A letter from Bob and Kristi Rice in Congo
February 2011
Eating Peanuts and Laughing in Congo
It was Tuesday morning, the first day of February. My cell rang. It was Kristi. “Honey,” she said, “The results of your blood test are positive. You have a mild case of malaria.” Kristi had gone back to the PAX clinic to get my results while I rested. I wasn’t too surprised; I had malaria three times while living in Rwanda. The tiredness I felt was an indication. I was relieved. It was good to know the reason for my sickness. Recovery from malaria requires both rest and taking a curative. I learned in the next day or two that I also had an intestinal infection. Antibiotics were prescribed.
Pastor Mboyamba, friend and colleague.
I do not enjoy being sick more than anyone else. Sometimes when I am sick, I wonder if I will ever feel better. On this occasion of being sick, I was able to learn something special about the Congolese and missionary community around us. It started with Mulami (Deacon) Elisabeth and her husband Tatu Kalonga. Even before my diagnosis, they came over to pray for me. Later that day, Mukulu (Elder) Mpinda and Mulami Simon came to our home to pray. Pastor Mboyamba, our intimate colleague and friend, called or visited daily during my convalescence. And so the calls and visits continued for more than a week. As I eventually, slowly, entered back into life, even people on the street acknowledged my sickness and asked how I was doing. Two Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionaries, Jeff Boyd and Frank Dimmock, upon arriving in Kananga and learning of my sickness, promptly came to our apartment to check on me and pray. Another missionary colleague, Dr. John Fletcher, after making the arduous trip to Mbuji-Mayi, was willing to check in on me before making his way home to Tshikaji. The care and concern for my welfare was humbling (to say the least). It reminded me of how important it is to visit and pray for the sick.
Bob “Disanka” (Tshiluba name) and Tharsisse Bob on New Year's Day, 2011.
The pinnacle of the care and concern I experienced came with the visit of Lutulu Douglas and Tharsisse Bob, two college students from Mbuji-Mayi who live and study in Kananga. They dropped by the following Monday afternoon to see how I was doing. The joy in their spirits was effervescent and contagious. For almost an hour we sat together, ate raw peanuts, enjoyed looking through pictures and laughed. Their visit did something special to lift my spirit out of the ditch. I felt energized and alive after being with these two young, fun-loving guys. I felt like I could take on life again. Their cheerful hearts were the medicine that I needed (Proverbs 17: 22).
This recent experience of falling sick has revealed to me afresh the value of community. In Africa there is a “communal” culture. Thus, looking after one another during times of hardship comes more naturally than it does for us in the West. My experience is also a good reminder that as members of Christ’s Body, we are called to live together and bear each other’s burdens. When one part of the Body suffers, every part suffers with it (1 Corinthians 12:25). Tatu Pierre, a friend and colleague here in Kananga, would often say how much he suffered knowing that I was suffering. He hurt because I hurt. Life in Congo is hard. Without a sense of community or living in Christian community, life would be unbearable. While I was sick, I did not feel alone. I was able to bear the despair due to the love and care surrounding me.
In 2009 Kristi and I read through the Poisonwood Bible, a novel which chronicles the life of a missionary family in Congo in the 1950s. The author, Barbara Kingsolver, describes the incredible challenges the family encounters living in a foreign land. The book is very sad in its characterization of the father and how his misguided religious fervor fragments and eventually divides his family. Yet, in the backdrop of this sadness lie gems that are worth pondering. One special scene takes place between Leah, the middle child, and Rev. Santa, another missionary who has “gone native”:
Rev. Santa smiled at Leah. “What do you imagine our God thinks of this little corner of his creation: the flowering trees in the forest, the birds, the drenching downpours, the heat of the sun — do you know what I am talking about?”
“Oh yes.” Leah said, straight-A pupil as always.
“And do you think God is pleased with these things?”
“Oh, I think he glories in them!” She hastened to say, “I think he must be prouder of the Congo than just about any place he has ever made.”
“I think so too,” he said. “I think the Congolese have a world of God’s grace in their lives, along with a dose of hardship that can kill a person entirely. I happen to think they already knew how to make a joyful noise unto the Lord a long time ago.” (The Poisonwood Bible, page 247).
Cell Meeting of Kananga I Parish (where we regularly worship).
Sometimes I say to Kristi, “Congo will either kill a person or make one stronger.” It is true. The suffering and daily hardships that people endure here on a daily basis are difficult to fathom. Yet, there is also a “world of God’s grace” that can be found as well. I recently discovered this grace in the form of community, most notably the Christian community here in Congo. In the Unhited States, we have the expression that sometimes a person needs to “pull one’s self up by one’s own bootstraps.” If I lived out this expression here in Congo, I would fail miserably and despair would be my only companion. The simple truth is that we need each other. As Christians, we are called to visit each other and pray. We are one Body. When one hurts, we all hurt. Life, I believe, cannot be done alone. We need to live in community. I am thankful for the visits, the calls and the concerns of many. The visit of Lutulu Douglas and Tharsisse Bob serves as a special memory. Eating raw peanuts, looking at pictures and laughing was the extra medicine my soul needed.
Thank you for your continued prayers for us here in Congo...
Bob and Kristi
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61
