Stories

On a visit to our office today, Bishop Desire and Mrs Claudaline Mukanirwa (Anglican Church of Congo) told us about their work in peace-making and reconciliation in D. R. Congo. Even though many rural areas are unsafe, in January Bishop Desire put his faith in God and travelled to villages near Goma for a 10-day mission focusing on peace and reconciliation. The mission included visiting prisoners and those sick in hospital, a football match uniting members of different tribes and a radio broadcast estimated to have reached 100,000 people. People came to faith, others recovered their faith and the community was united. Many Congolese will give church leaders a hearing on issues such as reconciliation while others may be greeted with scepticism.

Peace and reconciliation has been a priority for the bishop for a number of years. In 2015 rebels in Rutshuru were denying local farmers access to their land unless they paid them money and this was causing hardship. Rainy season came but the weather was dry. Concerned about the local conflict, Desire visited the area and preached about the importance of community reconciliation. The local tribes were deeply impacted by the message of peace. Local soldiers also asked for prayer and underwent personal transformation. The people brought soil to Desire for healing prayer and, the same day, the long-awaited rains finally came! People in the region recognised that Desire’s god was really God!

Please pray with us for God’s love to overcome forces of conflict and violence in D. R. Congo.

• Country

  • Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

• Continent

  • Africa

• Issues

  • Leadership
  • Discipleship