The town of Bunia in Eastern Congo is a quiet town, nestled in the rolling hills of Ituri Province; a former colonial rest stop on the road between Uganda and Kisangani.During a visit not long ago I remember taking a walk through town at the end of the day; watching students with blue and white uniforms laughing on their way home from school, young children crisscrossing the streets rolling steel bicycle rims with wooden sticks, a Catholic priest watering flowers in front of the small church at the entrance to town.

Reports today are everything but quaint; in fact horrific and evil.Following the abrupt departure of foreign troops, this part of Congo has been overrun by ethnic fighters seeking to not only physically control the region, but in a manner that can only be described as genocide, massacre anyone from rival tribes; men, women and children along the way.As fighting reached the town of Bunia our mission colleagues evacuated towards a UN mission station where they were eventually air lifted out, leaving this town of 50,000 to the whim of rebel soldiers armed with machine guns, knives, machetes and axes.We have heard reports from friends and eyewitnesses of a town turned inside out; hundreds have been slaughtered, some left in the streets, others tossed into mass graves.Teenage soldiers roam the streets with human organs draped over their shoulders and a thirst for blood in their eyes.Those they find are hacked and killed in a brutal fashion, which can only be described as diabolical.

Congo has had missionaries for more than a hundred years, many who gave their lives to see the Gospel take root.It is today a country where large parts are still in the midst of darkness, and seemingly forgotten in current world events.I have heard the statistic that, "More people have been killed in the current civil war in Congo than any conflict since World War II".What are we to do?

Our work in Eastern Congo has centered on bringing relief to the millions of innocent victims of the present war; providing medical care, food and shelter.Our larger mandate is to help rebuild and develop health districts…..once the fighting has ended…but that goal today seems more elusive than ever.

Some would say that this may be a time to ‘pull back' and count our losses; that the prospect of doing anything lasting is not only elusive but impossible.However, this does not seem to be what God is telling us to do.I received word today from a Congolese friend and colleague, Dr Jo Lusi who has been in Bunia in the midst of the fighting, serving at a makeshift hospital the UN had put together behind barbed wire. The following is an excerpt from one of his letters … "they lie side by side, on thin mattresses on the floor, with time to think about the idiocy of this war that spares no one.As we pray with each one, the atmosphere of hatred fades into sorrow at the waste of life and potential."

The apostle Paul reminds us that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood but……… against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil" (Eph 6:12) The Democratic Republic of Congo has been immersed in a war where the forces of evil have overcome the forces of good and justice…for a time. It is our conviction that God will not turn his back on those caught in the middle crying for help and assistance…and neither should we.

With hope and perseverance…. from the Democratic Republic of Congo,

Bill and Ann Clemmer
American Baptist Missionaries