Read letters from Larry and Inge Sthreshley
Augsut 2012
November 27, 2011
August 18, 2011
March 22, 2011
November 8, 2010
November 2, 2009
December 8, 2008
August 22, 2007
October 3, 2006
October 9, 2004
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Larry and Inge Sthreshley
Mission co-worker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Serving at the invitation of the Communaute Presbyterienne de Congo
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The Sthreshleys will next be in the U.S. and able to visit churches in 2015. Email them to extend an invitation to speak with your congregation or organization.
Pray for Congo
Please pray for peace in Congo, as well as for the continuing safety of our mission co-workers, for the churches in Congo, and for the Congolese people. Read more
About Larry and Inge Sthreshley's ministry
Larry and Inge Sthreshley have been under appointment as mission co-workers since 1987. Larry is director of Project AXxes, a large rural health organization that builds and maintains a health infrastructure for rural Congo.
AXxes focuses on health outcomes (as opposed to building institutions) in southern and eastern Congo, including regions caught up in what has been called the “world’s deadliest war.” Larry heads a team of 50 people that has an impact on the health of 8 million people—fighting malaria, TB, malnutrition, and childhood illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory infection.
Download a prayer card that lifts up the Sthreshleys' work in Congo.
Meet Larry in a video
Country context
The Democratic Republic of Congo, a country roughly one quarter the size of the United States, has been ravaged by conflict. The havoc wreaked by the rebellion that ousted the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997 and the following war to topple President Joseph Kabila have been aggravated by internal and regional inter-ethnic sentiments. After two civil wars the country is left with a devastated infrastructure and economy. People throughout the country struggle daily for survival. Despite these circumstances, the church in the DRC continues to faithfully bear witness to Christ’s good news through their multifold ministries.
About Larry and Inge Sthreshley
Both Larry and Inge were born and grew up in the Congo, known then as the Belgian Congo. Larry was born in Luebo, in the south central part of the country. His parents, Rev. Charles Sthreshley and Florence (Moore) Sthreshley, were missionaries appointed by the former Presbyterian Church in the United States. Inge's parents were Methodist missionaries to the Congo, and she was born in Likasi, in the far southeastern corner of the country not far from the Zambian border. The Sthreshleys' two children, Lisa and Michael, were both born at Good Shepherd Hospital in the Congo.
Prior to his work with AXxes, which began in 2006, Larry was director of SANRU (the Programme de Santé Rurale, or Rural Health Program), with which he was involved since its beginning. SANRU is a countrywide program to develop a decentralized health care system in rural areas. Phase I consisted mostly of emergency relief work in 28 health zones. Phase II is a more comprehensive program that includes interventions for malaria, AIDS, emerging diseases, nutrition, water and sanitation, vaccinations, and health infrastructure support in 60 health zones. Phase II, which included a large training component, was enabled by a grant from USAID. Though funded by USAID and recognized by the Congo government as their health strategy, it is totally implemented through the Presbyterian Community of Congo (CPC).
The Sthreshleys' first assignment after being commissioned as missionaries by the PC(USA) in 1987 was also in the Congo. Larry worked with the medical department of the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa, part of the Church of Christ in the Congo (ECC), the umbrella organization of all Protestant churches in the Congo.
In between assignments in the Congo, the Sthreshleys spent a term of service in Cameroon, where Larry was the regional health consultant for central and west Africa. Inge was part-time consultant to women's groups in Cameroon and the Congo in the areas of agriculture and development.
Both Inge and Larry are well prepared for their respective assignments. Inge earned a B.S. degree in tropical agriculture from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. She has written a number of brochures and published a book on agriculture and health educational materials. Larry earned an undergraduate degree in public health with a major in nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's degree in public health with a major in population and family health from the University of California in Los Angeles. In 2004 he finished his dissertation for his doctorate in international health systems management at Tulane in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Inge is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu and Larry is an affiliate member there. His primary membership is with Robertson Presbyterian Chapel in Bear Grass, North Carolina.
Birthdays:
Larry - March 15
Inge - May 24
Lisa - August 8
Michael - December 4
