June 4, 2003

Dear Friends,

We were recently blessed with and by the experience of visiting five Presbyterian mission hospitals as well as the mission station, Ibanji, which was the original mission of Shepherd and Lapsley. At one time, Ibanji had the largest Presbyterian congregation in the world. These institutions are all part of the Congolese Presbyterian Church in partnership with the PC(USA). Long ago it was envisioned that the Christian Medical Institution of Kasai, or IMCK, where we work, would serve as the hub for distribution of materials, training, and camaraderie to all these “satellite” institutions. Due to war and the deterioration of the roads, this function has not been realized for a long time. The purpose of our trip was to visit, thereby demonstrating our presence, to evaluate the conditions and needs of the hospitals and the work that they are doing, and to discuss the reinstitution of this partnership concept that has languished. We accompanied a team from the PC(USA) to these hospitals while a second team concentrated on the churches and schools. In all, we spent a week on the road, or as we say, “in the bush.”

Eventually, many more hospitals were built to serve the impoverished populations. Through the years the hospitals have continued to function without missionary presence. They have done so using the same equipment placed there 20 to 50 years ago. It was like a walk back into medical history to see the antiquated equipment, some still functioning, the old methods, and the large wardrooms filled with the sick.

Each hospital has a doctor as well as nurses and a pharmacy. The stations include schools of nursing as well as primary schools. We were warmly welcomed at each site, treated to a celebration in the chapels with choirs and speeches, and we were given gifts of art objects and tapestries. We were fed and housed and treated like royalty. For our hosts, we represented both a long history of partnership with these congregations as well as a hope to help them rebuild these facilities, which suffer from age and the years of conflict the people have endured. In years gone by, each facility had a grass airstrip and small Cessnas from Mission Aviation Fellowship ferried doctors and patients. We inspected these strips, long overgrown, with the hope of bringing this aspect of mission work back to life. It was awe-inspiring to view the enormous efforts made by the old missionaries and their partner congregations in the difficult context of this land. We thank you for yet another opportunity to be a part of this.

God’s peace from the Congo,

Mike and Nancy

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 31