Shop with Purpose

It's shopping season!

The holidays are quickly approaching and the remaining shopping days are dwindling! While you’re working on your shopping list, consider checking out the great shops we have listed here! Have someone hard to buy for on your list? These shops all feature beautiful, unique designs that help make a positive impact in our world and are sure to please the recipient!

You can find great gift items while TRULY making a difference in the lives of Congolese people! Each purchase from one of these organizations or shops directly benefits people in need in DRC, or helps to support families adopting from DRC with their ongoing expenses.


Don't forget- we are also currently in the process of our fundraiser for Congo Family Restoration, which ends November 28th! Buy a shirt in honor of Adoption Awareness Month to show your heart for adoption or for Congo. All proceeds benefit unadopted orphans in DRC-read our previous post for more details. Shirts are available in long sleeves, short sleeves, children's sizes, ladies' slim fit, and hooded sweatshirts. Help us get closer to our goal!

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/drc-adoption-awareness-month 

Long-Sleeved T 

Hope and Light Initiative

Original, inspirational artwork, t-shirts, and totes that provide funding for Hope & Light Initiative’s ministries in Kigali, Rwanda; Bujumbura, Burundi; and Goma, DRC. H&LI provides vulnerable women with assistance in medical needs, means of sustainable income, and shares the love of Jesus with these precious women and their children.  www.hopelightinitiative.com/#reachtheworld

Shona Congo

Handcrafted bags, purses, aprons and jewelry made by one of four women in Eastern Congo. These women are each living with disabilities in a war torn area, but through Shona Congo they are able to provide for themselves and their families.  http://www.shonacongostore.com/

Theo Chocolate

Theo Chocolate was the first organic, fair trade certified chocolate maker in North America. Congolese farmers provide over half of Theo’s total cocoa supply and Congolese sourced cocoa is in every chocolate product Theo makes. Through the purchase of cocoa from small-holder Congolese farmers, Theo Chocolate has positively impacted over 20,000 people living in Eastern Congo.  www.theochocolate.com

Congo Coffee Project|Equal Exchange

Equal Exchange created the Congo Coffee Project, coffee sourced from a co-op of over 3,200 farmers in Kivu, DRC. Each purchase from the Congo Coffee Project not only benefits these farmers, but also the Panzi Hospital in DRC, which provides live-saving medical care, counseling and rehabilitation for survivors of sexual violence.  http://equalexchange.coop/congo-coffee-project

Lemon Sugar Threads

These whimsical fabric headbands are designed and sewn by an adoptive mom waiting to bring her son home from Congo. All proceeds go towards ongoing adoption expenses.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/LemonSugarThreads

More Love Mama

Find gorgeous, authentic Congolese fabrics as well as other African, Indonesian and Australian fabrics. A portion of the proceeds are donated to other adopting families, and to Our Family in Africa, a humanitarian aid group that provides housing, food, medical treatment, and education to the children of Congo.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MoreLoveMama

Not Home Yet

These “Love Africa” decals support the adoption expenses of a family waiting to bring their child home from Congo.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/NotHomeYetShop

You can also visit our "Shop" tab above anytime.

Now, have fun shopping!!

A Taste of Congo

Food is one of the things we all have in common. People everywhere gather around the 

table to eat and discuss their days and their lives. In the DRC, this may be even more evident
than in our fast-paced American culture. As we slow down this week to observe Thanksgiving
and gather around a table for turkey and dressing, we want to share some Congolese recipes
that bring people together. 

The Congolese typically eat two meals a day. One of the meals almost always contains
Fufu. Fufu/Ugali is the staple starch in the DRC and most of Western Africa. Fufu is typically
made from yams and can contain plantains sometimes. Ugali is traditionally made from cassava
root flour but can also be made from corn flour, semolina, rice or potatoes. Fufu always
accompanies stews, soups or any dish with sauce. A portion of the staple starch is torn off and
rolled into a ball in the right hand and used as a spoon or scoop for soup or stew. 

Fufu with Cassava Flour 

6 cups cold water
1tsp salt to taste
2 cups cassava flour or tapioca
2 cups instant mashed potatoes
2 cups Bisquick

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. On high heat bring cold water to a boil in a large sturdy pot.
3. When boiling, slowly add half the dry ingredients to the water a spoonful at at time, stirring
continuously with a wooden spoon until mixture begins to bubble. Reduce heat to medium and
stir non-stop to avoid lumping or burning.
4. On medium heat, add remaining dry ingredients a spoonful at a time as before, stirring
continuously.
5. Mixture should be very, very thick (similar to play doh), smooth and without lumps, with no
liquid remaining.
6. Once the consistency is reached, remove from heat, cover pot, and allow to stand just a few
minutes before serving. Top with a pat of butter, if desired.

Meat Moambe

Moambe is often considered the national dish of Congo. It is made with Moambe sauce, from
the fruit and oil of the African palm. Moambe can also be made with wild game meat such as
crocodile or venison. 

2-3lbs of stew meat (goat or beef),cubed
1lemon (or 1/2 grapefruit) juiced
Salt-to taste
1 tsp pili pili (or hot pepper), minced
2 Tbsp palm oil (or peanut oil or vegetable oil)
2 onions, chopped
6-8 tomatoes (or can of tomatoes) chopped
1 cup palm soup base (or palm oil or peanut butter)
3 green onions, chopped-to garnish

1. Mix together meat, juice, salt and pili pili. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp oil and add onions, cook till softened. Add meat and cook until browned. Mix in
tomatoes and water to barely cover.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until meat is tender.
4. Reduce heat and stir in palm soup base until well blended and heated through.
5. Serve hot with garnish and staple starch like fufu or rice. 

