June 23, 2021
Thank you for so many people who have expressed concern for us following our recent evacuation from Nyankunde. It was our first time to evacuate in 9 years and an experience no one wants to go through. It has been an uncertain and destabilizing time for us, but we are thankful to have somewhere to come home to. We were tremendously thankful to have places to live in eastern DRC during the period of displacement in May, and still help with the relief efforts for the many displaced citizens of Nyankunde. We are doing just fine and are thankful to be back in North Carolina for the summer. Even our dog Jacob wanted to travel with us!
We have been physically displaced. Our hearts are displaced too. It has been difficult to know what to say. It is still difficult to put in words what we have seen and experienced. Much of what we would want to say we simply could not, so as not to endanger anyone who is currently in sensitive areas. The security situation and ethic/military tensions have remained very fluid. We read the news about the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia with new eyes, seeing that civilians are sometimes sacrificed as casualties of war. Humanitarian crises occur for a reason and there is usually a strong government hand which causes a lot of suffering. This is also our experience. We tell people that we have felt like characters stuck in a bad movie in which we could not change the outcome…powerless, voiceless. We could interact with the players and even ask questions, but do no more. It was time to get out.
Imagine an entire geographic area, some 30,000 people, simply abandoning their homes in order to seek safety. Many people simply left with the clothing on their backs, a cooking pot if they were fortunate, a sleeping mat, and some food. There were no displaced persons camps to live in so people fled out of the line of fire and built straw homes. They could not return for the food that sustains them daily. They could not return for the elderly or for their animals. People simply had to run for their lives.
“Lord have mercy, Kyrie Eliason.” This has been the theme of our prayers of our last weeks in DRC. After evacuation Emmanuel and I (Lindsey) went to a place called Adi which was very peaceful and the only noise at night was that of cows. We received news one Sunday morning that the military had invaded the town. Our spirits were distressed all day long. Although we were safe we knew that there was no peace in our village. We knew that innocent people were suffering and that there was little which could be done to help. Our house staff were missing and not answering their calls. We pleaded for God’s mercy. The following day we Iearned of the destruction done by those supposed to protect the people. Our house staff gave a harrowing account of being shot at and fleeing on foot and we wept. The military took over Nyankunde and some very difficult things occurred. Thanks to a few courageous staff and the intervention of God, the hospital and MAF mission were preserved and continued to provide medical care. Much of the town was leveled and nothing moved. There were several weeks of ‘dark silence’ when people or goods could not get in. We weren’t sure what would happen and how long the hospital could continue to feed the many people sheltering within its’ walls. It is such a difficult feeling to know that people were suffering, had little to eat, and feeling helpless to do much to help. Every morning we prayed, searching the Scriptures, and sending words of encouragement to our friends and colleagues in exile. Finally after more than three weeks we were allowed to return on two successive days to Nyankunde to bring in food and retrieve some of our personal things. The door to our home was kicked in and our belongings turned onto the floor, our goats were missing. We felt violated but we didn’t lose everything. We were able to go through our belongings, give things away, burn things, and pack up things of value. We weren’t sure what the future held, but it felt good to be able to have some closure.
There are certain images that are preserved in my mind as we have seen much of the destruction of Nyankunde. There are the obvious signs of conflict: burned, bombed out homes, empty streets, charred/capsized cars, overgrown fields, looted stores…and most of all SILENCE. But then there are images of people affected by conflict which are more powerful. The first is of a grown man carrying a baby goat in his arms, a pregnant goat in tow, walking down the side of the highway. His son followed with a mattress on his head. These displaced villagers had returned to their village to recover what was most valuable to them. The most valuable things they owned were a pregnant and a baby goat. We wonder where these people will go. All they want to do is survive. They will not be able to live in the city, need to settle nearby, and will likely have to flee again. They are innocent casualties of armed conflict.
The second engraved image is of three elderly people hobbling down the road, like from a bygone era. They could barely walk. Suddenly the elderly man fell in the ditch alongside the road, over his head and could not get out. We were leaving the village after recovering our things. Warren ran out to help, as two soldiers in shorts crossed over. Would the soldiers hurt these elderly people or simply keep him in the ditch? How incredibly sad that we had to wonder what would happen in front of us. As the soldiers helped Warren to hoist him out, we prayed that the soldiers would see them as their grandparents, respected elders. The older women explained that they were coming from Sezabo. They had been hiding out through all the gunfire and fleeing population. They were too weak to flee when the other thousands of people fled on foot. They were only now just emerging. We wondered what they had been eating all this time when it was unsafe to go to the fields. We later learned that they were admitted to the hospital for medical attention, food, and care.
The last one still tugs at my heartstrings. There was a young girl with leukemia who was hospitalized when the conflict erupted mid-April. I had been talking with an oncologist about palliative chemotherapy, but did not have the opportunity to start therapy. We talked about evacuating her so that her last memories were not of gunfire and fear. She was never able to leave the hospital and is buried nearby. This little girl had nothing to do with this conflict and she suffered. At times death is a divine mercy. I will never forget her-this photo is in remembrance of her.
These people demonstrate who loses most from armed conflict: the elderly, the children, the, rural people who have nothing to do with it. They didn’t ask for armed conflict. This is where they were born. They are just trying to farm to survive and much of what they have has been taken from them.
All of this has hit close to home. We know things. We have witnessed suffering. We experienced personal loss of goods and home, but we did not lose everything. Even our pets went through a traumatizing experience. We have been sad, angry, and confused. The local Congolese church is struggling. It is difficult to know what to do with everything that happened-to know the way forward. We are resting and putting it before the Lord asking Him to make things right in our hearts. We are thankful that no one we know was injured in the fighting and that everyone from our hospital was accounted for. We are thankful that we were able to play a small role to relieve suffering, to encourage the staff, and advocate for the humanitarian needs that we have seen. We are so thankful Nyankunde Hospital survived!
These recent events are a scar and have set our village back many years. The spiritual needs of people are tremendous. There is a deep need for confession, reconciliation, and for God to work powerfully among the Bira people. I still believe it can and will happen. Anyone who says that the Congo has been “Christianized” simply does not understand the deep nature of tribalism which threatens to take first place in people’s hearts. It is heavy stuff because sin is heavy and can’t be ignored.
These last days we have been able to talk with friends of ours that have recently returned to Nyankunde. They are thankful for the crops they are able to harvest from the fields, despite the lack of attention these last 2.5 months. They see it as God’s favor on their lives. The Lord has not forgotten Nyankunde. Our dog has adapted to his temporary Congolese master which gives us joy. We ask for your prayers for us as we rest and consider our next steps.
We love to hear from family and friends during our adventures this summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thank you for your prayers.
Blessings,
Lindsey (for us)
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