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Fohle: Need to Change Mission Mindset
By Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (April 8, 2003) - Fohle Lygunda has seen many mountaintops and has climbed out of numerous
valleys during his life. He was born to a rich family, but when he was a
year old his father was
accused of being a spy and had to flee for his life. Within months Fohle's
family went from the lap of luxury to a place of poverty.
In 1999, Fohle, now an adult, was among top leaders of the Covenant Church
of Congo (CEUM). But during a civil war in Congo, his family was pursued by
bandits and fled to the forest for six months to escape. He lost everything
Life has gotten better for Fohle and his people since then, but the CEUM is
still struggling financially. Fohle, the director of the Cabinet of the
president of the CEUM, communicated some of those needs to more than a
dozen churches as he finished a whirlwind spring (2002) traveling in and
around Boston as a guest of Trinity Covenant Church in Lexington,
Massachusetts. His sponsor, Marilyn Moore, was a catalyst for a
pastors-in-residence program that brought three CEUM pastors to the U.S.
"I was up on the mountaintop and now I'm going back to share that
experience with the people of Congo," Fohle said. I had a mission to come
here and I'm at the end of my mission. I am ready to go back."
Along with speaking engagements to more than a dozen Covenant churches,
Fohle was involved in an extensive English language program in Boston. He
was a quick learner - he participated in an interview for this story for a
period of 30 minutes - solely in English. He also learned about the transit
system in Boston after having never ridden a train before coming to the
U.S. "People in Boston are all in a hurry. They get their newspaper (on the
train) and they forget everyone else. It was strange."
Fohle, a resident of Gemena, is part of the Topoke people group from the
Oriental Province of Congo near Kisangani. Lygunda moved with his parents
to the Equator Province in 1964 because of the Simba rebellion. His father
became a fisherman there and his family had little to live on. Still, Fohle
managed to get a quality education, eventually earning a Masters in
Theology from the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology (FATEB) in 1996.
Fohle is married to Marceline Lileko Fohle and they are
the parents of five children. Being away from family was difficult for
Fohle.
"It was my first time to experience winter," Fohle said. "It was cold for
me. Every morning I had to put on my tee shirt, heavy shirt, overcoat and
gloves. Being inside so much was like being in jail. In my country, you
only go inside to eat. And I was cut off from contact from Congo. I
couldn't get information for three weeks. And it was a struggle to be away
from my family."
Fohle often wore a red jacket to symbolize his reliance on the Holy Spirit.
He recalled feeling the Holy Spirit's leading as he considered mission work
to three people groups in Kenya, a country with a heavy Muslim influence.
That mission, along with one to pygmies in central Africa, is among the new
works being done through the CEUM.
Some might think that it would be difficult for someone from an underserved
country to live three months in a country abounding in resources. Fohle
will not have any problem returning to Congo in that regard, he said. But
living in the United States has given Fohle a better sense of the
sacrifices made by Covenant missionaries who served in his country from
1937 until being evacuated in 1997. He says he has a new respect for
longtime missionaries like Vanette Thorsell, Theodora Johnson, Bob and
Janet Thornbloom and others who gave up the comforts of the U.S. to serve
in Congo (then Zaire).
"This is the issue I bring back home," said Fohle. "The issue is changing
the mind of mission (the mindset Congo has about U.S. missionaries). For a
long time, we had a vision for mission and our vision was characterized by
misunderstanding. Sometimes, the national church had a negative judgment
toward Western missionaries. But then I see the life here, how American
people live. They have all of the comforts, two cars, everything in their
house. They can go to the mall and the supermarket.
"But in comparison to our life in Africa, it is a sacrifice for
missionaries to go from here to an impoverished situation like ours," he
continued. "Those missionaries have made a commitment to us. They didn't
come to exploit us. I will advise my people to change their attitude
towards missionaries. And now that I've had to learn a new language here, I
especially take my hat off to the missionaries who came and learned our
language and translated the Bible in our language."
Three years ago, Fohle and the CEUM dealt with what he called "the most
somber moments of our lives." The persecution he faced led him to write a
book that advocates partnerships as a means for the greater church to
survive. He is confident that he spoke that message clearly to those he met
in the U.S. - in that sense he feels he accomplished his mission.
"My sermons were about 'going down' (from the mountain) because people here
have been blessed by God and they've used those blessings to build
barriers," he said. "It was my mission to help people to understand that
their blessings were for other people, too. We were blessed for all of
humankind."
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