Congo Report

Greetings to you all. Roger & I along with Murray and Joy have just returned from nine days of rough roads (one 60km stretch took 3 hours to get through yesterday!), rain (the rains have started!!), sapping heat, but most importantly exposure to the many things God is doing through “Mission Garenganze”. It is wonderful to see the schools, hospital, clinics, bible schools, churches, pastors – all working together to further proclaim the gospel.
Our travels took us through what has been a war torn land. We passed through Mai Mai territory where people were killed and eaten. At Mulongo hospital we saw the sight where people were imprisoned in a container and then indiscriminately killed by their Rwandan captors. At Luanza where Murray and Joy served seven years in missionary work, we saw the prison where Congolese Police brutalised people and raped women. There were displaced people who had still not returned to their villages, villages destroyed by soldiers... Yet through all of this is the life and ministry of the church. People’s faith has been tested, but they have proven the faithfulness of God and begun to rebuild the ministries that this community needs.
We stood with Congelese doctors in Mulongo as they preformed major surgery – without oxygen or fancy machines, a piece of cotton wool on the nose of the patient to register their breathing. Committed to Christ they pray before operating and have opportunity to share the love of Christ with their patients. A polio victim is a pastor and evangelist among the patients – 500 people are seen every day, a day which starts with a service communicating the love of Christ to those who have gathered.
We visited the Majondo Bible School – just established before the war, it was destroyed. It has been rebuilt and this year they begin their 3rd year programme in equipping pastors and leaders for local church ministry. They need to employ another teacher to help them – we have left a small gift to help this.
We have witnessed the joy of many leaders receiving MacArthur study Bibles (in French) – they use this Bible for so much in training ministries here. There are so few resources available the ones they have they treasure. One man was telling me of the Bible Institute that he is part of and how the study Bible provided so much of the material that they cover.
Well the reports will happen at home, but how can we communicate the needs of these lands we have visited? We need to pray for these works, pray that God would move our hearts, pray that God would bless these ministries and pray that our giving might support God’s work to see more people coming to faith in Him.
Roger & I fly out from Congo on Wednesday morning and will be in Auckland Thursday night, home Friday. We look forward to seeing you all and sharing the things we have been exposed to.