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| Kafubu - Site of future school |
When God gives a vision, it doesn’t
always come with a clear path for how it will be accomplished. In some cases, pieces of the same vision can
be given to multiple people at varying times and places. Like pieces of a puzzle, they don’t make much
sense by themselves and we can be overwhelmed when trying to sort through them on
our own. Like Noah building the arc,
Moses going before Pharaoh, and so many others, God reveals the end of the
vision, or the promise, before the path, or means. When the vision comes, we must have the faith
to follow the path that God’s vision leads us down even when the end is not in
sight. Such was the case for those who
received God’s vision to start a school in the small village of Kafubu in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
More than three years ago, Pastor
Aimé Mutombo from Lubumbashi was starting a church in the nearby village of
Kafubu. As he began to pray over the
community and the needs represented there, the long distances children had to
walk in order to attend school overwhelmed him.
In addition to long distances, he was also struck by high school fees, which caused most families to only send their oldest boys leaving many children without the opportunity for a basic education.
Together with Celestin Chishibanji, the superintendent of the South
Katanga District, the two men began to receive a vision to build a school that
would provide a good, affordable education to the families of Kafubu. As a part of this vision, the two men felt
led to purchase a plot of land near the church where the school would be
built.
In February of this year, my sister
and brother-in-law (Andy) came to visit us at our home in Lubumbashi, DRC where
we serve as missionaries. They enjoyed
many things that first-time visitors to Africa would naturally enjoy; the
music, dancing, interesting foods, and beautiful landscapes. They also immensely enjoyed fellowship with
their Congolese brothers and sisters in Christ.
One of the places that we visited was Kafubu, and although they were
deeply touched by what God was, and is, doing in this small village, they never
imagined how God would use them to accomplish the vision that was given to
Pastor Aimé nearly three years earlier.
God put it on Andy’s heart that he was to help build the school, but he
didn’t know how. The first Sunday after
they returned to Ocean Springs, MS where Andy leads the worship team at Crossroads
Church of the Nazarene, he was approached by one of the members of the
band. This person told Andy that God
gave him a vision that their band would be playing in a concert on the beach,
and this concert was going to help accomplish a call that Andy had already
received.
Over the next few days an event was planned
that would draw bands together from several states to play a concert on the
beach with the goal of raising eight thousand dollars for the school in
Kafubu. They sought donations, booked a
venue, secured permits, and advertised diligently. A short four months later, Congo Jam (www.congojam.org) took place. With God’s help this one church was able to
raise more than eleven thousand dollars for the construction of a school in
Kafubu. It is so humbling and rewarding
to be reminded of the ways in which God works.
Even when we seem incapable, He will use us to accomplish His
purposes. Even when the road seems long
and difficult, He will be with us at every step. And even when the vision seems too big, He
will follow through with his promises.
