Hope 4 Congo

One Seed, Part 1

We are more than conquerors. The powers of hell can never separate us from God’s love. The story of David and Svea Flood, missionaries to the Belgian Congo, illustrates this truth of God’s faithfulness and unfailing love even during the darkest hours.

God begins a work, bringing life and light to people and nations. His light grows ever brighter over time despite human events and Satan’s efforts to thwart God’s work.

At times as you read this 4-part story of the Flood family, it may seem as if the light is gone, but be encouraged. The story’s not over yet.
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David and Svea Flood’s story is adapted from their daughter Aggie’s personal account.

One Seed
Part 1

In 1921, a missionary couple named David and Svea Flood went with their two-year-old son David, from Sweden to the heart of Africa—to what was then called the Belgian Congo. They met up with another young Scandinavian couple, the Ericksons, and the four of them sought God for direction. In those days of much tenderness and devotion and sacrifice, they felt led by the Lord to go out from the main mission station and take the gospel to a remote area.

This was a huge step of faith. At the isolated village of N’dolera they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his village for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to go half a mile up the slope and build their own mud huts.

They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. Their only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood—a tiny woman, only four feet, eight inches tall, decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And in fact, after many weeks of loving and witnessing to him, he trusted Christ as his Savior.

But there were no other encouragements.

Malaria struck one member of the little band after another. In time, the Ericksons decided they’d had enough suffering and left to return to the central mission station. David and Svea Flood remained near N’dolera to go on alone.

Then, in the middle of that primitive wilderness, Svea became pregnant. When the time came for her to give birth (1923), the village chief softened enough to allow a midwife to help her. A little girl was born, whom they named Aina (A-ee-nah).

The delivery exhausted Svea. She was already weak from bouts of malaria. The birth process was a heavy blow to her weakened stamina. After seventeen desperate days of prayer and struggle, she died.

Inside David Flood, something snapped. His heart full of bitterness, he dug a crude grave, buried his twenty-seven-year-old wife and took his children back down the mountain to the mission station.

Giving his newborn daughter to the Ericksons, he said, “I’m going back to Sweden. I’ve lost my wife, and I can’t take care of this baby. God has ruined my life.” With two-year-old David, he headed for the coast, rejecting not only his calling, but God himself.

End of Part 1, but the story isn’t over.

Join us next week for Part 2 of the Floods’ story. So you don’t miss out, click on FOLLOW US. In the page that opens, fill out your email information on the right hand side of the page. Our posts will be delivered directly to your email inbox.

Praise Report & Prayer Requests
• Charles Buller thanks all of you who held he and his team in your hearts during the most recent Congo Leadership Support seminars in Congo (September 25 – October 7). He said, “I believe the Spirit met all of us—presenters and participants alike—in profound ways that certainly exceeded my expectations. 250+ brothers and sisters joined us for these transformative events—many who walked well over 100 kilometers to do so. Please pray a blessing over these dear souls.”
• Continue to pray for the political situation in Congo.

Faith and Action

A Word from Brad…

How often do we see someone or some situation that moves us to help yet just don’t know how or what we can do!

Our family evacuated Congo in 1964 along with many other missionary families. My brother and I returned for a visit in October 2007.

At the end of that visit we left Congo feeling helpless to help. We didn’t know how, when or where to begin.

The words of James came to mind: “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well.’ ”

We knew we were going back to a life of abundance and warmth and food in America. We were leaving our brothers and sisters with only words and no observable action.

We were convicted that we needed to act. Out of this conviction Hope for Congo was born.

Since that time we have been blessed to provide safe drinking water, generators, carpentry tools, medical equipment, hospital beds, educational assistance, computers, Bibles and the list goes on. All this with monies received from caring individuals such as you who have heard of the need and have chosen to express your faith through the action of giving. Hope for Congo is simply a conduit, through which we, as people of faith, can move beyond mere words.

The needs continue. Our goal is to come along side our bothers and sisters adding action to our faith. Action that will help them become self-sustaining. Someone has said, “If you want to be used by God, find out where God is working and join Him.” Hope for Congo continues to join God at work among brothers and sisters in need.

We need to maintain a long-term view when it comes to living out our life of faith. Without this long view we find ourselves disappointed and disillusioned with God and with others. God’s work is ongoing, moving from the past through to the present and continuing on into the future.

