to seek refuge in the Republic of Congo. Dongo is completely deserted, with corpses lying in the streets, and many homes and stores have been burned. About 53,000 people have fled the violence: 37,000 to the north of the Congo Republic, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 16,000 others who have stayed in the DR Congo, according to MONUC.

#303: Back to the Congo

Dear Friends,

We are happy to report that we have returned safely to Impfondo, after our 4-month furlough in the US. Many thanks to Susan Lardner, Joe's mother and brother Sid, who came to the John F. Kennedy Airport to see us off.

Our 6-hour and 10-minute layover in Casablanca was a little too exciting. Royal Air Maroc graciously gave us day rooms in the Atlas Airport Hotel, but after naps, a swim, and a quick lunch, the shuttle bus driver refused to take us back to the airport! We ended up catching another shuttle with no time to spare. Then Claire who was still recovering from H1N1 influenza when we left, collapsed at the security checkpoint! As soon as she revived we ran/dragged her to the gate, but it was already closed and we could see them taking our suitcases off the plane!

After much consternation and reprimands from the gate agents, they reluctantly radioed the pilot who finally agreed to reopen the gate and let us get on the plane. During the flight, the cabin attendants & captain made a point of apologizing to everyone several times for the 10-minute delay due to late passengers. The rest of the trip went smoothly, and all our bags arrived with us. We slept a lot during our 4 days in Brazzaville. Claire had no more problems, and we are all pretty much healthy now. We are very grateful.

Overall the transition back to our work in Congo has gone very smoothly this time around. We are happy to be back together with our team in Impfondo, which has grown substantially over the past few years. On Saturday we welcomed the newest members of our long-term team: Dr. Stephen & Anna Wegner, and their children Ian (9), Isabelle (6), and Caleb (3, almost 4). We are so grateful that they have come! Just what the doctor ordered: more doctors!


The GOM-Congo Team November 2009

Here's a short update about the rest of our team:

• Nurse Sarah Speer has been helping in triage and the wards. She is planning to return to Canada in December to help care for her mother & sister-in-law who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer.
  
• Jean Pierre & Ginny Vandevoorde continue leading the construction department, woodshop, and chaplaincy program, in addition to teaching at the Evangelical Church's Bible School and helping us with church relations.
  
• Dr. Domain Fuka our surgeon, has traveled to Kisangani, DRC, for 2-months. Patience is pregnant and due in April. Their son Laurent (17) is away at boarding school near Gemena, DRC, while Perpetue (9) & Kelly (4) stayed home with Patience to continue their schooling.
  
• Siko & Delphine Bambemba (lab director & maternity/nursing instructor) are hoping to return to Impfondo this week from Kinshasa where they have been on medical leave for 2 months. Siko had non-pulmonary tuberculosis and Delphine had a difficult miscarriage. They are doing well now and looking forward to getting back to work.
  
• Melanie Madinga, our hospital bookeeper, suffers from sickle cell anemia and gallstones. Please pray for her health to improve.
  
• Art & Danielle Ralston are adapting to life in Congo. Art continues to fix most everything and anything at the hospital & mission. Danielle has started to help Joe with some of our backlogged communications, in addition to home schooling their son Michael (12), and teaching our kids some too.
  
• Rachel Maurais, our hospital administrator and personnel director, has plans to leave Congo in April 2010 to resume her formal education. We are praying for God to provide people to take her place, but even so, we will sure miss her when she goes!
  
• Susan Lardner, Pharmacist & Administrative Assistant, is on furlough in Albany, NY, but hopes to return to Congo in March 2010.
  
• David Marsh, RN, will be taking the last exam of French-language school on December 11. Then he & his wife Brenda and their daughter Tabitha (11) will return to NY from Quebec to continue deputation and prepare for their departure for Congo.
  

Things have been busy at the hospital. There is a new armed conflict going on northeast of Impfondo in the Equateur Region of neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. About 26,000 refugees have crossed to our side of the Oubangui River in the past month or so. At Pioneer Christian Hospital we have received 3 waves of wounded refugees, injured in the chaotic violence. We are taking care of 7 patients (ages 11 to 57) with gunshot wounds, and 4 with serious machete wounds. All have had one or two surgeries, and most need more to reattach tendons and further mend broken bones. Our hospital is now a stop on the humanitarian assistance/UN/government/media circuit as a number of delegations have come through to assess the situation. The Congo-Brazzaville & Congo-Kinshasa governments have responded quickly and effectively to the needs that we have presented, and we and our patients are very grateful.

Our need for nurses is even more critical than ever! It's really good to have 3 doctors on full-time staff now, but we don't have nearly enough nurses to carry out the doctors' orders. We hope to start a nursing school in January, which should help in the future, but we need nurses now! Often we have only 1 nurse on duty for 25-35 inpatients! This is unacceptable. Please pray for God to provide 4 RN's, 2 physician's assistants or nurse practitioners, and 4 LPN's as soon as possible.

Dr. Wolff with one of the wounded refugees
who was attacked with a machete by her neighbor

How are we doing as a family?

• Joe is really enjoying working with Drs. Eckehart & Klaudia Wolff (surgery & family therapy/anesthesia) and Dr. Juan Carlos Panchi (family practice) who are here for 3 months, on loan from HCJB/Global in Ecuador, South America. We also have short-term missionary Amy Riedy visiting from California. Their help is enabling Joe to do some strategic planning for the hospital, and still spend time with the family.
  
• Becky is gradually resuming her ministries: home school teacher, housing coordinator, mission treasurer, Sunday School coordinator, hair stylist, and part-time nurse.
  
• Olivia graduated from Harvey Christian Academy in June. She has been working part-time at the hospital and working on several independent projects. While we were in the US, we had a wonderful opportunity to visit some Christian Colleges. She plans to enroll in college in the Fall of 2010, and has applied to Cedarville University; now we just need to figure out where & when she can take the SAT!
  
• Claire (16) passed her road test our second to last day at home in the US, and is now an officially licensed junior driver. She is taking guitar lessons, and still loves to draw.
  
• Isabelle (13) is very good at writing...maybe next time we will share her blog with you.
  
• Noah (8) is always the first one up and diligently working to finish his school work so he can go outside and play.
  

Overall we are doing very well. We greatly appreciate your support & encouragement. Thank you!

For Health & Hope,
Joseph & Rebecca Harvey
Olivia, Claire, Isabelle & Noah
Friday, November 20, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009
Departure: 08:01 PM New York, USA - John F Kennedy, terminal 1
Arrival: 07:40 AM +1 day Casablanca, Morocco - Mohammed V, terminal 2
Airline: Royal Air Maroc AT201 Duration: 7:39
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300/300ER
Change of plane required. Time between flights = 6:00.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
confirmed Departure: 01:40 PM Casablanca, Morocco - Mohammed V, terminal 2
Arrival: 10:55 PM Brazzaville, Congo Brazzaville - Maya Maya
Note: includes 1 technical stop(s)
Airline: Royal Air Maroc AT287 Duration: 8:15
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800