Laban Ministries International

Laban Ministries International 

February 2026 

Dear Laban Family, 

Once again, your generosity and concern for the people of Congo amazes us! From the remaining need of funds for the trip to Kinshasa, we have received almost enough to send Pastor Ebobo and Pastor Kilasi there. We have one fourth of the amount we were hoping for Bibles, which is enough for all of the women at the literacy school to buy the Kituba Bibles. Several hundred dollars for lodging, taxis, and food is in hand for the team to shop for medicines, Bibles, and the new dispensary supplies. We cannot tell you how thrilled our staff is as they anticipate having an updated building they can be proud of to facilitate patient care. ' Please pray as we wait for the remaining money needed that everything we have funds for will be there when our team arrives. Sometimes supplies come and go, especially Bibles, depending on the demand before we can get to them as we are located hundreds of miles from the capital city. 

The Lord has put on our hearts the next Christmas project for 2026. Actually, this great opportunity has been yelling for attention for some time now; that is the desperate need for updated equipment for Radio Glory. The miracle of this incredible gift from God (Radio Glory) had its beginnings in November of 2003 installed by Towers for Jesus from Indiana. The nationals call it their “mama” because they hear daily comfort from God’s Word, encouraging Christian music, daily Bible reading (the only Bible many will ever come close to having), great sermons, challenging Bible teaching, and local news. 

Because we are in the middle of nowhere, the bush as it is called or the Interior, Radio Glory is their local connection to the outside world. That's 23 years of God's faithfulness right there, as we have faced incredible torrential rains and tropical storms, and yet through it all the Hand of God remains and keeps it on the air. We will be more specific about the kind and price of equipment that will service Radio Glory as time marches on, while the old worn out equipment takes its last breath and just hangs on by a thread. 

Jim continues to do well. Thank you so very much for continuing to pray. "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-8

Grateful servants of the Living Christ, 

Jim and Nancy 

Laban Ministries International 

P.O. Box 1712 

Columbia, TN 38402 

Phone: (313) 516-4883 

www.hopeforcongo.com 

FB: @labanministries 

Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International 

January 2026 

Happy New Year to you all, 

Celebrate with us three wonderful blessings received in December. The first one is provision of all the needs we listed to update our dispensary in Congo! Let me review the needs you so generously provided: 

1. Lumber for a new roof to build new trusses for the roof 

2. New roofing material including trusses, tin, and nails 

3. Repair of both the outside and inside walls of the building 

4. Repair of the floors 

5. New plywood ceiling 

6. New window frames 

7. Paint for the entire outside and inside of the dispensary 

8. Two IV stands 

9. Two examining tables 

10. One delivery table 

11. Four new oversize beds 

12. Four special mattresses 

13. Eight sets of sheets (4 for reserve) 

14. $500 for medical supplies 

15. Two privacy screens 

16. Mosquito nets 

17. Blankets 

Now we await the funds to send Pastor Ebobo and Pastor Kilasi to travel to Kinshasa. They need to go by bus all the way there and then return to the various locations they have already scouted out on their last trip to price all supplies by taxi. 

Lodging is necessary as well as meals and finding and hiring a reliable truck to deliver all the goods to Kikwit and then on to Nkara, where our mission is located. While in Kinshasa, they will also be purchasing French Study Bibles you have designated funds for, and we are thrilled to announce that the Kituba Bible is once more available for our women in the Women's Literacy School as well for our evangelism outreach. These Kituba Bibles have not been available for years! Oh that we could purchase $2,000 worth!!! Our staff thank you for caring so much in providing a clean, updated space for the mamas in our county in which to deliver.

The second incredible blessing is that our pastoral staff was able to evangelize the large village of Kulumpia (8,000 people) on December 19, 20, and 21. The churches in this village all dissipated over time. Not one is left. And out of the 8,000, 3,500 made professions of faith out of deep spiritual hunger! The youth according to Pastor Ebobo know nothing of spiritual life, the Bible, prayer-nothing. He further writes that many gave their hearts to follow Jesus and walk away from demonic activity. 

