A Lesson In Humility

Sometimes, I feel like being a missionary is a lesson in humility.  We struggle to communicate, or to make sense in other cultures.  We don’t seem to know how to accomplish the most basic tasks in our new environments.  Essentially, we fail from time to time.  Luckily, the Lord’s grace allows us to continue.  This is one of those stories. 

In April of 2015, I bought a used Toyota Land Cruiser.  The lack of infrastructure in the DRC can make traveling into the interior quite a challenge.  The Land Cruiser is a no nonsense, off-road machine and was supposed to open up areas for church planting that were previously closed.  And it did.  This truck took us to places that I never thought we’d be able to go.  Or, at least it did for a time.  Used cars can be hit or miss here in Congo, and this one soon became a miss.  I was constantly pouring money into it and so we reluctantly decided to sell it.  After meeting a guy who said his boss was looking to buy our Cruiser, he asked to keep the car for the night and show it to his boss in the morning.  I know what you’re thinking.  It’s like watching a scary movie, and you’re shouting at the TV, “Don’t give him the keys!  What are you thinking?” 

Ok, but in my defense, I went into his office, met his coworkers and we have a mutual friend whom I trust.  He promised me that his boss would buy it the next day at a premium rate if I were to give him the car for the evening so that he could check it over.  I agreed.  From that moment on, my contact became difficult to reach.  To make a long story short, four months later I discovered that my car was four hours away at a garage.  I took a bus a few days later to go investigate.  After finding it and convincing the garage owner that the vehicle belonged to me, it would be another month before it could leave the shop.  The person whom I had left the car with had a small accident, sold pieces of the car, and driven it hard for a long distance.

So, when I got the call Friday evening that the car was ready, I wasted no time.  Saturday morning I woke up before the sun and headed off toward my Cruiser.  It seemed a bit strange but mostly ok to make the trip, except for the tires.  On Saturday afternoon, stores close early and the garage didn’t have any idea where I could purchase new ones.  They started patching the ones that I had and assured me that I would make it home.  After my third flat tire at 9:30 pm, it was clear that the truck was going no further.  It was hard enough changing the first two with no jack and there was nowhere to get it fixed anyway.  I left the truck on the side of the road and walked for 30 minutes before someone stopped to take me the rest of the way into town. 

Luckily, we were only about a 45-minute drive from the house.  In the morning we were able to take half a day and get the tires fixed so that we could bring the truck back to the house.   It had been five months since I had left the car with a guy for the evening.  What a difference one bad choice makes.  And yes, it is embarrassing.  I only share it with you for the purpose of sharing about God’s grace.  We have prayed for this vehicle a number of times, and I truly believe that the only reason we have laid eyes on it again is because the Lord was with us.  If anything, this experience has been a reminder that we are human; that we make mistakes; that we fail.  Thank you Lord for keeping me from becoming too proud!  And thank you Lord for the constant reminders of your provision and your loving care. 

Africa Central Field Conference

For one week in September, we were gathered together in Lubumbashi, DRC. For one week, we worshipped in unison. For one week, we listened to each other's successes, failures and goals for the future. For one week, we ate lots of food (including trying pizza for the first time for many). As District Superintendents, Field leaders, Missionaries and fellow workers on the journey to follow Christ, we had an amazing time in fellowship as a group. Coming from cities all over the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, our leaders were encouraged and left feeling ready to take on a new year of working for the Lord and leading others to do the same.

We thank God for small opportunities to come together as one Field and persevere together! God is on the move through this country and we continue to seek Him as He leads us all to be His hands and feet.

Stéphane Tibi, our FSC, leading us through morning devotions and prayer

Africa Central Field Leaders wearing our newly printed logos
District Superintendents, NYI Leader, SDMI Leader, Jesus Film Coordinator, Child Sponsorship Coordinator, Congo Mission Coordinators and Field Strategy Coordinator

Rev. Balibanga of Goma leading the National Council Meeting.

Gavin, talking through finances, alabaster offerings and projects for the future.

Sandra and I with the fantastic ladies who prepared lunch each day.
We had fish, chicken, fufu, rice, potatoes, noodles, red sauce, okra or greens each afternoon.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

We've all been someplace where we didn't want to be and had to make choices where either outcome was found to be less than preferable. Don't get me wrong.  We absolutely love living in Congo, even though it's challenging and I often boast that we age double while living here. However, this is a place where I often find myself between a rock and a hard place; or between competing bad choices both begging for me to choose them.

            To be fair, Congo is no different than any other place.  Perhaps these paradoxes present themselves to everyone all the time. In this case, what seems bizarre about the rocks and hard places that I continually find myself between is that they are altogether foreign to our western culture. For instance, have you ever had to choose between taking a bath or washing your dishes?  What about paying a small bribe to customs officials or being refused entry to your country?  I know Connor will judge us harshly in his adult years for the number of times that he has had to choose between going to the bathroom in his pants or in a semi-crowded parking lot.

            Things can get more serious as the complexities of Congo unfold. Recently my boss, Stéphane, and I had planned a trip through Congo to attend five district assemblies. With one assembly down and four to go, news broke of political protests in the capital city. Do we cancel our two assemblies in those affected areas (rock) or do we  risk getting caught up in a lot of unpleasant junk (hard place)?  How does one decide?  We strongly believed that God wanted us in these places and could trust him to see us through with our planned schedule and keep us totally out of the mess. 

            After traveling to Kinshasa and completing our second assembly, we noticed a critical error in the documents sent to us from our leader in Brazzaville, Rep. Of Congo.  Yes, there are two Congos. Suddenly it occurs to us that we would be unable to obtain our visas and leave Kinshasa, DR Congo before the political demonstrations ever take place. We would be right in the heat of it, with 12 million of our closest friends.  After some prayer, we decided to move to a hotel in a more calm part of town and wait out the protests. We were never in any real danger. As we spent the day in prayer and fasting, I could hear distant, steady gunfire on only two occasions. Other parts of town were not so fortunate. Burned cars, sporadic gunfire, barricades, and looting ruled the day in more densely populated areas. The next day, there was little change except that the protesters moved from town to block the road leading up to the airport. Suddenly, every taxi in Kinshasa, the third largest city in Africa, was booked for the next morning.  Or rather, refused to take us to the airport out of a rational fear of their car being torched or excessively pummeled. 

            What do we do now? We have flights to catch.  Should we insist on getting to the airport, by possibly offering ridiculous amounts of cash to convince an advantageous driver?  If not, we would miss our flights and possibly our next two assemblies. You know, real rock and hard place kind of stuff. We didn't force our way, but accepted to miss our flight with the Lord's guidance.  Lucky for us, there was a flight the next day with space for the two of us and we were able to make our two remaining assemblies. 

If living in the DRC has taught us anything, it is that we must rely on the Lord at all times.  Even in the face of difficulty, there can be amazing blessing and growth.  For instance, our bonus day in Kinshasa, after the two days of protests, gave us the chance to catch up with our Hatian Missionary serving in the DRC.  We ate a mixture of Congolese and Hatian foods, laughed, prayed, and heard their story (I will post a link to it in the comments of this post on facebook.)  In Bukavu, we were able to pray with the wife the wife of one of our pastors who has been in the hospital for more than a month.  Besides the Spirit filled assemblies that we took part in, these events were real highlights of the trip.  

In sum, I don't think that we go looking for trouble, but that we trust God to bring us through it.  The book of James says it this way: "² Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ And let perseverence have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  As we continue to live and minister in Congo, we will certainly face more difficult times, but I am confident that the hard times will give birth to blessing as they did last week.  Lord, give us perseverance and joy so that we may lack nothing in your service.