From Action to Passion

One of the realities we live with in this world is conflict.  Conflict can be good and bring about change.  However being in the midst of conflict, one often does not experience much that feels positive.  Since Kristi and I returned to Congo early last year, church conflict has been a major theme.  The reason?  There are many:  an earnest desire for change, a desire for power and position, tribalism, and protection from the unknown.  Early on Kristi and I discerned clearly that our role is to be a neutral voice.  We have worked hard to listen to and love members on each side of the divide.  As you can imagine, this has not been easy.  As I write this blog post, a dear friend has been falsely charged of libel.  How do you remain neutral when your friend is unjustly suffering?  

Living and breathing conflict for 18 months has caused me to reflect on the nature of conflict.  The message I have preached most frequently of late is our Christian call and vocation to be women and men of peace, seeking unity within the Body of Christ.  I have also been challenged recently in reflecting on the life of Christ.  During Lent this year Kristi and I stumbled upon a wonderful little book called Bread and Wine.*  It is a collection of essays written by well-known Christian theologians and faithful servants of Christ over the last two millennium.  Kristi and I would pick up this book everyday and read various entries.  One entry by Henri Nouwen stands out to me.  Nouwen writes of the “Action and Passion” of Christ.  In reflecting with a friend who is immobilized after a lifetime of service, the two recognize that Christ’s life can be divided into two parts:  action (or ministry), and passion.  Regarding action, this theme is replete across the gospel accounts.  Jesus prayed.  Jesus healed.  Jesus called.  Jesus commanded.  Jesus is the active agent:  he prays, he wills, and he acts.  However, all this agency and activity comes  to an abrupt halt in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Here in the Garden the mob comes.  They lay hands on Jesus and arrest him.  They take Jesus.  They condemn him.  They bind him.  They lead him.  They hand him over.  They crucify him.  Jesus goes from one with agency to one acted upon.

Who wants to be acted upon?  Very few.  Yet, in reflecting on this theme I feel that making the shift from action to passion is necessary in following Christ.  Having agency is the easy part.  We feel called to do something and we do it.  Like Jesus, we will and we act.  Conversely, giving control of our lives and our very bodies into the hands of someone else?  Therein lies the rub.  Yet, Jesus willingly allowed himself to be handed over.  A close read of the gospel accounts reveals that Jesus lived a life in conflict.  His interlocutors, the Pharisees and others, did not welcome his message. Jesus threatened the very foundations of their religiosity.  They sought to discredit Jesus and kill him.  Jesus shrewdly responded and evaded them for three years.  Yet, rather than letting this power struggle wage on indefinitely, Jesus gave himself over to his accusers.  He allowed himself to be handed over.  

Herein lies the challenge we all face.  We do not want to yield.  It is like two boxers in the 15th round, battling it out until one is left standing.  Yet, Jesus threw in the towel.  He gave himself up.  It was the defining act of trust.  He trusted that God had his best in mind.  He trusted that God would vindicate him.  And guess what?  God did.  The Resurrection is God’s ultimate vindication of God’s goodness in the face of humanity’s evil.  Friend, will you pray with me that those of us who boldly take on the Name of Jesus Christ can trust God, giving ourselves over in sacrificial love to others?  Pray with me for our sisters and brothers in Congo who need God’s grace to act in such manner.  From action to passion.  That is the radical call of Jesus. 


* Bread and Wine:  Readings for Lent and Easter (2003)

The cast came off!

You may not know that for the last 6 weeks Bob has had a cast on his arm. This means, as you might have experienced yourself, that doing even simple tasks like typing or bathing became much more laborious as he adjusted to having to do them with one hand. Bob has valiantly and patiently persevered through the six weeks, answering graciously the perpetual question of “What happened to you?”

This week, the six weeks came to an end and we took the cast off. Our doctor colleague told us that we could immerse the cast in water, and the plaster would gradually weaken to the point that we could unwrap the bands that held it in place. It was a slow and messy process, but it worked! Bob’s hand and wrist “looked like he came out of a nuclear shower”, as he described it, but after some time and several washings it is now looking more normal.

