Laban Ministries International
May 2023
Laban Family,
Laban Ministries is generational. Laban and Marcella pioneered this work in 1938 in a very dark period of Congo’s history. They worked with 3 tribes before being invited by the Bayanzi people to come tell them about Jesus. After Laban’s death in 1953, Marcella carried on the work alone until 1978, when she died in her bedroom at Nkara totally unknown when we landed on Congo’s shores less than 1 month later. Now our youngest son, Jack, born in the bush of Africa 6 months after our arrival is at the helm.
As of January 2024, Lord willing, we will have the opportunity in person to visually lay before some of our grandchildren their African heritage. How exciting is that! Jack, his wife, Molly, and their 5 children: Isabella, Jackson, Landry, Reagan, and Judah, as well as Jim and myself are planning to go to Congo. If a picture is worth a thousand words, just imagine what an impact they will receive experiencing for themselves the sights, sounds, touch, taste, and history of their great grandparents’ work and what it looks like today!!!
They will personally meet our dedicated staff, students at Laban Bible Institute, the women attending the literacy school, give their greetings at the airport, have a chance to broadcast on Radio Glory, ride the plains, witness work done at the dispensary, attend church services in another language, and take in a third world culture.
This will be very challenging. The logistics are many. That’s where you come in. Will you:
1. Please pray seriously with us for every detail involved including passing COVID tests going and coming at the airport in Kinshasa, good health, adaptation to the water (we boil all of ours), climate change (hot, hot, and hot in January), protection from snakes, culture shock, significant time change (6 hours difference), and resting in the wonder of God’s grace to receive all that He has for each of them.
2. Consider helping us with the costs of tickets, immunizations, visas, food, lodging, transport into the interior which will most likely require chartering the MAF plane from Kinshasa to Nkara and back to Kinshasa again, and the LONG plane ride to and from Congo.
As always, there are enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ on our mission. We have enemies as did Laban and Marcella. This will be a witness that there will be others to step forward someday. Things will certainly not end with us nor with Jack. From that standpoint, the trip is very important as well.
Thank you for standing with us, for praying for us, and for giving to make this a beautiful and profound reality!
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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Laban Ministries International
April 2023
Hello Laban Family,
This newsletter will be short and sweet, basically asking you to join us in prayer for the following prayer requests:
Please continue to pray as we plan a future trip to Congo which will include Jim and Nancy Smith and other members of the family! More information on that in the May newsletter.
April trip for three of our pastors and mechanic to make the trip to Kinshasa to buy the new motor for our MAN truck:
- Safety on the long bus ride from the town of Kikwit all the way to the capital city through winding roads in the dark of night.
- Protection from theft and bandits in Kinshasa as our men travel the roads to find just the right motor. This will take days of scrutinizing, discerning, praying, and finally choosing the motor that the Lord has in mind.
Strength and health as our Laban Bible Institute students travel back to their villages for Easter break. Because the big truck is out of commission and unable to drop them off closer to their destinations, some will have to walk for days to get home and then return 2 weeks later for class.
A fervent prayer of ours for ourselves as well as for the 41 members of the overseas staff of Laban Ministries International is that we all continue to end well. The Laban staff in Congo has been in a very sweet spot for the last several years under the leadership of Pastor Mboma. Your continued prayers for them to act with courage, to refuse compromising, protection from our enemies on the mission, good health and healing from the tropical diseases they face, which can take their babies in a few hours, and strength to face their trials in a land with no infrastructure are desperately needed and effectual.
Determination and good health for our ladies in the Women’s Literacy School as they wind up their second year of classes. They face taunts and ridicule from other village women who have a low tolerance level for other women who live outside the box of routine village life year after year. Our valiant women yearn for a better life of literacy and leaving the mediocrity of ignorance, but face paying prices to achieve the ability to read, study God’s Word, and learn new skills.
Thank you so much for your provision of 10 sacks of cement for the Yangalala Church! We are so grateful for you all.
