Second Installment -- Cal's Reflections

Friday, July 20, we visited another of the Free Churches in the Kinshasha area. In what seems to be somewhat typical here, our ride arrived about 2 hours late. We boarded a bus and drove about 80 kilometers along the Congo river, into what I would call the "Hill Country." Unlike Kinshasha, which always seemed overcast and smoky from all the charcoal fires, the area outside Kinshasha is open and the air was clean.

Driving along the river gave us our first good look at the size of it (spanning several miles here). In some ways, it looks a bit like the Columbia Gorge towards the eastern end, for those of you who have been there ... it is an open savannah here. Most of the trip was spent getting out of Kinshasha, with all the vehicle and people traffic.

We went to a church in Moluko. This church is a church plant from the church at Masina. So, this is now the "third generation" of church plants from the original churches planted in the Ubangi by the missionaries. While most of the Free Churches in Kinshasha are culturally northern Congolese, this church is an amalgam of several different cultures.

They had been waiting for us since about 9 a.m. but we did not arrive until closer to 1 p.m. Nonetheless, we received a royal welcome. We were the first Americans to visit their church. Most of the teams that the Free Church brings to the Congo head for the Ubangi (northwestern Congo) where denominational headquarters (Gemena) and the hospital (Tandala) are. They sang, danced, and made us feel so welcome.

You could see in their eyes and feel in their handshakes that they were blessed by our coming. The church is only about 4 years old, but is already up to about 100 members. They own a 1-hectare lot but the "sanctuary" consists of poles and tarps to form a cover over a dirt floor.

Once again, we were seated in the front. Their pastor welcomed us, then there was prayer and singing. I think that this group of Christians, despite waiting for us for several hours, showed a joy in worship that exceeds any I have seen so far in the Congo. There was once again the formal introductions of each of us. Then, we walked the property with them.

What they don't use for the sanctuary is mostly planted in manioc -- a root crop used here, much as we use potatoes. The church ladies tend the garden and then use any profits they get to help area widows. Their pastor has a vision for a center to welcome widows and orphans as a means of compassionate outreach. Their main need, though, is to start building. They have raised about $500 of the $3500 it would take to build a building (the standard style seems to be concrete floor, concrete or cinder block walls, and corrugated tin roof).

If they do not start building this year, then the government may take the property from them. The Evangelical Free Church of America is considering helping them, but their pastor is not asking us for money. He requests that we pray for God's will to be done for them in this and that they would come up with the resources to fund the vision he has.

It strikes me as odd that it costs so little to meet their needs. However, both the American and Congolese leaders make it plain that merely sending money is not the solution, unless the local congregation shows ownership and interest in the project.

After we walked the property, I gathered a group of about 20 kids around me for photos. I was so fun to finally be able to connect without all the "protocol" that the Congolese follow to honor us, but which sometimes seems to be a barrier. The kids did not want to leave but loved looking at themselves on the viewfinder. We then loaded the bus and the kids came over and took turns holding the hands of those who had window seats. They got a great deal of pleasure from this and from learning to say "bye-bye." It was heartbreaking to see them run after the bus as we left.

We then headed back to the Masina church for a visit and to present them with choir robes some of us had brought over. Again, this was accompanied by a lot of speaking. It is interesting that they want robes in this heat. It seems to be a Congolese thing, though, to have the choir in robes. We were supposed to visit all 5 Free Churches, but the late start prevented that. So, Pastor Alenge shared the history of the 5 churches under his care with us. It was then back to CAP for "lunch" at 5 p.m. Quite a full day!

Some went out to the Kinshasha market to shop, but I did not have it in me to deal with the crowds. We had to get packed to leave for Gemena the next day.

On the 22nd, we took Bravo Air Congo to Gemena. This was quite interestinig. First, the tickets are handwritten. Second, like many other things, the departure time is a moving target. Usually, they leave at about 9 a.m. but we were told that, this week, they were going to leave at 3:40. So, we loaded the bus to go to their headquarters, then after a wait, they took us by bus to the airport. Then, we had to go through both security (not as intense as in the U.S. ... you get to keep your shoes on) and Immigration (they want to know where expats are at all times).

We had several pastors and seminary students from Kinshasha on our flight. Also, Pastor Esron from Rwanda (he heads up the Rwandan Free Church) was with us. He speaks great English and told me that Rwandans are eager to learn English as they have become politically tied more to East Africa. He shared some of his dreams for what could happen in the churches in Rwanda. Part of this ties into what Rick Warren and his wife are doing there but Esron told me it will be important to keep the distinctives of the Free Church for some areas of ministry.

One other area they are exploring is mission work into eastern Congo. Many of you may know that this is a troubled area and there are still refugees there from the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He hopes to partner with the much larger CECU (Congolese Free Church) for this project. I got a lot of insight into African issues in my talks with him and hope to stay in contact via e-mail upon my return to the U.S.

To my sadness, it is clear that we received better treatment than our African brothers by Congolese security. Then we got to go into the boarding area. After a wait, a tone sounded and folks started for the door out onto the runway. Despite what we were told, we actually left at about 2 p.m. Somehow, that was the signal to board.

We rode a 737. Sometimes, and our trip was one such time, they apparently stop in Mbandaka, right on the Equator, where the Congo and Ubangi rivers join. That took about 80 minutes. We had to get off the plane and go out onto the runway for about a half hour. While there, we purchased some fruit (one was lychee) and had a snack ... since these had to be peeled, it was safe. Then we reboarded and flew another 50 minutes to Gemena.

Much of the flight was over rain forests, although much deforestation has happened around the larger towns to make room for gardens. It had been storming pretty bad in Gemena prior to our landing but was merely wet when we arrived. In both landings, the pilot used all but about 50 yards of runway.

Once we deplaned, we got to go into the "VIP" room and then were driven by CECU (Congolese Free Church) President Selenga to the old mission complex. This is a quadrangle with offices on the perimeter and a nice lawn and trees in the middle. They greeted us, along with the other pastors visiting for the conference (mostly Free Church pastors but some other Portestant and Catholic leaders, too). Then, another wonderful Congolese dinner. We are staying in the former missionary quarters, about 10 x 10 feet square. The windows are screened and we have mosquito nets.

My thoughts on these two days are that, again, I see a genuine faith evident here in Africa. Unlike many missionary efforts that have produced superficial converts, the work of the missionaries here seems to have borne fruit in a vibrant, evangelistic church that has been active in church planting.

Another thing is that while there are denominational distinctives here, they are less an issue that in the U.S. There is an umbrella organization for Protestant groups called the ECC. Historically, the Congo was divided into denominational areas for missionary work. In one sense, this makes sense, as the tribal groups prefer to worship together. On the other hand, there is cooperation where appropriate.

Of particular interest is cooperation on issues like AIDS and malnutrition. I continue to enjoy the "essengo" (joy/happiness) among believers. And they do really seem to want to be with us, not just want our money. They do not need us to come up with solutions to their problems or bail them out financially. They do desire our fellowship in Christ.

I'll close with an example from our first Sunday worship service (will share more later). Toward the end, a memorial was done for one of the former missionaries who is now deceased. As part of this, besides the eloquent speeches and prayers, a gift was given to our leaders for his widow. It turns out that this gift was the entire offering for this Sunday. Imagine the generosity of they, who have so little, giving back to the widow of this man who had helped lead their older folks to Christ. They realize that it is but a little money but the idea that they would sacrifice the offering, particularly when this was a "big" Sunday for them with lots of visiting pastors and lay leaders, just amazes me. These men and women are so generous and giving and it all stems from the joy they have in the Lord.

Something to consider ...

In Christ,

Cal