From Our Pastor in the Congo

The following will reveal some of the beautiful heart of our Pastor, Walt Shepard, from the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa (IPCK). He wrote this to me and another friend and I got permission from him to post it here. It describes the situation here in Congo and shares how we should handle ministry here in the midst of a tough world. Enjoy it........Here goes....

I took a two-week break with my wife Val and our 3 children, as the school my kids go to (TASOK) elected to take a two-week break to avoid the difficulties of the run-off election in the DRC, and the subsequent problems with the announcement of the winner. I did not want to miss another Sunday away from the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa, where I am privileged to pastor such a brave and hard-working multi-national congregation. I came back to the Congo on Friday Nov. 24th, and started calling our people and getting up to speed on the state of our church after my time off.

Last week the Supreme Court building had been torched and EurFor troops rescued the Justices. The Court was deliberating inside when the pro-Bemba mob attacked the building. That night while talking with some good friends downtown, a phone call came in from a Congolese friend and we were told that a rumor had hit the streets that the Justices had come out in favor of Bemba, the candidate who was contesting the election. Cheering and celebrations started up based on the false rumor. The next day the country waited as they heard that the announcement of the Justices would be made that evening, but then they delayed the announcement until Tuesday, Nov. 28th. It was understandable, as the assault on the Justices and the Supreme Court did hamper the deliberations. On Sunday morning we worshipped at the Church, and it was a beautiful time of worship as we prayed for the Congo and celebrated the Lord's Supper. The theme was ‘Joy in belonging and being in the family of God’ was accentuated by the desperate condition of the many in Kinshasa who have no real sense of belonging to anything. And the threats of the loyal supporters of one candidate only brought home the urgency of seeing the necessity of belonging to Christ. Imagine being in the service of someone who promised you everything and you wake up to the reality that he would lose the election and all those promises in which you had hoped would be empty! Only the Cross makes sense out of the brutal suffering this country has endured. If we side step the atoning work of Christ on that Cross, we offer some more empty promises to a people hungry for more than today's meal.

Tonight, Monday night, at 6:pm, Kinshasa time, the Justices appeared before the television cameras and took an hour patiently going through nearly thirty different allegations of fraud brought forward by Mr. Bemba and the ArchBishop of the Roman Catholic Church (many are still wondering about that alliance) and declaring after what seemed like 50 pages of report, "No grounds!" At the end of the report the Chief Justice announced that there was no substance to the allegations. Thus President Kabila was declared the President Elect of the DRC.

Now, in my quartier where we live there was definitely some cheering from the populace. But President Kabila is not the Kinshasa hometown favorite. Across the street from me lives a large family that I knew were avid Kabila supporters. So I went over to the house to congratulate them on 'their' victory and their winner. They are Swahili speakers and my Swahili was not that helpful, the French was working barely. While I was congratulating them a firecracker went off, and everyone dove for cover onto the floor. I was standing alone and one little girl saw me standing there and ran as hard as she could and jumped into my open arms. A few awkward moments later while we expressed our nervous appreciation that it was only a firecracker, I was seeing myself in that little girl, happily running and jumping into my Father's arms. I count on that!

It is our prayer that tonight will not be full of violence, but a time for people on both sides to soberly reflect on the fact that this country enjoys the hand of God in blessing upon her. As for the ex-patriots, there is some concern--but no panic. For this ex-patriot my eyes will not be looking to the hills, or the high places where the worship of idols took place, or the soldiers; but to the Lord who made heaven and earth and is able to keep all this under His control and, most important of all to me, to keep me from falling and present me one day without blemish. One thing about living and working here is meeting lots of courageous folks, women as well as men who have been through staggering suffering--and not just survived, but triumphed in the midst of incredible temptation and intimidation. These are my brothers and sisters, and it is one huge (that is Oprah's and my word!) honor to work alongside of them.

My wife Valerie.....Steve's note.....(this is Jim Elliott's daughter...the missionary that gave his life for a people group in South America in the 1950's), who is also my fellow co-worker, is still in South Africa with our three kids (and Grace and Kiki). She will join me on Friday, as we pray for a calming to take effect here in Kinshasa. Pray with us and many other co-workers (missionary’s, relief workers and UN staff, as well as the Congolese family of Christ here) that we will be faithful to God in this exciting time in the nation of Congo's history.