Somehow, it seemed that I was more excited about this event than Bob was. Perhaps because I am more optimistic and Bob is more realistic. I was thrilled that he would finally be able to use two hands again, and wouldn’t have to type by pecking around with just one hand one letter at a time. In reality, using the hand again is a slow process as he gains flexibility and strength again. But, it does seem to be better, and we praise God for the healing. Sometimes you don’t appreciate something until it is gone (or hindered for awhile!).

One interesting aspect of this experience is that SO MANY people have told Bob that he could have avoided having a cast for several weeks by using the traditional Kasaian treatment for a broken bone, called "Kalunga." In this practice, white clay or palm oil is first lathered on the broken limb. Then fibers from the strong branches of palm trees is tightly wrapped and secured to immobilize the arm or leg. Lastly and most interestingly, they then ceremoniously break the leg of a chicken! Bad for the chicken, but good for you because when the chicken's leg heals so do you! (this generally takes less than a week). When Bob was asked why he didn’t use kalunga, he sometimes said “sorry – you have to forgive us for our skin color and different culture!” Interesting learning process though – we had some wise locals tell us that kalunga often does work, but it is best to get an x-ray first, to make sure that the bone will actually heal correctly.

Ah yes – and you might wonder exactly what happened to cause Bob to have a broken arm. He was walking in Kananga one morning, and his feet got caught in some box binding. He came quickly crashing to the ground, breaking his fall with his hands. In the process, he injured his wrist. We thought it was just sprained at first, but when it didn’t heal, x-rays confirmed that a small bone was broken. So – if you are walking in Kananga, always always watch the ground in front of you!

Chickens for Bibles

It was early evening in the village of Mashala in the Dimbelenge Territory (West Kasai Province, DRC). . The sun was just going down and we were sitting in a circle, enjoying conversation, laughter, and fellowship. My colleague, Pastor Mukenge, was selling Bibles and songbooks and other Christian literature. One youth came to him wanting to buy a songbook, but he only had a chicken. I thought about it for a moment, and decided that I would buy the chicken for two thousand francs in exchange for the songbook he earnestly sought. I did not have a great need for a chicken, but I wanted to help this young man get a songbook. Pastor Mukenge then bought a giant rooster from another inquirer for two Bibles!

Pastor Mukenge, buys beautiful rooster
to help youth buy 2 Bibles

That night as I was going to bed, I could hear my colleague negotiating deep into the night with youth about buying Bibles and songbooks, often in exchange for chickens. Early the following morning youth came again to visit us. We would continue to negotiate Bibles for chickens. Later that morning I bought a handsome white rooster from an elder so that he could buy a Bible. We weren’t always able to help (one can only go back to Kananga with so many chickens!), but folks were grateful in cases where we could.

Bob with church youth who arrived at
crack of dawn seeking a Bible!

The main purpose of our Bible Subsidy program is to dramatically reduce cost to help church members and leaders have Bibles and songbooks. Village folks often don’t have much cash, but they do have chickens and other things of value which they are willing to sell in exchange for the privilege of having God’s written word in their grasp. I am grateful for our trip to Mashala and seeing the deep desire of God’s people to lay hold of God’s Word. May this program continue to flourish and take whatever creative turns will best serve the Congolese people. We extend our gratitude to all the churches and individuals who have generously given to make this program possible.  “Tuasakadila!” (thank you!).

On this particular trip, our Department of Evangelism was also
able to make available 50 children’s Bibles (gratis!)

Why do we sell Bibles?

Recently, a keen friend posted this question in response to our spring newsletter:

Hi Bob and Kristi, We were a bit surprised to read that you sell Bibles. I always thought missionaries give them away for free, especially to the 3d world countries and there are some organizations that donate them. Is this something new?

We thought that probably there are other people with the same question, so we wanted to post our response here. We really welcome your question, suggestions, thoughts – it helps to remind us that we are not alone as we serve with the church in Congo!  Here is our response to her question:

Great question! We are very glad that you asked - we like to hear feedback when you read our letters! You are right - some missionaries, past and present, give away Bibles and some organizations donate them. That has happened in Congo also in some cases in the past. It is good to get God's Word into people's hands, especially those that do not yet have a local church presence or do not know Christ.

However, it also creates a culture and mentality that the Bible is something to be given for free - not something of value worth purchasing. So, in our context here in Kasai, this meant that when the presence of missionaries decreased, so did the presence of Bibles. The Bible Society in Congo continued to import Bibles and sell them (yes, the Bible society sells Bibles, though not at a profit), but there was not much demand to purchase them among Presbyterian churches here.

