Go Beyond

Democratic Republic of the Congo | 24 October 2015

Trouble often lurks in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. After five days of fruitful work among the Congolese Taabwa, trouble came looking for us. We had just finished lunch when I noticed a man walking in our direction. Something about him bothered me — the look on his face, his walk. Whatever it was, I had an uneasy feeling about this guy.

I have had uneasy feelings like this before. Over the years of taking the gospel to hard places I have met too many guys like him. I have been questioned by authorities, followed by police, surrounded by angry people, run out of more than one village, physically pushed by a Muslim imam, and had my stuff confiscated. This guy, I thought to myself, had the unmistakable markings and swagger of trouble.

His first order of business was to identify himself as a person of authority. He was, it turned out, a low-level official who was despised by locals because he is a bully. Although we had all of our documents in order and had permission to be in the village, he insisted that we did not and threatened jail numerous times over the course of what became hours of back and forth.

Over the years I have learned that you cannot reason with bullies whose only agenda is to flex their scrawny muscles and cause unnecessary trouble. When the woman who had prepared our meal asked him why he was causing trouble for us, the guy flexed again. He warned her that she did not know who she was talking to and should be careful lest she and her husband end up dead in the jungle.

By now the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Our partner motioned to us to break camp and to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, a military official showed up and got into a back and forth with bully boy. He told him to back off and that bullies like him are the reason people are afraid to come and bring much needed help to their village.

By nightfall things finally quieted down. We made preparation to sleep under the stars since we had already taken down our tents. We had a sleepless night and stayed on watch lest trouble return in the night. When the sun came up, the bully was back for yet another muscle-flexing round. And then the military guy came to our rescue once again, giving us time to load our gear onto our boat. This time our military ally threatened the bully with arrest and told him to stand down in no uncertain terms. Bully boy finally slithered away.

Going to hard places requires that we do so with the awareness that the enemy is always looking for ways to push back and to extinguish the light. And although we had to leave the DRC a day earlier than planned, two more young men came to faith in Christ the morning we left — a reminder that no matter how hard the enemy tries, he will not frustrate the purposes of God. Ultimately God will prevail in spite of any bullies or any troubles that may come our way.