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When Martin Luther was asked what he would do if he knew that Christ was coming back this day, he said that "he would plant a tree".In other words he did not want to be found idle reclining on a couch, nor attending to his own needs or pursing his own pleasures….but rather going about "the business of God".
Even in Congo it is easy to be preoccupied taking "care of one's own business." The time and energy it takes to do anything like withdraw money from a bank (half a day), buy groceries for the coming week (a whole day to find half on one's shopping list), post a letter to the U.S. (it's easier to find someone traveling to Europe), change money (almost as long as it takes to count it at 420 francs per dollar) is at times overwhelming!If it takes us with means, this long, imagine how long it takes our national colleagues.
Last week I visited a Catholic medical mission station, Lukolela, in the middle of the rain forest.Running across the width of Congo from east to west is the Equatorial Rain Forest, a thick and dense jungle with hundreds of thousands of hectares of uncharted land.The foliage is so thick that it can be raining outside (above the trees) but one feels only a fine mist underneath.I experienced this the other day as we came into a clearing…. and were drenched by the skies above.
Deep in the forest, hidden from normal view are villages of Pygmies, people who have little contact with others.The Pygmies live in traditional communal settings deep in the forest avoiding areas readily accessed by the outside world.They are primarily hunters; they have their own language, their own culture, and unique way of living.They very rarely are seen outside their ancestral settings and of course avoid our mission hospitals, clinics and other traditional health care settings.Some Africans believe they are a ‘mystical people' and have special sprits that prevent them from getting ill.I tend to believe they have a unique immune system adapted to their distinct milieu.
The pygmies are a peaceful people with hand fashioned tools for hunting and farming…..and very susceptible to outside violence.We heard numerous reports this past month of rebel soldiers from the civil war in Eastern Congo steeling into Pygmy tribes and brutally slaughtering or molesting the population.Tragic stories.We knew the situation was tense when certain Pygmy tribes even ventured into urban areas seeking refuge amongst the UN peacekeeper troops (though little was given).
My work this past week focused primarily on institutional problems; the rebuilding of hospitals and clinics, the installation of solar lights in maternities where woman have been delivering babies by kerosene lamp, establishment of prenatal and well child clinics, testing water sources and planning wells and pumps where water-borne diseases such as cholera and salmonella abound, ordering medicine and supplies….busy, busy, busy.I did not have time to venture into the forest or attempt contact with the hidden tribes of the pygmy people not far from where I slept each night.Who will do that?
I wonder what the pygmies think of us; are they suspect of all foreigners, African and European alike?Do they die from diseases for which we could readily treat, would vaccination and public health efforts relieve suffering, do they read and write….have they ever heard the word of God?Who will do that in this vast land?Some in our local church in Kinshasa (CBCO) have started an evangelization program to reach the Pygmies hundreds of miles away…but the means to sustain this program is lacking.
When Christ returns will he affirm all this ‘institutional-type work' that I am doing in the Congo, or would he rather that I focus on the individual?Surely God realizes the value of institutions such as hospitals and clinics and schools and the impact these have on the relief of suffering and people's lives.God is aware of how run-down these have become after ten years of civil and political strife in the Congo……and the work we are investing in training personnel and rebuilding health systems.But what about the others?Will God ask why we have forgotten the pygmies in the forest….or if I shared their plight with others?And if I do….who will respond?
In the "parable of the talent" the one-talent servant was cast out into the darkness not because he didn't earn money for his master. ……but rather because he was preoccupied with his own comfort, his own needs, his own life.Rather than spending his life using the talent given him for the good of his master, he buried his talent in the sand……and, in so doing, buried himself.(Greg Thurston, "The Parable of the Talents")
God has given each and every one of us unique talents; some few others many. I wish at times that God had given me other talents; like that of innovation and creativity, of effective speech and leadership, of time management….but he didn't.Rather than dwell on my shortcomings in light of the enormous work before me…..I need to dwell on using these gifts that God has given me (mercy, compassion, energy, diligence,) towards the service of His people and to the glory of His name.I need to trust that he will send others to the field, to complement our shortcomings…..and address these multitudes of needs.
…..If I knew that God was coming today, like Martin Luther, I too would want to be found busy "planting a tree" for the benefit of others, rather than "cutting one down for myself".
There is a need for others to help plant trees….. even in the thick foliage of the Equatorial Rain Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In faith and hope,
Bill and Ann Clemmer
Democratic Republic of Congo