Please pray for them. Follow up is where Radio Glory comes in. Since the village is 90 miles from our mission over roads that are not worthy of the name, following up in-person is challenging to say the least. But because of your love of our radio ministry, they have access to daily readings of the Word of God, Christian music, evangelical preaching, women's programs, and wonderful teaching of the Scriptures! 

The third amazing blessing is that the Lord gave my beloved husband back to us all! He has literally been resurrected from a very low physical state after spending 8 weeks in bed and is getting stronger each day. He walks with a walker sometimes and then sometimes without. Thank you thank you thank you for interceding for him! 

Our cup is full, and you who have prayed and given should absolutely have full cups as well. Just think of the life changes you have and continue to be a part of!!! 

Gratefully, 

Jim and Nancy Smith 

Laban Ministries International 

P.O. Box 1712 

Columbia, TN 38402 

Phone: (313) 516-4883 

www.hopeforcongo.com 

FB: @labanministries 

Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International
November/December 2025

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It all began on October 8, when Jim took a walk in the yard and felt his legs giving way. 
He decided to sit down where he was, and later on that night he fell getting out of bed. 
The next day he was hospitalized locally for a week and then spent two weeks at
Vanderbilt University Hospital followed by 5 weeks in a rehab facility nearby. He was
discharged yesterday after sinking so low physically we thought we were going to lose
him.

Thank you so very much for your prayers. They have been our life line. As you can
imagine he is in a weakened condition but compared to where he was formerly, our
family considers his present state to be a miracle! Please keep praying for continued
recovery at home.

Our Congolese brothers and sisters on the staff of Laban as well as many others who
have known him down through the years are absolutely thrilled at his progress. 
Speaking of Congo, our men there are continuing to paint the dispensary, now on the
inside. It’s been a delight to see the progress--slow but steady--and Pastor Ebobo and
Pastor Kilasi will be making a trip to Kinshasa to get the necessary equipment for the
update as soon as all funds are in. Your gifts as they continue to come our way are
making such a difference in this tired old building which serves our mamas in the area
as a delivery site, prenatal care refuge, and laboratory and malaria treatment center for
the local population. Maternity beds are still needed as well as new medicines, IV
stands and more paint. The old Belgian building is so porous it swallows up the paint
quickly.

More good news is that enough money has been provided for the evangelism trip
Pastor Ebobo has been anticipating! Thank you for caring about souls in Congo. The
outreach will take place on December 18, 19, and 20. They are visiting the village this
week to make all the necessary arrangements. More details later. Our hearts rejoice at
the open arms waiting to welcome our pastors as they make plans to bring the Gospel
to this location.

How grateful we are as a family that the Lord has chosen to raise Jim up, and we
cannot thank you enough for standing with us. Please keep praying for him and the
work God has so graciously allowed us to be a part of in our beloved Congo.
“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who
turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3.
AMEN AND AMEN!

With grateful hearts,
Jim and Nancy Smith

Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
www.hopeforcongo.com
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International

October 2025

Dear Friends,

We covet your prayers for Jim, who has been hospitalized almost 3 weeks now. A couple of
viruses and pneumonia have made life difficult for him and he is now weak from sitting in a
hospital bed for so long with little physical therapy.
Hopefully he will be transferred to a rehab facility this week. Please pray.

This year’s Christmas project for continuing to upgrade the dispensary phase 2 is underway.
So far 2 delivery tables have been provided, some paint, and money towards a delivery table.
We still need more paint, an IV stand $175, 4 blankets $100, hospital beds $1,000, and privacy
dividers $300.
In addition, $300 has been given for the next evangelism outreach, with $1,200 to go.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing with us and remembering the people of
Congo who live in and breathe abject poverty everyday of their lives.
In His Hands,
Jim and Nancy

Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
www.hopeforcongo.com
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International

August/September 2025

Christmas Project, 2025, Phase 2, Dispensary Upgrade

Dear Friends,

It is that time of year to present our 2025 Christmas Project!  As you may remember, last year’s project was about the need to update our dispensary in Congo.  A total of $7,910 was given toward that end.  Most of this money was undesignated for specific items.  The mattresses, examining table, and sheets were directed towards those needs.