In Christ’s Matchless Name,
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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Laban Ministries International
March 2023
Hello everyone,
Great news from Congo. All is well. This is the month to honor women there. So three of our staff, Mama Elise (our midwife and President of the Federation of Women in our area, Mama Janine, Assistant Director of the Women’s Literacy School, and Mama Noel, instructor in the literacy school, all spoke on the value and benefit of being a woman who fears God on Radio Glory. The population loved it! In a call yesterday to our head pastors of Laban at Nkara, we talked about the transformation of the women who were saved under Dr. Laban and Marcella’s ministry in the late forties and the women of today. What a transformation it is, our pastors commented. It will encourage you to know what a difference the women’s school has made in the lives of our graduates and present students. The fact that they can read and grasp God’s Word has been like a re-wallpapering of their minds to replace their shame and ignorance with dignity, literacy, and confidence in knowing they are loved and deeply treasured by the God of the universe. He is theirs. He’s working in their lives. He speaks to them. They have access to Him through prayer and the act of opening His mouth through the reading of His words and thoughts. His power can now be theirs. This is Psalm 3:3 in action: “But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” These souls, many of whom, not only cannot read anything, including the notes their children bring home from school, but even much more serious, do not know Christ as their Savior often as they enter class. But as the power of God’s Word is unleashed, absorbed, and processed in their minds, they can say, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me the gladness and joy of my heart.” Jeremiah 15:16.
The Yangalala Church (rejoicing church) in the village of Nkara is growing and has recently purchased 10 bags of cement to pave the inside floor of the building. We’d love to match them with another 10 bags to help them along, just as you helped them years ago by matching the tin they purchased with an equal amount until the roof was completed. They didn’t ask us to do this, but what a great source of encouragement that would be. Pastor Isaac (Dean of Academics at Laban Bible Institute) is what we would call a co pastor of Yangalala and no longer has to make the long trek on foot 2 or 3 times a week to encourage believers and preach there. Thank you so much for the motorbike you provided for him. He is so grateful!
Thank you for continuing to train and feed the dorm students at Laban Bible Institute. They are amazed at God’s goodness and your generosity.
The fact that Radio Glory continues to beam the Gospel of Jesus Christ everyday in Congo is testimony to the Lord’s incredible provision and your prayers. This ministry is so loved and cherished by the population and the only “Bible” many will ever have. By the way, continue to pray that Bibles will become available once again. We need them for the general population when the evangelism team goes out and for all of our female and male students. They have been scarce for so long.
We stand amazed at your faithfulness and hearts for souls. It’s impossible to adequately describe the influence you have and continue to have in our part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. God bless you and return to you a hundred fold the investment that you continue to make in this work, now approaching 85 years in the bush of Africa this October! “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30
Servants of the Living God,
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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Laban Ministries International
February 2023
Dear Laban Family,
Mattress Update: Thank you so much for remaining with us until all 35 staff families have each received their 3 mattresses. All but 9 families are enjoying their new sheets, pillows, mattress protectors, and blankets. The remaining 9 sets will be purchased shortly. We are proceeding with ordering beds from a couple of local villages as the Lord provides. Three simple wooden beds will run $180, which will provide the protection needed to lift the mattresses off their dirt floors. So far we have money for beds for close to 3 families. Since each bed will be made individually, this will take some time. Our people thank you again for showing such kindness and concern for their welfare.
Amazing news from Kinshasa: For a short period of time, a study Bible in French became available, and more are expected soon. We were able to purchase 10 of these Bibles to give to our graduates from some years back due to the serious, long shortage. As soon as more are in stock, we will continue to buy the remaining 26 needed. Thank you for your patience. We were sure you who gave money towards Bibles some time back would be thrilled to hear this. Several pictures in this newsletter show the pastors with their new treasured Bible in hand, some of whom walked as far as 68 miles to claim them.
Laban Bible Institute is in the middle of the second trimester, and the women in the Ladies Literacy School are looking forward to graduating this summer thanks to your amazing support.
Prayer Request: We continue to look to the Lord for provision and wisdom in working out all the details for our making a trip this summer back to Congo. Please join us in prayer.
“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister.” Hebrews 6:10
In His service,
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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Laban Ministries International
January 2023
Dear Friends,
It is with great joy that we write you wonderful news from Congo. All of our 36 staff families have been provided with 3 brand new beautiful mattresses from the town of Kikwit! Praise the Lord for your incredible generosity.
How great it would be if you could see their happy faces and hear their grateful voices as they describe what comfort these mattresses are bringing to their families. In fact, you gave so generously, we are going to be able to throw in a bottom sheet, top sheet, pillows, blankets, and mattress protectors as well! A merchant in Kikwit gave us a very good deal on these extras. Our six pastors have cement homes, and the remaining staff who have been with us since 1979 have cement homes, which means they have cement floors. However, 27 staff families live in mud huts. So we would love to be able to provide a wooden bed made by our carpenters for those who don’t have beds to elevate the mattresses off of the mud floors. We are pricing wood in Kikwit because there is little available in our area of the bush.
