Mission co-workers
Walt and Valerie Shepard are serving in Kinshasa, the capital
of the Congo. Walt has returned to the country of his youth.
He is the son of Caroline and Walter Shepard, who served in
what was then the Belgian Congo from 1947 to 1961. From 1961
until 1968 his father served as the area coordinator for Africa,
Europe, and the Near East for the PCUS. For Valerie, this is
also a return to the mission field. She is the daughter of Jim
and Elisabeth Elliot, missionaries to Ecuador, whose story Elisabeth
Elliot told in Through Gates of Splendor. Valerie and Walt write
about the privilege Christian communities had of gathering in
prayer to support peaceful elections in the Congo in the fall
of 2006.
“They met in small prayer meetings. As a small, international
church comprised of United Nations, embassy, relief, and mission
workers, we met together to pray for God’s favor in this
country’s first democratic elections since the country
gained independence in 1960. Because of the danger in the streets,
we were unable to meet as a large group. So we met in many small
groups of threes and fours throughout homes in Kinshasa.
“It is sobering to realize that God is in our midst.
It becomes even more sobering when one considers the context
of discipline and prayer in Matthew 18:15–20. When the
amazing happened and eight to eleven people were able to make
it to a church building for prayer, we were struck with the
severe mercy of our God here in Congo. We were reminded of the
staggering responsibility we have as Christ’s ambassadors
to pray even more fervently for this country.
“And look how God answered the many prayers of the thousands
of Congolese and the international community! Joseph Kabila,
who had become Congo’s president when his father, Laurent,
was assassinated in 2001, was democratically elected. His opponent
conceded and pledged himself to peaceful activity. We hope and
pray that this historic presidential election will bring a new
era of stability after years of war, dictatorship, and chaos.” |
