Kisangani, DR Congo Crusade Report
The D.R. Congo is currently in the process of disarming the rebels and disbanding militias. The nation had just come out of a long civil war. We were aware of all of this when we scheduled this crusade, but what we weren't aware of was how crucial Kisangani was to the strategic military plans of all the factions involved in the previous war. And with free elections coming in 2005 this city is key to winning the entire nation.The week before our scheduled crusade, the current President announced he was going to Kisangani to campaign for the upcoming election. His announcement put fear in to the local people, and rightfully so. After the declaration, the president ordered all of the local armies and militias out of the city. They were not allowed to be within a fifty Kilometer radius of Kisangani. As this city was in the center of the war for nearly 15 years the militias and armies were in positions of power throughout the government and private sectors. The absence of the militaries left an incredible vacuum.
The local militias and legitimate armies had run everything in the city for over a decade and now, right before our scheduled crusade, those in charge were forcibly removed. The President then sent in his elite guard, nearly 5,000 of them. Dressed in all black uniforms and speaking a tribal language not known to the people of Kisangani. These new soldiers added a new element of doubt and fear. Many men who were in official offices disappeared during the week following the elite guards arrival. There were many rumors and questions as to what happened to them. Due to these changes, and the president's visit, all of our permissions and permits were cancelled without consideration.
The President arrived the week that we were scheduled to be in the city. We were not allowed to leave Kinshasa during that time. During the Presidents stay in Kisangani he took men whom he had brought from Kinshasa and set them in the offices and places of authority of the men who were now mysteriously missing. This appeared to be the main purpose of the Presidents visit. However, the President had another agenda during his stay there.
It is rumored that this President is a very spiritual person. In Kisangani there is a place near the river where people for hundreds of years have worshiped and made sacrifices to a certain water spirit. The people of the area consider this water spirit to have exceptional powers. It is said that to control this region, a covenant must be made with the water spirit of the Congo River in that place. Each night during the Presidents stay, he and his men did exactly that. He made a compact or covenant with this demon of the river. The crusade equipment, stage, generators and lights that we had paid for were confiscated and used for the sacrifices. We know this because when they were finished our men had to rent a tractor and go to the ceremonial site to retrieve the equipment and generators.
A week and a day after we were scheduled to arrive, we were allowed to go to Kisangani. Our advance team met us at the airport with many stories and problems. They had been working for two days trying to find the men and officers who had made agreements and took deposits for almost everything. This included the permits and permissions to the grounds and all of the local equipment. (On a side note: It is worth mentioning that bribes and extortion are a way of life in this country). The few men that were left in charge of certain areas after the Presidents visit used the opportunity afforded them by the change of schedule to exact more money from the team or to cancel our agreements completely. Even waiting for the reissuing of the permits and licenses was an exhausting ordeal.
During the last few years in the D.R. Congo there has been many changes and there is a fear of being identified as resisting or disagreeing with the government that is in power. If somebody is perceived in any way being in opposition to the existing government there is a good chance they will be marked as a rebel. In light of the Presidents recent sacrifices and ceremonies dedicated to a pagan god, the local Pastors became afraid to support the city wide crusade thinking it would be seen as opposing his recent visit. They feared being labeled as rebels or to be thought in any way of disagreeing with the President. Out of the 240 Pastors from the region that were scheduled to participate in the conference and crusade only 40 showed up for the first day of the conference. Unfortunately, only 5 churches were bold enough to participate in the crusade.
The location of the crusade was forcibly changed twice in four days and the Pastors conference was cancelled one day and changed locations three times. All of these changes along with the political environment made it very difficult to gain any momentum. Due to the different locations we had a new crowd almost every night.
Another dynamic that is worth mentioning is a misunderstanding regarding the name of a Rwandan church. There was church established by the Rwandans in the city of Kisangani called Restoration Church of Rwanda. Many of the Rwandan rebels attended there as well as anybody that supported their cause. This church was isolated and boycotted by the local ministerial association. Our crusade director, Brother Soni Mukwenzi from Kinshasa is the founder of a very effective ministry called Restoration Ministries. Somehow the local press got a hold of that name and made the assumption that Brother Soni's ministry was connected to the rebels cause. This only further isolated what we were trying to accomplish from the existing ministries. Even with many calls from the different denominational headquarters in Kinshasa reassuring those in charge in Kisangani, cooperation was not granted. Fear kept the Pastors and churches from assisting us in almost every way.
We came into a war torn region where fear ruled. The city that was attempting to settle into some sort of normal life was thrown into an upheaval the week before our arrival. It was much like going into some of the regions I ministered in Mali, West Africa where there is a very small Christian influence. In those cities, the people that we bring with us to the area usually are the only ones who do most of the work. The locals more times than not are afraid to step out and be seen, fearing reprisals after the event.
Despite all of these adverse conditions God still showed himself strong! Every night we were able to minister in public. Several thousand hungry new people came to hear and to be healed. As the simple gospel was preached each night thousands received Jesus as their Lord and Savior and hundreds of miracles took place.
In this dark place God's light shown brightly. We know that long after we left that light is still shinning in the hearts and lives of those who met Jesus Christ.
We are very thankful for the miracles and the salvations that took place, but we can do more. I've heard it said, "It's not how many times a man gets knocked down that proves him. It's how many times he gets back up and continues to fight." We will be returning to the Congo in January. This time we're a little wiser and a little bit more prepared!
Your missionary evangelists,
Kenney & Neja Linhart
