Field Report - DRC, BUKAVU

“Baraka, Baraka, Baraka” was the shout from a group of prisoners as the Flame team walked out of the Central Prison, Bukavu at the end of their visit. The men stood with arms and fists extended as they shouted Baraka over us. More of what this was all about later in the report.

“I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honour in every land where they were put to shame.” (Zephaniah 3:19)

It was a great joy and privilege to be part of the Lord’s plans and purposes for Bukavu, DRC. We were upheld by the Saints in prayer, guided and led by Holy Spirit, sustained and held in the palm of God’s hand, and blessed by the unity of the team. As a result, we saw God at work in many lives. We believe that everywhere we placed our feet, land was reclaimed for the Lord and many lives transformed.

This was a very special mission for me on two counts; it was my last mission as a team leader since I have now stepped down to allow others to step up into team leadership; and a final mission to Bukavu has been on my heart for the past 7 years. When I last visited the DRC pre COVID and 7 years ago, I felt there was a need to return one more time. There seemed to be unfinished business, but it became clear that one more visit was not in God’s plan, so I laid it down and waited. In 2023, Bishop Bahati - Bishop of Bukavu Diocese - sent his usual annual report. The moment I opened and read it I knew that I had to go – my spirit was stirred. I immediately forwarded the email to Jan and within minutes the response was, “You need to go”. The plans developed, a team came together easily, and in the early hours of 21 September 2024, five of us met at Manchester Airport for the 6 am flight to Brussels and onward to Rwanda. Bruno, our sixth team member joined us in Kigali.

It was a joy to have team drawn from Forge Scotland – Jessica and Gary Willetts, and from Forge (N) in Leeds – Rhoda Bowers and Julie Turner. All were new to Flame missions but well trained and prepared on the Forge. We were expectant and very excited to find out what God’s plans were for this mission, and we did not have long to wait.

Bruno was at Kigali airport to meet us, and we enjoyed the hospitality of the AEE Guest House for 2 nights which gave us time to rest, intercede in prayer, and prepare. Our vehicle arrived and we drove the 7-hour journey through the beautiful countryside of Rwanda, with the vibrant colours of the tea plantations - although many of the bushes had been grubbed up for replanting so the extensive swathe of lush green across the hills and valleys was not as I remembered it. Then climbing high into the Nyungwe Forest National Park we saw the Ruwenzori Colobus Monkeys gathered on the road.

With a deadline to meet we could not linger. The Ruwenzori/Cyangugu border crossing closed at 3 pm and we could not miss it. Thankfully we passed through the Rwanda side without too much delay, walked across the new bridge with our bags and were pleased to see the Bishop with some of his clergy to help us through the Congolese immigration.

We started with a four-day Trauma Healing Conference for 78 pastors, women leaders, and youth leaders.
As we greeted our dear brothers and sisters, we saw a lot of trauma in their faces but praise God, on day two some of the trauma had lifted. Most testified to sleeping well. By day four there was a real shift in the spiritual realm as the joy and worship lifted to new heights. We saw fresh faces, brighter eyes, and big smiles. The ‘cross of forgiveness’ was full of red discs representing the many who had been forgiven and burdens lifted off. One pastor testified to his wife being healed from a sickness when he forgave church elders who were against him; others received physical healing.

On the Sunday we preached on Forgiveness in four churches, reaching 530 adults and children most of whom chose to forgive. All were prayed for collectively and 8 received their salvation in one of the churches.

One of the highlights of the mission was to reconnect with Mama Nyota’s group of vulnerable and raped women. She has to restrict her group to 100 women so as to give each one the tender care and attention they need. We had the privilege of receiving 109 women for a one-day Trauma Healing Conference (the extra ladies had come in off the street and were made welcome). Mama Nyota is the lovely wife of Bishop Bahati; It was clear that the Bishop is fully supportive of his wife in this ministry and encourages the ladies by his tender shepherding.

Julie wrote concerning the ladies, and her words were echoed by us all. “From first arriving in our compound in DRC, we could hear the angelic singing of the locals in the church just behind our building. There is such joy in the praise and worship here I thought. Little did I know that this would impact me in the way it did. On arriving to the women’s conference, I expected downcast, angry and unhappy ladies, trying to get through day-to-day life because of what had happened to them in the war, but I was greeted with the same joyous singing and faces to match it! The ladies were singing and dancing and praising God. (Psalm 149:3-9) Their faces, so full of joy. In that instant God taught me that these ladies had learnt to praise God with all their hearts, despite their circumstances and the terrible things they had been through. This will stay with me for a very long time.”

