“I admit that I have a problem with drinking,” said M. Sani, one of the participants in the recent CHE committee training in Bogbakole. This admission came after Rev. Elenga taught the lesson on “What is Health?” In this lesson the participants learn there is much more to health than simply their physical health. Health also includes their relationship with God (spiritual), their relationship with themselves (emotional), their relationships with their family and neighbors (relational), their relationship with the environment and of course their own physical health. A healthy person is one for whom all these relationships are good; where there are not problems in any of them. Rev. Elenga uses the symbol of a fist with the thumb pointed out as follows: shalom with God when the thumb is pointed up, shalom with myself when I point my thumb my way, shalom with my neighbors and refers to my fingers circling around, and lastly shalom wiht the environment again with my fingers circling.
Exceptional about this confession is that we seldom see public confessions of a problem here in Congo. These issues are hidden, even when they are being addressed. Of course they are not always so common in the US either. We give thanks for Sani’s confession. We pray for the Lord to enable him to confront his issue and overcome it, for good counsel from the local pastors and for support from family and friends. I look forward to hearing from Rev. Elenga after future visits how things are going for Sani.