With these funds, the following was accomplished toward the upgrade:

1. Lumber was purchased to build brand new trusses for the building, replace window and door frames.  
2. New tin covers those trusses to facilitate a new roof.
3. Seventy bags of cement enabled us to repair and rebuild new walls and a concrete floor for the entire building plus inside and outside wall repair and rebuilding.
4. All nails were purchased.
5. All ceilings were replaced with plywood.
6. A new battery for the Wood-Mizer sawmill was purchased to cut lumber.
7. A new examining table was purchased.
8. Four mattresses were provided as well as sheets.
9. A trip to Kinshasa was financed to appraise the cost of all new equipment that would be needed for medical care.    

These are the items we still need to complete the upgrade:

1. $5,000-$7,000 for paint for the entire building inside and out.  (This is an estimate.  We will purchase half of the amount first and see how far it goes.)
2. The staff has requested an additional examining table at $360.
3. Two IV bag stands totaling $175.
4. Four blankets totaling $100.
5. Hospital beds at $500 each times 4 to equal $2,000.  (These were not presented as needs last year.)
6. A new delivery table at a cost of $1,000.

      7.  Two privacy dividers at a total of $300 for both. 

Everything takes much longer in Congo. We are thrilled with the progress made, all completed by our national staff. Would you please keep praying? Thank you so much for what you have already done.  So encouraging and so much teamwork.  

By the way, we are still waiting for $1,500 to underwrite the next evangelism outreach.  We would love to send our team out to the village of Kimputu.  

Servants of the Living Christ,

Jim and Nancy Smith

Laban Ministries International

P.O. Box 1712

Columbia, TN 38402

Phone: (313) 516-4883

www.hopeforcongo.com

FB: @labanministries

Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International

July 2025

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your response to our June newsletter!  We are making it through July thanks to your generosity.

Progress on the dispensary is moving along. Needed cement has been purchased and walls and floors are being replaced and repaired as well as new plywood ceilings are going up—your gifts from our 2025 Christmas drive!

In August, our evangelism team is planning to travel to the distant (Congo miles) village called Kimputu.  Pastor Ebobo reports that many years ago the people there refused to allow American Baptist missionaries to share the gospel.  No church was ever built, and the villagers decided against worshiping a “white” God and chose to pray to a black one. 

Years passed, and as they heard Radio Glory preach and teach God’s Word, their hearts softened.  Recently the chief begged some of our staff to bring the evangelism team to tell them about Jesus!

Please pray for our team and the continued moving of the Holy Spirit as they enter this dark place next month. 

Thank you for standing with us!

Jim and Nancy

Cement bags that were purchased for the dispensary

Chief of Kimputu asking our team to come evangelize to his village

Laban Ministries International

P.O. Box 1712

Columbia, TN 38402

Phone: (313) 516-4883

www.hopeforcongo.com

FB: @labanministries

Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International

June 2025

Dear Ministry Partners,

We are coming to you asking for your prayers.

Our multifaceted ministry in Congo is being hit hard by the typical summer slump.

Radio Glory, Evangelism, the Women’s Literature School, and our dispensary plus 39 national staff workers are maintained each month through your prayers and gifts.  

Please pray.

Jim and Nancy

Laban Ministries International

P.O. Box 1712

Columbia, TN 38402

Phone: (313) 516-4883

www.hopeforcongo.com

FB: @labanministries

Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International

May 2025

Great News from Congo!

Your prayers in action are revealed through some of the photos in this newsletter. Our pastors and staff prayed much about going to the village of Mosay located 85 kilometers or 51 miles from our mission of Nkara. Not too far away is the site of the 4 trees we recently purchased, cut down, and transported to Nkara to update the dispensary with new doors, window framework, and build new trusses for the dispensary roof. Once again, their history is dark and full of demonic activity. People there in general embrace witchcraft, consult witch doctors, and worship a black god, claiming God is not white and therefore do not believe that He can be their Savior. So the chief asked our team to go there and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Pastor Ebobo comments it was an incredible thing to behold.

This is what Pastor Mboma had to say about Mosay:

"Hello Mr. Jim and Mama Nancy.