This month, Lord willing, our mechanic and 2 of our pastors will travel to Kinshasa to pick up the recently provided motor for the big MAN truck. Once this has been successfully placed in the MAN, our evangelism team and Bible institute students will be on their way to do village evangelism once again. The second trimester of Laban Bible Institute and the Women’s Literacy School will begin soon, and Radio Glory is broadcasting everyday with the newly shipped and installed 18,000 watt diesel generator sent from America in April of 2022! Our cup overflows!
Thank you, thank you for your hearts of gold, showing such care and concern for a people 6,500 miles from your doorstep. May the Lord return to you your gift a hundred fold. The men and women of Laban thank you from the bottom of their hearts. Nzambi sakamuna beno yonso or God bless you all.
Happy New Year!
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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Laban Ministries International
December 2022
Christmas, 2022
PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE!
Our hearts are bursting to tell you the good news! In the first quarter of 2021, we began raising funds to ship an 18,000 watt diesel generator to Congo that had been sitting in Detroit for years, paid for, and ready to go, just waiting on God’s timing. That time came, and in April of this year, chairman of the board, Jerry Hubbell drove that beast to Chicago, and off it went by boat, arriving in Kinshasa in May! Thank you for your faithfulness! You prayed it all the way there. However, Kinshasa is hundreds of miles from our mission.
Just last week in torrential rain, our missionary friend, Dan Grings, drove that huge piece of equipment on the “worst roads” he has seen, arriving safely at Nkara about midnight, November 28. Because it hadn’t been running, just sitting in a warehouse for a long time, there were some adjustments that needed to be made, and Dan figured out just what they were! We are so thrilled to tell you that on Wednesday, November 29, the generator began humming with success!
The old generator was on its last breath after 18 years, held together by the prayers of God’s people and His mercies, which are NEW EVERY MORNING! Thank you, thank you, thank you for believing in this ministry. The new generator will be so much more efficient and cost effective. Radio Glory keeps on going in the middle of the bush of Africa by the grace of God, broadcasting reading through the Bible every year--since it is the only Bible many have--Christian music, sermons from men of God, women’s programming, local Congo news, church services, including the beautiful voices of Congolese choirs, family matters, Bible messages geared especially to children, and more. You are all a part of giving our audience SO MUCH HOPE!
We’re in the process of buying mattresses, sheets, and pillows for our wonderful staff in Congo for Christmas and are at just above 52% of our goal. Thank you all so very much for your generosity. May the Lord return it to you your investment one hundred fold. “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given, He will repay to him.”
With full, grateful hearts,
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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Laban Ministries International
November 2022
Dear Laban Family,
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and Christmas is just around the corner. Because of your generosity, we are already at 42% of our goal of 36 sets of 3 mattresses for each of our 36 staff families in Congo! Our staff is very excited about the prospect of having these beautiful sleeping aids in their homes. And if there’s enough left over, we plan to buy them sheets as well.
A wonderful group of men and women serve at Laban Ministries, including professors in Laban Bible Institute, who also broadcast the Word of God on Radio Glory, pastor churches, preside as Academic Dean over the student body, nurses who work in the dispensary and deliver babies, carpenters, a mason, evangelists, musicians who help draw crowds for evangelism, qualified women who direct and teach in the Women’s Literacy School, Pastor Ngunga who repairs all of the motorcycles you have provided, sentinels who guard the homes, Radio Glory, the buildings on the mission, and property in general, pastors churches, maintain the vehicles, and pastor the youth of the area, as well as Pastor Mboma who is Director of Operations. They are hard working, dedicated to the overall good of the ministry, and make sacrifices to serve the Lord in the bush of Africa.
Be assured that the comfort and dignity you are providing this Christmas season is appreciated beyond words. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for responding so kindly and abundantly to men and women you most likely will never meet this side of heaven. May God richly bless you and return to you your investment a hundred fold!
Gratefully,
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
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https://smile.amazon.com/ch/38-2974598
Laban Ministries International
October 2022
Happy Fall Everyone!
We are praising the Lord for the wonderful benefit dinner held at Crystal Gardens in Southgate, MI in mid October. Among the attendees were 50 first timers, many of whom were youthful and empathetic towards the needs of the ministry in Congo!
