Congo connection
It never ceases to amaze us how the Lord shows Himself in our ministry. We started praying a few years ago about a French language school to attend before moving to our field. At the time, it appeared that the Lord would have us in France to complete our studies. In 2020, we were ready to start language learning but borders were closed due to the pandemic. We continued to pray and ask if the Lord would have us wait and continue to France when the opportunity opened.
During this time, we were made aware of another French language school in Québec, Canada. The Canadian border was closed as well at that time but we continued to seek the Lord’s will. In short, the Lord answered our prayer and directed us to enroll in the language school in Québec.
Fast forward to our third week in Québec. We found a great, French-speaking independent baptist church about 45min from our apartment. At the end of our first service at that church, the pastor invited us to go with them to an anniversary service at their sending church the following week. We gladly accepted and the next week we made the two-hour drive to St. George, Québec. We were excited to meet a new group of believers, but we had no idea how much the Lord had been working behind the scenes.
That Sunday we met a man named Averty. He is a Congolese man from OUR Congo. We say it like this because we often meet people from the Democratic Republic of Congo (the country just to the east of where we are called). Our Congo is the Republic of Congo.
As we sat with and talked with the pastor and Averty after the service, we learned that Averty has started and runs an organization in Congo. This organization, called Espace Opoko, focuses on helping to provide education for indigenous Congolese students (pygmies). As his organization continues to expand, he has partnered with his local baptist church here in Québec to not only help educate these people, but also reach them with the gospel. They have been praying and looking for a missionary going to the Republic of Congo to have a part in reaching and teaching these people spiritually. The Lord has already begun opening doors such as a gospel radio broadcast going out several times a week!
We don’t know right now exactly what part the Lord might allow us to have with this ministry in the future, but it has already been amazing to see how God is working to direct our steps to the right people. Averty and his pastor have already been a huge encouragement to us. We were willing and prepared to move to Congo with very few contacts and figure things out as we go, but the Lord has seen fit to lead us to friends who have the same heart as we do and the knowledge and connections to help us navigate a new country and culture. It may not seem like a big thing, but just having a friend you can call when you have a question is a huge answer to prayer!
We don’t know all the steps the Lord will have for us while we plant churches in Congo, but seeing how the Lord continues to work both here and in Congo fills us with great expectations of what He will do in the future!