At the end of November, Erica and I travelled to North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo to meet with the leadership of the Baptist Churches of Central Africa (CBCA). Driving overland from Kigali, Rwanda, we approached the peaceful waters of Lake Kivu to meet our friend, Dr. Kakule Molo, who would walk us across the Rwandan/Congolese border. Shortly after crossing the crowded immigration check point, a dark storm began to swell over the lake. By the time we made it to our guesthouse, the rain was sweeping through the streets and whipping up the once calm waters of Kivu. We couldn’t help but think of the thousands of fisherman caught at the mercy of the storm in their open dugout boats. As the darkness of evening fell, we retreated into our room, safe from the thrashing rain, but the imagine on my mind was of a similar scene from the Gospels when the disciples faced a deadly storm with Jesus asleep in the boat.
The story can be read in three of the Gospel narratives (Mark 4; Matthew 8 and Luke 8). After teaching at the Lake shore all day, Jesus calls his disciples to cross over to the other side of the Lake in order to getaway from the crowds. Jesus soon falls asleep on a cushion in the boat, but while he sleeps a terrible storm suddenly forms. Soon the boat is swamped by waves crashing over the sides. The disciples, mostly seasoned fisherman, are terrified by the fierce squal. Finally, the disciples wake Jesus crying out, “Don’t you care we are perishing!” To the amazement of the disciples, Jesus stands, rebukes the winds and the seas, and the storm ends -- all is calm. He turns to the disciples and asks, “Why are you so afraid? Where is your faith?"
Street view from Goma
Sudden storms are a part of life in Kivu, but our friends in the CBCA have endured far more than storms upon the water. Volcanic eruptions that have buried their city; geothermic fire has scorched churches; and decades of insecurity, military assault, and, most recently, the attacks of the M23 rebel group have taken lives and destroyed homes. Such storms often come with little warning, and bring great hardship and suffering.
It was heart breaking to meet so many young people affected by the ravages of war and hostility. Although the Rwanda based M23 militants have been dispersed, villagers caught in the crossfire continue to arrive at the CBCA hospitals, victims of gun shot wounds and the devastation of the conflict. I can relate to the cries of the disciples, that night in the storm, when they asked of Jesus “Don’t you care we are perishing!” Even the disciples experienced doubt and fear in the face of the storm.
Erica and Dr. Molo near the shores of Lake Kivu
During our time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we witnessed the faith and hope of the people of the CBCA churches working to strengthen their community through school counselling programs, hospital ministries and support groups for victims of sexual assault. We were moved by the selfless acts of compassion demonstrated in the ministries of these local churches. “Sometimes the violence seems to be too much!” shared one leader. “You see its impacts on the lives of the students in our school. Their families, their friends,.. everyone is effected. The listening room project has provided a safe place for students to come and share their problems. We pray together. We listen. By God’s power their lives are getting better.”
Jesus’ response to the disciples in the boat has perplexed me for a long time. I felt like it was an unkind rebuke -- “Where is your faith?” I could understand the fear and the frustration of the disciples: So often in life, I too cry out to a God who seems silent or asleep. Walking with Erica through Goma, I wondered how our these families could survive such waves of set back and pain. They live in that boat with the storm crashing in.
But that isn’t the end of the story, Jesus’ first response is a demonstration of compassionate power. The storm is calmed and he does not leave his friends who questioned him. Jesus remain in the boat with the disciples, and they reach their destination together. With Jesus they pass through the storm and they are transformed by it. The fear of the disciples shifts from the paralyzing fear of the storm to the empowering fear and appreciation of Jesus’ power. In essence, the crisis of the storm moves them from fear to faith.
In all that we are doing as Canadian Baptists to strengthen and equip or Christian brethren in the CBCA, it is we as Canadians who receive the real benefit. We are learning about faith, forgiveness and the transforming power of God through the lives of our Congolese friends. This is what we call "Global Discipleship”. The Church in Canada and around the world mutually serving and learning together.
Checking out a local Congolese bicycle in Goma
