This is from our friends that are heading back to DR Congo. I thought it was interesting information that some of you may be interested in. Blessings, Deb
I have
two sources of information to share with you. First, I just finished reading
Jason Stearns' book Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of
The Congo and The Great War of Africa (Click here
to purchase this book on Amazon.)
Stearns tries to describe the political morass that creates the mind-numbing and soul-grinding Vitamix® blender that is the eastern Congo today. (You need a dictionary at your side just to keep the many militia and rebel group acronyms straight- LRA, RPF, AFDL, FARDC, PNC, FDLR, CNDP, and the ADF to name a few.) This read will leave you shaking your head at the insanity of it all.
Secondly,
for those who do not have the inkling to purchase the book, I have a video from
The Economist website. (http://vision.ae/en/videos?utm_source=utm_source=CNBC+US&utm_medium=utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=utm_content=In-Banner&utm_campaign=utm_campaign=numbers_campaign2)
It gives
a short introduction to the current
socioeconomic and political conditions in eastern Congo. The
Economist is a British news service that centers on issues pertaining to the
world economy. It offers a non-American perspective on what is going on in the
world. Since introspection is healthy, I gain from understanding how others
view the tenuous Pax Americana. Consider this video "Intro to Eastern
Congo Lite."
If there
is ever a place where forgiveness that is not contingent on justice is needed,
eastern Congo is it. This is not to say justice cannot be served here. However,
the not so merry-go-round of serial revenge seeking that roams about eastern
Congo needs to find its end. They say that evil prevails when good men do
nothing. In this case evil simply prevails and something needs to be done, but
what? Where do we seek redress?
Sonia and I leave in a few weeks to put our boots on the ground as we partner with the Congo church to make our own investment in the process of reconciliation through empowering local pastors to be better community leaders. We will concentrate on their training so they will be equipped and empowered to find local solutions to local problems.
As we
head back, there are many more unknowns than knowns for us at this point. As we
all launch into 2013 it would be well if we remembered the last words of Jesus
in the Great Commission: "Behold, I am with you, even to the end of the
age." Matthew 28:20
Assemblies
of God missionaries to the people of the DR Congo
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