June News from Becky

 

I praise the Lord that I arrived safely here in Congo on January 25th. The Lord was gracious in allowing my
luggage to come through without getting lost (a miracle, they say, on Air France!) and at less than half the
cost they had originally quoted me. I want to THANK all of you for all your prayers before, during, and after
my trip.
The week before I left was especially hectic, but I'm so thankful to the Lord for my family and church family
and all the ways they helped me to get ready to come. They had a special commissioning service and
farewell for me the Sunday before I left. Praise the LORD! I now have 100% of my support. I especially
want to thank all those who are on my prayer support team as well as those on my financial support team,
During the month of February I was able to attend both a Christian wedding and a Christian funeral. It was
interesting to see the similarities and differences in each compared to their American counterparts. It almost
seemed opposite. The wedding ceremony was very somber and serious, with neither the bride or groom
cracking a smile. At the funeral, they did have a lot of weeping and wailing, but towards the end, when they
brought in the band, it was almost like a party. In an effort to lighten up funerals here in the city, and yet, still
express their emotions, the trend has almost gone to the opposite extreme. Because this was a Christian
funeral, though, it didn't turn into a wild party like many of the funeral processions we see here. Praise the
Lord for the peace that only He can give.
The last couple of months I've been working on learning Lingala and have also been able to take some of the
load of school off of Christine. I have Lingala lessons three days a week. I've included a picture of my
Lingala teacher, Albert, and his wife, Nzila, and daughter. Albert was saved out of Mormonism about a year
ago. Nzila was saved about 6 months ago. It's been exciting to see them grow in the Lord. To help expose
me to more Lingala, I've been going with Daria Curtis and Becky Ward to each of their ladies Bible classes. I
taught once for each of them while they translated into Lingala and also gave my testimony in Christine
Grings" ladies Sunday School class. I'm looking forward to the day when I'll be able to teach without a
translator. I praise the Lord that my Lingala is coming slowly, but surely.
k
This view of Kinshasa from our house shows you a portion of this city of 8 million people. We are reminded
often that every day people are dying without the Lord. On our way to church, we drive through a cemetery.
I've been told that there they bury at least 20 people a day. This hit a little closer to home not too long ago.
I'd started teaching about the life of David in the 4-6th grade S.S. class (with Joyanna Grings translating for
me). But a couple of weeks ago, instead of having our class, we were asked if we would like to take the two
children's classes to visit the home of a S.S. kid who had died that week of a bad flu. He had been in our
S.S. class the week before. Who would have thought that would be the last time we would see him?
French is the official language here in Congo and is used quite a bit, especially here in Kinshasa. On May
31st, I'll be leaving to go to France to French language school for about a year. During that time, the Grings
will be home on furlough. I'm looking forward to the ministry tool that knowing French will give me when I
return to Congo.
Prayer Requests:
-the Grings as they travel on furlough this next year
-the other missionaries here, bridging the gaps, in their absence
-my language school studies, both in Lingala and French
-the time before we leave here to be used wisely for the Lord

Excited to be Serving the Lord in Congo,
Becky Bardon ©

June 2003

I want to thank you for all your prayers. I arrived in France safely on June 1st. That is, I did, but my luggage didn't. It turned out to be a blessing, though, because I didn't have to lug it around, the airport people brought it straight to the town where I'm going to school. I'm learning French at a school that is a total immersion and 8-hours a day. It is a very good course and they really concentrate on having you practice speaking. I praise the Lord for the way that He works through prayer. I was having a lot of trouble the first week of school with tiredness and concentration. I asked a few people specifically for prayer and I know that many others were praying as well. Since mentioning this request, I have seen a marked improvement in my concentration and haven't fought falling asleep in the afternoon classes (after lunch) at all!

I will be here for a one month course before going to another school in Paris. At this school, I live in an apartment with a roommate, but in Paris I'll be living with a French family, set up by the school. I'm looking forward to practicing the French that I'm learning at home also. In September, I'll be going to a French language school for missionaries. That is, I'll be going there, if that's the Lord's will. There might be a problem with my visa.

While I was in Congo, I went through all the proper channels to apply for a year-long French visa. After many trips to the French Embassy, I was finally given my visa. They gave me a three-month visa and said that all I had to do when I got to France was to take it to the visa office and they would put a long-stay student visa in my passport. After I got to France, I started checking into a paper that I had to get to take with me when I applied for my long-stay visa. The lady at the Consulate said that the visa they gave me in Congo is the wrong one and that the only way to fix it is to go back to Congo where they made the mistake, or to the French Consulate in America. She did say that there are a couple of things I could do to see if they will fix it here. I won't be able to work on it until I go to Paris in July. Please pray that the Lord will work everything out, if He wants me to stay here.

I'm very thankful for the improvement that I made in Lingala during the last few months in Congo. I was especially able to see progress during the last 3 weeks that I was there. That was encouraging! Because they use a lot of French mixed in with Lingala, hopefully this year in French language school will also help my understanding of Lingala when I return to Congo.

Prayer Requests:
--that I'll be a good witness to the people around me, especially the French family that I'll be living with.
--that I'll be able to have good concentration and study hard to learn French well during the time that I have in France.
--for my visa situation
--continue to pray for the Marshes, Wards, and Curtises working with the people and churches in Congo. Also for the Grings as they are on furlough in the States. They arrived home safely and are quickly filling up the year with meetings.

Thank you again for all your prayers. I'll be able to get things in the mail here in France. My address in Paris for the months of July and August will be:
Becky Bardon
c/o MME BEVRE-MEURS
15/17 QUAI DE L'OISE
75019 PARIS FRANCE

When I find out for sure that I have my visa and will be in France for the school year, I'll include my address at that school.

In Christ,
Becky Bardon


c/o Mike and Neva Bardon
3926 S. 2500 East
Vernal, UT 84057
(435) 789-0912