"The hands of the Lord are not short to assist His
people." You are the extension of His hands to those who
are in need. Thank you for extending them to us in DRC.
Seminar for church leaders
The church in eastern Congo, in Ituri specifically, has
been deeply affected by the war by causing dispersion,
division along tribal lines, and loss of physical structures
of churches and death of God’s servants or their close
relatives.
Those dispersed are exposed to all kind of problems both
physical and spiritual. For example, in Kampala about five
refugees have died in one month, five of them being members of
our Assemblies. Aged people are most vulnerable.
All the people are affected by the war. They lost their
homes, properties, and their relatives who were sometime
butchered before their eyes. They are living out of their
homes, displaced, in insecurity and fear. Knowing that the
people they know are the cause of all this woe and that no
justice is rendered to them has left many people nurturing a
strong sentiment of anger, bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness
and resentment.
In July 2003, we gave a seminar to them on trauma healing.
Many people were helped. In this month of November 2003, I
went to Bunia to gather the servants of the God for a seminar.
The purpose of the seminar was to encourage them to endure in
the word despite the hardship; and teach them to teach
others how to behave as believers in the current
situation; to learn to forgive in order to lift the burden off
the heart in order to make room for the peace of God to guard
their hearts.
The actual trip
I had been cautioned by many people not to go to Bunia
because of insecurity. The Bible tells us not to fear one that
kills the body… and to preach the Word…in season and out
of season; to correct, rebuke and encourage…making the most
out every opportunity. I couldn’t resist but make sacrifice
and go. I prayed and went by MAF flight. Surprisingly, it was
the right time to go and be with them. Most of people
confessed loudly their hatred, bitterness, and resentment.
I visited the Assemblies of Rwampara, Shari and Soleniama
that are located outside Bunia. I rode a borrowed old
motorcycle with loose exhaust pipe--ours had been looted. As I
rode, it filled the air with the noise like that of a machine
gun. It was also good to scare away from my way the armed
bandits.
Attendance of the seminar
We had planned to receive only 80 participants to the
seminar, but ended up having 167. They came from different
tribes including lendu, bira and hema. While unbelievers are
fighting, believers are together. We could not send the
surplus away. It was the first time these servants have ever
met together since the war dispersed them. The UN peacekeeping
forces that are in Bunia do not allow the gathering of three
or more people, yet I secured the permission from their
Director with the assistance of the special administrator who
is a member of Bunia Assembly. We met for three days in the
chapel located on the east side of the town that had seemed to
be more secure.
Teachers
Brethren Bungishabaku Katho (Deputy Principal of Bunia
Theological Seminary (ISTB)) and Uchay Jalwiny who sits on the
board of the Governing Council of the same as Deputy Chairman
assisted me for two days.
Hunger is still a serious plague in Bunia and the
surrounding. Agricultural and business activities have not
fully resumed because of insecurity. That’s why we gave
meals to the participants free of charge.
Thanks
We give thanks to those who contributed towards the success
of this seminar, by either giving money or offering prayers.
If you had come to Bunia alongside me and seen what has been
achieved, you would feel encouraged just to do more. May the
glory go to God for all you have done! He is not unrighteous
to ignore what you have done for His sake.
Reviving ministries
We need to urgently revive some ministries in order to
assist us to move on with the ministry of trauma healing,
forgiveness and tackle reconciliation. The better thing to do
now is the teaching on trauma healing to prepare the way for
reconciliation. While reconciliation may require the presence
of all estranged groups, it is possible to teach trauma
healing without bringing all of them together. This teaching
needs to be an ongoing process. Only one- or two-day seminar
occurring after three or four months is not enough.
The ministries of communication, such as literature,
broadcast, and bible school, and others are needed for
reaching our objectives. Some of these ministries will allow
us to do a large coverage.
The needs for prayer
- Christian literature e.g. posters, tracts, brochures,
books
- Electronic media e.g. FM radio, audiocassettes or CDs,
videotapes or DVDs
- Lectures in seminars or Bible school
- Low cost media such as drama groups, songs
We will need readily produced material or if means were
available, we could produce them ourselves. For some
ministries, we do have qualified people, but they need to be
empowered. Should you feel burdened in your heart to assist
any of these, please let us know. We may provide more details
to you if needed.
Information
In January 2004, we are going to have another seminar in
Bunia. This time the teachers will come from USA. We are
expecting Jonathan Peck to come with another person and teach
for one week. We thank them for responding to our previous
appeal. Pray for their trip.
Brother Nyakufa Bagota
V/Legal Representative of Brethren
Assemblies in Congo (DRC)-BUNIA
