Ekstrands in Congo

On Sunday, Aug 22, Rev. Mossai Sanguma was elected as General Secretary in charge of medical work for the ECC (Eglise du Christ au Congo, aka National Protestant Church of Congo). He presently serves as the President of the Congo Covenant Church (CEUM) and will continue in that position through the end of his term in 2012. The elections took place in Kinshasa, DRC. Here’s is a photo of some of the ECC Synod discussions:

In this new role, Rev. Sanguma will have these responsibilities:

• Work with all the overseas partners of the ECC that support the medical work of the ECC throughout DR Congo. These partners provide financial and personnel support.
• Determine the critical needs and issues with the medical services of the 65 denominations that are a part of the ECC. These denominations have 90 hospitals and 600 health centers in the 11 provinces of the DR Congo. Talk to the President of the ECC about how to respond to these critical needs including seeking funding.
• Visit the medical schools of the DRC, talk to the Christian doctors who are graduating and encourage them to sign up for two year residencies in any of the ECC hospitals through an ECC sponsorship. At the end of their two year commitment, encourage them to continue to serve ECC hospitals.
• Encourage the expansion of the doctors’ residence program. As an example Rev. Sanguma said that if the Karawa hospital had 2 or 3 specialists they could receive residents for training. It is up to the CEUM and the Covenant together to try to provide these specialists.
• Work with the Minister of Public Health to seek additional subsidies for the medical work. Just this month the Ministry agreed to take on the paying the salaries of the medical staff of all ECC hospitals throughout the DRC.
• Work with international partners like SANRU (Rural Public Health for All), the Global Fund, IMA and others to expand their support for medical work in Congo as well as seek additional partners.

In response to this, Rev. Sanguma said, “this is significant for the CEUM because it indicates that the CEUM has become like a model church in the Equateur province. The government in the province looks to the CEUM as a light and has sought the CEUM as a partner.” He also thanks the US Covenant Church and the Department of World Mission for their support: “All my skills I learned from them and in the US through their support of my studies. I want the DWM and ECC (US) to be proud of this election.”

Here are some prayer requests that Rev. Sanguma gave us:

1. Wisdom as this is a very huge job
2. Safety and security in travel throughout the country. The job requires a lot of travel.
3. Wisdom and strength particularly for the next almost two years as I will have two jobs at once, President of the CEUM and General Secretary for the ECC
4. For the CEUM leadership to be strong during this time

August 14 was a great day of celebration–the first graduation of students from Ubangi Protestant University, UPU! There were 1,220 people in attendance for the 2-1/2 hour service in town as this 2-year old university conferred Masters in Theology degrees on 8 men. Ten men were granted Bachelors in Theology. The bachelors level of the univeristy has been at Goyongo for over 25 years, but previously was not called a university. UPU opened its doors in 2008 and has 2 campuses: the Goyongo campus for the bachelors level and a campus at IPOC just outside of Gemena for the masters level. In 2009 the university added an economics and social sciences section and this fall it will add agriculture. They plan to add a medical section in 2011.

Ubangui Protestant University (UPU)

The commencement was a great event. The wives of all the graduates processed in alongside their husbands. They had matching dresses, one style for those whose husbands received Masters degrees and another for those receiving their Bachelors. There is a unique practice at graduation here when it comes to the actual granting of the degrees themselves. Before the graduates were announced and walked across the stage, someone went along and sprinkled powder on their hats and shoulders. This is a sign of their joy. When we greeted the graduates afterwards several times we ended up with some of the powder on us.

Powdering Graduates as a Sign of Joy

Following the graduation ceremony there was a meal at the church where graduation was held. That afternoon back at each person’s residence there was another party and meal. And the next day, Sunday, the local church was invited over for a celebratory meal. Our neighbor, Vice-President Liwawa Elenga, received his masters so we were invited to all the parties.

The serving line

Fellowship over food

Last weekend we traveled to Bangui, CAR on Friday to attend the ordination of Pastor, now Reverend, Jean Bete on Sunday August 8. Bangui is 260 km (150 miles) from Gemena. We accepted the invitation to come along because we have known Pastor Jean since the 1980s when he started working for the Covenant mission in our Bangui business office. We have worked together there over the years.

Zongo beach looking to Bangui

We left at 7h35 Friday and got to Zongo barely in time to cross the border to CAR. Actually we had to stop at the CEUM church and have a quick meal before going on to the border, but the lead pastor had worked things out with the border authorities so that we could cross even though it was after 4 pm when the border closes. A couple of the women traveling with us had never been in a dugout canoe or large river before so the wobbly dugout was a bit scary for them. With a small outboard on the back it crosses quicklly.

Saturday, we enjoyed going out for breakfast to a pastry shop. Yumm- warm apple turnovers, croissants and hot tea! We also did little shopping for supplies we can’t get in Gemena.

Sunday was the big day, the ordination service.

Service set up on soccer field

The service was held in a soccer field with goalposts right behind where things were set up, because the local churches wanted the broader exposure and did not have a large enough building. The service was very dignified and well done. We appreciated the message and then the ordination littany itself.

Ordination Prayers

The challenge to the candidate was excellent and would be good to refer to often. After the 3-hour service, we were hosted for a celebration at Rev. Bete’s house before returning to prepare for return drive to Gemena.

This ordination is significant because it marks the first ordination of a pastor from the church planted by the CEUM in Bangui in 2004. This denomination is called the CEUMA, or Evangelical Community of the Ubangi in Mission in Africa. Today there are 23 churches and about 1,700 members in the 6 year old denomination.

Reverend Jean Bete with Ordination Certificate

The return to Gemena on Monday was tiring. It takes a while to get everyone moving and then go through immigration and customs on both sides of the river. And then to finally eat, pack the trucks and leave. We left at 11h35 and arrived in Gemena at 7pm.

Tim & Helen Smith arrived last Friday to join our missionary team in Congo.   The Smiths spent 3 weeks in Equatorial Guinea during which they visited their friends and the churches they worked in over the past 10 years.  They also sorted through their belongings and decided what to move to Congo, what to sell and what to give away.  Friday they chartered the JAARS Cessna 206 and flew from Yaounde to Gemena with a few of their belongings.  The rest of the stuff they are moving will come on a later flight.

The Smiths arrival completes the next step of re-establishing long-term missionary presence in Congo, something the CEUM has requested for years and the Covenant has desired to do.  We arrived in early April and now our teammates are here to live next to us. Keith Gustafson serves as the Congo Country Coordinator based in the US and makes 4 month-long trips per year to Congo.  He was in Congo in April when we arrived and now again in July when Smiths arrived.

Tim and Helen made these comments about returning to Congo.

Helen:   “arriving in Congo today feels like I have come home.  It feels comfortable to be back in Congo.  The music, the singing, the greetings, the kind of reception were wonderfully welcoming. ”

Tim:  “feeling the warmth of people’s love and their joy in seeing us is very encouraging.  We had a neat feeling coming up to the reception prepared for our arrival.  We could not have imagined that God would bring us back to Congo and yet here we are as we have sought to follow His leading.  We look forward to what He has in store for us here in Congo.

We arrived safely back in Gemena this evening.  3 hours from Gbado-Lite to Loko yesterday and then 13 from Loko to Gemena which included +2 hours in Karawa to repair 2 flat tires.  More stories to come.  We’re pretty tired.