June 7, 2004

Embangweni #20: Impressions of Congo

Dear Friends and Family,

We have been home now for two weeks collecting our thoughts and digesting the experiences we had on our trip to Congo. It was indeed an exciting trip and from it has come a new and very deep appreciation for the gentle and kind Malawian people and for the order and peace of our adopted country of Malawi. We also gained new understanding of the effects of prolonged violence and lack of government on a culture. We enjoyed our fellow travelers, Rev. Chimwemwe and Linda Mhango, very much. They were calm, patient, and understanding at times when that was what was needed. They forged new alliances with the churches at Kananga and Mbuji-Mayi and delighted everyone with their music—even composing a song in the Tshiluba language.

Congo has suffered from so many years of violence and unrest. Now the tentative and fragile government of young Joseph Kabila has a tremendous challenge to unite this vast country. The lack of government (anarchy almost) was evident from our first footstep on Congo soil at the border post of Kasumbalesa where we encountered bedlam and corruption full force. We had left our car on the Zambian side of the border due to a Zambian customs error when we entered Zambia at Chipata. We had not been given the required document for our car and so could not take it out through the border into Congo. It was with great unease that we left it in the custody of the Zambian customs officials but with great assurances from them that it would be OK.

Kasumbalesa was swarming with people of every type, most of whom were just there to see what they could get from foreigners who had to pass through. Many wanted to “help” us through the system, which did not seem to have any organization to it but which we finally realized is designed to be chaotic and intimidating to strangers. Bill and Rev. Mhango’s cameras were immediately taken and then demands were made by the Congolese “official” for $60 to get them back. There did not seem to be any way around that so we had to pay it. Then we had to present our passports to a man dressed in an army uniform and sitting in a tiny room in a falling down building. He wanted to see all of our money to prove that we had enough to get back out of the country. We refused to show him, saying we had very little, but showed him our Visa card and told him we would be using that to pay for our airfare within the country. He tried to get money from us, but our documents were in order and we refused. Then Beth was taken to a bombed out building with no roof and told that we had to pay $80 for a tourist pass to go to other areas in the country. There did not seem to be any way around that fee either. Meanwhile Bill was arguing with the medics in another room about our immunizations. He called Beth (the public health nurse) to continue the argument. The yellow books were in order—we had everything that was required but they still wanted $240 for the four of us to receive a blue stamp that said “typhoid.” After 40 minutes of arguing we had them down to $100, but since we had to leave (it was late), we could not hold out any longer. We then took a taxi to Lubumbashi. Most of you who read this will never have occasion to enter the Congo by land through a border post and may disregard this valuable piece of information. However, the abiding lesson we gained from this experience was that we will not again attempt a border crossing by land into Congo without help from insiders or negotiators (see further on below, the much smoother egress when we had such help).

Seriously, we hope that anyone reading this who wishes to travel in Congo will not be deterred. It is possible to do it for much less in both cost and hassle than was our experience, and we understand from those who flew in that the airport entrance, though not a total bed of roses either, is an entirely different kettle of fish and also well-facilitated when the church organization being visited sends their minions to (gr)ease the process.

Thinking we were done and safe from the trumped-up fees, we continued on our way. But we soon found that at every roadblock (there were many), someone was going to want money to let us pass and at every airport they would find some sort of fee to charge us. Fortunately, we now had learned to hold out and to insist that we were missionaries (we had letters of invitation from IMCK officials proving this) and to not let them have all of our passports at the same time. At the airports, we were provided with church negotiators to help us through and we did not have to pay more than one $20 fee for our travels. It was explained to us that Congolese police and soldiers had not been paid in months and this was their only way of getting money to feed themselves and their families.