During the next several weeks we want to share life stories of God’s long term work in Congo.

As I heard it said the other day, “Put your yes on the table and God will place it on the map.” Our desire is that these stories will move you to put your “Yes” on the table and watch God work.

~Brad

Prayer Requests:
• Please continue to pray for the political situation in Congo
• Praise that Charles Buller & his team have returned from Congo (Hope to share news soon)

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From the Bush to the Bush, Part 3

GUEST POST
Today we complete the Guest Post by Matthew Harder. Click these individual links if you would like to read Part 1 and/or Part 2 of Matt’s story.

From the Bush to the Bush, Part 3
by Matthew Harder

I sat on an ice chest in the cockpit of an old Russian Antonov airplane because the rest of the plane had been overbooked with people and cargo. It was literally standing room only.

Right before take off people pounded on the cockpit door and shouted, “The door is open.”

I tapped the co-pilot on the shoulder to alert him. He stopped the airplane and closed the door. Somehow we managed to arrive safely.

The usual difficulties of travel in Congo confronted me. I spent a day obtaining obscure permits and licenses to travel from Tshikapa to Nyanga (these additional regulations were mostly due to the diamond mines).

The next leg of my trip was overland on a motorcycle. Two flat tires necessitated the use of locally produced glue to patch the tubes. We crossed a river using carved out tree logs.

A blown out piston required my driver and I to walk through the bush in the dark looking for another mode of transport. We ran into an angry policeman who accused me of being a mercenary. My driver venomously insulted the policeman’s tribe to the extent he was nearly thrown in jail.

I found someone with a motorcycle and bargained with him to take me to Nyanga. The policeman saw me negotiating around a campfire at 10:00 p.m. and became irate once again.

Matt's Nyanga home, a shell of its former appearance — Matt’s Nyanga home, a shell of its former appearance

Finally, I arrived at Nyanga at 11:00 p.m. I had never notified anyone I was coming. I found a house with a light on. Men who had worked with my dad on the SEDA farm sat outside. Their surprise at my arrival quickly changed to the warmest welcome I have ever experienced.

During my visit to Nyanga stories relegated to the distant past—long forgotten experiences that seemed to balance in the realm of myth now were validated reality. Our house, the farm, the village, and the people opened a floodgate of memories. It was all true. I was even able to understand and speak Kipende again.

When my visit was over I was able to put away the rich memories of this experience into a secure vault. We returned to Tshikapa by a different route to avoid the insulted policeman.

For a while my desire to return and/or to travel had been more from nostalgia or running away. I was restless and unsure what I wanted out of life. However, the Lord used those positive experiences I had growing up in Congo—the exposure and the adventures—to greatly influence me. I had seen a world that lived with far less.

The Drive that Pushed Me to Go Overseas was Two-fold:
1. A Christ-influenced desire to make a difference and help those less fortunate
2. To Pursue a life where I could choose my own adventure

During my first year on the job back in the bush, the bush of war-torn South Sudan, the restlessness molded into a sense of belonging to an international life, one that chased challenging professional growth while making the world a better place.

I have just spent the past four years working in South Sudan (most of the time being spent in country) and am now transitioning, once again, to a new job, this time in Saudi Arabia.

Often times the path to get to where you want to go is not straight, but instead ventures through years of preparation and self-discovery.
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Well said, Matt.

Thank you for putting your experiences and emotions into words. God obviously had a purpose for all that restlessness. Indeed, He has a purpose for restlessness in each of us.

You have made us for Yourself (God) and our hearts are restless until they can find rest in You.
~St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.)

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Congo in the News
The U.S. State Department has ordered family members of government personnel to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo because of continued instability. In recent weeks tehre have been violent street protests against the postponement of presidential elections. At least 50 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and the security forces in the capital, Kinshasa. The east of hte country remains lawless, with the government unable to exert much authority outside urban areas.

Prayer Requests
*Please continue to pray for the political situation in Congo.
When the state deparment order was posted a former missionary noted, “Wow, 25 years almost exactly to the day from when many of us left before, with great hopes certainly that things would be better by now, surely.
*Pray for the safety and ministry of Charles Buller and his partners

News from Congo

We’re interrupting Matthew Harder’s story this week to send you the following.