In our first couple of years in Congo, we traveled to many rural regions, and heard about the tragic lack of Bibles and songbooks. As you know, Congo is a very poor country, and most people could not afford a Bible. The current price for a Tshiluba Bible in Kananga is $12. Also, Bibles were not available at all in the rural areas outside of the provincial capital. Whenever we heard people express that need, we asked people how much they could and would be willing to pay for a Bible if they were available. The response was between 4,000 and 5,000 Congolese Francs ($5-$6). We put our heads together with our Congolese colleagues, wondering what we could do to help meet this need.

In 2013, we started a subsidy program to bring the price down to what people could afford. Yes, we started selling Bibles - for about $4.50 in the rural areas and $6 in the urban areas. Our purpose was to make Bibles accessible - especially to people in rural areas. There are whole congregations without 1 Bible amongst them! We want people to be able to own them and read them and use them, but we also want each person to be able to give something as a sign of participation and sacrifice that demonstrates the value it is to them. This means that we are selling Bibles at a significant loss, and can only continue the subsidy program with the donations and participation of generous people outside of Congo who agree to help make Bibles accessible. But, it also helps protect the Congolese Christians from getting stuck in an environment of dependency on American church. This subsidy program has been received with great joy and gratitude from members of the church here. We have described some of the impact in our Spring 2014 newsletter and in a few blog posts. If you have further questions, we welcome you to e-mail us or post another comment.

In 2014,we and our colleagues in the Department of Evangelism sold a total of 1,328 Tshiluba Bibles, 730 Tshiluba hymnbooks, and 135 Children’s Bibles (in Tshiluba). That was done with a total subsidy of $10,136 – which came from numerous individuals and churches, including children in a vacation Bible school and a man who made and sold jam all summer to give the proceeds for Bibles in Congo. Wow! Thank you for participating with us in getting God’s Word in people’s hands and hearts. What we have sold so far just whets the appetite of the thousands more in Kasai who would also like to buy their own Bible. If you would like to participate, the link for giving online to the Dept. of Evangelism of the CPC is here – just designate in the comments that it is for Bibles.

Youth Alive! (Congo)

There are few people in all of Kasai who encourage us more than Frere (brother) Victor Muine.  Victor is a leader in the youth movement of the Congolese Presbyterian Community (CPC).  Earlier this year he mobilized about twenty youth in Kananga, including six seminary students, to go to the rural presbytery of Muanza-Ngoma to host a two day seminar to strengthen the youth in that region.  The goal of the seminar was to help youth understand their role in the church.  They encouraged their compatriots to know God’s Word and to share their faith with others, and to do so with humility and respect. Victor Muine and his companions walked for six and a half hours to arrive at their destination.  They were warmly received by 245 youth of the presbytery, all of whom slept on mats in the modest church building.  For food, the youth from Kananga brought fish, tomato/onions, and corn flour.  The youth from the villages provided charcoal (for cooking), manioc flour, and manioc greens.  Three adult leaders were also in attendance to encourage the youth.  They encouraged the assembly, expressed value to them by being with them, and appreciated their zeal for serving God.

Frere Victor Muine (second from left) sits with and encourages the youth
of Bunkonde Parish (Muanza-Ngoma)  

       
Victor sang three solos at Bunkonde parish emphasizing our need for unity
and for leaders to serve with reverence, humility and love
(song is a powerful medium in Congo!)

Victor Muine shared with me that other presbyteries are seeking their presence as well.  Many of these presbyteries are very far and would require a day two to arrive by foot.  Just two days ago Victor shared with me that he and two others were able to visit the presbytery of Lulua.  They left at 6am and arrived at 7pm, a thirteen hour walking journey.  They spent two weeks in this rural region and were able to visit all eleven churches. 

Please pray for Frere Victor Muine as he and others seek to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and encourage other youth to do the same.  Pray also that God would show Kristi and I how we can come alongside Victor and the youth of Congo.  They are not only tomorrow’s leaders, but also the leaders of today.  May God bless Victor and the youth of Congo for all of their efforts.

Bob with Victor (to my right) and other youth leaders,
gathered from the West Kasai Synod