A letter from Bob and Kristi Rice in Congo
June 2011
This month we hosted the cell meeting for our neighborhood in our compound. Mamu Ngalula (standing) is praying for the requests.
In our frequent attendance at local worship services, we are consistently impressed with the creativity in the preaching. At a recent women’s meeting in Kananga, Christine taught on the story of Zacchaeus and how he climbed a tree in his effort to see Jesus. She focused her lesson on the tree, and challenged everyone with the theme “What kind of tree are you?” Trees can either be helpful, or thorny, or slippery and impossible to climb, etc. I mentioned to her afterward that I was surprised at her theme — I would not have expected the tree to be so meaningful in that story. We are excited to see these examples of our Congolese brothers and sisters studying God’s truth and communicating it in a way that connects in their culture.
Mamu Sophie teaches about the phrase “sons of thunder” at the cell meeting of our parish.
Kasai has traditionally been an oral culture, evidenced by people’s rich knowledge of proverbs, stories and history. We have been impressed with how eloquent people’s speech is when they are asked to speak or pray in front of a group, even when they have not been notified ahead of time! Perhaps another evidence of this “oral culture” is the abundance of choirs in every parish — an average is about four choirs. Each choir might sing twice or as many as four times in a service, and the songs are often long and involved, with several verses. Often the songs describe a story or truth from the Bible, such as Israel’s exodus out of Egypt or Jacob wrestling with the angel. The congregation seems to really enjoy the choir songs, and when a choir’s song resonates especially well with the audience, individuals will even come forward and give money to the choir. Sometimes in a four-hour Sunday service we inwardly groan when the pastor announces another round of the choirs, but the rest of the people in the congregation seem to thoroughly appreciate the depth and energy of the songs. The songs of a choir are a powerful way for people to grasp a truth or learn the Bible in a way that people connect with and remember.
This youth choir from Lungandu parish in Kananga is singing about Job’s faith in the midst of his suffering.”
In our role of working with the Congolese Presbyterian Church (CPC), we have visited many different parishes and regions. We have also attended numerous meetings or worship times outside of church on Sunday. As you can imagine, there are many needs expressed by the church: church buildings, educational resources, instruments, transport, community development projects, etc. Yet, in every location that we have visited, there is one particular need that has been stated unanimously: Bibles, with songbooks a close second.
The Bible is available in Tshiluba and French in our region. The problem is that the price of a Bible makes it prohibitive for most of the population. A Tshiluba Bible in Kananga (the capital of the province) is $10. In our recent visit to the rural regions of West Kasai, we asked people what they would be able to pay for a Bible. Often people responded that they would be able to pay $5 if a Bible was offered for that price. $5 is still a challenging sum for most rural families — it is more than they might pay for a whole semester of school for their child, and it might be the entire profit from a family’s field for a season. But at least $5 puts a Bible within reach and maintains their participation and commitment in the purchase. In the past the purchase of Bibles has been subsidized, but lack of funding has dried up the subsidy. The CPC has expressed a priority and hope for reinstating the subsidy program to make Bibles available, especially in the rural regions of Kasai. We see the challenge as twofold: first, finding funding to subsidize the cost of Bibles; second, ensuring that Bibles reach the rural regions of Kasai.
The Tshiluba book of hymns. A prized possession!
Let us describe a few of the hopes and burdens we have as we consider making Bibles more accessible. In our visit to one of the rural Pastoral Institutes the students said that even they, who are training to be pastors, often do not have a Bible of their own. Women have a significantly lower literacy rate than men, and often one of their primary motivations for learning the important skill of reading is to be able to read the Bible. The choir members who compose songs will have significantly more material and credibility if they have easy access to a Bible, which helps to reduce misconceptions about the Bible. While preaching on Sunday morning is typically restricted to pastors and elders, we have been encouraged to see the broad range of people teaching at other church meetings. The challenge is that when someone is asked to teach, they often have to ask around in their neighborhood to borrow a Bible. Imagine the way that people could be empowered in their understanding of God’s truth if they could have their own Bible!
This boy in Tshikaji shows a rhythmic instrument that he made by himself using a stick and bottle caps. |
Mamu Kapinga Muamba teaches God’s word at a cell meeting in Dikongayi parish, Kananga. |
In our quest to understand and empathize with the challenges of life in Kasai, we have decided to do a “Long Walk.” We selected Demba as our destination, partly because it seems a feasible distance from Kananga. We plan to walk the 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) over two days, July 8 and 9. We will go with a few local friends and want to try to visit some of the churches along the way. The roads are very sandy and rough, and we expect this to be a good challenge of our endurance. We are trying to gear up with some long walks around Kananga. This Walk has a secondary purpose of raising awareness for the need for Bibles — if you or your church would consider sponsoring us $1 or more per kilometer, a lot of Bibles could reach the hands of Congolese! Donations can be sent through the CPC Department of Evangelism. Please designate (if online, in the comments section) that the contribution is for “Bibles.”
“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61
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