Congolese stories

A few of the stories we've heard from friends, glimpses of their lives.

Robert*: translator for a local translation project, recently received graduate degree in Bible Translation from Shalom University here in Bunia.

One day when we were working on Philippians, he arrived about an hour late (very unlike him). At tea time, we found out what happened. A neighbor had come begging for him to help sort out a problem with her husband. Robert tried to insist that he couldn’t stay, but the family really needed him. They are Muslim, but they insisted that he, as a pastor, was the best one to help them out. The husband of the family is a local leader, the “chef d’avenue”. He is also a muezzin at the local mosque (sings the call to prayer). The problem is, he drinks a lot and chases other women. And their children are “in disorder” (as the expression goes). So Robert talked with them, and he read Scripture passages explaining to each one how they should behave. They were very grateful, and Robert was then able to come to the office.

Charles: Translator for many years with a different local translation project, close to completing translation of the whole Bible.

Several years ago, Charles had a scholarship to do a Master's degree at a Nairobi university. Since then, he has been back in Congo working on his language's translation, which is sponsored by a different Bible translation organization than ours. When the translation is finished, he will make an excellent consultant for other groups. For reasons we do not fully understand, none of the translators in his project have been paid in several months. Most people here don’t keep reserves of money, so we don’t know how he is getting by. But he says that God called him to this work, so he has to keep on with it. He also –- like so many Congolese we know –- has children who are struggling to find their way. When he had a scholarship to study in Nairobi, he used that money to send one of his sons to medical school. But when Charles graduated and the scholarship money stopped coming in, he had to pull his son out of school. Now he is back living with Charles and his wife, unemployed.


* names have been changed for privacy