Congo outreach update
Report on
the outreach to DRC Congo 20-27 April 2019
Dear Friends
– here is the report of the DRC part of
the outreach, please pray with us for this region and ask God to lead you on
how YOU can be involved.
YWAM Bujumbura Burundi DTS
YWAM UVIRA,
DRC
We
trained a YWAM school leader, named Steven Kimbambazi that was a former refugee,
at our base in Potchefstroom South Africa. We were very excited for him to lead
the first school on his own at our base when we got the news that he wasn’t
granted a Visa to come to SA again. Later on we heard that the Congo base want
to run their first DTS and that Steven was going to be the school leader. He
asked me if I was willing to come and speak in the eastern region of Congo in
the city of Uvira on the theme: “Coming of the Kingdom of heaven”. I prayed
about it and felt that it was a go ahead. Uvira is situated on the eastern side
of Congo and reports in the newspapers are that it is pretty volatile there. READ MORE about DRC -
Wikipedia
I
took the pastor of Rhema in Potch with me as he part of our team – he is a
Congolese citizen. He is also really a man of God and I asked him if he would
speak one session in the DTS class which he did with extinction. Before I went
over to Congo, we had the privilege to connect with the Burundi base and there
we spoke the week on the “Father heart of God” in front of 18 students. The
base leader really gave us insight into what was happening in the area and I
got a sense of just how fragile the situation is. Then we got the report in the
news that 27 people were killed close to the Rusizi border in the Rusizi plains
and I was going through that border!
Fahamu Kimbambazi it the base leader of the UVIRA
base – he came to pick me up in Bujumbura (Burundi). As we came closer to the
border on the Burundi side I realised that the base leader of the Congo base
was very well connected. We were very quick through both borders and I saw that
all the officials trusted him. I have learned in Africa that connections are
very important. As we went through the border soldiers from the UN was there on
a vehicle and all of them were from Pakistan. The leader shared with me that 90
mosques were built in that area because of the UN delegation from Pakistan.
Every morning we woke up with the prayers in our ears at 5’o clock.
As we entered into the DRC there were no tar roads
anymore. The leader said: “Welcome to the land of lawlessness.” In the next
week I heard why Congo is where it is and I also got the guidance of the Holy
Spirit how to proceed from here.
@ YWAM Uvira Congo
A vision
form God: I was waiting on the Holy
Spirit to show me what is happening in the spiritual dimension. I got a promise
from the scriptures in Joshua 1:3 “I will give you every place where you set
your foot.” As I was praying the HS gave me a picture.
I saw Jesus
standing before a big open wound which I knew was Burundi, Rwanda and the
Congo. It looked like a meteorite that struck the earth. He threw something
like vinegar in the wound. The vinegar was falling through the wound and I saw
that demons were coming from hell though the wound. The acid drowned the
demons. Then I saw something like a portal to hell closing in the wound and the
demons unable to come through this wound anymore. As the vinegar was drawn back
some dripped on Rwanda.”
The interpretation for me was that the killing will
now stop as demons are bound in that area from now on and that Rwanda was
guilty in unrighteousness and that there will be some kind of judgment that
will come from Jesus on the government of the country that sinned in the war
era. I believe healing will now come to the eastern part of Congo.
A short while later I read the scripture in John
19:29-30 “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put
the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus lips, When he
had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” I knew that what was
thrown in this wound was this wine vinegar that showed to the work that Jesus
did on the cross to redeem countries. I knew the killing that happened in that
area in the last 20 years was now coming to an end.
A true
spiritual planting
I was invited for the 40th wedding anniversary of
the parents of Steven and Fahamu the base leader. I learned that the Father of
Steven translated the scriptures with Wycliffe for 26 years and that he was a
stalwart for the gospel. Not only was he a Bible translator but the whole
family was educated and had 4 lawyers in the wider family. I recognised that
this family is truly called by God. Another family member works for the UN and
the YWAM base is located right next to the UN headquarters in Uvira. So many
things come together in this family. I recognised that this is a true and a
real planting of a base. The first blood of the civil war was also shed in Uvira
- that killed nearly 6 million people. We were holding the anniversary on
resurrection Sunday of Easter as God showed me a vision of the vinegar Jesus
drank before He died. So many things were coming together at that celebration!