These recipes come from the Congolese Keepsake Cookbook, available for purchase at:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/177940286/congolese-keepsake-cookbook

Congo Family Restoration & You

If you are new to "Love for Congo," we are a group of families whose children are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We have big hearts for our children's birth country and the Congolese people, so we love to share great things happening in the DRC and how YOU can be a part of it all.

Photo courtesy of Congo Family Restoration

                                                                 
Due to circumstances out of their control, many children in the Democratic Republic of Congo find themselves without a home or family. This is where Congo Family Restoration steps in.

How is it possible? Through generous donations from people just like you! It's actually pretty incredible to think about the power of money:  That just a few dollars out of your wallet could make a significant impact on one of these vulnerable children in DRC. We're going to be even bolder and ask you to imagine what a sizable donation would look like to these children! $100? $150? Just $200 supports one child for an entire YEAR- giving them access to food, medical care, and education!

Help us reach our goal of raising $1000 for Congo Family Restoration in honor of Adoption Awareness Month by November 28th! That will be enough to financially support the care and education of FIVE children for an entire YEAR! Grab some shirts for the whole family, for your friends, for yourself, or for Christmas gifts. Act quickly as our campaign ends on November 28th!

Youth, Short Sleeve, Ladies & Hoodies Also Available

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/drc-adoption-awareness-month

We'd like to tell you a little bit more about how Congo Family Restoration works.

Violence and poverty have broken ten's of thousands of families apart in DRC. There are so many sad and heartbreaking stories, but it is there, in the midst of tragedy, where God can make beauty from ashes. Congo Family Restoration (CFR) works hard to give orphaned children not just food and shelter, but FAMILY. They use the foster care model to place children in traditional Congolese homes that will love and care for them. They work closely with the faith community to find suitable foster families for children in their program. By working alongside churches, this assures that children also receive spiritual care as well.

But CFR doesn't stop there! Beyond the physical and spiritual care for the children, they go a step further and provide them with an EDUCATION! This opens doors for these children in ways you wouldn't imagine. An education truly gives these children a hope and a future- they can dream about their careers and actually have the knowledge to move forward with pursuing them.

Congo Family Restoration is literally BREAKING the chain of poverty and broken families. They are modeling an example of physical, spiritual, social, and educational well-being for these children and giving the children the tools and experiences necessary to have these things for their own lives moving forward.

Please take a minute to picture the difference between a child growing up on the streets of DRC with no food, education, medical care, or love and a child growing up in a loving home with parents, food, medical care, an education, and the word of God. It takes my breath away personally.

Please consider not only participating in our fundraiser above, but also making regular contributions to this organization. You can learn more about Congo Family Restoration at www.congofamily.org.  You can donate directly at: https://congofamily.org/donation.

Photo Courtesy of Congo Family Restoration

                                   

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27

United at Last

We want to rejoice and celebrate with the 14 American families who are able to be united with their children on American soil. After waiting for more than two years for some of these families, they were granted exit permits. We are thankful to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for this news, and pray that the hundreds of other adopted children waiting will be given the same news very soon. With the holidays approaching, many families are hoping to be together for Christmas.


Words cannot do these reunions justice, so we will let pictures and video from the Boyers' journey do the talking. After living separated by an ocean for 9 months, their family is united!  Enjoy the celebration and join us in praying the rest of the children home.

The Boyers together in Kinshasa during a visit from Mr. Boyer and their two daughters

The Boyers' son with his newly issued exit permit in Kinshasa

The Boyers arriving home to their daughters

Mrs. Boyer had spent months living separated
from her two daughters while she cared for her sons

A family of 6, together at last.

And here is a great news story on this family.  Such joy.

Boyer Family Homecoming

Welcome...

Love is universal. It crosses oceans, borders, language barriers, and cultural lines. Love bridges gaps.

On September 25, 2013 the government of The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) issued a suspension of exit letters for all adopted children. We are a group of adoptive parents whose children are awaiting exit letters to travel and live with their families on U.S soil.  Every one of us began our adoption process at different times and for different reasons, but we have one thing in common: Our love for our children. That love, which has continued to strengthen us through a very long, difficult journey, has bridged the gap between our country and that of our children. As we continue to learn more about the Congolese people and their culture, we cannot help but fall further in love with the DRC. We love our Congolese children, and we also love their Congolese culture.

The purpose of this site is to display our love for our children in a variety of ways.  We will share stories and events that led us to adopt from the DRC, things we love about the country, Congolese recipes and of course feature stories of families who have brought their children home from the DRC before the Exit Letter Suspension and how they keep the Congolese culture alive in their homes.  We will provide information about organizations that are doing great work in the DRC, talk about ideas for Christmas gifts that could benefit the people, and ways to support orphans without adopting. You will also find lists of events, shops, organizations, and blogs that relate to our love for the DRC.

In honor of Orphan Sunday, we are selling shirts for the month of November to benefit an organization that is changing lives in the DRC by sustaining and equipping orphans. This wonderful organization is called Congo Family Restoration, and we are looking forward to sharing more about them in the coming days. Please visit our fundraiser and help support their life­giving work: https://www.bonfirefunds.com/drc-adoption-awareness-month.

Our love is real, and on this Orphan Sunday, we remind you of another great power of love and adoption: together they make an orphan a son or a daughter. We hope and pray that our love, displayed in multiple ways here and across a variety of other arenas, will bring our sons and daughters home to us very soon.

Long Sleeved, Hoodies, plus

Men's, Women's, & Children's Short Sleeved Available