In 1992, a Rwandan Tutsi-led military operation swept through the Sud-Kivu Province. The Banyamulenge, a Congolese tribe of Tutsi origin who had lived and worked in the Congo for generations, were expected to take up arms and join forces with their Tutsi brothers. What resulted was another tragic account of needless bloodshed. But the hatred, […]
Author: Todd Churchill
Surviving economic crisis in Mbuji-Mayi
With a population of almost 4 million in 2006, the city of Mbuji-Mayi was easily one of the three largest cities in DR Congo. But when the global recession hit in 2007-2008, the diamond market plummeted and a mass exodus ensued. MIBA, the largest mining company in town, closed its doors. The train stopped running […]
Bicycles for Bible transport
When another load of Bibles arrived, our Bible school students in Kindu went to work immediately to make sure that the Bibles got where they needed to go in the interior of the Maniema Province. Although the bicycles we bought were equipped with book racks to carry several boxes, some students decided they could carry more […]
Bible distribution in the Kivus
Last month, Pastor Lema, the assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in DR Congo, traveled to Goma to help us with the distribution of more than 1,000 Bibles for pastors and church leaders in the Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu Provinces. More than 600 Bibles were distributed in Nord-Kivu. Pastor Lema told us that many […]
Buried in the jungle
Pastor Banampona Kimpenene was living with his family in the village of Tshelu in 1997, when Rwandan forces invaded the Pangi territory of the Maniema Province. Although he had served as a pastor there since 1985, his life was about to be turned upside down. Because tensions were building and he feared all he had […]
Our first visit to Mbuji-Mayi
In March of 2006, Pastor Kalaki, Pastor Musansa, and I flew to Mbuji-Mayi to gather pastors and church leaders from across the province for a leadership conference. We were also evaluating the possibility of establishing a future Bible school extension there that would serve the training needs of the Kasaï-Oriental Province. The trip went well, […]