I realised this is a significant base that is being started at a significant
time and the history of a country that can play a big role in Africa if
restored.
YWAM DRC DTS
The history
of the war
After the genocide in Burundi and Rwanda there was
a conspiracy to overthrow Mabutu Se Seseko that was a dictator for 32 years in
DRC. Word on the ground is that the government of Bill Clinton and the Rwanda
government trained Laurent Kabila. They used the Banjamulenge tribe that was
looking after oxen in the area between Rwanda, Congo and Burundi to spy on the
Congolese area and to prepare an invasion. The invasion of Congo was an absolute
disaster as it killed over 5 million people in the war that lasted from 1998
till 2003. It was the greatest loss of life since the Second World War and was
hopelessly underreported because of European and American involvement. Although
it can be assumed that the Western powers never intended that loss of life, it
was to light a match in a gas chamber.
The Banjamulenge was seen as betrayers and they
were persecuted by the rest of the tribes in Congo. When 300 young Banjamulenge
were protesting in Uvira after the war, about the discrimination against them,
all were shot and killed. When we visited the refugee camp there was many
Banjamulenge in the refugee camp waiting to be repatriated.
Ministering
into the wound with reconciliation and justice.
Support the
work if the DRC base financially by bursaries
The Holy Spirit showed me different things to pray
for in that area. Our strategy is to give three types of bursaries.
·
The first category: Children saved from
Militia groups
Kids are being saved by the UN that was abducted by
the militias. They are between 14 and 17 years old and a negotiator from the UN
goes into the mountains to negotiate with the militias to give the children
back. 160 were brought back by the UN.
For 300$ we can give a bursary to a kid to do a YWAM
program specifically designed to deal with the trauma and to help the kids get
an introduction into possible further education.
·
The second category: reaching all tribes in
DRC
Our indigenous leaders are willing to find a person
from a specific tribe and to offer them a bursary into discipleship training
school (DTS). This bursary is 400$. Congo has 450 tribes and is one of the
richest countries in the world when it comes to the diversity of tribes and
languages. Through wise investment we can raise one leader from every tribe
that can reach these tribes. We are busy buying the Jesus film for the Congo
base and can be a good strategy to reach the tribes in their own language. It
is of great benefit that the base is led by indigenously leaders.
·
The third category: Winning soldiers for
Jesus
There are 20 militias in the mountains around
Uvira. The outreach team will be showing the Jesus film in this area. When Mai
Mai or soldiers comes to know Jesus, we want to book them into DTS. After they
have done DTS they can then go and preach the gospel to their friends. This
bursary is also 400$.
In Burundi - visiting a coffee farm
OPERATION
REFUGEE does fundraising for AFRICAN DTS schools for refugees.
At YWAM Potchefstroom we have the ministry
Operation Refugee and you can come into contact with us and we will direct you
to pay the bursaries into the YWAM Congo account. We are overseeing the growth
of the YWAM Congo base and will visit regularly so see the growth of YWAM in
that area.
Praise God for His
ways. His ways is to provide education and is not the way of violence and the
gun. Please support these bursaries as it will train wise leaders and stabilise
the area of volatility providing good leaders for Africa in the near future. Any donations for YWAM Uvira Congo will be
appreciated. We share their paypal details at the end of this report.
The role of
YWAM’s University of the Nations (UofN) in Malawi, Burundi and Congo
In these three countries the UofN has the ability
to become the major university The best
way to invest in the UofN is to invest
into bursaries for the students. This is an investment into the student, the
base and the growth of the UofN all at once. There are good and strong bases in
Malawi and Burundi. Through the Operation Refugee bursaries we want to book
refugees into these DTS’s and start to turn around the cycle of war by
education. In this way the UofN can
bring justice and reconciliation in countries that have previously been afflicted
by violence.
