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Mennonites in Bandundu Province engage Mennonite Church USA delegation

KIKWIT, Congo — Mennonites in the Bandundu region of the Congo are no strangers to a lack of infrastructure and economic opportunity. They struggle to find adequate transportation and make ends meet, but celebrate the healing and hope Jesus brings them.

Laurent Kamizelo is General Secretary for Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCO), one of three Mennonite denominations in the Congo that are members of Mennonite World Conference. He led four members of a Mennonite Church USA delegation to the Congo through Kikwit, Mukedi and Gungu, educating them on what life is really like for Mennonites in the province and encouraging relationship-building between Congolese and American Mennonites.

“We were initially struggling with the differences between the two groups,” Kamizelo said, referring to American and Congolese Mennonites. “But once we were able to enter into exchange and be honest with each other and learn about our strengths and needs, we were able to make progress.”

“By experiencing each other’s lives as they really are...we’ve begun the process of building this relationship,” said Joseph Malu-a-Gimena, a pastor and secondary school principal in Mukedi. “We’re

The four U.S. delegates – Vicki Smucker of South Bend, Indiana, Stanley Green of Goshen, Indiana, Steve Penner of Reedley, California, and Marathana Prothro of Newton, Kansas – began their journey in Kikwit, a city of about 500,000 people, Feb. 5.

From Kikwit, the group drove six hours to the former Mukedi mission station. Situated atop the savannah with cool breezes, tall green grasses and palm trees, Mukedi is a strong symbol of early relationships between North American and Congolese Mennonites. It is home to multiple vibrant CMCO congregations and has a hospital, health center, schools and old missionary homes.

Mukedi is cut off from the rest of Congo and CMCO. There are no paved roads. There is no electricity (except that produced by a generator) or cell phone coverage (which is available in many other areas). Those who want to use the Internet must travel to either Kikwit or Tshikapa, both of which entail several days’ walk. However, the isolation Mennonites in Mukedi feel is not only a result of the lack of transportation and communication infrastructure. Decades ago, North American Mennonites handed over control of the Mennonite churches to Congolese church leaders.

At Mukedi, the Mennonite Church USA delegation heard comments and questions on how the leadership transition affected Congolese Mennonites. While they were unsure where this new relationship would lead, both groups were there to discern how the relationship should be formed and maintained.

“A friend is also there in the suffering and bad times. In our time of suffering, we felt left out in the cold,” said one pastor. “How are we going to go from here and build this relationship?”

“There are two ways to look at what happened,” Green responded. “One is that it was a mistake. The second is to say it provided a way for the Congolese and Americans to move down the road to come together as equals and that maybe it was a part of God’s plan for preparing us for this new kind of relationship.”

While traveling from Mukedi to Gungu Feb. 8, the delegation visited CMCO congregations in Kinzanga, Dongo Selengi and Lozo where it was greeted with waving palm branches and traditional music. After arriving four hours late in Gungu due to poor travel conditions and lengthy visits in smaller villages, more than 20 leaders from the Central Bandundu District for CMCO in the Gungu area greeted the group.

In Gungu, the group visited two congregations and had an exchange Feb. 9 with many district and lay leaders from the area. Evangelism, health care, education and development were cited as the most important topics for the Central Bandundu District.

“The gift of evangelization and prayer is what we have. We have birthed many new churches, but because of a lack of transportation and communication, we haven’t done as well as we could,” said pastor Eddy Ngumba.

Evangelists often spend days walking from place to place to share their message and to help equip others to be more effective in evangelism. Some use bicycles, which doesn’t necessarily make the journey easy as Gungu sits on a steep hill with poor sandy and clay-like roads.

While the evangelists travel and other men seek work, many women in Gungu are left to maintain their homes and support the life of the church. According to church leaders, women comprise up to 90 percent of the Congolese Mennonite churches.

“I rejoice to see women in the delegation,” said Bena Kangaji, a pastor’s wife and English teacher in Gungu. “What are women in the U.S. doing in terms of development to help support the work of the church? How are women contributing to the church’s future?”

According to Kamizelo, CMCO is working to encourage more women and congregations to see the potential for women in leadership roles within the church.

“It’s important for them to see two men and two women who are not married as being sent from the American Mennonite church,” Kamizelo said. “It shows that in America you don’t just talk about equality, you take it seriously. It’s what we’re working for, but it will take time.”

The Congolese and American church leaders agree it will take time to continue building a relationship. Penner said it’s a process that will need to have significant input from both sides for each group to give and receive the most benefits from the relationship.

“We need to evaluate together the strengths and needs of each other,” Penner said. “The Congolese have good insights to give us about our weaknesses and needs as they see them, just as we are able to do the same for them, but it has to be a process that we go through together as equals.”

Photos available.

Captions:
OldestPastorInMukedi: Mukedi is home to several CMCO congregations. Shown here is the oldest pastor serving in the Mukedi district with members of his congregation outside their church. Members from these outlying congregations joined others for worship in larger buildings and also participated in times of exchange with the delegation.

KidsInGrassAtMukedi: In Mukedi, the site of the former Mukedi Mission Station, congregations are working to help improve educational opportunities for children in their community. Currently, about half of the children in Mukedi, including those pictured, are unable to go to school.