News from Congo We’ve received this important information via Jimmy Shafe with Rivers of the World–Congo. He shared a letter from Gwenda Fletcher below. The need is urgent for 23 children in Ditekemena. Please consider how you may help. Prayer and financial suggestions are at the end of the article.

Yesterday (Monday) saw a return to calm and quiet in Kananga and Tshikaji. Many services that had been suspended (hospital employee vehicle, motorcycle taxis, public busses) resumed and shops in Kananga that had been closed since last Thursday reopened. The barriers between town and Tshikaji were removed and it is now possible for us to move about freely. Tshikaji primary and secondary schools will stay closed for the rest of the week and if things remain calm, will reopen next Monday. In Tshikaji, the availability of staple goods is limited and as a result prices have risen sharply. We are told this is because folks aren’t yet ready to believe the calm will last so they are hanging onto what they normally would sell. We just heard this afternoon that passenger flights are scheduled to resume on Thursday.

On Sunday, when the military came through Tshikaji in search of militia and did a lot of shooting of rifles and firing of mortars (Praise the Lord there were no casualties) things were fairly quiet in town and the director of the Ditekemena Centre took advantage of the calm to move the children to various homes closer to the centre of town. The 23 kids are spread among 5 different homes. Unfortunately, the food stores at the Centre were looted and all of the food stolen. That leaves the program in a tough spot because with the arrival in early September of 10 refugee kids the funds they had for 13 children suddenly had to stretch for 23. With various complications related to the CPC treasurer’s absence due to illness, Pastor Mboyamba’s visit to the US, normal processing times and the recent disruptions, the program doesn’t have any funds on hand. Thankfully, some generous folks have sent donations to PC(USA) for the program and we hope the money will arrive in Congo by the middle of October, but for the moment things are rather desperate. There was to have been a meeting of CPC leadership last Thursday to prepare an appeal to CPC churches for help with the costs related to the sudden arrival of the refugee kids but of course the meeting was cancelled when the violence erupted. We hope the leadership will be able to meet this week so an appeal can be made in all area CPC churches this coming Sunday if conditions are stabilized and services are held. The director of the Centre has contacted the pastors of CPC churches in the neighbourhoods where the children are distributed and has asked them to mobilize their congregations to help the host families feed and care for the children they have taken in. Please pray with us that the response will be generous, that like with the loaves and fishes it will be multiplied to meet the need and that these kids who have all experienced significant loss and trauma in their short lives will now experience an outpouring of Christian love and concern.

Prayer Requests:
• Please pray for these children and their caretakers
• Please continue to pray for the political situation in Congo

Opportunity to Bless These Children:
A donor has pledged $1,000 immediately to match the first $1,000 pledged by others.
Your contribution can be sent to:
ROW-Congo
3640 Hewatt Court
Snellville, GA 30039

We will return to Matthew Harder’s story next week. Thank you for your understanding.

From the Bush to the Bush, Part 2

GUEST POST
Today we continue Part 2 of Matthew Harder’s guest post. Click this link to read Part 1.

From the Bush to the Bush, Part 2
by Matthew Harder

The environment of the private Christian college I attended fueled my restlessness. I was surrounded by its monoculture, its materialistic, small sliver of humanity and way of thinking. While this did lead to the redefinition of my personal faith, it also made me realize again, despite my appearance, I did not relate to those around me.

During my sophomore year of college we were forced to choose a major to study. As I tried to decide there was a moment when I was struck with the sense that I wanted to return to Africa. I wanted to build roads, bridges and infrastructure there to help those less fortunate.

This verse ran through my mind:
“…From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…” Luke 12:48 (NASB)

The eye opening exposure of my youth impacted my desire to return to assist those in need, to try and make the world a better place. I wanted a combined profession—one that suited my personal altruistic drive and quest for adventure.

I had been given a great growing up experience, an exposure to adventure and a world beyond the American shores that didn’t allow me to settle down. Meanwhile I gained a marketable education in civil engineering. Fortunately, my strong points were in the sciences and math.

For several years I worked in the corporate world going through what I considered the pre-requisite process with my sights set on returning to Africa. The restlessness kept me going—an unquenchable thirst for new countries and adventure.

The years dragged on. Finally I caught a break and was hired by an engineering company. They were building critical infrastructure in the war torn country of South Sudan.

