Democratic Republic of Congo
We’ve just received an update from our team on the ground in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where they are organizing six massive Gospel Campaigns…
We’re ready!
I’m excited – we’re all excited! – because we are now just days away from the start of CfaN’s Gospel Campaigns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Starting on 31 July, we will be conducting six mass campaigns in this Central African nation. It has been over 30 years since CfaN was last in this particular region of Congo. In fact, it was so long ago that the country had a different name back then – Zaire!
Getting to this part of the Congo is no easy task. Where CfaN is going is the rural heartland of the country. Conditions in these regions are difficult to imagine if you haven’t been there. In some ways, it’s like going back in time, as most people live without modern amenities like running water and electricity, things you and I take for granted. There are very few real roads, and the roads that do exist are often impassable due to torrential tropical rains. Two of the towns we are going to are so isolated, they have never had anyone from outside come to do an evangelistic campaign.
But Jesus loves the people of the Congo! And where He tells us to go, we go, despite the obstacles and hurdles along the way. I am confident in telling you that we have the very best team of campaign organizers in the world. That’s not a vain boast or some kind of flattery. I don’t know of any other team of people in the world doing what they do, at the scale they do it all at. If you knew how few people lay down their lives to make these events happen, I think it would surprise you. Every one of them wears many hats, juggles many responsibilities, and makes sacrifices that the vast majority of people would run away from. Without them, it wouldn’t matter how many preachers we had trained up, because there wouldn’t be anywhere to preach! I love them and honor them for their service and obedience.
One of these talented and hardworking campaign organizers is Vojtech Trcka, CfaN’s Senior Campaign Director in the DRC. He shared a little with us about how the preparations have been going.
The journey to the Congo
There are many challenges when it comes to logistics in a place like this. One of the biggest is transportation. Just getting the campaign organizers from one city to the next can be very difficult, especially when the weather is bad. But it’s not just difficult within the country.
To get the CfaN equipment here (the stages, lights and sound equipment) has been a weeks-long process. If you look at the map, it doesn’t seem like it’s that far from Nairobi in Kenya (where our trucks were) to the campaign locations. Yet, it took literally three weeks, and we were very happy it was so quick! Crossing borders with trucks in Africa is a long and sometimes frustrating process. It can take days – or even weeks – of waiting to go from one country to another. For these events, we needed to get our trucks through three different borders. Each time, the team would wait for days, praying for favor and trusting that the Lord would make a way.
Borders are not the only challenge. The rough driving conditions and brutal African heat take their toll on the trucks. Many tires must be changed and breakdowns need to be handled by the team themselves. There’s no roadside assistance to come and rescue anyone – our team need to be able to handle repairs at the side of the road.
Massive local church commitment
Despite the difficulties getting from one place to another, we have seen an incredible response from the local churches. We have over 3,680 churches involved – the most we’ve ever seen – and the attendance at the pre-campaign pastors’ meetings has been far above expectations. Working with the churches is the biggest priority as we build towards the campaigns. It’s the churches that supply the volunteers who become ushers and counselors during the events. And it’s the churches who must be ready to welcome and then disciple massive numbers of new believers.
So, our team spends months getting them ready. We hold teaching and training sessions for the volunteers, so they know what to do during the campaigns. And we help the church leaders, showing them how to set up new believer groups and how to integrate new converts into their congregations.
One of the most important aspects of this preparation time is building unity among the local churches. Many have never worked with anyone outside their own denomination before. Discovering that they are indeed “one body” is crucial, not only for the success of the campaigns, but also for the continued growth and development of the local church when we are long gone.
Putting aside comfort for the Gospel
For most of the past few months, we’ve had a small core team of 13 people shouldering the massive burden of preparing six Gospel Campaigns in the DRC. In these last weeks, they were joined by CfaN interns to help with the final preparations. These interns are people who have completed one of the CfaN trainings (Bootcamp, SOE or Fire Camp) who feel called to serve in Africa for a time. They expand their own skills and experience and are an invaluable help to the onsite team. As well as campaign organizing, they also spend time doing Youth Campaigns and street preaching in the final build-up to the events.
For all these people, committing to work on these campaigns comes with a big personal cost. Many are stationed in places where there are no hotels in the western sense, no restaurants, no malls, not even supermarkets. They must learn to manage with little or no access to electricity and running water most of the time. If they fall ill, the nearest hospital may be hours away. They all know that choosing to say “Yes!” to the Lord for this time could even cost them their lives. But they also know that there is no better place to be than right where the Lord wants them!
