Dave
helps lay the foundations of a church in the Congo |
Congo
- struck or stuck?
Tavistock
Community Church elder Dave Palmer (left) recalls an anxious moment
from his recent trip to the Congo.
 t
was nearly the end of our mission to Central Africa - two weeks
of meeting congregations and pastors in their country churches
in Rwanda and then into Bukavu in eastern Congo. Kathy, Helena
(our daughter, 13) and I were by now pretty tired and ready to
come home. But before we could start packing our bags, we got
a message from Pastor Masheka, the leader of the church work in
Congo - "Please will you come to Karhale (a village in the outback
about 15km from Bukavu) - since your church in England enabled
them to get land to build their own church, we want you to come
and lay the foundation stone at a civic ceremony."
On the face
of it the idea didn't seem too bad. A minibus would take us along
the dirt roads through the thickly wooded countryside to the village.
However, that night a feeling of unease seemed to spread amongst
our African friends. What was the matter? "Oh, there have been
rumours of bandits hiding in the forest - and not long ago they
stopped a minibus and killed the passengers. We don't want to
come with you!" You can imagine the impact of this on Kathy and
Helena! We decided to pray for God's guidance and sleep on it.
Room
for more on top! |
Next morning
we were still unsure - but with all the arrangements made, I went
(leaving Kathy and Helena in Bukavu) with our friend Sadiki and
Masheka. We drove in quite a smart minibus, followed by a decrepit
truck precariously laden with a choir of over 50 singers mounted
on the back to accompany our journey.
We sometimes
had to get out and walk when the road was too steep for the vehicles
to carry us, but we reached Karhale safely where we were greeted
by a wonderful welcome party. We met and sang and prayed under
a hot sky with a small tarpaulin to keep the sun off. I got a
few photos of the foundation stones being laid and we eventually
said our goodbyes, thanking God for His goodness to us.
We were ready
to set off home about 2pm. I had to be back in Bukavu and over
the frontier to Rwanda by 5pm to make our flight the next day.
Surely ten miles in three hours wouldn't be too hard, even in
Africa? Unfortunately the problems began as soon as we got back
to the minibus. We had had a slow puncture coming up - a tyre
needed changing and it took an hour after much effort and without
the right tools.
After that
things only seemed to get worse - a few miles down the road the
minibus had another puncture! We caught a lift on the decrepit
truck - as it lurched along, with the choir still singing, it
suddenly stopped halfway up a hill. Why? Out of petrol! I sat
in the cab with Sadiki - his head in his hands. I had forgotten
about the bandits. There was no mobile phone signal to get help.
And then…it started to rain. The dry dirt road began to become
a bog. Even if we could drive we would soon not be able to negotiate
the mud.
Part
of the welcoming committee |
It was 3.30pm
and we had only travelled 3km. What to do? Pray. I heard a still
quiet voice in my head: the Lord Jesus saying "Rejoice! Trust
me and give thanks." Did I feel like doing it? No. I was quite
anxious by now - but aloud I responded to God. That very moment
the minibus (now passably repaired) drew up alongside us. We got
in, the rain stopped and we all made it safely back in time to
eat the meal prepared for us before arriving back at the border
at 4.55pm. Hallelujah!
It is great
to know that Jesus really does care for us. If we trust in him,
he will never disappoint us. From the day that I saw my life was
a mess without him, I asked him to come in and take over my life.
He did and will do the same for you too if you ask him. He has
always been true to his promises and in the many scrapes and problems
of life he is always there to help and lift us out. Not only will
he lead us safely through this life - but safely to heaven too.
Jesus has
come to seek and save the lost: all of them. If we are humble
enough to honestly call out to him and surrender to his love for
us, he will come in and lead us day by day wherever we are, even
in darkest Africa. Try him!
Dave
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