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Nations - Kinshasa DRC 2008

The population of Kinshasa is over seven million people. It has very long avenues that go for miles and miles with thousands and thousands of people walking and going about their daily activities. There are

countless shops and roadside vendors. And, the traffic is very heavy and congested. I have coined it the “African Los Angeles”. You drive for miles down one street and see thousands and thousands of people and then turn onto another street and it is the same. It is a very large city. I understand that Lagos, Johannesburg and Cairo are even larger. Perhaps, one day I will visit them as well.

We drove past the Stade Omnisport Des Martyrs which is considered to be the largest capacity stadium in all of Africa. I also had lunch on The Congo River with Apostle Oscar Hosseya. We ate a fish called liboke. It was cooked (steamed cooked) in banana leaves. Actually, it is called “Liboke de Poisson” or “Liboke de Viande” and I believe “Liboke” might actually be the name for the method of cooking the fish rather than the name of the fish itself. Once done, it was brought to our table and unwrapped as if being unwrapped out of a paper bag. It was very tasteful. This was a special moment as I have always wanted to see The Congo River. It has the second largest flow volume in the world, second only to the Amazon. Indeed, The Congo River is quite impressive. I don’t really know how to describe it as I haven’t seen a river that I could compare it to. Because of the intensity and speed of the water flow and the wave action on the river bank, I have coined it the “Ocean River”. It is that intense!

On this trip, I traveled with Dr Bishop Pepe Mutiri and Pastor David Bigabwa who are both originally from the Congo but are now living and ministering in the United States. We had the opportunity to minister at very large churches in Kinshasa. We were ministering at the churches of Pastor Andre Tsimba and Pastor Israel Nsembe. These are powerful Men of God who have a heart to serve the Lord and who are quite organized in what they do. They are both involved in building projects. Their church congregations are over 1,500 and 3,000 respectively.

The people of these congregations are fervent and spirit-filled. They are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is impressive to be in one of the services at these churches. It was an experience of a life-time to get to preach at these churches. I was well received by these congregations I might add.

Many in Western Congo speak Swahili, Lingala and English, but, by far, the language of choice is French. The Congolese speak an excellent French as they import much of their TV news and media straight out of Paris.

In fact, while I was there, I saw extensive news coverage of events happening in the United States as it was broadcast over the French news service coming out of Paris. Kinshasa is a very modern city. It is highly culturally interactive with the rest of the world. I have come to the conclusion that some of the news reports concerning Congo DRC, although they may be accurate in fact, perhaps because of the way they are being communicated to the rest of the world, that they are portraying Congo DRC, overall, in a very negative light that is not totally accurate. This is not to say that Congo DRC doesn’t have its share of problems. But, I have seen much of Central Africa and I can say that Kinshasa is one of the more hospitable places I have been in Africa. May the Lord bless the nation of Congo DRC. May she prosper and may the people there experience the goodness of the Lord in this life. Amen.