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Nubea: Congo Strife Increases Level of Faith
By Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (April 8, 2003) - Pastor Nubea Kafi lived with a family from Thornapple Evangelical Covenant
Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, during most of his stay in the United
States. He has served as vice president of CEUM since 1992. He also serves
as the head of CEUM's Department of the Life of the Church and Biblical and
Theological Education. Nubea said that his people have dealt with constant
civil unrest, but notes they also have seen the constant care of God and
are more faithful as a result.
"Before the war, people were worshiping and were happy to go to service,"
Nubea said. "But after the war started, we've seen that the faith of the
people has increased. I say that it has increased because they thought
about the way God saved them - they wanted to surrender their entire lives
over to Him. It was as if we had worship services that thanked God that we
had survived. It was a very sincere and devout worship.
"After the initial crisis, people were saying that they were missing
clothing and other things and they became discouraged," Nubea continued.
"But the level of faith was still much stronger than in the beginning. I'm
happy with how their faith has grown because it is our responsibility as
shepherds that they grow and mature. That's what Ephesians 4:13-16 says -
you keep growing until the day of Jesus Christ. I think the suffering and
difficulties is one of the ways that people have had cause to grow."
Nubea said that his most difficult struggles occurred around Christmas in
1998 when government forces were dropping bombs near his family's home in
Gemena. In early August 1998, anti-Kabila rebels (reportedly with the
support of Uganda and Rwanda, Kabila's former allies) took control of
several key border towns in eastern Congo and began pushing toward the
capital, Kinshasa.
"I got my wife and daughters and sent them away to the interior," said
Nubea, a father of five. "The Chadeans were lancing mortars and bombs went
over the house. That was a very scary time - I just had to get my son and
leave the home. The Chadeans came and occupied Gemena and since we had a
house near a coffee plantation, they came with trucks and they looted my
house. They thought I was associated with the plantation owner, who was a
rich person. Everything was stolen. That was a hard time for us and we fled
with nothing in hand."
But Nubea found God even in the worst of it all - he remembers God leading
him out of harm's way as he drove out of town. "We left Gemena and fled to
Karawa (another Covenant mission station) and before we got there, there
was another small road. We went off the main
road, and it was a good thing we did that. About five kilometers down the
main road, there was a roadblock and soldiers were indiscriminately killing
people. It was provoked by one of the rebel soldiers who shot a Chadean
soldier and fled. The Chadean soldiers were so mad that they began killing
everybody. We know that it was by God's providence that we turned."
Nubea called the Annual Meeting (2002) the highlight of his three-month
stay in
the U.S. "I've traveled to a lot of churches, but the thing I'm going to
remember the most is the participation in the Annual Meeting," he said. "To
have an opportunity to give a word of greeting to the entire body is no
small thing." He noted that a worship service at Calvary Covenant Church in
Chicago was also an eye opener. "This was my first experience worshiping
with African American brothers and sisters," he said. "To me, the 'heat'
(fervor) of worship that was involved was truly inspiring. And I was really
impressed by the unity of worship. Everyone was participating together."
Nubea said the CEUM has various medical and transportation needs, but he is
more concerned that Covenanters remember his church and advocate for peace
in his country. "Some people may be moved to help with finances and some
may help in other ways," he said. "But what we most need is prayer."
As bleak as things have been for the CEUM at times during the past five
years, it has maintained its fervor for God. Nubea has seen how his story
of the CEUM has affected those he has met. For that and many other things
he is grateful.
"A lot of times we say that at our level we don't see how we can give
anything to the Evangelical Covenant Church," said Nubea. "Our impression
is that the Evangelical Covenant Church has all of the resources to give.
But when we started to circulate among the churches here, talking with the
believers, they said that we helped them open their eyes to a different
world - of the suffering and difficulty in Congo. People also remarked
that we inspired them to have courage in times of suffering. It caused them
to think that (at some point) they would be put in difficult circumstances.
And they asked themselves, 'Would we have the courage to endure?' Our
presence was a blessing. It helped them see things differently and prepared
their faith. It also educated the church as to how they could help the
people of Congo."
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