Family

The Congo Pilgrims (and a couple of interested spouses) had their last meeting before beginning the voyage to Mbandaka next month.  We were blessed to have Sandra Gourdet, Executive Director for Africa in Global Ministries, share thoughts and a meal with us, along with Rick Spleth, Regional Minister for Indiana.  They both reminded us that we take this journey, not for ourselves, but for the larger church we all love.

Sandra made a profound statement that will stay with all of us:  "You are going home."  We will find a family welcome in Congo, for we are truly all one family.  Disciples of Christ, wherever they are, share such a strong belief that all are welcome at the table, and we will be with our family whenever we worship with each other.  Unity has been our polar star since the very beginning of the Disciples movement - and that causes us to extend our family across geographic boundaries and artificial lines dividing people, and especially Christians.

How good it is to know that we are truly going home - home to brothers and sisters who will welcome us as family.  We will eat together, worship together, pray together, sing together, laugh together, cry together, and we will never be alone.  "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?"  Well, actually, we will not be in a strange land.  We will be home.

Church Life Along the River

The following is a report from Rev. Ilumbe, the Principal Supervising Pastor of the Mbandaka Poste, 10th Community - Disciples of Christ in Congo.  This district is the partner of the Indiana Region of the Disciples of Christ, and it is the district that the Indiana pilgrims will be visiting.  It provides a great insight into the joys and difficulties of life among Christians in the Congo.



Excerpts from emails from Rev. Ilumbe
PSP Mbandaka Poste, 10th-CDCC

From Friday, March 18, 2011, until Wednesday, April 6, 2011, I traveled with two pastors who accompanied me to the parishes and sub-parishes that are along the Likelemba River (Nsanga, Etuku, Bondo, Monzambi, Bokwakulu, Ibenge, Esona, Makungubabu and Motongambala). We went by canoe.

The weekly and Sunday worship services took place as usual. However, we assembled, for the closing worship service on the 3rd of April at Motongambala, 900 persons (men, women, youth, and children).

From Monzambi to Motongambala, we traveled 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) on foot in a large forest. In this forest I was able to see a local church of pygmies, a short people who live essentially by hunting, fishing, and gathering. I preached to them in their own language. Their pastor is also a pygmy. One curious thing: his Bible and his collection of songs, like those of many Christians, was ragged and worn.

Concerning the activities, like the worship services, we organized seminars, moments of prayers for intercession. We baptized 41 persons and blessed 28 children.

Everywhere, the Christians expressed the need for Bibles, collections of songs in Lingala, and cups for the Eucharist. A large number of people do not receive appropriate medical care because of the lack of medicine. Their children study in lamentable conditions, traveling long distances by canoe, and others not having even the most ordinary objects.

I praise God for allowing me to discover other groups who have need of the word of God and prayers for their comfort and solace.

I am convinced that you will be amazed by these pictures, showing the noble work that we do for the glory of God.

Thanks again for your prayers.
May God bless you.

Révérend ILUMBE NDJONGO Bernard
PSP Mbandaka

Come Along With Us

It's the end of March - we leave in less that two months.  We've been to the travel clinic and will be handing over passports to the visa service next week.  Our final group is now fixed at eight pilgrims - arrangements are being made for flights, lodging, and all of the many other details that need to be taken care of in advance.

Even while we still complain about cold temperatures, our Congolese friends call and tell us about sun and very hot weather.  My thoughts are turning to the joy of seeing them again, and the great experiences we will share together.  We were told in 2008 that we were "pricked by the palm", meaning that a part of Congo would always be with us, and we would return again.  What a true statement, for in many ways, the Congo has never left me.  The video we created (Indiana Region 2008 Congo Trip Video), the many talks with Indiana churches, the visits from our partners, the Lokoleyacongo post (see link on this blog), and now plans for the upcoming pilgrimage all assure that Congo is in my heart.

I hope, through this blog, others will be able to experience the hospitality, the joy, the sorrow, and most of all, will be able to "meet" our Disciples partners in Mbandaka.  Someone said once, "God is everywhere in the world, but at night He comes home to Congo".  It's true that this is a place where the presence of God is a constant reality.  We want to bring some of this reality back with us.