A letter from Bob and Kristi Rice in Congo
June 2012
Building a nest
“Kakese, kakese, nyunyu wakamana disua diandi.”
Our language teacher, Elder Muamba Mukengeshayi (left), found a bird's nest for us as a symbol of our language learning.
In order for us to be able to effectively participate in the life of the church, we have to be able to communicate, understand and respect local culture, and connect with people. What does that look like for us? We wanted to give you a few snippets and updates related to those goals.
I remember one incident when we had just been in Congo a few months. A young woman came to our door and said she had a problem she wanted to discuss. We were trying hard to learn Tshiluba, and communication was a struggle. This young woman, Marie José, repeated insistently that she wanted to “kusomba panshi” to discuss her problem with me. I looked around, bewildered; I knew “kusomba” is to sit, and panshi means “on the ground” or “low/down.” “You want to sit on the ground?” I asked. I came to understand that she did not literally mean “sit on the ground,” but rather to sit together for the purpose of discussion.
Bob and our colleague Pierre were covered in mud after working for 2 hours to dig the Landcruiser out of the mud.
We have come a long way, but communicating in Tshiluba continues to be a big priority for us. We recently did an informal assessment and estimated that we are at 2.8 on a 0 to 5 scale of fluency. Our goal is to be at a level 3 by December (that does not sound like a big improvement, but it is!). Two of the requirements for level 3 we have not quite achieved are “I do not try to avoid any of the grammatical features of the language” and “I can understand two or more native speakers talking with each other about a current event or issue.” We made some strategies for continuing to improve. A few of the ways that we are trying to be disciplined about learning are:
1) Practicing on our own twice per week (flash cards, grammar, etc.) in addition to our weekly lesson with our teacher
2) Listening to the local news in Tshiluba on the radio each evening
3) Debriefing with each other after we hear a sermon/teaching to confirm what we understood to be the main points of the message
4) Doing more of our personal devotions (Bible reading and prayer) in Tshiluba
5) Determining that for half the day we will speak to each other in Tshiluba
Down time with friends. Kristi is holding a child who was named after her.
Proverbs, idioms, and regional differences in language continue to trip us up. Just last week a teacher used a humorous proverb in a teaching, and we looked at each other and said “hmm…well, we know he said something about a frog!” Please pray that God helps us to be disciplined and continue to improve. We are very grateful for the encouragement and patience of people around us, and for a very helpful teacher. Mukulu (Elder) Muamba Mukengeshayi, our language tutor, has been an answer to prayer! Very early he taught us the Tshiluba proverb cited at the beginning of this letter, which means “Little by little, the bird builds its nest.” It has been a motto for our language learning!
Connecting with people is more than just words, of course. We enjoyed relationship building time when we got stuck in the mud a few weeks ago on the way to a rural synod meeting. Bob and Pierre, one of our colleagues, were covered in mud at the end after laboring for almost two hours to “unstuck” the Land Cruiser! Later that day we observed a candid conversation in which the synod leadership expressed their frustrations to the national leadership. We were able to understand a significant part of what was said and appreciated the thoughtful explanations that were given and that each party felt heard in the discussion.
We taught about reporting to the leaders of APCS, the CPC AIDS ministry
Connecting with people happens often in the mundane tasks of everyday life. We are stretched in our language skills and our flexibility when we are asked by strangers on the street to pray for them. What a wonderful way to witness to God’s presence and love to those who feel a need of some kind! Last week I stopped by a friend’s house to deliver a message and ended up sitting for a while with the women while one child’s hair was braided. Unplanned visitors at home also help us to seize the opportunity to get to know people and be involved in their lives. Walking provides many more opportunities to spontaneously encounter and interact with people than does driving. These daily opportunities to connect are what help us to feel at home in Congo, and they also remind us of our need for God’s grace to be evident in us.
Learning and knowing Tshiluba helps us participate in the life of the church. This month we participated in an all-night prayer meeting, which was a wonderful time of being encouraged by the faith and love of the Christians in Kananga. We cried out to God together for God’s intervention, for the church, for the country of Congo, for those who are sick, for students taking exams, and for several other issues. A few weeks ago we made a joint presentation on narrative and financial reporting to the leaders of the AIDS prevention and care ministry that is part of the Congolese Presbyterian Church. It felt a little amusing to be explaining a French form in Tshiluba, but this opportunity to strengthen skills was much appreciated by these leaders. In each of these opportunities we are grateful for progress in language, relationships, and a growing “comfortableness” with our role in the life of the church.
We want to be God’s instruments—communicating God’s love and truth with our words and lives. Please continue to pray that God grows us and enables us to be effective participants in his church here in Congo. In the midst of the challenges of life in this environment, it is a significant boost for the Congolese church to know that they are not alone but have Christians on the other side of the world standing with them. We are grateful that God has called us to be “a bridge,” a physical presence as part of that partnership. Your prayers and support of God’s work here are vital for the continued growth of God’s work in Congo!
Kristi Rice
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 102
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