The ladies love being together in praise and worship to God. They love to dance before the Lord, and we gave them opportunities throughout the day. We gave 6 teachings followed by prayers of healing and deliverance and took time to nurture and feed their spirits.

Rhoda was also impacted by these very special ladies and wrote, “They all came to the conference with beautiful dresses in vibrant colours. They found forgiveness difficult, just a few came to the cross. Then we taught on Emotional Healing and Loss and Grief. We asked the ladies to hold a stone as a symbol and pour out all their grief and pain onto the stone and bring it to the cross of Jesus - who died and as Isaiah says, ‘he bore our grief and carried our sorrows’. We encouraged them to take their time, and they did business at the Cross, bringing it to the light rather than holding it all in. It was a really special time to see Jesus touching their hearts. After that we washed their hands which was very moving. We saw many healings - headaches, back aches, stomach aches and God at work in amazing ways.”

At the close of the Conference, we gave certificates then had lunch. This was a grand affair, it was so good to see them eat well, then take seconds to fill a bag to take home and feed their children. The wonderful rejoicing, laughter and dancing is hard to put into words. They were each given a bag containing rice and beans to cook at their places. Their hearts were full and overflowing with thankfulness to God and we praise him for his provision by raising up the sponsor, making this day possible.

Our next visit was to Bukavu prison where we ministered to the male prisoners. The prison was clearly overcrowded with 2029 adult male prisoners, 67 women, 4 girls and 73 boys. Many looked very young. We took food for all the prisoners; beans, casava flour, and salt. We also took 5 Bibles for the chaplain to hand out.

300 male prisoners actively engaged with the teaching and stood around us, but many more were hearing God’s Word. About 250 said the sinner’s prayer of commitment. Many came to the cross to forgive. We ran out of red discs and quickly tore up paper to hand out. The cross was covered with papers and red discs. As we left the prison a group of prisoners who had not been part of the 300, shouted Baraka (blessings) over us. It was a remarkable spiritual change to that of our entry.

Katie wrote: “Val, the leader of the group spoke first, preaching Jesus to several hundred Congolese prisoners. From our vantage point, sitting behind her in rows of primary-coloured, plastic chairs, we saw her figure framed by the faces of hundreds of Congolese men, standing at least 3 rows deep. Most listened with rapt attention. Val’s introduction to the personhood of Jesus, and the power of his cross, was followed by Rwandan team member, Bruno, talking powerfully about Forgiveness. A short drama, (bypassing the obstacle of language) showcased each key message. During the dramas, the semi-circle of attentive faces was enlivened into something akin to Shakespeare’s Globe: young men hung from the metal bars in the buildings behind to see over the crowd, and their rapt delight at dramatic moments of justice and forgiveness brought cheers and applause. Rhoda followed with teaching about intergenerational sin, and each talk was followed by an opportunity to engage or re-engage with God.”

We were unable to minister to the police due to them all being called out for an incident in town, so our final visit was to the senior school where 759 children gathered to hear the Gospel message. About 350 said the sinner’s prayer for salvation and around 50 said they had been healed. It was a joyous time for all and a powerful finish to our time in Bukavu.

Gary and Jessica testified to the unity of the team. “The trip to DRC was a real blessing. I particularly enjoyed the way that, even though we hadn’t all met before and some of us didn’t know each other before the trip, we were all able to act together in unity almost straight away. We all knew unity (not conformity) was important for God to work through us, so we got on with it and God helped us! In lots of ways the trip was stretching, with us having to teach and act out sketches with almost no preparation. We did our best and God did the rest; fantastic to once again have it demonstrated and be reminded that it’s all about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it’s not about us and our excellence. He is Lord! Witnessing the impact that simple truth and the simple teachings about Jesus has to different groups of people has been wonderful.”

We are grateful to the Lord for all that he did. We went to Bukavu as servants of the Lord, to serve the people of Bukavu. I believe we did that strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and with our best offerings. Thank you, Jesus.