Lest you think this was a disappointing trip, let us hasten to say that we had wonderful visits to Tshikaji, Lubondai, and Bibanga mission stations as well as to Lake Munkamba and the city of Mbuji-Mayi. At Tshikaji, we were joined by Bill’s sister Charlotte White and our niece Anna Woodruff as well as by members of other Congo missionary families—the Nelson and Vass families, and David Law. Two former teachers at the Institue Medical Chretien du Kasai (IMCK) school came for the festivities there as well. The event of the 50th anniversary of the school for nurses and lab technologists was well planned and we enjoyed tours of the school and the Good Shepherd Hospital as well as the public health work there. The hospital seemed big and well equipped compared to little Embangweni hospital in Malawi, and had the first central oxygen supply we have seen in any mission hospital so far. There was a great slide presentation of the history of the school one evening and we were able to enjoy the music provided by the IMCK student choir. Beth was even asked to “lecture” about the AIDS programs at Embangweni for the students, doctors, and former students who were there.

In nearby Kananga, the Rev. and Mrs. Mhango visited Rev. Mulumba, the general secretary of the CPC (Communaute Presbyterien du Congo), and delivered letters of introduction and congratulations, expressing interest in establishing more robust relations between CPC and CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) as sister Presbyterian Churches in neighboring African countries. Rev. Mulumba, officials at IMCK, and the doctors of the various mission hospitals were all invited to visit Malawi to further partnerships and several indicated they would seek an early opportunity to do so. We pray that this effort to bridge language, history, and cultural barriers in the name of Christ will blossom and flourish.

MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) flew us to Lubondai Station in a nine-seater plane for a two-day visit. This was the first plane to land on their little grass airstrip in ten years. We were immediately surrounded by laughing, singing, and dancing people who danced their way from the airstrip to the church, which was in fairly good condition although it had lost it’s elaborate façade. Bill and Charlotte were asked to speak and to make a presentation to the church there. When they began speaking in fluent Tshiluba, there was a tremendous roar from the crowd of people in the church. The event itself was a message that said more than any letters we may have brought. These children of the Congo still remembered their first language and still loved the land and people of their birth and childhood. We were asked more than once why the missionaries had not come back and why we had chosen to go to Malawi instead of Congo. This is not an easy question to answer in a way that they could understand.

We ate meals there with Dr. Dominique and Claudine Badibanga in their home—the doctor’s house where Bill was born and lived through a portion of his childhood. We saw the rather dilapidated Central School for Missionary Children which, despite its condition, is still being used as a secondary school for Congolese students. Although many buildings on the station have developed cracks in their more-than-70-year-old walls, and metal roofs have assumed a uniform rust color throughout, the physical plant was actually in better condition than we had been prepared to see. We had expected thatch to have replaced corrugated roofs and walls to be crumbling (some collapsed buildings were found at the primary school, which can be seen in the foreground of the photograph below, looking past the back of the church up toward the far row of old homes).

Lubondai Hospital was in fairly good condition structurally, with a new roof and a new coat of paint, although they no longer have water or electricity. They desperately need supplies and equipment, but stated that water is their first and foremost need. At some point, we hope to see a fundraising effort for this and anticipate that generous donations may be rewarded with a whole CD-full of pictures taken of various locations visited on the trip. During our tour of the wards and outpatient department, we were most impressed by the work being carried on by Dr. Badibanga. Bill’s sister Charlotte capped the event by holding and naming (after our niece Anna) one of the newest arrivals in the well-populated maternity ward.

Our travel to both Mbuji-Mayi and Bibanga was by ambulance. This trip was just the four of us (Rules and Mhangos). We experienced first hand the terrible Congo roads where an 18-wheeler can get lost in the ditches and potholes; but with the expert driving of Andre from the church in Mbuji-Mayi in the Bibanga Hospital Ambulance, we only got stuck in the huge mud holes once. The 150 or so miles to Mbuji-Mayi took 9 hours.

The arrival at Bibanga was similar to that at Lubondai although perhaps even more exuberant. They have had a very difficult time there with a renegade church leader who has taken much of their property, equipment, and vehicles. They do have some water and electricity. Here again, we were very impressed with their young doctor. We toured the station and Bill was able to see the house he lived in as a child and reminisce about his early years. Again, there was a tremendous response to his use of Tshiluba. People came to us reminding him of the times they played soccer together or shared other childhood memories. We visited the little missionary graveyard and photographed the graves of Bessie Carper and her daughter for the Carper family as well as other graves there. The graveyard had been kept up, not overgrown, although the path to it was just recently cleared. As at Lubondai, the hospital itself was in good condition—better than most other buildings on the station—although it had lost much equipment to the aforementioned infighting. The houses were in sad shape, with yards overgrown with weeds, and with many windows broken out, but they still had their roofs. And again, the message was that the missionaries did leave and have not been able to return, but they have not forgotten.