The Holy
Spirit said to me: “Turn the refugee crisis on the wars in Africa by using a
catalyst- The University of the Nations.”
The plan is going to work and will stabilise
difficult countries by providing education and raising up good Christian
leaders.
My time with
the DTS
Previously there were a base in the Congo for about
2 years but because of the war it stopped. I believe this new YWAM Base in
Uvira to be the true spiritual planting of Congo. In the DTS we have 6
students. But among the students is a co-pastor of 6200 people in a town close
by. I made the statement: “Churches don’t take nations but disciples take
nations.” He was very inspired and said that the DTS went deeper than his
theological training and he was very impressed by the quality of the DTS.
We were next to the Tanganyika Lake and the base leaders
are building new buildings at the base. Everything is still basic but growing
daily as we got a water pump in the time we were there, that will help the
toilets. Steven is a very hard worker and the base will look very good soon.
They have about an 80 000$ property and God has been good to them. They had a
promise of a bursary for 18 students that fell through just before the DTS. If
we as an international community stand with the Congo base, they have a very
good opportunity to become a very serious base. The two leaders are crucial and
very good indigenous leaders. The fact that YWAM has indigenous leaders leading
the base is a big plus for the security of the outreach teams and the
indigenous knowledge to grow and prosper in Congo. Congo is a little bit of a
universe in its own and you need to know the mind-set of the people and the
ways of the community then you are actually very safe.
We had a very blessed week with a fellow speaker
called Ezron from Kenia and the Rhema pastor that joined us for two days. The DTS
is healthy and I believe they are going to do a great job with the Jesus film
that was promised and will be there soon.
Burundi @ the coffee farm
Is Congo safe for outreaches?
While President Tshishekedi is the president and
there is reasonable political stability, I would say YES! The indigenous
leaders are crucial and with them outreach teams are safe. There is malaria and
illnesses need to be researched well. It is not a place to be arrogant but a
place to serve. Uvira is about 20 km from the Burundi border and the base is next
to the UN. The militia groups are about two days walk in the mountains and the
city is relatively safe. The city has 300 000 people and I would advise
ministry in the city limits for now.
Culture shock can be quite heavy as there is not
always water, electricity or the Western comforts. Next time I would probably
venture deeper with the local connections. I want to emphasize that the local
connections is the key to security. My advice would be for a group reaching out
in the Burundi, Rwanda area to also go one week into the Congo in Uvira and
help and serve the base.
If you are not going to support the base in Congo,
please help with bursaries. It is crucial that leaders are raised in that area
and the U of N can play a crucial role in education in the DRC.
The main languages are
French and Swahili. There are crocodiles and hippos in the lake but it is
relatively safe to swim next to the base
YWAM Uvira
For me it was a great treat to see Steven as he is
a friend of the family. It was very nice to meet his brother and the family of
Steven and it was a great privilege to attend their 40th anniversary. It was a
little bit of a fear zone to overcome but I believe that the whole Congo,
Rwanda and Burundi area are now destined for stability and growth and I thank
God for His mercy and pray that the gospel would spread with a good speed in
Congo especially!
The pastor estimated that
70% of people believe in ancestors and that 90% of the churches mix
Christianity and Ancestor worship. Worldwide I saw that churches struggle to
root out cultural idols, therefore international discipleship is much needed!
Thank
you for your support, prayers
and
that your will keep DRC in your
heart.
Pray to get clear directions on
how
to get involved.
Blessings
Wikus
Vorster,
Base leader of YWAM Potchefstroom, RSA
DONATION INFORMATION
Facebook:
Operation Refugee –Ywam Potch
SA BANKING
DETAILS: Account name: Operation Refugee
Africa NPC
FNB,
cheque acc nr: 626 264 50720 Branch
code: 240438
Reference
– Refugee name or YWAM Uvira DTS
PAYPAL Operation Refugee Africa:: use ywampotch@gmail.com REFERENCE:
Operation Refugee – Donation / DRC DTS fund
Personal donations for the Vorsters - https://www.paypal.me/7Vorsters
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