Dear Friends,

We are spending our second Thanksgiving in Tshikaji. We are truly thankful to God for insisting that we grow to be more dependent on Him each day. We are grateful for your support and choosing us to be a part of your ministry. We are truly thankful for John and Kevin staying physically healthy and maturing in faith. Of course, we do not all grow in a patterned and understandable way, but we trust that all is necessary and has purpose to grow as His children.

Dr. and Mrs. Sager finally arrived in Tshikaji to start their service—Bill as a doctor, Sue as a teacher, both as servants. As you may know, they had to wait in Kinshasa for seven weeks to get the necessary permits to come to Tshikaji. We are delighted to have them here for the people of Kasai, and for us personally.

Towards the end of October, Simon visited two of the Congo Presbyterian Church hospitals in Kasai. The visit to Bulape and Luebo gave us yet a new view of the country and our mission work. Although we were going to visit other hospitals, the preparation was similar to that of backpacking—drinking water, food, insect spray and so on. Armed with all the documents for domestic travel, we set off on the 200-journey in a four-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser (African version). Somehow, people found out we would be traveling by car, and the car was filled to the brim with hitchhikers and their goods. Soon after we left town we were stopped at the first of many roadblocks. At each stop we had to produce our documents, register our name, address, and the purpose of travel, and get our documents stamped and signed by the police. We quickly learned that all our official documents without the accompanying "national document" were not sufficient. In the States you will see the portraits of Washington and Lincoln on those documents. We saw many who passed through the checkpoints with nothing other than a folded national document.

All of the 200 miles were dirt road, most of it just wide enough for one car. Often, when the road became impassable, we had to cut our own road through the grass fields of savannah. Many people were walking on the road with goods on their heads. They disappeared into the forest or the grass fields whenever heavily loaded bicycles came along. The bicycles, in turn, had to yield to our car charging at them at a speed of 15 miles per hour with horns blaring. I felt guilty for being the road bully until we faced a truck coming from the other direction. Then it was our turn to go in reverse until we fond a space to get out of the way. It’s a jungle out there! Fortunately, the road was mostly dry, and we struggled with sand rather than mud. By the end of the first day, we logged 210 km (130 miles) and reached Luebo. We passed the night at a Catholic mission and continued for Bulape the next morning. We made good time and covered the 80 mile leg in slightly over nine hours, including one long stop at a checkpoint where Simon’s refusal to provide "national documents" was met by the order to inspect all the items in the car. On the return trip, we were again filled to the brim with corn, cassava roots, and a duck, along with two "relatives" of our host. We were stopped at a checkpoint and asked to provide transportation for a military unit commander who had to report to his duty. We reluctantly agreed and were immediately presented to the soldier, his wife and a child, a few suit cases, and a live chicken in addition to his uniform and the rifle. We once again proved the Congolese proverb: "There is always room for one more!" Apparently it rained during our trip and we found the return trip was much more difficult than the first as we ran into numerous puddles (a small pond is more like it) and got stuck in the sand several times. All in all, it took four days for a round trip totaling 400 miles, and we spent all but 24 hours on the road.

Hundreds of men were transporting basic staples weighing 400–500 pounds on bicycles. With that much load, it is not possible for them to ride the bicycle, thus they push it for the entire journey of 200–300 miles. They bring the food items to Kananga and carry manufactured goods on the return trip. Each round trip takes about two weeks, potential profit being twenty dollars per trip. Non-existence of passable road and mode of transport causes the great price difference between the place of production and the place of consumption. Quite often the prices in Kananga are more than double those of Kinshasa, again doubling when they reach villages in interior parts. This is one reason why sound economic policies of the Western world simply do not work here, although the same market forces are in play.

Luebo is a small town, 130 miles northwest of Kananga, where in 1891 Presbyterian missionaries from the United States started their first station for evangelistic activities. The first hospital building was built in 1914 and has served the people since then. Sadly, at present the hospital exists in name only, as there are no medicines, medical supplies or functioning equipment. Unlike in Kananga or in Kinshasa, the patients cannot buy the prescribed medicines from the town pharmacies. Twenty-five employees of the hospital were caring for about the same number of hospitalized patients, but there were not much they could do with empty hands.

Most of the houses on the station stood empty in a dilapidated state. The missionary cemetery was almost invisible due to overgrown grasses. Dr. Kasonga, the only doctor at the hospital, was apologetic and at the same time blamed PC(USA) for "abandoning" their first mission station. Later I learned that after a long history of mismanagement and improprieties the supporters had no choice but to sever ties and leave them to survive on their own. By now the Luebo hospital has been erased from the memories of the missionaries and supporters and thus they do not appear on the usual list of hospitals to support. With a financial help from the Korean Church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Simon put together a few boxes of basic supplies and medicines as the seed for another try. Simon emphasized that they should use the gift for generating funds for future purchases, not simply use them up and wait for the next delivery. We pray that they will not squander this opportunity to serve the people and to help themselves.

Bulape is another mission station complete with a seminary, primary and secondary schools, a nursing school, as well as a hospital. The last missionaries left more than ten years ago, and so these are now entirely Congolese institutions. Unlike Luebo, however, they are proud to have continued to function and to maintain a reputation as a good hospital. There is no question that they have had to make adjustments and have had to make do with less, but the hospital is running at more than 90 percent occupancy in the midst of war and economic turmoil. The hospital was using pressure cookers over wood fire for sterilization and relying on solar electricity for essential medical equipment, but carrying out their work nonetheless. Continued support from PC(USA) and other friends are barely enough for their operations, but not enough for badly needed improvements in the structures and equipment. On top of their wish list is a "color" computer with a "hard disk." It may sound strange, but the last computer they received had only a floppy drive and a monochrome display. It was not functioning, so I could not verify the processor type. They also had a long list of requests, but somehow I felt more comfortable with their requests, as I had more confidence that they had a vision and a plan of utilization. A mission hospital without a missionary presence does not run like a North American institution, but it can find equilibrium and serve the people effectively. Praise God.

It may be strange for a missionary assigned to Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai (IMCK) to ask you to consider a broader pattern of giving, but it is clear that IMCK is receiving more than her fair share of help from overseas donors. No doubt it is better known, perhaps better organized, but is the work of IMCK so much more valuable than others? How do we measure the value of Christian hospitals? It is a well-known economic principal that in order to maximize the value of funds, we should use them such that the last dollar spent on each program will bring about the same magnitude of impact. Whether the dollar that came to IMCK after the first $300,000 has the same value, as the dollar after the $30,000 for Bulape or $1,000 for Luebo hospital is questionable, in my mind at least. This is not a simple pitch to give to others. Perhaps mission committees can demand more information from PC(USA) regarding the needs of various partners, and demand that partner institutions be accountable for use of funds—that funds were used for intended purposes and have not been overly wasteful.

Our apologies for writing a letter loaded with difficult topics. We wanted to share our lives and concerns with you as much as possible, trusting that the Holy Spirit would deliver the real message. While we eagerly wait for the day we return home, we are grateful for this growing experience and also to share part of our life here with you. Happy Thanksgiving.

Haejung & Simon Park

The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 29