That brings us to our three nights and days in Mbuji-Mayi, which is a city of three million in the diamond mining area of East Kasai. Pastor Tshibembe organized tours of the church activities there and managed to help us bypass many of the roadblocks and other opportunities for relieving us of our money. However, we were arrested there and held at the police station for four hours. It seems that the women’s orphan garden we visited was too close to a diamond mine. We were soon surrounded by Congolese soldiers with guns who were irate that we had a camera (we were afraid to leave it in the vehicle). We also had Pastor Tshibembe’s armed guard who accompanies him everywhere. That made them very angry and they treated the poor guard badly. They finally let us go, but kept the camera overnight and of course wanted money for their trouble of viewing the video in the camera to be sure that we were not photographing the diamond mine. It all was actually a rather elaborate scheme to get money from us. Thanks to Pastor Tshibembe, they received prayers and no money.

We flew from Mbuji-Mayi to Lubumbashi with the Congolese musician Tshala Mwana and her entourage. Rev. Mhango was quite interested in her music, but would not bother her by introducing himself. He apparently had met her once before. We were met at Lubumbashi by Richard Robinson (another child of former missionaries). He had made arrangements for us to stay at the Methodist guesthouse and helped us obtain negotiators for the return border crossing at Kasumbalesa. This time we had no difficulty and did not have to give up any money.

We found Lubumbashi to be a large and very French city with paved streets and many old but nice homes and business establishments. We were able to eat wonderful croissants and treated ourselves to real milkshakes. It seemed to be the safest and best-kept of the three Congolese cities we visited as we strolled about and did a bit of shopping.

To our great relief, we found the car in perfect condition on the Zambian side of the border and drove to Lusaka where we stayed in the beautiful home of a friend of the Mhangos named Mrs. Sata. She was a warm and welcoming person and provided for us both to and from Congo. In Lusaka’s tree-lined streets, we shopped and ate at malls one might have encountered anywhere in the United States or Europe.

But we felt the greatest relief when we finally crossed the border into Malawi. We literally cheered! And now after Malawi’s elections and the unrest that followed amid accusations of rigging and ballot box stuffing, we see that Malawians are basically respectful and gentle people. Unrest here is nothing compared to everyday life in Congo. There were a few shootings in Blantyre right after the election, but mostly we see attempts at coalition building, which sometimes involves bribes or intimidation, but generally is a peaceful thing. We hope that it continues to remain peaceful.

We are sad for the Congolese people for all that they have been through, but we are very hopeful now that they finally seem to have peace again. When you realize that they have known violence and atrocities for generations, beginning with the explorations of Stanley, the rule of King Leopold of Belgium, and the terror and war of recent years, it is little wonder they are having to learn to live peacefully again. They are good and quite remarkable people with a rich culture who have a huge country to unite with many tribes and ancient hatreds and disagreements. We are praying that Joseph Kabila, despite his youth, will have the wisdom and strength to unite his country. We saw strong and good leaders among the pastors, physicians, and administrators of the Presbyterian Church in Congo. This, indeed, is a legacy of all of those years of Presbyterian mission.

We have a new respect for our missionary colleagues who have returned to Congo to live and work. We met Mike and Nancy Haninger and Cecile DeSweemer at Tshikaji and have corresponded with Larry Sthreshley who is in Kinshasa. There are only a few others in Congo from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at the present time.

We are thankful for this travel opportunity. It was wonderful for Bill to revisit the land of his childhood and for Beth to learn more about him and his homeland. We also hope that the presence of the Rev. and Mrs. Mhango from the church in Malawi will help to forge a future alliance between the two churches.

We will end this long epistle with a request for prayers for the people of Congo and for their leaders. As mentioned, Charlotte will be organizing some fundraising and we hope those who have their own memories of Congo will want to participate.

Blessings to all,

Bill and Beth

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 58