I stepped off the airplane in Africa’s suffocating hot humid air. Sweat poured down my back as I stood there. Unique bird calls, sounds of everyday life and vehicles, the friendliness of people all combined to create something familiar and alluring. I felt welcomed by it all.

Even the headaches were somewhat endearing since this was my chosen adventure. It was all part of the package and I just rolled with it.

To further satisfy my restlessness, I returned to Nyanga when I was twenty-five years old. It had been over fifteen years since I was last in that village, ten years since I left Congo (then called Zaire).

The journey from Kinshasa to Nyanga is a story in itself with all the typical Congolese headaches and problems.

End of Part 2
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This is a good place to stop since it gives us something to look forward to next week. Join us then for Part 3. In the meantime, here are some news items and prayer requests.

News from Congo:

According to Reuters, there have been anti-Kabila riots in Kinshasa this week. Estimates vary, but between 30-40 people have been killed or injured. The Congolese government officials now state they will hunt down and punish those responsible for the riots. Link to the full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-politics-idUSKCN11R1TG
Charles Buller and his team from the Congo Leadership Coaching Network arrived in Congo this week. He reported: “…given that streets were still largely vacant due to events of the last two days, we made it into town in 40 minutes (that’s fast!). Very thankful for traveling mercies so far. Thanks for keeping us and our Congolese sisters and brothers in your hearts over these next three weeks. By God’s grace we’ll keep walking forward under the Cloud and Fire (Ex. 13:21).”

Prayer Requests:

Pray for Peace and Stability in Congo. May cooler heads prevail.
Pray for Safety and Blessing on the Ministry of the Congo Leadership Coaching Network’s team

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From the Bush to the Bush, Part 1

GUEST POST

Children of missionary parents experience firsthand the richness of another culture. Yet they often struggle to come to terms with their life experience.

Moving between cultures before he has had the opportunity to fully develop his personal and cultural identity is what defines a “Third Culture Kid.” His values and modes of behavior take on a different perspective than that of his peers who have not experienced another culture.

Feelings of identity, sense of belonging, rootlessness and restlessness provide challenges of which the outcome cannot always be predicted. Each person struggles with the same issues. However, the struggles and outcomes are unique with each individual.

Matthew Harder shares with us that richness and struggle. Join us for the next several weeks as Matt reflects and shares his insight as a “Third Culture Kid.” ~Brad Graber

From the Bush to the Bush
by Matthew Harder

Where are you from? Where is home? Over the years I’ve been asked such questions and rarely had a straightforward response.

How do you answer questions like those when you’ve spent a significant portion of your youth running around barefoot in a remote village of the Congo (then called Zaire)? Outwardly I looked like a typical Midwestern white boy from the United States of America.

My appearance belied my experience. This juxtaposition influenced my view and how I interacted with the world. Eventually, it led to my return overseas to work as an adult.

I grew up as a missionary kid in the village of Nyanga. My childhood in the village and on the mission farm was simple and full of adventure. I spoke Kipende with my friends, played soccer barefoot, shot birds with homemade sling shots while always mindful of deadly snakes.

The fact that I lived in a foreign land, spoke a foreign language and had diverse exposure didn’t occur to me. I was a white boy surrounded by the African bush—a minority without knowing it.

When I reached the age of ten, I spent a year at a mission-boarding hostel while I attended The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK). After our family moved to Kinshasa I continued my attendance at this international, culturally diverse, and academically solid school.

During my mid high school years I returned to the USA. I was faced with a common missionary kid (MK) or third culture kid (TCK) complex. I looked like everyone around me, but my internal perspective was different. Specifically, my global awareness and interests didn’t fit in. Plus I lacked any pop culture knowledge.

Since speaking about my experiences and interests didn’t fit in, I spoke little about it. I suppressed and almost forgot a large part of who I had been.

It wasn’t until my first year of college that I accessed this forgotten part of me. I met other missionary kids. Even though we had grown up in vastly different countries and settings, we gained profound understanding as we talked about our experiences overseas.

Through those friendships and conversations, I re-discovered where I came from, understood the complexities better and suddenly restlessness attacked me.

End of Part 1.
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We hope you’ll join us next week for Part 2 of Matthew Harder’s story. Until then, may you experience God’s blessings as you seek Him.

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