In answered prayer, a new motor has been provided for the big MAN truck, which is of vital necessity in carrying out evangelism in the bush. A few weeks ago, loaded, it was traveling to the villages of Ekubi and Tebetebe to do follow up with the many who responded to the Gospel in March. The plan was to hold a week of exposing the Scriptures all day everyday, teaching basic Bible principles. About 30 kilometers (18 miles) outside the mission, it broke down in the nseke or plains, loaded with some of our pastors, many of this year’s students, women from the literacy school, and general staff who do the cooking, water fetching, tent set up, and take care of the details so our pastors can give themselves to ministering. Motors are available in Kinshasa, and we are thrilled to tell our staff that they can make the trip to buy a replacement for this important vehicle! Thank you Jesus!!!
As some of you may recall, this year’s Christmas project for our staff is to provide a large, almost king size mattress for the mother and father, and two almost double size mattresses for the children. The total package for each of our 36 families on staff is $775. The large mattress is $325, and the two smaller ones are $225 each. At this point in time, we have five complete sets, which means we have 31 more sets to go, and this is only October! A video shown that evening displayed the process of assembling the deplorable grass concoctions on which they now sleep. Each family gathers enough grass to fill a small sized pickup truck. It is then dried for a month, stuffed into a flimsy, sheet-like material, and used for one more month, and then the practice starts all over again. When you go to bed tonight, think about how much more comfortable they and their children’s lives would be if they had the “luxury” of a real mattress!!!
Laban Bible Institute and the Women’s Literacy School are in full swing. Soon our recently shipped generator for Radio Glory will make its way to Nkara from Kinshasa thanks to missionary Dan Grings, who is also rebuilding our well and replacing the plumbing, flooring, and toilets in our upstairs and downstairs bathrooms. Will you please pray for his safe arrival as he and Paul, a very talented national, travel the “roads” to Nkara? Please pray for good weather, as the rainy season begins soon, and torrential rain storms could make the journey difficult.
“When Jesus saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion.” How can we thank you enough for showing such compassion to a people who live and die in oblivion here, yet are known, dearly loved by God, precious in His sight, and with whom we will spend eternity?!
Gratefully,
Jim and Nancy Smith
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
Support Laban Ministries while you shop on Amazon!
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/38-2974598
Laban Ministries International
September 2022
Dear Laban Family,
Christmas will be here before you know it. Two years ago, you helped provide rain barrels for our Laban work staff in Congo. Last year, everyone received a large solar panel and heavy duty battery to provide light in each home. These wonderful gifts have added comfort and convenience to their lives, and they are so grateful for your generosity.
This year, we are excited to tell you our Christmas project is to provide mattresses for each family. Normally, the African mattress consists of nothing more than grass covered by flimsy, sheet-like material. It’s nasty, requires frequent replacing due to hygiene issues, and provides little if any support. The other option is bamboo strips weaved together with woven string attached to 4-6 inch bamboo legs to elevate them from the floor. These, of course, don’t give and are very uncomfortable to say the least.
Mattresses are available in the large town of Kikwit, 60 miles from our mission, but of course they are expensive—too expensive for the average large Congolese family. Sizes are measured in metrics and vary from our king size and twin size mattresses. Therefore, the large mattress is comparable to a king, and the smaller mattress is almost the size of a double. We would like to provide 1 large mattress and two smaller ones for each family. This would be a dream come true for our staff.
The large mattress will run $325, and the smaller one $225. We need 36 large, and 72 small. This seems like an incredible amount of money per family, (a total $775), but we are putting it out there to see what the Lord will do since nothing is impossible with Him. “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” - Jeremiah 32:17. .
Can you imagine what a difference having the comfort of a real mattress would make? How many of us have known anything different? How many of us have slept on straw or grass covered makeshift “mattresses” as a permanent structure in our homes? We have not because we ask not. James 4:2. Will you help us remove this daily hardship from these wonderful families’ lives? Let’s elevate their dignity a little by providing a small dream of theirs, which is entirely reachable. Let’s be the lifter of their heads as Psalm 3:3 says.
Blessings and gratitude,
Jim and Nancy Smith
P.S. The benefit dinner is just around the corner. Consider joining us on Thursday, October 13, 6 pm at Crystal Gardens in Southgate, MI. Tickets available at www.hopeforcongo.com. Hope to see you soon!
Laban Benefit Dinner
October 13th at 6:00 pm.
Crystal Gardens
16703 Fort Street
Southgate, MI 48195
$25 per person
Go to www.hopeforcongo.com to purchase your tickets! Click on the ‘calendar’ tab and then the ticket amount
Laban Ministries International
P.O. Box 1712
Columbia, TN 38402
Phone: (313) 516-4883
FB: @labanministries
Email: labancongo@aol.com
Support Laban Ministries while you shop on Amazon!
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/38-2974598