They know that their own comfort is a small price to pay for the great reward of thousands upon thousands coming to salvation. They know that they are going to see these precious people healed and delivered and saved by Jesus. They know with total assurance that this is what is about to happen this coming week, and it’s worth every sacrifice and every sleepless night.
Will you give up some comfort for the Gospel?
I want to ask you today – are you willing to surrender a little of your own comfort for the sake of the Gospel? Could you give up that cup of coffee, those new shoes, that weekend away? Will you put a little of your own comfort on the altar so that “some might be saved”?
Together, I have no doubt that we will see a godly impact on this forgotten corner of the Congo that will change lives, change families and shake entire towns. Thank you for praying for us – please don’t stop! – and thank you for helping us to go.
Together with you for the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(here with the worldwide CfaN team)
The tire change was essential after the long trip, especially since some were over 12 years old.
The MAN truck has an engine problem that we cannot fix here. We discovered this in the oil pan. The other trucks are running well. In the meantime, some CfaN staff have flown to Mbuji Mayi to prepare for the upcoming Gospel Campaigns.
We will soon start setting up our equipment in two different cities for our upcoming Gospel Campaigns. Currently, we are working on repairing and preparing our trucks and trailers to ensure they are ready for travel after the six events.
Meanwhile, some of our own trucks struggled with the rough roads due to their long axle spans, low height, and numerous undercarriage boxes.
We reached Lubumbashi with two trucks by evening, but our MAN truck encountered engine problems on the last 250 km. Fortunately, it could be transported on a lowbed trailer back to Lubumbashi for repairs. I will use the Mercedes truck to collect the trailer from the MAN, and Ramlan will handle the repair if possible. Let's pray for a quick solution!
Our final local 8x4 truck has successfully arrived with the rest of the equipment!
Today, we made progress once more, albeit at a slow pace.
Slowly driving back with our trucks to the next big city in Congo.
Update
We made the decision to transfer our equipment onto local 8x4 trucks capable of navigating this road, despite them also getting momentarily stuck in deep sand. Nevertheless, they were able to proceed.
Once we receive the spare parts for our Shacman truck (fifth wheel) from Lubumbashi, we will resume our journey with all our trucks towards Kamina.
Our equipment will be sent directly to our venues in Mbuji-Mayi and Kaminda. We are determined to keep moving forward, as giving up is not an option for us.
Please pray for strength and a safe journey for everyone involved. Thank you!
While waiting for a new fifth wheel to arrive, we will load the equipment onto another truck to transport it to the destination.
One truck had a broken fifth wheel, and the other truck had its fuel tank damaged.
Managed 10km today.
Another Day
The roads are dangerous and require a significant amount of time to navigate, adding to the difficulty of their mission.
We only covered 70 km today because some of our trucks are having serious problems with these roads.
After 11 hours, we managed to cover 77 km by 6 PM. Tomorrow is another day...
Tech team crosses border into Congo, advances with trucks. We are making good progress, having covered 330 km.
Our team is organizing SIX mass campaigns in five cities in the rural heart of the Congo, where there is very little infrastructure.
The co-operation and anticipation amongst the churches is unprecedented. This is the Church Mobilization Committee meeting in Mbuji-Mayi, where they have already connected with over 2000 churches in the city.
The team was stuck overnight in a village. The kids wanted to say goodbye.
Crossing the Congo River by ferry
Stuck on the way to Kabinda
The region we are in has very little infrastructure – hardly any roads, no electricity and no running water
“Father’s Meeting” in Ngandajika
We meet with the pastors and church leaders in each location.
A team meeting at our rented house in Mbuji-Mayi, where the team is organizing one of six campaigns in the Congo.
Our team is up against the most challenging logistics we have ever encountered. Our Tanzanian directors have told us that they have never seen poverty of this extent until they have arrived in central Congo. God has been incredibly gracious to us and all our preparations are progressing well – we have permits for campaigns, promotion plans and are now working towards massive All Pastors Meetings.
Scouting to find the best field to use for the Gospel Campaign in Kananga
Two of our five cities have never had an international campaign. The other cities last had one over 30 years ago and feel the impact to this day. When we announced we were coming back, tears of joy filled their eyes and they warmly welcomed us, adjusting everything around the campaign. Rarely do we see such dedication.