We are very glad to report the marvelous moments we spent at Mosay Village. We could see with our eyes how people were saved by the power of the Holy Spirit. From Friday, May 23 through Sunday, May 25, the people were under the heat of the Holy Spirit.

The Chief of the village in the name of Theo Kulemfuka testified that villages which have accepted the good news are progressing positively, and he didn't want his people to be left behind. (This is in reference to the recent evangelistic outreaches our team has conducted in other villages over the last several months). The chief and eighteen of the elders decided to call Laban Ministries evangelism team to come with the Word of God for the first time for the salvation and changes of mentality within the three days of celebration, prayers, preaching, and different activities like the showing of the Jesus Film as well as other videos. We could see the joy on many faces coming to the Lord.

Among six thousand people who heard the Gospel, about three thousand five hundred received the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord. Finally, Chief Theo Kulemfuka thanks the Smiths for the radio station and the evangelism team, wishing them long lives.

Without them, he said, a lot of people would be lost. This is the reason we are thankful to the Lord and to you brothers and sisters from America for your support financially and by your prayers, making possible the success of the salvation of souls in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa."

Hallelujah and praise God for your prayerful and financial support!

Jim and Nancy Smith

Below left: Roof before

Below right: Roof after

Laban Ministries International

P.O. Box 1712

Columbia, TN 38402

Phone: (313) 516-4883

www.hopeforcongo.com

FB: @labanministries

Email: labancongo@aol.com

Laban Ministries International

April 2025

Evangelism Update: Due to heavy rains (rainy season in Congo is from September through May) being extremely heavy in November and April, evangelism has to be delayed until May. Thank you for providing the gas, diesel, and food required for that to take place next month. As you remember the event, please pray for those our team will be ministering to. Dark hearts live in the village of Kimputu, where they are eagerly awaiting our team, a large population of 11,000 plus the nearby villages. Pastor Ebobo says we can count on an additional 4,000 people to attend. They hear Radio Glory very well so that means good follow up will take place. Our pastors must travel 117 miles one way over difficult, muddy roads which could even be washed out due to the torrential rains this time of year. As a matter of review, there is no church there and no pastor to minister to them. Pastor Ebobo says there is much evil there including the pursuit of demonic spirits and witchcraft. They slit throats over property rights in the forest.

Most likely it will be a 2-3 day event and will include showing the Jesus Film as well as Esther after the services each evening. There will be an invitation after the preaching, and the crowd will be dealt with on a mass basis followed by small groups which are counseled individually to help facilitate their understanding of the gospel, and finally one on one conversations to be sure those who express interest understand the Gospel. Please continue to pray.

Dispensary Update:

Delays are a very common part of life in Congo. Our Wood-Mizer needed a regulator, and so money was recently sent and it arrived today, so after it is installed, the recently cut down trees by our staff in the village of Dwe and hauled home on the big MAN truck will be used to make the size of the lumber that was not available in Kikwit nor in any of the local villages. These trees are incredibly heavy and difficult to maneuver without a crane. We are so grateful they returned to Nkara with no problems or accidents. The process therefore will take much longer than if they simply could run to a Home Depot or Lowes. Instead, they must do their shopping in the forest!

War Update: Quoting one of the news sources: "The escalation of violence in eastern DRC since Jan, 2025, ....has increased the number of people displaced within the country to an all-time high of 7.3 million and forced more than 86,000 to flee to neighboring countries," like Burundi, Angola, French Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, the United republic of Tanzania, and Zambia." The death toll weeks ago was 7,000 people. Thanks for your prayers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11AM. Let’s keep them coming!

As you may remember, we are entering the yearly "lean season" of Laban Ministries. Beginning now throughout the summer months the ministry can face some very low months financially. Please pray that this won't be the case in 2025.

We marvel at your kindness and generosity. In Philippians 4:7, Paul expresses the reality that each believer has a spiritual bank account. "Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account." Investments in souls are deposits in our "bank" accounts in heaven.

Blessings,

Jim and Nancy Smith

Trees cut down by staff in the village of Dwe

Laban Ministries International

P.O. Box 1712

Columbia, TN 38402

Phone: (313) 516-4883

www.hopeforcongo.com

FB: @labanministries

Email: labancongo@aol.com