Serving in Congo

By our third month in Congo, we had settled into a rhythm of traveling between Goma and Miramba, meeting with our One By One Ministries team each week, and continuing to build relationships throughout the community.

One afternoon while we were in Miramba, Elijah, Bahati, and I were walking up the familiar path toward the center of the village when Bahati pointed out a large piece of land beside us. He mentioned that years earlier he had hoped to buy it but never had the opportunity, and that it was now for sale again.

As we looked over the property, Elijah turned to me and said,

"Coura, this is part of the land from the vision the Lord gave me."

I was stunned.

Years before we ever met, back in 2012, the Lord had shown Elijah this very property and the one beside it in a vision, saying,

"One day, all of this will belong to you."

At the time, Elijah had no idea why the Lord had shown him the land. He simply held onto that promise and waited.

As we continued walking through the village, we couldn't help but wonder if this was the land the Lord had been preparing all along. With the vision fresh on our minds and the dream of building a school growing in our hearts, we decided to find the owner and ask if he would be willing to sell it.

A few days later, while we were back in Goma, we had the opportunity to meet with him. He told us he would be willing to sell the land, but the asking price was $13,000—far more than we could imagine raising.

Although the price seemed impossible, we left that meeting encouraged. For the first time, the vision the Lord had given Elijah years earlier no longer felt like a distant promise. We still had no idea how the Lord would provide, but we walked away believing that if He had given the vision, He would make a way in His perfect timing.