A letter from Larry and Inge Sthreshley in Congo
November 27, 2011
Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls (Jeremiah 6:16, NRSV).
Dear Friends,
When I read the verse above in a morning devotional, it made me think of all those road trips I took as a child growing up in “the bush” of Katanga Province in Congo. There were usually no signs telling you what road you were on. When you came to a crossroad, you either had to be familiar with the route or you had to stop and ask someone along the way to be sure you had chosen the right road. Often there would be several deviations that would take you around a bad section of the road. Which one was the best? Some would get you to your destination; others would just take you into the mud. Choosing the “good way” was not always obvious.
Campaign posters on a wall in Kinshasa on election day.
As I write this the people of Congo are at a significant crossroad. We are on the eve of elections in Congo. Posters of candidates are plastered all over walls along major routes in Kinshasa. Yesterday was the last day to campaign. We live on a busy street and it sounded like Mardi Gras out there. All day long groups of people paraded up and down the street either on foot or in vehicles, singing, chanting, blowing horns, whistles, and brass instruments, waving banners, and sporting T-shirts promoting their candidate and the candidate’s number on the ballot. I am aware, however, that just as quickly all that enthusiasm and energy can turn into protest and violence.
Tomorrow, Monday the 28th of November, millions of Congolese will be voting to elect a president and others to represent them in government. According to reports, Congo has more than 30 million voters. There are 11 presidential candidates and around 18,000 parliamentary candidates. There are only 500 parliamentary seats, however. Each candidate has his or her picture on the ballot with a number. We are told the ballot papers are huge and collectively weigh 4,000 tons. The electoral commission has had a challenge distributing these ballots to some 60,000 polling stations around the country. Because there are so few roads, most of the election material has been transported by air.
The two top presidential contenders in this election are the incumbent president, Joseph Kabila, and politician Etienne Tshisekedi. Already there have been cries of fraud and rigging of the elections. Many people have been killed in demonstrations and campaigning leading up to the elections and more violence is expected when the results are announced December 6. If they are contested, which is expected, the committee will announce their ruling on the 16th of December. Tensions are running high in Kinshasa and we have been advised by the U.S. Embassy to essentially “stay low” during this period.
Please keep the people of Congo uplifted in prayer during this time. Pray for a peaceful resolution to this election process. In the United Nations Human Development Index Report for 2011 Congo was rated the lowest, 187 out of 187. Please pray that those elected to positions of power and leadership will be moved daily to “look, ask, and walk where the good way lies”; that the people of Congo will be led into a period of peace and prosperity.
Peace and blessings,
Inge & Larry Sthreshley
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61
The 2012 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 102
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